The Forgotten Sin (Purifiers Book 1) (9 page)

Mother helped Iliana to her feet.

           
"Come on, let us make haste otherwise we will never get to bed... Your Father might
even come home and wonder what we are doing.... still up in the early hours of the
morning!"

Iliana’s heart still raced inside her chest as she stared at Mother gathering more bags into
her hands. She knew this split personality change was only the beginning of something
Iliana had always dreaded would happen to her parents.

           
‘
Something big is brewing...
’ Iliana thought to herself as she gazed up to the starry
sky. ‘
But what
?’

*** Chapter 4 ***

           
Walking towards the school gates after waving goodbye to Andrew all Iliana could
hear was the other students babbling on about Lord Baddesley’s big party and who was
invited and who was not.

           
But Mother’s deep snapping voice and her reaction the other night was still swirling
in Iliana’s mind.

           
‘Never touch this again, you impertinent child!... I have never heard Mother talk like
that before!’...
Iliana thought passing through the gates of the school. And then the cloak
with the same crest that was tattooed on the hand of the man’s dressed in black, fluttered in
her mind.
 

           
‘
ERGH!... What do I do?’
Iliana grumbled pulling her hair in frustration which of
course she got funny looks from other students around her.

           
"Iliana!..."

           
Iliana looked around her to see where the familiar voice came from. Chloe, Victoria
and Claire were all standing under the big tree which now seemed to be their meeting place
in the mornings and lunch breaks. Iliana made her way to the girls.

           
"Good morning!" She greeted with a distressed sigh.

           
"Good morning to you too Miss cheerful... What is wrong with you this morning?"
Victoria asked.

           
"Nothing really... just a lot of things in my mind. Anyway, how is everyone?"

           
"Ecstatic!..." Victoria answered jumping up and down.

           
"Same here!..." Claire squealed.

Chloe sighed out of boredom.

           
"These two have been invited to Lord Baddesley’s party... well, their parents have."
She explained to Iliana in a monotone voice.

Victoria and Claire squealed again in excitement but Chloe rolled her eyes.

           
"Has your parents not been invited?" Iliana asked.

           
"Nope."

Chloe crossed her arms in front of her with a face like thunder.

           
"Do not be such a dark cloud Chloe... would it make you happy if I invite you as my
friend?" Victoria asked smiling.

Chloe quickly uncrossed her arms with her eyes lit up.

           
"Really?... You are inviting me?"

           
"Of course!... Claire was going to invite you but her little brother desperately wanted
to go, so she had to bring him... So obviously I have to invite you!" Victoria replied.

Chloe jumped up and down clapping her hands in excitement, then as if she just
remembered Iliana standing there stopped and looked at her.

           
"Iliana... what about you? Your parents have been invited... right?"

           
"Of course!... Mother even bought me a new dress to wear for the night... Not that I
have not got enough in my wardrobe already!" Iliana answered sarcastically but then
adding. "However, it is a beautiful
dress."

           
"Thank God... I was wondering what we were going to do if you were not. Although
I would be surprised if you were not going since your Mother has worked alongside Lord
Baddesley for a few years." Chloe said in relief.

           
"Who are you going to invite with you?" Claire asked.

Before Iliana could answer ‘no-one’, loud squealing screams came from the entrance of the
school. Everyone turned round to see what was going on. Groups of mainly girls and some
boys gathered round the school main gates and the pathway that led to the main building to
the school, some girls were even crying as they were squealing with joy.

           
"Come on... let us go and see what is going on." Victoria ordered grabbing Iliana’s
arm and dragging her along behind her.

Chloe and Claire tagged behind them as if they were not left with much choice in the
matter. They found a gap which they squeezed themselves through so they could stand in
the front row on the pathway. But even then they could not see anything other than more
people gathered in a circle.

           
"Hey!... What is going on?" Claire asked the boy standing next to her.

           
"Apparently it is Lucas Baddesley... but I cannot see with all those people gathered
around him." He replied whilst straining his neck up.

Victoria and Claire gasped and cried out loudly in unison.

           
"Lucas Baddesley!"

Chloe turned to Iliana who just watched Victoria and Claire giggling hysterically.

           
"You can obviously figure out who Lucas Baddesley is related to, right?" She said
loudly over everyone’s screaming.

           
"Of course... Lord Baddesley’s son, the one who transferred to London Academy."

           
"Wow!... You do know about him."

           
"Only a little... someone I know told me a bit about him." Iliana answered
remembering Jung and Father Benjamin telling her their tragic story the other night.

           
"Did they tell you how absurdly popular he is in this
school?" Chloe questioned.

           
"They did not."

           
"Oh my God... there he is!" Victoria yelled pointing out in front of her.

The crowd that had formed a circle were moved away by the two well built men that always
guarded the front school gates. Behind them was a tall broad shouldered young man who
had a strong but slim physique. He combed his hand through his mass of ash blond hair
which slithered back over his high forehead and just touched his perfectly shaped
eyebrows. Even though a cool smile stretched across his good looking face, his brown eyes
seemed dull and lifeless. And Iliana could not quite figure out where she had seen eyes like
that before. She studied him as he made his way down the pathway waving at the crowd as
if he was a movie star. But when his eyes met Iliana’s his smile faded and he stopped in his
tracks. Although it was only for second his eyes pierced through Iliana’s and it felt as if he
was searching into the depths of her soul with those soulless eyes. It gave Iliana cold
shivers which rippled down her back like blocks of cold ice.

