The Fallen Star (Fallen Star Series)

by Jessica Sorensen

  Laylen shoved his way through the crowd, heading for the dance floor. We all trailed behind him, the pokes and prods of stray elbows banging me in the back and sides. I cradled my arm protectively around my stitches to keep any stray body parts from jabbing into it.

  The air smelled of incense overlapped by cigarette smoke and sweat. In the middle of everything was a bar, raising the question if we were even old enough to be in here. Why hadn’t they carded us at the door?

  At the edge of the crowd, swinging from the ceiling, was a giant life-size bird cage. As I pushed my way out of the last of the sweaty bodies, I caught sight of what was inside the cage and came to a slamming halt. A woman, twirling gracefully around a pole. Her wavy black hair hung all the way down to the bottom of her back. A leather corset dress fitted her body, and thigh high boots laced-up up her legs. A velvet choker wrapped her neck, and snaking up her arm was whip. A pair of striking black-feathered wings sprouted out of her shoulder blades.

  She spun around the pole, and then locked her haunting grey eyes on me. I felt my breath catch. My body suddenly felt so warm, like I was melting. My limbs, my muscles, everything centered to her. I knew what I needed to do. I needed to go to her. Right now. It was imperative that I did…A matter of life or death.

  My leg lifted up and, like a puppet bound to its strings, stepped down, inching my body closer to the cage. A silent warning breezed my mind, screaming at me to stop, but my other leg rose up and touched back down to the floor, moving me to her. Another step…I was just about in reach of the lock that bolted the cages door shut. The feather-winged woman watched me with hungry eyes as my arm extended forward, my fingers brushing the cold metal—

  Someone grabbed my arm. A zap of electricity hummed through my body.

  “Don’t,” I heard Alex say as he guided me swiftly away from the cage.

  I blinked dazedly at him.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked crossly.

  “I-I” I stuttered. What had I been doing? Trying to let the woman out. It seemed like such a good idea a few seconds ago, but now…

  “If you open that up,” he pointed a finger at the cage, “then you’ll be the one trapped in there with a pair of wings growing out of your back.”

  I cringed. “I didn’t mean to…I mean I don’t know why I was going to do it. I just couldn’t…think.” I glanced back at the cage. The woman’s pale blue lips curled into a snarl, and she let out a hiss. I jumped back, slamming my shoulder into Alex’s chest. Big mistake. Caught off-guard, I gasped from the electricity that shot through my body.

  “Sor-ry,” I stammered, stumbling away from him.

  He pressed his lips together and rolled his shoulders and neck, as if he was trying to shake off my touch. “Please watch where you’re going.”

  “I said I was sorry,” I snapped.

  He sighed and turned around, heading off in the direction of a spiral staircase. Aislin and Laylen stood at the top of it, staring down at us.

  “So what is she?” I asked, climbing up the stairs after Alex.

  He glanced over his shoulder at me. “What?”

  “The woman back there.” I gave a nod back at the cage. “She’s obviously not human. So what is she?”

  He came to an unexpected halt, and I almost ran into him. Again. “She was probably human once until she did something stupid like opened up the cage for the previous Black Angel that was locked inside.”

  “A Black Angel? What like a Fallen Angel or something?”

  “Not quite.” He shook his head. “Look Gemma, as much as I’d love to stand here and explain everything to you, I really think we should get going.” And with that, he turned his back at me and trotted up the stairs.

  I sighed and grudgingly followed after him.

  “How much longer is this going to take?” Alex asked Aislin, pacing impatiently in front of the doorway of the room where the Sword of Immortality was locked inside a display case. Luckily, the room had been empty. We’d been up there for about ten minutes now, but with as anxious as Alex was acting you’d of thought ten hours had passed by.

  “Not too much longer,” Aislin replied. “I don’t think.”

  I was standing just outside the doorway next to Laylen. He was keeping a lookout for…well, anything basically. A hallway extended out on each side of us. The florescent lighting of the lantern lights was hitting the maroon walls and tinting everything a dark shade of red. It reminded me of blood.

