The Ultimate Sacrifice

  Swiftly, I grabbed my dagger out and pointed it at him. He was taken back, surprised, but then he started laughing. “You’re going to kill me with that?”

  “If you say you’re protected from my power…why not?”

  He made a motion with his hands and demons started coming towards me. “So, I guess this means you don’t want to take the easier route?” He nodded at the demons. “Go ahead and take your best shot. I’m sure these guys will take you down before you take two steps.”

  I didn’t need two steps. In my mind, Mira and Daxton’s faces flashed before me. Saving them. Protecting them. That’s what this was about. I steadied my hands and clutched the dagger. I turned it towards me.

  Kern laughed. “You wouldn’t.”

  I smiled one last time. “Oh, but wouldn’t I?”

  Then I plunged the dagger into my heart.

  Kern shrieked, “NOOOOOO!!!!!!”

  I heard myself gasp. Then I felt my legs give way from under me, and I crumpled to the floor. The pain wasn’t nearly as bad as I had imagined. I felt warm and tingly. I wasn’t scared anymore. I had done the right thing. I could feel my heart slowing down, giving up.

  Kern’s voice was getting further away, but I could still hear him. “No, no, no…get some help.” I could see him above me now. He was reaching for the dagger.

  “Master, no!”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s a faerie dagger.”

  “Oh,” he said, his voice fading more. “This isn’t fair,” he whined like a child. “She was supposed to be mine!”

  Everything got fuzzy and faded away… Remembering what Daxton said, I closed my eyes and pictured the white sand beach we had been on not long ago. There was no pain here, no fear, just serenity. I walked over to the edge of the water like I had done that one time, sat on the sand, and stuck my feet in the warm ocean water. Perfect. Heavenly…

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mira

  I screamed as the demon snatched Kassia and started to run after her. Noe and Auralee grabbed and held me back as I watched them take her away. I shouted her name as her body went limp in the demon’s hands. When she disappeared into the woods, my knees gave out, and I collapsed on the ground. I was furious at her for agreeing to this suicide mission even though I knew it was the only way to save the stupid, freakin’ world.

  Zane sat down next to me and tried to rub my back. “Screw off,” I told him.

  He sighed. “I’m really sorry, Mira.”

  Daxton, who had been trying to keep it together, was in back of me somewhere, sobbing. I knew I should go to him and try to comfort him, but I knew her longer. I was her best friend, damn it. I needed comforting. But, I didn’t want any. I hated all of us right now. I hated myself for letting her go. I hated myself for not finding another way.

  The hot tears rushed down my cheeks. I hoped and prayed she wouldn’t be in any pain. For someone who dished pain out the way she did, she never could handle it very well. Somehow, I knew she’d get up the courage to stick that dagger into her…pain or not. Please just let it be quick.

  “Mira, it’s been over an hour, she’s not coming back. Let’s go inside,” Zane said. I glared at him.

  Auralee stood up. “Why don’t you guys go inside? Give us some girl time. We’ll be in soon.”

  Zane and Daxton exchanged glances. “Think it’s safe?”

  Daxton nodded. “They only wanted Kassia.”

  Noe added, “They won’t be back.”

  “And what about Mira? She’s not going to go after her?” Zane asked Noe.

  She looked up for a minute. “No, she won’t.”

  “Okay.” Zane and Daxton walked slowly to the hotel and disappeared inside.

  Noe sat on one side of me, and Auralee sat on the other. The three of us cried together. “Can you see anything, Noe?”

  “Would you want to know?” She looked at me seriously.

  I looked away. I honestly didn’t know. Would I want to know what was going to happen?

  “Mira, Noe can’t see what is happening clearly. But, I don’t think you’d want to know the awful things your best friend is facing. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

  “Oh shut up! You still have your best friend!” I yelled.

  Noe took my hand. “I really can’t see what’s happening, and I’m kinda glad I can’t.”

  “We’re going to be here for you,” Auralee said. “We all love her.”

