"How are you not dead?!" I ask my sister as we stand in the entranceway. "I- I watched that djinn follow you into the forest! There's no way you could have outran that thing!"
Tears fill her eyes as she responds to me. "I don't know. It just- he just looked at me, whispered something in another language, and ran off. I tried to find my way back to you, but I got lost, and by the time I found the warehouse, you were gone."
"Oh my god, Tris." I whisper as I pull her into a tight hug, trying to convey all of my emotions through it, my relief at having her back, my sadness at having thought she was dead all these weeks.
"Oh my god." I repeat as I pull back to look at her. It breaks my heart to see the same sadness that lingers in my green eyes reflected in her brown ones.
I scan her up and down and notice something off about her.
"Tris, what's that?" I ask, pointing at what looks like a blue tattoo peeking out from under her shirt.
She winces. "I don't know. It kind of just showed up when the djinn started talking in a different language. It starts at my heart, and I-" She grimaces. "I think it's growing."
"Okay, what do you mean it's growing?" I ask Tris once we're safely in my room, away from the prying eyes of other students. Nydia excused herself to go talk to Aatami a few seconds ago, so now we're alone.
"Well, I mean, I didn't notice it at first. It was only when I was changing that I saw a swirly blue tattoo thing right over my heart. Now, every few hours, the design grows. It hurts, too." Suddenly, she winces. "Speak of the devil." As I watch, the blue tattoo grows, expanding almost to her collarbone.
"What does it mean?" I ask.
"Don't you think I would have told you if I knew?" she snaps.
"Yeah. Sorry. You're right. So, do you think that the djinn might have done this to you with a spell or something?"
"If he had, I don't really know what his point would be. It doesn't seem like it's hurting me much, other than the sting when it grows."
"Well, at least not yet. We should talk to someone about it, see if one of the teachers might know something."
Tris' eyes widen. "No! Don't tell anyone."
"Why not?" I ask, my brows furrowing.
"They- they'll think I'm a monster." She whispers, looking down.
"Oh, no, Tris, of course they won't." I assure her, wrapping her up in my arms. "Why would they think you're a monster?"
"These are djinn tattoos, Delilah. Only monsters have these. What if- what if I'm turning into one?" She sobs. I smooth down her hair, resting my chin on her head like mom used to do so many times when we were little.
"No. Listen to me, Tris, you are not turning into a monster. No one knows what those tattoos mean. It could be nothing, like this streak in my hair." I separate us so I can show her the blue that the djinn left in my hair. "I got this from the djinn. It gives me nightmares sometimes, but that's it. I am not turning into a djinn, and neither are you, so don't say that. Okay?"
I tip her chin up so she's looking at me. "Okay." She whispers, and then louder, "Okay. I'm not turning into a monster."
I nod. "Good. You're not. Now, is it okay if I ask Sam about your tattoos?"
"Yeah. But can I stay here?"
"Of course." I say. Tris wraps herself in blankets as I walk out the door to find out what those sons of bitches did to my sister.
"Wow." Sam says, shocked by my story and the picture I took of Tris' tattoos. "I- I've never seen this before. I actually have no idea why that would happen."
I deflate. I was hoping Sam could help me figure out what was wrong so I could fix my sister quickly, but I guess not. "You don't have any guesses?"
He shakes his head again. "No, sorry. But I think I know someone who might."
"Who?"
"The Men Of Letters. There's thousands of books in our bunker, and one of them might have something in it."
"Great! Can I go there?"
"Yeah, of course. You might want to bring a few friends, though. It'll take a while to get through all those books."
"Woah." Nydia breathes, staring at the giant library in front of us.
"Yeah." I agree with her.
"This is amazing!" She says, her eyes alight with passion I've never seen before. She turns to Dean. "Can I be a Woman of Letters?"
For some reason, Dean winces when she says that, but then he nods and smiles slightly. "Sure, kid. You know, I had a friend who was one of the first Women Of Letters."
"What happened to her?" Tris asks.
"She- she died."
"Oh." Tris looks like she regrets that she asked. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. It was a long time ago."
Sam clears his throat and turns to Nydia. "I thought being a Woman Of Letters might suit you better than being a hunter. The Men Of Letters are more behind the scenes guys, and the hunters do the actual monster killing."
Nydia nods and her face falls a little bit as she says, "Yeah. I don't think I'm cut out for actual monster killing."
"We have pins." Sam offers, and Nydia's face lights up again.
"Cool! Can I have one?"
Sam leads Nydia to their room of pins or some shit while the rest of us start reading.
A/N: Hi! I hope you liked this chapter, I think the plot is going to advance a lot more now, so that's good. As always, please favorite, follow, and review!