Keeper of the Innocents

by Kristy Centeno

  “I’m your mother.” She squared her shoulders and placed both hands on her hips. “I will always worry.”

  That much was true at least.

  “Well, I spoke with him and confirmed he’s half human. Although, I’m not so sure how good that actually is, considering he’s half demon.”

  “What else did he say?”

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t so much what he said but what I saw.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “Do you remember that attack two years ago when I lost my ability to have visions?”

  Mom nodded. “I remember.”

  I could tell by the look on her face she had just recalled that moment two years ago when she found me sprawled on the ground, unconscious. And judging by her expression, she was none too happy about it.

  “Rhyzel was there that night. He was the one being attacked by demons when, apparently, I stumbled upon him.” I scrunched up my face as I tried to bring back that moment in time two years ago but it was a lost cause. “They wanted to kill him. Actually, pretty much every type of demon we know has tried to kill him at some point in his life,” I added.

  “Rhyzel?” Mom arched an eyebrow.

  “That’s our neighbor’s name,” I said. “Interesting name, isn’t it?”

  “And he’s been hunted by other demons?”

  “Being hunted is more like it.” I sighed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. “Anyway, that’s what I saw.”

  “You cast a spell?” Mom let her hands drop to the sides. “To see all that, I mean?”

  “Yeah, well, I did, but it was a truth spell,” I added quickly. “But that’s not how I got all that information.” The next sentence was a little harder to spit out. “He…kissed me.”

  Mom’s eyes looked like they were a second away from popping out. “He did what? I’m going to kill him!” She turned fast on her heel, heading for the door.

  “Mom!” I rushed off the bed and grabbed a hold of her wrist to stop her retreat. “There’s no need for that. I’m fine.”

  She stopped and turned to look at me. “He’s a demon, Demi.”

  “He’s half demon, Mom. And I don’t think he’s a threat to us.” I couldn’t believe I was actually defending Rhyzel. If I didn’t know any better I’d say I’d lost my nerve at some point during the last hour. What the hell? He kisses me once and all of a sudden I’m standing up for him? Geez. I need to get out more. “I’m pretty sure him kissing me wasn’t on impulse. I think he was hoping I’d get a vision or something so that I could see into his life. And yes, he succeeded. I saw much more than I ever thought possible. But he was under the spell when I interrogated him about his life and he assured me he means us no harm.”

  Mom relaxed her posture and I took that as a sign she wasn’t going to storm out of the room, so I let go of her arm.

  “So what is he doing here?”

  “Biding his time, I guess.” I wasn’t sure if that was even true but I had to reassure Mom before she went off on a demon hunting spree. “He’s trying to keep things on the low side. He wants to keep the other demons hunting him at bay or something. The thing is, he probably won’t be here for long.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I quickly explained everything so she could understand why I hesitated to “take care of him,” as she would have put it. Mom listened patiently and quietly, but I could tell she was worried. It was safe for me to assume she probably thought something wasn’t right, but there was no way for us to prove it. At least not yet.

  “We have to be very cautious at all times,” Mom finally said. “Best not let our guards down just in case.”

  If only she knew I’d already done that twice. Rhyzel had managed to appear out of nowhere and pounce on more than one occasion and had I been in danger while in his presence, I would have been dead or enslaved by now. However, I was determined to be alert from now on. There was no sense in exposing myself again.

  “Just because I couldn’t prove he’s after us that doesn’t mean I trust him. I’m perfectly aware that he’s half demon and like it or not, this could mean trouble for us. I’ve already decided to keep my eye on him just case. In the meantime, I’m going to demon proof Renee’s apartment just to be on the safe side.”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll keep an eye on this mysterious stranger, too.”

  I nodded. “That’ll help me concentrate more on being Renee’s Keeper.”

  “I’m really proud of you, Demi.” Mom’s expression softened. “You’ve already taken charge and are proving how skillful you’ll be as a Keeper.”

  Under normal circumstances I would have agreed with her but after what happened with Rhyzel, hearing her praise me felt wrong. Before I could accept any form of praise I had to prove myself, and so far, I’d only proved how distracted I can be.

  “Wait until I’m done with my first assignment and then we can talk about how good I am, Mom.”

  Mom laughed. “Okay, okay.” She raised her hands as a sign of defeat. “Good night, sweetheart.”

  “Good night, Mom.”

  I watched her exit the room before I padded over to my dresser and rummaged through the drawers in search of underwear and a clean pair of pajamas. Once I’d decided what to wear, I hurried to the bathroom.

  “Night, Dad,” I called as I spotted him heading toward his bedroom.

  “Goodnight, Demi,” he called back seconds before he disappeared through the wooden door.

  Smiling, I hurried inside, hoping to submerge myself under the strong current of water pouring down from the faucet. After the day I’d had, a little relaxation was the only thing on my mind.

  ***

  As expected, the nightmare invaded my subconscious mind, following its usual routine. No sooner had I lost myself into oblivion than the recurring drama began to unfold as it had for the past week. Everything started with me standing in the front of the building, alone, watching the empty streets as I struggled to fully comprehend why my world had changed so drastically.

