Rise of the Fallen (20 page)

“Emilie, please don't choose Dorian. We are best friends but he's too unpredictable. I'm the safer choice. Choose me.” Soul's voice broke slightly.

The others had let themselves into the cabin. No one was near.

“I already have picked you,” I said, reaching up to kiss him quickly.

He breathed a sigh of relief and let go of my arm. We walked inside the cabin and I stood beside Phebe. Soul went straight to the point.

“So tonight we'll go to the graveyard,” he told Bato, who nodded once.

Phebe's eyes flashed to him, then to Soul. “We had an agreement! I would only help you so long as Bato stayed out of it! I won't lose him,” Phebe exclaimed, panic in her piercing eyes.

“Ignore her, Soul,” Markos interjected, “She's only upset because she can't control this like she controls everything else.” He leaned against the now open window and looked outside at the fading light.

“Oh, just die already,” Phebe retorted.

Bato placed a hand on Phebe's shoulder.

“I am more than capable of taking care of myself, darling,” he said smoothly, his grip on her shoulder firm.

She nodded, sadness in her eyes. As powerful as she was, Markos was right. This was one thing that she couldn't control and it was killing her. Soul hadn't said a word; he just let things play out. It was definitely better that way. Phebe was still involved and Bato would make sure of that. I was getting used to Markos being right all the time, and it'd be a shock now if he were proven to be wrong.

“Soul, I admire your courage for doing this, I really do. But you're going to mess it all up. We have to work together; we have to trust each other. Otherwise, we lose everything,” Bato said.

Soul nodded in agreement, lost in thought. He was lingering, standing behind me, his hand light on my arm. He was not trying to hold me back; he was just letting me know that he was there and that he was the one who cared.

He was going to do this, he was going to overthrow Lilith and Samael and face the other demons. He would change everything. I hoped they would see that this was a good thing – sooner rather than later. Phebe looked close to tears and Bato let out a loud sigh of annoyance.

“Phebe. Outside. Now,” Bato said, walking out of the door. Phebe followed close behind. They disappeared into the woods. No sound was heard from either of them.

Markos stood up silently and moved away from the window, probably not wanting to seem like he was eavesdropping or watching them. Phebe would surely have snapped at him again and threatened Soul's plans of attack. Bato was right of course, we needed to work together, we needed to trust each other for this to work. Markos said nothing as he kicked one of the chairs out from under the small square
table and sat down. He rested his hands on the table for a second before undoing his tie. He pulled it loose and stretched slightly. I had begun to wonder if he ever got uncomfortable wearing formal suits all the time – I guess that answered my question. Soul gently pushed me to the table to sit opposite Markos. He sat down beside me and, strangely enough, he seemed uneasy. I couldn't help but wonder why.

CHAPTER 16

The silence was disturbing. It wasn't safe anymore. It was different here. Eerie. Maybe it was the melancholy glow of the grey tombstones in the silver light of the moon, or maybe it was the presence of death. Cemeteries were not my favourite places on earth, but if you think about it, no matter where you are there's always the inevitability that someone died in that exact spot. Of course it was more likely at this moment, as I was the one sitting on top of a large unmarked tombstone. The words had faded long ago; all that remained was the stone. I knew I was breaking all kinds of taboos.

I was the bait and they would soon come. Who, I wasn't sure. Soul hadn't told me anything. The low, whispered arguments of Markos and Soul were all that I could hear above my own erratic heartbeat. I had been sitting in this cemetery for over two hours and whoever we were waiting for still hadn't arrived. It wasn't that I was looking forward to the ensuing massacre; it was just that the suspense was killing me. The long-sleeved t-shirt dress I was wearing felt way too comfortable for a time like this. It was black though, so I guess it was fitting.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement, but I couldn't see anything so I assumed it was my imagination playing tricks on me. Soul and Markos had gone silent, which put me on edge. Bato and Phebe were on the opposite side of the cemetery and they too were
quiet. The crunch of leaves caused me to turn slightly, just in time to see the flickering form of a demon approaching from behind. I held still. Three more flickered into view behind it. From a distance they resembled phantoms, ghosts, grey and almost transparent. But their eyes showed them for what they really were.

