8 Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ash

Los Angeles, California

I spent the next week or so trying to scrounge up information about Sofya and the prophecy. There wasn't much to be found but I did discover a few details. I learned that Sofya would become very powerful once she reached adulthood and that I hadn't seen her aura before because someone had placed a seal over her, concealing her magic. Or at least most of it. It had worn off now, broken down over the years and I was the last straw when I kissed her and our auras mixed.

I decided to fly home, it was rare that I got the chance to. I glided effortlessly across the sky high above the clouds so no one could see me. I loved flying, it made me feel free even though I was anything but. When I spotted the property gates I descended and landed on the front steps of the house. I shifted back to my human form. When I opened the door I was greeted by a not-so-happy-looking Sam. I plastered a fake grin on my face.

"Hey, Sam," I said waltzing in.

"Ash, come here." He said. I reluctantly followed him into the kitchen and over to the bar table. Sam sat down and looked over at me. "Did you know about Sofyalisia?" He asked. Fear jolted through me, he found out. I kept my expression neutral, not betraying anything.

"Who?" I asked, playing dumb. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Nevermind. But that's the name of the girl in the prophecy, so look to see if she goes to your school." Sam demanded before exiting the room. I sighed in relief, he didn't know who she was, yet, but he would find out. Sam always had spies when he traveled, and they could be anywhere. I needed to be careful.

The next day I woke up exhausted and drained. I didn't want to go to school but I had to check on Sofya and pretend to do as Sam asked. I quickly got dressed and bolted out of the house before Sam could speak to me.

I walked into class a few minutes early and spotted Sofya in her usual seat, a worried expression on her face as she stared at me. My brows furrowed as I fought the urge to smack myself in the face, she should be more worried about herself than me, but she didn't know that. I hated this so much. I slumped into my seat and Sofya turned around to face me. Her mouth turned down in a worried pout.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." I said putting an end to the conversation. I knew I was being harsh but I did not need to become more attached than I already was. Sofya's frown deepened, but she turned back around not speaking another word to me. It pained me to do so, but it was for the best.

Sofya fell asleep halfway through class and I was surprised I hadn't. Sorina woke her up at the end of class and I walked away before they got up. As I was getting some books from my locker. I turned around to find an angry Sorina and Sara facing me. My eyebrows raised. What was this about?

"You, where in the world have you been?" Sara demanded. I frowned, why did they care I had been gone.

"You have made Sofya worried sick! She hasn't said anything but I can tell." Sorina exclaimed. Guilt gnawed my stomach. I didn't want Sofya to worry about me. This was all my fault. I should have stayed far away from her, done everything I could to not be in her life. She was getting pulled into my mess and I didn't know how to stop it. She was going to get killed because of me.

"Frankly, It's not any of your business what I do, but I will talk to her," I said before storming away. I knew I was being a jerk but time was running out.

The rest of the day went by in a blur but instead of going straight home after school I walked along the beach leaving my car in the school lot, I'd get it later. Once I was done pacing I flew home.

As I rounded the corner of the stairs to my room I ran right into someone and we crashed to the ground. I ended up on my back with them on top of me. I looked up and saw it was Sofya. What in the three worlds was she doing here?

"Ash?" She asked surprise etched on her face. Her thoughts rammed into my head. Owwww. Oh my god! What was he doing here?

"I live here," I said, answering her unspoken question. "What are you doing here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. What was she doing here? Sofya's mouth fell open, and I was just really confused and agitated. She needed to get out of here before Sam found us.

"You're Sam's son? Why haven't I seen you all this time? Did you know I lived here?" She asked. I stared at her, puzzled. Sam's son? I'd rather die.

"Wait, you are the foster kid we took in? Oh crap." I said, cursing. Sam knew then, he must have been testing me or something. But what I did know was that this was bad, extremely bad. Then I realized how rude I had just sounded, and Sofya's eyes were beginning to water. "NO!" I yelled out, not thinking. Then much quieter I said. "What I meant was you are nice to be around. I was just surprised that's all and I'm usually not around people much." I mumbled. "But then again you should just stay away from me," I said so quietly I hoped she hadn't heard.

