Fallen Souls (5 page)

He’d stormed out of the room earlier,
though their parents had barely noticed, and it wasn’t hard to see
what he was thinking. He must have been feeling terribly guilty.
But it hadn’t been his fault. There’d been something going on that
night … something terrible. And although she couldn’t remember the
details, she knew that her brother had been trying to save her.
What had happened wasn’t his fault. She wanted to see him one last
time, to tell him not to blame himself. The party had been her
idea, and she’d taken him along. It wasn’t his fault, and he needed
to know that. If she had one wish, it would be to see him again.
She closed her eyes, desperate to shut out her parents’ anguished
conversation, and made her wish.

When she opened her eyes, she was
shocked to find the hospital room gone, replaced by the forest
outside of town. Ash stood in front of her. And he wasn’t
alone.

There was a girl to his right. She was
beautiful, with curly blonde hair and glowing hazel eyes. She
seemed larger than the landscape around her, and was encircled by a
bright white light, though it was dark and stormy outside. Grace
felt drawn to her, but she had no idea who the girl was. Peace
radiated from her, and Grace wanted that peace – more than she had
ever realized.

Now the girl glanced over at Grace,
stopping her in her tracks. Grace expected her gaze to move through
and over her. But the golden eyes stopped, meeting Grace’s own. She
radiated with sympathy, love, and a deep sadness.

“
You can see me?” Grace
asked in a choked voice. The girl didn’t react at first, and
Grace’s heart sank a fraction. She was about to look away when the
girl gave the tiniest nod. She gasped, wanting to ask a billion
questions, but before she could the girl held one finger up to her
lips and frowned. She pointed at Ash. No, past Ash to a man.
Grace’s eyes followed the gesture, and she froze.

He was the exact opposite of the girl.
Just looking at the man made her take an involuntary step away. He
was pale with dark hair and … crimson eyes. She was sure of it.
Those eyes flickered in Grace’s direction for only a second before
returning to Ash. They showed with a gloating triumph. And evil.
She watched the exchange between Ash and the man, confused and
frightened as to why this creature was here with her
brother.

“
Ash, what are you doing?”
she whispered, horrified.

“You know you deserve
to
die in place of your
sister
,”
the man
almost laughed. A chill ran down Ash’s spine at the sound. “You are
responsible for her death.”

He shuddered. The man was right. It
was his fault that Grace was dying, and if he could do anything
about it … if he could save her … it was his responsibility to do
it. He was terrified, but he knew that he was doing the right
thing.

“
You’re right,” he
replied, his voice cracking. An image of his sister laughing and
smiling tore through his mind, abruptly replaced by the image of
her lying in the hospital bed, dying. There was nothing in this
world or any other that could be worse than the pain and guilt he
felt. All at once, the man took a step forward, his eyes glowing
bright red in startling contrast to his pale skin and black
ensemble.

“
Would you willingly take
her place?” he crooned. His eyebrow lifted in question, and his
mouth turned up in an ugly smirk.

“
Of course I would,” Ash
said, choking on the words. He would do anything to bring her smile
back, though he wasn’t sure what this man was asking. “I’ll do
anything you ask. Please just save her. Take me. I’ll die in her
place.”

There was a gasp behind him, and Ash
snapped his head back toward the girl, who had remained silent
until now. “Ash no,” she pleaded softly. “Your sister doesn’t want
this.”

“No!” Grace screamed. She
watched
in desperation as the girl with
the golden curls tried to stop Ash. He couldn’t do this. He didn’t
know what was at stake.

He didn’t realize that the man with
the red eyes was going to steal his soul.

“
Grace wouldn’t want me to
let her die,” Ash argued, his face turning hard. Grace had never
seen her brother look so angry with anyone, and wondered what had
come over him. This didn’t seem like the Ash she knew.

“
No I wouldn’t!” Grace
shouted, knowing that he wouldn’t hear her. She turned toward the
girl, desperate. “Don’t let him do this! Please!”

She wasn’t positive what was going on,
or how she knew, but something was wrong with the man standing with
her brother. She glanced at him, taking in the shiny black suit,
gaunt face, and glowing eyes. That creature would hurt her brother,
she was sure of it.

