Soul Oath

by Juliana Haygert

  One of the winged demons turned to us. It looked at Micah and hesitated. It seemed unsure about attacking him. Micah, on the other hand, looked sure of what to do. He stepped forward and killed the demon, piercing the dagger into its chest.

  Two other demons fought Keisha. Maintaining his regal pose, Micah struck one of them, and Keisha killed the other.

  She looked at him confused, but only until the sound of metal rattling caught our attention. I glanced around. Raisa was still where I left her, shaking with fear, and Keisha was now stepping over the bodies of a few demons walking toward Greg, who had fallen over a garbage can, his hand over his chest.

  “Oh no,” I whispered.

  Keisha knelt beside him. “What happened?”

  Greg closed his eyes for a second. “I-I couldn’t keep them off.”

  I approached the scene, Micah by my side.

  “Let me see,” Keisha said, pulling his hand from over his wound.

  I gasped and clamped my hand over my mouth. Blood oozed from what look like ten thick holes, as if a demon had buried its claws in Greg’s chest.

  “I know it’s bad,” Greg mumbled.

  “No, no. You can make it,” Keisha said. She looked around as if asking for help. Unfortunately, I couldn't do much. I wasn’t a doctor yet, and we had no supplies. I didn’t have materials to stitch him up, and he was losing blood fast.

  Taking off my scarf, I knelt beside him and applied pressure to his wounds. It was the only thing I could think of, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.

  Raisa rose and stood beside us, avoiding looking at the scene.

  Greg chuckled, but it sounded wrong. “Yeah, right.” He took in a labored breath. “I’m glad I was able to help a little though.” He grunted in pain. He clasped Keisha’s hand and looked from her to me to Raisa. “I ho-hope all of you make out of here safe.”

  He closed his eyes, and Keisha pursed her lips.

  We watched over him, until his chest stopped moving.

  I checked his pulse. “He’s gone.” I took his hands and clasped them together over his chest. “Thank you,” I whispered, wishing I had said it while he was still alive. Sighing, I stood and turned to Micah. “Hey.”

  His grin faded. In fact, he looked tense with a deep frown. His hands shook terribly, and he looked as if he was in pain.

  Without thinking, I reached for him and took his hands in mine. The cold jolt shocked me, but only for a moment. He gasped, his head lolling back a little, as the energy rushed from me to him. My knees wobbled. He was taking much more from me than Victor had, which meant he was in worse shape, though he disguised it better.

  I didn’t mean to, but it was hard not to stare at the sharp angles of his face framed by his unkempt black hair, the strands a little longer than the last time I had seen him, his smooth skin, his inviting lips, and his black eyes now staring back at me.

  I swallowed, realizing the healing was complete, and pulled my hands away.

  “Thanks,” he said, still ogling me.

  “You took a lot from me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay. But why didn’t you come before?”

  He glanced at the ground, his jaw ticking. “Because I didn’t want to attract demons here.” The same thing Victor said. Boys! He gestured to the demons at our feet. “However, now that seems irrelevant.”

  “So you endured it?” He nodded. “And you would have kept enduring if they hadn’t attacked the city?” He nodded again. “That’s insane.”

  “No. Insane would be coming to you. The demons would sense my aura and be here in no time.”

  As he had done, I gestured around us. “Like that worked.”

  “Well, someone brought them here.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Are you implying that—?”

  “Nadine,” Keisha called. “Who is your friend?”

  I looked around. “Just … a friend. Micah, this is Keisha. Keisha, this is Micah.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Hey,” he said, his voice normal. It was odd, because normally every time Micah spoke to a female, his voice was sugary and he acted all charming and smiling. Then Raisa stood beside us, and he barely glanced her way. “Hi, Raisa.”

  Wiping the unshed tears from her eyes, Raisa nodded in acknowledgment.

  “We should keep moving,” Keisha said.

  Micah shook his head. “I’m not sure if you saw it, but there’s a bunch of demons half a block from here. And by a bunch, I mean—”

  Raisa’s eyes widened. “Demons?”

  Micah and I exchanged an oh-shit look.

  I wasn’t sure how the world would explain what was happening, what they would call these creatures, or if they would get a glimpse of what was really going on, and I wasn’t sure Keisha and Raisa should know about it.

  Micah cleared his throat. “Well, it’s what I’ve been calling them.”

  “It suits them,” Keisha said.

  If only she knew.

  Keisha knelt beside Greg’s body and covered it with my scarf as much as she could. Then she dragged the demons’ bodies to the back.

  I lowered myself to help Keisha, but Micah put a hand on my wrist and pulled me back. “They are too heavy,” he said.

  What the hell? Keisha could carry them. I could too! I hooked my hands around one of the many demons' bodies, trying not to throw up from their nasty stench and nastier look, and pulled. It didn’t budge. The damn thing was too heavy.

  “Told ya,” he said, with a knowing smile. I could hit him. After he carried three bodies back, he stood beside me. “Who is she? How and when did you meet her?”

