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

Chapter Seven

A short rap at the door woke us up. Mira jumped out of bed and answered it. I rubbed my eyes and glanced toward the window. It wasn’t even light out yet.

“Time to go,” Ms. Meadows told us.

Hearing that, I was out of bed within a second. We grabbed our bags and left the room, closing the door behind us. The four of us met the two guys in the parking lot. Mr. Eaton was there and handed each of us an envelope. “This will provide identification and access to money. Do what you need to blend in. Go wherever you need to go. Don’t tell me. Buy a disposable cell phone once a week, call the number in your envelope, and use the password as well. If the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t provide the matching password, hang up and move locations immediately. We’ll let you know how the threat is on our end.”

He reached into his pocket and took out a set of keys. He handed them to Daxton, then, taking one last look at each of us, he said, “The SUV is yours. Go now and be safe.”

He hurried away. We all stood there staring at each other for what seemed like an hour. Finally, Mira spoke up, “Where do we go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, we can’t stand around here any longer. Let’s get in the car and just start driving,” Daxton suggested.

“Fine.” I threw my bag in the trunk and hopped in the back seat. Mira sat next to me, Noe and Auralee sat in the middle, and the boys sat up front.

Daxton started up the car and pulled away from the school. I looked back and watched as the school disappeared. It was the only home I had known, and now I was forced to leave it. I thought about all the other kids getting up and finding a handful of their classmates gone. I wondered what they would be told and if they would believe it.

I thought about the demons out there. If they were watching the school, couldn’t they be watching us leave? Was it possible they could have cars? Or did demons not drive? I didn’t even remember what a demon was supposed to look like. I hadn’t paid attention in class. Were they scary looking? Or did they look like us?

The SUV raced down the windy back road. Having Noe there prevented us from getting pulled over, although I was sure if we did, Mira would get us out of it. The vibration of the car was soothing, and I felt my eyelids closing. I nodded off a couple times before Mira put her arm around me and pulled me close to her. “Thanks,” I muttered before succumbing to sleep.

I didn’t know how long I had been asleep. I opened my eyes. The sun was high in the sky, and the car was parked under some trees. My friends were stretched out on the grass of what seemed to be a rest area; they looked like they were in a heavy discussion.

I opened the door and stepped out of the car. Everyone looked over. “Hey, sleepyhead.” Daxton smiled.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Just trying to figure out where to go,” Zane responded as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“Doesn’t Noe know where?” I asked, puzzled.

“Not quite,” she replied. “When we talk about staying close, I can see that’s a bad idea. It’s not until we decide where to go do I see whether or not it’s good or bad.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t realized that. “Ideas?”

“I don’t even know what direction to go in.” Daxton sighed.

“Do any of you remember what the teachers said about demons?” I asked. They all looked at me. I blushed. “I hardly ever listened. I didn’t know I’d need to know this stuff.”

Mira scoffed. “Typical. What do you want to know?”

“What do they look like? Where do they live?”

“Catlike, if I remember right. Not like cute little kittens, more like a black panther,” she answered.

“But not all of them. Some are bigger and more human looking. And there were little ones too, only a couple feet tall. They can cause a lot of damage because they’re fast and their teeth razor sharp,” Zane described.

“They’re all black? Like shadows?”

“Yes,” Zane confirmed.

“Were there any pictures?” I asked.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Yes, because while fighting demons, people stopped to take a picture for the history books.”

When she put it like that, I felt stupid for asking. “Oh.”

Zane shushed her and continued on, “As far as where they lived, it was in the darkest of dark places. Deep woods and caves. They like the dark. But that doesn’t mean they don’t come out in the light. So don’t let down your guard.”

“And how are we supposed to fight off these demons if they find us?”

“Daggers. Eaton put one for each of us in the glove box. They are faerie made and have magical properties. They will kill them.”

“One at a time,” I said.

“I would imagine so.”

“Six of us, millions of them, and we’ve got six daggers…great.”

They all stared at me, and then Mira started laughing, which made them all loosen up a little and laugh too. “What do you guys think about going south?”

I shrugged. “Sounds fine with me.”

“I don’t see an immediate problem,” Noe said.

Everybody agreed and we headed back to the car. Zane jumped in the driver’s seat and Mira sat in the front with him. He had reached for her hand, but she quickly drew it away. I took Daxton’s hand and pulled him in the back seat with me. We didn’t talk as we drove away. I leaned into him, and he traced my hand with his finger. His finger traveled up to my tattoo, where he traced the lines over and over again.

We hadn’t driven long when we came across the sign “Leaving California” and a few seconds later, another one saying, “Welcome to Nevada.” I sighed, longing to go home again. It seemed we had left it years ago instead of just hours. I couldn’t remember ever being out of California. Now, here I was, running across the country to save my life.

That night, we found a hotel to stay at. With Mira’s gift, getting a room was a piece of cake. We only needed one room with two beds. Two of us would have to stay awake at all times. It was too dangerous for just one of us to stand guard. “Safety in pairs” was a motto they preached at Glendale.

“Kassia and I will take the first shift,” Daxton said as he pulled the thick curtains shut. I glanced over at him. Not that I minded, I was just surprised he was offering for me. “What? You hardly ever sleep at night anyway.”

A confused look crossed Mira’s face. “You don’t?”

“He’s right. I don’t sleep well.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“Nightmares.”

“Oh. You never told me.”

“You always look so peaceful when you’re sleeping.”

“Are you two sure you can keep your hands off of each other long enough to stand guard?” Zane asked.

Both of us shot him a look. “Zane!”

“Just wondering.”

“Shut up and go to bed!” I yelled, smiling at him.

Daxton and I sat at a table near the window. He had a deck of cards and some snacks. We played quietly until everybody was asleep. Then we talked a little bit, softly, so we didn’t wake the others.

“Have you thought about the future much?” he asked.

“You mean if we survive this?” I bit into a cookie.

“Yeah. What do you want out of life?”

I finished my cookie before answering. “Love. I want to be happily