Rise of the Fallen 1 - My Soul to Keep (6 page)

“They sound like a bunch of arrogant dicks.”

“Yes, they are. It’s why we left. We live among the mortals now, seeking
souls to join us against them. It’s why we do what we do. We still have several
small kingdoms in the otherworld and the souls we enlist live there or even sometimes
here. Somebody who sells us their soul to fulfill their desires gets a choice. Their
souls can live in our otherworld kingdoms, spreading our word, or they can come
back to earth in another body, but the spark giving them life belongs to our side.
The Chosen have used mortals of considerable power to portray us as the bad guys,
but really we’re not. Even you used the word demon. When we lost the first war,
they stripped us of our feathers to mock us. We were just severely outnumbered.
Now we wear our wings with pride.”

“So what does it mean to be a Fallen? What do I do with the rest of
my life?”

“There are many types of Fallen. Some are Seekers, some are Reapers.
There are Warriors and Scholars, Protectors and Avengers. Each one of us has a calling.
Until you know what it is, we’ll start you out as a Seeker.”

“What’s a Seeker?”

“We’re the ones who find souls. I’m a Seeker. I’m the one who found
you. I’m the one who whispered in your ear how to fulfill your every wish. I just
didn’t know you’d screw it up so badly.”

“What’s Darius?”

“Darius is a Reaper. He lives in one of our kingdoms in the otherworld.
He’s actually more than that. He governs all the Reapers.”

“What does a Reaper do?”

“They collect the souls when its time.”

I tried very hard not to think about that.

* * *

The Beetle skidded to a stop in an empty field of grass surrounded
by a forest of cedar trees. How Clarisse knew about the place was beyond me. For
all I knew she could have been flying over it one day.

Without so much as a glance, she opened the door and stepped out of
the car into the chilly October day. I stared at her through the windshield as she
looked up and closed her eyes, facing the sun. I hate to admit it, but she really
was pretty. Her dark hair sparkled and her skin was completely flawless.

“Stop staring and get out here, worm.”

Too bad her personality didn’t match her looks.

I opened my door and went out to join her in the field. I briefly wondered
why we needed such a large open space. With a resounding
thwump
her wings
sprouted and spread to their full length beside her. Oh, flying lessons.

“Take off the orb, worm.”

I nodded and pulled the ring from my finger. I went back to the car
and set it in one of the built in cup holders molded into the center console. I
started to back away, but watched as the orb turned into an empty fast food drink
cup complete with lid and chewed up straw.

I smiled at its choice of camouflage. “Those things are pretty cool.”

“Yes, they are. Our Scholars spent centuries perfecting them. You won’t
need it when I’m through with you though. I’ll let you keep it until you can control
your transformations. Concentrate now. Think of your wings and spread them.”

I closed my eyes and heard a
thwump,
but when I opened my eyes
with a triumphant smile, I saw only one. Unless we were going to practice flying
in circles, I was screwed. I closed my eyes and tried again.
Thwump,
I looked
and saw the other wing. I smiled and looked at Clarisse, but she rolled her eyes
and shook her head. Confused, I looked around and saw the first one had gone away
again. It was harder than it looked.

“Try again.”

I closed my eyes and thought of both wings sprouting magnificently
from my back. I heard another
thwump
and quickly looked behind me. I saw
two wings alright, but they weren’t right. They looked like tiny bat wings. I tried
not to laugh when they started flapping comically on their own. Clarisse sighed
and I looked over to see her sit on the grass and stretch her legs out to tan her
already bronzed skin. I guess she figured it would take a while.

Thwump,
they were a little bigger.

Thwump,
they were normal sized, but matched the color of her car.

Thwump,
they hung from my back completely boneless.

“Clarisse, I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.” Apparently she'd grown bored while waiting.

She stood, pulling an evil looking knife from somewhere behind her
and launched it at me full force. Without thinking I launched myself into the air
and heard a resounding
thwump.
I willed myself higher, away from the path
of the spinning blade. With a powerful down-stroke of my wings I cleared it by inches.

“Good work, worm.”

I hovered in the air and looked at her like she'd grown seven extra
heads. At that moment, I realized I hovered ten feet above the ground. If I didn’t
think about trying to control it, my wings knew exactly what to do. I thought about
moving forward, and fell from the sky. I landed on my face in the soft grass.

Spitting out chunks of sod as I stood, I willed myself upward. I willed
myself forward. I willed myself to make a graceful circle around the meadow and
it worked perfectly. I just needed to think about where I wanted to go instead of
thinking how to get there. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

With a smile I landed next to Clarisse who
almost
looked shocked.
“Very good. I’m impressed. Go back to being human.”

This time instead of closing my eyes and thinking about my wings disappearing,
I thought about pretzels. I know, it seems weird, but to me it's what being human
was all about. It’s not about pretzels, it’s about being human. Finding what you
really like, doing it, and remembering what it is you love. I just happen to love
soft pretzels. I heard a
thwump,
and started walking closer to Clarisse,
knowing without a shadow of a doubt my wings were gone.

“Now you’re getting it. Try this,” she said and completely faded from
view.

“Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere, I’m right here. You just can’t see me.”

“You turned invisible?”

“No, I told your mind I’m invisible. There’s a big difference. Try
it.”

Instead of focusing on her, I focused on my mind first. I told it she
stood in the same clearing as me and I could see her. She started coming back in
streaks of visible clothing and I knew she'd moved to the left. I stared at her
and concentrated until she became completely visible, holding up one hand, and giving
me the finger.