  We sat in silence a while longer. I couldn’t get my mind off of what could be happening to her. She must have felt like this when she found out I was being attacked. But, she could do something about it. She saved me. There was nothing I could do now, nothing any of us could do. We were helpless.

  “How did we let this happen?” I asked softly.

  “They would have gotten her one way or another,” Noe responded.

  Auralee sighed. “I thought you weren’t going to say anything?”

  I looked from Noe to Auralee and back again. “What are you talking about?”

  Tears ran down Noe’s face. “I kept seeing her get taken. No matter what we did or where we went, I always saw her getting taken away. The vision changed a little each time, but the ending was always the same.” Her voice shook. “At least this way, it’s on her terms.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” I asked.

  “You all needed hope. I couldn’t take that away.” Her lip quivered, and she started sobbing.

  My eyes filled with tears again. I took Noe’s hand. I didn’t want her to think she did the wrong thing. “It’s okay.” I took Auralee’s hand too, and we sat there until our tears dried again.

  “C’mon, let’s go inside.”

  “’Kay.” I stood up and we all walked to our room.

  Kassia hadn’t brought any of her stuff with her, obviously. Who would bring anything to their death? I touched the shirt she left laying on the bed. Then I picked it up and held it to my nose, breathing in her sweet scent. She always smelled like lilacs. Smelling her without her here made me break down again. My body heaved with sobs as I clutched her shirt.

  This whole thing was my fault. If I hadn’t gone to get the car fixed by myself, those guys never would have attacked me. Kassia wouldn’t have saved me, and she’d still be here. Thinking of that day brought more tears and rage. I hadn’t been able to get the image of the men who had raped me out of my mind. Their dirty smell was permanently imprinted in my mind. I had showered a hundred times since it happened, and I still hadn’t felt clean. My face had healed up. Although there wasn’t any evidence of the assault left on the outside, nothing on the inside would ever be the same again.

  They had stolen something from me that I’d never get back. I didn’t know how I’d ever get past what happened. I assumed Kassia would be there with me helping me through it. My best friend was gone now, and I would have to handle it alone.

  “No, you won’t.” Auralee sat next to me. “I’m here.”

  As tears slid down my cheeks, I nodded and wondered if it was a good or bad thing that I was friends with a mind-reader.

  Nobody spoke for a long time. I sat against the headboard and wrapped my arms around my knees. Daxton was watching out the window as if he was waiting for Kassia to come back. I wondered if I would know when she was dead. Would I feel it? And if I didn’t, did that mean she had failed? Or would I never know?

  My tears finally slowed and dried on my face. I curled up with a pillow and finally succumbed to sleep in the middle of the night.

  * * *

  Suddenly, I sat straight up. I felt a pain so excruciating in my heart, I thought it was going to explode. I gasped for air. I knew immediately. Kassia was dead.

  I looked around; the sky was getting a little bit lighter, meaning it was almost dawn. Noe was sitting on the edge of the bed with tears streaming down her face. Seeing me, she said, “I didn’t see it. But, I saw her body.”

  I scooted over to her and we hugged. As the
sun rose, one by one our friends woke up. When they saw our faces, they knew. Auralee burst into tears again and Daxton punched a wall leaving a large hole. Guess I’d have to cover that up. Zane stayed quiet and tried to be there for me. He didn’t know what to say, and I wasn’t making it any easier on him. I felt bad for being so harsh, but nothing in me felt like being nice.

  “Noe, were you able to get an idea as to where she might be?” Zane asked, being the most level headed right now.

  “It’s not far. They drove about an hour from where they were to… dump her body. She’s in the woods. I just don’t know where.”

  “We should hurry,” Daxton said.

  Nobody showered. We just grabbed our bags ran to the car.

  Zane drove and Noe sat in the passenger seat. We had been driving for about an hour when she told him to stop. “In there,” she said, pointing towards the woods.

  We got out of the car and started hiking into the woods. “Which way?”

  “I don’t know…just in, go in deeper,” Noe instructed.

  We walked further, our pace quickening.

