Fallen Souls (4 page)

Grace couldn’t believe
what she
was hearing. She’d been pacing
around this stupid hospital room for days now, though her body was
lying in bed, unmoving. She had no idea what had happened – or how
she was able to walk around without her body – but everyone kept
talking about a car crash. She wanted desperately to wake up and
comfort her family, but she hadn’t been able to get back into her
body, no matter how hard she’d tried. She’d done everything she
could think of, to no avail, and it was driving her nuts. She
wanted to throw things, but her hand passed right through anything
she touched. She wanted to shout that she was still alive, she
wanted to hug her mother and promise everything would be okay. She
wanted to comfort Ash, who was wearing the look of a lost and very
frightened little boy. She couldn’t, though; she was stuck in the
air, or another dimension, or something else as completely
useless.

She glanced around the room in
frustration. Her parents were talking to the doctor while Ash
stared blankly at a wall. She sighed and turned her attention back
to them. They were the ones discussing her future, and she didn’t
like the things they were considering.

The doctor talked for another moment,
then put a hand on her mom’s back in what appeared to be an awkward
attempt at comfort. Grace looked back at Ash, wondering what was
going on. They’d barely looked at him, let alone spoken to him.
They were concerned only with each other, choosing to grieve as a
couple instead of a family. They’d abandoned him, and she could see
how much it hurt. She moved over to him, trying to lay a hand on
his shoulder like the doctor had done with her mom. But her hand
passed right through, just like it had the last time she tried to
touch him.

“
I’m here Ash,” she
whispered in defeat. He looked terrible. The skin under his eyes
was an ugly shade of purple, and he spent most of his time staring
at nothing. She could only imagine the guilt he was feeling right
now, and wished he could hear her. “It’s okay, little brother. I
don’t blame you. It wasn’t your fault.”

Something brushed against
Ash’s mind
, and he straightened up. He
couldn’t stand sitting there any longer. He couldn’t accept that
she wouldn’t wake up. When he stormed out the door, his parents
didn’t raise a hand to stop him or ask him where he was going. Not
that he knew. He just had to get out and get fresh air. He burst
out the doors and kept going, wanting to put as much distance as
possible between himself and that awful place.

He walked until his feet
hurt, past all the main streets and then down a dirt road that led
to a forested area at the edge of town. He was taking the long way
home. It might not be the smartest thing to do right now, but he
needed time to think. He couldn’t sit anymore. It wasn’t that he
didn’t want to be by his sister’s side, it was more that he needed
to
do
something
for her. He just had no idea what that something was.

He growled in frustration, finally
coming to a stop, and watched the sky as it turned angry shades of
green and gray. A storm was coming, and it mirrored how he felt on
the inside perfectly. The sun faded, and a cold wind rushed through
the trees, making goose bumps stand up on his arms. He closed his
eyes, willing the tears to come, and thought back to the night of
the party. The night that changed everything. Suddenly he
remembered the man. He’d been at the party, and then at the crash
scene, though Ash couldn’t remember anything else. Why’d he been
there? Who was he?

Death
, Ash’s mind whispered. He shivered. Where had that thought
come from? Was the man truly Death? Did that even make sense? And
if he was … could he change what was happening to Grace? The
thought was crazy, but it stuck. If that man was Death, then maybe
he could also control life, and save Grace. He’d been searching for
an answer, and suddenly it was right there: Hunt the man down and
beg him to save Grace.

“
You know, that’s really
not a very good idea,” a voice said from his right, interrupting
his thoughts. The voice was beautiful and he turned, knowing that
the girl’s face would match her voice.

He was right. Her hair was dark
blonde, almost red, and wildly curly. It whipped in the wind,
covering and then revealing a pair of bright golden eyes. She was
also staring into the sky, deeply thoughtful at what she
saw.

Ash was certain that he’d seen her
before, though he couldn’t remember where or when.

“
Excuse me?” he asked,
surprised.

She turned and gave him a
half-smile before returning her gaze to the sky. “Hunting down
things that are best left alone. It’s not a good idea.” Her voice
was like silk, soft and sweet, but her eyes were hard and strong.
“In fact, it’s a very
bad
idea.”

Then he remembered where he’d seen
her. She was there on the night of the crash. She’d been there when
he opened his eyes, and had sent the man with the red eyes running.
Did she know the man? Could she help find him? Ash couldn’t imagine
why she was here, but if she could help save Grace …

“
Why?” he asked, with
equal parts worry and hope.

The girl paused, considering how to
answer his question. Her eyebrows drew together like she was in
deep thought, and she pursed her lips as if she didn’t really want
to answer him.

“
Good or bad, everything
happens for a reason. You can’t change the mistakes of your past.
You can only change the future. Dealing with people who promise to
change the past comes at a price you might not want to pay.
Although he’ll expect payment. Even after you’re dead.”