I sighed and sat up, I glanced at Sofya, who ended up in my lap looking like a lost puppy. She was adorable, and a smile pulled at my lips. I wished I could just hold onto her forever, but I couldn't. I stood up and placed Sofya back on her feet. She looked up at me examining my face, searching my eyes. "Sofya, I need you to be careful," I said seriously then glanced around, pulling her around the corner. For a moment I wondered if I should just kill her here. I could send a shock of voltage through her and it'd be over. I wouldn't have to worry anymore. I almost laughed. I wouldn't be able to worry anymore, I'd be an apathetic monster just as Alek wanted, the perfect assassin. "You can't trust Sam," I said, and with that, I took off before Sam did discover us.

I went to the movie room and watched some random movie until I fell asleep. It was the weekend so I didn't need to worry about school at least. But one thousand bigger problems plagued my mind.

The next day went by pretty fast till I decided to go grab a snack from the kitchen. Sam was there looking like an over-boiled tea kettle. He had finally found out. I almost but out laughing like a lunatic.

He grabbed my arm and hauled me upstairs to the fourth floor and into his office. He slammed the door shut, and locked it. I gulped but kept my expression flat and cool. Sam's mouth twitched up into a vile smirk.

"You thought you could keep her hidden from me, didn't you? No, no, no, Ash I always find out everything. Why haven't you killed the girl yet? Hm? You know you have to, or you know what happens." Sam asked, his eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?" I asked, faking confusion.

"Don't lie to me, Ash. I know you know who she is." He warned. "You have to kill her!" Sam shouted furiously. I gritted my teeth.

"I'm working on it, I can't just do it randomly," I said, making up an excuse.

"Well, hurry it up you only have a few days before Alek expects us back. Also, you never told me it was the girl that was in the prophecy. You lied, you know what happens when you lie Ash. You get punished." Sam snarled. "She's even more powerful than I imagined. I can practically feel the power radiating off of her now that I know, she needs to die. Remember that Ash. You know the consequences." Sam said, a wicked smile erupting on his face. I bit back my fire that was threatening to burst from my hands, knowing what was to come. I slipped off my shirt and tried to calm down. Sam pulled out the whip and I got down on my knees.

I could feel the sting before it even came down. The leather digging into my flesh, blood running down my back and onto the floor. I refused to let myself show any emotion. But after twenty lashes, I couldn't suppress my screams anymore but I refused to cry. Agony, that was the one word I would use to describe it, pure agony. But I would gladly receive many, many more than see Sofya dead.

After ten more Sam stopped and I collapsed in a pool of my own blood.

"Well, I hope you learned your lesson, Ash. Never forget who you are." Sam snarled before stalking out of the room, slamming the door with a loud bang. Of course, I could never forget who I was, a slave to Alek, a mindless obedient servant. The silent assassin. A role I've had for many years and plenty more to come.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow come forth. The blob swaying across my vision. Great, I was hallucinating now.

"Ash?" A soft feminine voice whispered. Sofya. What the heck was she doing here? Good gods, was she here the whole time? I opened my eyes fully and lifted my head to see Sofya kneeling next to me.

"Sofya?" I asked my voice horse. Was she here? I hoped it wasn't her. Now I seriously hoped I was hallucinating. I didn't want her to see me like this. She'd be disgusted, repulsed. She'd think I was a coward.

"I'm here to help." She said. I shook my head and attempted to sit up, but I almost fell onto my back. Sofya pushed me upright making me lean on her. I didn't want her helping me, she needed to get out.

"No, you need to leave. He'll hurt you. Sofya leave, please." I begged. She shook her head. Oh, the stubborn little aemon, she needed to get out, not help me. Why couldn't she listen?

"No. You're coming with me." She said, grabbing ahold of my arm. "I can't lift all of you, so you will need to help. I'm going to take you to my room. I have a first aid kit, and don't ask why." She told me to glance around the room. I guess I had no say in this, or well she didn't care. This was seriously not the time to be selfless though, her life was in danger. But I didn't have the strength to make her leave. I could hardly walk, actually, I probably couldn't walk without help.

She released my arm and I pitched forward but she caught me in time and gently laid me on the ground. Then Sofya grabbed handfuls of tissue and pressed it against my back, mopping up the blood. I hissed in pain. She took hold of my arm and slung it around her shoulders.

"You ready?" she asked. I nodded, bracing myself. "Ok, one, two, three." She said, heaving me to my feet.

