Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) (2 page)

Chapter 2

My
eyes opened. I screamed and slid up against the backboard of my bed. My sister
perched at my feet like some sort of evil gargoyle.

“Jesus,
Cae… Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No.
I’m bored.”

“Go
back to bed. What time is it?”

“Five
in the morning.”

“You
do know it’s Saturday, right?”

She
nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve been up all night.”

I
gave a quick glance at her wrist. Sure enough, the gold bracelet was missing.
“Where’s your orb?”

“I
took it off before going to bed. I wanted to check out my vampy self and I
didn’t put it back on. Why?”

“Well
gee, Einstein. You’re a vampire without it. Don’t you think that might be why
you’re having trouble sleeping? At night? Being all nocturnal and stuff?”

I
could actually see the moment of realization process itself in her normally
focused on fashion and cosmetics brain. “Oh.”

“Yeah.
Make sure it’s on when you go to bed. That will severely screw with your
sleeping schedule. Don’t need you passing out in the middle of Algebra from
sleep exhaustion.”

“It’s
going to take a while, isn’t it?”

“For
what?”

“To
get used to everything. To get used to being mostly dead. To get used to being
a vampire.”

I
nodded and got off my bed. It only took a few steps until I wrapped her in a
hug. It was as unnatural as needing blood to survive, but it was a Hallmark
moment. She didn’t cry, but she took the hug and even scrunched my arm in hers.
“I’ll help, kiddo. You know that.”

I
felt her nod against my chest. “So. Explanation time?”

“Might
as well. I’ll tell you what I know, but I’m warning you. It’s not as much as I
would like.”

“I
wouldn’t expect more. The universe might blow up if your head was full of
knowledge.”

I
laughed and let her go. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere for this. That way I
can use visual aids.”

“Huh?”

“I
can show you my wings and stuff.”

“Ahhh.
Gotcha. Cool.”

“That
way we won’t wake Mom and Dad up, too.”

“I’ll
go get dressed.”

“I’ll
leave a note for them. Tell them we went for a jog or something.”

“Yeah.
I’m sure they’ll believe that.”

“We
went for donuts. They’ll believe that.” Caelyn nodded her agreement.
“Don’t forget your orb. The sun should be up soon.”

*
* *

My
scooter pulled into the clearing Clarisse and I used for training. It was
difficult traversing the dirt road with Caelyn riding on the back, but I
managed to do it without wrecking.

My
headlight sputtered dead when I turned the key off, plunging us into darkness. My
Fallen vision illuminated the grass and trees around us with a silvery glow,
making the clearing look like it was midday with cloud cover. Night vision
never ceased to amaze me.

“I
can’t see shit.”

“Take
your orb off.”

“Oh.
Oh!”

“Pretty
cool, huh?”

“Definitely.
Connor?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry,”
she said weakly.

“For
what?”

“Being
a shit. That’s all the apology you’ll ever get, so don’t expect more.”

I
smiled and ruffled her hair. “I’m sorry, too.”

I
walked over to the middle of the clearing and stood there facing Caelyn. I
called my wings and they appeared with a soft
thwump
behind me. Caelyn’s
eyes opened in wide fascination.

“Can
I touch them?”

I
nodded. “Be careful though.”

“Are
they fragile?”

“No,
ticklish as all hell.”

It
probably wasn’t a good idea telling her that. She
was
Caelyn after all.
I felt her run her finger along the bone and the webbing between them. She
behaved but couldn’t help mutter, “Cool.”

“I
thought so, too, the first time I saw them.”

“So
you can fly?”

I
gave a quick beat of my wings and hovered in the air above her before slowly
lowering myself to the ground. “Yep. You might be able to someday, too. When
I made Brett, he wanted to be a very specific type of vampire. He would have
been able to fly if he lived longer.”

“What?”

“He
wished to be the kind of vampire that grows in power the older they get.”

“Not
that part. The ‘when I made Brett’ part. What are you?”

I
sighed. If anybody was responsible for my sister’s death it would be me, and
she didn’t even know. I just hope she would forgive me. Stepping back from her,
I called my true form. She backed up even farther as I grew to my full eight
feet. I saw my hands turn blue, my nails grow into crimson colored talons, and
my hair lengthened until it reached between my wings. When I spoke, there was
an otherworldly resonance that sent visible shivers down my sister’s spine.
“I am a Fallen.”

“You’re…
You’re… You’re…”

“Basically
a demon. Although they don’t like to be called that.”

Caelyn
nodded almost imperceptibly. Of the million and a half questions she
could
have
asked, she started simply. “How?”

“Well,
it all started with a candle…” I banished my true form and my wings and
made myself as human as possible before sitting down in the middle of the
field.

For
the next hour, I told her my story. I told her how I had sold my soul for my
fondest wish. I told her how I met Clarisse for the first time. I told her
about everything. She sat quietly through my whole tale.

