Page 7 of Grave Revelations (Prophecies of Angels and Demons #3)

Chapter 6

Sophia

Crouched against the wall at the far recesses of the cave, Sophia wrapped her fingers over the girl’s small mouth. The crunching of rock underfoot sounded nearby, and she held her breath.

Distantly, voices spoke in a language she didn’t understand.

More rocks crunched—closer than before. She held perfectly still, praying Elizabeth wouldn’t give them away. When she heard nothing for a long while, she released her hold on the small girl and took a deep breath.

Elizabeth pushed out of her arms. “You didn’t have to do that. I’ve been here long enough to know what to do when they come.” Her bottom lip jutted out, blue eyes glittering before one fat tear formed along her lashes and spilled over.

Either this child was the world's most masterful manipulator, or she suffered from a split personality. Where was the vicious little thing who had ripped the soul from her body, sending her here, a place between Heaven and Hell? Where was the monster who had killed five other witches before taking her life?

“Who are you?” Sophia asked.

The girl sniffled, wiping her arm across the sleeve of her dirty pinafore. “I’m Elizabeth. We met yesterday, remember?”

“What did you mean when you said you brought me here just like her other creatures? ”

The girl flinched. “I’m not supposed to say.”

Sophia crossed her arms over her chest. Elizabeth moved past her, returning to the mouth of the cave. She picked up a stick among the littered branches scattered along a path leading behind the cave and began to draw again. Sophia followed her out and sat beside her, gazing across the barren landscape.

The day before, she’d been in too much shock to truly take the place in. Today, she noted sandy dunes dotted with dry, dead tree husks far to her right; to her left, flat, cracked earth disappeared into a dense fog. In the distance—directly in her line of sight—a river split the land, clogged with hundreds upon hundreds of gray, wispy shapes. She couldn’t make them out this far away, but she knew what they were: souls waiting for a ride to their final destination.

It wasn’t dark, but neither was it light. It was somewhere in between, hazy and a little out of focus. Nothing had clear lines or sharp edges.

Holding up her hand, she marveled at the gray pallor of her own skin.

The child hummed to herself while she drew as if they hadn’t just been on the verge of being captured by strange creatures. As if she hadn’t killed Sophia in cold blood the night before.

Sophia glanced down at the picture. It was remarkably detailed, considering she used a stick and drew on dried earth.

“Is that Simon?” she asked.

Elizabeth looked up. “You know him?” She sounded hopeful.

Sophia arched an eyebrow. There was something off about her voice. Could it be that this wasn’t the same girl? But if she was a night being now, trapped in the girl’s prison by night and here each day, who else could it be? Did she trust the child to give her any straight answers?

“Elizabeth, when was the last time you were on Earth?”

Her eyes went wide, and she whipped her head around as if she feared who might hear the question.

“I can’t tell you that.”