Chapter 29

The next few weeks passed quickly she and Benjamin continued to date in secret meeting at the beach or some private place from his past that he wanted to share with her. They picnicked at an old lighthouse that was almost broken down and ready to be demolished but had an amazing view of the ocean. He snuck into her room after her parents went to sleep so they could lay in each other’s arms and whisper sweet nothings. Jade loved the way his eyes softened when they met hers, how he would gently brush her cheek with his thumb, holding her face as though it were the most fragile thing in the universe. He shared his travels with her, the years he spent in Asia, and how scared he had been on his first safari before he realized he could do more damage to the animals than they could to him.
Benjamin shared his art the most personal part of him. He had sold most of it but showed Jade some of his favorites, models in Italy, architecture from England, the natural beauty of the Midwest, and best of all, his family and the friends he had met along the way. Each drawing told a different story, a different side of him. She could tell which aspect of his personality fit with each work of art, and it was more intimate than talking could have ever been.
Sometimes, she wished, she could let Aiden in on some of these private moments when Benjamin seemed more human and vulnerable. Maybe then he would understand, but ever since the night outside her front yard, Aiden hadn’t even spoken of Benjamin, and Jade wouldn’t be the one to break the silence.
In school she stayed around Aiden, eating with her friends and pairing up with him in class. If he caught her and Benjamin swapping secret glances or quietly talking his features would harden and his eyes would cloud over with frustration. She needed him as her best friend, so she would quickly pull away, only to hurt Benjamin in the process.
Aiden continued to train her, teaching her precise control of her powers, like where to aim at a demon to do the most damage or how to conserve her energy while still firing a deadly shot. She was excited to learn more about her heritage and the Seraphina society. But all the while, in the back of her thoughts lurked dark imaginings about Skye and whatever she had planned.
One night, when these disturbing thoughts kept her from sleep, Jade noticed the lump under her bed. She reached down, confused, only to find the old, dusty book she had stolen from Aiden that she had completely forgotten about. Eager for more information than Aiden was sharing, she turned on her reading light and settled into her cushy pillows.
For an entire week, during her free moments without either guy, she read nonstop. The first few chapters talked of the history of the Seraphina society, similar to what Aiden had already told her about the split between the Hierophant and the Vindicators, how the difference of opinions began, and how a natural genetic mutation formed the two different powers and factions. The writer also discussed differences of opinions on demons, whether or not they had souls, and one historian believed that those in the ancient society when Vindicators and Hierophants had been born like Jade, had special powers of healing and knew the secret to saving a human's soul from the demon within. Jade believed it, even though the other historians in the book discarded the theory, saying, like Aiden, that no demon in history had been saved.
Jade got to the fourth chapter, all about her kind, the mix that commonly meant chaos and destruction. She turned the page, excited to get cracking, but the chapter was missing. She skipped to the final chapter, about ancient prophecies, and those pages were missing too. The only evidence the chapters existed was the fringed edges to pages cut cleanly out with scissors or a knife.
She was furious... she wanted to know what this group of historians gathered had to say. She felt deep in her soul that something had been revealed about her true calling not for destruction, but for life. There was something in the prophecies that would help her, she was sure of it.
Long past midnight, Jade crept down the stairs, through the darkness, and out the front door. She slid into her car and reversed, not turning on her headlights until she was already down the road and out of sight from the house.
She neared Aiden's, and she slowed, suddenly regretting her rashness and hoping he was awake, she didn’t want to bother him over nothing. It was just a book with missing pages, and she was sure there were others.
She stopped the car, turned off the lights, and sat quietly unsure of what she was doing there, until she noticed a figure walking up his front sidewalk and knocking on the door. She was still down the street a little, too far away to be noticed but when the porch light turned on and the front door opened, Jade recognized Benjamin’s tall, muscular build and imagined the shock on Aiden’s face.
Then Benjamin strolled inside, and the door shut behind him, what are the two of them possibly discussing? She thought, instantly intrigued, but then realized there was only one topic Aiden would tolerate talking to Benjamin about... her safety. Something must have happened with Skye, who had been mysteriously absent for weeks, planning something to ruin the happiness she had managed to build.
Carefully opening her door, Jade crept out and traversed the lawn, ducking down to stay hidden. She eased around the house toward a side window that looked into Aiden’s living room. Her sneakers sank into the mud while she lifted her head, just high enough that her eyes could see through the blinds. She thanked God for the cover of darkness because she could see into his house perfectly, but it would be far more of a challenge for Aiden or Benjamin to notice her.
