Fictionpress cut 2 chapters 1-4 (the first 29 pages)
DEMON'S WAKE
By well, me.
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Author's note: You guys asked for new content soon, well don't be dismayed by the disapearing chapters. New content is being added to each, editing I truly hope won't take too long. This chapter is totally new.
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Prolog:
Alex stood at the top of a wrecked playground, looking off into the distance at a pillar of smoke. She could smell it, even at this distance, and could have told anyone who asked exactly what was being burned. As she stood there, in her gray shirt, torn jeans and custom steel toed combat boots, she looked for all the world like some hero out of an apocalypse. And in a way, she was in just the right setting for that. For what was being burned all those many miles away, was the remainder of the rotting corpses left from a bloody battle two years past. What should have been completely gone by now, had been mysteriously preserved by the weaponry so alien to this place. It had taken the animals picking the bodies apart before they could begin to decompose, and those animals had been mostly killed off in the war as well.
Alex had fought in that battle, on the day of her 14th birthday, and had come out without a scratch. It was something she could never tell others, because they would have assumed that she had hid, like a coward. But that was far from being the case, She and one other had survived it not because they hadn’t fought like the other brave people, no. They survived because their method of killing was just as alien as those they fought against. Human beings from a place called Anderra, people who should have been their allies. Alex closed her eyes and said goodbye to those she had once known, their ashes becoming part of the air she would be breathing for the next couple of weeks.
“Alex! What are you doing staring at the smoke? C’mon we have to get going!” Alex turned and gave a weak smile to her friend, Julie. She was hanging on her boyfriend, Dillon who had his eyes closed a happy smile on his face. Her friend Mikel sat in his car, impatiently waiting for Alex to join them, and her other friend Cori beamed. They had no idea about Alex’s past, Julie having known her the longest, but still, none of them had ever been around her more than a year or two at a time. Jogging at a pace that looked as if she were running, Alex vaulted herself into the backseat of the jeep, her friends laughing at her sudden act of athleticism. “Alex, your so weird!” Cori laughed
“yeah, why are you always having us come down here?” Julie motioned around her. Burnt out buildings, twisted wreckage and mangled plant life that had mutated around this place. The remains of the abandoned city of Sage’s Hollow, one of the many places no one had ever bothered to rebuild. The outskirts that had been hit less, had left a good place for people to settle, a school building, a few offices and business stores, and a train station that worked well enough becoming the heart of the new city by the same name as the old one. This was the place where Alex and her friends lived. Alex rolled her eyes and didn’t answer, not having the heart to tell them all the things she’d done here in the past, it wasn’t as if they would believe her anyways.
The car went over a nasty crack in the street, sending them up in the air. When they settled Dillon asked Julie if she was alright. “Of course I’m alright, its not like I could get hurt with you clinging onto me like I’m about to die at any second! Jeez…” She slid away from him. Alex had to look away, controlling the anger she suddenly felt towards Julie. Although she never would admit it, every one knew how much she cared about him. He was in love with Julie though, so she never said or did anything, dispite how she felt. Julie treated him so badly, that Alex had to control herself sometimes to not just do something horrible. Her old self would have done that, without even batting an eye, but she was tired of that, had given up almost everything to have a normal life. Sure, of course, this wasn’t the normal life she’d wanted exactly, but it had friends and a home to come back to every night. It was better than she ever thought she would have deserved.
Mikel decided that they should go to a eatery and get some food, and soon enough they were in the new part of Sage’s hollow, singing along to a broadcast of pre war music. Something from some group called Greenday, which made her think of bombings. They sang about a lonely road, which Alex couldn’t understand why anyone prewar would think the road was lonely. There were nearly 3 billion more people alive back then, so how could anyone be on a road alone? She expressed her confusion at this song and her friends laughed again.
“Don’t be so literal Alex, he’s not talking about a highway or something! It’s a metaphor for life.” Cori went into a massive discussion about life and everything else. Alex looked out at the passing buildings, finding no comfort in the new places. They seemed too nice, unreal. The burnt and crumbling ones they had just left held more reality to her than the ones everyone else seemed to love. Cori saw her eyes become distant and mistook it for something else. “Don’t feel bad! It was a really old song when the war started anyways. I don’t know why they’re even playing it!”
“Yeah Alex, you’re still getting used to this stuff.” Dillon offered. She smiled, and Julie looked pissed, suddenly getting offended. She was about to say something when Mikel hit the brakes real hard. “Jeez man, it seems Mikel isn’t used to stuff like driving without getting us killed.” They all got out slowly, grumbling their agreement.
“I’ve only been doing it for a couple days so lay off.”
“You know what man, I bet even Alex could drive better than you. She probably never even rode in one before you got yours!” Dillon teased
“Have too! My parents drove all the time, and you know my Guardian Malich’s got his truck…and well…there were still cars during the war.” She mumbled the last part. Her friend stood silent, and Alex blushed looking down. “So, um, sorry we brought it up.” Mikel mumbled.
“No, its ok!” She said smiling “Still though. I probably could drive better than you Mikel.” The sudden tension gone, every one laughed and dared her to do it. “Yeah, go get some money so you can pay for yourself for once!” Mikel laughed at her. She was always freeloading and then paying them back later. “Sure!” Alex shrugged and smiled. She would have refused, but every once and a while, she liked to make them wonder. There were at least a few things in her past that she was proud of. Getting into the drivers seat, her friends watching her expectantly, She quickly started the stubborn car up, put it into gear and peeled out of the lot they were in. Wind whipping her hair, she went faster than Mikel could have ever managed, and relaxed remembering who had taught her to drive, shaking her head of those thoughts, she made the short trip back to her house and returned within a few minutes.
As she pulled back in she noticed that Dillon was gone and Julie was looking happy and annoyed at the same time. Mikel and Cori where not looking pleased and Alex parked the car and got out almost apologetically. “What’s wrong? Where’d Dillon go?”
“Screw him. He’s such a clingy little… “
“That’s enough Julie. C’mon Cori, lets go home.” Mikel stormed over to his car, got in and slammed the door. Cori almost yelped at it and got in as well offering a weak little goodbye to Alex as they drove off. Turning to Julie she asked what had happened, keeping her voice real low.
“Oh, I broke up with him. I couldn’t take it anymore, he was so…so…” Alex slapped her a took a step back, surprised that she’d actually just done that. “Julie…I’m…”
“Oh, shut up Alex. I know that you were so completely in love with him.”
“I wasn’t, he…he was my best friend, that’s all!”
Julie rolled her eyes. “You know, ever since I met you I figured I’d have to deal with you being too jealous.”
“You know nothing about me Julie.” Alex said, her eyes growing darker.
“Ooh, so scary. Whatever Alex, I’m tired of you guys being so dramatic about everything.” Julie walked off leaving Alex alone. Alex could feel herself grow hot with anger again, but refused to let it out. Instead, she decided to walk home and give Dillon a call after dinner. Silently, she prayed, that he wouldn’t be too hurt and do something stupid.
1. The Train Station
Brother and sister twins walked on the dark side of a train station. They hardly looked alike, but most could tell without a doubt that they were siblings. Their facial features echoed the opposite physical traits of parents who were long dead. The girl took after her father, the boy his mother, both beautiful, almost perfectly so. She had tanned golden skin, with equally golden blonde hair that hung perfectly straight an inch past her shoulders. She wore an immaculately white dress that if not for her heavy navy blue cloak, would have been suited more for the summer heat, than the chilly fall night she was walking in.
Underneath his worn black cloak, her brother seemed equally suited for summer, black baggy pants, and a ragged thin shirt that had become nearly see through. His appearance looked winterish, near ethereal, his skin whiter than snow, unblemished except for a sliver scar on the left side of his neck. His dark hair hung slightly curly blended almost perfectly into the darkness surrounding him.
They shared the same eyes though, both a penetrating shade of electric blue, hers alive and excited, his burning with a cold, unfeeling, as if taking warmth out of the room. Their eyes curved at the corners slightly, as were their ears very faintly peeked at the ends, their features often compared that of an Asian elf. They also both seemed to be giving off a light, causing many of the homeless that slept in that abandoned side of the train station to wake up and stare at the strangers in awe, Children feebly restrained by their parents to keep them from following the twins. The two of them seemed to take no notice of the attention they drew, only communicating between themselves, studying each of the poor men, women, and children they passed.