  And what part did I play in all of this? Absolutely nothing. I served no more purpose than the vase perched on the table in front of us. It took up space and nothing more, which was about what I was doing. Well that, and making the whole situation even more dangerous, especially if a Death Walker showed up, which Laylen informed me was a possibility. I wasn’t sure if Alex knew this or not, but I wasn’t going to be the one to break it to him.

  Laylen and I had both been quiet for the most part. It wasn’t necessarily an awkward silence, though. I think we’d both spent our fair share of time being lonely, and silence wasn’t an unsettling thing.

  “So…do you think he’s going to wear a hole in the carpet or what?” Laylen asked, breaking our not unsettling quiet.

  I’d been watching the staircase intently, waiting for someone to unexpectedly popup into view and take us by surprise. “Huh? Who?”

  “Alex.”

  I glanced at Alex. He was still pacing the floor, his eyes fixed like a hawk on Aislin.

  “Maybe,” I answered.

  Laylen laughed. “I’m almost certain he’s going to.”

  I laughed softly, the air tickling at my lungs.

  Laylen leaned back against the wall and folded his arms, his muscles flexing and making his skin ripple a little.

  I stared at the tattoo tracing up his forearm. The black, hieroglyphic shapes were the same as what stitched the lanterns shades.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, pointing at his tattoo.

  He raised his arm “What this?”

  I nodded. “I noticed you put it up to the door outside so we could get in. And it’s also on the lanterns that are all over this place, so I was just wondering what it is?”

  He pressed a grin back “A tattoo.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I got that, but does the tattoo mean anything?”

  He traced his finger across the tattoo that sketched his smooth, pale skin. “It’s actually the mark of immortality.”

  “Then it’s not a tattoo?”

  “Not exactly. It appeared on my skin when I turned into a vampire.” He paused, his Adams apple noticeably bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard. “It happens to everyone that turns immortal.”

  “So why did you have to show it to the man at the door? Is this like an all exclusive club for immortals or something?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I guess you could put it that way.”

  “So…” I snuck a peek at Alex, making sure he wasn’t listening. He was still pacing the floor and cussing at Aislin to hurry-up. Aislin was hissing at him to shut up, her hand pressed to the display case, where the sword was locked inside, the jagged silver blade and dragonhead handle glistening in the light. Neither of them were paying any attention to Laylen and me, which was a good thing since I had a feeling that Alex wouldn’t like what I was about to ask Laylen. I leaned closer to Laylen and kept my voice low. “What’s a Black Angel?”

  Laylen cocked an eyebrow at me, seeming surprised by my question. “Where’d that question come from?”

  I shrugged. “There was one downstairs in a cage and I asked Alex what it was, but he said he didn’t have time to explain it to me.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.” He backed up a few steps so that he was out of view from Alex and Aislin and gestured at me to do the same. “The thing with Alex,” he began as I moved closer, “is that he has it in his head that everything is a secret.”

  “So there’s nothing important about a Black Angel.”

  “Only th
e fact that they’re angels from hell and not heaven.”

  “Wha—” I started to exclaim, but Laylen stopped me with a quick shake of his head. I glanced over my shoulder to check if my loudness had brought any attention to us. Both sides of the hallway still remained vacant. I turned back to Laylen and dropped my voice down a notch. “Sorry, but an angel from hell. Are you kidding me? The two, like, completely contradict each other.”

  “In this world,” he motioned around us, “a lot of things do. Take me for instances. A Keeper turned vampire. A complete contradiction. One stands for evil, the other for good.”

  I eyed him over. His beautiful blue eyes, his warm smile. He sure didn’t seem evil to me. “I highly doubt you’re evil.”

  He forced a small smile. “Depends on who you’re asking.”

  I felt bad for him. He seemed so…in pain. I barely knew him and everything, yet he’d been nicer to me than anyone had in my entire life. “I don’t think you’re—”

  “Are you two enjoying yourselves?” Alex’s voice interrupted over mine.

