Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) (3 page)

“Oh
shit,” Clarisse whispered from behind me, not filling me with a warm and
fuzzy feeling at all.

“What?”
I turned and asked her.

“Fight!”

I
spun and saw the downward arc of the giant’s blade. Without thinking, my black
blades appeared and crossed to stop me from being split into equal parts of
Connor.

Instead
of being impressed by my blocking ability, he swung his sword to the side and
back again, trying to slash me in half just under my arms.

I
wielded two swords.  Since the attack was from the side, using both blades to
block would have been impossible without turning my body. I knew instinctively
that to open one side of my body with
no
protection would be inviting
certain death. I also didn’t have a rat’s chance in a crazy cat lady’s house of
blocking his massive sword with just one of mine. My body took over and,
instead of blocking his attack, my blade met his and slowed it down, giving me
the opportunity to jump back. As his blade swept past me, I closed the distance
between us and brought both my blades down in a sweeping arc toward his thigh.

Just
as my blades were about to connect, they disappeared.

“Enough,
Lord Jun. What say you?”

“He
would be welcome in our ranks,” he replied and made his way back to his
throne, not even breathing heavy. I, on the other hand, was shitting kittens.

Lord
Agravius stood and walked down to the floor before us. “And what say you,
young Fallen. Which is it you would prefer? Would you wish to rid your world of
souls who have forsaken the rules set before them? Or would you prefer to be a
warrior, should the need arise?”

I
thought about it. Pros and cons flittered across my mind at flurrying speed.
The thought of consistently pulling souls from humans rather turned my stomach.
The thought of weapons training, strategy, and fighting also made me a little
sick. I didn’t want to do either.

I
opened my mouth to tell him so, but that is not what came out. “I wish to
join Darius. I know not if I could dedicate myself to the warrior’s life.
Perhaps in time, but not at this moment.”

He
nodded as if expecting my answer.

“So
shall it be. Darius, he is yours,” he said and returned to his throne.

“My
lord,” Clarisse spoke from behind me, “we have another issue at hand.
I seek your counsel for a solution.”

“What
is it, child?”

“Connor
has an unwieldy amount of power. He cannot seem to control it. It became
apparent when his duties as a Seeker caused problems. There have been a few
other instances, but none so clear as today. He caused damage to a human’s property
and tried to use his power to repair the damage. The first time he tried caused
the metal to burn. I recommended trying to control the amount of power he was
using, and he did. However, he was unsuccessful and caused further damage to
the property.”

“I
see. Apparently I resumed my seat too early,” he replied and stood once
again, crossing the distance behind us. “Hold out your hand, young
Fallen,” he said when he once again stood before me.

I
did as he asked and he grasped my hand in both of his. I could feel his power
silently radiating off of him. “What should I do, my lord?”

“Pretend
that I am the Volkswagen you inadvertently damaged while gazing at the flesh of
young Clarisse.”

I
coughed in embarrassment, not really wanting Clarisse to know that particular
piece of information. “I um…”

“Don’t
be silly, youngest one. If she did not want you to stare, she would not dress
as she does. She does so for your embarrassment as well as your enjoyment, even
though she would never admit it. Now. Pretend that I am damaged. Smooth out my
damaged metal.”

I
did as he asked. I pictured the crinkled metal and let my power trickle out,
smoothing it as it once was. There was a sizzle of burning flesh, the smell of
smoke, and a sharp intake of breath as Lord Agravius quickly let go of my hand.
“I see your point, Clarisse. Take the youngling back to his native world.
You will continue with his instruction to the best of your ability. I will
send…reinforcements.” He turned and looked back at the dais. “Good
luck with your new charge, Lord Darius,” he said and strode from the room.

Chapter 4

We
fell from the sky above our training clearing. There were no humans about to
witness us, so we had no reason to hide. We flew in lazy circles and finally
landed in the soft grass.

I
didn’t know what to say to Clarisse. I was still embarrassed from the comments
the wizened Fallen had made about Clarisse’s outfit and my enjoyment of it. She
spared me from having to think of something to say. She opted for making things
worse.

“Did
you really crash your scooter because you were checking out my boobs?”

