Beyond (51 page)

It looked like a tornado and fire had hit
th e place , as nothing but mostly chopped up woods and black ashes scattered throughout.
R
elieved, everyone let their guard down and relaxed, but only Claudia looked a little drained.
She sensed Michael st anding behind he r, watching her every move.
When she turned to the right , Austin lit a warm , sly smile. She didn ’
t know what to do as everyone else seemed comfortable with each other.

Avalon went straight to Davin, trying to apologize , explain ing her side of the story. Claudia listened from a distance , exhausted , and didn’t know why everyone else seemed fine except for her. The only explanation she could think of was that Gamma had ma de her think she was full y human .
That was the reason why she would never be a full venator, the reason why she needed some sleep, the reason why sometimes she felt the need to eat, the reason why she didn ’
t heal as fast as the others, and the reason why she w ould always feel like she was mor e human than a venator .

“
Claudia, ”
Katherine called , breaking her thought s . Claudia took several steps, winced and stopped. Michael and Austin raced to her. There was a big, deep gash on her side about a foot long, where her shirt had been torn. Blood had already seep ed down from her wound. Without thinking, Michael pulled his shirt off and dab bed the blood.

Claudia
flushed and tried hard not to stare , but she got a glimpse of his hard abs and the curve of his masculine chest .
It was even more difficult to control her blushing cheeks when she extended her arms out to grip Michael ’
s shoulder for support.
He at flushed through her , making her hot and dizzy.

When Claudia’s wound closed, Katherine spoke
.
“
I ’
m afraid this was a decoy, to get us away from what Aliah is doing. For those of you who don ’
t know, Aliah’s soul has taken over Callum .
He can only go to the places beyond where Callum is allowed as an Earth angel. It ’
s a good thing Earth angels are forbidden to wander to the places t he Twelve reside.

“
Thank goodness he can ’
t go to Nubilus City, Crossroads and Island of Eden, but without a doubt, he is and has been making his way to the human world. He has already wiped out many towns, turning humans into demons. We must stop him , or he will take over this world we work so hard to protect. I ’
ve already asked the o thers to regroup and meet me a t Nubi lus City. We need to strategi ze and bring Aliah down.

“
Avalon, when this is over, you ’
ll have to be on tr ia l with the Tw elve. But I need you now. You ’
ve proven your loyalty today . We ’
ll give you a chance. For now you are pardon ed .
”
Katherine turned to Claudia.
“
Claudia, here we are again. I need you to think of a way to get rid of Aliah once and for all.
”

C
laudia caught Davin ’
s eyes. Davin vigorously shook his head and mouthed, “
No.
”

Instead of telling Katherine the truth
, that she already had a plan , she said, “
Yes. I ’
ll try to think of something.
”

With that, Katherine took off
and t he rest followed. At the same time, Austin grabbed Claudia ’
s left hand and Michael took her righ t.
Claudia was yanked in the middle. When she didn ’
t move, they both turned to look and realized what had happen ed .

“
Awkward, ”
Holly mumbled.

“
You can say that again, ”
Michelle seconded .

“
Thank you, but I don’t need my hand s held . I can get there myself, ”
Claudia said as politely as possible as she kept her eyes to the ground. She didn ’
t want to look at them, afraid to see the look s in their eyes. Then she took off.

Chapter
3
3

Claudia landed in Nubilus City. Heading
straight for the training room where t hey usually m e t, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Elissa.

“
Claudia, ”
she called with panic in her tone , and squeeze d her tightly.
Elissa ’
s hair smelled like burnt woods and her face was dirty , as if she painted her face with black ashes. She looked tired and worn.

“
Hey, Elissa.
”
Claudia pulled away when Elissa finally let go.
“
Are you okay?
”

“
Yes…no…I mean…it ’
s hell out there. I mean…it ’
s really bad. The demons are taking over. I was at a small town called Springfield and the whole town is doom ed . So are the other ones we were sent to after that.
We need to stop hi m or els e it will be end of the human race , and for us all.
”

Claudia closed her eyes briefly, coming to terms with what she had to do. She was the only one who could do it. Her heart felt heavy and she suddenly felt drained. She had failed once before, but now she had a chance to make things right.

Claudia pu
lled Elissa to the side .
“
Listen, ”
she whispered, her hand on Elissa’s shoulders, looking squarely in her eyes .
“
Have you seen Callum?
Do you know where he might be?
”

“
I ’
m not sure where he is. His demons are all over the world, taking over the small town s first and then moving inward to the citie s.
He could be anywhere. Why? Do you have a plan?
”

Claudia didn
’
t answer.
“
Where were you last?
”

“
A town called Lakewood, but you won ’
t find anything useful there. It ’
s burnt down. That ’
s what they do. They take the human souls and their bodies and burn down their home s . It ’
s like the evil monsters are making Earth their home, a living hell.
”
Elissa eyes became glassy and full of fear as she trembled with her last word s .

“
I ’
ll be back.
Don’t tell anyone you spoke to me,” Claudia requested.

“
Where are you going?
”

“
I ’
m not sure.
P
lease …
I ’
ve never asked you for anything.
”

“
Okay, ”
Elissa nodded and watched C
laudia transport to somewhere unknown.

The
A lpha team and the alkins stood in front as the rest of the team stood behind them. Katherine waited patiently as she checked off the names of the groups mentally in her mind—at least the groups that had survived. When the door cracked open, thinking it was Claudia , Katherine gave a sigh of relief, but became startled again when Elissa entered instead. Claudia should have been here by now and yet there was no sign of her.

“
Have you seen Claudia ?”
Michael asked Katherine, still standing in his line formation.

“
I left first. Where is she?
”

Having no one know where she was, everyone was just as puzzled. A loud commotion erupt ed a s Michael headed back to where Elissa stood and tugged her out the door.
“
Excuse me. Have you seen Claudia?
”

“
Hmmm…I…
.
”
S
he lost her word s thinking how handsome he looked , and suddenly became nervous.

“
You do know who Claudia is , don ’
t you?
”

Elissa nodded.

“
You were the last to enter. Please tell me where she went. You do know I can make you tell me the truth , don ’
t you? I ’
m pretty sure you wouldn ’
t want me to embarrass you.
”
Michael closed the gap between them even more . His eyes demanded an answer right away.

Elissa didn
’
t want to be embarrassed. After all, she was the Beta team leader.
“
Please don ’
t tell Claudia that I told you. I made a promise, but I don ’
t feel right keeping it.
”

“
I won ’
t. I promise.
”

Before she could answer
, the A lpha team and the alkins stood behind Michael , waiting for her answer.

Elissa swallowed a big lump as all accusing eyes set on her, waiting for her answer.
“
She told me not to tell. I ’
m not sure where she is. All I know is that she went to look for Callum.
”

“
What?
”
Austin bellowed.
“
Is she crazy?
Ever since she started remembering, she ’
s been doing a lot of crazy things. We gotta find her.
”