Pretty Faces and Dark Places

by Rose B Mashal

  “What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.

  “You have a huge responsibility on your shoulders now, Maya. Humans needs you.”

  My mother’s words still rang in my ears even after I woke up. I had no idea what she’d meant by ‘Humans need me.’ Why didn’t she tell me that ‘My People’ needed me? Why did she sound like she was talking about a different race or species? What did she mean by saying I was never meant to die? Was I immortal? And what would that even make me if I wasn’t a human? Was I a demon like Andrew had told me? No. It couldn’t be. I refused to believe it. It wasn’t even sane that I was considering the words of a dead person. A dead person that I only saw in a dream, that is.

  For the second time, I still had hope that when I opened my eyes I would find myself back home, sleeping in my own bed. And this time – the hope was even greater than the last time, because I found that I wasn’t feeling any pain like I was before.

  I groaned as I sat up on the bed, holding the thin blanket up to my chest to cover my nudeness. My groan wasn’t a loud call to express pain; no, it was a voice I let out when disappointment hit me once I realized my hope was crushed. I was still in the same alien room, not in the familiarity and comfort of my own.

  It was only then that I took a closer look at the room – it was odd. There was the bed I was sitting on, there was a dresser, a side table with a chair on either side, and I could see a slightly opened door that led to a walk-in closet. I could also see the elegant chamber that was in the center of the ceiling, but – everything just looked odd. Like, I was able to name everything I was looking at, and everything that was around me, but the decorations and the designs looked as if they belonged in the future, like they belonged to … a different world!

  Oh, my goodness! Andrew’s earlier words about an underground world came to my mind – could everything he had said really be true? That I wasn’t in my world anymore? And what about him telling me that I belonged here? It couldn’t be. There was no way I was a demon. Because if we thought about those past events, his words and my mom’s – it was crazy, they didn’t fit.

  In the horror stories we read when having sleepovers with girls from elementary school – demons were bad. We always knew that demons were these freakishly ugly creatures who did bad things to humans, and my mom said that humans needed me. So, how could I help people if I was a demon? It was just – insane. Even more insane than the fact that I was considering all of this at all.

  The floor was kind of the only thing I saw that looked somewhat familiar; it was some sort of black marble which was reflecting the lights of the chamber above. Everything else was so strange I couldn’t describe it. And the fact that even with the lights turned on, it seemed that the room was only dimly lit, not as bright as the lights should’ve made it. The whole atmosphere of the place was full of darkness. It was really weird.

  A few moments after I woke up and as I was gazing at the strangely shaped roof, I heard the door being opened. And when I looked, I found Andrew making his way inside with another glass of water in his hand; he was wearing black jeans and that was it.

  I swallowed thickly, not because I was thirsty, but because the sight of him made my mouth water. To be honest, I was embarrassed with myself for having those kinds of feelings towards him. It was like for a moment or two, I forgot all of the strange and horrible things that were happening to me. All of my thoughts were nothing but about how attractive Andrew was.

  “Angel,” he said in greeting, his voice husky and his tone gentle. “How do you feel?” He smiled as he asked the question, coming to sit beside me on bed, facing me with one leg bent underneath him and the other dangling off the bed.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” I replied softly, feeling my blush deepening as I took the glass from his offering hand and took a sip.

  The back of his knuckles brushed tenderly against my cheek and he smiled sweetly. “This is lovely,” he said, and I assumed he was talking about my blush – just realizing that made said blush grow even redder, darker. And that earned me a light chuckle from him. “I’m going to miss it.”

  I frowned, not knowing what he meant by that, it was like he knew somehow that I wasn’t going to blush again. How strange!

  I didn’t ask.

  “Do you think you are strong enough to get up?” he asked.

  “Uh … I don’t feel any kind of pain,” I replied with the truth, which made the soft smile on Andrew’s lips brighten and grow bigger.

  “That’s wonderful,” he cheered, his features growing even more beautiful as he grinned. Any trace of concern or worry disappeared with his gorgeous smile, making me wonder if he truly was what he was saying – a demon. Because seriously, he was far, far away from being an ugly creature like I’d always believed demons would be.

  I couldn’t believe I was actually starting to believe that this wasn’t my world, that it was a different world I’d never known of, some kind of world that I’d only ever heard of in fairytales and horror stories as a kid.

  How could everything just be real? Was I really far away from my home and my life as I’d always known it? What about Nana? The poor thing must’ve been going crazy searching for me.

  I felt the stinging of tears as they made an appearance in my eyes at the thought of my grandmother being all alone and heartbroken because of my loss. And not a second later, I found a tear making its way down my cheek.

  “Hey!” Andrew whispered, reminding me of his presence and the fact that he was sitting just a feet away from me. “Why are you crying?” The concern and worry were back to lace his voice, and anxiety showed on his handsome face. “Don’t cry, Angel, I can’t stand seeing you crying!”

