CHAPTER 7

For the next two weeks, Angela was in a whirlwind of emotions. As she promised, Janine was gone by the time Angela returned to the dorm later that night, though she found it ironic that she didn't tell Theresa, her so-called friend that she was leaving. In any case, Angela really didn't have much time to dwell on Janine. Shortly after their little blowout and Janine's exodus, Angela approached Moriah and the others to inform them that she would help with Scath's homecoming ceremony. There were many a day when she was devoting her time towards the ceremony: costume fitting, making the decorations, practicing the songs and dances for the ceremony. In fact, Angela found herself so busy that she seldom hung out with even Theresa anymore – though part of it was due to the argument she had with Janine. Then before you could blink, it was the night before the homecoming ceremony…

"So, you must be excited, Angela," beamed Ophelia, one of the sisters of the Church. "The big day is tomorrow night …"

"Yeah," smiled Angela as she and Ophelia finished the last of the dishes since it was their week to help out in the mess hall. "Excited and nervous. This is a life-changing event, Ophelia, and I'm a bit worried that I'm not cut out for this or that I'll mess something up."

"You shouldn't feel that way. Moriah is a good judge of character, and everyone agrees that you alone are the epitome of the perfect bride and the most deserving of our Lord. Rest assured that everything will work out in the end. You see how you were ridded of that unsavory girl for a roommate."

"Yeah, though I am surprised that Janine just left in the middle of the night without saying to word to anyone, not even to Theresa."

"Eh, go figure. Besides to be honest, I think that we're all better off without her around. Listen, it's getting close to curfew. We can finish up in here tomorrow. You have a good one, Angie."

"Ok, Ophelia. You too."

The two young women exited the mess hall and part ways to their respective dorms. Angela continued along the familiar path to her room and was in a pretty decent mood, so much so that she even hummed to she neared one passageway, Angela could just make out the muffled sounds of a man and woman giggling and when she cautiously peeked down it, she was completely floored by what she saw next. There they were without the slightest care in the world, Sister May and Brother Sebastian in very close proximity of each other. Before she could fully process what was happening, a hand came out to rest on Angela's shoulder, causing the girl to nearly jump out of her skin and cry out. Angela was suddenly jerked away from the scene and as she looked up, she could see that it was Theresa who had startled her and was now dragging her away. The older girl gestured for Angela to stay silent and the two walked some distance away to ensure that they are out of earshot.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you," said Theresa in a hushed voice. "But better it was me than someone else that found you spying on them."

Angela was stunned. "You knew about this?"

"Angie, everyone knows about them. They are lovers."

"But a woman of the cloth and her abbot? As if there isn't enough scandal amongst world religion…" The gears suddenly began to turn in Angela's head.

"Wait a minute…is that why May was so….do you mean then that what Janine said back then about …?"

Angela's voice had trailed off but Theresa confirmed her suspicions by nodding and Angela's eyes widen.

"Oh my god…"

"This is why May disliked me and Janine so much. Had Brother Sebastian shown you interest, you would've earned her hate too."

"I'm so sorry I implied that you guys were throwing yourselves onto Sebastian…"

"There are a lot of things you should be sorry for," replied Theresa in a somewhat cold tone. "And there are more things that you should be cautious for. I can't put my finger on it, but I think you are in danger, Angela."

"Danger?"

"Yes. You see how the others try to conceal Brother Sebastian and May? They knew that if you saw the two of them that you would know something was wrong. I think there are other bad things happening here too. For instance, one day I was in the library. I was near the back so no one knew I was there. I then watched in silence as Moriah and Ophelia rushed in and began to rip pages and parts clear out of books, the books in regards to prophecy and ancient rituals…"

"But those are the books that I'm responsible for…"

"I know. Clearly, there is something in those books that they don't want you finding out about by mistake."

"You don't think it has anything to do with the upcoming ceremony," asked an uneasy Angela. "…Do you?"

Theresa sighed. "It might, and this ceremony that they've been talking about so much also concerns me. You see in all the years I've been here, I can remember just one time that they celebrated it and there was a young girl that I was friends with then. Her name was Marcy and she was about the same age then as you are now. I was only a little girl, so I could not attend, but I do remember that she got the same kind of attention you are getting. The day after the ceremony, I went looking for Marcy so that I can learn about what had happened, but the brothers and sisters told me that Marcy was no longer our sister and had left the church. She was deemed 'not a worthy vessel', but I always felt there was more to the story…"

Angela stood processing everything Theresa had told her. The more she thought about things, the more alarmed she became. It did seem a bit strange now how the others fawned over this supposed homecoming ceremony, and come to think of it, it was also pretty strange how much of the ceremony's details were kept hidden from Angela despite her being a so-called crucial participant. What was the ceremony's true purpose and why did they feel the need to hide things from her?