"What about that one Damien, He looks healthier than most." The girl whispered to her brother, Her voice, usually light and warm, was strained. She was suggesting a large man before them, who sat in the door flap of one of the few tents set up on the platform, his stance alert but his eyes dull. In his arms lay a small girl, her breath labored from lack of proper nutrition. Damien shook his head "We want a loner, this man obviously has a family. Why couldn't you have come during the day when it would have attracted less attention Skye?"
Damien's lips did not move, but Skye heard his voice louder than a whisper in her mind. She hadn't heard it any other way since they were children. She didn't reply to his question though, knowing that he wouldn't understand her reason for not wanting to come here alone during the day. One of these people was about to become bait for a project that her and Damien had been working on for a few months. A Demon had been murdering all the humans that came near the ruins it lived in. This demon, in Skye's opinion, should have been executed for his disastrous ways of cohabitating with humans. He saw them as a whittler saw a stray block of wood. Just something knew to carve into something else. Only humans didn’t become lovely little trinkets when you tore into them.
They‘d finally gotten clearance to use a human and draw Karikus out. They were planning on capturing Karikus but Damien was more intent on just killing him. Preferably the human they chose would do it, though it wasn’t likely, due the fact that anyone strong enough would be too slow. Any one fast enough would be too hard to discreetly catch. There was a definite possibility that who ever they chose would get badly hurt before they could step in and help. This meant they had to find someone who possibly wouldn’t be missed. Skye was faster, better conditioned than Karikus, and had no fear of him hurting her. She had tried to talk Damien into letting her be bait, but he had shot that down, reminding her how obvious it was to Demons that she wasn‘t human. Karikus wouldn‘t dare touch her.
Skye felt sick, and retorted. "Why couldn't you stop being so vain and have just come with me during the day?" She asked. His facial expression turned annoyed, knowing that she was dodging telling him the truth. “It's not vanity Skye, its a matter of whether or not I feel like roasting myself...…” Skye’s eyes flickered back to her brother’s face as his last words lost volume and his eyes averted to a hole in the stations crumbling roof.
Following his gaze she saw a figure silhouetting the stars. Squinting to try and understand what they were doing up there, Skye could just barely make out that it was a boy, maybe a little younger than herself. The sound of a train approaching alerted her to the fact that something was very wrong. The boy was swaying too close to the edge, and finally Skye caught onto what exactly the boy was doing there. "Damien!!" she whispered, using her empathic abilities to feel the pain in the boys soul, a pain he honestly thought could be fixed only through death.
Damien, though had figured out what the boy was doing several moments before and had already prepared to save the suicidal figure on the roof. “we've found the bait we were looking for” he told Skye, and she was sickened by the realization that he’d actually found the bait, knowing the fate awaiting the person he was about to save, but understood. She knew it had been foolish to harbor the hope that Damien would forget about the bait.
The other side of the station was well lit, and crowded enough that everyone already knew that the figure was going to commit suicide. People where already were issuing yells for someone to stop him, but no one made a move to fix the problem themselves. Someone might have come if it where day time, and a clean up crew might show up in a couple of days, but other than that people felt like they had put in effort enough to saving him by alerting someone less lazy than themselves. It would be a bit strange if no bodily remains showed up, not that anyone made too much of an effort now days to find one. But other than that, everyone would assume that the boy was dead and gone, never thinking about it twice. He was a teenager too, so he would be fairly strong, and pretty fast. Skye's heart jumped at the possibility of finally there being someone who might survive being bait.
Just then though, another figure appeared on the roof, coming slowly to the others side. Who ever it was seemingly begging the other not to jump. Damien watched rapt as a fight began to ensue, just shoving as the boy was attempting to get the other person away long enough to let him do what he'd climbed up there to do, the argument becoming more persistent as the train drew closer. Train lights flashed, revealing the boy and a girl where desperately arguing. The girl was shoved again but held on, as the boy spun around and jumped, taking the girl who had been trying so desperately to help him, down to the same pathetic death.
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"She was all I cared about. I'm sorry Alex, you were my best friend, but..." The sound of a train passing and cursing came through the cell phone speaker as Alex desperately tried to fit the key to her guardians car.
"Please Dillon, don't...You'll be missed, we need you more than she does, you can't just throw your life away because of her!"
"She's the only reason I have to live, Alex." He said before hanging up.
Alex wanted to cry. Turning the key, the car sputtered, and died. She knew that the faded blue truck was in disrepair and wasn‘t going to start up tonight. Malich had mentioned something about it breaking down this morning at breakfast. What had honestly made her think it would work just because of an emergency? Jumping out and slamming the door, she ran as fast as her legs moved.
She reached the train platform, panting, out of breath, and weak from a nearly mile and a half run from home. She skidded into the crowd bumping several people who returned her wide eyed search for Dillon with glares and scowls. She didn‘t see him and looked up and down quickly, doing a double take when she noticed Dillon’s silhouette against the starry sky. Swallowing against the lump in her throat Alex pushed her way through the crowd to reach for a ladder tucked away in service access area, to reach Dillon.
He’d shown her this place a year before, but she had a little bit of trouble remembering just how to get there. Remembering that the hallway was on the other side of the platform Alex took off in that direction, near where the homeless lived, but that didn't bother her. Using the small lift, she stepped out onto what used to be a small second story shopping area, connected to another one by a silver bridge that should have been taken down years ago. Making her way to the other side, she struggled to keep her balance on the once sturdy public crossway, now reduced to twisted metal, attached precariously to the supports, swaying with her every movement.
At one point crossing Alex slipped, and was left to pull herself back up, desperately clinging on, fingers slipping, shoes treading air until finally hitting the bridge, the steel toe of her boot making it ring. She completed the rest of the distance and hopped off and was about to run in the direction she thought her ladder was, when something like a shadow caught her attention. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it made her revise the direction she was taking to get to Dillon, and Alex set off, a new course already selected for her.
Running the last thirty feet of her path to Dillon, she went up the ladder, two rungs at a time, reaching the roof faster than she ever had before. Alex took a moment to catch her breath, the wind whipping at her dark brown hair, covering her eyes, and her view of Dillon. She walked as calmly to him as she could, but the tears were already falling down her cheeks.
She walked to the edge of the roof, standing between him and the edge, immediately beginning to beg him.
"Dillon, if you do this, you ruin other peoples lives! What about your little sister, your brothers, what about Mikel, Cori and….and Julie" She paused, and then finished
"What about me?”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat, desperately searching his face. She’d been his girlfriend once, and she hoped he still at least loved her as his friend. “Dillon, we could go back to the way things were, if you stepped away from the edge, we could stay the night up here like we used to." She begged him. A faint logical stare flickered on his face, and he reached out his hand, almost considering her proposal, but his gaze averted from her face, and he pulled her out of the way.
"Dillon!" She choked, crying harder, pulling at his arms. He pushed her away again, turned back to the hole in the roof, preparing to jump. The train lights blinded her as she held on tight to him, Alex felt herself dragged off the roof, crying out his name.
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Alex was falling, a small scream issuing out of her mouth, before she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. She heard a crunching sound as Dillon’s body hit the train, but she didn't feel herself hit it, instead she felt a strong arm around her, lifting her away from the speeding train. I'm dead she thought, not sure if she was relieved it had finally come, or sad that it had come so soon.
Her mind raced, her insides twisting as she knew that Dillon was dead too. He’d left her because of another girl twice now, but this time was forever. She wanted to know if she'd see him again, but remembering days in churches she figured otherwise. Alex fell into a half asleep as a gentleness came over her. It was reassuring, it was the shadowy figure again, it told her Dillon was o.k. now, just to sleep, to stop crying. She obeyed and closed her swollen eyes.
After what seemed eternity, the gentle beating of wings made her open her eyes, blinking fast to adjust to the bright light directly above her. As things came into focus she realized that the light was the moon, but how could the moon be so big? she wondered and why the moon?. Her eyes looked to the side and saw a massive black wing gliding in the night air, and she realized that she was flying in something’s arms.
Blinking her eyes could see glossy black wings gliding along on the winds, black hair whipping about nearly blending into the wings. It took Alex a moment to realize that she was holding on, not just being held.
A Dark Angel, so strange…
His dark hair...looks so much like Dillon’s, only longer. She smiled and whispered his name.
No reaction.
Lifting up her head she saw his face, and almost let go. This wasn't Dillon, not even close. Dillon had dark brown eyes, and his nose was larger. His skin darker, his jaw squarer. This stranger was almost feminine in his features, And his electric blue eyes seemed to look just past her, a pretty voice called over the wind.
"Is she still asleep?"
