Rise of the Fallen (15 page)

He held the passenger door open for me, helping me into the low seat of his car. As I reached for the seat belt he grabbed my wrist and stopped me. He leaned down and kissed me gently on the cheek before quickly pulling back and apologising. He backed the car cautiously out of the neglected driveway, putting his arm around the back of my seat as he reversed onto the narrow street. Once we were clear of the abandoned-looking house, he sped up.

He manoeuvered around the side streets at high speed. Day had broken a while ago, which confused me. How was it possible that the house was so dark? There were no curtains or blinds blocking the windows, so perhaps the overgrown garden had blocked out all natural light.

Soul drove into the parking lot of a large shopping complex. Before I could reach for my door, he had run around to my side and was holding it open for me, ready to help me out. I remained silent as
we walked towards the automatic glass doors. At our approach, they opened quickly and a cold gust of wind rushed out.

I shivered slightly and he reached over as though to put his arm around me but stopped halfway and placed his hands in his jean pockets. He verbally steered me towards a small clothing shop with hot pink walls and blaring electro-pop music. He hesitated at the entrance, looking at me with an awkward smile. I stared at him in confusion.

“Clothes shopping isn't my thing, so,” he handed me a silver credit card, “ … why don't you go pick out some clothes or whatever, and just sign your name on the receipt?”

I nodded and walked in. A bleached blonde shop assistant looked up from her teen magazine. She stared at me for a moment before returning to the magazine. I walked reluctantly towards the jeans section and grabbed the first black pair in my size. I found the shirt section and grabbed a t-shirt that looked a few sizes bigger than me before making my way back to the counter. The girl put her magazine on the counter and moved quickly at the register mumbling “credit or savings?” as I handed her Soul's credit card. I signed and was slightly concerned that she would ask questions about the differing signatures, but she didn't.

“Have a nice day,” she said brusquely, picking the magazine up again.

I walked quickly out of the store and at first I didn't notice Soul leaning against the blank wall beside the bookshop holding a hardcover book. I approached slowly, handing back the credit card the instant I was close enough. He smiled and held the book up.

“Shakespeare's a genius.”

“Which one is it?” I asked, gesturing to the book.

“Hamlet,” he replied straightening up and walking towards me, closing the gap between us.

I hadn't noticed before, but Soul looked quite handsome. He was wearing a black leather jacket and dark blue denim jeans with the same black chucks that he was wearing the day before. I blushed when I realised that I was staring at him, and looked down at my shoes. I probably looked like crap, especially in comparison to some of the other girls that had been walking around the shops. I knew Soul wasn't blind; he had to have noticed them.

“Is something wrong, Emilie? You look weird,” Soul said nudging my arm

“Oh jeez, thanks,” I frowned. “Nothing's wrong.”

Soul's eyes told me that he didn't believe me.

“Can I change?” I mumbled shaking the shopping bag.

“Oh yeah, of course. I'll wait for you at the music shop. I'll get you something to eat, too,” Soul spoke quickly, already beginning to walk away from me.

The female bathroom was the first door down the hallway. The walls were a dull, off-white colour with a dark green strip that ran horizontally along it. I only took a few minutes to change and when I was done I stopped to check myself in the chipped mirror. I turned away the second that the reflection started to cloud over and Lilith's face replaced mine. I ran towards the door, but pulled back in fright. The door was frosted over with ice.

“Do
not
walk away from me,” Lilith ordered in a cold, threatening whisper.

I walked reluctantly back to the mirror and looked her in the eye, “What if a human comes in?”

“I've frozen time. I don't appreciate your attitude much either.” “How did you freeze time?” I stuttered.

I had only been aware of Lilith being a storm demon. I suppose it wouldn't be entirely unheard of for a demon to gain more powers.

“Don't forget who you're talking to. I've tolerated your
insubordination until now. You do not ask me questions. I am the one who is in charge, not you.” Lilith's voice was full of venom and her face now held a murderous expression.

