The Devil's Fool (Devil Series Book One) (27 page)

“Then we will help. I’ll speak to Henry about giving you access to our private database.”

I thanked him and gave him another hug. Sarah was waiting outside to escort me upstairs.

“So, what do you think?” she asked, after walking me through the three-bedroom apartment. “It’s not super chic, and could use some major updating, starting with getting rid of this tan carpet, but at least it’s clean. That’s more than you can say for a lot of other apartments in the city.”

“I think it’s perfect,” I said, trying to hide my enthusiasm. It was almost twice the size of the cabin with a living room, office, and a large kitchen. “And it’s so warm.” The one thing the cabin hadn’t been.

Sarah scrunched her nose. “It’s actually freezing in here. The thermostat hasn’t been turned up in like forever.”

“Compared to what I’m used to, this is warm. I think I’m going to like it here.”

***

I woke early the next morning feeling better than I had in a long time. I looked forward to being around others and learning more about the Deific and myself. In the closet, I found a note from Charlie that read: “I hope these clothes fit and are to your liking. Sarah picked them out.”

I smiled. Charlie hadn’t lost his touch when it came to knowing what I needed.

I dressed quickly in black slacks and a long sleeve white blouse. I pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail, applied a little makeup, and called it good. Downstairs, the Deific hummed with production. It was 8:30 am.

“Good morning, Eve. Did you sleep well?” Sarah asked. Her eyes twinkled and she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk.

“I did, thanks. And thank you for the clothes. They’re great.”

“Are you sure? Cause we could go shopping together and you could pick out something more your style.”

“No, really, the clothes are perfect, but I would like to go out and see the city sometime. Maybe you could show me around?”

“Absolutely. We’ll have a girl’s night out.”

“That will be nice. Is Charlie in yet?”

“Yup. Office number 452. Same room you were in yesterday. You remember how to get there?”

“I think so. Thanks.”

I made my way through the cubicles, having to turn around a few times, until I finally found Charlie’s office.

“Come in,” he said when I neared the doorway. He closed the laptop in front of him and leaned back in the chair behind his desk. The lines between his eyebrows were etched deeper than yesterday, and his mouth was pulled tight. “How are you today?”

“Better than you by the looks of it. You okay?”

“Nothing you need to worry about. Today I want you focusing solely on your training with Dr. Skinner.”

“Who’s that?”

“One of the most remarkable men you’ll ever meet. He has an insight on life that will change a person, if they’re open to it.”

***

I opened the door to Dr. Skinner’s office. A balding, heavy-set man greeted me. “You must be Eve.”

He stood and walked around his desk to shake my hand. He was barely taller than me, with brown hair that was tousled on top of his head in curly waves. When I took hold of his palm, I glanced into his steady brown eyes and felt at ease.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

“Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine. Have a seat.”

I eased myself into a chair and looked around. Except for a giant framed photo hanging on the wall behind his desk and a vase of roses, the room was void of personal belongings. The picture was a black and white photo of a young girl whose eyes seemed too narrow for her face. She had dark hair pulled into thick pigtails and was smiling cheerfully. But the smile didn’t come from her small upturned lips—it was in her eyes.

“I know you just got here yesterday, but have you had a chance to visit with Charlie much? I know you two are close.” He lowered himself back into his seat.

My gaze dropped to the floor. “It feels strange to say that we are close when we've only seen each other a couple of times, yet I still consider him my closest friend.”

"Letters will do that. They can be extremely personal."

"You know about the letters?" I asked.

"I was the one who suggested he write to you. I figured it would be a good outlet for him, while also giving you a way to still connect to this world." He leaned back, his expression thoughtful. “I hope you know he expects nothing from you. Charlie spoke of you often while you were away, wondering how you were doing. He really cares about you.”

I remained still in guilty silence. Couldn't I have at least written a stupid letter?

“He was happy when he heard you were returning, but I don’t think he was very surprised.”

