The Secret

Chapter 23

I could feel the power surging through the circle as I entered. If they didn't know I was there then they sure did now. But I didn't care about them. All I cared about was my brother dying on the ground where our building once stood. His skin was dirty and his eyes were fluttering but he wouldn't wake up when I shook him.

"Ryder wake up!" I yelled as I shook him again. I couldn't lose my brother. He was the only one who protected me when my parents would abuse us. He was there when my neighbor shot my parents. Even then he was defending me.

He was the one who cheated during our fights and the amazing chef. He always tried to bring happiness in the house and until all of this happened he was fine. He wouldn't be lying here on the ground if I never agreed to Rebecca's stupid plan. I wouldn't have met Daniel but at least Ryder and I would be okay. We would be safe and out of all of this mess.

Sabrina would have never taken interest in me. Koli wouldn't have either. But what about Veronica? She certainly met Ryder before I met Daniel. Maybe he would still be in this mess after all. We were mixed into the Conjurers' and Nemesis' lives no matter what.

I stood up and faced Grace. Her eyes weren't closed anymore. I followed her movements as she stared right back. What made this worse was that I could still see my best friend somewhere in there.

"Grace stop this," I said. "You know this isn't right. The Grace I know would never hurt anyone, especially my big brother. You know how much he means to me." My voice started breaking but I didn't care. "The Grace I know hated people who thought they were better than anyone else. That's what these people think."

"Silence human," someone said from the circle.

"What? Am I ruining your concentration?" I asked. "Good I'm trying to save my brother."

I saw Grace crack a smile at that one before it fell. "I'm sorry Aura. But I have to do this."

"No you don't!" I yelled. I could hear police sirens in the background and groaned. What would the police do right now in this moment? Nothing but get in the way. "You don't have to do anything!"

I started to get light headed and stumbled on my feet. All of their eyes were on me as they chanted in a weird language. I fell to my knees as my breathing became shallow. I really hoped I wasn't becoming part of this sacrifice because that would ruin the saving thing. Grace looked torned between following or not.

"Grace please," I whispered before I fell to the floor. I fought for my eyes to stay open but I was losing.

"No!" Grace yelled. "Please don't hurt her."

"You have to choose," the same voice said. "Either us or the human."

Grace looked torned. I guess here is where I figure out if she was truly a friend or not. But Grace couldn't possibly be lying about being my friend when we were five years old. She couldn't possibly have known about all of this and kept it a secret for that long. Usually five year olds share things they're not suppose to.

Was Grace always magical? Were her parents like her too? I highly doubt it. Grace's parents were people you wouldn't turn to to either save or destroy the world. Plus they weren't even here. I looked at Grace as she looked around her. Their defenses were slowly thinning but Lance and Sabrina were putting up one hell of a fight.

They were surrounded but somehow they were still winning. I could see Daniel fighting for his life along with Hira and the rest of them.

Grace sighed before looking down. She made her choice and when she looked at me her expression was full of determination. Before she could start chanting she was tackled to the ground. E stood over her with a triumphant smile and if I didn't feel so weak I could have laughed.