  Laylen rolled his eyes, and I let out a tired sigh as I turned around. Alex held his classic irritated expression as he leaned against the doorway, watching us. How long had he been standing there, I wondered.

  “At any moment during your guy’s little huddle up, someone have could strolled up, and I’m pretty sure neither one of you would’ve notice,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, we would’ve,” I protested. “Both of us have a clear view of each side of the hall.”

  “And it sure looked like you were keeping a close eye on them, all cuddled up with one another, talking about God knows what,” he said scathingly.

  “Alex, just relax.” Laylen voice was calm, but firm. “We weren’t cuddled up, and we weren’t talking about anything important.” Laylen slid me a sideways glance that I hoped Alex didn’t notice. “Jesus Christ. You can be so uptight sometimes.”

  Alex strolled up to us very cat-on-the-prowl like and pointed a finger at Laylen’s chest. “I think your forgetting why I’m uptight. She’s not supposed to be getting close to anyone.”

  “Hey,” I fumed.”That’s not—”

  Alex held a hand up, cutting me off. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  I breathed heavily, placing my hands on my hips. “If it’s about me, then it concerns me. You can’t control me just because you want to.”

  A lethal stare down broke out between us. I fixed him with my best glare, trying to summon up as much fire in it as I could. Of course, Alex looked unbothered, his face set in a tolerant expression.

  “You know what,” Laylen said to Alex. “I really think that your being up tight has nothing to do with me at all.”

  I looked at Laylen funnily. What was that supposed to mean?

  “What exactly is it you’re trying to get at?” Alex asked sharply.

  “Oh, I think you know what it is I’m getting at,” Laylen said. “This isn’t about me talking to Gemma, or Gemma getting close to anyone. It about you wanting what you can’t have.”

  Alex’s expression faltered. Laylen had obviously nailed whatever was bothering him. But what a gorgeous, self-confident—and yes, extremely cocky—guy like Alex would want, but couldn’t have was beyond me.

  I noticed Laylen was watching me closely. Alex wasn’t looking at me at all, his eyes fixed on the spot of red tinted carpet resting in front of his feet. He appeared at a loss for words, which was so strange for him. He was never at a loss for words. In fact, he usually had too much to say.

  I opened my mouth. “I’m sorry, am I missing some—”

  “Got it.” Ailsin announced as she bounced through doorway with the Sword of Immortality gripped in her hand. “Now let’s go.”

  Alex let out a breath of relief. “Sounds good to me.”

  Laylen pulled a balled up navy blue duffel bag out of his pocket. Back at the car, he’d stuffed it in there, so we could smuggle out the sword without it being noticed. He shook it out and unzipped it. “Here, put the sword in here.”

  Aislin placed the sword inside the bag. “Are you sure no one’s going to be suspicious of us carrying out a bag?”

  “They’d be far more suspicious if it wasn’t in the bag,” Laylen pointed out, zipping the bag up.

  “Can we just get going?” Alex snapped, backing down the hall.

  Aislin sighed. “Yeah, let’s go.”

  Laylen slid the handle of the bag over his shoulder, and then he and I followed them down the hall. The air dipped colder the closer we got to the stairs. Goose bumps polka dotted my skin. I shivered, rubbing my hands up and down my arms.

  “Are you cold?” Laylen asked, adjusting the handle of the bag.

  “Kind of,” I replied, my breath rising out in a smoky cloud. Well, that can’t be good.

  Laylen stopped dead in his tracks, his already pale skin draining to a ghostly white.

  “What is it?” I asked him. Before he could answer, I slammed into the back of something. That something was Alex. I could tell by the electric surge.

  “Go back,” he hissed, shoving me in the direction we’d just come from. “They’re heading up the stairs.”

  He didn’t have to explain who “they” were. I already knew by the icy brittleness that had strangled the air. My heart hammered as we ran back into the room where the sword had just been locked up.

  Aislin bounced up and down on her toes. “Oh my God. How did they find us?”

  Laylen shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Is there another way out of here?” Alex asked Laylen.