I
could feel the heat creeping up my face from the vicinity of my neck. I
couldn’t believe she said that. “Er… Um. Shut up. You wore that on
purpose.”

She
started laughing and the sound filled the clearing. “Maybe. You ready to
train?”

“For
what?”

“Well,
I can’t train you to Reap, so weapons practice or controlling your
powers?”

“What
time is it?”

She
glanced down at the thin metal band on her wrist. “Ten in the
morning.”

“Shit.
I’ve got to go. I promised Jessie I would be there when she woke up!”

I
tried to ignore the look of disappointment on Clarisse’s face.
“Okay,” she said weakly. “I’ve got to get to work anyway. Find
me tonight and we’ll continue.”

“You
got it,” I said and called my scooter back to reality.

I
glanced over my shoulder as I pulled away and saw Clarisse still standing in
the middle of the clearing obviously lost in thought. The idea of that kind of
scared me. I briefly wondered what she could possibly be thinking about as my
tire briefly skidded in the dirt. I quickly regained control and forgot about
Clarisse, eager to see Jessie as soon as possible without wrecking again.

*
* *

Thankfully,
visiting hours were open and I didn’t have to mind magic the nurse to get to
see my girlfriend. I peeked around the doorframe to see if Mr. James was in the
room. Letting out a sigh of relief, I didn’t see him in his usual position in
the ugly green plastic chair by her bed. He might not hate me anymore, but he
was still a big bad scary Chosen. Being mortal enemies put a serious damper on
our relationship.

“Hey,
beautiful,” I said and entered her private hospital room.

“Hey,
yourself,” she said with a smile and
looked
at me.

Jessie
was Nephalim, or one of the Cursed. Her mother was human and her father was one
of the Chosen. A Nephalim’s life was always riddled with misfortune until they
became either one of the Chosen or died. It worked the same for the offspring
of a Fallen and a human, too.

One
of Jessie’s many misfortunes was that she had been blind for almost five years.
When her body healed itself, it also restored her sight. Neither her father, nor
I, knew why she had been made whole again. I was just thankful she could see. She’d
had her sight back for all of twenty-four hours and she had yet to run away
screaming from me.

I
crossed the room rather quickly and pulled her into my arms. I didn’t kiss her,
but I held her as close as I could without crushing her. “I missed
you,” I whispered.

“It
hasn’t been that long.” She giggled.

“But
it felt like forever.”

“I
love you, too,” she said and pulled back, kissing me fully on the lips.
“Sorry if I have morning hospital breath.”

“You
could have ‘just ate a liverwurst sandwich’ breath and I would still want to
kiss you.”

“That
may be the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me.” Her giggle turned
into fits of laughter. The sweet sound filled the room and made me smile.
“Connor… We need to talk.”

Oh
shit.
The smile
left my face and I’m sure a great deal of color did, too. “About?”

“What
happened last night. My father filled me in. Mostly. In a very cryptic way.
Connor… I… I saw things. I saw you. What the hell is going on?”

I
opened my mouth to tell her everything, but something stopped me. Although she
still looked human, she might be changing into one of the Chosen. It was a
distinct and probable conclusion. If she were, it wasn’t my place to tell her.
It was her father’s. He and I needed to have a talk. Soon.

“That
garage was completely full of paint fumes. It’s no wonder you were hallucinating.
Don’t worry. I’m sure it will all come back to you.”

She
gave me a disbelieving look and shrugged her shoulders. “Well. Thank you
for saving me anyway.”

I
kissed her forehead and gave her a quick smile. “So when you getting out
of here?”

“Dad
says sometime today. I’m fine, but they want to keep an eye on me.”

I
nodded. “Speaking of your father, where is the evil one?”

“Right
behind you,” came Mr. James’ retort.

I
closed my eyes and shook my head. “Did I say evil? I meant sneaky,” I
said to a wide-eyed Jessica, who broke out in even more fits of laughter.

“Hi,
Daddy. Did you bring me Starbucks?”

“Venti
caramel macchiato with almond milk and an extra shot, as ordered. How are you
feeling, baby? Good morning Conrad,” he said and put his hand on my shoulder
as he leaned over and handed Jessie her coffee.

