Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) (10 page)

“Okay,”
she said and lay back in the pleather seat, closing her eyes and dozing off.

I
left the door open, looked around to make sure no one else needed to have their
memories altered, and left to go find Jessie.

*
* *

I
slipped back into the mall and made my way back to Angelique’s as fast as I
could. I prayed silently that Jessie was still in there and not wandering
around looking for me. I peered in through the window, hoping to see her there
without any luck.

“Damn
it.”

“Damn
what?”

I
spun around. Jessie was standing behind me holding a shopping bag in one hand
and her other on her hip, her stance slightly cocked.

“Er…
Um…” I didn’t even need to see the look in her eye to know she wasn’t
happy. Whenever a girl had one hand on her hip and was standing crooked, it was
never good. I had been gone an awfully long time.

She
started laughing. “What didja get me?” She glanced around my person,
trying to see if I was holding any shopping bags. Her eyes narrowed.
“Where were you?”

“Jess,
do you honestly think I would walk up to where I thought you were shopping with
a bag clearly labeled with the store’s emblem where I bought your Christmas present?
Do you give me such little credit?”

“Um…
I guess so,” she said with a smile. “Sorry. Just wanted to make sure
you weren’t getting me some video game or something for Christmas…”

“Would
I do that to you?”

“If
you thought I would grow an obsession over video games so I would be the
perfect
girlfriend, then yes.”

“Sweetie,
you’re already perfect. If you played video games, my head would probably
explode.”

“Gasp!
Are you telling me I don’t already blow your mind?”

I
could tell she was only playing. “Blow, boggle, scramble, frappe, and
twenty other blender settings.”

She
laughed. “So where were you then?”

“Scouting.”

“Like
building fires and earning badges?”

“No.
Scouting for the perfect gift for the girl who blenders my brain.”

That
earned me a kiss. “I love you, too.”

“So…
What’s in the bag?” I tried to peer into it, but everything appeared to be
wrapped in gold and white tissue paper.

‘“Nunya.”

“What’s
a nunya?”

“Nunya
damn bidness,” she said and gave me a light punch in the chest.

“I
can live with that. Just answer me one question; are the items in the bag intended
for me or are you buying them for other people?”

“Well,
I guess you’ll just have to wait ‘til Christmas to find out.”

It
felt like the temperature of the mall rose several hundred degrees. “Okay
then. Want to get something to eat?”

“Sure,
but I’m buying.”

“I
can live with that, too.”

Chapter 13

The
school bell rang. Everyone rose at once and practically ran for the door. There
was no sweeter sound on a Monday afternoon that the bell to go home. Under
normal circumstances, anyway. While everyone else got to go home, play video
games, and have a snack, I got to go to the clearing and have the snot beat out
of me.

As
I slowly walked to my locker, I thought again of Raven. While Clarisse and
Darius were convinced of her innocence in Jenny’s murder, I still had my
doubts. While everyone might be considered innocent until proven guilty, the
circumstances around the incident were just a little too convenient.

I
opened the door to locker 636, stuffed what books I wouldn’t need for homework
inside, and slammed the door. I gave the dial a quick spin to make sure it
locked and turned to look around for Jess.

She
was walking toward me talking to Clarisse, which was a little strange. Clarisse
was a senior and her locker was on the opposite end of the school.

“Hey,
worm,” she said as she and Jess got close enough to talk.

“Shouldn’t
you be somewhere torturing someone?”

“No.
Torture Tuesdays. Today is Manicure Monday. I’m off to get my nails did before
I have to get to work. See ya later. Bye, Jessie.”

“Bye,
Claire.” Jessie slipped up next to me and slid her arms around me.
“Want to come over?”

“I
can’t. At least not for a while.”

“What
have you been doing after school every day? You still haven’t told me.”

I
panicked slightly. “Well. Your Christmas present isn’t going to pay for
itself. I’ve been doing some manual labor every day to save up.”

Jess
pulled back and stared up at me in shock. “Did you… Did you get a
job
?”

I
laughed at her dramatics. “Yes.”

“Where?”

“Doing
some work for one of Dad’s friends.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me?”

“Hey,
Jess. Guess what. I’m joining the workforce in order to purchase a Christmas
present for you so I don’t feel like a useless jerk of a boyfriend. See why I
didn’t tell you?”

