c: I decided to upload more of this instead of starting a new story. Thanks for reading and reviewing~
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The next few days consisted of Kendell coming to the manor far too early, waking me up, and teaching me things from the book. I had considered killing myself. This was torture. Just pure torture at its best. God help me. Somebody, please, save me from this blithering idiot-
“Annabelle! Listen,” Kendell sighed and pointed to another picture of an angel. I almost groaned, expecting another pure white winged, blonde haired image of perfection, but sat there in silence as I looked at a white haired angel, her white wings covered with black vine patterns. She held a metal staff with an amethyst molded into its tip, and wore shining armor over a long white dress. The title read, “The Purity”.
“This, is what we believe you are. White hair. Green eyes. Porcelain skin. No one else in the world has that description except for you.”
I took the book from him and read the small passage, my boredom replaced with curiosity. This was supposedly, me?
“The Purity is the angel that has the power to balance the world. She provides healing powers to those who need it, and can destroy anyone as quickly as one could blink. While other angels are solely light, the Purity is the true balance. She is the power of the light and the dark, creating the ultimate pure power, uniting the sun and the moon. Humans have been fooled into believing the dark is evil. It is not the darkness one must fear, but the terrors within. The Purity creates safety for others in the light of the sun and moon, yet only awakens to her true power in the time of war between God and Lucifer. For it is then, that the Purity will need to keep the greatest balance in the lands of Heaven, Earth and Hell. She watches the humans when there is no war, staying with the Fairy Queen. On the rarest of occasions, the Purity is hidden and disguised as a human in efforts to keep her safe from enemies. As she is the ultimate balance, she dies just to be reborn again by other angels.”
I blinked. Fairy queen? Oh Lord, fairies… I rubbed my temple and let out a heavy sigh. Honestly, I still couldn’t believe that I could be this thing, even if I had all the evidence right in front of me. It was just too much!
“Annabelle, it may seem hard to believe,” I shot Kendell a look as he spoke, “but trust me, this is as real as the hair on your head.”
Damn white hair.
“Wonderful. And Fairy Queen? What does the book mean by that?”
Kendell sighed, “Fairies are fallen angels that didn’t get cast into hell, but didn’t make it back into the gates of Heaven in time before they closed. They roam Earth now and have a hierarchy like the angels and demons.”
“Oh…”
“I think you know enough about your angels and demons now…”
I nodded sharply.
But then I saw the mischievous grin cross his face, “Well, maybe a little more review…”
“No! We’re absolutely fine, I know enough!”
“Well…”
“Kendell, please…”
He chuckled, “Fine.” I was about to smile in relief when Kendell reached in his book bag. Yes, Kendell decided to bring a book bag today. Out of that book bag, he pulled a thick book and dropped it on the desk, letting it land with a loud thud. The book was leather bound, old, and had a faded title. I wearily scanned the title,
“The Magick of Angels.”
A loud groan escaped my throat and I dropped my head on the desk the same way Kendell had dropped the book. These “lessons” took hours, and Kendell would snap at me when I looked out the window, kept glancing at the clock, or stared at my piano and violin for too long. Well excuse me, for wanting to do what I enjoy most instead of listening to his “lesson”.
“This is what’s going to take the most time. There’s so much an angel can do with their magick, although it’s not recognized as magick. Witches with their hexes and what not are what people think of when you say magick, it’s a shame. Obviously we don’t use black magick, but we use the power of pure light to eradicate darkness and it can be quite destructive.”
“Fascinating. Are you going to let me look at the book now?” Kendell had been rambling on about angel magick, but he kept his damn hand on the book so I couldn’t take it.
A chuckle escaped his throat as he slid the book to me. I eagerly picked it up, truly fascinated by the thought of using any form of magick. It had always been an interest of mine. The table of contents listed what angel magick was, how to use it, what you could do with it…
Absolutely fascinating.
Maybe now these “lessons” would be a little more tolerable.
“Annabelle, just because you think magick is interesting doesn’t mean this is going to be any easier for you. It takes a little bit of time to get used to it.” I shot Kendell a withering look and started to flip through the book.
“Every creature has a flow of energy in them, whether it be humans, animals, even rocks and plants. The universe has an unlimited energy source, one that we’ve come to know as magick. Angel magick is the power of the universe magnified by the angel’s light to either bless, heal or defend. All angels have access to it, but some are stronger than others because of their rank in the angel hierarchy. Demons also possess magick, but it is a dark, bloody magick used to curse, wound and attack.”
