The Secret Inside

Prologue

Laila flew upright in bed and blinked her eyes open. As she looked around she realized something was terribly wrong. The room was dimly lit so it was hard for her to even make out her hands right in front of her face. The faded paisley comforter on the bed was not hers. She could feel herself start to shake. She was in the house again. She felt paralyzed by terror, but pushed it away.

' Fear does not control me.'  She repeated over and over to herself.

She sat there for a couple more second, letting the fear and dread wash over her until she finally conjured up enough courage to get up. She took a deep breath but it did nothing to calm her pounding heartbeat. As quietly as she could, Laila placed her feet on the polished wood floors. She winced when the bed creaked and looked around to make sure she wasn't here yet. She crept along the floor, trying to keep as close to the wall as possible. She cracked the door open and slipped through. She knew what to expect and stared straight ahead so she would not see them. The curiosity overtook and she snuck a peak. Laila always thought the paintings on the wall were mesmerizing, in a terrifying way. They were made of all the darkest colors but the end result was truly beautiful. The paintings called to the dark part of her soul, the part she would rather not think about.

She dragged her eyes away from the paintings and returned to her attention to walking carefully down the hallway. Laila shivered against the iciness that coated the house. Her thin pajama shirt did nothing to protect her from the almost unbearable cold. She balled her hands up in her sleeves and continued to tiptoe across the hall to the long and winding stairs.

She felt a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the type that no matter how hard you push it away, it always comes back. Thick vines wrapped up around the handles on both sided of the stairs and twined up and over her feet like a living creature. Laila continued down quickly trying not to touch anything. Laila stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Her skin suddenly prickled and she looked to the left across the vacant living room.

'Not vacant anymore,'  she thought scornfully.

A shadowy figure glided smoothly through the open door across the gloomy room. The apparition had a flickering mass of flaming hair trailing behind her. Her skin lacked all color, making her black eyes seem even darker.

"Laila, a pleasure to see you again." The woman said with a mocking smile, exposing her pointed teeth.

"Nice to see you too, but this is the third time this week," Laila replied trying to hold back her frustration. "Why am I here again?"

"Well, let's just say you are becoming much easier to reach." The woman answered with a deep chuckle.

"I don't get it, we had an agreement." Laila continued, "twice a week I come here for training. Send me back."

"Laila, darling, let me help you understand something; you are only done when I say you are done. You-" she glared, "do not decide anything. Now, how about we begin training, my colleagues are very interested in your skills."

"No." Laila answered and then flinched under her sharp stare.

"I think you're forgetting again, Laila-dear. You can't leave until I let you leave, and you are not leaving until you train." And with that the woman's eyes started to glow a bright crimson red.

The veins in the woman's arms began shining and emitting a deep red color that stood out against her nearly translucent skin. Laila had never seen her instructor use so much of her power before, but seeing it just made her want to not be part of whatever this was even more. The woman held her hands about half a foot apart and a ball of fire started grow between her fingers. Laila stood still, entranced by the sight of sheer power in front of her.

The woman turned slowly and set her fiery eyes on Laila. She pulled her arms back and flung them forward like one might when playing catch, but this was definitely anything but friendly. Layla threw her arms up in front of herself, hoping with all her heart that it would finally work. A few seconds later when nothing happened she looked up. A shield of sparkling water had grown around her. Laila felt a giant grin grow on her face, besides the dire circumstances.

"Bravo. I didn't think that would actually work." The woman remarked with a slight smirk.

Laila dropped her arms and the shield disappeared into thin air. She suddenly felt an overwhelming exhaustion fall over her. The woman had been trying to help her with her power for years now but it rarely worked.

"Honey, I think you should go home now, I have to discuss this, ah, advancement with my colleagues." The woman waved a hand. "Now. You know what to do."

Laila had been going there for a little under two years now. Everything started when she turned twelve. She sat down on the worn brown couch and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard the woman's heels click lightly as she sauntered over. A cold hand swept over her forehead and she immediately felt lightheaded.  Her head drooped down to her chest. There was an indiscernible murmuring before Laila felt herself relax and quickly drift into unconsciousness.