Faithless

Chapter Twenty Two

Jasmina walked into the hospital slowly, taking her time. It was almost worrying how familiar the corridors were to her now. She walked in the waiting room and signed in, then waited. She always hated having to wait until her name was called. It made her stomach churn. It reminded her of being a four year old waiting for an injection. It was like torture. There was a smell of bleach in the air, so strong that it almost made Jasmina's nose burn. She involuntarily scrunched her face up while she adjusted to the smell.

When Jasmina had gotten home her father had purposely sprung it on her that she would be having a counselling session this afternoon. Had Jasmina waited for her father to be awake in the morning, she would have seen the idea formulating in his mind and maybe she could have put a stop to it. Unfortunately for Jasmina her dream had stolen her attention away and by the time she got home it was too late to do anything about it. All she needed to do was keep her cool and answer the questions and Jasmina would be out of here. That's what she kept telling herself at least.

Eventually the receptionist called her name then led her into Doctor White's office. Jasmina sat in front of a bright white desk with just a computer and a couple of potted plants on top. Doctor Samantha White, or Sam as she insisted on being called, sat opposite her, staring at Jasmina intently. The window to the left was small and had a lock on it, stopping it from being opened completely, but it was still open as far as possible. The walls had been painted a pale blue and the floor had black and white tiles. There were a couple paintings on the wall, one of which looked familiar. Jasmina sat down, smiling as brightly as possible.

"Hello Jasmina." Sam greeted.

"Hi." Jasmina smiled politely. Sam was jotting notes already and not really looking at Jasmina at all.

"I'll be right with you." She mumbled, shuffling her papers. She put them in the draw and then picked up her notebook, opening it to a page with many questions. Jasmina mentally sighed, just knowing she was going to be here for a long time. "Okay, so how have you been?" She started, although Jasmina could tell she wasn't really paying much attention.

"I... I'm fine." Jasmina shrugged, nodding.

"Are you sure?" She smiled. Jasmina paused to think about it for a little while. Sam wasn't a part of any magic stuff, and Jasmina knew she had to keep everything confidential, unless she was actually worried.

"There's just been a lot of changes going on. Mainly at school. I had to learn a lot of new things." Jasmina did her best to stick to the truth. "But I've made some new friends along the way." Jasmina shrugged. She just nodded, making a few notes. Jasmina was glad she didn't push me too much.

"Okay, well I was informed you're having a change in living arrangements. How are you coping with that?" She asked.

"It's nothing really. I'm just moving in with some er, family friends. It's a more stable arrangement." Jasmina shrugged.

"Well how does this new living arrangement work? There’s ten of you now, correct?" She asked, causing Jasmina to freeze.

"I er..." Jasmina stuttered, Sam was smirking slightly, which seemed so out of place.

"And what are you doing there? Learning Latin?" She asked. Jasmina almost gasped as the words left her lips. Cam had told her that many of the actual spells were said in Latin. He offered to try and teach her some of it eventually.

"I er... No I... It’s just…"

"Home? Hardly. You can stop lying now. I've heard enough. You see, you're kind keep on leaving a trail, every time you go anywhere, at least one student leaves school, then suddenly, they're never heard from again. You wouldn't know about that, would you?" She grinned, grabbed a knife out of her draw. Jasmina ran to the door, but it was locked, causing her to panic. Jasmina spun around, as Sam just took her sweet time.

"W-why are you d-doing this?" Jasmina stuttered. Just begging for help.

“What are your powers exactly? Fortune telling? Well you didn’t see this coming did you?” She moved closer, still grinning.

"There were always signs you know. The way that you would get mad and things would just happen to fall over and shatter. Or all the times your dreams could come to pass. I wanted rid of you as soon as you walked into my office, but the rest of my family wanted to keep you alive to attract a coven or two." Sam smirked. She lunged and Jasmina squeezed her eyes shut. It wasn't like she could do anything.

"Jasmina! Run!" Ruby yelled. Jasmina opened her eyes, as Ruby pushed Sam into the wall. Ruby grinned, but her victory was short lived. Sam recovered then lunged. Getting Ruby in the stomach. "Shi..." She disappeared in a ball of light. Jasmina prayed that she wasn't harmed. With her new found need to live, Jasmina went for Elizabeth, pushing her into the desk. She punched Jasmina's face, sending her into the wall. She grunted as her back connected with it, still watching her attacker closely.

"You little b***h!" She snapped. Ruby reappeared again, pinning Elizabeth to the wall, next to Jasmina.

