Rise of the Fallen 1 - My Soul to Keep (12 page)

“Good block!”

“Will you take it easy? Jeez, you have like thousands of years on me,
Clarisse.”

“Don’t be a baby. I think you’re ready for swords.”

“Excuse me?”

“Swords, you know, sharp pointy metal things,” she said and tossed
the staff away. It promptly vanished into nothing.

“How about you teach me how to do that instead?”

“Do what?” Clarisse leaned over and offered me a hand. I warily accepted
it and she hauled me to my feet. I handed her the staff and she tossed it away into
nothingness just like hers.

“Pull stuff out of midair. Teach me how to do that.”

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to, but we’ll give it a shot. Now pay
attention. I can call any weapon into existence just like I do my car and motorcycle.
This is a dangerous world we live in. Humans have to be afraid of other humans,
but we have to be wary of everything. We’re not the most popular of entities in
the world. Even the humans we change and help often resent us for buying their souls.
You need to be careful out there.”

I nodded my understanding. Seeing the vampires in my homeroom made
me believe her. “I get it.”

She nodded. “We’re going to start by calling your true weapon. We each
have one, and everyone’s is different. This is mine,” she said and held out her
hand. With a burst of light, a silvery thin sword appeared in her hand. As if that
wasn’t impressive enough, I stood mesmerized as flames of blue flickered along the
length of the blade. “This is Rathsmir, my blade.”

“That is so friggin’ cool. What will be mine?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m picturing some sort of spectral slingshot
or a flaming whiffle-ball bat.”

“Har, har, har. What do I do?”

“Hold out your hand like you are holding something. Close your eyes.
Look deep inside you and call your power to your hand. If you’re ready, it should
come. Don’t get your hopes up, worm. Some of us spend centuries trying to call our
weapons.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, holding out my hand like she said. I could
feel my power, not in my head like I would have imagined, but everywhere in my body.
It felt like somebody poured hot molten metal inside my skin, but there wasn’t any
pain. I could feel my power waiting to be forged.

Holding my hand out didn’t feel right. I can’t explain why, but with
my eyes closed I brought my other hand up too and pulled them apart.

The chill of metal in both palms startled me and I opened my eyes.
In each hand I held an identical sword. They didn’t flame like Clarisse’s. The blades
themselves were matte black, the color of coal. Red letters I had never seen before
were etched on the blades from the handle to the tip of the curved blades.

I looked up at Clarisse to smile at my accomplishment, but her face
stopped the smile cold. “What?”

“Get rid of them. Don’t ever call them again. Don’t speak. Don’t do
anything. Banish the blades, Connor. They’re not for you.” She jumped into the air,
called her wings, and flew away.

I looked down at the twin blades in my hands and didn’t know what to
do. I tossed them away and called my power back.

They vanished.

Chapter 13

Alone, and somewhat confused and depressed, I walked home instead of
flying.
Saturday night and not a damn thing to do
. Immersing myself in some
video games and avoiding the rest of the world sounded like a good plan. I hoped
to whoever was listening it would be enough to take my mind off of Clarisse’s reaction
to what had happened. I wanted to ask her why she freaked out and what I did wrong.
I doubted I would have the guts to ask the next time I saw her. Clarisse scared
me.

The walk took less time than I expected and I quickly ended up in front
of my door. I went inside expecting Mom and Dad to be home, but the house sat empty
and quiet. I didn’t expect Caelyn to be home, so that wasn’t a shock.
When was
the last time Mom and Dad went out on a Saturday night?
I drew a blank.

Shutting the door behind me I made my way upstairs into the safety
and solitude of my cave. I flipped on the TV and launched myself on my bed, landing
expertly on my back. I closed my eyes and my thoughts drifted to Jessie. I looked
over at the phone sitting there in its cradle. Taking one long deep breath I reached
over and picked it up and dialed the number I'd attempted to call fifteen million
times. This time instead of hanging up I let it ring and ring and ring. She finally
answered.

“Hello?”

“Jessie?”

“Connor! It’s about time you called. Is it still okay if I come over
tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. Do you need a ride? I can have my parents come get you….”

“Nope, my dad will drop me off. What time should I be there?”

“Anytime you like.”

“I’ll be there about noon. What are you doing now?”

"Shaving kittens and plucking a chicken for this ritual I found
on a cereal box."

"Huh?"

"Just kidding. I'm lying in bed talking to you."

"Hahaha. You're very strange. Have I mentioned how much I like
that in a guy?"

My heart skipped a beat. "I…I…"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Connor. Sweet dreams."

Click.
Smiling,
I set the phone back in its cradle and put my arms
behind my head.

Unfortunately my mind drifted from blissful nothing to thoughts of
Clarisse. I needed to talk to her before Jessie came over tomorrow. I had to tell
her I couldn’t take her to the stupid Halloween dance so I could ask Jessie.

Now I had the added bonus of explaining everything to my mother. “Sorry,
Mom, I know you like Claire, but she’s a soul stealing demon. I’m dumping her and
going to the dance with somebody else.” It probably wouldn't go well.

The odds of Clarisse showing up at my doorstep were about the same
as my sister earning a community service award. That left only one option, finding
her. I picked myself up off my bed and made my way outside. I didn't have a clue
where Clarisse lived, where she hung out, or where to start looking. My only shot
would be the mall. My stomach growled and sealed my decision. I truly didn’t feel
like walking though.

I owned a bicycle, but that is almost as much work as walking. It wasn't
fair. Clarisse could pull whatever she needed out of thin air. Then I remembered
my swords. I'd done it, too. I figured, “Why not? If she could do it so could I."