The
sky began to lighten and Cae slipped the orb on her wrist, becoming human once
again. “So you made the vampire that attacked us?”

“Yes.
I’m sorry. Apparently my magic is a little stronger than your average Fallen.
The magic is supposed to take days or weeks to change a person. Getting slammed
with that much power either made him crazy or he was crazy to begin with.
Either way, he can’t hurt anyone again.”

“I
remember. I was half conscious when I saw you yank his soul–or whatever it
was–out of his body. That was pretty cool.”

“Not
for him. When you break the rules I mentioned, the Fallen come down on you
pretty hard. So no eating people,” I said with a wink.

Caelyn
shuddered at my joke. “So what do I do now?”

“As
far as?”

“Being
a vampire. Am I going to have to eat people?”

I
laughed, but stopped short. Honestly… I had no idea. But I knew how to find
out. “I’m going to call a support group in for you. I honestly don’t know.
I’d be guessing if I gave you advice and I don’t want to screw you up any more
than I already have.”

“Connor.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s
not your fault, you know. Me dying. So don’t blame yourself. Yes, you did make
a stupid wish, but your responsibility ends there. I can hear it in your voice.
Don’t. Feel. Bad. We’ll get through this.”

“Together?”
I finished for her.

“Don’t
push your luck. You’re my brother. That doesn’t mean I have to like you,”
she said. I breathed a little better when she winked.

I
pulled out my cellphone and dialed Elizabeth Keating. She and Jenny Warburn
were two vampires, created by the Fallen, who went to high school with us. If
anybody could help Caelyn adjust to her new self, they could. They’d been there
and done that.

“Hello?”
I could tell Elizabeth was still sleeping when she answered the phone.

“Sorry
to wake you. I need your help.”

“Connor?
It’s six-thirty in the morning. Call me back after noon.”

“It’s
an emergency. I’ll consider it a personal favor if you help me on this
one.”

There
was a moment of silence before she started speaking. “When and
where?”

“The
mall in twenty minutes.”

“It’s
not open yet.”

“I
know, just meet me at the main entrance and bring Jenny.” I clicked the
off button before she could start asking questions.

I
motioned for Cae to get on my scooter. With as fast as it could go over the
dirt road, we would probably be getting to the mall at the same time as the Vamp
Duo. Hopefully they wouldn’t have any objections to making it a trio.

Chapter 3

We
pulled into the parking spot right next to Elizabeth’s black Explorer–or
Exploder as she called it. The doors opened and she and Jenny stepped outside
into the chilly November morning.

“This
had better be pretty damn important, Connor. I need my beauty sleep.”

“Yeah,
you do,” Caelyn added. Now normally this would have come out as a
sarcastic sentence with the sole intent of belittling the intended target. That
was how my sister rolled. Today, however, her comment sounded halfhearted
and…almost…joking.

“Caelyn?”

My
sister nodded and left the talking to me. “It is, Elizabeth. I wouldn’t
have woken you up this early if it wasn’t.”

“What’s
going on?” Jenny decided to join in.

“Well,
my sister… She um…”

“I’m
a friggin’ vampire,” Caelyn finished for me.

“What?
Connor! How the hell could you turn your sister into a vampire?” Elizabeth
sounded angry.
Very
angry. Pissed even.

“I
didn’t.”

“I
didn’t mean you specifically. I meant how could you let
your kind
turn
her into a vampire?”

“They
didn’t,” Caelyn clarified. “I got bit. Drained actually. And I bit
the vampire who did it to me…”

“A
vamp can’t turn you. That’s not how it works,” Jenny said.

“Forget
what you know. Apparently, the ones I create can.”

“Oh,
great. I hope you stopped him from doing it again,” Elizabeth replied.

I
nodded. “Yeah. He um…won’t be turning anybody again. Ever.”

Elizabeth
understood what I meant. She gave a small nod. “Okay. Good. How are you
doing, Caelyn?”

“Still
breathing. Sometimes.”

“It
takes a bit to get used to it, but you’ll do fine. Come on. Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“My
house for starters. Then the mall when it’s actually open. Then lunch and more
shopping.”

“I
um–”

“
You’re
not invited. Girl-vamp day out. We’ll get her transitioned. You know. You
might want to let your people know that this is a good idea. I wish I had
someone who would have helped me figure this out. Thankfully Jenny wished the
same damn thing a week after I did.”

I
looked at Jenny who nodded her agreement.

“I’ll
mention it. I had one. I don’t think it’s fair that you guys don’t.” I
turned to my sister. “You okay?”

“Yeah.
This should be fun. Tell the ‘rents I’ll be home later. Thanks, Connor. For
explaining everything and finding someone to help me.”

“What
are brothers for?”

“Mostly
annoying the shit out of.”