He did not answer, but the voice got what she wanted. "Too bad, but we‘re almost there." The stranger looked at Alex briefly and began to descend, giving her a short glimpse of the owner of that voice. A blonde Angel was flying just behind, she gave Alex a weak smile before looking away, shame piercing her features, the feeling overwhelming Alex, making her feel bad for no particular reason.
The ground drew closer, and even though Alex couldn't see it, she sensed the familiarity. She waited to land, but unexpectedly was let go. Grabbing out for what she could, Alex caught hold of some of the stranger’s dark black hair, yanking him close to the ground before he was able to push her off. Falling the rest of the way, Alex hit her head on the ground, and passed out.
"Such a pretty little girl, I wonder why the twins would leave you for me." Alex watched a greasy little man pace in front of her, but felt at a loss to care.
Dillon had to be dead, but he hadn't been an angel flying her.
Alex had been dragged out of the forest into a grouping of ruins that reminded her a little bit of an old church she’d once been in. Alex could still remember sitting at one of her guardian’s side trying not to laugh at the frenzied priest telling them all to repent, he had been shouting at them, but the girl, Hazel, who was caring for her had gotten misty eyed, glad to at least be in a church service.
Alex knew that her other guardian most likely hadn’t stepped foot in a church since they where children, before the wars end, but didn’t care. No one really went to a religious service anymore, at least not in the small towns. There probably weren’t even churches a hundred miles away from Sage‘s Hollow.
Once when Alex 10 years old she’d been coming to Sage’s Hollow for the first time with her guardian of that time, Shadow Hiyuri. Actually Hiyuri Kage as she’d been made to call her, decided it was time to try and stay put for little while, the war actually seeming like it might be coming to an end. She joined them up as guards for a caravan going here, and surprisingly they’d actually gotten the job. A girl her age had quickly befriended her out of sheer boredom, her name was Julie.
They’d gotten along, more or less because Alex had only had very few friends her own age in her entire lifetime. Julie had been excruciatingly proud of her Christianity and had a thing about calling all those who did not believe the way she did heathens. It confused her a bit, The other guardian having also been a strong believer had never been judgmental of others. Still though, Alex had really wanted a friend so she had acted like Julie for a while. Praying over her food and before bed, even doing the weird cross thing at random times. Shadow had laughed at her, always asking why she even cared. “Kage sensei! She’s my friend!” Shadow had just shook her head and walked away.
Eventually, Alex got tired of pretending and gave it up. After a while Julie had to learn to except those who didn’t believe, and later when she met her again, Julie lost her faith entirely caring only about herself. She now showed certain disdain towards those of the faith.
Alex on the other hand had started praying again for some nostalgic reason, not sure if she remembered why she liked doing it even if she didn’t believe in a God. Once when she and Julie were fighting, and her friends had all taken Julie’s side, Alex had begged for a friend. The same day she found a little auburn and white puppy, abandoned too, that followed her around when it saw her. It ran away not long after her and Julie were friends again, but it was a good enough answer for her to believe in the possibility of a God.
During the sermon she’d sat through with Hazel, Heaven and Hell had been described. Hell, more than Heaven. She’d been told its were the sinners went, fire, brimstone, and torture. Looking around she saw dead bodies, some still bleeding, all naked and some looked as if they’d been rotting for some time, those with expression left in their faces looked in agony. They all seemed to have the same strange cuts winding around their bodies crude looking attempts at artistry.
Maybe she was in Hell, but this wasn't quite like they'd told her it would be, so maybe it was Heck.
Most aspects of religion Alex took lightly, Hell among them. Laughing out loud, she was sobered by a slap to the face.
"Do you know something I don’t little human!!" The man screeched his eyes wide and his teeth bared and rotten.
She shook her head, eyes still glazed over, and her head felt like someone was digging around in there with a hot poker, broken out of her memories. "Why are you laughing?" He growled, getting within inches of her face. She smiled and answered
"I'm in heck."
She was slapped again, but still kept the smile on her face. "You'll be in Hell soon if you don't stop...smiling." the little man said lamely. Turning away he looked into the sky, and then to the trees nearby his hide out, wringing his hands. "What the hell did those twins do to you before they gave you to me..." The little man said shaking his head. He stared out for a while, his hand clutching at a necklace around which a red stone hung. Alex widened her eyes but quickly hid her shock before he turned back to her.
"Well then, are you ready to join the others? Maybe if your good you’ll get to take your turn watching the knife.”
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"Damien, I cant believe you dropped her like that! what if it had killed her?" Skye whispered harshly to her brother.
Damien showed no remorse for dropping the girl, in fact a small smile played along his lips.
"I'm sure that Alex is fine, she yanked out a handful of my hair before letting go, hell she's laughing at Karikus right now." Damien told Skye.
"She's probably got a concussion, and laughing cause she can't see anything but stars" She shuddered next to her brother, His lack of concern for another’s life had bothered her more than once, but Skye comforted herself by pretending it was just a front he put up.
"Do I want to know how you learned the girls name?"
Damien frowned slightly, but didn't tell her. "I thought you told me you didn't go through other peoples thoughts Damien."
"I didn't" Skye glanced at her brothers face, but even in the pale moonlight, it was pretty obvious that he was lying.
"You so read that girls thoughts!" Skye said glaring at him, but smiling for catching him lying.
"Not hers, the dead boy Dillon's" He replied flatly
"And…..why?"
"You sensed that he was really upset, I was curious as to why. He was determined to die, but towards the end he almost changed his mind. But then he pictured another girl standing directly behind the Her. The last thought in his head was how sorry he was for Alex."
"Alex could have been the girl he pictured."
"Alex hesitated on the name “Julie“, then mentioned herself. Unless she's prone to talking in third person, but I'm thinking not."
"So why did you only save Alex and not...Dillon?" She said redirecting her attention to the ruins Karikus occupied. He was staring nervously into the trees, stroking a red crystal hanging around his neck.
"Dillon wanted to die, and he wanted Alex to live a full life. He thought highly of Alex, so I guess you could say I fulfilled a dying mans last wish. Besides, Alex isn't suicidal, she wants to live, and won't try and get herself killed...on purpose that is."
He began walking silently out of the trees towards the ruins and Skye followed.
"He starting?" Damien nodded "Walk faster."
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Alex hadn't been as dazed as Karikus or Skye had thought. Karikus had turned his back on Alex, and while Skye's attention was focused on him, Damien watched as Alex pulled a moderately sized blade out of her boot. Karikus had been stupid enough to leave her untied, and she moved herself into position. It didn't take much thought to figure out what Karikus was going to do to her, and Alex didn't plan on letting it happen.
Damien moved out as he saw Karikus turn around, not because he was concerned for Alex's safety, but he was curious to see her take on Karikus. She honestly believed that the demon was human, and was preparing to take him. Damien had been watching Karikus for days, and knew for a fact that he kept his blade elsewhere in the ruins, next to his favorite humans dead body, his favorite human being the one he thought he’d done the best job on, laying the body in the sun and coating it in various chemicals to dry and tan the skin.
Most like him didn't worry about protection from humans, he was called Demon because of the Blood in his veins, and the crystal around his neck, considering those without lesser life forms. He had no fear of humans getting too much advantage on him, and so as he passed next to Alex lying on the ground he didn't even glance at her.
He was conceited enough not to notice the obvious new position she’d taken.
She was putting on a good act of being almost catatonic, her formerly slurred mind processes brought to a sharp point with the second slap of the face. She rolled onto her knees, and rocking back, then forward sprang up, driving her blade into Karikus' back. Karikus growled in pain and then spun around, managing to get it just right to boot Alex off. Walking to her battered body, he lifted Alex off her feet holding her by the neck. The foggy look in her eyes did not return as her air supply was cut off, instead intense focus burned, a smile returned to her face. "A devil can have no power unless you give it to him" She was choking on a laugh.
It sounded very much like what a different priest at that same sermon had said. Funny how the soft spoken one had left a better impression than the frenzied priest.
Again, her actions had been feigned to get him to do what she wanted. Her foot lashed out, faster than Damien had seen a human move before, and connected with his stomach. Karikus crumpled slightly, she took advantage, swinging her other foot and striking the side of his face, twisting forward out of his grasp flipping herself over his shoulder, she reached out mid-flight and pulled the knife out his back. Bouncing slightly on her feet she reached around his neck, and with one movement took it across his throat, cutting an inch deep.
Breathing hard, Alex finished things off by catching the string to his necklace breaking it off, the crystal falling to the ground. Reaching down to pick it up, Alex rose to stand over his body, watching blood drain out of his neck and back.