All four were male, which shouldn't have surprised me. As they got closer, I started to panic; none of the others had moved. So much for the promise that I wouldn't get hurt. The apparitions seemed to look at me in confusion; perhaps it was confusion about who I was. I stared intently, waiting for them to make a move, but they didn't. They just stood and watched me. The leaves on the trees outside the graveyard blew, and an almost constant rustling sound started up. The creatures took a step back in fear. I wondered what that fear could have been – I couldn't see any movement from Soul or the others.

I turned around to face the entrance to the graveyard and gasped at what I saw. Dozens of black-eyed children were running through the gates, their faces filled with glee, as though they were running towards a playground, not a graveyard. Soul had said nothing about children. How could they cause much damage? Three ebony-haired girls were the first to reach me. They paused, their smiles hungry. They couldn't have been more than five years old. The smallest looked hard at the gravestone I was sitting on. It began to shake. The children behind her ran quicker and a few of them surrounded me, the rest went towards the four demons.

I stumbled backwards and the black-eyed children circled me. I had almost forgotten the others and how they were supposed to be protecting me when Markos and Savine appeared behind the children. They moved too quickly for me to see. One by one the children began to drop. Some managed to evade the two vampyres. Andre appeared.

Soul's voice shouted out for Markos to stop, but he didn't respond. Savine stood back, bringing me to my feet and pulling me
away from the vampyre who was quickly losing what control he had. Something was wrong.

I turned to see Phebe backing away from the four grey creatures. A bright red-tinged mist was emanating from the creatures and seeping towards us. The black-eyed children didn't seem bothered by it; as a matter of fact they seemed amused at the mysterious creatures' feeble attempt at self-protection.

Andre continued to close in on Soul, shaking his head in mock disappointment. He knew what was happening, and he knew that he was now the only one standing in the way. His eyes flashed to Markos as he attacked a blonde-haired boy. The resulting spray of blood reached my feet and I stumbled backwards, into the red mist of the grey creatures. They looked startled as I did, as though they thought the mist would protect them from me. But nothing happened and they just stared in confusion. Soul rushed forward lifting me up into his arms and pulling me away. Andre laughed madly.

“Why even bother trying to protect her. She'll be dead as soon as she's out of your sight. Lilith will make sure of that.” Andre's cold voice didn't worry me, but it angered Soul.

There was a part of me that wanted to help Markos fight. I wanted to protect Phebe and Bato, I wanted to be a part of this battle but they wouldn't allow me. Savine yelled out to Markos in a language that I couldn't understand. He responded by turning around – too fast for me to see – and slapped Savine across the face. She fell to the ground and attempted to escape, but she was not quick enough. Markos pulled her up by her hair and brought his arms around her neck, squeezing tight until he heard the snap of her neck breaking. He threw Savine's limp body aside like a doll, his eyes glued to me.

I froze.

Soul's voice broke through the dead silence, “Emilie, you need to run! Now!”

I would have argued if Markos hadn't looked so threatening as he faltered towards me. So I ran. I heard childish laughter behind me, following me. The trees cut past me quickly, the small branches and leaves tearing across my skin causing small stinging sensations on my face and arms. I kept going, unsure of where I was heading, but part of me seemed to know.

Running was all I could think about doing. I had to get away from the graveyard and away from Markos. The children were what terrified me. They looked so sweet, so innocent and so uncontrollably ruthless. The way their sickly sweet smiles became distorted when they went into the battle stuck in my mind. I wouldn't be shocked if Phebe, Bato and Soul weren't able to hold them off and keep them away from me; especially with Markos turning on them. Markos was as out of control as those children, and their thirst for blood matched his. It was a thirst that I doubted they would be able to quench.

