Rise of the Fallen (2 page)

Legion Seven is home to the lowest level demons ever to have
existed. The first vampyres created by Lilith were unintentional, and messy. Much to the disgust of Lilith, the fledgling vampyres did not have the restraint that she herself possessed, nor did they have the same needs. The vampyre species requires blood to survive and can not travel for more than a few hours in the sunlight without becoming weak and easy to destroy. Unlike all other species of demons, once the human shell is killed, so is the essence of the vampyre. In the first decade after creating them, Lilith attempted to destroy them all, but either gave up or failed. The vampyre population grew, but not rapidly, their low numbers ensuring the species remains in the lowest legion. Their only remarkable abilities are their speed and strength – and vampyres are still the weakest demons.

DEMONS

The exact moment of birth of demons is uncertain, but Lilith is known as the first true demon. A demon is able to enter a human body through possession, the human body is simple to kill. The essence of the demon survives until it finds a new body. The only sure way for one to die is by the hand of Samael. He alone has the power to kill instantly both the human shell and the immortal essence of a demon. Legend has it that the angels have a secret weapon that captures the essence of a demon and can trap it for as long as necessary.

ANGELS

The angels have always maintained balance, being the role of the good over the demonic “evil” After Samael destroyed Lucifer and the unspoken treaty was dismantled between the angels and the demons, the appearance of angels became rare. In the beginning they attempted to protect the human realm, though as time went
on demon attacks on angels grew more frequent. The angels still maintained the hope that humankind would not fall prey to the manipulation of the demons. However, whether it was fear for their own kind, or impatience with the human race, the angels soon disappeared into nothing but myth.

ELEMENTALS

There are neutral beings, which are called elementals. They are coveted by the demons and live in the human realm. True to their name, elementals have the power to control the four elements. There are only four types of elemental: fire, water/ice, earth and air. Fire and ice are at the greatest risk of capture by high-level demons –these two elements are of greater use to the underworld. Elementals begin their lives in the human realm where physically they age to early adulthood, then growth stops. An elemental lives for centuries, though when they die they are reborn as a human baby to begin again. The anonymity of the elementals helps keep them safe from demons whilst they spend their lives in the human realm. Of all the elementals that have been captured by the demons, only two have ever escaped: a fire elemental named Emilie and a water elemental named Cael. These two are the most hunted and searched for.

CHAPTER 1

There was nothing but silence as I lay back on the soft, green grass of the oval. It was a clear day; the clouds that usually speckled the bright sky were missing. The leaves of the eucalyptus tree ruffled in the wind. Occasionally, a crow or magpie passed overhead – other than that, the world seemed lifeless. For a very brief moment, I felt at peace. I felt as if the whole world had stopped around me. Of course, it wasn't long before my peace was broken. I didn't even hear Cael approaching, which was probably why I nearly jumped out of my skin when he spoke.

“Are you dead?” Cael whispered, trying not to laugh. Before I could reply he yelled out melodramatically, “Oh dear God! She's dead!”

I sat up while he burst into hysterical laughter. “You're so immature sometimes,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“That's why you love me,” he said between laughs.

Cael's been my best friend since before I can remember. He's never changed much, except perhaps he'd lightened up a little over the years.

“Help me up, would you?” I asked, holding out my hand. He pulled me up quickly, almost causing me to fall over. “Nice,” I muttered.

“Haha I know, right?” he laughed again. He was still the immature little boy I had met so long ago.

“So, just curious, but are you dating Soul?” Cael said casually, his sandy blond hair blowing across his face. Now, that question was extremely odd. Usually Cael didn't ask questions like that. I was shocked.

“Uh … What?” I managed in a whisper. Cael's blue-green eyes flashed to mine for a second before he looked away, shrugging his shoulders and murmuring, “Don't worry.”

In mere seconds our barely-a-conversation conversation had turned awkward. Then the morning bell rang out in the background.