"I told you to run!"

"The door's locked!" Jasmina cried.

"Take my place!" Ruby ordered. Jasmina did as she was told, trying to pin Sam to the wall but she was stronger than Jasmina. Ruby disappeared, then Jasmina heard someone fiddling with the door from outside, then a loud bang as Ruby kicked it down. "Run!" She practically screamed. Jasmina did as she said, and Ruby pulled her arm, out of the room. They ran like we never had before.

“How are you here?”

“I can astral project remember? I was looking for you and well… I found you!” She explained. They were getting plenty of weird looks, but neither of them were willing to slow down. "Oh no." Ruby muttered, slowing down. "I can't go on. I'm going to... vanish." She whispered.

"Oh god." Jasmina cried, dragging Ruby down the corridor and into the girls toilets.

"Go! I'll tell Ashleigh, she's already dropped Cam and Aiden off nearby, you need to find them." Ruby said, just as she disappeared. Jasmina ran back out of the bathroom then ran through the corridors. She had never been so happy to know her way around a hospital before in her life. She made all the right twists and turns, running out of the front entrance. She could feel Cam was close by and took off in his direction.

Jasmina put enough distance between her and the hunters to give herself enough time to escape. She ran as fast as her legs could possibly carry her, finding both Cam and Aiden in a local playing field. She threw her arms around Cam as she ran into him at full speed. He caught her just in time and staggered back to steady them both.

"Is it just the one?" Aiden asked, the urgency clear in his voice.

"I don't know." Jasmina said, her voice shook as tears began to stream down her face. "I just want to get out of here." She looked to Cam, begging him with her eyes. He just nodded, putting his phone to his ear.

"We have her, tell Ashleigh to get us out." Was all he said. Within seconds Ashleigh was in front of them.

"Close your eyes." She ordered Jasmina who just nodded weakly and did as she was told. Cam let her go and she felt Ashleigh wrap her arms around her tightly. She felt a cold wind attack her skin, like sharp needles jabbing at her all over. A bright light shone so much so that all Jasmina could see was red from her own eyelids. By the time she opened her eyes once more she was standing inside the house where the rest of the coven were staying. Ashleigh disappeared then reappeared with Aiden in her arms next.

"Are you okay?" He asked and Jasmina could tell he meant it. She nodded weakly, wrapping her arms around herself, as if it could help her hold herself together. Before Aiden could say anything else Ashleigh reappeared with Cam, who headed straight for Jasmina, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"That was way too close." He breathed, and Jasmina just nodded in agreement. "The hunters are getting too close, we can't stay in this town anymore."

"But my school..." Jasmina frowned.

"Jasmina, they've been watching you since you were a kid. They know what school you attend, who knows if they're in that school right now!" Cam muttered. Jasmina just sighed quietly, resting her head on his chest.

Eventually Cam and Aiden had to go and talk to their father about what happened. Jasmina decided it was best to let Cam explain it all, she didn't have the energy to deal with Ewan right now. Instead she decided to take a seat on the stairs while she thought about her school. Never in her life did she think she would be upset to leave. Yet here Jasmina was, in mourning of the life she once had. Jasmina had really believed she could at least finish her last exams before leaving, but it was too late for that now.

Jasmina still had her phone in her pocket and she could feel it going off constantly, all the while she sat there waiting for Cam, but she didn't care. By now word would have gotten to her father that she had had a mental breakdown during her meeting and he would be leading the hunt to find her. Jasmina frowned at that idea.

"Jasmina, come in here please." Ewan instructed. She did as she was told, getting off the stairs and heading into Ewan's office. They were surrounded by boxes where no one was willing to unpack just yet.

"Are you all leaving?" Jasmina asked, looking at the ground. She could feel all their eyes on her but she did her best to ignore it.

"We can't yet." Ewan sighed. "There's one more witch in this town and Tyler is struggling to find her. We need your help so we can get to her first and get the hell out of here, with you with us."

"Even if I'm not a part of the coven?" Jasmina frowned, looking up to see Ewan's answer. He just nodded sternly. "Did you know my father?" Jasmina asked quietly. Ewan looked as if he was taken aback by the question, but he recovered quickly.

"He knew of your mother's powers and we had met before. I would have thought he would recognise me. Why?"

"Well he's been blowing up my phone since I got here and I need someone to convince him I'm not crazy if we're going to make a clean break from here." Jasmina explained.

"Call him." Ewan ordered.