Rise of the Fallen Page 5

  I was fully relaxed, the dull clicking of the pendulum in the old grandfather clock soon blurred into background noise. I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

  I was suddenly aware my arms were moving. My eyes shot open and I sat up for a moment, feeling a rapid sensation of weightlessness. I gasped as I looked down at my sleeping body. All the colour drained from the room and slowly the walls shifted and morphed until I was in a completely new place.

  It was familiar but at the same time I felt scared. There were several groups of humans sitting around an elderly man who was reading an unmarked book. Although their lips were moving there was no sound; it was as though I had entered a black and white silent movie. Before I could move, a hand on my shoulder pulled me back. I turned to see Soul looking at me. I couldn’t control myself, I ran. I have no idea why; Soul didn’t frighten me. Nevertheless, I ran past the humans, who remained in their places unaware of anything that was happening. It was as if they hadn’t even noticed that I was there. I passed aisles of bookcases before turning down one with a large metal door at the end of the tall shelves.

  As I approached, the room began to spin, the colourless walls turning into a vibrant green forest. I looked down and found myself standing on a steel grated platform. The sounds of birds and insects chirping broke the silence. I walked out onto a timber balcony without railings. In the middle was a large, square, timber pillar. I reached it and turned around and saw Dorian and Soul standing on the platform, watching me. They didn’t move but their eyes stayed on me, a look of amusement and accomplishment on their faces. From the other side of the wooden pillar, a teenage boy that I had never seen before walked towards me. He looked my age and had short, dark-brown hair that was almost black in places. He had bright orange, almost red, eyes; the colour reminded me of fire. He walked up to me without saying a word before placing his warm hands on either side of my face. He kissed me passionately, then we were engulfed in flames.

  A loud bell rang out and suddenly I was awake. I sat up and looked around the room. The ringing continued and I looked over at the clock. Twelve o’clock, midnight by the look of the black sky outside. I had dozed off, yet the dream had seemed so vivid. I heard footsteps in the hallway and through the crack under the door I saw a shadow move. I walked to the door and hesitated before opening it and peering out into the dark hallway. I saw a figure standing perfectly still at the head of the stairs, facing me.

  “Who are you?” I asked, my voice shaking.

  There was no reply, but the figure walked towards me. From the shape, it appeared to be a child. His skin glowed white in the dull light of the empty hall. His black vest, pants and shoes matched the tone and colour of his hair perfectly. A white, long-sleeved shirt hung loosely on his arms, and two black, rose-shaped cufflinks held the sleeves secure around his small wrists. His raven hair was perfectly straight and sat just below his ears, his fringe covering his eyes completely. All I could see of his face was the tip of his nose and the sinister smile on his pale lips. The only visible parts of his skin were his face and his doll-like hands, positioned at his sides.

  He continued smiling as he stopped barely a metre away, holding his closed fist. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. He giggled softly, his open hand revealing an old-fashioned, gold key. It was oddly shaped and about ten centimetres long.

  “What does it unlock?” I asked, my voice louder than I had intended.

  The boy put a finger to his lips and shushed me. I went quiet immediately and the boy gestured for me to follow him to the staircase. We ran quickly and I almost stumbled down the last few steps. He led me down the hallway. All of a sudden he stopped in place. I looked ahead and saw the black door with the burgundy frame. The boy handed me the gold key and gestured towards the locked door. I held the key in my hand, slightly confused.

  “So do you want me to go inside or something?”

  The boy ignored my question, instead reaching out and pushing me forward.

  “Tell me your name, boy, and I will go.”

  “My name is Zacharia. I can’t stay, just open the door. Trust me, you need to see what is inside,” the boy said in a high-pitched tone, retreating down the stairs. I lost sight of him in seconds. I turned back towards the door and placed the key in the lock.

