Sacrilege (Theo Raeken) [2]

hell

"I have to tell you something."

I stare at Isaac blankly, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't want to talk." In all the pent up anger, it becomes hard to direct it and so I find myself profusely furious at Isaac for nothing at all. "Can you leave?"

He winces. "Please," he says. "Arden."

"I—"

"I think I know something about Theo."

I feel my blood run cold. For a short time I can barely move. I'm not sure what to do. Should I scream? Should I cry? I open my mouth to speak, but close it again quickly, not sure what to say. For the first time in weeks there is that little bit of pain residing. Don't get your hopes up, a little voice at the back of my head warns. I can't help it, though. Sometimes there's nothing you can do but hope.

After all, what else do I have?

"Can I come in?" Isaac asks. I jolt out of my reverie and offer up a shaky curt nod.

I turn on my heel slowly. My head feels like it's about to burst as I walk down the hall with timid but determined steps. I motion to the table I'm standing next to. I clear my throat, staring at the tall beta. "Sit down." My voice doesn't sound like it comes from a weak, broken girl. I sound like myself.

He wordlessly pulls out a chair and plops down in it, leaning over the table. He presses his lips together in a firm line, clearly waiting for me to begin the conversation. I place my hands on the table, giving him a pointed stare. "So?" I say.

"Where do I beg—"

"Anywhere, goddammit, Isaac!" I interrupt impatiently. The nerves rack me and I can feel my temper bubbling up inside of me.

"Okay," he mumbles with a subtle dry humour. "Damn, woman." He takes a deep breath. "So, first thing's first: Theo's not dead." I feel my heart leap in my chest and I open my mouth to speak, but Isaac cuts in. "I mean, not technically. Not permanently...possibly. What I meant to say was that Theo's in hell."

I knit my eyebrows together. "Wait, as in hell hell?"

"Well, he certainly wasn't gonna go to heaven," he says. "No offence."

"Isaac," I begin, "you truly think I believed he was an angel?" I gnaw on my lip, pausing momentarily. "But hell is real," I mutter to myself before looking back up at the werewolf. "What about heaven? No, what I really want to know is what about God? Is He real?"

"Well," he says slowly, as if thinking about how to put his next words. "I don't know. All I know is that there's an afterlife and Theo is in the part of it which can be interpreted as, well, hell." He lets out a nervous chuckle. "I mean, he was a terrible person from what I heard so I guess it isn't that surprising. But I've been investigating, you know — about what Kira did. People told me that it's not impossible, that people have done it before."

"Kira did it," I say matter-of-factly. "It's not impossible."

"I understand that," he says. "But what I'm saying is that people have done it before. And in those few rare cases...some people have gotten back those people."

My throat goes dry and I go rigid, barely able to form proper words. "Wh-What?" I breathe. "How?"

He looks up at me, fiddling with his hands nervously. "Look, I don't know exactly —"

I grit my teeth. "What do you mean you don't know?" I demand. I need answers. I need to know how to find Theo right now.

"Well..." he begins. "Someone told me that there could possibly be a witch capable of getting him back."

I stand up straight, pacing around aimlessly. "Well? What's their name? Where are they?"

He lets out another one of those nervous laughs and I know that what he's about to say isn't going to be exactly helpful. "Uh... I don't know?"

"What?" I ask, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "So what do you know, Isaac?"

He raises his eyebrows, shrugging. "Someone told me that there was a way. I mean, I don't have much more information than that, Arden. I don't know what to tell you."

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, sighing. "So you come here with false hope and no place to start?"

"Not necessarily," he says. He stands up out of his seat. "I think I know someone who can help."

I gnaw on my lip, folding my arms over my chest. "And who's that, Isaac?"

"Kai," he says.

"Wait," I say. "You mean Kai Parker?"

"Yes," he says. "Offensive sense of humour, psychopath, cupcake lover. The list could go on." He pauses. "Look, he was the one that told me there was a way to get Theo back."

My mouth drops open. "Kai told you to tell me? Why didn't he say it to me himself?"

Isaac raises his eyebrows. "He doesn't want to die," he says. "You think he's going to meet up with you when Lucien is still out there?"

"And you?" I question him. "You want to die?"

"No," he assures me. "I've laid low. Unlike Kai." He pauses. "I'm not in danger yet."

"So when will you be in danger?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"Never mind that," he says dismissively. "Go pack your bags. We're leaving."

I raise my eyebrows, folding my arms over my chest. "And why exactly are we doing that?"

The corners of his mouth upturn into a small smile. "To see our favourite witch, of course."

***
Hello beautifuls, I'm so sorry about the delay on the first chapter but I've been going through a lot recently. I was supposed to post this a week or two ago, but I've been feeling really anxious lately and I've just been trying to focus on getting better. I hope you enjoy this chapter (it gets more exciting dw) and I have so many ideas I can't wait to incorporate into this story!! Xx Georgina