The problem was I had little to no experience driving a vehicle and
a fifteen year old driving down the road might cause a little too much suspicion.
Motorcycles were out, too. Road rash probably wouldn’t look too good on me and might
hurt like a son of a bitch. Immediately my mind said, “Scooter.” It would be perfect.
You don’t need a license to drive one, and if I made it look crappy enough, I could
tell my parents I'd been saving money and bought it myself. I walked down the steps
and concentrated.

I knew what a scooter looked like, but the only brand name I could
come up with was Vespa. They seemed to be in every movie I've ever seen. I concentrated
on the image of one as hard as I could. I pictured a dull red one complete with
dents on the sides and scratches. I pictured missing chrome trim and lots of dirt.
I pictured a barely working model and pulled with my mind like I'd done with the
swords. I opened my eyes and there sat a scooter.

A brand new, straight off the showroom floor, shiny, perfect Vespa
scooter.

“Crap,” I said to no one.

“Where the hell did you get that?”

I spun around and found my sister standing there in her cheerleading
outfit with her hands on her hips. She looked furious. I’m sure I looked like an
idiot. I stammered and tried to come up with an excuse. Words failed me. I meant
to say, “What scooter,” but what came out was, “Clarisse bought it for me.”

“Who’s Clarisse?”

“Claire,” I said quickly.

“Claire?”

“Awl? She’s a senior…”

“Oh, my God. Does Mom know?” My sister looked like she might pop at
any moment. I wouldn’t mind, but I wouldn’t be cleaning the mess up. I might hose
the pieces off the driveway, but that’s it. Seeing her standing there pissed off
six ways from Sunday started to make me feel a little better.

“She met Claire this morning.”

“I’m talking about the scooter, assclown.”

“I don’t know, I just got home and found it here. Claire said she left
a present for me, but I wasn’t expecting this,” I said with the biggest grin I could
manage.

“Argh!” She literally stamped her foot and then went inside.

My work here was done.

I hopped on the new scooter, satisfied with my cover story, and turned
the key. It roared (okay, coughed) to life, I hit the throttle and shot down the
driveway faster than I expected and hit the road. I almost hit the curb before remembering
to turn. With one last glance over my shoulder, I sped down the street, toward the
mall.

* * *

She wasn’t at the food court. I knew without a doubt she was at the
mall, I just couldn't tell where. I closed my eyes and thought of Clarisse. I tried
to picture her smiling, but it just didn’t work. I pictured her with a wicked gleam
in her eye and immediately her face came into focus. She was working. Clarisse had
a job at the one place no teenage boy would be caught dead going into. She worked
at the lingerie store.

“Hahaha!”

Everybody in the food court turned to stare at the crazy boy laughing
for no reason in front of Burrito Bob’s. With a blush I started heading toward the
far end of the mall. I concentrated
very
hard on my feet and the tile below
them.

I stood by the bench outside of Angelique’s Closet. I could see Clarisse
ringing up underwear and other things for a hefty middle-aged woman. She spotted
me standing there staring at her through the half-inch thick glass with a goofy
smirk on my face. I tried very hard not to laugh out loud again when she saw me.
I'd never seen Clarisse blush before. It made her look a lot more human.

She finished ringing the woman’s items up, swiped her card, shoved
everything in a bag with a big swirly "A" on it and said something to
one of the other sales girls on duty. Whatever she said, the girl didn’t look happy,
but nodded and stepped behind the register. I could almost smell smoke as Clarisse
walked through the entrance of the store and made her way over to where I stood.

“What are you
doing
here, worm?” Wow, did she sound pissed.

“I needed to talk to you, and I had to do it tonight.”

“Well, I don’t have time for this, I’m working.”

“Since when do you have a job?”

“Since before you were born, dumbass,” she said and motioned me to
follow her. I guess she didn’t want to have a conversation within earshot of the
store.

She headed back to the food court with me in tow and got on line at
Papa Luigi’s. The pizza smelled pretty damn good. I hadn’t been eating much lately.

“Clarisse,” I started, but she held up her hand.

“Wait until we sit down, worm. I’m starving. Do you want anything?”

“I’ll have a slice and a coke,” I said, figuring she’d pay. Okay, I
hoped she would pay.

"Want to rethink your order?"

"Huh?"

"Cheese. Don't forget you're lactose intolerant. Very."

"Crap."

"They don’t serve that here, but you can eat it."

"Har har. What are you having?"

"Pasta," she said with an evil grin.

I sighed and gave her a quick, "I'll have the same, please."

She placed her order and mine and handed the greasy looking teen a
twenty dollar bill. I smiled at the free food and offered to carry the tray. We
found a secluded table pretty far away from anybody else in the somewhat deserted
food court.

Without speaking she dug in and started chewing. Clarisse looked everywhere
but at me. I started to get a little worried. “Why are you so mad at me?”

“I’m not mad, worm. Eat.”

“Then why aren’t you talking to me?”

“I’m talking to you. Eat.”

“Clarisse…”

“Connor, eat your food and then we’ll talk.”

I gave up and tore into it. I hadn’t realized how badly I wanted something
to eat. By the time I finished, I’m sure I had tomato sauce from ear to ear. I probably
got some on the ceiling, the floor, and quite possibly the windows of the stores
around the corner. Clarisse’s face confirmed it, I was a pig.

“Hungry?”

“A little, sorry.”

“Worm, I can’t even begin to tell you how much energy your body burns.
Eat more before you eat somebody.”

“Very funny, Clarisse.”

“I’m not kidding.”

I looked at her face expecting her to start laughing. She didn’t. I
felt the spaghetti coming back up.
What the hell did I get myself into?
I
concentrated on the condensation forming on the side of my Coke. “Okay, then. Clarisse,
what is going on? Ever since the swords–"