  There was no explanation readily available. As always, I was alone. Defeated. Exiled in a world much like my own, but very different. This was like a dark, gloomy, and much scarier version. As the dream continued to play out, I tried to figure out why it kept playing over and over again. It never changed. It always followed this strict protocol.

  Often times it felt as if I was living through an experience—perhaps recalling something from the past— but deep down my mind knew this was not the case. I had never been in such a place. Nor had I undergone such a dramatic event in my entire life—that I could recall, anyway.

  I followed through the events, knowing how things were going to end up. I had no control at all—even though it was all in my head. I had tried to run away—walk in the opposite direction, but found that my feet wouldn’t move unless I was heading towards the building’s front entrance.

  Beaten by the environment around me, I simply allowed myself to be carried through the events. However, as I got to the part where the hand appears and takes a hold of me, I was suddenly sucked inside the hollowed doorway by unseen forces. This was something entirely new and unexpected. Nothing like this had ever happened before, which freaked me out even more.

  I cried out as my body moved almost with a mind of its own. Deep down I knew someone else controlled my movements, but for a moment it felt as if I was allowing myself to free fall.

  That wasn’t really the case, but I couldn’t explain why the nightmare was taking me in an entirely new direction.

  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do but wonder what would happen next.

  I did manage to use my hands to break the fall. To my misfortune, the floor was covered in bits and pieces of debris and glass particles, which cut straight through my skin. I winced, but quickly picked my slightly numb body off the ground and focused my attention away from the radiating pain in my palms to the darkness that surrounded me, looking for the creature I knew had to be somewhere nearby
.

  The being had never failed to make an appearance and I didn’t think it was about to start now. And wishing it wouldn’t show up wasn’t about to keep it at bay.

  I backed away toward the entrance, knowing that the creature wouldn’t cross the threshold to the other side, where very little sunlight kept the outside world a shade lighter than the inside of my apartment building. The reason behind this was still a mystery, but I was counting on that piece of info to keep me safe.

  I retreated as fast as I could, keeping my gaze focused ahead and ignoring the pain in my hands. It was dark. Too dark. And trying to see a creature—no matter how big it always appeared to be—through all that darkness was virtually impossible. Not to mention the uncanny stillness really didn’t help put things in perspective.

  Finding time to worry about the mysterious creature took a backseat when it actually showed up. As I backed up, coming within a couple of feet from bolting out the cracked doorway, a huge, black figure emerged from—judging by the layout of the lobby floor I knew so well—the stairwell that led to the second floor.

  My breath hitched in my throat as I saw it approach. It was easily two, maybe three feet taller than me and twice as wide. Even though I couldn’t make any concrete features out, I could tell it was every bit as grotesque as I had imagined it. It had no horns, no hooved feet since I could make out the outline of shoes—or something like it, but other than that it was incredibly difficult to be certain of anything else.

  Had I dreamed about this before I would have known exactly what to do or what to expect, but the scene playing out in my head was completely new and unexpected. Even in my unconscious state I couldn’t help but wonder if the events of my long day could have affected the way I perceived things. I’d had a very full day, filled with twists and turns.

  The loud, lion-like roar that shook the walls of the lobby and nearly shattered my eardrums brought me back to the predicament at hand. If its enormous girth wasn’t enough to scare me half to death, that earsplitting growl was enough to make me want to poof my way back to reality.

  I watched in horror as it dragged its left foot, as if it weighed too much for it to take a step, and I noticed for the first time how its right shoulder slouched slightly as if it carried something heavy I couldn’t see. The closer it got the better I could make out little details of its anatomy and what I saw was enough to force my heart into a frenzied gallop.

  I had yet to see the creature in a lighted setting, but I was fairly certain I didn’t want to. What little I had zoned in on had been enough.

  As if reading my mind, the creature lurched forward, reaching out for me with its left hand. I screamed at the top of my lungs and turned on my heel, intending to run out of the building, but when I tried to rush out the doorway I was blasted back inside the dark room by an invisible force field. A flash of luminescent light momentarily blinded me as I soared through the air, elevating my fear to a whole new level.

  A sudden understanding washed over me. I was now trapped in the same lair as the creature and I could not escape.

  For a mere fraction of a second I could see nothing. Do nothing but wonder as to what would happen next. To make matters even worse, I practically flew right into the arms of the only other being in the room with me. I collided with what I could only assume must have been its chest and slipped clumsily to the floor, heaving for air as it left my lungs in a rush upon impact.

  I landed on my right side, clutching at my chest as I struggled to breathe once again. The pain and discomfort centered in the palms of my hand was momentarily forgotten. A thousand and one thoughts crossed my mind, but I had no time to sort them out as a hand with large fingers grabbed a hold of my left arm and abruptly forced me onto my back.

  With a squeak, I gazed up at my enemy, flinching when I caught sight of those red eyes, and prepared myself for the worse.