I heard Kendell chuckle as I practically shoved my face into the book, briefly reading the pages as quickly as I could. The introduction to magick wasn’t long, only five pages or so. The section on how to use magick was much longer.
“To use magick requires great willpower. Meditation and practice are a must to ever truly master the flow of energy around you. Spells are simply magick concentrated through words. Only humans use them for most magick, which is a system of Latin spells called forcecraft, while demons only use it for extremely complicated hexes and banishing. An angel does not use spells, they simply use the power of manifestation to concentrate on what they want to achieve. Angels wordlessly direct their magick to others around them, causing them to be extremely strong creatures.
To use magick, one must concentrate and harness the energy in them. While it sounds simple, it requires extreme discipline of the mind to accomplish. The mind must be sharp and clean from the average clutter so one can focus properly. Meditation is a skill that is valued to aid in such concentration.”
“Huh.” I put the book down and my brows furrowed as I processed what I had read. Focus and manifestation… It wasn’t very far from what I had already been doing. There were too many times where I simply focused on something to happen, and it did in a matter of minutes. Could that have been magick, or luck? I looked at Kendell and raised an eyebrow in question, hoping he could tell me more about what I had done in the past.
As if reading my mind, he responded, “Yes, Annabelle, you usually got what you wanted because you were particularly gifted with the power of manifestation. However, you’ve never used magick properly before.”
“What do you mean by ‘properly’?”
“I mean,” he leaned closer, “you’ve never taken full advantage of the energy around you. There is so much you need to learn, but you’re off to a good start, seeing as you can already concentrate fairly well.”
I puffed out my chest in protest, “Well, let’s see what else angel magick can do, then.”
“Your shoulder didn’t heal itself.”
My hand unconsciously went up to the shoulder Wraith had bitten before and I squeaked, “What else?”
“Virtually anything,” a devilish glint appeared in Kendell’s eyes as he raised a hand and a swirl of golden light came from it before I heard my violin playing. My head snapped towards it and my mouth fell open as I watched the violin float, the bow dragging itself across the strings and playing some of my favorite songs. I turned back to him and grinned, before the piano started playing with the violin. It was magnificent. The paper from my writing desk began to fly around the room in time with the music. Small orbs of light darted around the room, and the walls began to fade away. Soon everything except the piano and violin had seemingly disappeared, even though I was still sitting on the seat. Everything illuminated into a view of the ocean, something I had never seen before. The desk and seats we were in looked like a rocky cliff, the water only a few feet below us. I could smell the salt in the air and feel the water splash up from the rocks. There were even some whales out farther into the sea, water sparkling in the sun, gulls crying from the sky.
“Wow,” was all I could say.
“This is just a small fraction of what you can do,” I nearly jumped as I felt his breath on my neck, his words overwhelming me. The illusion faded and the walls of my bedroom returned, the violin resting next to the piano, both quiet. No more ocean. No more gulls. Just reality, again.
“How long will it take to learn?” Excitement filled my chest and I sat up straighter.
“That depends on you,” Kendell reached into his pocket and found a small stone, placing it on the table, “Try to make this float.”
I gave him a questioning look and he simply motioned to the stone in response. Fine, then. The stone was smooth, flat, gray, clearly from a stream. Letting out a deep breath, I stared at the stone and tried to imagine it floating. Willed it to float, even. The minutes trickled by, my concentration so intense that the stone was the only thing I saw.
Then the stone wobbled slightly.
I knew I didn’t imagine it, the stone did move, but not enough. Countless images of the stone in the air were set into my mind, but then something shocked me. There were small particles of what looked like light floating around the stone. They were everywhere, actually, just floating about. Why had I never seen them before? My concentration slipped and I sighed, staring at the stone that hadn’t really moved at all. The golden specks of light had disappeared as well. How?
“I can’t do it.”
“And you won’t, if that’s what you believe,” the stone propelled itself into the air. Glancing at Kendell, a twinge of irritation and even envy ran through me as he stared at the stone, looking completely care free and even bored.
“How do you make it look so easy?” My question came as a whine.
“I’ve been doing this for centuries. You have too, you just don’t remember.”
The stone gently fell back onto the desk. The ice blue eyes I had become so familiar with over the years were hard, wise, sharp… Completely the opposite of what I was used to. He folded his hands together and sat in silence for a moment.
“You need to use manifestation, as in you need to visualize what you want.”
“That’s what I did… But I also saw these gold specks.”
A small smile lit Kendell’s face, “That would be the light energy surrounding you. When you visualize the rock to get it to move, what do you see?”
