Existence: A Dark Paranormal Fantasy (The Devilgod Series Book 1)

by S. C. Lewis

  I was more than alive for at least this moment, and now there was nothing to fear but my own failure. In a flash, the light left me, and again, I caught sight of the figure staggering ever closer. Rufus stood over me, shakily holding out the umbrella.

  “Wait here for me,” I ordered. The raindrops soaked my white hair, running down my pale face as I left Rufus behind; they brushed against my thin lips. I could playfully taste them on the tip of my tongue, and they ran down my eyes, vastly refreshing me.

  Rufus obeyed as usual, though I could tell he was very frightened for me. Easing his mind with a gentle gesture, I stepped forward, walking unafraid into the darkness to meet the unknown figure of my visitor. I was a part of this now; no matter what happened next, I was a most definite and integral participant. As should be the case, and that is how I always want things.

  The shadowy figure faced me down, a mere step away. Light danced all around its face, yet I couldn’t see any noticeable features. I couldn’t meet its eyes; I could, however, see wet hair draping an almost familiar face. Lightning flashed again in the blood-red sky, crashing down on us, bringing Rufus and me almost to our knees.

  Stumbling backwards, I turned to glance at Rufus shivering from beneath the umbrella. Waving him away, I turned to face the form in front of me. The figure swirled dizzyingly before me; suddenly something seemed to possess its form as it took on a definite identity. He, or whatever he was, stumbled forward slightly, then balanced himself, the lightning above us rang with its furious demands, but I had already been rooted to the spot by the commanding visitor, and had lost all interest in the reverberating world around me.

  Within the lightning, and in one startled glimpse of everything- the roaring thunder, the fear surrounding us, the awful stench and the sound of the raindrops blasting the concrete pavement, a million times louder, echoing and vibrating- I abruptly transitioned into total attention and life.

  Taut anticipation was in the air, and was so completely real. It was as realistic as the thunder and lightning, as intense as the rain and wind that blew across my cold, wet face.

  A sighing breath escaped the peculiar figure; then, the lightning finally displayed its face for me. For a moment I saw the blackest and most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

  A more wonderful feeling than ever before overcame me, and emotion seemed to creep from every fiber of my being. Soft, milky skin like a cloud coalescing in the heavens, eyes like the dark sky filled with millions of vibrating stars, and those lips like rose petals! In the flashes of light above us, petals were falling instead of raindrops, and in my hands, I was suddenly holding a fragrant black rose, the thorns slicing deeply into my wetly outstretched palms.

  Yet no sweet blood was dripping from my wounded hands, the blackness having eaten away the red color of the rose’s petals, and deepest poison fully possessed the rose and me, digging into my soul like a teeming crowd of leering faces…lurching forwards…death.

  “No!” I gasped, stumbling back, but this latest illusion had faded, and before me was an angelic figure, his face no longer hidden in the shadows, all his obscured shape no longer unfamiliar. I was looking at Him!

  “Sarvakk!” I shrieked in a voice too choked for words. Why was I blessed with this honor and this curse, all in one? It was the moment a million dread, a horror a million would rather not face, but here I was before the Awareness Itself, looking deeply into His eyes, breathing the air that He breathed, if He could also breathe like me. Yes! Of course, It could, It was the Awareness, It could do anything and everything It wanted.

  This was the true Awareness, which no one knew; no one could ever fathom, or understand how it had begun. And here It was standing before me; as yet again I sobbed.

  The Awareness, that had both guided and tempted Christ Himself, the One whom had written the original Scriptures, the One whom had been the puppeteer, so to speak, of the events of this world. And the Awareness was now here, this very minute, standing before me, delivering Himself to the world once again, like a dying savior.

  Lightning struck the sky furiously once again, the thunder immediately following, angrily hungering for my attention. I glanced at it but slightly; turning again as lightning lit the alley. The Man that I had once seen was gone; the heavenly face and the dark eyes that had consumed me had become the eyes of some other, even more beautiful creature.