I looked up. “What do you mean?”

“A couple of days ago, he told me an old friend was coming to visit. I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I knew better than to question him. Sure enough, you showed up. Charlie’s ability is as sure as the rising sun. I never doubt it.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Do you want anything to drink?” he asked.

“No, thank you, but I would like to begin. I was hoping to visit with Charlie more. Something was bothering him when I saw him earlier, and I want to see if I can help.”

Dr. Skinner nodded slowly. “The last several years have been rough for Charlie. I just hope one day he can let the past go so he can live life again.”

I swallowed hard. “What happened to him?”

“That’s his story to tell, which I’m sure he’ll share with you when he’s ready.” Dr. Skinner opened a drawer and removed a gray folder. “I’ve looked over your file, and I must say, you’ve led a very difficult life.”

My lips tightened. “It’s in the past. Can we talk about something else?”

He observed me carefully, then said, “I understand you are different from most witches in the sense that it is your emotions that give you the ability to use magic, correct?”

“I wouldn’t say all of my emotions. Mainly it’s just pride, hate, anger, and fear.”

“Why just those?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s just what my parents taught me.”

He leaned forward, elbows on top of his desk. “Have you ever felt love?”

Boaz.
My insides twisted, and I tightened my fists. “I don't think so, not real love anyway.”

“Have you ever felt happy?”

“I thought I was happy once, but it wasn't true happiness like what I read about in Charlie's letters.”

“How about peace?”

I thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I’ve felt indifferent, but I don’t think that’s the same thing.”

“It’s not. Have you ever felt compassion?”

The vampire with the sorrow-filled eyes immediately came to mind, and I nodded. "That's what originally kept me from wanting to be like my parents, and it's what ultimately saved me when I went to far.”

“That’s good. We’ll build on that later. How about beauty? Have you ever felt beauty before?”

I shrugged. “I’ve seen beautiful things.”

“But have you felt it?”

“Is that possible?”

“For you, yes, but for most normal humans, they can only appreciate and love beauty.” He reached over to the vase and withdrew a long stemmed rose. “Look at this rose and tell me what you see.”

I eyed it carefully. It was a red rose in full bloom with a sweet smelling aroma. “It’s beautiful, but it looks like every other rose I’ve ever seen.”

“Look closer.”

I focused harder, this time noticing the many lines that ran in an intricate pattern across its velvet skin.

“Keep looking,” I heard his voice say in an eager tone.

I took a deep breath, inhaling its fragrance. The air swirled around the rose in a circular pattern, and I froze, unsure if I’d imagined the strange movement. I stared harder, going deeper beyond the layers, until I barely noticed the room fading away around me.

It was the delicate veins of the rose traveling to an unknown destination that held my attention. Then, as if they had been doing it the whole time, the lines were physically moving, following some predestined path. The visible ambrosial aroma twirled again in a rhythmic pattern, round and round, as if it were dancing to an unheard symphony.

I tilted my head ever so slightly, attempting to hear the enchanting music that seemed to be making the rose come to life. The sound was a faint whisper like the gentle humming of busy bee on a warm summer day. I remained still. The patterns continued to move until I could no longer distinguish one line from another.

The entire rose stirred in a constant fluid motion, yet I could still see each individual petal. The gentle humming soon separated into a thousand voices of a great chorus, but they were soft and reverent as if they sang in humble praise to something beyond my comprehension. The harmonious song combined with the swaying aroma, which had wrapped itself around me in a tender embrace, brought tears to my eyes.

“Eve?” a distant voice asked.

The room came into focus, and I wiped my eyes. “What was that?”

Dr. Skinner smiled and said, “That was beauty in its purest form. As you just witnessed, beauty is an action. It will continue to create the grandeur of this rose until its life span ends. But just like everything else in this world, beauty has an opposite—ugliness. It, too, is an action and creates its object to be loathsome and dark, with intentions to serve its own selfish desires. In a similar manner, these two opposites also affect humans.”