“I see it just floating…”
“Try visualizing how it gets to floating. And use the light energy to make it rise. Those gold ‘specks’ are going to be more important than anything.”
My head snapped to the clock. It was almost time for bed.
“Annabelle, focus…”
“Huh? Oh.” Once again, I stared at the little stone and concentrated on it. As the concentration intensified, I noticed the small specks again. They floated around aimlessly as if waiting for someone to direct them. Determination overtook me as I visualized the specks floating under the rock and lifting it up. The image continued to cross my mind as I focused on the stone, but the specks continued to lazily drift through the air. My focus increased. The specks seemed to drift the smallest bit closer to the rock. I watched them come closer and closer until they finally settles under the rock. I was surprised I hadn’t given myself a headache, willing the specks to push the stone up. After another few moments, the rock wobbled and started to move upwards. It moved only a fraction of an inch off the table, but still, it had moved. Exhaustion hit me when I tried to push it up further, causing it to fall back onto the table with a faint clack.
“That’s a start,” there was a smile in Kendell’s voice.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted though. And it’s getting late anyway…” I leaned back in my chair, head falling back and arms lying by my sides.
“I know, but still, it’s progress. I thought you’d be much slower,” he stood up and pushed in his chair, “I’ll get back to the iron shop and let you rest.”
“Thank you. Good night,” I smiled at him.
“Night,” he glanced at me as he opened the door and walked out.
----Chapter 11----
After he left, I sat there with the stone for another few moments, trying not to lift it in the air, but just trying to see the gold specks again. It didn’t take long before I saw them floating around the stone slowly. I was tired, anyone could tell, but that didn’t stop me from playing with the little bits of light. My focus was on them as I commanded them to swirl, dive, and move around the room. For some reason this was a bit easier now. The particles were still slow, but they seemed to speed up the more I focused. Dancing around the room, I decided to stop them and make them come together in a tiny ball. The result was fascinating. A small ball no larger than a padlock became visible, and instead of being a golden color like the specks, this ball was shining with white light. The moonlight illuminated much of the room, so I wandered over to the curtains and closed them while trying to keep the ball together. After I closed the curtains, the room should have been pitch black, but instead… The ball was barely illuminating the room. It floated towards me and I held out my hands, fascinated as it settled down in my palms. Then it shocked me by fading away into my hands and shooting through my arms before fading away.
The veil of exhaustion lifted slightly, but not enough. A yawn still escaped my throat. I felt my way through the dark room to open the curtain again, relieved when the light washed the darkness away, and found clothes for bed. My lilac nightgown was loose and soft. I climbed into the bed, quieting the thoughts that ran through my mind and drifting to sleep.
Darkness.
Just darkness.
Everywhere.
Then I felt a hand closed around my throat. Not tightly, but just enough to keep me still. I still couldn’t see anything, so I had no idea who the hand belonged to.
“Why are you so difficult?” I almost groaned as I heard Wraith’s voice.
“I don’t know, Atael.”
The hand around my throat tensed. “Don’t use that name…”
My lips quirked into a smirk at his discomfort, “Why not? In fact, Atael, let go of my neck and let me see you.”
To my surprise, the hand slid away from my neck and rested on my shoulder, finally becoming visible along with the rest of his body. His face looked pained and full of sadness before pulling into an emotionless mask. Curiosity ate at me. There was so much more I wanted to know about demons, and Wraith. If I could control him with his name-
“Idiot. You may have slight power because of my name, but it’s nothing I can’t resist.”
“So why aren’t you resisting?”
His lips pressed together in a fine line, “I don’t have to answer any of your stupid questions. All I have to do is kill-“
“God, Atael. You’d think you would have done it by now, being an archdemon. Surely there should be no problem, so why are you stalling? What is there that you’re hiding?” Amusement found its way onto my face.
This seemed to anger him, “It’s none of your business!”
“Tell me!”
He struggled for a moment, almost like he was debating whether to say something.
“Atael…”
That broke him, “I was an angel once.”
Well, obviously. Weren’t most demons simply fallen angels?
He looked away in pained defeat and sighed before continuing, “I was among the… high ranks…” Suddenly, his words sounded as if they were floating from a broken phonograph, his body becoming almost transparent as his face contorted into defeated sadness. “Selfish… I was selfish… Lucifer… Offered me power… I took… it… Was cast out…of Heaven… Pain… No heart… For so… long… only pain… all I felt… Took centuries… to feel again… Never… felt happiness… or love… again…” It looked like it actually hurt him to speak. Like his memories about those times were truly nothing but pure pain.
