Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1)

by Tara Benham

  “We were talking about heading back into to town to get lunch, are you ready to go?”

  “Lunch sounds great. Let’s go.”

  Back the café, we were just about to eat our hamburgers when Declan and Hadraniel entered. They were dusty and dirty. I was pretty sure the older lady who was our waitress almost dropped the dishes she had just cleared from the table next to us from the sight of them. It was entertaining to watch others react to their looks so much. Even I had to admit that the dust and dirt looked good on them. Alissa straightened her hair and waved for them to join us at our table. Both boys grabbed a chair before sitting down, Declan between Alissa and me, and Hadraniel safely beside Hannah.

  “How was your afternoon boys?” Alissa almost sung her question.

  “It was most educational,” Hadraniel said in a seemingly bored tone.

  “That doesn’t sound fun.” Sadie pouted towards Had.

  I rolled my eyes causing Hannah to giggle.

  “It would have been more fun if the walking encyclopedia over there had shut up even for a minute.” Hadraniel pointed towards Declan, who simply shrugged, unconcerned with the jest.

  “I know what I know.”

  Another eye roll from me garnered yet another giggle from Hannah. This one was not unnoticed by Declan.

  “Something funny?” He arched his eyebrow.

  “Bayla. She’s a funny, funny girl who doesn’t know how to control her face.”

  I made a silly face at her and then stuck my tongue out.

  “Anyways, Gray and I were talking about a group date,” she said, glancing at me before continuing. “Would you all want to team up and go with us?”

  “Declan, you can be my date.” Alissa was literally bouncing at the chance to have a date with Declan.

  “Cool.” He was nonchalant, but she didn’t seemed fazed.

  “Had, you can accompany Sadie. It can be on a friendly manner. Bay told us you were dating someone. I wouldn’t want to step on toes.”

  “What about poor Bay over there? Is she to be left out, or go solo?” Declan asked with a smirk. He was lucky my eyes couldn’t do more than glare.

  “Actually, Gray has a friend in the band that could accompany Bayla on the outing.” She looked very pleased with herself when Declan grunted at her answer.

  “Sounds fun to me, I guess. What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “They’re playing a movie on a portable screen downtown on Saturday.” Gray stepped up and wrapped his arms around Hannah’s neck and rested his head on hers. Again, the texting was something for me to get used to.

  “Friday, cookout at your parents, and Saturday, a movie on the square. Right?” I was making sure to reiterate the dates, so that I kept us on a working timeline to get us safely out of town at the right time.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the group, checking out shops together and just enjoying each other’s company. Having friends my age was nice. It was different to pretend to be a human teenager, and I could see what Hadraniel was talking about when he said I needed to have a little fun. I was enjoying myself and really letting go. It was late in the evening when we made it back to our cottage, tired but fulfilled.

  Breath is Spirit. The act of breathing is Living. ~Author Unknown

  The next morning was Thursday, and I decided we should just hang out around the house most of the day. I explained to Hadraniel that I needed a break to clear my head. He agreed, but thought maybe we should invite the group over to hang out in order to not lose all contact with them, as well as creating an opportunity to learn more about them. I finally agreed. We made the phones calls and decided to order several pizzas. The guy on the other line said he could deliver to us even though he acted like he never even knew a house existed where we were staying.

  “So what’s on your agenda until they get here later? Are you planning on staying in that chair all day?” Had dropped down on the couch across from me. He seemed to be following my lead for bumming it for the day.

  “This is it. I’m going to lie right here and be a lazy human teenage girl until it’s time to get dressed.” I snickered. The thought of me being lazy, human, or even a teenager was ludicrous. I had never done anything that fit those categories.

  “Sounds like a good plan. Do you know any games to play tonight?”

  I glanced over to see he had laid down on his back on the couch, staring at the ceiling mimicking me. I wasn’t sure if I should admit that I had never played games before or not. I knew we should have something to do when they arrived, but I didn’t know what.

  “I don’t know any games, Haddy…like at all.” I slid my eyes back towards him to see him shaking his head and grinning.