           
It was only when he looked away as two boys approached him Iliana recognised that
same look that he expressed in his eyes. And it was when he stretched out his hand to shake
the hands of his fellow students that Iliana saw the same tattoo painted between his thumb
and index finger. Iliana had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop her from gasping so
loudly, not that anyone would hear through the deafening noises from the crowd around
her. As Lucas and his fellow students walked passed Iliana she managed to glimpse a small
smirk that crept up the corner of Lucas’s lips with his eyes still fixed on her.

           
"Oh my God!... Iliana... he looked at you!" Victoria commented enthusiastically.

Iliana quickly moved her hand away from her mouth as if nothing happened.

           
"I-I did not n-notice."

           
During the day Iliana did everything she could to avoid Lucas. When she saw him
down a corridor she would hide behind the girls until he disappeared. Iliana found it strange
how Lucas just happened to return from London the same time when they found those
people at the warehouse last night. Desperately wanting to see Father Benjamin Iliana did
all she could to sneak away from Chloe, Victoria and Claire. But never seemed to get very
far before one of them notices her and drags her away. At least one of the girls shared the
same classes as Iliana and would not leave her side. Iliana did not want to drag any of them
anywhere near the Unknown World especially not after what happened to Chloe. It just left
Iliana to try and find Kazuki, although she had not seen him all day. Looking through her
class planner at lunchtime the English lesson they shared was not until the last lesson of the
day.

           
‘That is just typical.’
Iliana said to herself.
‘When you want to see him you cannot
find him anywhere. But when you do not want to see him, he always seems to pop up
everywhere you turn.’

"What was that Iliana?" Chloe asked after gulping down a piece of BLT sandwich.

           
"N-nothing!... Just mumbling to myself." Iliana answered back unaware she had said
that out loud.

           
"I still cannot believe Lucas is back." Claire squealed excitedly after slurping her
apple juice.

           
"I know right... he seems more darker and broodier than before the coma. It makes
him so much more hotter than ever!" Chloe giggled blushing as she said it.

           
"What was he like before the coma?" Iliana questioned, the thought of finding
Kazuki slipped from her mind for a moment.

           
"Hmm... he always liked to party a lot and never seems to take life seriously... I
mean, he is the son of the richest man in England, who would not, right?... But anyway...
before he left for London he kind of seemed..."

           
"Distant!..." Claire interrupted Victoria who struggled to find the right word.

           
"Yes... like in a world of his own. But he is sooo... gorgeous." Victoria agreed.

           
"I thought you liked Kazuki." Chloe said nudging Victoria’s arm with her elbow.

           
"I do... ooh... I cannot decide between them." Victoria groaned slapping her hands
on her cheeks.

Iliana sniggered at Victoria’s moans and groans before looking back down at her planner
then quickly asked the girls.

"Actually... what is your last lesson today?"

           
"Mine is Music." Chloe said unenthusiastically. "With Mr. Gregory... that means I
will be helping out with the tidying of the instruments... again as always."

           
"Tough luck... Victoria and I have double Physical Ed, our favourite lesson." Claire
replied, then turned to Victoria. "Cannot wait to practise our dance routine again."

           
"Neither can I.... I hope we are able to finish in time for our dance test." Victoria
said.

The English lesson could not have come any sooner, she could not believe how desperate
she was to see Kazuki. With her friends in a different class she could inform Kazuki all she
knew before she ends up having a panic attack if she kept it quiet any longer.

           
Iliana sat on her chair waiting for Kazuki to enter the classroom. She waited and
waited but there was no sign of him. The lesson seemed to have dragged on and all what
Mrs. Rawlins explained about the English project went in one ear and out the other.

           
"D’coye... are you all right today?" Asked Mrs. Rawlins as Iliana made her way out
of the English Lesson a few minutes after the end of school bell rang with her head down.

Iliana looked up at her, firstly seeing her mass of brown ringlets that surrounded her head.
Her light brown eyes looked over the rim of her round glasses that rested on the tip of her
small nose.

           
"I am okay... thank you." Iliana replied.

           
"Hmm... I hope so... I want all my students to be on top notch condition in my
lessons." She warned raising her fine lined eyebrows.

Iliana slipped past Mrs. Rawlins avoiding eye contact. She quickly headed towards Father
Benjamin’s classroom hoping and praying Chloe, Victoria or Claire would not see and stop
her. Iliana turned into a deserted corridor that led to Father Benjamin’s classroom when
she suddenly felt the room temperature dropped and goose bumps ran up and down her
body, like a high voltage electric shock.

           
Feeling as if something or someone was behind her Iliana attempted to turn round
but was instantly pushed back with great force. Her back slammed against the wall making
her grunt in pain, and when she looked up the first thing she saw was those soulless eyes
that she had been avoiding all day.