“I'm sorry, Lilith,” I lied, dropping my gaze.

She was a typical dictator. It wouldn't surprise me if she had barely any real power at all; it was probably just connections she made that had helped her rise to the top.

“Good. You are to tell Soul to check that Markos' loyalty is still with us, and tell him that Vashel has been trying to contact him.” Her voice remained harsh, and seemed to drip with authority.

I nodded towards the door, which was still frozen over. “May I leave?” I asked quietly in a completely monotone voice. It was best not to start a fight with her now, I supposed.

“Go!” Lilith hissed.

I watched her face disappear from the mirror and looked over to the door – all was back to normal. I left the room instantly and found Soul standing in front of the music store with a small plastic water bottle in one hand and a bright green apple in the other.

“Here, you should eat,” Soul said cheerfully, handing me the apple.

I took it but said nothing.

“You're welcome,” Soul said.

“Lilith wants you to check that Markos is still on her side and Vashel was trying to call you or something,” I said, taking a bite of the apple.

Soul shook his head, “Lilith spoke to you?”

I nodded and continued eating the apple. “These are my favourite, how did you know?”

“Lucky guess … are you okay?” he asked, reaching forward and pushing my hair out of my face.

“Oh, I'm fine. Lilith looked like she was going to murder me, but
I'm fine,” I said sarcastically, taking another bite.

“She won't hurt you, I won't let her. I already told you, I'm only working for her for the power,” he said, reaching out and placing his hand at the base of my neck. “In a few days things will change.”

“Don't touch me. I don't know if I believe you. Even if I did, why does that have to mean I'll come running back to you?” I couldn't believe my own words as they left my mouth.

Soul obviously did believe me. His hand dropped from my neck and rested back in his jeans pocket again.

“I'm not lying, Emilie. I just need to check with some others, then the revolt is ready,” Soul said.

“Why won't you give up?” I asked with a sigh.

Soul chuckled; his hand squeezed mine so tightly it hurt. “I already told you, I'm in love with you. I'm not giving up, Emilie. I know you love me too.”

I turned away, which only caused Soul to laugh louder than before.

“So maybe we should get going, we've got to see Markos,” Soul said cheerfully.

“Why are you so happy about that? Who is he?” I was really confused now.

Soul continued smiling, “Markos is sick of Lilith too. With his help, overthrowing Lilith and Samael is going to be a piece of cake.”

I said nothing but I knew that whoever, or whatever, Markos was, he had to be a powerful entity. I was beginning to believe that Soul might actually have a good chance of getting rid of them. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me through another set of sliding glass doors to the parking lot. When we reached the car, he opened my door.

“You look beautiful,” he grinned.

I kind of wished he would give up trying to win me back. My restraint was running thin and, knowing me, I would end up with him
again. Not that it was a bad thing. I probably wouldn't have ended it the first time if he hadn't killed that innocent girl. The catch was, I knew that even if Soul did achieve emancipation from Lilith, he might go mad with the power. I didn't know if I could trust him, but my options were fairly bleak. The alternative was being enslaved by Lilith, which was far less appealing, and Soul actually seemed genuine.

Soul drove above the speed limit once again, but, as an immortal being, human crimes seem trivial in comparison to everything else. I should know, I live outside the restraints of being a human. Until now, that is. Right now I find myself wishing that I wasn't caught up in this world. A world of dishonesty and fear, all thanks to the demons. If there was no fear to hold me back, I could be capable of anything. It's the same with Lilith and Samael. Who knows what would happen if they were free to do whatever their hearts desired? They were already so close to becoming untouchable, and I didn't want that to happen.

“What's wrong?” Soul asked.

“How can I help you?” I watched him, waiting for his reaction. “You know, help to overthrow Lilith and Samael?”

He turned to me, “You really want to help?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“That's great, Emilie! Wow!” he tapped the horn playfully. “You're already helping, I'll explain as soon as we get to Markos'.”

