"Was he praying for God's help or his forgiveness? He didn't believe in either."307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0phfnabVo
Libba Bray, The Diviners
The Hunter yelled. He jumped away from Hazel, falling on the ground, but when he got back up, he was grinning like a boy on Christmas. Hazel sat, stunned. What had she done?
Her hands were hot, and so was the rest of her, like she had a fever.
"Azazel, what happened?" A man, older than the Hunter, Azazel, burst in. He squinted at Hazel. "Ah. Have you found one?"
"I believe so," the Hunter said. "She was under too long to be a Normal. And she burnt through my armor. With her hands."
"Good, good. We'll get you more armor later. Now, girl." The older man turned to face Hazel. He touched her forehead with his palm. "You must have a fever!" He pushed her down so that she was laying down and set a cool wet cloth on her head. "Now, you must sleep," he said, tucking her into the blankets. "Good girl. Azazel, come on."
The older man and Azazel walked toward the door, Azazel lighting some kind of incense and then shutting the door gently.
Hazel tried to get out of the comfy bed, but her limbs were heavy and refused to move. With a yawn, Hazel realized she was exhausted, though she'd slept quite a bit, and as soon as she closed her eyes and stopped struggling, she fell asleep.
~*~*~
Hazel was running, from what she was unsure. Her breath was heavy as if she'd been running for quite a while. Suddenly, she saw her house. Her mother and Nico were standing outside of it. Nico looked upset, his hair mussed and clothes askew. Her mother, however, was calm.
"Help me, Mom, why won't you help me?" Nico yelled.
"There's no point, Nico. She's gone."
"You don't care!" Nico accused. "You. Don't. Care!"
"Why should I?"
~*~*~
Hazel awoke quickly. She felt like crying: The dream had felt so real. What if this was how her mother really felt? Was Hazel useless to her mother? A mistake, a regret?
"Ah, good, you're awake. Azazel requires your presence in his office, and I am to take you there. If you're ready, Miss, we shall go," a stout man said from the corner of the room.
Hazel wanted to say she wasn't ready and never would be. Instead, she rose groggily out of the bed and let the man take her by the arm down a long, dark hallway, to a large empty room with a singular desk in the middle of the room. Azazel was behind it.
"Ah, you're awake, finally," Azazel said. "Good. We've got to Train you."
"Train?" Hazel asked. "What do you mean, 'Train'?"
Azazel laughed. "I mean, Train. You have powers, important powers that need a push to... develop. We're not bad guys here, we're here to give you that push. So that you can survive in the real world."
"I was doing fine on my own, thanks," Hazel sniffed.
Azazel lit a candle and a strange, calming scent wafted around the room. All of the thoughts Hazel had of fighting went away.
"Now," Azazel said, "drink this. It'll help push you."
~*~*~
Nico had prayed every night when Hazel left, trying to make sure no Hunter would grab his dear sister. Every night, she came back safely, and yet Nico still prayed.
Until a week after she'd first gone. She wasn't back by 10. Nico prayed and prayed. The minutes crept by, then the hours, until it was 5 AM and she still wasn't back. Nico panicked and he was about to leave to go looking for her when his mom came home.
"What are you doing awake, Nico?"
"Mama! Hazel's gone, she hasn't come home!"
Nico's mom frowned. Then she shook her head. "It's probably for the best, Nico."
"Mom, why-?"
"Nico, she was made by a deal with the Devil. She's a curse, a sin, and she can't have been here much longer, or else our luck would turn rotten."
"So?! She's your own daughter! Even if she was a mistake, an accident, a curse, you should care!" Tears streamed down Nico's face. "And if you don't care, I'm leaving."
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