Finally a dry sob caught in her throat, she choked out “Again…” it was agonized, and she wiped off her forehead, a light sheen of sweat forming there. Meanwhile Alex was being watched by a open mouthed Damien who was holding his sister, forcing her to be quiet while he watched the scene unfold.
"Let me go!"
"No, give her a minute."
"Give her a minute! Damien she already killed him!"
"He was a murderer Skye, He would have been executed anyways."
"So we just let her become one too."
"It was self defense, not murder"
"She still just killed someone!"
"Well now, she's just going to have to come to terms with that on her own now wont she."
Skye kicked back at Damien who finally let her go, she walked out into the open catching the eye of Alex. She was breathing hard, still regaining her breath from nearly being choked to death. She had just about to put her knife away when Skye burst out of Damien’s grasp. Her dark eyes flickered up and glared at Skye, recognizing her from her flight with Damien.
Clutching the knife tighter she took a step toward Skye "So you planned on this?" Skye felt bad for what she had helped do, but Damien was the one who chose Alex, Damien was the one who wanted bait for the job. Still, Skye wasn't going to put the blame on someone else, most of all her brother.
"I...I" She stammered at a loss for words the humans gaze unnerving her surprisingly, so Damien sighed and walked out of hiding, gently guiding his sister to stand behind him.
"You..." Alex growled, her eyes even narrower now.
Her hostility towards Karikus seemed doubled now that she was dealing with the twins. She had figured out pretty quickly that they’d put her here, for their own purposes stood alert and erect, her face dark. "Good, I see the fall didn't affect your memory" Alex smiled curtly, readying the knife.
It unnerved her a little that his voice was in her head, not in her ears. "what the hell kinda freak am i dealing with now?" She didn't really care to find out. Her knuckles where white on the handle , the red crystal she’d taken cutting into the palm of the other hand.
"It's all right, just put the knife down." Damien tried to sooth, taking a step towards her. She was in no mood to possibly be taken advantage of, not completely understanding his actions she reacted violently. Thrusting the knife into his throat, his hand caught hold of her wrist, wincing slightly he pushed the knife back out. Blood poured from his neck, the knife leaving a vertical cut directly through the center of his throat, but he ignored the pain. Her eyes widened, but didn't seem to register. damn. she thought must have just scratched him.
Twisting her wrist, she dropped the knife crying out. She reached out clutching a handful of his shirt gritting her teeth in pain. "Who the hell are you" She said trying to get him to let go of her wrist.
"Dillon sent me ." He lied.
She noticed and asked angrily "Bullshit, If he had then why did you bring me here!"
"Ok, right. I lied. But I did save your life. I'd appreciate it if you'd give me a moment to explain." She grudgingly let go of her hold on his shirt, he let go of her wrist. "Go on." She said, finding it hard to mask the distrust in her voice.
"I'm sorry we had to drag you into this.." He began.
Skye snorted very strangely. "Your lying again Dame." He looked annoyed "Believe it or not, I actually do feel remorse over the fact that the council left us with no other choice." He almost added "Those Goddamn Bureaucrats" but held his tongue, or mind (whatever!).
Alex was a bit confused over the brother and sister argument, but kinda believed that he felt semi-sucky over this, though mostly wondered why he disliked the council so much. "Anyways" he said annoyance seeping into his minds tone.
"We were under strict orders to not try and arrest Karikus..."
"Wait, his name was Karikus? What kinda name is that?"
Alex interrupted perplexed.
"Er..uhm. Russian." Skye quickly said.
Alex narrowed her eyes. "Both of you have a really bad problem with lying you know that?"
Damien sighed, not that anyone really could notice, it being silent. "Listen! ok, We had to wait for that bastard to try and do his...eh, thing...to someone. But He wouldnt..uhh...except.." Damien motioned to himself and Skye.
"Whatever the hell you two are?" Alex finished.
They nodded, Damien continued on "He wouldn't except one of us, so we needed human bait"
"Great so now I'm bait on a freaks fishing stick, is that it?" Alex plopped down on the ground, Skye and Damien joining her. "Precisely, now no more interruptions"
"Gotchya" Alex interrupted.
Damien was about ready to bang his head in, but quickly got over it. "Most people thought you were gonna die from that fall anyways, so you disappearing for a few hours...or...well never mind. The point is, you weren’t going to be missed really so... well, just think of it like this. We save you, you help us."
"Exchanging one life threatening situation for another. Yes, I am verrry grateful that you just put me in the capable hands of Carcass of there.."
"Karikus" He corrected
"Whatever his name is, he still damn near made death a hell of a lot more painful for me."
Damien rolled his eyes. "Tell you the truth, getting hit by a train does hurt a lot more than you'd think"
"Only if it didn‘t kill her , direct hit would have done it for Alex." Skye argued.
"Maybe not right away, who knows, maybe she could have lived for a few hours with half her limbs severed off"
"Yeah well, not likely. Karikus would have hurt more."
"Ok both of you, I'd rather not go into detail of both opportunities for me to die a gruesome death tonight."
"Trains hurt"
"So do knives Dame."
Alex hadn't heard their last little quips, the telepathy directed to not come near her mind "So, Damien, you've been hit by a train before?" Damien paled (if that was even possible) and Skye got a malicious little grin on her face.
"Oh yeah, hence the "limbs severed off" snippet." Skye snickered
"Beside the point." Damien gave her a glare.
"Oh, but Damien its an adorable story."
"umm, guys." Alex interrupted them again. Damien was starting to look angry and it kinda creeped her out. "I'll have to listen to it some other time."
It settled the argument. Instead, the group was left to sit in uncomfortable silence.
"I think Alex should stay at our place tonight." Damien said, breaking the silence. At least the silence their minds where experiencing. Alex was quick to object.
"But...what about going home...and, well. I don't want them to think I'm dead like...like..." Her lip was quivering, but Damien hadn't noticed.
"Like Dillon?" That sent her over the edge. She shook and sobbed. She stood up, and Damien - now afraid that she might run and get herself hurt in one of Karikus' many traps around the ruins- was very unsure of how to react.
He stood up, and as soon as he did, Alex commenced to latch onto to him, her head only coming to his shoulders, she pressed it against his chest. Skye looked dumbfounded, but the look of shock on her face was nothing compared to the expression on Damien’s.
Gradually, the look slipped back to his normal calm face. Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his head on hers, the wound in his throat gradually closing up, the remaining blood cutting a path down her cheek. Damien seemed a bit unsure about giving this kind of comfort, Skye hardly needed it, and their parents hadn't exactly raised them to be all...huggy. Still the girl deserved a little comfort, and who better to give her it than his sister and him?
Skye stared at her brother, wide eyed. She'd never seen him give another person physical comfort before, any real comfort for that matter. "Will you come with us?" Damien asked Alex. It was sorta sweet actually, to see her brother acting...nice? Not mearly amused, or interested in a person, studying from afar, but interacting. She'd have to write this down somewhere, just so that she wouldn’t doubt herself later.
After a moment, Damien's face had relaxed, and if Skye hadn't known better, she would have half believed he was enjoying it.
"I think we're going to have a guest at the house tonight" Damien told Skye, interrupting her imagination having fun with her brothers current situation.
"So is Dillon the reason she should stay?" Skye asked. Physical contact, some positive emotions like compassion popping up, inviting a girl to stay at the house. No, she was never going to let him forget about this.
.
"Yeah, it would be a bit too much to deal with in front of parents who don't already understand." He said in a tone she’d never really heard before. It was sentimental in a way that caught her attention and put up warning flags. Ok, now she dangerously close to thinking he actually was enjoying Alex.
Skye cocked her eyebrow "You know, I've never seen you give so much thought about how another person was feeling before."
"I'm just impressed that she was able to kill a crystal wearing Demon, that’s all." He said trying to shrug it off.
"But holding her? Honestly Damien, you've never even hugged me before!" She teased, suppressing a laugh.
"She...kind of...initiated it. Don’t get used to this, she'll be gone in the morning and that will be that last we'll see of her." Damien said defensively. Skye gave a knowing smile, and stroked Alex's hair.
"You know Damien, there’s nothing wrong with being attracted to a girl. In fact, it's probably healthy." Damien’s demeanor stayed the same.
"I'm not, "Attracted" to the human Skye. She's interesting to me, like a book. Also incredibly annoying too, but there’s nothing beyond that.” Catching the look in Skye’s eyes he was a bit vexed.
“Skye, I swear that sometimes you‘d say anything to get a rise out of me." Skye rolled her eyes at her brothers excuses and prepared to fly
"You like her." She launched herself into the air, her snowy white wings appearing from nowhere.