  “There’s a fire escape at the end of the hall,” Laylen told him. “But it’ll probably set off the fire alarm when you open it.”

  “Well, if there’s no other way, then I guess we’ll have to risk it.” Alex crept over to the doorway, and peered out into the hall. “There are two of them standing at the top of the stairs….What we need is a decoy.” He turned around, his eyes locking on Laylen. “Someone to distract them while I get Gemma out of here.”

  “And I’m assuming you want me to be that decoy.” Laylen’s tone didn’t sound bitter, but empty.

  It made my stomach ping.

  “Laylen, I’m sorry but I just don’t see any other way,” Alex said. “I think it would be best if I was the one with—”

  Laylen cut him off. “Just go.”

  Alex hesitated, but only for a split second, then he grabbed a hold of my hand, throwing me off balance as he yanked me toward the doorway. “Come on Aislin.”

  Aislin didn’t budge. “No.”

  Alex stopped and gaped at her. “What do you mean no?”

  She crossed her arms and raised her chin defiantly. “I’m not going to leave Laylen here to fend for himself. I’ll stay and help him.”

  Knots tied in my stomach. They were staying behind to fend for themselves all because of me.

  Alex shot her a warning look. “Aislin there’s no way—”

  “This is not a debate,” Aislin interjected. “I’m staying. Now hurry up and get out of here before you can’t.”

  It took another second of hesitation before Alex agreed. “Fine. But promise me that neither one of you will try to kill them. Just distract them long enough for me to get Gemma out of here, and then make a run for the car, okay?”

  Aislin nodded and shooed us toward the door. Alex casted one last look at Aislin and Laylen, then he tightened his grip on my hand and tugged me after him as he sprinted down the hall, leaving Aislin and Laylen behind to fight the deathly ice monsters by themselves.

  Chapter 18

  Guilt. What a feeling, like rotting eggs spoiling inside your stomach, the stench seeping out through your pores. It sucked, and I wanted to get rid of it. But I couldn’t. Leaving Aislin and Laylen behind had created the horrid feeling, and I was pretty sure it wouldn’t go away until I knew they were safe again. So add the guilt with the possibility that I might die pretty soon, and my chances of vomiting were getting pretty high.
/>   And my guilt continued to fester the farther and farther Alex dragged me down the hall. I was desperately struggling to keep up with him, clumsily tripping over my own feet. I was scared but trying hard not to freak out.

  Lining the sides of the hall were paper-white shoji doors. On some of them, I could see shadows of human-shaped figures moving around on the other side. But I feared what they belonged to weren’t human. They could have been anything. Death Walkers, Black Angels, vampires, take your pick. All were scary in their own way.

  Unexpectedly, the hallway came to a fork, and Alex slowed to a jog.

  “Which way is the fire escape?” I asked in a shaky, panic-stricken voice.

  He started for the left, and then I guess changing his mind, took off down the right.

  My feet stumbled in protested as he pulled me after him. “How do you know this is the right way?”

  “I don’t,” he said simply.

  I gulped. Was I allowed to throw up yet? Because I’m pretty sure the fowl taste gurgling in the back of my throat was vomit.

  Alex breathed a sigh of relief “There it is.”

  And sure enough, at the end of the hallway was a door with the words Fire Escape printed at the top. My heart leapt. I’d never been so excited to see a door in my life. That was until the stupid thing opened.

  The alarm went off, blaring deafeningly up and down the hall as a black-hooded monster emerged from the door.

  “Son of a—” In the snap of a finger Alex had me twirled around and was pulling me back the way we’d just came from.

  A cold breeze rushed up against the back of my legs, and I knew the Death Walker was coming after us.

  “What are we going to do?” I cried, in an unnaturally high-pitched voice.

  We rounded a corner and then, without any warning, he screeched to a halt. And for the third time today, I smacked straight into him. I didn’t care, though. Nor did I react. At the moment, who the heck cared about the electricity? Not me. It wasn’t going to do anything to save us.