“Good
morning, sir.”

“What
were you talking about?”

“I
asked Connor what happened last night.”

“And
what, pray tell, was his theory?” He shifted uncomfortably.

“That
the amount of paint fumes in that weirdo’s garage was making me
hallucinate.”

He
stroked his chin and seemed to think about it before nodding approvingly.
“That’s probably what happened. I’m just glad we found you.”

“And
the police still haven’t found the guy?” Jessie didn’t sound overly concerned.
I would have been if I thought the guy who kidnapped me was still out on the
streets. She didn’t know that his soul was tucked safely away in one of the
Fallen’s realms. I hoped they had him making license plates or something.

“No,”
came Mr. James inevitable reply. “I’m not even sure they’re looking that
hard. His house went up in flames. They’re probably expecting him to be three
states away. If he’s smart, that’s where he will be. I’d very much like to get
my hands on that young man.”

Jessie’s
eyes widened a little. Her father sounded furious, yet calm. He even sent a
shiver down my spine.

“So
when am I getting out of here?”

“One
more checkup from the doctor and you’re free to go. I ran into him at the
nurse’s station. He should be here momentarily. Conrad, would you excuse us?
There are some things we need to discuss. Would you care to come over tonight
for a celebration dinner?”

“I’d
like that, sir. Thank you. I’ll see you tonight, Jess. Get some rest,” I
said and stood.

“I
will. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll
miss you more.” I walked toward the door.

“Um,
Connor?”

I
turned. “Yes?”

She
glanced furtively at her father who rolled his eyes and looked up at the
ceiling. She mouthed the words, “I love you.”

I
winked and did the same.

Chapter 5

My
stomach started rumbling as I swung my leg over my scooter. I hadn’t eaten
anything in almost twenty-four hours. That was unheard of. I briefly got over
the shock that I wasn’t passed out on the ground moaning for hamburgers.

I
pulled out my cell, checked the time, and weighed my options. It was almost
noon. Unfortunately I had zero cash. I could eat at home or go home and
scrounge some pretzel cash from the old folks. The thought of soft, warm, salty
pretzels left little room for decision making. I should probably check up on
Mom and Dad anyway.

The
drive was quick and uneventful. I pulled into the driveway and practically ran
into the house. “Mom, Dad, I’m hooome!”

“Where’s
your sister?” Mom peeked her head out from the kitchen.

“She’s
still a little weird about yesterday. She’s venting at the mall with some
friends.”

“She’s
grounded!” I heard Dad’s voice from the kitchen.

I
had forgotten all about it. I walked through the living room into the kitchen.
Dad was sitting at the round kitchenette table eating a sandwich while Mom was
doing something on her laptop at the counter. I looked over at Dad and caught
his eye. I hated doing it but… “You told her she had suffered enough and
let her off last night.”

“Oh,
okay.”

Mom
lifted her head up in shock and I calmly said, “You remember, don’t you
Mom?”

“Yeah,”
she said and went back to work. I had a little bit of a sick feeling in my
stomach. It was getting too easy to mind magic my ‘rents. Then I realized
something. I wasn’t a selfish kid. If you gave most teens the power that I had,
their rooms would be full of gaming gear and nacho machines. My parents had it
easy. I would
never
even consider doing something like that.
Or would
I?

Briefly,
images of a PS3 flittered through my mind.

Only
to be replaced by the image of the stack of bills by my mother’s laptop. I
sighed heavily. My parents worked
very
hard to make ends meet. I could
never do it. Not in a million years.

“I’m
meeting a few friends at the mall for lunch. Do either of you amazing people
have a few dollars you could lend this poor, starving child?”

Dad
laughed and set down his sandwich. “I have some cash. You’re lucky you’re
charming like your old man.” He reached into his pants and pulled out a
bill. I took it without looking at the denomination.

“Thanks,
pops,” I said and kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be back later!
Oh, before I forget, Jessie’s coming home from the hospital today. Her father
invited me for dinner so I’ll be eating over there.”

“Okay,
honey. I want you home by nine and you’re staying home tomorrow. Family dinner
night.”

