Chapter Eight
The door opened some time later, and I woke up in an instant. I was on my feet and ready to fight off my kidnappers before I realized that it was the boy that had been hanging out with Tanya and Holly earlier. This was my first good look at him and unlike Finn this guy didn’t seem very dangerous.
He looked to be about sixteen and just under six feet tall. His hair was curly, short, and dark red. His eyes were a dark green color, his cheekbones were sharp, and his chin was pointed, giving him an almost feminine appearance. He had a thin build, but I could see the ropey muscle beneath his shirt when he moved. “I’m supposed to take you back to the council room. They need to speak with you. Immediately.”
I followed him out the door, suddenly more nervous and exhausted than ever before. If the clock on the wall above the double doors to the council room was correct, it was already eight thirty in the morning. I’d been here for five hours! I’d gotten very little sleep–none of it restful–and I’d learned so much in the last twenty-four hours that it made my head hurt just thinking about it.
It’s about to get worse…
I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. It was just a gut feeling I had. It was an instinct, deep inside, telling me that something terrible was about to happen. I had the strangest urge to turn around and run away from these double doors and what was waiting inside, but I couldn’t. So, I squared my shoulders, threw open the doors, and strode into the room, hoping the council members didn’t realize how terrified I was.
Marcel Trent was in the middle of the high table, and he looked at me with interest, which scared me more than anything else that had happened so far. He watched me approach the table, and I made sure to stop a respectful distance away. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Finn walk into the room and stand in the corner, buttoning his shirt and trying to smooth out his messy hair.
I wonder what he was doing. I thought sarcastically.
He winked at me and I turned away, disgusted. The Council members pretended not to notice him, but I thought I saw a bit of anger on Lisa Valentine’s face. She quickly covered it, due to the obviously serious nature of the meeting, and she peered down at me. “Veronica Parker, we have something to tell you. Something that has caused us great discomfort in the past few hours. Something about your mother you may wish you’d never found out.”
I straightened. “My mother?” I couldn’t believe it. These people knew her. “What about her?”
Lisa folded her hands. “When I was searching through your mind for any sign of evil, I stumbled across something very…sinister. Something you aren’t even aware of.”
“How? If I’m not aware of it–”
“When I was in your mind, I cast another spell, one that would allow me to peer briefly into your future. It wasn’t what I found, but what I didn’t find that has me so worried.”
“What didn’t you find?”
“Any trace of a future.”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Finn. He was frowning, and his pale blue eyes were looking at me like I was some kind of freak, which probably wasn’t very good. I turned my attention away from his piercing stare and back to the Council members. “Is that bad?” I asked. Maybe her spell just didn’t work right, and that’s why she can’t find my future.
“The only reason a person would not have a future is if they were dead,” Lisa said, looking at me gravely. “Veronica, at one point or another in your life, you died, and you should have stayed dead.”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m not dead. I’m standing right here!”
“Veronica, your mother was a necromancer, just like you. We did some digging, and we found your hospital records. When your mother was seven months pregnant with you, she found out that your heart had stopped. You were stillborn, but your mother used her power to bring you back to life. Because of her power, you continued to grow inside of her and, two months later, you were delivered happy and seemingly healthy.”
I was stillborn and she brought me back to life? No, it’s not possible!
What these people were telling me was so horrible, and so disgusting, and so wrong that I just wanted to curl up into a ball and die…again. Sweat broke out over my forehead, my eyesight started to blur, and I started to sway gently back and forth. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t hear anything other than the rapid beating of my own heart. It was strong, fast, and healthy–not the heart of a dead person.
I’m a monster…
Everything went black again, and I crashed to the floor of the council meeting room.