  I wanted to yell at him, saying that I was only crying because of what he’d done, because he took me away from my home and brought me here to a world I didn’t belong to, while trying his hardest to convince me that I was meant to live there. I wanted to tell him that he caused my tears when he pained me with the heartache I felt at the loss of my Nana and just thinking of the hurt she must be feeling at the realization of me no longer being with her.

  But I didn’t.

  Andrew was still scary to me. The kind one was that one I saw on Halloween night, the one who swept me off my feet, the one who dazzled me by a look of his eyes, the one wh- … wait!

  “You were controlling my mind!” I blurted out, my eyes shocked and my tears betraying me, telling how pained I was when it was something I didn’t want to show.

  “To a point, yes,” he admitted, even though seemingly shocked at my sudden change of tone and behavior after just telling him that I was fine and wasn’t feeling any pain.

  “To a point? What do you mean to a point?” I asked, anger wrapping my voice even though my heart was beating really fast, afraid of his reaction or the anger I might cause from him on myself. I guess I didn’t care; there was just too much for my mind to take. “You made me sleep with you! You took my virginity! I would’ve never gone with you if you weren’t controlling my mind! That was not what I wanted my first time to be like!”

  Something changed in Andrew’s eyes at the sound of my words. “Yes, it was!” he said sternly, a hint of rage sounding in his voice, causing my already fast heartbeat to grow even faster. “It was everything you’d dreamed of. You felt the love, you felt the comfort, you felt the heat, you felt everything you’d wanted to feel. You wanted it with someone you loved. It was all you’d dreamed about since you started fantasizing about your first time making love. You can’t deny it, because I know the truth! I’m your soulmate!”

  That word again …

  There was a pause of silence as I tried to comprehend what he was saying. His words shocked me, and I tried to reply to him, tried to tell him he was wrong, tried to tell him that he was delusional, but I couldn’t. My mouth kept opening and closing as I tried to gather a few words together, but I came up with nothing. Because – he was right.

  My night with him had been wonderful, magical, e
verything I’d dreamed of. He was gentle and he was caring, he was tender and he was loving. I couldn’t deny it.

  Still, I tried. “I would’ve never done it if you weren’t controlling my mind,” I whispered.

  “Not true. I control minds very well,” he started, and I wondered again if this was all real. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation; it wasn’t sane whatsoever. “But none of my kind can control the minds of their soulmates, only a few times before I could plant my seed inside of you.”

  Wha- …?!

  I couldn’t understand what he meant. “What do you mean?”

  “I only did what would make you let your guard down. You would’ve come with me to the woods sooner or later. I would’ve taken you to dinner if things were different, I would’ve dated you like humans do for a week or two before I got you in my bed, but eventually you would’ve come with me – there’s no doubt! You were created to be with me, forever!”

  “Like – getting me high? Kind of drunk?!” My voice raised and his eyes darkened. Literally.

  I clutched the blanket closer to my chest, fear consuming me all of a sudden as I watched the green in his eyes turning into black and the whites in them turning to a dark shade of red. “You can’t put it that way!”

  I didn’t reply, I was so scared that I felt my chin start to tremble, and I could swear that I felt my heart vibrating with fear inside of my chest.

  Strangely, those black and red eyes softened at the sight of me all scared and terrified. Andrew squeezed them shut for a moment and when he opened them again they were back to the beautiful shade of green that took my breath away since the very first time I saw them.

  “You need to get out of bed, put something on, and eat,” Andrew said, then got off the bed, his back facing me as he stood up, giving me a full and close-up view of his outstanding wings that crazily I found my hands aching to touch. Before my mind could form any other thought, he was gone.

  I took a deep breath then let it out in a sigh, standing up with the blanket still clutched to my chest, then I wrapped it loosely around my body and went to the walk-in closet without being directed to it.

  Inside, I found that everything was black. Black, black and more black. There were many clothes, and the materials were alien to me, but the designs were even stranger. One thing I noticed about the clothes was that they were similar in more ways than just the color – all were backless.

  I stood there frozen in my place for a few minutes, just looking ahead of me at the rows and shelves of clothes and shoes, understanding that the back stayed bare to leave a space for the wings, like the dress Andrew’s mom was wearing. And it was only then that it struck me how true Andrew’s words were.

  He truly believed I was going to be a demon like him, and I had already passed what he called ‘Converting.‘ And since he’d already proven that his words were not lies when he promised me no more pain once I woke up, and that was what had happened – I believed that he would prove his words were nothing but the truth once again when I grew wings.

  Because as insane as it sounded – I was feeling it happening.

  I ended up picking a black halter neck top and black jeans. I was surprised at how nice the material was, because from the outside they looked rough and thick, but when they touched my skin, they felt so soft, just like cotton if not even better.

  I looked at my reflection in the mirror and – something seemed different. My skin was paler and my hair was an even darker shade of black. It was like my body was seriously changing and it wasn’t just thoughts in my head. There was a soft blush on my cheeks and my lips were bright pink, heck even my eyelashes seemed longer – it was seriously confusing.

  Another girl would be very happy about it, to be this pretty without any make-up on, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t sure why I looked this way. How I looked this way without even trying? And then, the feeling of how true this all was and the thought that I should just accept it and start believing the things around me sunk in. I was no longer doubting that I wasn’t having a bad dream; all of these things were real.