  I was half expecting something strange to happen as I opened the door. You know, lights flickering or something. But, sadly, I was disappointed. Nothing interesting or ominous happened. The door swung open effortlessly, revealing a large and seemingly empty room. I walked inside a few steps and stood in silence before the door slammed shut behind me. I spun around, scared out of my wits by the sight of ten candles suddenly alight in a fiery glow. There was no one and nothing in the room except for a single floor-length mirror in the centre. The surface of the mirror was lit by the now dim light radiating from the candles.

  The mirror appeared to be beautifully made. I walked towards it, my reflection was crystal clear in the dim room. I stood in front of it and stared at myself. My black dress was fitted around the waist; the hem fell loosely at my knees. I was barefoot and, although the brick floor was cold, it didn’t seem to bother me.

  The surface of the mirror clouded over. I stared. When it cleared again it was not my reflection on the mirror’s surface. The reflection was that of a gaunt woman whose piercing coal-black eyes blended in with the paleness of her skin. Everything about her face and posture showed how delicate and thin she was.

  She stared into my eyes for a moment before a smile appeared on her rose-red lips, and sudden excitement filled her empty eyes.

  “You are the fire elemental who escaped with the water elemental! How on earth have you managed to find your way to my mirror room? Surely Soul would not have let you near this room. After all, he knows better than to return without fulfilling his duties.” The woman spoke quickly, her voice was calm yet I couldn’t help but shudder at the venom in her voice.

  I stumbled a few steps backward, “Who are you? How do you know me?”

  The woman in the mirror pushed her hair out of her eyes with her hand, revealing sharp, blood-red nails.

  “I’m Lilith. When you escaped you caused quite a problem for Samael and me.”

  The instant those words left her mouth, I ran. I had almost reached the door when she spoke again.

  “Don’t leave, Emilie. I believe this is yours,”

  I turned around and saw an arm extend out of the mirror, holding my mobile phone. I walked back to her and, hesitantly, held out my hand for my phone. She smiled and dropped it into my palm.

  “How did you get it?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I was so angry that she had taken my property that I forgot I should’ve been terrified of her.

  She laughed. “I didn’t take it. I came by it on the floor next to this very mirror an hour ago. I suspect Soul left it after looking through it.”

  Soul took it, looked through it and left it here, with Lilith. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. Again I turned and ran. The door swung open as I reached it and as I turned around to shut it once more, Lilith’s voice called out after me.

  “I will see you soon, elemental.”

  I walked back to the spiral staircase, stunned. I made it at least halfway up the stairs before sighing and sitting down on the freezing cold steps. I put my face in my hands. I stood up. Soul was one of them, so of course he would keep in touch with his superiors … but the fact that she knew I would be there scared me. I should have trusted Cael’s instincts about Soul. But Soul wouldn’t hurt me. He wouldn’t hurt anybody. He couldn’t, well at least, I didn’t think he could. I shuddered to think what Cael would say to me now if he knew. I walked back into my bedroom and took the sheet from my bed, placing it over the mirror. I returned to bed, and once again shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 6

  I awoke with a start to a loud knock on the door. I sat up slowly and looked at the clock. It was almost nine; the morning sun shone through the window.


  “Emilie, are you awake?” Soul spoke from the other side of the door.

  “I am now,” I called back.

  He stopped knocking and laughed nervously. “Sorry. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go to the city today.” His voice sounded sweet and innocent.

  Memories of last night’s excursion came back to me.

  “I don’t have anything to wear,” I replied, getting up and pulling the sheet from the mirror. If Soul saw that I’d covered it he would know something was wrong.

  I tossed the sheet on the bed before opening the door. He caught me by surprise with a swift kiss the instant I opened the door. Shocked, I pulled back and he laughed, pushing my hair behind my ears.

  “I called a few friends and they brought over some clothes for you,” Soul smiled.

  “Oh … okay, that’s nice.” I wondered who he had called over and who else he had told about me.