I
smiled and grumbled under my breath. I hated Sunday nights. Family dinner night
usually consisted of something with dairy in it that I couldn’t eat, and
fighting with my sister. “Okay, Mom. No cheese on mine,” I reminded
her futilely.

“Since
when don’t you like cheese?”

“Mom.
Lactose intolerant. Want me puking all over the place?”

“Oh.
Right. I forgot.”

I
rolled my eyes and left.

The
mall was unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon. There wasn’t even a line at
Aunt Annie’s Pretzels. I gave a little internal
woot woot,
and walked up
to the register. The girl behind the counter was facing the other way, leaning
against the register, and filing her finger nails. I decided to be polite and
wait. When the wait bordered on ridiculous, I began tapping the counter. The
cashier looked over her shoulder and gave me an evil grin.

“I
was wondering how long it would take you to try to get my attention.”

“Shannon?”
My mouth hung open in utter shock. Shannon MacVie was the head of the
cheerleaders at James Underwood High School. She was also Shanria of the
Chosen. And a royal pain in my ass.

“The
one and only,” she replied and turned around. I must say, the uniforms at
Aunt Annie’s Pretzels aren’t appealing in any way, shape, or form. After seeing
it on Shannon, I was forced to reevaluate my opinion of them.

“What
are you doing here?”

“I
work here. Just started today. They’re already talking about promoting me to
assistant manager,” she said and rolled her eyes.

“But
what are you doing working
here.
Shouldn’t you be working at a clothing
store or something more…um…fashionable?”

“Well
I’m glad you think so highly of me. As it turns out… You got me addicted to the
little doughy concoctions here. Working here affords me one perk that clothing
stores do not… Free pretzels.”

I
couldn’t help it. The ridiculousness of the situation became too much to bear.
I broke down laughing in the middle of the mall.

“What’s
so funny?” She put her hands on her hips and I could see fire smoldering
in her eyes. I held up my hands apologetically, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

“I’m
not laughing at you,” I managed to croak out somewhat comprehensibly.
“You are one of the most beautiful girls at our school. You are the head
cheerleader. You drive a sports car. You could have any job in the world…and
you’re working here. For free pretzels no less.” By the time I finished my
explanation, my laughter had died down to a small chuckle.

She
still had her hands on her hips, but her back went rigid, though not in anger.
Her eyes had gone wide and she had a bewildered look on her face. I expected
her to want a further explanation, but her question shocked me. “You think
I’m beautiful?”

I’m
surprised my jaw didn’t hit the counter in front of me. “Um… Of course I
do? I’d have to be blind not to think so.”

“You’re
not just saying this because we broke bread and are not mortal enemies anymore,
right?”

I
sighed in exasperation. “Shannon. I don’t do things like that. I say what
I feel. You might have issues, but you are completely beautiful.”

“Issues?”

I
groaned. Talking to women was difficult enough. Give them wings and a
superiority complex and it was damn near impossible. “Chosen-type
issues,” I said and blew out the breath I had been holding while I counted
to ten.

“Oh.
Yeah. I guess I see your point,” she said and smiled. “Welcome to
Aunt Annie’s Pretzels, what can I get for you today?” Her voice had taken
on a sing-song quality that nearly brought back another round of giggle-fits.

Through
clenched teeth I said, “Two salted, please.”

“Would
you care for anything to drink?”

“Coke.
Medium.”

She
rang it up and I pulled the crumpled bill out of my pocket. She gently pushed
it away and hit a button on the register. The sale disappeared from the screen
in front of me. “I think there’s some fresh ones coming out of the oven.
Let me check.”

She
turned around and walked behind a partition wall behind the counter. I stood in
total, complete, and utter shock. The Chosen had been the mortal enemies of the
Fallen since the dawn of time. Maybe if the Fallen complimented them on their
appearance once in a while…
Nah.

Shannon
came back out holding a paper bag that steamed with pretzelly goodness. My
mouth started watering uncontrollably. I had never, in all my years of being
addicted, had pretzels straight out of the oven. I fought the urge to jump up
and down as she handed me the bag.