  “This way,” Noe said, leading the way. Every so often, she would stop and then continue on. We hurried, almost running ahead.

  Then I saw her…her crumpled body on the ground. I stopped in my tracks. “Kassia!” I yelled out and then ran the rest of the way to her, hoping that somehow she’d still be alive. I reached her body and knelt down beside her. Be alive, be alive, be alive — I pleaded. I turned her on her back. The dagger stuck out from her heart. Hesitantly, I moved the hair from her angel like face. She was pale, her lips no longer candy apple red. I put my ear to her mouth, hoping for any signs of breathing. Then I placed my ear down on her chest, but instead of a beating heart, I heard nothing.

  “No…no…no…” I sobbed and tried to shake her awake. “Please,” I whispered. I looked up at Auralee. “Can you hear anything?”

  Tears were streaming down her face as she shook her head.

  Daxton knelt down beside me. He stroked her face with his hand and then brushed her bangs away from her eyes. “Have you ever seen her look this peaceful?”

  He bent down and kissed her on the lips.

  I picked some leaves out of her dark, auburn hair. “Should we take the dagger out?” I asked, not wanting to see it lodged in her.

  “No. Vala said to leave it in,” Zane answered.

  Oh yeah. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. But I think we should listen.”

  Noe took a white bed sheet out of her backpack. She laid it on the ground. “Wrap her up,” she told Daxton and Zane.

  Carefully, they picked Kassia up and put her on the sheet. Then they gently wrapped her in it. “How are we going to get her back up that mountain?” I asked.

  “Off the trail, when it’s dark.”

  “We can’t wait that long. We have to go now,” Noe said.

  “How are we going to explain that we’re carrying a body?” Daxton asked.

  “We’ve got Mira. Anybody asks, she’ll compel. They never saw a body,” she answered.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Daxton lovingly picked her body back up.

  When we got back to the car, we gently placed Kassia in the back, and drove quickly back to Mt. Whitney. The guys would have to carry Kassia up the mountain. I’d go in front and make sure anyone who saw us…didn’t see us. We had to move faster than we did a few days ago. My hands and feet were scraped up from falling quite a few times. But, we continued on, reaching Mirror Lake much quicker than before.

  “Where is Vala?” I asked. “How do we get to her house?”

  “We have to wait for her,” Zane said.

  “We don’t have the time.” I paced. “Out here with a body,” I grumbled.

  A marmot ran by and Zane said, “This way.”

  The marmot led us to the shaman’s house. She was waiting outside for us. She took Kassia’s body from Daxton and placed her carefully on her own bed. She unwrapped her. “Good. Very good.”

  “Good?!” I yelled. “This is good?” I completely freaked out. “My best friend is dead and it’s good?” I was on the verge of losing it.

  Vala looked at me with her wild eyes. “You don’t understand and that’s okay. You will. But, right now, I need you to say your goodbyes. You need to leave quickly.”

  Noe was the first one to move. She knelt next to Kassia and spoke quietly to her. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I imagined it was something sweet. She stood, kissed her on the forehead, and walked to the other side of the room.

  Zane was standing next to me. He pulled me to him and held tightly to me. I buried my face in his chest. I heard Auralee’s voice. She was saying her goodbyes now. I turned back around and watched as she too kissed her on the forehead.

  “I’ll go next,” Zane said and he squeezed my hand before letting go. He walked over and sat down next to her. He didn’t say much, but I did hear him say, “I’m so glad that I don’t have to keep part of that promise, but I will keep the other part. I will take care of Mira.” He stood up and also kissed her forehead before walking across the room.

  Daxton and I glanced at each other. “I’ll go,” he said, but it took him a minute to move. When he did, he did it slowly. He knelt down next to her and took her hand in his. “I will always love you,” he told her. The tears flowed heavily down my face now. He stroked her face with his hand and then buried his face in her hair. When he was done, he kissed her, stood up, and then joined our friends on the other side of the room.

  It was my turn now, but my feet were like lead, and they wouldn’t move. Zane approached me. “Go say goodbye.”