Damien sighed, hoisting Alex up into his arms, before he jumped he took a quick look at her face. It was dirty from the train smoke, stained by the dirt from the ruins, bloody because of him, tear streaked and a bit puffy. But she was pretty in a way that reminded him of someone he'd met once.
No one too special he assumed, since he'd only seen the woman once. Still, she wasn't bad looking, and if he'd been human he probably would have had a hard time not being attracted to her. But he wasn't human, and her looks had no influence on him.
Damn Skye and her seeds of doubt.
He launched himself up into the air, his pitch black wings reappearing, catching up quickly to his sister, heading west to their home.
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Do tell me if you like it this way, or the old way.
2. Like Lemons and bent Graham Crackers.
…(What she may know)…
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Skye landed softly on the balcony inset to the topmost corner of a massive building. By the repetition in design, it was easy to see that this place was an Apartment building, but so expansive and well cared for, it seemed like a mansion. Damien landed almost as quietly, Alex sleeping in his arms. As their wings folded seamlessly into nothing, Damien stretched.
“She wasn’t too heavy for you was she Dame?” Skye said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. Damien just rolled his eyes and waited for her to key in the code to the door. Most places would never have a balcony door with a coded lock, but most places didn’t have to worry about your neighbors being able to get that high with relative ease. Walking in, both taking off their shoes before walking around on the plush tan carpet, Damien shut the door with his foot and Skye plopped down on the couch.
“Skye, c’mon, we are not done yet.” Grudgingly, Skye followed him. “So where is she gonna sleep Dame?”
“My room probably”
“Your…gonna sleep with her?” Skye said almost choking
“Of course not!” Damien looked scared by the idea. “I don’t sleep at night, remember?”
“oh…oh yeah…” She said almost sheepishly.Cracking a smile, she mumbled “But you would like to, wouldn’t you…”
Damien did not reply, unsure if she was talking about sleeping with Alex, or at night. Either way he didn’t have to answer her. She already would know his answer. She remained quiet, though, as they walked down the hall and into his room.
It was moderate size, a large window completely covered by black out curtains on the wall to the right of the door. In the center of the room was his bed, a white and grey comforter neatly made, a cherry wood desk on the wall opposite the window, and a closet with one door open, inset across from his bed. At the moment, the window was open, cool air flowing in strong enough to lift the heavy curtains up. As Damien laid her down, he motioned Skye over from the door. She had been watching her brother take a certain care that she had not of yet previously seen him bestow upon anyone.
“What?”
“I need you to take her shoes off, please.”
“Her shoes? What the heck Dame.” Still she did as he had asked.
“Why do you want them off, no, wait, you’re worried that she’ll have trouble sleeping with them on, aren’t you?” Her voice teased, and he just glared.
“She keeps a knife in the right one. I don’t want her waking up distraught and freaking out on the apartment just because she doesn’t know where she is.”
“Whatever.” She grumbled. Walking out of the room, she didn’t see Damien stare at Alex’s face. “you look so familiar” he thought tilting his head. Grabbing a blanket off the floor, he tossed it over Alex, assuming it would be warm enough.
Walking out, Damien stopped by the bathroom to take a quick shower, trying to get the smell of Karikus’ ruins out of his system and also, to rid himself of Alex’s scent. He had an incredible sense of smell, though it was faint, and was definitely overpowered by the stench of death, he could still decipher what was hers.
After twenty minutes under steaming hot water, his pale skin pink, he wandered over to Skye’s room where she was ogling the boots.
“God, where did she get these, they‘re amazing!” Skye exclaimed when he walked in. He rolled his eyes and plopped down on her bed. Scattered about where the contents of Alex’s boots. The knife, a key, twenty dollars and a small glass bottle, all seeming a little strange sitting there on the pink polka dot bedspread. Now that he was closer, Damien could see the impossible little seam of the compartments within her boots, all of which probably had been so dirty that no one but Alex would have been able to find them.
“clever…” Picking up the knife, he began to idly play with it, surprised that something so small could inflict so much damage. He felt his neck, swollen and tender, he thought for a moment that it felt almost as if…there were something new there. He was broken from his thoughts when Skye spoke up again.
“I love these!” Skye said with a sigh, hugging them to her chest. They where clean now, after Skye had scrubbed and polished them, but still didn’t gleam. They looked worn, and Damien wasn’t quite sure why his sister liked them so much. Turning an innocent wide-eyed gaze towards him she asked “Do you think she’d mind if I kept them?”
Damien laughed, or at least made the motion. “You wouldn’t fit into them, here let me have them.”
Reaching to take the boots from her she resisted. “Wow, you already figured out her shoe size, how cute.” Shrugging he smirked at her.
“No, but I did see you try to cram your feet in unsuccessfully just a few minutes ago.”
She stuck out her tongue. “I’m keeping them.”
Damien sighed. “Skye, your being childish.”
She huffed “Am not.” finally giving them to him. “I’m not the one denying I have a crush on a little human girl!”
“But I don’t!” Skye just rolled her eyes “Whatever, but you do know your blushing right?” Damien shoved her off the bed with his foot and crossed his arms. “I don’t. I just got out of the shower…” She looked about to say something when they heard Alex’s voice from the other room. Climbing off the bed the both came to her room, to find Alex’s still sleeping figure shaking and crying in her sleep. They sobered up upon seeing her like this, they stood still for a few minutes before either of them made a sound.
Skye sighed from the doorway, Damien was leaning against the opposite side, arms crossed, not sure why he was still staring. "I wonder what she sees in her dreams." Skye said softly. He blinked, watching his sister shiver although there was no chill in the entire apartment. "Are you hurting?"
Skye looked at him strangely. "You're in a compassionate mood aren't you... No, by the way. I'm feeling...strange. Thank you for asking though."
"mmhm. Strange? how?"
"Right now it’s...kinda pleasant, I think."
"It's pleasant and she's shaking? That doesn't make much sense. Should I...?"
"No! You most definitely will not take a peek into what’s going on in that poor girls head!"
Damien leaned in next to her "Just a peek..."
Still unsure she glared at him "You know, you've a nasty lying streak lately..."
"Promise, just a few minutes of the dream, that’s all."
She paused. She wanted to know what was messing with Alex in her sleep, so curiosity got the best of her, and she gripped his hand "ok, but I'm coming too...
"But of course." He bowed his head slightly, shadowing the whitening of his eyes, Skye gasped as Damien took her with him into Alex's mind, midst a dream.
The twins saw things in a third person point of view, Shadows cutting off most of their surroundings other than what could be seen by a young girl with silver hair and violet eyes standing on the edge of a bridge. A young couple stood next to her. They where dressed strangely, as if they had raided the closet of a foreigner. The girl had brown hair, green gray eyes and stood, holding the hand of a dark skinned boy with dark eyes and hair. "So you'll be leaving now?" The silver haired girl asked sadness reflecting in her eyes.
"I wish it didn't have to be so soon...but Annie, I missed the war..." The boy squeezed the brunettes hand, and a glint of anger shown in her eyes, sliding away as she rubbed her thumb against his skin. "I missed the war, I missed the chance to save my home, but I'm needed there, and I can't refuse this opportunity to finally do some good."
"But you can't just leave me here all alone!" Annie begged. “You can't just do this after Hiyuri-san left me! But..but you could take me with you!" The brunette just shook her head.
"You wouldn't be alone Annie, you know that my brother has agreed to take care of you. It's not easy living there, it's very, very different from what you’re accustomed to. Besides, you’re far to young. You wouldn't feel like you belonged"
Annie scoffed. "And I really belong to this world? I'm hardly younger than you when you went in...a year from now I'll be the same age as you when you screwed earth over..."
"Annie, how dare you say that! You know that this was Maddeo's war, not mine. If I hadn't been incapacitated all those years...” Again the glint of anger shone in her eyes "You and I both know that this war would have been over with in less than a year."
Annie gritted her teeth and tore at a small necklace she had hidden under her shirt. "Fine, I'll stay here with your brother. Have fun playing hero, Haze!" She broke the chain, a silver one with a strangely familiar red crystal tied to it and walked away.
"Aneirin! Please, come back...!"
Damien pulled them from the dream, but the white of his eyes took a moment to fade away. Skye was breathing hard, but so was he. "Why'd...you pull...us out...just then?...Wasn't...ready"
"I promised that it would be just a peek."
"Oh, come on, you pulled out during the good part!"
