Four Elements Book 3 - Sacrifice

Part 1

Summer vacation never feels long enough.

The sun, lots of free time, lounging at the pool or the beach... most people love them. Shopping sprees, however, couldn't end soon enough for Andie. Especially when said shopping spree was with one Jessica Leighton. She and Jessica had been scouring the mall for almost two hours looking for Jessica's "perfect outfit to start senior year".

She'd promised it wouldn't take long, and foolishly, Andie had believed her. And yet, here she was, watching Jessica scan every item in every clothes store they passed.

"Jessica, that blue blazer looks great, can we please go?"

Jessica turned around in front of the mirror before her. She did look very good in the electric blue blazer and white jeans with brown heels.

"It doesn't scream awesome the way I want..." she finally said.

Andie sighed. She was sitting on a stool next to the fitting rooms. Jessica had just vanished into the cabin with yet another outfit (about the sixth, Andie thought), and had dismissed it before leaving Andie time to open her mouth. Which had led Andie to ask herself several times:

If you don't wait for my opinion, why am I sitting here, exactly?

"I love you to bits, Jess, but if you don't make a decision now, I'm letting you finish on your own. I'm boiling, and we were supposed to join the others at the lake."

"I know, I know, but we only have a week until school starts again!" Jessica said, stepping out of the fitting room in her own clothes.

It was true. Summer had flown by, for Andie. She could hardly believe they were just days away from starting their senior year. Then, it would be graduation, college... and who knew what else... What was even more crazy, though, was to think they had actually made it to senior year, after everything...

But right now, she had other issues:

"Which means a week for you to find your outfit on your own!" Andie groaned. "I don't know why you even asked me to come, you never leave me enough time to express an opinion... C'mon, let's go! We've done enough shopping for today."

She got to her feet and started walking towards the store entrance.

"Oh, but I saw the cutest dress..."

"No, Jessica!" Andie growled. "It'll still be there tomorrow."

And she took Jessica's arm before tugging her away.

"Okay, okay, don't rip my arm off!"

Andie couldn't help a laugh as she dragged Jessica towards the parking lot.

"Jeez, you were captured by Zorak but you can't take a shopping spree?"

Andie froze, dropping Jessica's wrist like it had burned her. They stared at each other a few seconds before Jessica realized what she had said. A few weeks ago, Andie had been brutally tortured by Zorak, the Demon Lord. She had been marred by the incident for a while afterwards.

And if she was honest, she probably still was.

Jessica stared in horror at Andie. No one else seemed to be paying attention to them, which was probably just as well. Andie might have told her parents about her secret life as a demon fighter and fire incarnation, but she had no desire to make it public knowledge. Nor, she expected, did her friends, for that matter.

"Oh... God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that...!" Jessica said.

Andie took a deep breath. Jessica was the kindest and fiercest friend, but she was often rather blunt. And she had a knack of bringing up uncomfortable subjects accidentally, like now.