Page 8 of Stegian: Project Exorcism 4

Christian himself had suffered a similar fate—though he'd not broken in the face of evil or ended up dead. He had fallen victim to Stegian's demon and its ability to bend the minds of men with ease. While his mind had been under the demon's hold, Christian had hurt Lorelei. He'd never forgiven himself for it, even though Lorelei had. He was such an honorable man and leader of her people that it nearly brought her to tears.

She leaned against him, putting her head to his upper arm. It wasn't until she noticed they'd slowed their pace that she looked up to find him watching her, an inquisitive expression clearly etched upon his face.

She cleared her throat and righted herself. She pointed to one of the hallways. "Guest quarters?"

"Yes," he said, still watching her. "I can show you to—"

"No. I'm good. Thank you," she said, rushing to the first open door.

She waited nearly half an hour before opening the door again to see if he was gone. He was.

She hurried out of the room, heading towards the end of the compound that housed the gardens and hopefully away from Christian’s watchful gaze. Her strength was nearly gone and she needed to rest.

Jacquelyn found a darkened corner, leaned against the wall and rested until her body began to grow once more. When she had enough built, she drew upon it, disappearing and reappearing mystically within the body that had once been hers. It was the only way she could assure she wouldn’t be discovered and still manage to regain her full strength.

She felt someone there, holding her hand by her bedside. Her mind’s eye showed her that it was a woman, almost as tall as Jacquelyn, with similar blue eyes and dark black hair. Lorelei—her eldest sister.

“I feel you there now,” Lorelei said softly. “They don’t believe me, Jacquelyn, but I know that at times, you really are there, hearing us.”

Lorelei was right, but not in the way she thought. It broke Jacquelyn’s heart to not be able to share that she truly was there, but now wasn’t the time. Prior to saving Lorelei, Jacquelyn had appeared in the form of a hologram to her family, forever locked into a young age, regardless of the fact her mind and body had aged. As much as she disliked that part, she missed the interaction the hologram had afforded her with the others.

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