Chapter One: Recollecting the Past
I darted around the corner, breathless. No that didn't happen. It couldn't have. Hunter couldn't have left me alone to fight him. He wouldn't. Not ever. That's not Hunter. I looked around, desperate. He was gone. He had left me. I wanted to scream. How could he leave me? Was he just another Cal? I punched the bricks and looked up at the starry sky. The mastermind was gone but he'd be back and God knows where Hunter went. I knelt down and began to cry. Why was my life so bad?
"Morgan?"
I looked up. Mary K. "Mary K," I said, standing, "what are you doing here?" "Why are you crying?" my sister asked, ignoring my question completely. "I'm fine," I said, wiping a tear off my cheek. "No you're not," said Mary K, "what's wrong?" "I said I was fine," I spat. I turned so my back was facing her. "I won't ask again but I am taking you home," Mary K said. Suddenly something hit me. I turned to her. "You can't," I said desperately, "tell Mom I'm sleeping over Bree's."
"And what if I don't?" Mary K was testing my sisterly trust.
"I'll tell Mom you
skipped CCD for a drinking party."
I emphasized drinking
so she knew that I trust her so she should trust me. Mary K nodded
and said, "Fine. But you owe me." "A treat to Burger King," I
suggested. "More than that!" Mary K ordered. "Just go," I
said, "I'll think of it later." Mary K nodded and got into the
Jetta that was waiting in the street. The Jetta roared and drove off.
I couldn't believe she already had her license. But I had more
important things to worry about. I stumbled behind the houses and
knocked on Sky's door. She opened it. "What's wrong?" she
asked her face full of nervousness.
"Hunter's gone."
Sky stared at me for a few seconds and then looked beyond my shoulder. "There." She nodded her head. I turned. He came limping down the street. "Hunter!" I said and rushed to him. I helped him into the house and Sky got him ice packages for his wounds. I helped Hunter sit on the couch and he looked around in pain.
"I…saw…it." His voice was groggy, half gone.
"Saw what?" Sky asked, coming in. "Saw…a…Sin…" Sky fell backward at Hunter's words. "What's a Sin?" I asked. "Be quiet!" Sky ordered. She sat on her knees and knelt by Hunter. "You saw a Sin?" she asked, her voice shaking. Hunter nodded. "She…was wounded. Got shot…three or four…times. Bleeding badly." I stared at the cousins as they didn't talk. "What's a Sin?" My voice came out demanding, the opposite of how I felt. "A Sin is another name for the goddess of death. They pass by every so often to claim those magick-stripped or those who are slowly dying and cannot be helped by magick. But no one's ever seen one. Hunter's the first." I paused. I didn't know how to phrase this question any other way.
"Are they human?"
Sky was about to respond but Hunter shook his head and said, "They're from…Jupiter. They're goddesses." His voice was slowly coming back. "And they're deadly," he said, "just imagine this—the most beautiful woman you've ever seen with disgusting insides. They have hideous magick powers. They're unstoppable. No one has killed one. Ever."
"So they're inhumane and they have magick powers?" I asked. "Yes," Sky answered, nodding, "they used to be human. But then they were Conducted. That means they are overwhelmed by evil in a sickening process. I was supposed to be one."
Chapter Two: New Information
"They are chosen," Hunter said before I could speak. I had gotten up, my jaw dropped. "You can either be a Sin or be killed," Hunter said, "Sky refused. She was sentenced to death but lucky for her, a distraction was created by me. She got away. We thought they had stopped tracing her. But I suppose all these years; they've just been getting information and finding us." I sat down, shocked. "They're here to kill us," said Sky, "both of us. You can run now. They will find us. There's no use in running forever. But you can run. You're innocent. You can get away and they'll never know. You can go." I shook my head. "I won't leave you," I said. There was a pound on the door. "So be it," said Sky and got up to see who it was. "Morgan, get out of here," said Hunter, "I may die but I don't want you to. I want you to leave. Get out of here. Now! We'll die, that's a fact. You can't defend us from them. I told you, they're unstoppable. Their amazing powers will kill all of us, including you. Leave before they kill you. Sky told you straight out. You're innocent. You can be safe from them. We can't be. Go." I stood and turned to go when a shrilly voice said, "Human. Turn and face." I turned. The most beautiful creatures stood before me. There were three of them.
Sins.
"What's your name?" one asked. "Morgan," I said plainly. Sky and Hunter were right. I was innocent. It wouldn't matter if I told them my name. "Morgan what?" another asked. "Morgan Rowlands," I said. "Finally," another said. "What?"
I was very confused as they boxed me into a corner. "What are you doing?" Sky asked, "I'm Sky. I'm the one you want. I'm the one who defied you, all those years ago." "We know who you are," said a Sin, "but we haven't been searching for you or your cousin, Hunter. We found Morgan to chase." "Why were you chasing me?" I asked. "You defied us," said a Sin. "I did, not her!" Sky shouted. "Shut it, Sky," said a Sin, "I am Razz. I know exactly who you are and what happened that day you escaped from our clutches. I was your Bounty Hunter but no longer. Now I am Morgan's. And I will tell you why." "Please do," Hunter said, rising. "Well," said Razz, "all those years ago—what was it, five?—well, when you got away, Paganism wasn't happy. So she made us look up a girl with the last name Rowlands. We looked her up. We got Mary K Rowlands and Morgan. Paganism said she wanted Morgan and told us to hunt her down immediately. So we did. You're worth hard, cold, cash, Morgan. Over 200,000 million dollars. You're expensive." I was so confused. What was going on? "That mastermind you met," said a Sin, "that was me, Agama, in a simple outfit. Disgusting, really, but it worked. You and Hunter fought me like babies. You couldn't fight me at all. And then Morgan ran, leaving Hunter to die. But instead of killing him, I exposed myself, following Paganism's orders. And I got lovely results, as Paganism said would happen."
"Paganism?" I was so confused.
"Our leader," said Agama. I looked for the other Sin but she had disappeared. I looked around the room. She was gone. Razz stepped in front of me before I could look for the other Sin more. "What are you looking for?" she asked, "a way out? Has Sky taught you well?" She glared at Sky, who glared right back. "Don't push it," she snapped. Razz threw her hand carelessly into the air. There was a crash.
"Prepare for death, Morgan Rowlands."