*
* *

I
watched their SUV pull out of the parking lot and sat down on my scooter. Pulling
out my cell, I looked at the time. It was almost seven-thirty. Hospital
visiting hours didn’t start until nine. I wanted to see Jessie.

“Screw
it,” I said and started my engine. I could always mind magic my way into
the hospital if I needed to.

I
pulled out onto the street and made it about a half a mile when a shiny red
Harley pulled up next to me. I glanced over at Clarisse in her full leathers
and tight red shirt…and drove into the back of a Volkswagen.

I
stared up at the sky while I listened to the rumbly sounds of a Harley slowing
down and turning around. The closer it got the louder her laughter could be
heard over the sounds of her engine.

“Nice
shot, worm. Nice dent, too.” She cut the engine and pointed at the back of
the car I crashed into. There was a nice Connor-shaped indentation in the back.
You could even see my face print on the back window. I was lucky I didn’t break
it.

“Ow,”
I said and stood up. My scooter was unsalvageable so I banished it into
nothingness. “Great. How am I supposed to explain this one?”

“Explain
what?”

“The
damage to the car.”

“You
are so dumb. I swear. I don’t know what I…um…what Jesse sees in you.”

“Huh?”
She had started to say something else, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure
it out.

“Fix.
The. Car. Instead of calling one into being, tell that one to fix itself.”

“How?”

She
sighed and got off her bike. She moved me out of the way, not too gently, with
a push of her hand. I stood back and watched as she turned to face the rear of
the car. She ran her hand over the damaged areas and I heard the creak of metal
and soft popping sounds as the car miraculously repaired itself.

“Cool.”

She
stopped and motioned me to finish. I moved forward and felt the remaining dent
beneath my hand. “Now picture how it should look as you push some power
into it.”

I
did what she said and felt the metal smoothing out. I closed my eyes to help
myself concentrate. “I can feel it,” I said proudly and opened my
eyes when the smell of charred metal hit my nose.

“Nice…uh…job.”

I
looked at what I had done. The car was perfectly smooth, but glowing red as the
paint bubbled and charred around the repair.

“Maybe
I should do the rest.”

“Good
idea,” I said and stood back to let her fix it.

“I
don’t know what happened, but when Darius made you a fallen…”

“What?”

“You
have too much magic. Way too much.”

“What
does that mean?”

She
turned as she finished. I glanced down at the car and seeing it whole once
again, breathed a sigh of relief. At least my rates wouldn’t go up before I
even got insurance.

“It
means that if I had turned Brett into a vampire, he wouldn’t have had half the
power he had. If I try to fix a car, it gets fixed instead of turned into slag.
I’m surprised that scooter you call into existence doesn’t travel through
time.”

I
gulped and nodded. “I wish I could control it.”

“Have
you tried? When I told you to fix the car, did you let the power trickle into
it or did you cram it in there like you were trying to burst it open?”

“I
don’t know. I don’t think about it. It didn’t feel like I was cramming
anything, but I wasn’t trying to control it either.”

“Try
again,” she said and her hand morphed into a claw in front of my face. She
raked it across the back of the car, gouging four slashes that ripped open the
metal like it was made out of crepe paper.

I
nodded and held my hand out again, covering the beginning of the damage. This
time I slowly moved my hand across the damage while concentrating on letting
the power drip from my hand instead of pouring from it. It worked. For a few
inches. Then my hand pushed through molten metal. The smell of burning paint
and hair wasn’t a pleasant combination.

She
sighed. “Well, I guess that theory sucked.”

“Big
time,” I said as I pulled my hand from the hole I made.

“You
need help.”

“Know
any psychiatrists?”

“Very
funny. You need to get this under control or there will be issues.

“What
do you suggest?”

“We
can ask the Triad.”

“What’s
a Triad?”

“The
Council of Fallen. We’re heading there anyway.”

“Excuse
me?”

“You’ve
been summoned. I was on my way to collect you when you ran into the back of the
car,” she replied absentmindedly as she fixed the Volkswagen again.
“There,” she said and hopped on her Harley. “Let’s go. Hop
on.”

I
nodded nervously and swallowed the panic rising in my throat. I wasn’t afraid
of getting on the bike. I wasn’t afraid of getting into a wreck. I was afraid
of sitting behind Clarisse. She had an awful lot of exposed skin…

“Hurry
up. We’re already late.”

I
swallowed the lump and grabbed her shoulders as I swung my leg over the Road
King Classic. I felt it rumble to life as I sat down on the leather seat.

She
twisted the handle and the bike propelled us down the road faster than I liked.
“Slow down!”

“Just
hold on. You’ll be fine.”

My
hands slid off her shoulders and down her back. I gripped her hips in an effort
to stay on. She throttled even more and my hands involuntarily slid around her
waist onto her hard stomach. I pressed my face against her shoulder and tried
very hard not to look at the road.

