by Hayden, Sean
“Ahh. I see.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t figure it out overnight. We’ve had millennia and we aren’t any closer than we were in the beginning.”
“Kind of like the Republicans and Democrats, huh?”
“Exactly. Except none of us are as evil as some politicians.”
“One of us is,” I said and nodded to where Jenny had been murdered.
“True. What bothers me about it is no one has broken the Truce since the Rift. To Reap a soul that didn’t break the law is…” She let her voice trail off, letting me know that even she couldn’t get a grasp of it.
“Well, it happened. Now we need to find out who did it and hope they don’t do it again.”
She nodded. “Keep a close eye on your sister. If she really was its target, it might try again.”
“You’re right. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Promise you won’t freak out?”
“No.”
“At least promise you won’t hurt me?”
“Maybe.”
It was as good as I was going to get. “How much do you know about Raven? The girls said the attacker was cloaked all in black. You’ve seen Raven. She makes goth look cheerful.”
“She is one of the oldest of the old. She is, or was, one of the Dominions.”
“What does that mean?”
“They were the middle hierarchy of the angels. Only the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones had more power. They were the ones who were the administrators of the Creator’s will. What was passed down, came to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Floods, famine, all the good stuff. Their power was, and still is, incredible.”
“Then why is she teaching me, and why isn’t she on the Triad?”
“The Rift. You know that the Usurper was a Seraphim, the most powerful of us all, right?”
I had heard that before and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, after the Rift, most of the middle and upper hierarchy decided they were done with this plane of existence and left.”
“You mean they committed suicide?”
“No. That is one of the greatest of laws. They just vanished. No one knows where they went. A few of them, such as Raven, stayed to advise, but they would never assume a leadership role. There is no trust among us that they wouldn’t cause another Rift. That and they care little for anything anymore. They are not what they once were. So to answer your question if I think it could be Raven? My answer is no. She would have little interest in your sister, this world, or anything else. She probably only agreed to train you for a bit of a chuckle.”
“Gee, thanks. The rest of it makes sense, though. Fighting takes it all out of you.”
“Especially the Rift War. From what I hear, it was bad. Unimaginable bad.”
“Gotcha. So when were you born?”
“A few millennia after. I was one of the last. Until you came along that is.”
“And you were born a Fallen?”
“Yes.”
“Where are your parents now?”
“You know Darius. My mother lives in another realm.”
“Wait. Wait one stinking minute. Darius is your father?”
Clarisse chuckled softly. “He sired me. I don’t know if you would call it being a father. We are not born helpless like human babies. We are not coddled. We are acknowledged. That is about it.”
“That is kind of the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. Do you love your children?”
“Love.” She seemed to think about it for a few minutes. “Not like you do. Down deep, we love everyone, but… We are more embracive to the more passionate emotions. Love, when you live forever, just like hate is an emotion better left unfelt.”
“Okay. I take it back. That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. I kind of think I want to go home and hug my parents.”
“I do, too,” Clarisse said and laughed.
“Wait a minute! What about Mr. James and Jessie. He loves her with everything he’s got.”
“Once you throw a human into the mix, all bets are off. I’m sure he loved her mother, too.”
“I know he did. Jessie told me all about them.”
“It’s different with humans.”
“Why?”
“No one knows.”
“Great.”
“Alright, bedtime.”
“Gee. Thanks, Mom. See. You’re learning,” I said with a wink. “Good night, Clarisse. Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Answers and being here when I needed you.”
She walked over to me and gave me a hug. I returned it, but when my arms slid around her, she pulled back. “Close enough, mister,” she said and smiled.
Chapter 12
“Connor! Jessie’s here!”
My sister’s shrill voice echoed through the house and rattled through my teeth. “Okay!”
I pulled my shoes on and ran downstairs, seeing Jess and Caelyn chatting in the living room. From the amount of giggles I heard, I figured I was the topic of conversation.
“What did I do now?”
They both turned, looked at me, and giggled even harder. “Nothing,” Jessie said, but I could tell she wasn’t telling the truth.
“Uh huh. You ready to go, beautiful?”
“I’m not going,” Caelyn responded innocently.
“You’re also not beautiful,” I immediately responded.
“Connor Sullivan. You take that back right now!”
I didn’t know Mom was in the kitchen. She didn’t sound too happy with my witty comeback. In fact, even Jessie didn’t look too happy with it either.”
“Relax everyone! Caelyn knows I’m just kidding. Right, Cae?”
She was looking down at her lap and sniffling. She said nothing. “Cae?”
“Connor!”
“Connor Ryan,” my mom chimed in from the kitchen.
“Cae!”
She started laughing, and looked up at me and gave me an evil grin. “Yeah. I know.”
I sighed in relief. “You’re a brat. They almost killed me, you know,” I said and pointed at Jess and Mom, who still didn’t look too happy.
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have let them cut off much,” she said and punched me in the arm before running upstairs.
“Sisters,” I said to Jess, who only rolled her eyes.
