Out of the Darkness

157

Kat looked up like she had been in a trance and shook her head. "Yeah," she said, dropping the ring into my outstretched palm. Then I understood what she meant. I felt like I could do anything and that it wouldn't matter because I would be safe. I could jump from an airplane, with no parachute, and not be harmed. I knew how irrational that was, but my body felt strong and protected. I vaguely wondered why I hadn't felt any of these things when Amethyst had first given me the gems, but I let the thought leave my mind. It didn't matter. This was the answer. I slid the necklace over my head, and let it drop down onto my chest. The gem felt heavy but comforting. I slid the ring onto my finger and, again, watched the light catch the blue and white streaks. Then I remembered something. I looked back up at Anna, quizzically. "It burned you?" I asked. She looked scared, but nodded. "I don't know why...does that mean...that I am a danger to you?" I furrowed my brows, thinking hard. Is that what it meant? Anna had said that she was being watched at all times, but I didn't see how that could be dangerous, unless we spoke about our plans. I guess we had already done that, but I had been saying for days that I had to go back to that house. Lilith had probably already known that. "I don't know," I replied, softly, holding her gaze. Her eyes glittered with tears, before she looked down at the floor. "I think I'm going to go. Let you guys talk about whatever you need to talk about." "Anna, wait, you don't-" I started, but she faded from my sight. "Damn it," I muttered. "Do you think she's a danger?" Sam asked, quizzically. I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Why else would the ring burn her? It doesn't make sense though." "What do you mean?" Katrina whispered. I felt like she was wishing that we hadn't said anything to her about Anna, at all. She looked scared. "How can Anna be dangerous? I thought you guys said she was a...well, a good spirit. Were you wrong? Do you think she'll harm us? She doesn't seem like the type. She's so...normal." "I don't think that she's purposely dangerous, no. She told us that we couldn't talk about our plans or anything important around her. Said that Lilith was listening. She's never done anything to hurt anyone though. That's not who she is," I answered. Sam cleared his throat, so I looked over to him. "That's not entirely true though, is it? Anna has hurt a couple of people. She's caused violent things to happen. Thankfully, nothing serious happened, but that doesn't mean that it can't," he replied, holding my gaze with sorrow in his eyes. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong...but I couldn't. I wanted to say that he was overreacting. That Anna didn't purposely hurt anyone, that it was an accident. While that may have been true, it was still a fact that Anna had hurt someone. Two someones actually. Addy and myself. I remembered the way the waves got violent and crazy, knocking me towards the stone table that sat in our pool. I remembered the explosive pain, when my mouth connected with the table. The way the blood dripped down over my chin, from my busted lip. Then again, when Addy screamed and said that someone pulled her hair. Sure, it all could've been worse...but what was stopping it from happening again. Or from being worse the next time. I wanted to believe that there wouldn't be a next time, but honestly, how was I supposed to truly know that? Especially, if Lilith was gaining some sort of control over her. I sighed, holding Sam's gaze. "You're right. She did accidently hurt me and Addy." I looked from him to Katrina. "She got angry, or jealous, watching us the night of the small pool party. The night Addy showed up. Anna didn't mean too, but she was the one that caused me to bust my lip. That same night, Addy had someone pull her hair pretty hard. Neither were super serious, but that doesn't mean that worse couldn't happen. This is new territory for her, and she didn't really know how to control things then. She's better now, more in control. But..." I trailed off, not really wanting to voice what I already knew. "She may be compromised. Lilith, the demon witch, Satan's number one bitch, is watching her. She's using her to spy on us. Lilith is deadly and powerful. She even had control of me, for a short time in the demon realm. Still not sure why. This is the main reason why we didn't want to tell anyone, Kat. You could be in danger, now. We have no idea what is going to happen, or how to stop any of it...but we will try our best. We'll keep you safe." Kat folded her lips inside her mouth and looked from me to Sam, her eyes starting to water. "I won't let anything happen to you," Sam whispered, taking her hand in his. She took a shaky breath, and gave him a small smile. "It's not me I'm worried about," she replied, quietly. He didn't say anything, just pulled her into his arms. I knew why he didn't say anything. Because we couldn't. This was going to be one of the most dangerous things we had ever done. I felt the resignation in my bones. I wasn't going to get better, so going to the house was a must. Soon, before I got worse and was unable to do anything. "Tomorrow?" I asked Sam. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, his chin on top of Kat's head. When he opened them again, I saw the same resignation mirrored in his gaze. "Tomorrow," he confirmed. "I already have as much protection as we can get." I raised my eyebrows and looked at him questioningly. He shrugged. "I knew we were going back, so I went ahead and ordered what I could. I even went to see Amethyst, by myself, to see if there was anything else she could help us with." He pulled back from Kat and reached inside the top of his shirt. I watched as he pulled a thin gold chain out with a black gem inside of an open locket. It was the same as mine.