The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

28: Show the World You're Worth Something

The day of the eclipse was finally upon them.

Ryan and Liam trudged behind the school. They weaved through red brambles and thicket. Golden streamers hung loosely next to the paper lanterns Ryan noticed earlier. They danced in the breeze like fairies, their glow faded in the sunlight.

It had been three weeks exactly since Ryan fell into the valley. The days went by faster than Ryan could keep up with them. A routine ingrained itself in her brain for the past week.

She would lock herself in the dorm, study the last page of the journal, then fall into a dreamless sleep. Time no longer held any meaning. Some days she would even forget to eat until Liam came in to check on her.

Release the celestials.

Like a song caught on repeat, that was the only thought that went through her brain.

She hadn't seen Zack since she yelled at him. Ryan didn't blame him, either. She wouldn't want to be around herself after she said something like that, either.

Her victory over Trophonius in the dream grew bittersweet as the days went by. Bits and pieces of the memory of Novis burning slowly surfaced after the dream passed.

He wasn't wrong. That was how she ended up on that clifface. The only thing he failed to mention was how that fire wasn't just her fault in the sense of failing to warn her neighbors, but her fault because she was the one who started it.

The memory flashed in her mind.

"Ryan, I've been so worried about you! Where have you been?"

Her aunt's voice sent a chill down her spine. She froze.

She promised herself she wouldn't go back. She couldn't go back, not after the car crash. Not after everything her aunt did to make her life hell.

"Ryan. We're going home. Hurry before you cause a scene."

Her aunt reached for Ryan's arm.

For a moment, it felt as though time had stopped. Fear spread across every nerve in her body, building up in her throat.

Her eyes stung, tears blocked her vision.

She couldn't go back, it simply wasn't an option.

Then, something happened that she couldn't have predicted in all of her dreams.

Her arm went alight with a white, fiery glow. She raised her arm in instinct, and laser-like beams fired from her palm, flying out in all directions.

Ryan looked to her arm in horror. She turned to her aunt, expecting to be torn apart.

Yet her aunt wasn't angry at all. Instead, her eyes were filled with terror.

She stumbled away from Ryan.

"Demon!" She wailed. "Demon!"

Ryan shook her head. The memory had gaps after that moment, but it wasn't hard to fill in the blanks. She caused that fire. It was her fault.

Everything gone. Her home, her friend, her chance at ever returning to something human and normal. Unless she released the celestials. She had no other choice.

They could fix her mess.

She ran up through the brush and caught up with Liam.

"Do you have anything in that journal about Trophonius?"

"Trophonius? Describe it for me."

Ryan described Trophonius to Liam. She conveniently avoided her visions and dreams. She trusted Liam, it wasn't like she had anyone else at this point, but that didn't mean she could tell him everything.