“A good rule of thumb is to never tell a woman she’s not beautiful. Even if she is your sister. Wars have started over that crap.”
I nodded dutifully. “Consider it an oversight on my part, one that shall never be repeated again,” I said and bowed low in a sweeping gesture.
“Smart boy. You ready to go?”
“Yep. You want to walk or take the scooter?”
“Oh, I have a surprise for you.”
“What?”
“Come on. Follow me,” she said and walked toward the front door. She opened it and pointed outside.
In the driveway was a shiny new convertible Mustang. “Holy crap. But wait. You don’t have your license yet!”
“I do. Daddy took me after school on Wednesday. You were off doing something, so I decided to surprise you.”
“Consider me surprised!” I pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the lips. “Did I mention I’m very proud of you?”
“Not yet, you haven’t.”
“Well, I am.” I sighed heavily. I really needed to get off my butt and go get mine. Maybe then the parents would finally relent and let me get something bigger than a scooter.
The one problem with Jessie driving was that she was too nervous to let go of the steering wheel with both hands. Normally when we sat next to each other, her hand was in mine. Being this close and not doing it kind of bothered me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Just not used to not holding your hand.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Clingy, we’ll be at the mall in a minute.”
“I know,” I said defensively.
>
“Just so you know, I like that you’re clingy,” she said with a slight wink, taking her eyes off the road for just a moment.
That brightened my spirits enough to put a smile on my face for the remainder of the drive. It was only two minutes, as she said, but it felt a lot longer.
I growled when she got a spot right in front of the mall. “What is it with the women in my life and good parking spots?”
“You better mean your mother and your sister.”
“Of course I do, Mrs. Clingy.”
“Says the guy who can’t even go five minutes without holding my hand.”
“Good point.”
True to her word, her hand was back in mine as we walked into the mall. It wasn’t quite Thanksgiving yet, but most of the stores and even the mall itself were decorated with lights, holly, and bright colored ribbons. Even the Santa Encounter was being erected the last time I was there.
The sounds of Christmas carols wafted through the air. The smell of fresh pretzels assailed my nostrils, begging me to break my promise and pop their freshly baked, salted flesh into my mouth. I glanced over at Aunt Annie’s and Shannon was nowhere in sight. I sighed in relief, but steeled my resolve not to even mention the word “pretzel” in Jessie’s presence.
“They do smell good, don’t they?” Jessie said timidly.
I played dumb. “What does?”
“Shut up. I know you can smell the pretzels.”
“Oh, those. I guess. If you’re into that sorta thing.”
She swatted my arm and dragged me to the pretzel shop. I gawked at her like she was mad. “Relax,” she said. “Shannon doesn’t work here anymore.”
“Huh?”
“She got fired.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. Someone called in an anonymous tip that she was giving free pretzels out to all her friends. Imagine that.”
I stared at her as she ordered two pretzels and two cokes from the new girl behind the counter. “Wow,” I finally managed to say.
“Didn’t think I had it in me?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m just shocked that you didn’t hire a hit man,” I said and gave her a smile, truly impressed with her vindictive side that I hoped I never had to face in a million-and-a-half years.
“Daddy wouldn’t pay for the hit man.”
“Yeah. Might be hard to explain that on his American Express bill to his accountant.”
We munched on our food as we wandered through the mall. Jessie left me standing outside Angelique’s Closet while she went in to look at some items. Who they were for was a mystery. I kind of hoped they were for me. I just hoped she didn’t expect me to wear them. I waved at Clarisse through the window and she nodded while she rang up an older lady. She shrugged, wondering what I wanted. I pointed at Jess who was looking at some revealing tank-top looking thingies. She smiled and went back to work.
I turned around and looked at a few of the shops around me, wondering if I could pick up anything on my shopping list. The trendy record shop that sold cult-series merchandise would be a good place to pick up some Dr. Who paraphernalia for my dad. I could even pick up some useless pretty thing for my mom at the Hallmark store. That just left Cae and Jess. I popped my head in to Angelique’s and hissed at Jess. “I’ll be next door.”
I wanted to be quiet and not draw attention to the teenage boy sticking his head into a lingerie store. It didn’t work. Everyone turned around and smiled at my unwillingness to venture forth into the realm of lady’s undergarments.
Jess nodded absently and I blushed my way out of the store, breathing normally as I finally made it out of sight. I made it all of twelve steps when I felt the pull.
I found myself turning in the opposite direction I had been going. Thoughts of Christmas presents were quickly replaced by a need to hurry to the other end of the mall. I couldn’t explain it. I just had to be there.
Without running, I made my way through the hundreds of slow moving patrons doing their shopping. I heard someone briefly call my name, but I ignored it. I was on a mission, to do what I wasn’t sure.
I finally slowed down by the food court. Nothing seemed unusual, just a bunch of people eating lunch or grabbing a snack. I scanned the crowd and found even more nothing. I shook my head to clear it, and turned to head back toward Jessie when it hit me again.