“I can barely understand you…”
Black tears dripped down his face, which along with his body, was flickering like a light. He seemed to ignore me, “Mistake… It was a mistake… Why can’t… I take… it back… Want… to go back… Do anything… I don’t want… war… Lost… my… beloved…” On his last few words, he looked me straight in the eye.
“What? I don’t understand-“
Wraith disappeared and the darkness turned into a different scene. It looked like a cave lit by fire of some kind. Wraith reappeared sitting on a rock, his face in his hands. I stared in shock at his wings. They were his dark bat wings, only with a few snow white feathers falling out. Then I noticed his hair. It was practically white at the bottom, but the white was being washed away by black. Puddles of black liquid sat around him, gathering from the liquid dripping down his hands. I timidly walked over, but he didn’t notice me.
“…Wraith?” I didn’t want to use his real name anymore.
He still ignored me. When I reached out a hand to put on his shoulder, I gasped. I was transparent! What was this?
My attention returned to Wraith as I heard his quiet sobs. The black continued to overtake his hair until there was not a single white strand left. The last few feathers fell from his wings. His skin grew even paler than it already was. Finally lifting his hands from his face, a wave of pity hit me. Wraith’s face was covered in black tear stains, his expression contorted into fear and agony. My heart almost broke seeing him like this. Beautiful, compassionate ice blue eyes that were almost exactly like Kendell’s flashed bright red before settling into the brownish red I was used to. Any trace of compassion or warmth that had been in Wraith’s eyes was replaced by a cold, emotionless void. He stared blankly out in front of him, his gaze fixed on nothing, before a few words fell from his lips,
“What have I done…?”
Everything faded away and left me in the dark again. Another scene unfolded. I bit back a gasp as I saw Wraith on his knees, tied down to the ground with chains in a dungeon. A leather collar was wrapped around his neck, a chain attached to it and lying on the ground beside him. I winced when I noticed the spikes on the inside of his collar and the black blood dripping from his neck. His head was bowed, his long black hair was completely disheveled and he wore nothing but ragged pants. There were wounds oozing black blood all over his torso. The membrane on one of his wings was even slightly torn. Two guards carrying spears and wearing heavy armor stood by either side of the cell. They looked like lizards, with long necks, scaly skin and large clawed hands and feet. I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the cell and looked towards a spiral staircase where two… creatures came down the stairs, one holding a pillow with a black crystal ball on it with its spindly hands. They wore what looked like cow skulls on their head and long crimson robes, walking down the stairs to the front of the cell gracefully.
“Open the cell.” The voice that came from the crystal ball was almost a growl. It sounded worse than Wraith’s voice when he had attacked me. I realized that it must have been Lucifer. The guards wordlessly opened the cell and walked inside to stand beside Wraith, one wrapping its claws around the chain that was attached to his collar.
“Atael…”
Wraith slowly lifted his head at the sound of the low, raspy hiss.
“You gave up your ranks among the angels for more power… You have followed me into my kingdom of the damned… But for what price?”
Wraith remained silent. His eyes were sharp with hatred.
“You lost your purity, your peaceful life with the other angels, the one you loved… In fact, you lost the ability to love in general.”
The truth in the voice’s words made Wraith flinch, dropping his head slightly.
“But the reason I have you in the dungeons is because you can’t be trusted.”
“What?!” The guard holding the chain yanked Wraith’s collar at his outburst. He hissed in pain, more black blood streaming down his neck and chest. Coughs erupted from his throat as the blood came from his mouth as well.
“Do you think I’m a fool, Atael?! Do you underestimate me? I know you love that damned angel and even if you can’t feel love yourself anymore, you still wouldn’t think twice before protecting her from me! That won’t do at all. If I’m going to grant you the power you want, you must swear loyalty to me and only me!”
There was silence for a few moments before Wraith’s collar was yanked again. The voice from the crystal seemed incredibly angry now.
“Do not fight me, you blasted thing! Surrender to me!”
Wraith’s eyes squeezed shut and he grit his teeth, still staying silent. One of the creatures with the skull on its head gave a curt nod, and the guard lifted his spear and drove it through Wraith’s shoulder, twisting it before pulling it out and causing a low howl to escape Wraith’s throat. I cringed at the sight.
“SWEAR TO ME NOW.”
“F-fine! I swear loyalty to you!”
I felt like I was going to be sick. My hand flew up to my mouth in nausea and horror at the sight of Wraith looking so broken and swearing loyalty to Lucifer against his will.
“That’s better. Now, I’m watching you, Atael. Always. I will grant you with the power of the archdemon. However, betray me, and you will be nothing but ashes.”
