Beyond (52 page)

“
Thanks, Elissa, ”
Michael said calmly.
“
I won ’
t tell.
”

“
What do we do?
”
Caleb asked, panicking.
“
Callum could be anywhere. Where do we start looking for her?
”

Davin was too quiet. He was the only one who knew Claudia ’
s plan. He never thought she would actually go through with it. In a way he blame d himself. He should have been more stern with her , or at least have told Michael. Blaming himself, he thought he should have been more cautious and watch ed her every move so she wouldn ’
t do something stupid like this. She had agreed she wouldn ’
t go forth with it , and stupidly he ’d believed her , or at least he ’d wanted to believe her.

“
We need to f ind her now.
”
Davin ’
s tone was urgent .

“
Maybe I can help, ”
Elissa said.
“
She wanted to know where I was last. I told her at a town called Lakewood. It ’
s further north from Springfield and close to the mountains.
”

Michael and Vivian
’
s eyes met. She knew what he wanted.
Vivian had a special gift. She could track any human being if asked.
Vivian had tracked Claudia before. Davin, Caleb and Michael waited while Vivian focused intently on Claudia .
“
It ’
s not easy like the last time, ”
Vivian said with her eyes closed.
“
She ’
s not fully human.
It ’
s very hazy. I ’
m not absolutely sure.
”

“
I believe in you. Let ’
s go. We can ’
t lose even a second.
”
Michael turned to Elissa.
“
Go tell Katherine.
”
With that, they were gone.

Chapter
3
4

Instead of going to Lakewood
where Elissa said she was stationed last , Claudia followed her intuition and head north from there . When she arrived, her heart was not prepared for what she saw . Though her mind had envisioned Elissa ’
s description of a town being doomed, seeing it with her own eyes was a thousand time s worse.

Claudia stood in the core of the town
, and all she could see was fire scorching around her, flaming through houses, stores and everything it touch ed . Though her necklace had already turned black, she didn ’
t need to be warned by it. It was obvious who had done this.

If she were human, she would feel
pa in from the extreme heat and the toxic air, but she could bear it. Seeing a minivan, she flattened herself to the side of the car, trying not to be seen. To her right, she spotted demons yanking the doors of f a car and tearing the seat as if something valuable was inside it. To her left, she saw a few demons ripping through the roof and windows of a house. Then she heard a loud scream. There were humans inside. Without hesitation she willed her bow and dashed through the open front door.

Six demons surrounded a mother and a child.
The mother, b ewildered by something she had only seen in the movies, froze with her child standing in front of her , protected by her arms.

Claudia bent down with one knee on the beige carpet. She pulled out her dagger and flung it at the closest demon. From the power of the crystal, it sizzled to nothing but ashes, leaving the dagger behind on the floor. With her bow, she shot two o n their back s .

One leaped behind the sofa to
hide and a couple dashed for her. With a twist of her wrist, she pulled her right hand back. Right on target, the silver flames blew away the two demons with one blow. The one behind the sofa sprung forward . The little girl gasped and pointed at the demon . Just in time, Claudia duck ed as the demon swung at her. Claudia ’
s bow plunged through its gut, leaving black ashes on the ground.

Claudia
had never felt better. The rush from her energy, strength and power was beyond anything she ’d felt before. Sure, she ’d fought alongside friends, but this was the first time she ’d t aken on the demons by herself. She felt stronger, faster and more agile than she had felt just days ago.

“
Where are your car keys?
”
Claudia asked, placing the dagger bac k inside her boot.

The mother looked at her with eyes blankly opened wi de and her lips tightly shut.
Claudia wondered if that was how the helpless surrendered to these monsters. They could not defend themselves ; t hey had no powers , nor did their strength match the demons. With a no win situation, their mind simply g ave up in defeat.

In
a hurry, Claudia bent down to the little girl. She must have been only five years old, but her glowing blue eyes and golden locks reminded her of someone.
“
Do you know where your mommy ’
s car keys are? I ’
m here to help you get away from these monsters, but we need to hurry.
”

With a nod she ran into a room and came back with a purse. She pulled out a set of keys.

“
Good. Where is your car?
”

“
In there, ”
she pointed to the garage.

Claudia guided
them to the car. She helped the little girl get into her booster seat and buckled her in . Mom still looked lost , standing a t the exact spot she ’d left her. Not knowing how to snap her out of it, she decided to try talking to her in her mind. She ’d done it before; she knew she could do it again.

Please get in the car and drive away. Your life is in danger.

The mother didn
’
t move . She co ntinued to stare at Claudia with a blank expression.

Your daughter will die if you don ’
t drive away , s he tried again .

The woman
blinked, shook her head and got in the driver ’
s seat.
Knowing her daughter was in danger, she snapped out of it. There was nothing like a mother ’
s love and protection instinct for her child.
Disregarding Claudia, she pressed the button for the garage to open.

The opening of the garage door was like opening the gates to hell. All Claudia could see were the blistering flames of red and orange as the black heavy smoke blocked their view.

“
Go!
”
Claudia yelled.

The mom pressed the pedal and
spe d away.

Claudia
had saved two l ives so far , but there were many more. She heard the screams again from a distan ce . Her plans were to find Callum, but she couldn ’
t just leave. She had to find a way to help every one of them if she could.

Peering out from the side of the garage, she
estimated the distance to where the scream was coming from. Just as she was about to take off, a burning sensation coursed through her soul , and she could feel the evil that it carried. Claudia backed away , her heart pound ing from surprise and fear. She wanted to take care of this matter once and for all, but seeing him right in front of her was terrifying , m ore terrifyin g then she thought it would be , because she knew Callum was really Aliah.

“
Claudia, I knew you would find me. You ’
ve come to join my cause. Don ’
t you like the way I ’
ve re decorated this town ?
It feels just like…home.
”

Callum
’
s tone was sickening, making her heart burn with hatred. But it really wasn ’
t Callum anymore. He was forever gone , lost to the darkness. The angel in front of her sounded more like Aliah from what she could remember. His tone was deeper, filled with wickedness that made her tremble. How c ould God ’
s first angel be this evil?
“
I ’
ve been looking for you , because I ’
ve decided I want my memories back. I want to eat the apple.
”

Callum
’
s eyes glistened.
“
I believe that will be the smartest thing you ’
ll ever do.
”

“
I agree, ”
Claudia said with a sly smile.
“
But I don ’
t want to do it here. I ’d like to go somewhere else .
”
She wasn ’
t going to let him dictate where her plan would happen.

“
You don ’
t like my home?
”

“
No. I prefer peace and quiet and less…
smok e . How about there ?”
Claudia pointed toward the mountain , waving the smoke away from her.

“
I trust you ’
ll be there…alone?
”

With a nod, Claudia took off and Aliah leisurely followed in pursuit.

The
mountaintop was peaceful.
There was no sign of any demon activit y , but it was evident from the ominous black , thick clou ds that evil was near. Then from a distance, like a vision from her worst nightmare , Callum appeared , gloating , with demons by his side .