  The figure staggered, her legs wobbling, and then collapsed into my waiting arms. I embraced her tightly, my hands still shaking as I caressed the moist red web of hair. I laid my hand on her small head, stroking its clinging strands like they were grains of precious gold, but then the strands were as black as the oceans of Hell, and I knew just like before, the ultimate poison had possessed the rose, and now the poison possessed her.

  Rufus immediately dropped the umbrella, rushing to my side to help. I lifted the girl in my rain-soaked arms, carrying her over to the Lincoln. Rufus followed, confusion stirring inside him, questions with no answers disturbing his mind. I said nothing; always his thoughts questioned me, but never did his lips move to seek any answers.

  Her eyes were closed, and from her lips a single breath escaped as she nuzzled near me for warmth, just as she had before in the freezing currents of that blackened hellish sea, whereas one winged being, and as the Demon, I had first embraced her.

  “Ramiel,” I heard her whisper softly before she collapsed silently into my arms.

  God, here she was. She was with me in Reality at last, the Holiest Grail of the universe, the blessed answer to every single blasted question anyone has ever had.

  Rufus gathered his umbrella, and opened the door for me. I carefully tucked the girl under a blanket on the back seat of the Lincoln, covering her gently and well.

  “Where to, Mr. DeStefano?” Rufus asked, glancing back at me from the rear-view mirror as he took the driver’s seat. “Home please, Rufus.”

  “And the lady, sir?”

  “The lady shall be joining us, Rufus,” I gruffly answered, glaring into the mirror at him.

  “If you don’t mind me saying, sir. The poor thing looks half-starved, doesn’t she?”

  “I shall nurse her back to health.”

  “That’s very nice of you, sir. Helping a complete stranger.”

  I grinned; my canines barely revealed in the darkness of the vehicle.

  “Whoever said she was a stranger, Rufus?”

  Rufus coughed, having gotten awfully wet in the downpour, barely glancing back before he fell into utmost silence again. He drove us home without another word.

  I

  Houston, Texas

  Thoughts

  Sitting on the couch,

  With nothing to do.

  I wonder what everyone else is up to?

  I wonder if one day

  Pigs could fly?

  I think by then

  I probably will die.

  I wonder how to make a quilt,

  I think this chair is starting to tilt.

  I wonder about the shoes I wear.

  I think I should brush my hair.

  I wonder if tomorrow I’ll see that boy,

  I think I want to play with a toy.

  I wonder how the little fan works.

  I think about eating with forks.

  Sitting on the couch with tons to think,

  I wonder if the toilet stinks.

  By Michelle Perez

  1

  Mr. Abuda

  eric

  I wasn’t looking forward to speaking with Mr. Abuda this evening. As a matter of fact, he kind of scared me just a little. Why was I so unfortunate? The fact that he had called me to his office simply made me nervous. My hands were trembling as I ascended the grand staircase that led to the office. I could see the door of the office open wide just as I reached the top. I could imagine his form sitting on his mother’s old leather office chair, and that made me cringe just a tiny bit.

  My steps echoed as I came to the level where the office sat, dividing th
e dancing-dome floor on the opposite side of the arches, below where the antechamber and the foyer connected.

  I didn’t hear any sounds coming from inside the office, but I knew that he was in there working on business deals and other offers from clients that had come to meet with him earlier.

  My hands were shaking as I came closer. They always did whenever I met with him. I could feel my heart pounding within my chest and the blood in my veins racing. Why was I so scared of him? I had never been before. In fact, I could still remember the day his mother had announced she was pregnant with him. The look on her face, the words soaring from her lips with delight and excitement as she jumped from her seat and spoke so suddenly. It seemed to be an announcement I didn’t regard with the greatest of wonder, until now.

  “I have something to tell you…”

  Sophia’s large, brown, sparkling eyes were lit so beautifully by the florescent lamps above us, and so they were caught magically in her pupils. She was dressed in a long, red, satin dress, her dark hair came down over her shoulders. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on.

  “What is it, Sophia?” We all looked over at her, our red lips dropped in utter shock with the anticipation of her news.