She
stilled for a moment and reached out with her hand, setting it on my arm.
“Hey. You do know you don’t have to buy me stuff right? I love you for
you, not for Christmas presents.”

Well
shit.
That made
me feel like a total ass for lying to her. Telling her I had a job just seemed
simpler than telling her I was being trained to reap souls and control my
magic. “I know. I
want
to.”

She
nodded in understanding. “Okay. Don’t work too hard. Call me when you get
off,” she said and gave me a quick kiss before heading out to her car.

I
watched her go. I had been lying more and more to cover what was really going
on with my life. It left an empty pit in the center of my stomach.
Just when
I told myself I would always tell her the truth, too.

I
let the thought drift away. I was only doing what I had to do. I knew there was
no way Jessie could know. Even if she turned into one of the Chosen, I don’t
think I could ever tell her exactly what I did as a Fallen. I didn’t even like
to think about it myself.

* * *

I
stepped silently into the clearing, parking my scooter a good ways back into
the thick woods surrounding it. I didn’t see any sign of Raven, but then again,
I rarely did.

I
called my swords and walked inside, spinning slowly, waiting for an attack I
was sure would come. I listened as well as looked. There were no sounds. No
birds were chirping and even the wind, usually so prevalent in November, was
still.

I
felt her only seconds before she attacked from the one place I wasn’t watching:
above. She swooped down and landed, swinging her long sword down in an arc that
would have cleaved my head like a pineapple if I hadn’t crossed my swords above
me at the last possible nanosecond.

“Good!”
She stepped back and twirled, slicing at me from the side. “How did you
know I would be attacking from above?”

I
blocked her blade with one of mine and attacked with the other, which she
easily swatted aside. “I
felt
you above me? Does that make
sense?”

“Perfect,”
she said and attacked again with dizzying speed, her blade keeping pace with
both of mine. “You’re learning quickly.”

“Clarisse
was a good teacher.”

“But
I am better,” she said and slammed one of my blades, twisting hers as she
struck. Somehow, her move pulled the blade from my hand and it disappeared into
nothingness as soon as it left my grip. She concentrated her attacks on my unarmed
side. Reaching across my body to defend was difficult, but I managed. Barely.

I
felt her blade slice across my arm, drawing blood. I hissed and brought my
sword back across in a feeble attempt to strike her across her chest. My blade
missed, but my second one, which I had called back into being mid-swing,
didn’t.

I
felt the tip slow as it met cloth and then the flesh of her arm. Had it been
the one holding her blade, she might have even dropped it. “Very
good!”

Her
wound didn’t even slow her down.

If
anything, it drove her forward in a frenzied attack that I had little chance of
seeing
, let alone defending against. “I can’t!”

“You
can. You’re thinking like a human again,” she said. “You’re as fast
as you think you are. Push yourself.”

“I’d
try if I wasn’t so worried about being turned into hamburger meat!”

She
stopped swinging her blade. I stepped back. “Fine,” she said and
banished her sword. She called two wooden sticks, vaguely shaped like my twin
swords, into existence. She was ridiculously fast with one blade. She was a
Cuisinart with two sticks.

She
showed little mercy, either. I was battered by her batons multiple times before
I even began to try to concentrate on what was happening. She pummeled my arms,
sides, and even hands while I watched hopelessly. Her movements were a blur.

“Don’t
watch my blades. Watch my arms,” she said and didn’t relent with her
attacks.

I
did as she said. Instead of trying to follow the blades, I watched her
forearms. I could tell the direction of her attacks and where to place my
swords to block them. Her movements didn’t slow, but they appeared to.

“That
worked,” I said as the sound of wood on steel echoed through the clearing.

“Good.
Now I’m going to start to attack faster. Try to keep up.”

She
fell into a rhythm. Hack, hack, cross, and then a downward stroke. I didn’t
even think of moving to the offensive. I concentrated on following her
movements. The sounds of our blades sped up and up, slowly though. She started
sliding her feet to the right. We began to spin in the middle of the clearing,
constantly facing each other as we weaved in an intricate dance. When both of
us had become a blur, she changed the pattern of her attack. My eyes picked up
her new movements immediately and my arms moved to match. She nodded her approval.