I looked out at the road; it was pretty much a dirt track, with trees towering overhead on each side. They blocked out the sunlight, casting an eerie light over the undergrowth. Soul kept his speed at about 40 km/h, and when I asked him why, he told me that he didn't want to seem threatening to “them”. I was confused. There was nobody out there … it was too dark to see anything in the shadows. Soul took a sharp left turn, spraying mud behind the car. It took another ten minutes before I saw it.

The house was probably the only one for kilometres. It was a
larger house than Soul's, with a dark porch in front. The windows were boarded up from the inside with what appeared to be good quality timber; the obvious reason was to keep something out, but what? There were no cars in sight. The entire house appeared lifeless.

“I don't understand …” I whispered to Soul, as he helped me out.

He smiled hesitantly, “Just stay close to me; they're watching.”

I reached out and grabbed Soul's hand.

He turned and smiled. Holding my hand tightly, he pulled me towards the porch. As we knocked on the door I felt eyes on my back. I instinctively turned around but I saw nothing in the surrounding trees. I heard movement inside and turned back around. Soul's eyes were glued to the door as it opened inward, providing a small entrance into the dark house. We walked in and the door instantly shut behind us. I reeled back in horror.

A tall, pale man stood in front of us; he was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt unbuttoned at the top. On the side of his neck were two bite marks, similar to snake bites but slightly larger. His skin was so pale that his blue veins were clearly visible beneath it. His paleness made his messy hair seem almost black and his hazel eyes pronounced. He looked as though he was in his early thirties, but youthfulness seemed to radiate from him.

“Markos, nice to see you again,” Soul said cheerfully.

“Nice to see you, too,” Markos replied, staring at me, “Who's this?”

“Emilie, the pyro I told you about.”

I said nothing, but he smiled. His teeth were bright white and from a distance seemed abnormally sharp.

“If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll get Savine,” Markos said, turning around and disappearing into another room.

“What is he?” I whispered.

Soul looked at me in disbelief, “A vampyre … Honestly, Emilie, I
thought you would have caught on to that quicker.”

I blushed and looked down. Today was full of surprises. He was a vampyre, obviously. Soul's overprotectiveness seemed justified now.

“But I thought the sunlight thing was just a myth,” I responded, trying to keep my voice as low as possible as I looked towards the boarded-up windows.

“Just dramatised for the most part,” Markos spoke loudly from the other side of the room.

Beside him was a red-haired woman with startling blue eyes. Her skin matched the unnatural paleness of Markos', and she too had bite marks on her neck. She was wearing a low-cut, long-sleeved black dress. The dress was so long that it pooled around her on the floor. As a couple they were heartbreakingly beautiful, though I couldn't tell if they were a couple or not. They certainly didn't act like a couple; no outward signs of affection or hints that would suggest anything more than a platonic relationship.

“So the sun doesn't kill you then?” I asked in confusion.

The red-haired woman raised an eyebrow at me and snorted. She turned to Markos who ignored her and answered me with a smile.

“It certainly isn't beneficial to our health, but only prolonged exposure is lethal. Say … a couple of hours would do it. Crucifixes and garlic are useless as well, if you were going to ask,” he chuckled.

“Oh …” I replied quietly.

I felt stupid, but I had never met vampyres before and everything seemed unusual. The only things I knew about vampyres were what I had read in books and seen in horror movies. The romanticised concept was no doubt fictitious, and I wanted to know the truth.

“It's lovely to see you, Savine,” Soul said walking in front of me.

The woman smiled and walked towards Soul, embracing him. “Soul … How are you?”

“Just fine,” he said, letting her go and smiling slightly.

Markos moved forward to stand closer to them, though he had moved too quickly for me to see.

“I actually have to go and see Vashel. Savine, I would enjoy your company. Emilie will stay with you, Markos,” Soul spoke quickly, reaching out for Savine's hand and walking towards the front door.

“Take your time, we'll be fine,” Markos said, smiling down at me.

Soul said nothing as he shut the door behind Savine. Markos didn't move until he heard Soul's car leave.