A beam of black energy shot from the crystal into Wraith. There was a horrible howl before the beam disappeared and left Wraith completely healed, his eyes bright red and black. His pale skin was morphing as black and silver scales covered his body. When he looked like the archdemon I had seen in the little book Kendell gave me, Lucifer spoke again.
“Good… Congratulations, Atael. You are officially a demon. Bring him up.”
The two creatures in the long crimson robes turned around without a word and traveled back up the stairs. As fast as they could, the guards unlocked all of Wraith’s chains except the collar. When they pulled on his collar this time, I could see that the spikes pierced his flesh, yet Wraith didn’t show the slightest bit of pain. I stood and watched Wraith be dragged up the stairs after the other creatures, bewildered by these scenes.
Black again. Once again I sat there in darkness, waiting for another scene to unfold. But nothing happened. Only Wraith’s sad, broken voice floated back to me in bits and pieces at a time. I tried to understand the wispy, crackly voice.
“Do… you think… wanted that… I… alone… All alone… Hurt…”
“It was your own damn fault.”
My heart leapt into my throat as I felt a breath on my neck, his words in my ear,
“I know…”
The sadness radiating off him was stronger than anything I’d ever felt. It made my chest tighten and a lump form in my throat. The feelings intensified when I felt his cold hand gently trace my collarbone.
“Forgot...what love… feels like… So empty… Cold…”
God knows why I pitied a demon, but I just couldn’t help it. Then reality snapped back in my mind. This was the demon that had almost succeeded in killing me. Why should I believe anything he said? How did I know those memories weren’t just illusions? I jerked away from the hand that was gently resting on my shoulder and sneered,
“I don’t trust you! Don’t think you can act sad and trick me like that!”
Wraith became somewhat substantial before me and looked at me with hurt on his face, “Don’t blame… you… But… why… fake pain… Haven’t… been through… enough?”
“Why can’t you talk properly?”
His form flickered, “Hurts… much… to remember…”
“I thought demons couldn’t feel pain.”
“Only physical pain…” My heart started beating rapidly as he appeared dangerously close to me and wrapped an icy hand around my wrist. He pulled it to his chest and I watched, horrified, as it went inside him. Something shot through my arm to my chest, and when it got there, I almost cried. The most overwhelming loneliness, anger and sadness crushed me. I yanked my hand away and shuddered.
“What do you want from me…?”
My eyes met his deep brownish red eyes before he whispered, “Conclusion…”
“What?” Conclusion?
To my relief, he stopped flickering and his speech improved, “I want this to end… I want peace… I want to return to Heaven… I want my freedom back.” Wraith’s voice grew more confident and stable, “All I want is to be happy again. But it will never happen… And it’s my duty to kill you. But you make it so difficult.”
“Me? You could kill me at any time.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t. So why don’t you explain?” I couldn’t help myself and reached a hand up to his face, gently placing my palm against it. His eyebrows furrowed in indecision as his hand reached up to hold mine.
“No. You shouldn’t know.”
“But-“
“I’ve told you enough! You weren’t even supposed to know the slightest bit of that!” The gentle grip he had on my hand tightened a bit.
I just stared at him before whispering, “Obviously… You don’t want to kill me.”
“O-of course I do-”
“Lies.” With the angered look he gave me, I quickly added, “Don’t you dare even think of hurting or killing me right now, Atael. I just want to know the truth.”
Wraith’s face went hard. He pulled my hand away and backed up, staying silent.
“You say you want to be happy again and you forgot what love feels like. Maybe I can help you with that.”
“You are incredibly stupid. I’m a demon. I couldn’t feel anything like that even if I tried. Don’t waste your damn time.” I could see that he wanted to choke me, that’s how angry he was. This demon name control was incredibly useful, but I knew there was something else keeping him distanced.
“If you believe you can, you will.”
“It. Can’t. Happen. As much as I wish I could feel it again, it can’t and it won’t happen. Stop speaking this nonsense.”
“Well, I think you’re speaking nonsense. If you can feel negativity, you can re-teach yourself how to feel anything else. You just give up too easy.” I took a step forward.
“But… I’ve tried before… And I couldn’t.”
“Maybe you couldn’t because you didn’t have anyone to help you.” I don’t know why I wanted to help someone who was supposed to kill me, but I didn’t care at the moment. He looked slightly alarmed as I took another step closer.
“And how would you help me? Huh? What could you possibly do?”
I took the last few steps over to him and wrapped my arms around his torso, “I could show you love and happiness again.”