  “You think you can save them both,” the creature said as it lowered its massive head so that our eyes were only inches apart. “You’re wrong.” The voice, so inhuman and full of malice it practically reeked of it, was probably the most nerve-wracking thing I’d ever heard in my years of battling evil, and I’d heard plenty of frightening things in my life.

  Before I could form a response, the creature struck the side of my face and the world turned black.

  Chapter Nine

  The Not So Nice Sister

  Due to the unpleasant dream I woke up startled and more confused than ever. I was now convinced my nighttime terrors had something to do with reality. And to make matters worse I had been mixed up in some otherworldly mysteries which included a gothic looking angel, a demon for a next door neighbor, and a charge whose very life was literally put in my hands to guard against an evil I knew nothing about.

  When I imagined myself taking on my Keeper responsibilities it never occurred to me that life itself would throw me for a few loops. In spite of all the craziness, I was absolutely sure the only way to get to the bottom of things was to proceed normally and see what evil entity tried to strike first. If there was more than one I’d know sooner or later. And if there was only one powerful force at work, then he/she wouldn’t take long to make his/her presence known.

  All I had to do was wait. But waiting patiently was probably my biggest flaw. If there was one thing I truly hated, it was waiting.

  Unfortunately, because I knew nothing about what evil I’d be facing, I decided to take as many precautionary measures as possible. Aside from demon proofing Renee’s bedroom, I decided to prepare a potion—one of the best stunners I knew how to concoct—and pour it into a vial I would keep with me at all times just in case the moment arrived and I needed something with a powerful kick to help me catch my opponent by surprise.

  So while Mom and Dad slept, enjoying their weekend off from work, I worked on my potion. When it was ready, I poured it into the tiny glass jar, capped it, and slipped it inside the messenger bag I planned to take with me. With cell phone and keys in hand, I exited my apartment and stepped into the hallway.

  Though I tried to control the sudden impulse I had to glance where my demon next door neighbor lived, I couldn’t stop it. My eyes automatically shifted directions and honed in on the entrance to my enemy’s lair. Despite the many days I’d spent wondering who or what observed me from afar—my supernatural abilities being able to pick up on a presence even if my mood ring failed to register the fact—there was no such strange anomaly on this day.

  There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that gave rise to any sudden suspicions. The sensation of being watched was gone. There was only this overwhelming sensation of loneliness where a day before there had been so much more. And, to my utter disbelief, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  Relief was there, but accompanying it was confusion. If Rhyzel wasn’t watching me, where was he? What was he up to? Was he out in the human world wreaking havoc on mankind? Or was he at work?

  As hard as it was for me to believe, he might have actually told the truth about having a job, attending college, and trying to live a normal life under the circumstances. I mean, sure, I cast a spell that should have guaranteed an honest response, but with him being half demon, I was no longer absolutely sure it had worked the way it should have.

  What if he’d managed to make himself be something he wasn’t?

  Where relief and confusion once reigned, alarm soon set in. Even if he had yet to prove himself an enemy, I still couldn’t bring myself to trust him. With Renee’s life in jeopardy, I couldn’t allow him to just slip under the radar. He may have been free of charge when it came to his origins but that didn’t exactly mean he was good.

  There was one thing I was sure of though, everything was moving too damn fast. I went from having little responsibilities one day, to practically having the weight of the world thrown on me the next. I wanted to believe things should have been simpler, but that wasn’t the case. Some witches have years to prepare for a single mission while others are kick
ed in the rear end one day and told to suck it up. I was one of them.

  Hurrying to lock the door behind me, I made my way up the stairs to Mina’s place. I took my time, waiting to see if the prior sensations of feeling a pair of invisible eyes watching my every move came back but nothing happened. It was soon apparent I was alone.

  I hadn’t quite reached the door to Mina’s apartment when the sound of her angered voice drifted towards me followed by a slam of a door and some muffled shouting. Knowing how difficult my best friend could get, I simply stood in front of the door to give the occupants some time to cool off. I didn’t have to go in to know Mina was probably making a scene because Evan refused to either give her money or he’d yelled at her for something.

  It was a scenario I’d encountered before and it was never pleasant to see my dearest friend behave like a total baby when she couldn’t get her way. Evan usually tried his best to be the bigger person, but even he lost his patience with her. Not that his efforts at being a guardian were a complete failure, but Mina wasn’t the type to take fault for anything and if she could make things harder for him, she would.

  For some reason she acted as if Evan was to blame for her abandonment, which made no sense to me. Instead of questioning her though, I tried to be her support buddy. Whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on, I was there. Whenever she needed a wakeup call, I was there, too.

  Not hearing anymore disturbances, I lifted my right hand and knocked. After the third rap, Evan opened the door, looking as every bit as angered as I imagined.

  “Hey, Demi.” Though he was obviously in a lousy mood, he tried to hide it from me. It was something I was used to, so I played along.

  “Hey,” I greeted him with a smile. “What’s all the shouting about?”

  Evan let out some air and took a step back. “I told Mina I wouldn’t give her her weekly allowance unless she chipped in more around here and you can guess how well that went.”