The Ultimate Sacrifice, Talia Jager [novels to read .TXT] 📗

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

“Okay, let’s go.” Daxton lovingly picked Kassia’s 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 perked up. “This way,” he said, pointing after the little animal.

The marmot led us to the shaman’s house. Vala 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 Kassia 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 Kassia. 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 have loved you from the first time I met you…and I always will, forever and ever in the eternities,” 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 toward 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 Glendale, 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 school, we grabbed our stuff from 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 was 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.

His face softened. “Mira. I won’t hurt you.”

I nodded and let him lean back in. His lips were a little wetter than I would have liked, but the kiss made me feel loved. “If you need anything…”

“Thank you.”

Daxton walked over to me. “That goes for me too. If Zane isn’t around and you need something, let me know.”

“I will. Thanks, Daxton, for loving her. You made her very happy these past months.”

His eyes filled with tears, but he smiled anyway. “I hope so.”

They left, walking toward their dorm. Noe, Auralee, and I walked into our dorm and up the stairs. Taking out my key, I unlocked and opened the door to our room and then I froze. It was just as we had left it. I half expected to see Kassia sitting on the window seat she loved so much.

Auralee put her arm around me. “Why don’t you sleep in our room tonight?”

“No thanks.” I shook my head. “I want to be close to her.”

“Okay. If you change your mind…”

“Thanks.”

Noe reached over and hugged me. “We’ll be right here.”

I walked into my room and closed the door behind me. There was a picture of Kassia and me on our dresser. I grabbed it and collapsed on Kassia’s bed, tears flowing down my face.