  “I can’t.” I bit my lower lip.

  “You can. You must.” I looked at him and sighed, knowing he was right.

  I shuffled my feet and knelt next to Kassia. She looked so beautiful just lying there. I took her hand and opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know what to say. What do you say to your dead best friend? How do you say goodbye?

  “I…I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I already miss you so much. We were supposed to be friends forever. Part of me is so mad, Kassia, SO mad. But, mostly I’m broken.” I didn’t even bother wiping the tears away anymore. They kept pouring out of my eyes. “I will never forget you.” I forced myself to stand up. I too bent over and kissed her. “I love you.”

  Vala escorted us to the door. “Go back the way you came. Go home. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. I think Kern is still set on attacking soon.”

  “Will we ever see you again?” Zane asked her, although I wasn’t sure why. Who cared? I had no interest in ever seeing her again.

  “Yes, sooner than you think.” We started to leave. “Thank you kids for following directions.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Zane answered. He gathered my hand in his, and we walked out of her home back onto the mountain.

  Even though I was surrounded by people I loved and knew exactly where I was, I felt completely alone and lost. Zane still had my hand; he tugged on it a little. “C’mon.”

  I looked back towards the shaman’s house. Leaving Kassia there felt wrong. We should bring her home. Auralee walked up next to me and took my other hand. “It’s okay,” she told me.

  We hiked back down slowly and climbed back in the car. We were a few hours from home, so we just started driving there. Nobody said anything for a long time. Finally, Zane broke the silence. “We should go directly to see Eaton.”

  “Yeah,” Daxton said.

  “How are we supposed to go back there without her?” I asked. Nobody responded.

  Once we were at the institute, we grabbed our stuff out of the car and started walking to Eaton’s office. It was early afternoon now. The few students we came across stopped to stare at us. I couldn’t imagine what we must have looked like. Some of the kids started whispering. As I glared back at them, I found myself wishing I had Kassia’s gift. I’d love to be able to drop them on their asses.
>
  Zane pounded on Eaton’s door when we got there. “Come in,” the voice boomed from inside.

  He jumped up from his chair when he saw who was walking into his office. He looked at each of us and then peered behind us to see if there was anyone else. He gestured for us to sit down, but there weren’t enough chairs. Zane and Daxton stood. Nobody said anything. No one wanted to speak. Zane must have thought it was his job, so he finally spoke up, “We’re back.”

  “I see that. Where is Miss Lagos?”

  “Dead.”

  “What?” He immediately looked at me for confirmation. I’m sure my tear stained face and bloody clothes reassured him that what Zane was saying was true. “Tell me everything.”

  We poured out our story slowly and painfully. “That’s it, I think,” Zane finished up.

  Mr. Eaton’s face looked long and sad. “I’m very sorry to hear of Kassia’s passing. I know how difficult this will be on all of you. Whatever you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered. “I think we might need a day or two before starting classes again.”

  “Of course.”

  Noe spoke then, “I feel that danger will come to us soon. I don’t know when. I just feel it’s coming. I think Kern is very, very mad right now. I was thinking that training classes might be appropriate. Physical training as well as gift training. Also, we should know how to use these daggers.”

  “You shouldn’t have those on campus,” Mr. Eaton frowned.

  “I have no plans on giving mine back, not after what I saw out there. Weapons training would be useful for everyone at this school,” Daxton said.

  “We will keep our daggers hidden, but we will not give them up,” I added.

  Mr. Eaton mashed his lips clearly thinking about what he should do. “Fine,” he answered. “But, if I catch any of you using them against another student or teacher, you will face serious consequences.”

  “Agreed.”

  “How much of this should the others know?” Auralee asked.

  “I told them that you were all sent on a special mission. I suppose you could say Kassia died fighting demons. I wouldn’t go into any other details right now. I don’t want to create a panic.”

  * * *

  In the courtyard, Zane pulled me close to him. When our eyes met, he leaned in for a kiss. At first, I pushed him away. I didn’t want him touching me like that. Unpleasant memories filled my mind.