I flicked her one back.

“Very good, worm. One day when you’re more used to being a Fallen I
won’t be able to cloud your mind at all. Try it with me, and I’ll try to pretend
I’m human.”

I looked at her, but not at her eyes. I stared straight at her forehead
like she had a giant zit. I stared and I whispered with my mind, “I’m not here.”
I stepped to the side. Her eyes didn’t shift with me, so I figured it worked. I
closed the distance between us quickly and received a sharp smack in the face when
I got within two feet of her.

“You faded from view perfectly, but you forgot I can hear. I heard
you coming from a mile away. Good work but remember the sounds next time.”

I stopped concentrating and she turned and looked at my eyes. I nodded
at her and rubbed the side of my head. For a girl she hit hard, damn hard.

“Are you hungry?” I nodded at her question. “Let’s get a pretzel, come
on.”

Chapter 6

The rest of the neighborhood school-aged
kids and I
trudged toward the dreaded halls of James Underwood High School, Cedar
Hills Middle, and Robyn J. Faust Elementary. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania had
its advantages and disadvantages. Having all three schools right next door to each
other definitely fell in the disadvantage category. You don't feel much different
going to elementary, middle, and high school when all three are in the same damn
place. Silently, I cursed the town’s founding fathers.

“Bye, loser!” A car passed by, carrying none other than my charming
sister.

I silently hoped they got a flat. I’m a sophomore and I walk to school.
My sister’s a stinking freshman and she gets picked up by her friends. I needed
older friends. I couldn’t get my license for another year, and with the way my parents
were strapped for cash, I might get a car by the time I graduated. College.

The sound of a horn honking behind me snapped me out of my transportation
woes. I turned and looked. A pink Beetle pulled alongside the curb and an angry
looking blonde sat behind the wheel glaring at me. I didn’t recognize her at all.
I intended to ignore her and continuing my dismal trek to school when her eyes began
glowing red.

“Clarisse?”

“Get in, worm. You’re going to make me late.” I didn’t need to be asked
twice. I opened the door and slid into the seat next to her.

“Thanks?”

“Don’t mention it. Here, you left this in my car.” She handed me an
empty fast food drink cup. I reached for it and she slapped me in the head. "Don't
forget it again."

After training yesterday, we'd gone for pretzels. Once we finished,
we talked in the mall parking lot for a while before Clarisse dropped me off back
at home. I went upstairs and passed out completely, not waking up until my alarm
clock blared obscenities in my ear at seven AM.

“I was going to drop it off to you last night in case you needed it,
but I figured you went home and went to bed.”

“How did you know?” Clarisse pulled away from the curb and headed toward
the school. “I like your hair by the way. Why did you dye it?”

“I know because your body is changing. We can’t snap our fingers and
make you a Fallen. It has to come slowly. The wings and the eyes are about the only
instantaneous change. You’ll notice a bunch of different ones as time goes on. You’ll
start to get stronger and faster. Your hair will grow unusually fast and might change
color. You’ll start to get hair in strange places.”

“Excuse me?”

“I couldn’t resist, I'm just kidding.”

“Thank God.”

“You might want to avoid using that expression from now on.”

“Why?”

“The Chosen, if they hear you, they might pick a fight.”

“Seriously?”

“Very.” She pulled into the senior parking lot of the school. I kind
of hoped she would use the regular lot. I wanted Caelyn to see I didn't walk to
school, and her friend was only a junior.

“You never told me why you dyed your hair,” I said, remembering my
previous question.

“I didn’t. I change it every day before school. Last time I lived in
the area and went to this school I had red hair. You know how it goes, people are
nosey. Every yearbook for the last hundred years or so is in the library. Kids like
to look through them and make fun of the old hairstyles and fashions. I couldn’t
chance anyone recognizing me from my picture.”

“How long ago?”

“Fifty years or so.” I sat there with my mouth open and stared while
she got out of the car. “You need a ride home?”

“Um, sure. Thanks for the ride.”

I got out of the car and rushed to catch up, slinging my backpack over
my shoulder as I walked quickly. More than a few people stopped and stared at the
sophomore, hitching a ride with the hot senior. I was intruding into their secret
realm. More than one football player squinted at me wondering if the world was about
to end. One of the geekier seniors gave me a thumbs up. I flashed a little smile.

“Just meet me out here after school and try not to talk to anybody.
I’m sure I’ll get a thousand questions as to why I’m bringing you to school. I’m
going to tell them you’re a charity case, so don’t say anything.”

“Whatever, Clarisse.”

“Uh uh. Claire. Claire Awl is my name here, worm. Keep it straight.”

“Claire Awl?”

“Yeah, when I registered for school the lady behind the desk had a
huge can of pink hairspray sitting on her desk. It’s the first thing that popped
into my head.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Claire Awl, Clairol hair care products. If you laugh, I’ll stab you
in the face. By the way, you’re going to see some strange shit with your new eyes.
Try not to gawk. If the vampires and werewolves realize you can see them, they might
try to eat you.”

“Will you quit joking around?”

“I’m not.”

* * *

It took me until I got into my homeroom to see Claire really wasn’t.
I had no less than two vampires in my class. Jenny Warburn and Elizabeth Keating
were the last two people on earth I would have expected to sell their souls to become
one of the walking undead.

Looking at them sort of hurt my eyes. I saw them as they sat in the
room with their blood red eyes and elongated teeth, pale skin, and quick inhuman-like
movements. Superimposed over that, I could see them as they've always looked.