Wraith tensed so much that he felt like stone. Shocked, I watched small gold specks float around us. They could appear in my dream? I focused on love and watched each speck turn to a more pinkish color, then watched them travel and stick to him. They disappeared into his body and Wraith pushed me away roughly, swiping my face, leaving claw marks on my cheek.
Then I woke up.
------Chapter 12------
My eyes had snapped open in horror. From the corner of my eye I could see the curtains moving and saw that the window was open. Something warm trickled down my cheek. I lifted my hand to my cheek, which stung. When I pulled away, there was warm blood on my fingers. Why did he attack me like that? I just wanted to help him. The saying, “Kill your enemies with kindness” had been in my mind. But that wasn’t the only reason I wanted to help. I truly felt sorry for Wraith. It looked like he had been through so much.
The sun had yet to rise. Quietly, I slipped out of bed and wandered out of my room. Blood continued to flow down my face. I prayed that no one would see me like this as I made my way to the bathroom. There were always bandages in the cupboards. Relief washed over me when I made it into the bathroom and locked the door. No one saw me. Good. The only problem was that the only light was the moonlight. I could barely see. Sighing, I took the match that rested on the counter, lit it and lit the small white candle in front of the mirror. Enough light to see clearly filled the bathroom. In the mirror, I winced at the sight of my face, four gashes on my cheek. No doubt it was painful, but that was more of a reason to pull through and bandage it… And I’d rather not call for help and have to explain this. Even though I’ll have to explain the bandages, but that would be much easier to spin a tale for. I could say I fell and got a nasty bruise, or reached for something and scratched my face on the vanity. Hopefully people would be stupid enough to believe things like that. Once my face was properly bandaged, I carefully made my way back to my room. Restlessness ate at me upon stepping inside. I sighed. Of course I wouldn’t be able to sleep now. The moonlight was my only guide through the room as I walked to the writing desk in the corner and picked the book about angel magick. This would have to do to pass the time. Opening the book, I found my way back to the bed and hopped in. The rays of moonlight barely gave me enough light to read, causing me to squint and hold the book closer. There I sat, reading about the angel magick and occasionally attempting a few things in the book before I finally grew too tired to see the words and fell back asleep.
Something was touching my hand. It continued as I stirred and looked over to whoever was there. My father smiled at me like he always did. Gentle and loving. I let out a breath of relief, then saw the bandages on his neck. I winced. That was… My fault…
“Good morning, petal.”
My lips quirked into a smile, “Good morning. I see you’re feeling somewhat better…?”
“Yes, besides the slight burns on my throat, I’m quite alright,” he chuckled.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be, dear,” he bent to kiss my head, “You saved me from something awful.”
Softly smiling at him, I whispered, “It seems I did.”
“Now why is your cheek bandaged?”
I tensed, “I happened to trip in the dark and scrape it on the writing desk…”
“Ah…”
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds until my father spoke again,
“Petal, I can’t believe this time has already come…” He looked down sadly.
“I can hardly believe it’s happening. But then again, I should have guessed something was out of place. Look at me, compared to you and Mother.”
“Quite true,” his shoulders shook as he chuckled again, “but even then, remember that angel or not, you’re also still our daughter and we love you.”
My eyes almost started to tear and my smile grew bigger, “I love you too.”
He ruffled my hair, “Well, Kendell will be here soon…” I mentally groaned. The last thing I wanted to have to think about today was my lessons. My father stood up and before he left, he bent to give me a hug. Before I could return it, he whispered,
“Be careful around Kendell. I don’t trust him.”
I awkwardly returned the hug, lost in his words as he pulled away and silently walked out of the room. How could he find Kendell untrustworthy? He was my best friend. Hell, he was my only friend! I sat there staring blankly ahead of me trying to think of any reason for my father to distrust him. Nothing came to mind. Lying back against my pillow, I sighed. It would be a little while until Kendell decided to come. At least I could have a few moments to myself this time. I let my eyes slip shut for what seemed like only a few seconds, but when I had opened them again, Kendell was sitting on the edge of my bed with my bandages in his hand. He was tense and tapping his fingers together anxiously.
When he heard me shift in bed, his head snapped towards me. I almost flinched at the angry, worried glare he wore, “What happened to your face?”
He had obviously already saw the claw marks, there was no point trying to lie, “Uh, I may have had an encounter with Wraith last night… In my dreams…”
I squeaked in shock as Kendell suddenly hovered over me, both hands on either side of the bed’s headboard. His ice blue eyes pierced me as he growled, “Dreams are the most dangerous. He could have killed you faster than he could blink.”