  I looked at his face, ready to snap at him for already being interested in a girl. He was serious, though. “I don’t know. I mean, we were hiding and she was too. She looked elegant, like a fancy businesswoman, until the demons charged us, then she grabbed a sword from the museum and killed them as if she had wielded swords since birth.”

  “Did she explain how she knows how to fight?”

  “No. Why? Should there be an explanation?”

  “I don’t know.” He squinted, observing her. She was dragging the bodies as if they were dolls. “Her aura is different.”

  “Really? How so?”

  “It’s odd.” He looked at me, his eyes sharp and intent, and I had to focus on breathing. “You know yours changed after Ceris took the Destiny Gift from you, right?” It had? I shook my head. “It’s not as strong right now, but it’s still way stronger than a human’s. Hers is like yours was. Strong, but not quite deity-like.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That she’s not ordinary.”

  Seriously? And here I thought I would be able to turn my back on all of this after we were done escaping the city.

  Micah went back to helping Keisha, and Raisa scooted closer to me. “What do we do now?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said, my voice low.

  Keisha wiped her hands on her ripped skirt. “Wait here for a bit. Hope they don’t find us. Then try to find another way out of the city if they don’t disperse.”

  She turned her back to us, watching the street that intersected the alley, with her hands on her hips and her chin raised, like a badass security guard. Like someone who would get us out of the city.

  I leaned against a wall with Raisa’s head on my shoulder, but with Micah standing in front of us, I barely felt her.

  He was here. Holy shit, he was here.

  And he was staring at me with an odd look and his arms crossed.

  Just like that, the anger and the resentment from when he left me alone on that island, the same anger and resentment that had built up these past months, surged back into me.

  There was much I wanted to tell him, so much I wanted to yell at him. Why the hell did he leave me alone? Why defend me back then? Why send Rok after me? Why show up now?

  I opened my mouth to ask all those questions, but his head snapped to the side, a big V between his brow
s, his shoulders tense.

  “Oh fuck,” he cursed.

  “What?” I asked, stiffening.

  He grabbed my arm and pulled me halfway down the alley. He leaned to me and paused. What was he doing?

  Then he shook his head. “There’s a god here, and he’s coming this way.”

  I pursed my lips. “Omi.”

  “What? How do you know?”

  “The radio … a police officer reported seeing fire being hurled from the sky. I saw that before when Omi decimated that small village in Switzerland.”

  “Fuck,” he muttered, raking his hand through his hair. “This isn’t good.”

  “You said he’s coming our way, which means he’ll be able to sense us. You especially.” He nodded. My eyes narrowed. “We should run, just run, the opposite way and pray we make it.”

  “It won’t be enough. Besides, we’re too far away from any other tunnel or bridge. We’ll probably face the same odds if we go another way.”

  “Wait. Shouldn’t you be attracting them now?”

  He grinned. “Since recovering my memory I’ve been practicing how to hide my aura. Actually, it’s more like trying. I can fade it but not for long.”

  The corner of my lips tugged up. “That’s good, I guess.” I lost the grin a second later. “What do we do then?”

  He looked at the other girls. Keisha was seated beside Raisa, holding her hands, probably telling her some lie like “we’re gonna be fine”. In this world? That was as far from the truth as it got.

  “We’ll bring them back here, and I’ll try to fade all of your auras with mine.”

  I nodded. Trying to keep my exterior confident and steady, I walked to the girls. I was sure they could see past my facade, but it was probably better to see I was trying to be strong than to look like a desperate woman. Because on the inside, I was probably as afraid and nervous as Raisa.

  I was able to convince Raisa and Keisha to join us in the middle of the alley. We crouched on the dirty ground, and Micah stood beside us. He closed his eyes, focusing on whatever it was he did to try and fade our auras.

  His eyes shot open. He glanced to the alley’s opening, as if he had sensed a powerful aura close.

  I stood beside him. I slid the sleeve of his jacket up and put my hand over his wrist, skin-to-skin, trying to help him. A little of my energy seeped into him, and he sighed as if it was easier now.

  The demons’ screams and cheering came from afar.

  Micah walked to the alley’s opening and looked around the wall. I scooted close to him.

  “You shouldn’t be here, darling.”

  “Neither should you.” My eyes settled on the mass of demons, and I was sure I had gone pale. “Oh my God … there are too many of them. There are more wingless ones than winged ones.”

  “The winged ones are called Akuma,” Micah explained. Akuma were on the ground, gathering in the center of the lane, as if they were ready for a parade. “And if you observe well, you’ll see there are two types of wingless demons. The Ornek and the Arak. The Ornek are right behind the Akuma, and the Arak are in the back. If you compare them, you’ll see that the Arak have smaller ears and not as pointy. They have a little hair on the back of their necks, their arms are longer, and their stomachs are more pronounced.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s disgusting.” He smiled. I took a sharp inhale before looking back at the demons. “Right. So, what are they waiting for?”

  “For …”

  He didn’t have to say it.

  Omi appeared near the corner, floating a few feet above the ground on some kind of black cloud.

  I gasped placing my hand around Micah's wrist again, and he tensed.

  Omi wore his usual white crumpled suit. His hair could use a trim and a comb, and maybe his face needed a razor too. But he did look powerful.