I spun and shot through the food court in a full run, bursting through the glass entryway and outside. Something was very, very wrong and I still didn’t know what it was.
I quickly ran toward the sea of cars parked in rows, each person trying to park as close to the entrance as possible. The ground was littered with drink cups and food wrappers. I inadvertently kicked a few of them in my haste to get into the parking lot. My body kept being dragged farther and farther away until I was almost at the farthest row of cars.
I looked around. There were a few open spots, but not many. I kept walking the length of the last row until the need I had been feeling screamed into an alarm that rattled through me like someone had strapped a siren to my brain.
The feeling intensified as I drew closer to a ratty-looking green Ford that was probably older than I was. Whatever I was feeling was in there. My hand slowly reached out to open the door. I briefly wondered if the handle would fall off if I touched it, but the door opened with a rusty creak. The windows had been tinted enough that I couldn’t see inside, but with the door opened, sunlight poured into the driver’s side of the car.
A young girl huddled in the passenger’s seat and a literal monster loomed in the driver’s. As soon as the door was fully opened, she screamed for help. The whatever-it-was turned toward me and snarled, drool dripping from its maw of razor-sharp teeth. It leapt onto me and I cracked my skull against the dirty asphalt beneath me. My arms shot up and I grabbed the thing by its shoulders, stopping it from biting my face off.
As soon as my hands touched it, I felt everything.
In my grasp was one Thomas Harding. He had wished to be a werewolf ten years ago. He lived in Johnsonville, which was nearly a three-hour ride from Cedar Hills. He hadn’t come to our town to do any Christmas shopping, he had come to hunt.
For the past few years, he had been wondering what it would be like to feed off a human. He had started small, feeding off the wildlife in the forests that surrounded his town, but even the thrill of the kill was never enough. Deer blood was sweet, but he was sure human blood would be even sweeter.
The only thing that kept him at bay was fear. Only the fear of getting caught, not by the Fallen surprisingly enough, but by the police, stopped him from giving in to his whim. He held a disdain for the Fallen, finding them uncaring. Deep down he didn’t think they would care if he ate a human or two, they probably just told him the laws to keep him from preying upon too many.
A missing person in a smallish town like Johnsonville wouldn’t go unnoticed. He had watched enough television to know about DNA tests and such. With a limited amount of suspects, somehow or someway, he was sure to be caught.
Until he came up with the notion to hunt elsewhere.
The sleepy little town of Cedar Hills would be perfect. It was far enough from his territory he was sure he could get away with it. When he happened upon the mall and saw the young girl looking for her car in the farthest reaches of the parking lot, he knew he had found his next meal.
He watched her as she wandered around and then made his move when the lot was devoid of prying eyes. He grabbed her, put his hand over her mouth, and dragged her to his car. He forced her inside through his door and slipped in beside her, slamming the door behind him. He laughed at her as she tried to open the other door, which hadn’t worked for years. Then he turned. Her screams melted into his ears like candy on his tongue. Her fear would make her flesh that much sweeter. He leaned in and licked her neck, from her shoulder to her ear. Sure enough, she did taste just like candy.
Suddenly, his door opened…
I blinked my eyes a few times to clear memories
that weren’t mine from my head. I stared at the snarling face in front of me in absolute horror and disgust.
This man was another Brett.
This man didn’t deserve to have the gift that had been given to him. Then another thought crossed my mind that I prayed wasn’t mine. This man didn’t deserve to live.
My body took over.
My wings sprouted beneath me, lifting me from the pavement a few inches. My hands transformed, talons sprouting from my fingertips. They slowly sank into the flesh of the monster above me, totally preventing him from getting away. I felt a heat flow through my eyes. His expression told me everything I needed to know. My eyes were glowing red. He knew what I was.
He whimpered in fear as I released one of his shoulders and put my hand to his face. My magic poured down my arm and through my hand, pooling inside him and gathering his soul. His whimpers slowly faded from his throat as I pulled my hand away, dragging his soul out with it.
His soul looked like a blue, glowing translucent copy of his balding human self, not the monster he turned into. Its pitiful cries for help and mercy sounded like squeaks that would have been funny under any other circumstances.
I pushed his body away and kept his soul in my hand as I stood. When the last of it snapped from his body, the soul began to collect in upon itself, shrinking down in size and turning into a blue glowing orb.
“You broke the law, Thomas,” I whispered to the globe and released it into the clear blue skies above me.
As it floated away, I turned back into my human-looking self and checked on the girl inside the car. She was staring at me like I was the monster, until it finally dawned on her that I had just saved her life.
“Thank you,” she whispered as her eyes widened. I had a feeling she might be going into shock as the reality of what had just happened sank in a little more.
“You’re fine,” I said and caught her eye. I let my mind magic settle onto her gaze. “The man on the ground tried to abduct you, but he must have had a heart attack with all the excitement. Why don’t you rest for a bit, and when you wake up, call the police and let them know what happened here.”
“Okay,” she said and lay back in the pleather seat, closing her eyes and dozing off.