"Of what? Some stupid dream she was having, maybe even a very personal dream?"
"The...what?"
"You know, personal space. There‘s a reason we‘re not supposed to use our talents against people without their permission." Damien crossed his arms setting his jaw, unsure why he was so unhappy about it.
"Oh." Skye looked uncomfortable. "Well...It was your idea you hypocrite!“ She said before quickly walking off to her bedroom. Damien sighed shrugging it off, and shut the door to his own bedroom where Alex slept on. Picturing her face he thought. It's going to be hard to let you go still wondering who you remind me of.
He thought of just walking away, but found himself still standing at the door a few moments later. Finally sighing, he walked to the window in the living room and stared out.
Skye and him had grown up during what was called a “War of the Worlds” Cliché, and yet entirely appropriate. Humans would have called them Aliens, but that was too corny to quite describe them. They were from a place called Anderra, it was the world on which they had been born, but never seen. Their parents had grown up, established themselves, and then emigrated to Gaia, or Earth, wanting to go and experience a world so great with technology, a people who had flourished without an ounce of power within them. Most Anderran’s who had come, loved figuring out ways of mixing what the Gaian’s called “magic” with their superior technology. It had been his parents plan to educate their children for six or seven years on Gaia, and then take them to a specialty school on Anderra. Damien had to wonder sometimes what it would have been like to currently be living in the dorms of one of those amazing schools, he would be now, if not for the War.
His people had been led by the intensely charismatic Maddeo Vilasari, A woman who had been born originally on Gaia. As a child she had been whisked away by a gate, and had eventually become head of all Anderra’s armies through a political coup. She had then staged an attack on Anderra, claiming that it was the Gaian’s who had done it. Of course, all these details where not widely known until the war ended two years ago. His parents had been confused about which side to take, not truly sure if they believed that the Gaian’s deserved what looked to be total annihilation, but torn by the loyalty they had retained for their home world. Finally, settling on helping all those in need, they had been executed for helping Gaian’s that had been horribly wounded.
Things had finally lost their steam when a young girl named Hazel Porter and a small group had assassinated Maddeo, though the true happenings of that day were unknown to all but those who witnessed it. After Maddeo’s death, the Gaian’s had been able to kill of all the remaining Anderran’s still loyal to Maddeo. Two months after she had died, the final battle outside Sage’s Hollow had been fought, the survivors eventually executed or made to return home.
These facts though, were not known to the Gaian’s. The people still wondered why this horrible war had gone on for so long, and why it had even happened in the first place. They had not known the names “Maddeo” or of “Haze”. If, in her dream, Alex had witnessed someone who had known these things, just how much more could she know?
And then there was the girl, Aneirin, from her dream. The name, and especially the silver hair…Damien knew that girl. Had Alex been an innocent bystander, or had she actually met Annie? Either way, she had seen then girl fairly recently, definitely within the last two or three years. Damien closed his eyes, and made up his mind.
“There is no way I can let her go, without first finding a few things out.” So, in a matter of seconds he had reset Skye’s alarm clock as she slept. Sighing he shook his head and went over to the couch. “This girl…is complicating things.”
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A/N Hey all! ok, Just so you guys (who have read the originall 8 chapters and now are scratching your heads) know, This IS taken from the original core of chapter three. But don't go thinking its the same, 'cause from here on out, things are gonna be taking a little bit different course of action. If you haven't read the edited versions of these chapters, I suggest you go and do it. Things'll make a little bit better sense if you do!
Danke for reading! Malise :)
A/n Hey, I know that this comes quite late, but the 17th of April is the anniversary of when I first began to write Demon’s Wake. Just thought I’d have a little celebration!
3. Ano means The and Umm.
(makes teh mormons think of Urim and Thummim dont it!)
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“WHAT DID YOU DO DAMIEN?!!”
Alex woke with a start, Skye’s voice shrill and angry. For a moment she couldn’t quite think as to where she was, or why she wasn’t at home, but slowly began to remember.
She choked, the sudden memory of Dillon falling and hitting the train coming to mind. She clenched her teeth in an effort to try not to cry. She had to think of something else, and she focused on why there was shouting. Opening her eyes, she noticed the light streaming through partially opened curtains and suddenly realized that it was real late in the morning. She hadn’t really been cued in to what the plan had been to take her home, but she would have thought that it would probably have happened early this morning. It seemed logical considering that’s when most people sleep, and that would probably be the best time to fly someone home and not be seen.
“YOU BETTER TELL ME WHY IT WAS RESET OR I’M OPENING THOSE FRIKIN CURTAINS!”
Alex flinched a little bit, not used to the yelling, but got out of bed, shuffling over to the door. Opening it a crack Alex saw a flicker of movement in the living room down the hall, and rubbed her eyes to try and get a better view of what she was seeing. Running a hand through her hair real quick she walked in, to see what looked like ghostlike images of the twins, Damien constantly blocking the way to the window and Skye attacking him to try and get to them.
“Ano…?” Alex said quietly, catching them both off guard. “Ano…what?” Skye asked, looking strangely. She had both her arms being controlled by Damien, both of whom where staring at Alex. Now that they had stopped moving so fast, Alex could see clearly for the first time just how good looking they both were. And almost laughed at herself for mistaking Damien for Dillon the night before. Dillon could never have come close to looking as pretty (if the word pretty could be used on a guy) as this boy did. She wasn’t particularly fazed by them though; she had seen her share of incredibly beautiful people in her lifetime to no longer care all that much.
“I meant to say umm, but I guess… that…doesn’t really matter.” She looked to the floor, leaning against the wall, Damien let go of Skye’s arms and took one step down. “Alex?”
Skye opened the curtains and then suddenly gasped when she realized that her brother had just said something out loud. By the time she had processed this and closed the curtains, Damien was already huddled in the hallway, in as much shadow as he could get. “Damien, your voice!” She ran over, ecstatic, but Alex was already kneeling next to him watching a little curl of smoke rise up from his skin. She reached down to her feet, feeling for her boots, but not finding them. “You guys…?”
“Oh, oh! I can’t believe this, when did it happen Dame! I’m so sorry for opening the curtains on you, I swear I’m not ever, ever, gonna do it again! Say something again Dame! C’mon, please???” Skye rambled. Damien looked exasperated and then turned to Alex. “Yeah, we took your boots. What did you need from them?” His new found voice was soft and very raspy, but had a pleasant quality to it still.
Alex stared for a moment, and was about to say something when Skye interrupted. “Damien, your voice is back! Aren’t you just…so incredibly excited?”
“Well, I thought something was different this morning but, well, nope” He answered with a smile. Shrugging he added “It was just a voice. I’m just as able to communicate with my mind, so it was just an accessory.”
“An accessory? Damien do you not remember what everybody used say? If anyone had a voice like his…”
“Again, completely unimportant. But I’m glad to see that you are happy Skye.” Alex had a look of half interest, half confusion flickering on her face. Skye was ignoring it, but Damien turned his attention back to her.
“Alex?” She looked at him strangely and then smiled weakly. “I’m sorry. I must have not been paying attention to the fact that you weren’t speaking last night.” Both he and Skye stared now.
“Well, I suppose that it was pretty obvious. I just forgot that I should notice things like when people’s mouths are not moving but I’m hearing the words. I noticed that the voice wasn’t in my ears, but it didn’t really register at the time.”
“So…you…you”
“Telepathy, right?” Alex said her eyes a little wider than before. It was like a child speaking to them in “uh-duh!” terms, something they were not very used to. She looked off away from them, and then looked back, her face suddenly serious. “But, I really do need to get back. Denver Rae and Malich will be wondering where I went. I don’t want them thinking that I’m…that something happened to me. Like I mentioned last night.” She stood up closed her eyes and then opened them slowly while taking a step forward. Damien was up in a flash blocking Alex’s way. “What…?”
“It’s like you changed personality since last night.”
“Last night sucked. I was hurt and prepared to keep it from happening any more, so please don’t think that I’m always like that.” She smiled faintly, but Damien narrowed his eyes. “I am sorry, but you will have to wait until after dark. If you didn’t hear me and Skye’s argument just a few moments ago…”
“I heard…a little?”
“Well, Skye…” She stood up and suddenly looked cross again. “I can’t fly you back home until its dark and no one can see me. I had my alarm set so that I could take you myself, just so that Damien wouldn’t go stalking you…” Alex looked a little weirded out. Skye realized why and quickly tried amending it.” I was joking! Joking, I’m not being serious, he would never…”
“Skye wanted to talk to you like girls do. She gets frustrated with me because I don’t let her see her friends while we have work to do.”