  He handed me a small, black suitcase and told me to go and change into whatever I liked the best. He told me that while we were out he would get me some more clothes, of my own choosing. I walked back into my room and opened the suitcase. Inside there were several outfits. One was a simple white singlet top with dark denim shorts and a pair of dark blue sneakers. The second was a short, plain black dress with a pair of black ballet flats. I chose the shorts and singlet top and changed quickly, folding up my dress from the night before. I closed the suitcase and walked out the door.

  Soul was standing across from the door, leaning on the wall with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. I stared at him for a moment. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand.

  “Ready to go, Emilie?”

  He was wearing dark denim jeans, faded in places, with a black shirt and black sneakers. I looked down at myself for a moment and wondered if I had chosen the right outfit.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, holding my hand a little bit tighter. I blushed and shook my head. “It’s true. Anyway, get up to anything interesting last night?” Soul asked offhandedly.

  We reached the front door before I answered. “Um … nothing really interesting happened,” I lied, but decided to tell him some of the truth. “I couldn’t find my phone so I looked for it in the hallway.”

  He opened the car door for me. “Oh really … well, did you find your phone?”

  He was playing along with me; he knew I had found it.

  “Not exactly … I ran into a child, I think his name was Zacharia. He gave me my phone,” I studied Soul’s face as I spoke.

  Soul looked nervous, and the sight of that amused me. “You met Zacharia? Did he say where he found your phone?”

  I smiled, watching the traffic fall in behind us.

  “Nope, he just said he thought it was mine. Nice kid, though,” I added. Soul hated it when I didn’t tell him things, but it felt good giving him a taste of his own medicine.

  He said nothing. Pulling into a parking lot, he took the first available spot. Silently, we got out of the car and I walked over and hugged him tightly. He reluctantly hugged me back but frowned when I broke away.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

  He looked at me carefully before speaking. “I’m sorry for what I did, but stop playing.”

  “Who said I’m playing? What did you do? Are you referring to you stealing my phone?” I said bitterly, “While we’re on that topic, why don’t you tell me why you did it?”

  “I’d prefer if first you would tell me where you really found the phone and exactly what Zacharia said to you.” Soul replied.

  I rolled my eyes. “I already told you.”

  “You’re a terrible liar, Em,” he said, rolling his eyes mockingly.

  “No I’m not.”

  He stared at me blankly for a moment before speaking. “Fine, be stubborn.”

  Without speaking, we walked past a series of shops. Occasionally Soul looked at one of the dress shops we passed then looked at me. I got the feeling he was looking for someone in particular. My curiosity peaked. All of a sudden he stopped and kissed me.

  “I’m sorry, don’t be angry.”

  “I’m not angry,” I retorted.

  He smiled and mumbled “Okay.” We kept walking for a while until once more he stopped, this time staring at a tall, averagelooking brunette girl standing across the street. The girl froze in her place when she saw Soul watching her, then turned and ran down an alley. Soul led me across the busy road and let go of my hand at the entrance to the alley.

  “Soul, what are you doing? Did we only come here so you could follow her?” I asked, anger rising in my voice. What was he going to do to her?

  He ignored me and rushed down the alley. I could see the girl was shaking, standing in front of a wall at the end of the alley. She was trapped. Soul moved quickly, stopping a few metres from her.

  “You honestly thought I would let you go, Sophie? You thought I would let you get away with what you did?” Soul asked, suddenly furious.

  The girl shook her head and Soul smirked back at her, his stance predatory.

  “I’m sorry!” Sophie’s voice broke out into a dry sob.

  Soul took a single step backwards. “That’s not good enough.” With a flick of his wrist, he sent the girl’s body flying backwards into the wall – a large crack appeared and small fragments of brick and rubble crumbled and fell to the dirty, concreted ground. She stumbled cautiously to her feet and stood up.

  “Please …” she cried out in another dry sob.

  “You’re pathetic,” Soul growled.