  “I’m not surprised you’re so good at your job. Have you never done anything just for fun or even misbehaved just a bit, ever? I’m not really sure if they have the same kind of games here. Why don’t I use the internet and see what some normal games for Earth teenagers to play are?” He pulled the laptop onto his chest and propped himself up some so that he could see what he was typing. Had was adapting well to being a human, quicker than I would have expected.

  “Truth or Dare.”

  “What is that?”

  “Apparently, you take turns asking each other to choose either truth or dare. If the person chooses truth they have to answer whatever question they are asked truthfully. If they choose dare, you have to dare them to do something.”

  “Sounds kind of fun, but we would have to make sure our ‘truths’ were believable. I’m up for whatever though. Apparently, I’m in need of some fun.” I arched my eyebrow at him.

  “I figured you heard us talking. The door slam was weird. You never make noise when you move.” I made a face at him. “I’m a Blue, remember? We are trained to observe.” He winked.

  “Thanks for not ratting me out, then. You spent all day with Declan yesterday. What’s your take on him? I know I haven’t really asked you for much help with the mission. I’m not one for working with others, but you have intel now that could benefit both of us. Since you are so well trained in observation, as you say, he must have given something away.”

  “First of all, he is really dorky. Like really dorky,” he extended the second really out for several seconds. “Second of all, I don’t know any other demons, but he just doesn’t seem like how we were taught demons should be. Sure, he’s clever, and pretty good at making other people like him, but he just doesn’t seem to be evil. I don’t get it. In training, we are taught that all demons are conniving and that they use their looks to manipulate others to follow them. Declan just doesn’t fit those descriptions. Most of the day, he explained the areas we were checking out and asked about you. Not about your job, or your plans, but what you like to eat or do, what makes you laugh. Those kinds of questions.”

  “It’s still probably just his way of getting to me. Maybe he thinks if he can get me to like him, I’ll give in to him easier. I am resolved though. I will be kind towards him, but I will treat him like I would have treated Meph. We have a mission to save Gray, and I, WE, will succeed in that mission.”

  “That’s true. He could be trying a different angle, but honestly, I don’t think that’s it at all. I think he likes you, Bayla, which is just as dangerous. Angels and demons cannot be together. We learned about some that tried in the past. It never worked out well, specifically for the angels.” He shuddered at whatever he had learned in class. The Blues are privileged to information most angels are not.

  “Rest assured, Had, that I have no interested in trying to have a relationship with Declan or with anyone for that matter. Other than the Elders and Father Paul, I think you’re the only angel I’ve ever spent this much time with outside of mandatory gatherings.”

  “But you live with Aniston.”

  “I do. I’m sure you’ll find this hard to believe, but I’m not big on chipperness, or friends in general. Well, that is, I wasn’t before this trip. After s
pending time with Hannah and the others, I think I would like to give Aniston a chance. I think I may actually like her, and will probably make her a friend.”

  “Is she really that bad?” Hadraniel’s face fell a little.

  “No, not at all actually. It’s just I’ve always liked my alone time, Had. Honestly, it was easier before because if I didn’t make connections to others, I wouldn’t have feelings. I’m sure you can see why not having feelings would help. At least, that’s what I used to think. I think feelings aren’t so bad now.”

  He grinned and nodded. “I’m glad you don’t think Aniston is all that bad. I may ask the Elders to see if we would make a good match. If we are, then you’ll be stuck with her forever, ‘cause you’re already stuck with me for life, Bay.”

  “There are worse fates.” I smirked, and he threw a pillow at me. I caught it, put it behind my head and snickered.

  “Bayla.” He looked at me no longer grinning. “Is your fate worse than that? Is that why you made me promise?”

  “Had.” I grimaced, “please don’t ask me that question. We already discussed what could possibly happen and why. I don’t want to think about that right now. I have every intention of saving Gray, and anyone else who may need it as well. So we need to work on making ways to ensure that, not thinking of ways to save me.”