  My companions tried to find an answer among each other, but there was nothing but confusion surrounding the table.

  “I’m pregnant,” came her announcement so simple it gave no room for anything else. It was just that simple.

  I rose first from my seat near the table, where all the others were glaring back at her with wide eyes. I looked at her with a single questioning stare.

  If only Ramiel were here, the thought crossed my mind suddenly, for apparently no reason. It seemed that only with our boss could things continue, or be resolved without trouble…

  Sophia smiled at all of us, but soon after, her eyes begged for a word from us.

  “Well, isn’t anybody going to say anything?” she asked regarding our silence.

  The others remained confused, doubting the truth to those words.

  “Sophia, that’s wonderful!” Damien suddenly rose from her seat to say this, breaking the long silence. She moved over to Sophia and embraced her, kissing her gently on the cheek.

  I didn’t move; frozen by a strange feeling, I remained on the spot.

  The others took their turns wishing Sophia congratulations with warm kisses and loving embraces. Santiago and Valentino soon took their turns hugging Sophia as well.

  Santiago hesitated at first, being the flirt that he was with Sophia. He bowed, smiling and baring the long double canines behind his painted red mouth. His white ghostly face glimmered, while beyond his penetrating sharp green eyes flashed and sparkled over at her in lustful longing, an obvious crush we had grown tired of over the years. Sophia was well aware of it.

  “My dear, my heart is broken. I no less adore you.” He grinned and kissed the back of her hand, hoping perhaps that his vampiric charms would work on her as it had on many foolish others.

  “Santiago!” I called out simply to catch his attention.

  I came from behind and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to save Sophia the embarrassment of Santiago’s sometimes outrageous behavior. We neared one another. He turned and glared directly at me, his rival here again to ruin his chances at anything; perhaps these were his thoughts.

  He gazed back at Sophia, “Forgive me…Where are my manners?”

  He stepped aside, wandering from the others to the opposite end of the room. Santiago was always like that, withdrawn even from his own crowd, a loner, even in his own world. He dressed in a long dark coat, with a black top hat, a vest and trousers and a cane which he sometimes used to conjure his own magically generated roses. Think of it as a sort of pick-up line. Whenever the task was needed to entice a beauty, the cane was used.

  Sophia smiled and held herself from saying anything as she watched Santiago wander away. Her eyes shifted to the windows of her small office glancing out the glass to the giant dance floor.

  I followed her eyes, watching her stray from me to where Santiago stood. Santiago knew she was staring after him, and for that reason he barely glanced back over his shoulder towards her. Perhaps she worried about him. I knew that could be the only reason she stared after him. For she was that kind-hearted.

  “Sophia, I’m so happy for you and Nathan. I can’t believe it. It’s such wonderful news!”

  The others came closer. Damien and Damon as well as Angelo, whose long, white mane made him appear like a banshee. Even our newer member Riccardo, a seventeen-year-old runaway, had found his display most exciting. Riccardo had joined the coven over the weekend. Damien brought home all sorts of strays, and this time it hadn’t been a dog.

  Valentino was near the window by Santiago’s side; for some reason or another they had always been closer to each other than the others.

  I glanced back at them wondering why they chose to separate themselves from those that were like them. They, without a doubt, loved Sophia, but no matter what, they did what they wanted. I knew they would never go against Sophia’s words; they’d rather question my authority whenever the chance came. I had no power over their actions, and only by Sophia’s wishes did they ever do anything when I said it.

  Valentino frowned back at me, growling beneath his breath. He dressed in the same eighteenth-century apparel as Santiago, with the long black tailcoat and the vest in a lovely emerald color. A long collar covered his neck and was decorated with a claw pendant. Valentino’s face was painted in the same manner, to give him the pale appearance of a real vampire. Only when I looked at them did I realize how much they reminded me of Lestat and Louis, from Interview with the Vampire. That book was a bible to us and real enough.