  I felt my throat tightening at the realization, and I knew that tears would be next. I felt pain in my chest as I grew even more aware of the fact that I was turning into a demon, very soon, but my tears wouldn’t fall. It was such an odd feeling, to feel so much hurt, sadness, and disappointment, feeling the need to cry my eyes out, but not even one tear would fall out of my eyes.

  I inhaled deeply then let my breath out in a long, soft sigh and shrugged the feeling away. Though I knew it was there in the back of my mind and filling my insides, I chose not to think about it so much.

  I tried looking at my back in the mirror to see the changes that had happened to my body, to see what they were talking about with wounds that were ‘healing nicely’ as they’d said, but I couldn’t see anything. Just a shade of redness on the part I could see and that was all.

  I picked up the funny-looking brush and brushed my hair with it, tied it in a loose ponytail, then took another deep breath and walked out of the closet.

  I gasped when the sight of Andrew waiting for me in the room startled me; I hadn’t expected him to be there. He frowned slightly then smiled the next second, offering me his hand and telling me that the food was ready. At his words, my stomach grumbled quietly to tell me how hungry I really was. I managed to smile a small smile and hesitantly took his hand.

  The feel of his touch did things to my heart; it was beating faster than ever, and not from fear. All of the feelings I’d felt for him that Halloween night hit me full force. All of the thoughts I’d had about him and all of the longing I’d felt for him for the past year rose inside me and reminded me of the many times I’d wished, hoped and yearned to touch him again.

  And it made my heart tingle.

  The food was – okay. I couldn’t say I liked it, but I still couldn’t say I hated it either. There was chicken, but it tasted different. And I hoped that it really was chicken and not something else. I didn’t want to ask so as not to be rude or offend him, but I was sure the look on my face told of how I wasn’t really fascinated by what I was eating.

  “You don’t like the food?” Andrew asked, confirming my earlier thought of him being able to read my expression – or maybe it was because I’d only taken a few bites before I told him that I was finished.

  “It’s different,” I decided to go with the truth.

  “It is made differently, but it’s the same things you ate in your human life,” he smiled in assurance.

  Human life. Those words again …

  I swallowed. “Am I really turning into a demon?” I just needed a final confirmation.

  “Yes, Angel, you are,” he replied with a smile, and it was the first time I realized why his mother had said that his nickname for me – Angel – was disgusting. And the confirmation I’d needed, that his answer gave me, made my chest ache.

  “Why?” I had to ask, because I needed to know. If being a demon was what was to come for me, I wanted to know the reasons. I’d heard all my life the demons were bad creatures, that they were the opposite of angels. I wanted to know why I was becoming a demon. I wanted to know what bad deeds I’d done in my life to ever get this as the final result of my afterlife – if I was dead anyway.

  “Because it’s your destiny, Maya,” Andrew replied. “You belong with me, in my world, so you have to be the same as me.”

  “You mean you’re doing this to me? That I wouldn’t be turning into a demon if it wasn’t for the converting?”

  “I’m doing this because I need you; you’re my soulmate. The converting is a must; otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep you here. You would’ve died without it,” he replied, the last words sounding bitter on his tongue as he spoke them.

  “But – what about my life? Why didn’t you ask me first? Why would you do this to me?” Again, the need for crying was so overwhelming, but my eyes wouldn’t produce any tears, not even one.

  I saw the green in his
eyes as it started to darken and fear crept inside of my heart. I didn’t know what he did to control it, but he did so a moment later, and before it got even darker, he was able to get it back to its normal color. “You came back to me, Maya.”

  “What?” I asked, confused. “You mean the woods? I came back for Sophie, not for you!” I think …

  “Not true!” he shouted, and I looked down right away, knowing his black like night eyes would come into view and scare me, making me aware that he didn’t like to hear anything about me not wanting him or not wanting to be with him. “You came back for me. You knew the night I would be on earth and you came to see me again, choosing to be with me again, and with that choice you chose to be with me forever – I am your soulmate!”

  My head was pounding and I felt slightly dizzy as I heard his frightening voice and terrifying tone. His words were only telling me the things he thought to be true – or maybe they really were the truth, I didn’t know – but I couldn’t help but feel as if they were commanding, as if he was ordering me to believe him.

  I couldn’t tell if it was fear or truly understanding that made me nod in approval of his words, but I did. I nodded with my head still hung down and my gaze focused on the floor.

  “Why do you need me?” I whispered my question, afraid of making him mad at me again, or even angering him, but I needed to know. I just couldn’t help it, so I kept my tone quiet low.

  “This is how it works for us,” he said, his voice not loud like before. It was much gentler; to be honest, he only sounded impatient, as if he expected me to know all of this or for it to be very easy to understand or something. “It’s very rare for my kind to produce a female. We go to the upper world to find our soulmates, and they help us conceive, because even female demons were never able to carry a pregnancy with a male demon. Our soulmates only exist in your past world.”