“Hang
on, I’ll grab your coke.”

I
didn’t wait. I jammed my face in the bag, inhaled, and ripped a piece off with
my teeth, burning my lips in the process. I didn’t care. I was a Fallen, I
would heal, and I had hot pretzels. I moaned as I chewed. Shannon laughed as
she handed me my coke. “They’re better when they’re hot, aren’t
they?”

I
nodded, bowed, and said, “I love you,” as I turned to go sit on the
bench across from the store. “Fank fou,” I called over my shoulder.

I
sat in bliss, not paying attention to my surroundings while I ate. By the time
I finished and stood, I finally noticed Shannon still standing where I left
her, her hand still in the position to hand me my coke. It was as if she had
been frozen to the spot. I shrugged and decided to wander around the mall.

Inevitably,
I ended up in front of Angelique’s Closet, workplace of Clarisse. It was a
lingerie store and the odds of me actually going in to talk to her were a few degrees
colder than absolute zero. Instead, I did what any teenage boy slash demon
would do. I made faces at her in the window. She looked up from folding an
incredibly small pair of women’s panties, saw me, and rolled her eyes. I did
however catch a hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth. She could deny it
all she wanted, but I amused her. She hollered something at the woman in the
back and walked out of the store.

“What
did you break this time?”

“Huh?”

“Usually
when you come see me at work it’s because you created some sort of super-vamp
or broke something that you need my help fixing.”

“Oh!
No. Nothing this time. I was just walking around and I stopped by to say
hi.”

“Well,
it’s my lunch break. Come eat with me.”

I
burped the last remnants of my pretzel feast and made a little more room for
food. “Sure.”

We
walked silently to the opposite end of the mall where the food court lay
nestled next to the entrance to the movie theater. “Wow,” I said.

“What?”

“Was
just trying to remember the last time I went to the movies.”

“I
get off at six. Let’s go,” she said with a funny tone to her voice.

“I
can’t tonight. Jessie’s dad invited me to dinner.”

“Oh.
Okay.”

I
glanced over at Clarisse and she seemed a little down about something.
“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.
Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I
don’t know. Even this morning you seemed a little sad. Just wondering if there
was anything I could do to help?”

She
gave me a small smile and headed for the pizza place. “No. Just thinking
about work.”

“Which
job?”

“Both
actually. I’ve been trying to think of who the Triad is going to send to train
you and then I have to work tomorrow at Angelique’s. I really don’t want
to.”

“So
call in sick.”

“Huh?”

“Call
in sick. We’ll go see a movie tomorrow.”

She
seemed thoughtful for a moment. “If I do, and you cancel on me or forget,
I will hunt you down, rip off your legs, and beat you to death with them. Do
you understand?”

I
gulped. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good
worm. You want your pasta?”

“Yeah.
Here. I actually have some cash.”

“Keep
it. You can buy popcorn tomorrow.”

“Deal.”

She
ordered and paid, and I grabbed our tray. She wandered to the back of the
restaurant and claimed a booth out of the way. I sat the tray down and set her
salad in front of her. I left the pasta on the tray and grabbed us some plastic
silverware and napkins. “Here,” I said and arranged them neatly
around her salad like we were dining in a real restaurant.

“Um…
Thanks.”

“You’re
welcome. So what else is new?” I sat down and tore into my pasta. For mall
food it was pretty good. It didn’t hold a candle to hot pretzels, but it would
keep me alive.

“Are
you actually making small talk?”

“I
guess so. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.
Just glad the whole Brett ordeal is behind us and that Jessie is okay.”

“You
and me both. Let’s just hope I don’t screw anything up when I start
Reaping.”

“Think
of it this way, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Don’t
even go there. I don’t wanna find out.”

“Good
plan.”

“Clarisse?”

“Yes?”

“It
bothers me.”

“What
does?”

“The
idea of ripping someone’s soul from their body. I know they broke the rules… I
just don’t know if I can do it.”

“You’ll
do fine. Trust me. Once you start doing it, you’ll realize that they not only
deserve it, but you will be protecting innocents. The people on the Reaper list
are not nice.”

I
nodded and focused on my pasta, hoping she was right.