“
You mean dealing with
that man?” he asked, excited. “Do you know him?” He walked over to
the girl and stood in front of her, temped to reach out and try to
touch her, to see if she was real. The thought crossed his mind
that he might be having a mental breakdown – with this angel being
nothing more than a hallucination – but he eliminated it. That
wouldn’t help him save Grace. And finding the man with the red eyes
might. “Where can I find him? Can he really help?”

“
You’re not
actually
considering
such a thing, are you?” the girl asked, shocked. “Can you not
see that finding him would be the worst possible thing?”

He drew back, surprised at
her criticism. “I don’t recall asking your advice in the first
place. Who are you to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do? Who
the hell
are
you,
for that matter?” he snapped.

“
Someone who knows better
than you, that’s who,” she replied softly. “Someone who understands
what you’re risking. Names are nothing. All you need to know is
that I’ve come here to help you, with orders far loftier than your
own.” Then she dropped her voice into a mumble, barely audible.
“And those, I’m afraid, I can’t share with you.”

If he’d been in his right mind, he
would have questioned her more closely. But he didn’t have time for
that. All he cared about was whether or not she could help
him.

“
Look, I’m not interested
in your advice. Do you know where I can find the man or
not?”

“
I cannot force you to do
as I say,” she said, looking at him with a concerned expression,
“but believe me when I say that searching for the man is a bad
choice. There’s more at stake than you can imagine. Your decision
will change more than just your fate.”

He gasped, confused and frustrated.
The girl looked the same age as him, but there was something in her
eyes that held immense age and wisdom. She seemed … different.
Larger than him, though she wasn’t tall. He took a step back,
unsure of himself.

“
Fate is written and
rewritten every day,” the girl continued, as if she wanted to take
advantage of his silence. “One can only predict so much and try to
…” She searched for a specific phrase before settling on one that
fit. “… sway things in the right direction to a certain extent. I
don’t believe saving one life is worth risking the lives of many,
and you propose to risk many, many lives, including your own. There
are two paths in front of you right now, and neither will be easy.
But one is right, while the other is wrong.” She settled her golden
eyes on him, making him feel naked under her gaze, and issued a
warning. “It’s never a simple thing, telling one from the
other.”

Ash stood quietly for a moment, trying
to understand what she meant. Was she saying that saving Grace was
the wrong thing to do? How could that be? Grace was beautiful,
innocent, and still had so much life to live. And it was his fault
that she was lying on that hospital bed, dying. Was she saying that
he should let her go? That couldn’t be right, no matter what this
girl said. He needed to put things right, even if it meant risking
his own life.

“
Where can I find him?” he
asked quietly.

“
If you seek the devil,
the devil you shall find,” she replied, looking at him with sad
eyes. “I hope for your sake, and for everyone else, that fate
changes. But that is up to you.”

Ash closed his eyes and
took a deep breath, trying to rein in his frustration. Seek the
devil and the devil you shall find? Was the man … Ash’s thought
trailed off.
Death,
he thought. Yes, he supposed, that would mean he was the
devil. He opened his eyes to ask for clarification, but saw her
golden gaze focusing on something behind him.

Turning, he spotted the man from the
party standing about 20 feet away, at the edge of the forest. His
red eyes locked with Ash’s, making his heart drop, and Ash froze,
unsure whether he should run or freeze. The fear he’d felt at the
party came back, even stronger than before, and he stepped silently
back toward the golden-haired girl.

“
You killed your sister,”
the man mused, staring at Ash with a half-smile on his lips. He
looked as though he knew Ash was in pain, and as though that pain
brought him joy. “You should be dead, not her. Tut, tut, tut.” He
waggled his head from side to side in a mocking fashion. “You
should be ashamed of yourself.”

The voice in Ash’s head
whispered that word once again
.
Death
. It was odd, but there was something
about the thought that comforted him. Death. He let the word float
in his mind, tasting it, feeling it. No, it wouldn’t be so bad, he
thought. The man was right – he shouldn’t live if his sister died.
She’d always been the brighter one, the one more deserving of life.
The man’s smile grew, as if he could read Ash’s thoughts. Somewhere
inside his head, Ash heard the girl’s voice again. “This is the
wrong choice, boy,” she said.

A part of him agreed with her, and
screamed a warning. Then that voice went silent, leaving him alone
to choose.

Grace ground her teeth
in
frustration. She’d been sitting in the
hospital chair for hours, helplessly watching her parents decide
whether to end her life. She couldn’t believe they were even
considering
it. Pulling
the plug on their own daughter! Her heart was breaking, but she
didn’t know what she could do about it. She wished Ash hadn’t left.
She wanted to see him again before her parents did anything
stupid.