  We referred to them as the Elders, because they were older than any of us, and far wiser in the vampiric sense of the word. Older in human reality, and just as old in vampire reality, which only meant they had done this most of their lives. They resembled eighteenth-century European vampires, with the silk top hat, the long dark cape, jacket, vest and walking cane. They had seen the worst of days, and the grayest of nights. They’d partaken in blood rituals of all sorts- humans as well as animals- or so they liked to tell people. I knew nothing but what the others knew, what they told others.

  We respected them because they were older Goth. Like human parents, the Elders were our guidance. A dying breed, instinctively abandoned by everyone, including their own children. These were the vampire rules we knew, in our lovely and long-lost Vampire Reality. This was the vampire reality we followed.

  Santiago was a savage in his feeding, sometimes biting and leaving teeth markings on his companions. It had not be a secret that he fancied doing the same one day to Sophia. To drink her blood would surely satisfy him greatly.

  That was his fantasy; I wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t written it into his journal, which I happened to come across. In the other pages were his many names and descriptions of all of us.

  As for Valentino, he cared for Santiago in ways I believe Santiago might have not been aware. I knew his sexual orientation and he preferred both. He also had his eyes on Sophia, but he would let Santiago have her if it meant he could win his heart.

  Valentino stared at me; his face fell forward vengefully. His hazel eyes penetrated and could cut the air around us. His vacant, hollow expression housed a warning. The vampire stare, the grimace that meant death. An expression most vamps gave their victims, but for vampires it meant, I don’t like you.

  “Oh, it’s so wonderful!” Damien cried delightfully. “I wonder what it’s going to be? When’s your due date, Sophie? Did you tell Nathan, yet? Oh, this is so exciting!”

  The others seemed as delighted as she did. Riccardo and Angelo were jumping up and down along with Damien thinking of all the things they must prepare for the moment of triumph. They just loved that. It meant “gold and riches” to them, an immortal something that couldn’t ever be abandoned.

  “Well, the do
ctor said I’m due in October. Nathan knows. Anyway, we talked about it. And we both thought it was about time we started having a family.”

  “Oh, this is the best news I’ve heard all day!” Damien exclaimed, holding unto Sophia’s arm.

  “We have to throw Sophie a baby shower!” shouted Damien and Riccardo.

  “Eric? What do you think? Eric?” Angelo asked, tucking at my sleeve as he caught sight of the Elder’s warning, and brushed the fear off with a simple smile and a relatively simple sigh.

  “What? Oh, yeah, of course…” I came out of my trance to notice Angelo standing close by me. The expression on his face read, ignore them, and come out of it. We have more important things to do, about which he was right.

  Sophia pulled me closer to her side, shielding me from Santiago and Valentino’s eyes. She hugged my arm and while the others discussed the plans of the shower, Sophia laid her head upon my shoulder and whispered quietly to the air.

  “It’s gonna be wonderful. If I have a son, I’ll name him Seth, after the character in my novel. What do you think, Eric?” Her deep brown eyes glanced at me, sparkling with a deadly light that danced from her pupils, at first moving in random, and then gathering into a single glow in the center, like bursting lights filled with wonders.

  I parted my lips to speak, but once again the smirk of Santiago and Valentino stopped me from answering her, and froze me in place as I watched them approach us. Santiago walked alongside Valentino, side-by-side like romantic lovers. Like Louis and Lestat. Santiago swung the cane slightly to the side, while Valentino used his as the walking stick for which it was meant.

  I wasn’t afraid of them, and certainly not now that Sophia was beside me observing their every action. The two handsome vampires were a part of the reason this place had done well, though it wasn’t the only reason. We had our share of entertaining the crowd. After all, we were the children of the night. People liked the strange and unusual.

  Valentino removed his hat, a gentleman in every way, which was the only thing I could ever give him credit for. His long, honey-brown mane was neatly groomed, pulled back in a ponytail. He pressed hard on his lip, tucking it back so that the canines protruded out from within his mouth. His face was painted white with his lips lightly stained red making him a very handsome vampire. The apparel was quite the opposite of the crucified, lace-wearing children of the gothic scene.