"Come on," coaxed Angela, taking Theresa by the arm. "We got to look into this."

"Wait, what?"

"The library. There has to be something that the others missed when they ransacked the library. Something that can explain what's really going on here."

"But it's so close to curfew…"

"Well this can't wait, Teri. Besides you can stand guard outside while I look around."

"And if Xavier or Landon and Logan stop me?"

"I don't know. Tell them that you saw me come in and were waiting for me to come out. Pretend that you weren't aware of the time. If it comes to it, stall as long as you can so that I can find something!"

The two stopped in front of the library and Theresa nodded. Angela gave her a thumbs-up and after insuring that no one was in the library, crept inside. Angela then raced throughout the library to make doubly sure that no one was around and without a moment to lose, she headed towards the library section that held all of the books of prophecy and ancient rituals. She then began her frantic search, rapidly but cautiously combing through the numerous books in front of her to see if somehow by the grace of God that Moriah and Ophelia were not successful in destroying all traces about the truth behind the homecoming ceremony. Surprisingly and only several minutes afterwards, Angela does stumble upon an interesting passage…

"On the eve of Bruma, the blockade is at its weakest. The time will have come to open the gateway and for Scath to make claim to what is rightfully His?"

Angela marked the page and headed over to the reference section of the library. Grabbing one of the dictionaries, she speedily searched for the word 'Bruma' and discovered that it was actually the Latin name for the winter solstice. This struck a nerve with Angela who surveyed the calendar that hung on the opposite wall.

"The winter solstice is tomorrow night…the same as the Homecoming Ceremony…"

Angela then hurried back to the book where she had marked and searched its index for any other references to Bruma. And what she found rattled her to her very core…

"There are numerous times throughout the seasons where loyal and devout followers may pay tribute to the Lords of the Darkness, but for those who worship Scath, one of the Princes of the First Hierarchy, certain dates take more precedence than others. For instance during the season of rebirth, there is Beltane Eve and Beltane, days on which…carnal relations of all sorts are favored upon as they promote fertility for fellow worshippers of Scath. In the summer, there is the Grand Climax and the days that lead up to it where humans are…abducted…and then dismembered and or sacrificed to quench the wrathful thirst of Scath. In the autumn, the season of Lord Scath's birth, there are many other sacrifices and dismemberments, all which are culminated by the events of All Hallow's Eve and Halloween. However…the most important of all these days is the night of Bruma, the Longest Night, and the time believed in which the ancient forces of light used to banish Lord Scath from his rightful realm are weakened significantly. In addition to the revelries to celebrate this day - a young virgin girl is promised to …to…"

Angela couldn't even bring herself to finish the sentence. She tore out of the library and raced down the hall and back to her dorm, leaving a confused Theresa in her wake. She was still in a state of disbelief when Theresa finally followed her back into the room.

"Angela! What is wrong?"

"Everything!" she cried out, seconds from mass hysteria. "You were right. You and Janine were both right! Something bad is going to happen to me tomorrow night! Scath is not whom the others have made him out to be, and the others here cannot be trusted."

"Then you must flee!"

Angela started to take long, deep breaths in an effort to settle her nerves. Once she felt calm enough, she turned back to Theresa. "Well what about you, Teri? You think it's wise for you to stay amongst these people?"

Theresa tensed up. It was common knowledge that she was already on May's bad side and she really didn't want to see if she was also crazy enough to follow through on her threat. Angela however was thinking about another grim matter. What would have happened if she never sought refuge at the 'church'? Would they have used Theresa like they did Marcy for their sinister observance instead? Angela shuddered to think.

"We both have to get out of here." stressed Angela. "Neither one of us can afford to stay here any longer." Angela then drew Theresa closer, almost as if she could no longer trust the very walls to conceal their conversation. "Now listen, after you leave here tonight, be cautious but quick about getting together your things. It will be risky to leave at night, since the twins and Xavier will most likely be up and about patrolling, but we'll have to chance it. We'll meet up downstairs in the chapel. If anyone is about, hide yourself in one of the confessionals until I get there and then we run like hell and do not look back."

