Forbidden

~Chapter Two~

Hi, everybody! Thank you for reading this so far. Seriously, I love you guys, and I really appreciate it. And I decided on a few characters! Zac Efron will be playing River Elliot, Meaghan Burke will be played by Kay Panabaker (thanks, Kassilassie! Who, BTW, is one of my best writer buddies! :-)), and Layla Elliot, who you will meet in this chapter, will be played by Mackenzie Foy! So...yeah...fun times! Picture on the right is of Kay Panabaker, since even I didn't know what she looked like!

Enjoy!

***

~Chapter Two~

Something big was coming; Arabella could feel it. Gazing down upon Earth, she could see the dark shadows racing ever closer to the living, ever closer to her kind’s demise. Arabella could see all that, but that wasn’t what was flooding her mind. That wasn’t what she was worried about. It was River. He was falling in love with that demon of a girl, Meaghan. And what if Griffin found out that she had talked to River?

            “What is wrong with you?”

            Arabella’s breath caught. She whirled around, facing Griffin. She would find out now. “I-I-I-I’m…” she stuttered, whispering.

            “What is with your…your…obsession with that mortal?” Griffin hissed. “He’s a pawn, Arabella, he’s a joke, a game. He is only a chess piece in our ever-shifting tournament.” Arabella’s breathing sped up. She had gotten the brunt of Griffin’s anger before—that was bad enough—but this time, he sounded furious.

            Unfortunately, she was right.

            Griffin’s hand swung out, slapping her face with such force that she fell to the ground. “You. Are. An. Idiot,” he spat. “The Demons are rising. They will choose their ally soon. And that freak is what you’re worried about?” Arabella’s eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let her so-called “Perfect One” see her cry.

            As Griffin continued ranting, screaming in her face, Arabella remained motionless, only one thought running through her mind: I have to get out of here. Earth…mortals…here I come.

***

I couldn’t concentrate.

            My German textbook lay open in front of me. I was trying to do my homework, but I had too many distractions. Life seemed to have it in for me at the moment.

Number one distraction was the return of the voice. The voice seemed like my friend now, and I seemed to be going even more insane every minute. What kind of idiot thinks that the voices in their head are their friends? If I lived back in the 1600s, I’d be burned as a witch. And why was I so freaking loyal to it? I had too many unanswerable questions. It was making me jittery.

Number two distraction: Meaghan Burke. Why was I suddenly so attracted to her? I’ve known her since I was six…what was so different now? It was almost like magnetism. Like I was a moth drawn to her flame.

Number three distraction: the storm raging outside. Thunder, lightning, a downpour of rain: the whole shebang.

Finally, I just threw down my pencil and gave up.  I sighed, getting up from my chair and heading to the kitchen for a snack. Before I could reach the stairs, though, my little sister leaped into my path.

“River!” Layla cried. “You’re back!” She jumped into my arms, giving me a hug with all the strength that a seven-year-old could muster. “I missed you so much!”

I laughed. If there’s anyone in the world that can make you smile after a hard day, it’s my sister. “I missed you too, Sunshine,” I told her, setting her back down on her feet. Layla held up her Barbie doll for my examination.