He took the rose from me and turned it over in his hand. “A rose has no choice but to be beautiful, but a human has been given the ability to choose whether to be ugly or beautiful. Their actions make them so. I’m not talking about physical appearance. I’m speaking about the kind of beauty that brings joy or the ugliness that wishes to harm.

“Everything has its opposite: love to hate, joy to sorrow, happy to sad. Each of these emotions will change a human, sometimes temporarily, but other times the change is permanent. However, you are different. These emotions not only change the inside of you, but give you the ability to use your powers. The more powerful the emotion, the more powerful the magic.

“Your whole life you’ve been taught that magic could only be used through negative emotions. You were told this because your parents knew the only way to obtain their selfish pursuit of power was to have you feel hate. You would not desire power if you felt love. The desire for power cannot exist in the light of purity and truth. It belongs with its dark brothers: envy, anger, jealousy. Your parents understood this very well and were very careful to ensure that light stayed out of your life. But I want to stress to you that the positive emotions of love, peace, compassion, and joy are just as powerful as their counterparts and when these emotions are turned outward, you’ll be able to use magic in ways you never thought possible.

“To truly change, a person must first start with their inner self. They must learn to forgive themselves of their own inadequacies and realize their own nothingness before they can ever truly become great.”

“I have to realize that I am nothing in order to help others?” I asked.

He smiled kindly. “Of course not. What I mean by one’s nothingness is when a person recognizes their many faults and their inability to rid themselves of those faults, then they become humble. They strip themselves of all pride. When this happens, a person stops thinking about themselves all together and their thoughts and concerns turn to others. In this manner, they lose themselves. This is when true power comes. But this is a long way off. We must first teach you to seek out beauty and experience joy so that you can use your powers properly.”

“Is it addictive?”

He chuckled. “It’s unquenchable. Love continually grows. It starts first with self, but then includes family, friends, neighbors, until nothing is wanted more than to save the entire world. So yes, it can be addictive, but in a remarkable way.”

“Will you teach me?”

He shook his head. “I wish I was great enough to teach you how to love, but I am highly inadequate. Only pure innocence can teach you what you need to know.” He removed a sheet of paper from the gray folder and handed it to me. “I’ve arranged for you to work at a nearby school called “The Academy” starting tomorrow. The students there will teach you more about happiness and unconditional love than I ever can.”

Written on the paper were an address and a description of the school. “Are you sure about this? I've never been around children before."

He leaned back in his seat. “They will love you. These children don’t know how to do anything else. You’ll see.”

I found Charlie just before lunch. He was in the exact position I’d left him in earlier that morning, but this time papers were scattered all over his desk. He didn’t seem to be focused on any one particular.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“It’s as good as it’s going to get,” he answered, his eyes downcast. “How did it go with Dr. Skinner?”

“It went well. I’m working at the Academy tomorrow morning with some special children that are going to help me.” I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. “Look, I know you barely know me, but I feel like I know you really well. Something bad happened that's changed you, and I’d like to help. It’s the least I could do.”

He raised his eyes, meeting my gaze. “I will be the only one to take care of this problem.”

“And what is the problem exactly?”

“A man. I’ve been searching for him for several four years.”

“Can’t you use your ability to find him?”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice chilled. “Don’t you think I’ve tried? It’s all I do every day, every night. I think of him, picture him in my mind, feel my hatred for him, and yet, he still escaped me, but two days ago he was spotted. In this city.”

I lowered into a chair, my legs weak by his confession. This was not the Charlie I remembered. “Who is he?”

“Someone who should’ve died a long time ago. He took something very precious from me, and I won’t rest until he ceases to exist.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. You’re not ready.”

“But I am—”

The door flew open. A young man was panting heavily like he’d just run up several flights of stairs. “They’ve got a hit, Charlie. They’re leaving now.”