We began walking in silence to the school buildings, Cael's head was down and his hands were in his pockets. I bit my fingernails as we walked. The silence gave me opportunity to think about what he had said. Why on earth would Cael think Soul and I were going out? More importantly, why would he even care? We reached our building and I broke the silence as we walked along the corridors of the east block.

“What's up, Cael?” I said, punching him playfully on the arm. A small smile appeared on his face.

“Not much kid, what about you?” he laughed loudly and I smiled.

“Yeah not much, just the sky.”

Cael laughed at my lame excuse for a joke as he'd done for years. When we arrived at our classroom we were the only ones there. We stood across from each other in the narrow corridor, not breaking eye contact for even a second. There was a look in his eyes that I didn't understand. Cael's eyes were so expressive and usually they showed some sort of emotion. As I looked into his eyes, there was a longing that I couldn't grasp.

“What's wrong, kid?” he asked softly, his eyes gentle.

“Nothing,” I replied quickly – obviously too quickly because he shot me a disappointed look. Kicking myself, I couldn't believe I didn't
take the opportunity to ask him some questions. I just didn't want to risk another awkward silence, even though I knew something was up.

We stopped gazing at each other and soon students began filling the hallway. Our history teacher, Mrs Lewis, arrived and ushered our small class inside. Other classes remained outside, waiting for their teachers to arrive. Cael stopped in front of my desk and looked around.

“Are you going to sit down, Cael?”

He looked at me for a moment but didn't answer.

Soul walked into the classroom, his short, dark hair spiked up at the back and wearing baggy black jeans and a neatly ironed white dress shirt.

“No. I'm not.” The anger in Cael's voice brought my attention back to him in an instant.

“What?” I asked, surprised.

He scoffed, growling a reply, “I'm sure you'd prefer to sit with Soul.”

Without another word Cael went and sat in the back row. If I didn't know better I would have thought Cael was jealous. But I knew better … didn't I?

Well, I didn't exactly have much time to think about it all before Soul sat down beside me.

“Hey Emilie, how are you?” Soul asked in an offhand way.

“I'm okay, you?” I replied, smiling. He smiled back and pushed his long side fringe out of his eyes.

“Better now I'm with you,” he teased.

I laughed and looked down at my book. He reached over and took my notebook from under my hand. He tore a piece of paper from the back. He wrote something and slid the piece of paper under my hand. I was tempted to look, but my instincts told me to wait until later.

“So what's up with Cael? He looked pissed off,” Soul said, leaning in close to my ear.

The teacher's monotone voice droned on and faded to background noise.

“Uh … I don't know,” I said quickly, slightly confused as to why he was asking about Cael. I mean, it was no secret that they hated each other. I looked up into Soul's grey-blue eyes and he looked into mine.

“Well I think you
do
know. I saw your little argument – it only started when I showed up,” he said it quickly, his voice slightly irritated.

I couldn't speak. “Does it have anything to do with me?” Soul asked abruptly.

I shrugged and looked away. I heard him sigh. I looked out the window for a distraction, but there were only a few old trees and a crow. How dull. I felt a hand on my arm but I resisted the urge to look up, even when I sensed a pen moving on the back of my wrist.

“Emilie,” Soul said, softly tapping my arm.

I looked at my wrist and saw that in neat cursive letters Soul had written “I'm sorry”, followed by a small love heart. I smiled and he smiled back.

“Call me when you read my note.”

I automatically turned my attention back to the teacher at the front of the room, who was still droning on, as she continued writing on the board. I opened my book and began to write down all the homework, using it as an excuse to turn around and look at Cael. His head was turned towards the boy next to him and he was talking in an angry whisper. I desperately wanted to walk over and ask what was wrong, but I knew that it wasn't the time nor place. I looked away quickly when Cael's eyes met mine for the briefest of seconds. Soul put his hand on the back of my chair.

“So what have you been up to, Emilie? I haven't seen you around in a while,” he spoke quietly, his eyes on the teacher.

“Yeah, I've been uh … sick,” I replied, matching the tone of his voice.