  I stood silently and watched as he pulled Sophie up by her hair and smashed her face against the wall. He did that several times, each time sending a spray of dark blood to the ground below them. The blood and the savage way Soul was hurting her made me sick. He stopped and dropped her to the ground. As she fell, she resembled a rag doll. She was sobbing, her tears mixing with the blood that covered her face. Soul glared down at her as if she was nothing, as if she were an insect that had merely had the misfortune to cross his path.

  I had never seen him like this. He was merciless, violent and frightening. What disturbed me the most was that he seemed to take some sort of pleasure in hurting her. No sooner had I thought that, than he pulled out a small, silver-handled dagger, leaned down towards her and slowly cut the left side of her neck. Sophie grimaced in pain but remained quiet, tears running down her face. I pitied her. I don’t know what she did, but surely she didn’t deserve to die like this, especially at the hands of a demon.

  I watched in repugnance as he put the knife away and grabbed the girl by the throat. He choked her until she was barely conscious, and then his appearance changed. In his demonic form Soul was grotesque. His skin had changed to a dark grey colour that reminded me of a decomposed corpse. His eyes were pure black with no white visible. He opened his mouth, revealing a layer of sharp, slightly pointed, white teeth. In a swift move that made me physically sick, he ripped her jugular vein from her neck and left her dead and bleeding on the pavement. He turned back into his human form – it was over within seconds. I hadn’t spoken a word since Soul pulled me into the alley, and even now, I couldn’t speak. He wiped the blood from his mouth before turning back to me.

  “We should go.”

  As he reached his hand out for mine I pulled away. Behind us Sophie’s body lay motionless in the middle of the alley, surrounded by an expanding pool of blood.

  “She was a liar. Emilie, you have no idea what she did and the damage she caused.” He spoke quickly; I could tell he was trying to redeem himself in my eyes.

  It shocked me that he would think that would be enough penance for what he did. I shook my head and stood back again.

  “What did she do? What did she do that she deserved to die?” I asked, though my voice was shaky.

  Soul frowned, “She betrayed Lilith. Sophie did nothing but lie since the moment we met her. Listen, Emilie – this girl was a traitor and a thief.”

>   “So is this how you justify what you did?” I asked.

  “I don’t think you understand. I don’t have to explain myself. Not to you, anyway.” The venom in his voice made me take a few more steps back.

  He sighed and drew me back to him. I tried to resist, pushing his chest with my free arm, but his grip was too strong.

  “I’m sorry Emilie, I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way,” he said in a calm and smooth voice.

  “No, you shouldn’t have. You don’t own me, Soul, or have you forgotten that?”

  He shook his head. “Of course not, I lost my temper. I’m so sorry Emilie.”

  His eyes looked remorseful, but I had no way of knowing if that was genuine. I took a deep breath and moved slightly closer to him. A smile spread across his face.

  “So you forgive me then? I hope you do, because that girl, Sophie, she had to die. She was the one who found out where you were and she was selling that information.”

  I froze, unsure of how I should answer, so I decided to play along.

  “I forgive you. If she did that, then of course you’re right. She deserved it,” I lied through my teeth, obviously convincingly as Soul smiled. He seemed happy and serene. I guess killing a helpless human in a dark alley would make any demon happy.

  We had gone only a few feet when I turned and saw them. There were about six, each only about eight centimetres long, with luminous red wings. They hovered at the entrance to the alley before darting inside faster than the human eye could see. I knew what they were, and what they did. They were spirit collectors: Emriahls. Cael and I had heard tales about the Emriahls ever since we first moved to Australia. They’d always been here, ever since the first Australians walked the land. They are shaped like the strangest looking faeries, with wings – each one’s wings are unique. Emriahls show up after a death occurs – or sometimes before – to lead the soul away. According to the myths that I’d heard, Emriahls appear in three different colours. The ones that glow red appear when someone is killed by demons; they lead the soul to the underworld. The ones that glow silver lead the soul to the angels, and they are viewed as pure light. The green Emriahls, however, collect souls destined to remain in the human realm in a reincarnated form.