Inside, Benjamin leaned against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His eyes darted around the room nervously, and then he straightened as Aiden walked in. Seeing Aiden's PJs, Jade couldn't keep in the laugh that escaped. He wore full-on flannel pajama pants, and an old Marvel comics T-shirt riddled with holes.
Aiden sat on his couch, not offering Benjamin a seat, and she felt the tension even through the glass window. They stared at each other, not speaking, until Benjamin finally pulled a wooden chair from the dining table and sat opposite Aiden.
She couldn’t make out any of their words, but she could tell Benjamin was frustrated he kept running his hands through his hair and shaking his head. Aiden responded similarly, concern covering his features as he nodded to Benjamin’s words, and then stood up to start pacing around the room.
Their movements became more animated as the conversation progressed, and at one point, Aiden gripped the back of his couch with both hands and shouted what she assumed was a curse word in Benjamin’s direction. He in turn stood up, pointed at himself, then went outside, and then spread his arms wide like some surrender. Aiden started pointing aggressively at the door, jerking his whole body and Benjamin moved like lightning, running from his house before Jade even had time to go inside and demand to know what was happening, something she had planned to do when the conversation seemed less volatile.
Now it was too late, so she knocked on the window to get his attention, standing fully upright so he could see her. She watched as he noticed her, cursed, rolled his eyes, and headed for the door.
"Jade, you have unbelievable timing," he said when he opened the door. She shrugged, smiled, and replied, "It’s one of my many charms." He shook his head and led her inside.
Jade got straight to the point. "So, what just happened? And don’t try to pretend like it was normal to have Benjamin come over to ‘hang out’." She made air quotations around the word, emphasizing how ridiculous of an explanation it would be.
"Relax, I was going to call you tonight as soon as he left, but you were already here." He sat down next to her on the couch and leaned back, releasing a long exhale as his head came to a rest. He rubbed his eyes and pressed the skin along his nose, letting another sigh escape. "Their plan is so obvious, I can’t believe I didn’t see it. Jade…" He turned to look at her finally, with a pained expression. "It will be all my fault if something happens to you. I should have seen this and yelled at Benjamin, but I’m just angry with myself."
Jade reached for his hand, holding his warm fingers, trying to give him comfort. "Aiden, what is it? What did he say?" He tightened his grip.
"When we’re young, Seraphina's are taught our one major weakness. It’s something out of our control, but we need to be aware of it, always, that’s one of the rules you do not forget, and I did."
"Just tell me." She was dying from not knowing. Finally, the fears she had pushed to the back of her mind during these few weeks of blissful oblivion were coming to the forefront. She didn’t want to face Skye again, especially if Aiden was this scared too.
"A total eclipse... that’s the only thing that can take our powers away. Being in the eye of a full eclipse makes the sun inaccessible and makes us vulnerable to a demon’s attack. We lose all our strength and, Jade…" He grabbed her shoulders, driving the point home. "The eclipse is today."
His hands dropped away, and her body slumped back against the couch. She felt as though all her life had been drained from her. Today? She thought. Suddenly, time began to slip through her fingers like sand, when there had been buckets of it just moments ago.
"What do we do?" Her voice came out like a whisper, nearly silent and completely foreboding. Aiden abruptly stood up. "Let’s leave, right now. We’ll drive for a few hours to get out of the eye of the eclipse. Skye won’t be able to touch you." He grabbed her arm, trying to pull her along.
"No," she said, resisting. "Aiden, think for a moment. I have a family, my parents, Abby. They would be defenseless I can’t abandon them."
He sank back down. "You’re right."
"How much time do we have?" she asked, assuming it was around three, maybe four, in the morning. The sun would rise in a few short hours.
"About eight or nine hours it’s supposed to happen around midday, a total solar eclipse. They only last for about seven and a half minutes, and we will only totally lose our powers for maybe five minutes, but that’s more than enough time for a demon to kill you."
"So, how do we fight? Do we even have a chance to stand against Skye?"
Aiden shook his head and bit his lip, hiding the sadness in his eyes. "I don’t know Benjamin didn’t know what her plan was he just sensed her and the others in the area. He knew they were up to something, and then we both realized it at the same time it’s what they’ve been waiting for, why they’ve taken so long to move into action and Benjamin has got to be part of their plan."
Jade grabbed her phone and dialed his number it went straight to voicemail. She tried again, hoping it had been a mistake, but the same thing happened. "He’s not answering his phone. Do you think they took him? Are they hurting him?" Aiden just shook his head. Neither one of them had answers.