We managed to stumble out into the hall and down the stairs. We finally got to her room and she led me to the bathroom. Sofya had me sit down in the tub, then she rushed out of the room returning with a first aid kit. I still wondered why she had that, but she didn't want me to ask about it so I wouldn't, for now. Sofya ran a washcloth under the water and got the antiseptic cloth. Carefully she started washing the blood away. I gritted my teeth, to keep from shouting out in pain.

Once she washed all the blood off, she began rubbing a cream across my back. I bet she was repulsed. I kept my head facing the bottom of the tub. After the cream, she got bandages and wrapped my back up.

When she was done with that she left and when she came back she was dressed in a t-shirt and plaid pajama shorts with had a bundle of clothes in her arms. She smiled at me and held up the clothes.

"I brought you some clothes to change into," she said, placing them on the side of the tub.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome." She mumbled, backing away to leave.

"Sofya?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for everything. I'm sorry you had to see this. I'm so sorry about the situation. I placed you in" I said, averting my eyes from hers, looking down at my lap in shame. The next thing I knew, Sofya was in front of me with her hand under my jaw so that I had no choice but to look at her.

"Don't you dare apologize," She said frowning. "Don't you dare apologize for something that's in no way your fault. I don't know what you were talking about with Sam, but Ash we need to get out of here. You can't live like this. I've been through abuse and it's not fun, but one thing I learned is that it was never my fault and that I shouldn't have let it happen. I know there is more you're not telling me, but whatever you do you can't live like this." She said, then stepped back, walking out of the room slamming the door shut. I stared at the door in shock.

A jumble of thoughts and choices ran through my head, and I finally decided. I wasn't going to kill Sofya, for obvious choices but in practicality, she could save thousands of lives if she destroyed Alek, including mine. I would do what's right. I would save my brother but I would also save everyone else, it was a risk I needed to take. I had to tell Sofya the truth. She was my only hope. There was always another choice. I would pick the right one.

I quickly got changed and left the bloody clothes in the tub then hobbled into Sofya's room. She was in bed reading a book, Warcross. I smirked, I had just finished that book. I collapsed onto the bed, my back throbbing with pain.

"Come here." She said, scooting over and pulling me next to her.

"I promise to tell you everything tomorrow," I whispered. Sofya looked at me in surprise.

"Really?" She asked, excitement flashing through her eyes. I nodded. "Do you want me to help you back to your room?" She asked. I examined her expression, I had mastered the art of learning people's emotions based on what their actions or expressions showed, she was scared and didn't want me to leave. She didn't want to be alone. I had been planning to leave but I'd stay. Truly, I was glad she wanted me here because I wanted to stay. I wanted to protect her, be near her, it calmed me. It made me feel free even if it was only pretend.

"Is it ok if I stay here?" I asked. Sofya's mouth popped open in shock. I guess she hadn't expected me to ask that. I could see it in her face, she was used to disappointment.

"Yeah. But I'm exhausted. Can you reach the light?" She asked. I nodded and Sofya latched onto my arm as I turned it off. The room enclosed in darkness, but my night vision kicked in and I could see as clear as day.

"You can let go of my arm now," I said with mock seriousness, sinking under the covers. She quickly released my arm.

"Sorry, Goodnight." She muttered in apology, laying down as well.

"I was kidding. Silly little aemon."

"Oh, wait what's an aemon." She said her voice piqued with curiosity.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," I replied, letting her wonder for now. "Sofya, at your old foster home, were you abused?" I asked in the quiet of the darkness. The thought of anyone causing her harm made me see red. I saw her grimace and I knew something had happened. I knew the feeling and it wasn't something I talked about, I wasn't sure if she'd tell me.

"Yes." She said softly, not elaborating. I didn't push her if she didn't want to tell me I respected that.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. She shook her head.

"It's fine. How long has Sam been, um, whipping you?" She asked, her voice filled with sorrow. I was silent for a moment, not wanting to remember all the times, all the years of being a prisoner, still being a prisoner.

"Eleven years, It's been eleven years now," I replied. I could feel the sorrow radiating off of her. I wanted so badly to wrap my arms around her and pull her to me, but I had already gotten too close and I couldn't let her inside. I had to help her get away, and I needed her help to save my brother, to defeat Alek. But after that, I needed to stay away from her, especially in terms of the prophecy. She technically was supposed to be with my brother, and I didn't need to stick around to see that. I had to let her go, not that I was worthy of having her in the first place. Soon enough, her breathing evened out and she was asleep. If she learned the truth she'd hate me and the thought of that was almost too much to bear.