  As Omi got closer, we were able to make out his words. “… here somewhere.” His voice boomed through the air. “Search every corner, under every stone, inside every sewer. Break into every house, kill everyone, but find her.” My grip around Micah’s wrist tightened. “I want her. I need her.” I looked up as another dark cloud followed Omi, but this one was high in the sky and fire danced around it. “I want her alive!”

  Omi raised his arms, and the fire bolts fell from the sky. The demons cried before turning around and running like lost rabid dogs.

  “Fuck.” Micah grabbed my arm and dragged me to the back of the alley again.

  Keisha was already up, with her sword ready in her hand. Damn, the girl looked badass.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Omi—”

  “Bad stuff,” I said, cutting Micah off. “We need to run. Now.”

  Micah glanced around to the few doors in the alley. He marched to one and kicked it twice, three times. When it seemed a little loose, he grabbed the dagger from his waist and used it to pry it open.

  “Come on!” he shouted.

  Keisha, Raisa, and I rushed inside.

  As Micah closed the door behind us, I looked around. We were in a mailroom of an office building.

  Keisha stopped. “Here.” She offered him one of her swords. “You probably can make good use of it.”

  Micah gripped the sword as if he owned it. “Keep moving. We need to find another exit, preferably far away from the demons.”

  We entered a long corridor, and I let the others pass in front of me.

  I came close to him and looked him in the eyes. “It is about me, isn’t it?” He pursed his lips. “Micah, Omi was talking about me, right?”

  “I guess so,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “But how? How did he find out about me? Oh my God, what about my family? If they know about me, they know about my family.”

  He clutched my shoulders. “Hey. He didn’t say your name. They are probably looking for a girl your age with a similar aura, and that’s it.”

  “But how did they know to look for a girl?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Just … don’t worry yet, okay?”

  “You’re asking me not to worry? I’m the queen of worrying.”

  He smiled. “I know.” He ran his hands down my arms. It was almost comforting. “But I’m here, darling, and I won’t let anything happen to you.” He looked at me as if he meant it.

  I swallowed my tears. “After three months away you think you can waltz in here and use your charm to save the day? Think it’ll work?”

  With that smug smile of his, he tugged my hands. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  “Jerk,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  “What?” he asked, an amused tone on his voice.

  I ignored him as we walked down the corridor following the others.

  At the end of the corridor we exited to a large room with lots of tables and computers. There were doors labeled with exit signs across the room.

  In the middle of the room I stopped and pointed to a corner. There were a few people hiding under some tables.

  “We can’t leave them,” I whispered.

  “We can’t save everyone,” Micah whispered back.

  Ignoring him, I turned to the people. “Hi, hmm, you should leave. It’s not safe here.”

  A man stood up from under a desk. “But there are mo-monsters outside.”

  “Yeah, and they are breaking into the buildings now. It’s only a matter of time until they break in here.”

  “A-are you sure?” the man asked.

  “Yeah, she’s sure,” Micah said. “Like she said, there’s not much time. So, goodbye and good luck.”

  Once more, Micah grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the exit.

  “What’s the matter with you?” I hissed.

  “What’s the matter with me? I’m here trying to save your pretty little ass, and you’re trying to save every stray we find.”

  “Excuse me?” I stopped and stared at him. “You came to save me? Let me tell you, I didn’t ask for any saving.”

>   He groaned. “Oh, really? Because you looked like you were about to be eaten by a demon when I arrived and saved your skin.”

  “Holy … can you be any less infuriating?”

  “Look who is talki—”

  “Hey, you two,” Keisha said. “Stop that right now.”

  “Nah.” He had that mischievous grin of his on. “Nadine likes our banter, don’t you, darling?”

  His eyes shifted from my face to over my shoulder, and the grin disappeared from his face. I followed his gaze to a desk. He reached around me, grabbed car keys from a desk, and jiggled them in front of my face. “I have an idea.”

  6

  “Not here,” Micah said, pressing the button on the car keys as we walked through the second floor of the parking garage.

  He was paying attention to the cars. I was looking at the concrete walls, at the large spaces they had every few feet, just like a window, but without any glass. Demons flew too close to those in my opinion, and the fire falling from the sky was even closer. It would be too easy to spot us or set us on fire.

  We turned a corner and kept climbing the ramp toward the third floor.

  Please let the car be here. Please let the car be here.

  The car couldn’t be on the fourth floor because the fourth floor was open to the sky, and then there was no escaping the demons.

  Micah pressed the button, and the car beeped.

  We all stopped and looked around while Micah pressed the button nonstop.

  “Here,” Keisha said.

  We ran to her and found an old black Nissan GT-R.

  “Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” Micah said with a big grin. He leaned into me. “Come on, darling, let’s cruise.”

  I elbowed him in the ribs. “Please, spare me.”

  He opened the passenger door for me. “But you love it.”

  “Do you guys have something going on?” Keisha asked from the other side of the car. “Like ex-boyfriend and girlfriend, or just ex-lovers, or whatever?”

  My cheeks heated. “What?”