“
And what if you both
could live?”
The man’s voice came out like
liquid. Ash stared at him, his anger turning into confusion. The
man was lying, she could feel it. She wanted to drag Ash away from
him, get him away from the danger. She rushed toward him, reaching
out, but her hand went right through his arm.

“
Please, Ash, don’t do
this,” she whispered. Then her thoughts shattered as an electric
shock passed through her body. Suddenly, the world started to turn
sideways.

“
Clear!” someone yelled.
Another shot of electricity coursed through her, making the world
spin anew. She fell to her knees and gasped for air, unable to
breath. The forest around her disappeared.

“Who are you?” Ash
begged
as the man stepped toward him. His
blood was running colder with each step the man took. Each breath
seemed harder to reach. There was something deep down, the same
instinct he’d felt at the party, screaming for him to run. He’d
been sure this was the right thing to do, and had even sensed Grace
was with him, watching over him. That presence was gone now,
though, and it felt like his strength had left with it.

“
Ash,” the strange girl
said again. She came forward to put a hand on his arm. “Ash, this
is a demon. He will steal your soul, and he cannot save Grace. She
would not want this.”

Ash closed his eyes, taking in the
girl’s words. The first part made no sense, but the second …
Something told him that she was right. Grace wouldn’t want
this.

The man tilted his head,
his face growing hard. “Seraphine, the boy is mine!” He turned to
Ash, softening his face seductively. “I’m your only hope to save
your sister,”
he wheedled. “This girl
doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Come.” He held out a
beckoning hand, and the red of his eyes tore through Ash. Was this
man telling the truth? Could he save Grace? He reached his hand out
slowly.

“
A demon?” His voice was a
whisper, his breath coming in short, painful spurts. Time itself
seemed to have frozen. The image of his sister lying still and pale
in the hospital bed filled his head, drowning everything else out.
He would give anything to save her, he thought.
Anything.

“
Don’t do it,” the girl’s
voice came again, sounding more determined, more desperate. Ash
glanced at her to find her eyes staring firmly at the blank space
between Ash and the demon.

“
I have to,” he answered
quietly. Any second, his sister could be dead. It might already be
too late, he thought, with renewed panic building in his
chest.

“
Why are you here,
messenger?” the demon asked suddenly, taking a step toward her.
“This is not your place. This is my deal, and it’s nearly done.
You’ve come too late. Get thee gone!”

Ash looked toward this
Seraphine, wondering who she was and why she worried the demon so
much. Was she a friend? Could
she
help save Grace? The girl in question glanced at
the demon and clenched jaw.

“
This boy isn’t yours to
take,” she growled. “This is not right, and I’m here to stop it.”
She took a step closer to Ash, putting a protective arm between him
and the demon.

“
He’s alive, is he not?”
the demon asked sweetly. “And offering himself freely. That makes
him fair game.”

“
Demon …” The girl’s voice
sounded like a warning, and Ash took a step back. He couldn’t
understand the argument, but it was clearly about more than him.
“Don’t. You have no idea what you’re starting.”

The man ignored her, turning his eyes
back to Ash, who met the red gaze, confused. “I’m here to make the
deal you’ve been begging for, boy. I heard it in your mind. Your
desperation to do anything to make this go away. To save your
sister.”

“
It’s not too late, Ash,”
the girl said, drawing his attention again. The demon snarled. “Run
away and don’t turn back, let everything be as it should. You
cannot play with fate without bringing about extreme consequences.
This will not save your sister.”

Her pleas were desperate now, but Ash
had already made up his mind.

“
What do you wish to
trade?” he asked the demon, already knowing the answer, but unsure
whether it would be possible. Was he really sitting here, with a
demon, making a deal for his sister’s life?

“
I’ll save your sister,”
the man replied, turning his attention away from Seraphine. “I ask
only one small thing in return.”

“
Ash,” she tried to cut
in. The demon stepped in front of Ash, blocking her out.

“
What do you want?” Ash
whispered, terrified. “My life?”

The demon chuckled, amused at the
question, and sensing that victory was near. “I want your soul,
dear boy,” he replied.

The word ‘soul’ echoed in Ash’s head,
and he fell to his knees.