Theresa nodded. "I will be there shortly. Be careful, Angie."

"You too, Teri."

Theresa nodded again and she hurried out of the room. Angela in the meantime made haste in gathering up her belongings. She thought about changing out of her gown and back into her street clothes but thought against it reasoning that the less time she spent getting ready, the more time she and Teri would have to get away.

Getting away however was proving to be quite an ordeal for Angela. She kept checking the hallways to see if anyone was about and strangely enough, it seemed like the twins were actually keeping post down the hall from her and were taking shifts in monitoring the hall where her room was. Paranoia within time started to creep in…

'Why are they keeping post than patrolling the building? Can they somehow know what we're up to? Is Teri having the same problem over on her end?'


It went without saying that Angela had a relatively sleepless night. She had remained camped out by her dormitory door the entire night and regularly checked for a moment of opportunity to arise. 'Patience is a virtue' thought the teen, and if she waited long enough, surely Landon or Logan would at some point be gone long enough for her to make a break for it. So she waited…

And waited…

And for a change of pace, she waited some more, but still no change, and hours later, when the morning sun was surely rising, Angela yawned and stretched to rid herself of the pains of sleeping on a cold stone floor. She wondered if Theresa ever made it down to the rendezvous point and debated whether to check to see if she was still in her dorm. Making sure to keep her book bag down to her side where it would less likely be spotted, Angela cautiously peered out into the hallway (which now of course was as empty as a ghost town) and quietly made her way towards Theresa's room. She didn't even knock on the door as she assumed that only Theresa would be in the room, so she was a little surprised when she found Lilith, Theresa's roommate making up her bed.

"Oh!" smiled Angela, hiding the bag behind her back and doing her best to hide the fatigue, discomfort and skepticism that racked every part of her body. "Morning, Lilith. I thought you would've been up and about already."

"It's ok. But if you were looking for Theresa, she's already gone."

Angela briefly lost her composure and her face melted from a warm smile to a frightened disposition. "'Gone'?"

"That's right. Brother Sebastian and several others had business in Neon Heights and they invited her to come along. The airport shuttle for them has already come and gone."

She then smiled briefly as she passed Angela and exited the room. Angela's eyes widened as all sorts of worse-case scenarios and grim outcomes started to run through her head. Knowing that time was of the essence, Angela started to race throughout the corridors and towards the stairs leading to the lower levels of the building. However, just as her luck would have it, she also nearly collided into Moriah who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Whoa! Why are you off to in such a hurry, little si…"

"What's going on here, Moriah?" asked Angela callously. Moriah was noticeably taken back by the lack of warmth in both her voice and appearance but quickly got her bearings back together. "Going on, little sister?" she asked as if she knew nothing. Angela however was in no mood for Moriah's mind games, mind games that she was certain she had been playing from the very beginning.

"Yes. What is going on around here? What has happened to Theresa…and better yet, Janine?"

"Janine?"

Angela huffed. "Yes, Janine. The chick with the brown hair, green eyes, about this tall, and a bad attitude…you know, Janine?"

"Did you forget little sister? Janine chose to leave our care because she was unhappy here and we chose not to persuade her otherwise because it was for the best."

"How convenient," sneered Angela. "How very convenient that Janine just up and vanished without so much as a peep without telling her friends or that Theresa just had to go on a last-minute business trip with Sebastian and the others clear across the country…" Angela then walked up so that she was almost on top of Moriah who eyeballed her warily. Apparently she wasn't used to people breaking free of the almost hypnotic hold she wielded over them.

"So let me rephrase my question, sister," said Angela. "What are you hiding from me?"

Moriah's expression went from baffled to one of annoyance in two seconds flat. "Angela," she started in an unusually grim tone of voice. "I'm warning you. It is best that you forget all about Theresa and Janine. Just concentrate on the task at hand and everything will be fine."

Just as eerily as Moriah had appeared in the hallway, Logan and Landon suddenly appeared behind Angela. "I'm going have to ask that you retire to your room now, Angela," continued Moriah who then handed Angela a slip of paper. "In the meantime study this, and by this evening, you should have it well in mind. Logan? Landon?"

Angela looked on worriedly as the twins stepped forward. Moriah's frown slowly turned into a devious grin as she watched Angela, who tried to outmaneuver and evade the twins but to no avail. She was quickly subdued and Angela struggled violently as she was forcibly carried down the hall and back towards her room.