I
swear I felt her sigh beneath me, but I was too scared to think about it for
more than a moment.

“Hold
on tighter. We’re going for a
ride
.”

I
didn’t like how she said
ride.

I
looked over her shoulder at the road ahead of us. There was a flash of green
lighting that opened up a twenty foot hole in the pavement in front of us. I
thought she might try to jump it, but she leaned forward as her front wheel
dropped, plunging us down the hole.

We
fell into darkness.

It
opened up into a dimly lit green sky. We and the bike fell toward a city
illuminated in purple fire. The bike dissipated and Clarisse twisted in my
grip. “You better let go and call your wings or it’s gonna hurt when we
land.”

I
let her go and with a loud
thump
she disappeared above me, slowing her
descent. I did the same.

She
dove and passed me, leading the way.

We
glided down and she headed toward the tallest spire above the city. I closed
the distance between us and called out to her. “What is this place?”

“Shade
City, the capital of the Fallen realms.”

I
nodded and gulped, falling back after having my question answered.

She
pulled up and floated onto a balcony near the roof of the tower. I landed,
somewhat less gracefully, next to her. Without a word, she walked into the
dimly lit interior. With little else to do, I followed.

The
walls were made of polished black stone with gold streaks that glinted in the
eerie purple flames. The chamber was enormous with a huge dais set against one
wall. It’s only feature was a gold, intricate rail that separated it from the
rest of the room, guarding the three chairs behind it. Clarisse moved to the
center of the room. She motioned to me as I hesitated some ways away.

“Hurry
up, worm,” she hissed and it echoed throughout the room.

I
did, since she asked in her usual eloquent manner. “What is this
place?”

“The
tribunal room. The Triad will be here shortly.” She stood at attention
with her hands clasped behind her back, nodding for me to do the same.

A
bell rang through the room as three Fallen entered the dais. I recognized
Darius, the leader of the Reapers and Seekers, immediately. I gave him a small
smile that he did not return.

The
other two were as different from Darius as I was from Clarisse. One was garbed
in dark metal plates that had been molded into wicked looking armor. It was
matte black and reflected absolutely nothing. Strapped to his back was a
two-handed sword whose handle rose above his long, silver-haired head by a few
more inches. I was surprised. The Fallen could call their swords into being at
will. To strap one to one’s back was kind of unnecessary.

The
third also had long hair, but of the whitest white. He had no facial hair, nor
was he old, but he radiated age and wisdom the way Clarisse radiated sexy. He
was dressed in flowing robes and carried a gnarled staff of black wood.

They
walked slowly and surely in front of their thrones before sitting as one.

“Who
stands before us?” The robed one asked Clarisse.

“It
is I, Clarisse of the Seekers, Lord Agravius. I bring forth the one you seek,
Connor, also of the Seekers.”

“That
remains the question. Step forward, young man. It is you we wish to speak
to.”

I
did as he asked, standing before Clarisse. “Hello,” I said humbly,
earning a poke in the back from Clarisse. “Greetings, Lord Agravius,”
I amended quickly. She rubbed my back, letting me know I had finally responded
correctly.

“It
has come to our understanding that your role of Seeker may have
been…misplaced.”

I
waited. Apparently he was waiting for a response. I didn’t know what he wanted
me to say. “I caused a problem that was not easily rectified. In my role
of Seeker, I imbued one of my charges with too much power. He ran amok, injuring
and killing humans in his thirst for power. I apologize with all that I am, my
lord. I did not know it would happen.” The words flowed from my mouth
sweeter than honey. The problem was I had no idea where they came from. It
wasn’t from
my
brain.

He
turned to look at Darius, who nodded agreement.

“Apparently,
we wrongly chose your calling. What do you feel you should be doing? Look into
your heart, young one. What does it tell you?”

I
did as he asked and drew a blank. I knew I couldn’t be a Seeker any more. It
was too dangerous. At least until I could control my power better. “I know
not, my lord. I have Seeked and I have Reaped. They are all I know.”

“Do
you seek knowledge? Is that where your strength lies?”

One
word popped into my head:
Algebra.
“No, my lord. Learning nor
wisdom has ever been my strength. I seek to make the world better. I wish to
protect.” Again the words flowed of their own volition. Too bad public
speaking wasn’t a calling of the Fallen. I could get used to this.

“Then
perhaps Reaper or Warrior would better suit your talents. What say you,
brothers?” He turned to face the two Fallen seated to his right.

“It
is true. He reaped a soul so embedded in its body that even I had difficulty
pulling it from its mortal coil. I would be willing to take him in and guide
him,” Darius replied.

“I
would have to test him before drawing him into my legion of warriors,” the
other replied.

“It
is your choice. Would you taste his blade now?”

“I
would,” the enormous Fallen replied with a nod as he stood. I didn’t like
the sound of it.