“But he didn’t.”
An unreadable look crossed Kendell’s eyes before he replaced it with one of worry, “I can see that, I’ve put extra wards around you to prevent him from doing anything when he first arrived here, but if he can still physically harm you, then he’s too strong.” He got off the bed and ran his hands through his hair, “I’d have to be here all day and night to make sure he didn’t try anything again. But I can’t do that… There are other things that need to be done. The sooner you learn how to defend yourself with magick, the better.”
I perked up, “Actually, I couldn’t sleep after the incident last night, so I read more of the magick book. I think I have a bit more of an idea about how to use it.”
“Oh really? Show me.”
Blinking, I focused until I could see the golden specks float around me. Maybe I could heal my face. My focus increased as I directed the specks toward my cheek. They moved slowly, very slowly, but eventually reached my face and settled on it. Images of my face healing filled my mind until I felt a warm prickling. It seemed to be forever until the prickling finally stopped. A wave of exhaustion hit me as I fell back against my bed, rubbing my temple. Kendell was staring in surprise when I looked over at him.
“You’re very lucky you have a good focus. I would have thought that living with the humans would have dulled your ability to manifest things, but perhaps I was wrong…” A proud smile grew on his features, then slightly faded. “Either way, you’re very slow at gathering the energy, and you’ve completely exhausted yourself. If it came down to a life or death situation, you wouldn’t even have enough time to focus.”
I frowned. He was right. Raising my hand up to my cheek, I felt nothing but smooth, flawless skin. But it had taken me so long to do that and taken so much out of me.
“Don’t worry, the more you practice using it, the faster you’ll be and the more stamina you’ll have. It will take nothing but time and patience until you can use it effortlessly.”
Determination surged through me and I smiled at him, nodding sharply.
“So… What did Wraith do, in your dream?”
My face fell. I didn’t want to tell him anything out of fear that he might try to keep Wraith away at all times. Last night was a… fascinating experience. There was what seemed to be an entire different dimension of Wraith, one that he was hiding from everyone. All I wanted to do was help him, he was clearly miserable. The sadness in his memories was so strong, I felt like breaking down and weeping.
“Well?”
“It was nothing more than usual. For some reason, he keeps coming back with empty threats. Then he got angry, swiped my face and left.”
Yes.
I was lying to defend someone.
I was lying to defend a demon.
I was lying to defend my enemy.
But for some reason, the image of him as an enemy was slowly fading. I could see right through Wraith. And everything about him suggested he had no true intention of doing anything to me, except the flesh wounds he gave me that were far from fatal. Although, those seemed to be from pure frustration.
“I’ve had to go through practically this entire damned continent searching for your pitiful self. Countless scars put on my back when I failed to find you. Countless threats on my existence, because you’re the thing to defeat my Lord’s army.”
Wraith’s words rung out in my head. He had suffered because he hadn’t killed me, and it seems like he won’t kill me. Pity hit me in waves. The poor thing was torn between what life he had left and… Well, I’m not sure what else. But if I didn’t die, Wraith would eventually…
“That’s all? Annabelle…”
My head snapped up at his voice, “That’s all, it was a rather short dream last night.”
Kendell’s eyes were hard and disbelieving as he stared me down, looking for any signs that I was lying. I held a straight face and stared him straight back in the eye, and eventually he sighed, breaking the stare.
“Fine, then. Let’s continue with magick. We need to improve your stamina and speed.”
And so the day began. Bright and early, Kendell was teaching me how to use the golden specks of energy that surrounded us at all times. I was grateful for the bit of food Katherine had brought me, it gave me enough energy to properly function. He mentioned that the energy around us was to be used for bigger tasks, while the energy within us was for smaller things.
“The energy you have in your own body is too precious to use for fighting or defense, however, it can serve other purposes. Small things like reading minds or predicting the future are usually what your own energy is used for.”
I nodded in awe. Magick could be used for so much, just about anything. I loved the idea of using it against enemies, or just to do simple things. I didn’t care how long it would take me to learn how to master it, the fact that I could already accomplish small things with it was enough to make me giddy.
Kendell put me through exercises to help me gain stamina. Thanks to them, I can use a small bit of magick without feeling as if I had been running for days straight. Other exercises were to help me use the specks faster. I wasn’t very good at them at all at first, and even by the end of the day I was still shaky, but I felt as if I had improved just a little. My chest swelled with pride every time Kendell had praised me when I finished an exercise. When the sun began to set and it grew late, Kendell decided to stop for the day. He stood up, but hesitated,
“Annabelle, I really don’t want to leave you alone for the night…”
“I’ll be fine. Besides, I can hold him back just a little with his real name.”