“Work? So, was that what last night was?”
Damien sighed. “We’re straying from the point. She got upset because your family is going to be even more worried if we do not get you back soon.”
“Well, you guys do know that you didn’t need to fly. I could have just walked!” She laughed and turned back to try and find her shoes but Damien caught her wrist. “Well, if you really want to walk all that way, be our guest, but we won’t give you your shoes. Trust me, you will want to wait for one of us to take you.” He smiled as if he were trying not to laugh.
“What? Why?”
“Well, why doesn’t Skye show you.” He motioned towards the balcony door, and Skye led Alex out while Damien hid in the hall. “We aren’t exactly in town…” She said slowly, Her wings unfolding and his a flick she was gone, a sudden disappearance that Alex wasn’t expecting, coming to the railing, she looked around and looking up, saw Skye’s smiling face looking over from the roof, her arm reaching out to Alex. “I’m not quite as strong as Damien at the moment, so I can’t fly you anywhere. Right now I'm a little drained, but my tonight I'll be back to my normal strength. So right now, I'll settle with lifting you up!” Alex nimbly stepped up onto the railing without so much as balancing herself, caught hold of Skye’s arm and let herself be picked up like a young kid.
Skye showed a little strain, but still got Alex up quickly without stumbling back or showing any fatigue after lifting what was equal to her own weight up several feet. Leading her to the opposite edge of roof Alex studied the massive complex she was at. They were more than ten stories up on the roof of one of the largest buildings she had ever seen in this good of repair. It was U shaped with straight angles, the outside done in dazzling white-blue brick that looked like it had been smoothed down perfectly. Windows stood in neat pattern on every floor, each having stained glass around the edges, some open others completely blocked off from the outside. A tower stood out in what seemed like the front of the building, a massive window of stained glass depicting what looked like an angelic battle seen, like what you used to see in pictures of really old churches. The glass had been expertly placed so it seemed more like a painting or a tapestry than a window. There must have been a window on the other side and a great open room between them, because the mornings sun shown through it casting a colorful pattern down into an amazing pool of water below. A beautiful garden surrounded the pool, and purposeful woods stood around the entire area. Alex took it in, never having seen a place like this before, but it still seemed eerily familiar to her.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it? Sad, we live in such an amazing place like this, but Damien has never seen this.”
“Never?” Alex looked over to her. “Yeah. Do you know why he couldn’t take it when I opened the curtains?” She almost sounded guilty now that she was thinking about what she’d done. “He…well you guys aren’t exactly normal, and the smoke makes me think of those stupid Vampire stories they always told little kids, but he’s just allergic to it, right?”
“Yeah.” Skye smiled. “Pretty good for a huma…Gaian.” She corrected herself part way through. Alex didn’t even blink when she was referred to as a Gaian. Skye watched her face, wondering if she had just ignored her or something. “Well, he wouldn’t be if everyday for a week or two he would go outside for just a little while, but he always says it hurts too bad. Can’t imagine him being to chicken for pain, but that’s his choice.” Skye sighed and stared out at the apartment before suddenly realizing why she had been told to bring Alex up there.
“Oh, yeah. Ok, so you see how the sun is in the East, now if you go south just a little bit of the tower” She pointed a little to the right of it “You can see the remains of Karikus’s church. That is a ways away as you can tell. Now if you go way over this way.” She pointed in a direction close to the edge of the other side of the building “You can see the smoke from the field.”
“That’s almost as far away from here as it is in town. But there it’s towards the northwest!” Alex said in disbelief. Skye shrugged. “Your town is 16 miles through thick forest from here. Less compassionate beings would say that if you couldn’t get yourself through that, then natural selection would get a chance to take effect. But between you and me, I think my brother has a soft spot for you. If he hadn’t, he would have forced me to leave without you, hoping that you would find your way back.”
Alex didn’t seem worried as Skye said this, which worried Skye in turn. “Alex, are you feeling ok…you know…after yesterday?”
“Perfectly fine. Gotta remember, I survived the war. Why waste time mourning when you can spend it getting things done, when it can be spent keeping yourself safe? And I don’t think your brother has a soft spot for me.”
Skye chuckled. “And why is that? Have you not seen how he acts around you?”
Alex looked off to the tower, the light making them look violet to Skye. “He’s known me for a single night. Perhaps he’s nervous about me being around, but how can anyone care about you if they’ve only known you for that short of time. And besides, be honest. I unnerve you now that I seem fine, don’t I?” Skye stared for a moment as Alex turned away and Skye was confused about the girl. For someone who had seemed so nice for the last few minutes, Skye no longer had that impression. Suddenly she wondered what Alex must know for all the things she’d seen and heard in the last few hours not to bother her in the least.
She suddenly realized that Alex had swung herself back on to balcony and ran to the edge to make sure she’d gotten through o.k. She jumped a little when Alex looked up to make sure that she was coming. “C’mon Skye, he’s cooking something that smells really good in there!” Her voice was sweet as it had been when she had first woken. Skye contemplated whether or not she ever wanted to face Alex again, but then for her brother’s sake she went in, beginning to worry if Alex was a threat or not.
4. When your tummy rumbles in bed...
(Apartment on the 13th floor)
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Damien saw Alex as she stepped through the door, a faint smile on her lips, and he could hear Skye worrying in the back of her mind. His sister didn’t mean to be heard, but Damien was trying to get what he could from either of them. While Alex was strangely silent in her own mind, Skye kept thinking about whether or not it had been a good idea to bring the stranger home.
“What is wrong Skye?”
“This girl…could you check to make sure she’s not psychotic or something…”
“Skye.” He scolded her “This sounds nothing like you. What happened?”
“Something isn’t right with her; she’s too calm about all this for a human.”
“Yeah, is that so…”
“Damien, don’t act like I’m overreacting!”
“Skye, I kept her here because she knows about things that most humans do not. Her calm suggests that perhaps it was more than I previously thought.” He looked happily in thought, analyzing what Skye had told him, but Skye just got upset.
“Dame!” she sent him angrily as she sat down at the table, watching him bring over a towering pile of pancakes. Alex looked at it quizzically, clearly wondering how Damien expected the three of them to polish off that much food. “I think she got broken last night, something might have snapped! And she’s NOT a slide under a microscope awaiting your analysis!”
Damien sat down, a smile on his face. Giving a look to Skye that told her to be quiet and watch.
“Do you still want to walk home Alex?” He asked. Alex tilted her head, smiling kindly.
“Well, if you’d give me my boots back, then yeah.”
“Still after Skye showed you the forest?” Alex shrugged and began to eat her pancakes. “She was very nice to have done that, but well, it’s not that horribly far.”
“Oh, you would be surprised.”
“That’s what you two keep trying to tell me.”
“Skye would be worried.”
“I’m sure she would be.” Alex was beginning to have a less pleasant tone, and Skye was sitting uncomfortably between the two. Suddenly, she felt a sort of negativity radiate from Damien.
“Alex” He said hoarsely. “She is already, but really, it is because Skye is a little worried that you might be crazy.” He kept his eyes low, not looking up at the girl. Skye gaped at him for saying it so bluntly, looking at Alex who was looking at her with amusement. She made the motion to say “No! I didn’t say that! I would never say that!” but never got the chance to say it because Alex laughed a little and took a bite of her pancake. The room remained silent for a moment until Damien spoke up again. “Well good to know you have your humor today. Would you care to prove her wrong?” He took a bit as well and they both ate without looking up.
“I suppose…to people like you I would seem a little crazy.”
“Like us?”
“Yes. You’re not human. That’s a given, and in my mind I keep thinking of you as Angels. But, from what little I know, Angels in the bible didn’t exactly keep nice little apartments and make pancakes for their guests. That is, unless I’m dead. But you wouldn’t have shown me a logical reason as to why I can’t just hoof it back home if I was, so I think I’m probably alive.”
Damien had stopped eating, but still held the fork, syrup dripping of the tip.
“And since you made me do the killing last night, I’m guessing that you two didn’t really have to deal with the war. So yes, to two non human pacifists like yourselves, I probably would seem relatively insane.”
Alex began eating again but Damien had given up on pretending to even care about the food. Pausing for a moment, he began to chuckle. “Well, it seems we have both gotten something of a nasty assumption about each other.” Looking up, his eyes dark he asked. “We were not pacifists during Maddeo’s war, but your right, we are not human, and we will not hesitate to dispose of you if you suddenly become a threat to us.”
Alex glared brisling. “Really, is that so?”