“Oh true. Well, I hope you're better now. I've missed seeing you around,” he had a smirk on his face as he looked at me. Damn, was

I really that bad a liar? I forced a smile and nodded twice. He smiled and once again his long fringe fell into his eyes, but this time he didn't brush it away.

The bell rang out. How had time moved so fast? A seventyminute lesson had passed in what seemed like five. Strange. Cael was the first out of the classroom. When I got out Soul was waiting for me. He took my books and we walked towards our next class. “Hey, do you want to sit with me at lunch?”

I smiled but didn't bother looking up, “Sure.”

He hooked his arm in mine and we made our way along the twisting hallways. As we walked down the stairs I couldn't help but look into his beautiful, entrancing eyes. He smiled back at me but said nothing.

When we reached the courtyard, Soul led me in the direction of a stone bench under a big, old tree. We sat for a few moments before either of us spoke; it was Soul who spoke first.

“Are you going to look at my note?”

I felt every muscle in my body freeze. Truth be told I wasn't so sure I wanted to read it.

“Don't freak out,” he laughed.

I looked down, staying quiet. Soul touched my shoulder.

“You don't have to look at it right now; maybe you could read it tonight. Just be sure to call me after you do.”

I forced a smile and nodded. We sat silently while Soul ate his lunch. I didn't eat anything.

“Why don't you eat, Emilie?” Soul asked suddenly, his voice filled with curiosity.

Stunned, I blinked a few times. He was more perceptive than any other human I knew. No one else had ever noticed it before.

“I don't know,” I replied quickly, pushing my initial answer
I don't need to
out of my mind.

“Oh, okay,” he said.

I stared into his eyes and I could see he wanted to say something. He turned away quickly, breaking eye contact. Typical. People can't hide their inner thoughts and feelings around me. The eyes say it all.

I couldn't understand what he was up to, hanging around me. I stared at him with curiosity.

He took my hand in his and kept it there for a few moments before he spoke.

“Trust me, Emilie.” The double meaning was clear to me.

We sat there for a moment, my hand still in his until a familiar voice interrupted us.

“What the hell, Emilie!” Cael yelled.

I jumped up in shock. Soul sat up straight, dropping my hand. Cael stood before us, his face a combination of disbelief and anger. I felt my frustration grow. I couldn't see what was so wrong with me hanging out with a human. After all, Cael does it all the time. He was even in a relationship with a human once. It didn't end favourably … but my point was still valid.

“Listen Cael, I think you need to calm down and back off,” Soul said.

“You want me to calm down? Why don't you just shut the hell up? Emilie, we were doing fine before he came into our lives. Now you're risking everything, for him?”

I was speechless.

“Hey, if you wanted Emilie so bad maybe you should've asked her
out or at least treated her right. Grow up and quit acting like a four year old,” Soul stood up. “I'll see you later, Emilie.”

“Is that true, Cael? Is that why you're so angry? Do you like me or something?” I tried to keep my voice calm but my mind was screaming.

“I think I …” he started talking, then hesitated. His expression was torn. As I looked into his eyes, it seemed like he wasn't breathing. “I don't think you should trust Soul, Emilie. He's not like the other humans; he's not someone you can trust,” Cael spoke deliberately, choosing his words carefully.

“Well I think you're wrong. Nice topic change by the way. Real smooth.”

Cael stared at me in silence.

“What?”

“I don't know …” Cael said, “ … You're refusing to see the facts and I don't know what to say anymore.”

I started walking away. I couldn't stand there doing nothing. What if what Soul said was true? That would certainly complicate matters. The school bell rang, echoing in my ears.

In the distance I could hear Cael calling my name but I couldn't bring myself to care.

CHAPTER 2

The second I was in the car I opened Soul's note. The paper was torn and ragged but the writing very clear. There were two lines: one was a question and the other was a statement. The question was what I had expected. As I read over it, I couldn't help but be suspicious about the way it was worded.