Then
her attacks became chaotic, following no rhythm at all. She attacked with her
left arm twice and then once with her right. I blocked all three. She switched
the pattern and I parried every one. She became a whirlwind of movement and my
body became a cyclone that matched her perfectly.

“You’re
getting it now. Instead of just blocking, add attacks of your own.”

“I’ll
try.”

Our
dance picked up even more momentum. I tried to see openings where I could
attack and saw none. At first. Slowly, I noticed gaping holes where her blades
should have been and I realized she was using the obvious openings to help me
see them better. The problem was they were gone before I could take advantage
of them.

“You
can see the openings, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Then
why didn’t you attack me?”

“I’m
not fast enough.”

“Yes.
You are. Don’t ever forget that. Try again,” she said and continued
leaving gaps in her defense.

I
brought my blade up to block hers. She opened her defense. Instead of moving my
arm down to take advantage, I
willed
it. I imagined my hand moving at
the speed of light and slipping my blade in the hole she had created.

It
worked.

Her
other blade left its place blocking my sword and moved to parry. “Perfect!
I’ll make a damn swordsman out of you, yet.”

I
felt the smile creep its way onto my face. She continued to leave openings, and
I continued to take advantage of them until it became almost second nature.

“That’s
enough for today,” she said and wound down her attacks until we faced each
other, unmoving.

I
was breathing heavy. Raven was not. I stared at her for a good long moment and
just looked. She, too, was staring. I hadn’t noticed before, but her eyes were
red. Not glowing red, just red. It almost looked like she wore colored
contacts. That tiny splash of red was the only bit of color on her.

“Can
I ask you a question?”

“You
just did.”

“Another
one.”

She
nodded. “Something is obviously on your mind.” She tossed her wooden
batons away and backed up a few paces. “What is troubling you, young
one?”

“Did
you reap a young vampire in the woods the other night?”

Her
eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in suspicion. “I haven’t reaped
souls upon this earth in a
very
long time. Why would you ask?”

“My
sister and two of her friends were attacked, even though none of them broke the
Law. My sister’s friend was killed. The Reaper wore all black.”

“Ahh,
I see. So you naturally thought it could be the stranger in your land, who
happened to match the description.”

“Just
a thought,” I said in my defense.

“And
what makes you think I would admit to the crime?”

“You
seem honest and you didn’t know one of them was my sister. I thought you
might…”

“Your
instincts on my presumed response are accurate even if your instincts that I
might have done the deed are not. Did you tell anyone of the incident?”

I
nodded. “I called Clarisse and Darius. They told me it wasn’t you and
explained their reasoning. It seemed sound, but I can’t think of anyone else
who would even be a suspect.”

“Leave
it to Darius. He is the leader of the Reapers. He will find out who did
it.”

I
nodded, sighed, and sat down in the cold grass, ignoring the sensation against
my backside. “I will.”

“Was
she a friend of yours?”

I
nodded. “She wasn’t at first, but she became one.”

“I’m
sorry for your loss.”

“Thank
you. Are we going to practice magic?”

“Not
today. You did quite well and I am very pleased. That is enough practice for
the day. Tell me about your experience.”

“What
experience?”

“You
reaped a soul this weekend, did you not?”

I
nodded. “How did you know?”

She
sniffed the air. “I can smell the soul. Part of its essence still clings
to you.”

I
lifted my arms and sniffed my pits. I put deodorant on before I went to school.
I could still smell that, but little else. “You can?”

“Yes.
The twisted souls of those who break the Law leave a sour odor on everything
they touch.”

“I
can’t smell anything.”

“Youngling,
when you have lived as long as I have, you will. Don’t forget, we grow in power
as the centuries pass.”

“We
do?”

“Yes.”

“That’s
kind of scary.”

“It
can be. Especially when those who do not wield their power properly continue to
gain it.”

“You
mean me?”

“No.
Another. Go home. Enjoy the rest of your day,” she said and turned,
crossing the clearing and vanishing once again into the woods.

I
stood and made my way back to my scooter, mulling over everything I had learned
and everything she had told me. The tiny doubt I had that she might have been
the one who killed Jenny was long gone. I don’t know why, but I believed her.
Raven was scary, damn scary, but she also seemed sad above everything else. Sad
and honest.