Why would Soul even bother taking me along if he knew I would have to leave because of all the danger? The trees were now few and far between. I wanted nothing more than to be pleased by this, but it meant that I had no place to hide as I ran. Soon I reached a dirt path. I could see the cabin ahead; I pushed myself to run that little bit faster. I rushed inside and pushed the table against the door and turned towards the window.

Leaning against the windowsill was a tall, broad-shouldered man whose face was covered by a thick bandage. Despite his mask he seemed to be watching my every movement as I took a step back. He stood up straight, stretching one arm out to me, as if I were to hold it. When I didn't move he closed his hand and placed it back at his side. There was a soft tearing sound, then two enormous black wings sprang from his back. Each feathered wing appeared slightly broken, almost crumpled, and had three large burgundy eyes. The wings spread easily to either side of the cabin.

I had expected him to rise up and break through the ceiling, but he remained still. Slowly his wings moved back and forth, causing a heavy gust of wind to flow through the cabin, knocking me backwards with its force. He raised his left arm to his face, as if he were going to pull away the mask that shrouded his features in mystery. I could see decomposing flesh and rib cage under his torn shirt. There was no heart, there was nothing. He was empty. His breathing was deep and hollow, rattling through his bones. My gaze had been so completely controlled by this that I hadn't noticed the child approaching behind him outside. The child's soulless eyes were fixated on the winged man.

I opened my mouth slightly to warn him, but he cut me off. He spoke in a low, humming tone in an ancient language I didn't understand, but one that I was certain I had heard before. The child understood, she stepped back suddenly. Her gaze shifted to me, then back to him and her form began to flicker. The winged man started to speak once more, then stopped, creating a piercingly dead silence.

“Yes master.” The young girl breathed in and disappeared with a final flicker.

He had complete control over her, I longed to know how. The red eyes on his wings seemed to be glued to me, watching every breath I took, the smallest movements of my hands and even the changes in my facial movements. It would be unnerving if it weren't so intriguing. He started to speak to me. I shook my head to tell him I didn't know what he was saying. He said nothing more, disappearing into a dark surge of smoke, which dispersed quickly into the air.

I heard arguing outside on the other side of the cabin door and looked out to see Soul furious with Markos. He had reason to be, Markos had completely lost it and was trying to kill everyone, even Savine. Markos' expression was passive. If he was angry or pleased with himself he didn't show it. I pulled the desk away from the door
and let them in. Soul walked in first, hesitating as he leaned forward and kissed me quickly on the forehead. Markos pushed past him, followed by Phebe and Bato.

“I find it rather funny that you haven't caught on to his powers yet,” Markos said.

Soul turned and shot him an icy glare, but said nothing.

Phebe looked around the room and noted that something felt strange.

“Was someone in here?” Soul asked.

I didn't have a chance to answer, as Dorian chose to materialise just outside the door.

“Emilie, my dear, would you please allow me to enter this oh-sohumble abode?” he said with a devilish smile.

I looked back at him in confusion, “Why can't you just come in?”

“Old lore prevents me from entering another
demon's
dwelling without the permission of a resident. Luckily, for certain others, that rule doesn't apply,” Dorian said.

He gave me a meaningful look with the last sentence, leaving me wondering how he knew about the winged man.

“Come in, Dorian?” I offered.

He walked into the room and Soul sighed loudly. “What on earth do you want, Dorian?” he asked, placing an overprotective hand on my shoulder.

“Samael paid Emilie a little visit, and attempted to have a conversation of sorts with her. However, I've been led to believe that there was some miscommunication,” Dorian said, looking at me with a somewhat serious look in his eyes.

Oh, so that was Samael.

“Excuse me?” Soul asked loudly. The others' eyes were glued to the two of them.

“It appears our fallen angel has a soft spot for Emilie. He saved
her from one of Lilith's children.” Dorian smiled.

Phebe's eyes flashed to Soul, “I think it's time you were completely honest with her. With all of us.”

“Easy, sweetheart. I think you have more to worry about than Soul not being completely honourable in his intentions,” Dorian said, reaching forward and taking my hand in his and pulling me to him.