Eyes tired and worried, Kendell stared at me for a few moments before sighing and looking away, “I still don’t feel comfortable knowing that he could put more claw marks on you. Even using his name won’t stop him from hurting you if he becomes upset.”
“Kendell, I’ll be perfectly fine on my own, I assure you. Just leave it alone.”
He stalked forward and kissed me hungrily, his fear and worry running through me before he growled, “Fine. But please, try to be safe. I know he’s going to try to go back to your dreams tonight, so keep a rosary around your neck or something.”
I sat breathless as he moved away and stormed out the door. Shaking my head, I regained the ability to think straight and realized that it wasn’t time for bed just yet. There was still enough light to see. My stomach growled. It had been a while since I’d eaten, a good four hours at least. Katherine usually brought meals up to us while Kendell taught me about magick. Lazily shuffling towards my bedroom door, I realized I had been in my night gown all day. Goodness, I could probably use a bath, too.
I had wandered down to the kitchen and taken a small slice of bread. It was fresh from earlier in the day. The kitchen help had retired to their rooms, the remains of food either saved or disposed of, the dishes washed, and safely tucked in the cabinets. The kitchen, usually only seen bustling with life and warmth, was now dark and desolate, cold. Funny how the dark sends creatures running, running with the fear of the unknown. I remembered Wraith’s touch on my collarbone, bringing back the sadness of his memories. He lost everything, from one lapse in judgment, one spark of greed.
But, that was enough to destroy someone.
It only takes one mistake, for someone to tumble, and come crashing down.
A heavy sigh broke free from my lips. The thoughts were depressing, each one a new weight on my heart. I felt as if I was holding the iron stove on my shoulders, dragging each piece of silverware across the ground with my heartstrings. Just an unbearable weight, crushing me, slowing me down in the darkness.
Was it me, or were negative emotions easier to come across… In the dark? Just as the positive was easily found in each ray of sunlight. I silently finished the bread, lost in thought as I continued down the hall to the wash room. Pushing the door open, I drew a bath, lit the candles, took a towel from the cabinet to place on the counter, and stopped in front of the mirror. Every day and every night, the same thing looked back at me.
Just a mutant girl, living in a cage, wishing for freedom.
Now, however, there sat a girl who was too busy listening to talk, too busy thinking to dream, and too busy sighing to laugh.
As I’ve said before, I’ve always wished for excitement, not chaos.
I slipped out of my nightgown and into the water. The warmth wrapped around me like an embrace, lifting me from my low spirits.
As I sat in the bath, I realized I hadn’t written anything for some time. Writing stories was something that kept me from going insane. I could create anything and everything, or I could destroy it. Maybe I would decide to take a character’s parents, or give them a happy family. Maybe I would make their life stories simple and bright, or perhaps instead, riddled with secrets and monsters. The most ordinary person could become the most interesting one, the most interesting person could become the most troubled one, there were never ending possibilities.
As I stretched in the tub and heard the sickening cracks of my spine and neck, I mentally chuckled at my wandering mind before a new thought invaded.
God must be a fantastic writer.
To create a plot for all the characters on the world he created, some happy, others sad, some completely insane, others as normal as can be, He truly must be The Writer.
What a fascinating thought.
A yawn stretched from my mouth and my eyes grew heavy. The warmth of the bath only made me feel even sleepier. I grew alarmed, remembering how Wraith visited me when I fell asleep to haunt my dreams. The last thing I wanted was for him to catch me like this.
Finishing the bath as quickly as possible, I stumbled out of the tub and grabbed the towel off the counter. I felt as if I couldn’t cover myself fast enough. When I had the towel wrapped around my body, I dried off as quickly as possible and dashed to my room, throwing a pair of underwear and the first piece of clothing I could lay my hands on, which happened to be a slightly long white blouse. It only covered up to an inch or two below my underwear. After my small panic attack, the need to sleep washed over me again. There was no need to worry anymore, I was covered and any dream I would have tonight wouldn’t be too dangerous, I was sure of that. Wraith seemed too caught up in his pain to carry out anything deadly.
Slipping under the blankets, I yawned one more time before my eyes grew heavy again. By now, it was darker outside. As my eyes closed, my room faded into darkness and I heard something click. It sounded like the lock on my window. Instead of panicking again, I ignored it.
A presence sucked all the air out of the room, yet was so familiar. Just as I began to drift to sleep, an icy hand traced my cheekbone.
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