“Yes, sweetheart, it is.” They both looked as if they were about attack each other, when a knock on the door startled them.
Skye jumped up, glad to have an excuse to run away from how uncomfortable the situation had suddenly become. Damien took his plate and Alex’s, both still having about half their contents left there. Alex opened her mouth to protest, but opted to look at the floor. “SKYE!” came the shrill cry of a stick thin blonde girl in a pink jacket and white skirt. “Hey Sara! You came just in time, Dame made pancakes.” The girl named Sara walked in like she owned the place, not even bothering to take her high heeled shoes off. Behind her came a whole group of girls who each squealed and greeted Skye in various ways, the majority more polite than Sara, all but a few taking off their shoes. A few made a beeline for the couches, Sara and two others plopping down at the table to begin eating away at the large pile of food Damien had made. Sara pulled two pancakes off the pile before realizing that Alex was sitting across from her. “And…who the hell are you?” Alex was still fuming, and clearly annoyed that her and Damien had been interrupted in their argument half way through. “Alex Moneheim.”
Sara stared, finally looking up at Skye. “What kind of bull…”
“Alex, your boots are in Skye’s room if you want them.” Damien said quietly, coming up behind her swiftly, a hand on the middle of her back to make her walk a little faster. After they had both entered the room, Damien slammed the door and the click of the lock was very much audible.
Sara watched dumbfounded. “Skye, why the hell do you have a human here?” Her tone was Icy and venomous.
“And how…how do you know that she’s a…”
“Only Humans, or dip wads like the council members take on Surnames. And only a human would do such an automatic thing like declare it. I mean what pride is there in a single line of powerless people, when you have a massive clan of powerful beings to be apart of.” She scoffed.
“I don’t see why you’re so angry about her being here” Skye looked off to the kitchen, not willing to let on that just moments ago she’d wished desperately that there wasn’t a human around also.
“She’s one of those bastard humans. Degenerate weaklings, not even worth keeping around. Why don’t you just snap her neck and dangle her on a hook for Karikus, I know that’s the only reason you could have done something so stupid as to bring one of them around.”
“Karikus is dead.”
“Oh, so just as you two got bait, Damien finally got fed up and killed him or what?”
“Alex...ah….well…She killed him.”
“Bull…”
“Sara, I’d prefer if you’d stop swearing so much in my house. You know how Damien hates it when we do.”
Sara grew silent at the mention of Damien, suddenly being very interested in her pancakes. “Now if there are no more questions, I’m going to make sure that those two don’t kill each other.” Skye walked out of the room in a huff.
…
“Damien, what’s going on?”
After locking the door, Damien crossed his arms eyes burning. “Tell me what you know.”
“Oh, I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do not lie. If you know nothing, then I dispose of you. If you know enough to prove that you are not crazy like Skye thought you were, you leave tonight unharmed.”
“Again, threatening me. I warn you Damien, what happened last night to Karikus was no accident or exertion on my part.”
Damien stepped forward and leaned over her ear. “Then I will disable you before you can react, you keep acting like Karikus was terribly strong, but by our terms, he was frightfully weak.”
Alex stood still for a moment before striking him in the stomach. She didn’t punch, she stabbed, her hand held deadly straight. Damien had a hold of her by the neck in an instant, throwing her off into the wall. Clutching his stomach, blood poured over Skye’s light bedspread. Neither was out for the count, and by the time that Skye had forced the door open they where both bloody. Damien had finally pinned Alex to the floor, holding her arm back in a position that if he were to just move it a little bit more, the bone would snap for sure.
“What do you know!?”
“Screw you!” she said through clenched teeth.
“How do you know about Maddeo’s war.”
“I…can’t…”
“Damien, stop!” Skye pleaded, gasping at all the blood that had been splattered around her room.
“How do you know Aneirin!”
Alex’s eyes widened and she stiffened. “How do you know her?”
“Answer me.” He said his voice deadly low.
“I will, if you let me up.”
“Damien, please?” Skye begged. She knew that for humans, an arm breaking would be terribly painful, although, even so Alex, a tiny human girl, had drawn so much blood on her brother…
Damien paused for a moment, before letting her go. Standing slowly, she didn’t look at him for a few seconds, taking a step forward, Damien asked
“So, how do you know these things?” Without warning, Alex kicked him in the groin and took off running, Skye was taken aback by the fact that the human girls speed had startled even her. Turning to her brother, “Damien, you o.k.?” He glared at her in a look that was murderous. “What do you think?” He whispered harshly. Standing up and taking a deep breath, he commenced to chase her.
Alex scrambled down the hallway, past the group of girls who made a small noise of protest as she bolted out the door, and into another hallway. Disoriented, she ran until she saw a flight of stairs, an open Elevator next to them. Glancing at the stairs, she knew that taking them would be faster, but an uneasiness came over her when she took a step near them. Backing up two steps, she nearly tripped over her own feet trying to get into the elevator, her fingers hit the lowest two buttons and the doors closed, the thunk of someone’s fist hitting them just before the elevator began to move. Sighing in relief Alex leaned her head to the side of the elevator, a click for each floor she passed sounding. She’d managed to snatch her boots while escaping from Skye’s bedroom, so she slipped them on slowly, wiggling her toes in the empty space, the boots a size or two too big for her.
The elevator clicked after each floor, and after six clicks, the elevator stopped and looking up she realized that she was about to have company. Standing quickly and checking to make sure the number one had been highlighted, the doors opened and a man stepped inside.
“You’re a mess” He said, a compassionate tone, without anything negative meant by it. Alex kept her eyes down and to the side, refusing to look him in the eye. He was a very handsome man, shoulder length blonde hair and dark eyes with no specific color. The temperature of the elevator seemed to have change, a wave of heat coming over her. She knew this couldn’t be right. She’d seen girls react to attractive men in a way that seemed very much like they’d been stuck by a heat wave. But…Alex didn’t want him, her mind and well…person in general didn’t work like that. “Hey, are you alright?” He reached up and lifted a strand of her hair away from her face, his fingers lingering far too long on her skin.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Darling you’re covered in blood, are you sure…?”
“Yes.” She flinched, her tone carrying far too much bite in it. His hand reached up to her neck, his fingers pushing her chin up. She looked at him sideways, uncomfortable with this stranger who had not even introduced himself, making physical contact in such a way. He leaned in closer to her, and she couldn’t take it, finally slapping his hand away. Returning her eyes to the floor, the man chuckled.
“Oh, forgive my atrocious manners, let me introduce myself. My name is Samael, Sam for short.”
He bowed slightly, ignoring the slowly furrowing brow of Alex’s “You know that’s rather cliché right…to apologize for your poor manners after doing something rather intrusive”
Samael paused for a moment, but smiled at her taking a step forward and leaning towards her. Alex backed up, her fists clenching as he pinned her in a little closer. Closing her eyes Alex held her breath as the Elevator dinged, the doors sliding open slowly. She bolted the moment she could, getting caught by Damien as she tried to run for the doors. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kept hold of one of her arms. Sam stepped calmly out of elevator, studying both of the teens’ bloodied appearance, and their stiffened stance in response to the other, glanced down and smiled. “Damien, I wouldn’t have expected this from you. A lovers spat perhaps Damien?”
“Be quiet Sam.” Damien snapped at him. Alex noted that he refused to make contact with Samael, and wondered why that was.
“You’re such a strange boy Damien. I wouldn’t be so mean to her though. She’s quite pretty…for a human.” A snide smile encroached, and Samael suddenly looked like a bird of prey. Narrowing his eyes he told Damien something else, but did not let Alex hear it. Damien remained motionless while holding Alex in a stony grip, not even breathing until Samael had passed out of the building. Finally sighing he looked Alex in the eyes and watched her for a moment.
“You alright Alex?”
“Of course I am. I’m not...well, could you just…” She sighed “Please, could you let me go?” Her voice soften as she spoke, suddenly calm. She kept her eyes on the ground; obviously her gaze had not cooled yet. Damien half smiled and shook his head.
“You would run again if I let you go, probably attack me while you were at it, so I am afraid that I can not.” He spoke each word with definition, Alex feeling steadily more lightheaded, so that by the last word was said, she collapsed in his hold. Hoisting her up, Damien walked casually into the elevator and pressed the button labeled “13”.
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A/n Sorry that this took me a while. These last two chapters have been a lot of new stuff, while a lot of the old getting mixed in. I have also started using a different computer that I get a lot less access to. it shucks.
Question for the readers. Have you noticed anything strange in the way Damien talks in this chapter?

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