  “Okay. I know we said we needed to rest some today, so I’m going to put on some music. Care if I do some earthquake and camping research while you relax?”

  “As you wish, my dear Blue.”

  He snickered, turned on some relaxing music, and before I knew it, I had drifted into a deep sleep. My worries seeped into my dreams. I had to fight Meph in my dream. I had to fend him off while Gray was falling. I knew it was just a dream because Gray was falling upwards, but it was still stressful for me. I don’t know how long I slept, or fought rather. But I woke up on the floor. Hadraniel was laughing as he was trying to check on me. Once he saw my face though, he stopped laughing.

  “What’s wrong, Bayla?”

  “I was fighting Meph in my sleep. I must have fallen off the chair when I was falling down to Hell. The impact woke me.” Fear struck my heart. It had been such a realistic dream. I needed to talk to Father Paul, alone. “I need to run to town and see Fath…..er...Mr. Whitstock before everyone gets here. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

  “No. You said no working today. The pizza will be here in less than an hour, and everyone else in about thirty minutes. You can’t go in today. I know you want to talk to him but save it for the morning.” He sounded very Blue and authoritarian. If he didn’t make me mad and scare me a tad, I would have fought it. But he wasn’t backing down on the eye contact, and after all, I had agreed to no work.

  “Fine” I glared. “First thing in the morning though I am going. Alone. You can sleep in. I will be back long before the cookout at Gray’s parents.”

  “Works for me.” He smirked at his small victory.

  I was still fuming when I decided to head up to the bathroom to shower and get ready. I hadn’t changed out of my pajamas for the entirety of the day. I had no intentions of letting anyone see me looking like that other than Hadraniel. The hot water felt great. The water on my head allowed for a different kind of quiet. I used that time to pray and ask for guidance. I needed to come up with some plan for taking the fight with Meph away from where Gray and the group would be. I had faith that Hadraniel could not only save them but defeat Declan if necessary. I needed to get out to where we would be camping before anyone else to scout out the best hiding places. I knew I needed to let Father Paul know my plans tomorrow so that he could find me if something happened once I left the bookstore.

  I stayed upstairs longer than I should have, but I needed the time alone. When I went back down, everyone was already there, plus a new guy I had seen in Gray’s band the first night. Hannah grabbed his hand and pulled him towards me. At first he looked reluctant until he saw me. I must have been better looking than he hoped, because he broke out into a goofy grin.

  “Bayla, this is Everett. He’s in Gray’s band. He’s the one I told you about last night. Everett, this is Bayla.”

  Admittedly, Everett was easy on the eyes. Tall and lean, with shaggy, dark hair and light brown eyes. I put my hand out to shake his, which seemed foreign to him. He fist-bumped me instead, awkwardly, before handing me a water from the counter. I heard a snort from the corner of the room where Declan was standing. He seemed amused at the events that had just occurred. Ignoring him, I joined the group in the living room, alongside Everett.

  “Pizza should be getting here soon.” Haddy announced. “Ok, so I have a confession. As kids of missionaries, we didn’t play many games growing up. Do you have any suggestions? We looked up some on the internet and found Truth or Dare, but that’s about it.”

  “OMG! I haven’t played Truth or Dare in forever! Let’s play that!” Hannah giggled.

  Looking around, the guys in the group, all had a collective look of annoyance, while the girls had silly grins. After some more coaxing from Hannah, everyone decided that we would play after we had our pizza. Just as Alissa started to explain the rules to Declan, the pizza arrived. It smelled heavenly. Hadraniel looked pretty happy with the choice as well. I knew with the number of boys that were coming two pizzas wouldn’t be enough. I’d ordered four, which Hadraniel thought was ridiculous. I think he probably understood why now. I had two slices myself. There wasn’t much talking going on while everyone was eating, but as soon as we were finished, Had suggested sitting around the fire outside to play games. It wasn’t quite cool enough to need a fire at night, but no one really questioned the suggestion. I sat on a glider, and Everett sat down beside me. Alissa very happily sat beside Declan on the swing, while Hadraniel, Gray, Hannah, and Sadie took the remaining seats around the fire.

