Small but Divine (Old)

Chapter 30 - Tea

Rana's POV

The numbness that I feel lightens me. I am not alive, yet I feel more than most. There's a pain around my neck and it's hard to breathe. This is normal.

I hear a familiar sound. It's the jingle of the earth's dark angel. A nightmare. I see a black butterfly. It flies towards me, landing on my shoulder. One would expect butterfly kisses, but this one is a vampire. An omen of death.

I know I will not like what I see.

I see silhouettes. I hear screams. I recognize each one. "Please don't go," I whisper, praying for it to be a dream. Nothing happens. One falls. Then another. Then two more. I see a fire. Two silhouettes stand in front of it, braving hell. The flame grows, and one runs away. The other stays. I know who she is. Then she turns and I see her face.

Verity...

~

Classtime - Monday - Diviner's Classroom - Time: 7:12am

June 9

Class the next morning was hell. Aria was gone, Bruce was missing, Lanny had called in sick, though I knew that damn well that he wasn't. Kip was gone and hadn't called, but I knew that she was likely in her room if not with Lanny.

As if to make me a hypocrite, I showed up late for class. Everyone else was already seated, nobody in their uniform except for Avon.

I stumbled up to the front podium, starting my attendance. As I went through the list, I talked. "There's been another vision," I announced, "but I don't want to talk about it until everyone's here. Now where in God's name is Bruce? Has anybody seen him?"

The way that Blaze immediately averted her eyes made me suspicious. However, I decided that arguing with her was pointless, so I decided to question Vane, who had obviously not been paying attention.

"Vane? Have you seen Bruce anywhere?"

He seemed to think for a moment. "Bruce? I haven't seen him since the mansion."

The class erupted into a series of mumbles, most along the lines of, "oh shit."

I raised a brow. "You brought Bruce to the Garland mansion?"

"Yeah," Vane continued, "he was there with us, but we left him when we split into groups." Then, realizing what he was doing, tried to cover it up. "I mean- I'm sure he got out fine on his own. I'm pretty sure I saw him this morning, and he was definitely there for supper las-"

"Enough," I cut him off. "Vane, thank you. You've been most helpful."

I turned back to the rest of the class...

...and I lost it.

"YOU GUYS LEFT BRUCE AT THE GARLAND MANSION ALONE?!"

"Rana, I swear we didn't mean to-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DID AND DID NOT MEAN TO DO! YOU WENT TO THE GARLAND MANSION AGAINST MY ORDERS, AND YOU CAN'T EVEN BOTHER TO LOOK OUT FOR YOUR CLASSMATES! ESPECIALLY IN A TIME LIKE THIS! THERE IS SOMEONE WHO IS TRYING TO KILL ALL OF YOU, SO IT'S CRUCIAL FOR YOU GUYS TO BE LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER!"