  “So how’s this work? Who goes first?” Had asked.

  “I’ll go first.” Hannah shot me a grin. “Bayla, truth or dare?”

  “Crap. Um, truth?” I shot a quick glance at Had to make sure he knew that most of our truths would indeed be untrue.

  “Yes!” She high-fived Gray who was sitting next to her. “If you had to kiss one person in this group, who would you choose?” She tried to play innocent, but her mischievous eyes gave her away.

  My eyes glided first to Declan, who seemed to have little more than a passing interest in my response, while Everett’s cheeks were turning all different shades of red. I’m sure my face matched his. I took a drink, coughed, and delayed so long, she told me I had to answer. I glared at her, causing her to grin even more. “I guess Everett.” Declan rolled his eyes, and Hannah just full-on laughed. Hadraniel seemed more than amused as well. Gray high fived Everett this time.

  “Your turn now, Bayla. You get to ask someone.”

  “Alissa, truth or dare?” I had no idea why I chose her. I didn’t even really like her.

  “Dare, because I’m not afraid of a challenge.”

  I knew she was poking at me and my choice of truth, but I wasn’t going to let her get to me.

  “I dare you to go wash off all of your make-up and have a bare face the rest of the day.” As much as I disliked her, Alissa was pretty. She just wore make-up all the time. I wasn’t sure if it was out of vanity or insecurity. My dare must have caught her off guard.

  “Okay.” She didn’t looked pleased, but after talking such a big game, she had to follow through.

  A few minutes later, she came back out. She was prettier without the make-up in my opinion. Everyone else agreed, and even told her so which made her less self-conscious, but not any less annoying. She appeared to be gloating like she had won over me or something.

  “Declan. Truth or dare?” No surprise there with her choosing him.

  “Dare”

  “I dare you to kiss someone in the group.” She looked assured that she was going to get kissed.

  “Is that the whole dare?” He looked bored.

  “Yes.”

 
; He stood up, walked over to me and bent forward. My breath caught, and everyone gasped. I couldn’t even look up at his eyes. I could feel his eyes upon me, patiently waiting for me to look up, but I couldn’t. I could barely breathe. I had never, ever, been kissed, and here he was about to kiss me, with an audience no less. Time seemed to stop. I heard my heartbeat in my chest, I saw his knees bend, going from a bent to a squatting position directly in front of me. Hadraniel had said there were bad consequences when Angels and Demons tried to interact this way. I hope a kiss didn’t fall into that category.

  “Angel, look at me,” he whispered so only I could hear him. He placed his index finger under my chin, lifting it up slightly, so our eyes met. “One kiss, right?” He spoke out loud, never breaking our eye contact. He leaned over, bringing his face closer to mine. My heart was close to breaking free from my rib cage. Just as I felt his breath on my lips, I closed my eyes and then… nothing happened. When I looked up, he was on his butt near the fire. Everett was standing over him.

  “Calm down, dude!” Gray had a hold of one of Everett’s arms.

  Declan was smirking. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and stepped towards Everett, getting very close to his face. “You get that one. Next time you touch me, I don’t care who’s around, I will retaliate.” He winked at me and turned back to sit next to Alissa, who was now pouting.

  I glanced at Hannah who was wide-eyed in shock. Hadraniel looked upset. I had no control over what just happened. It was like I forgot how to do anything. He had a hold over me in that moment. I wanted him to kiss me. I had never wanted anything more than I did at that moment. I shook my head and took a drink in hopes that it would help clear my thoughts.

  “Okay, seems like Truth or Dare wasn’t the best idea after all. Shall we play something else?” Hannah suggested, hoping to cut some of the tension.

  “I’m sorry, Bayla.” Everett apologized to me. “I know that was not fair of me. I have no rights to dictate who you kiss or who kisses you, but I felt like maybe it was unwanted?” The inflection in his voice made it seem more like a question than a statement.