The Soul Thief

by Kim Richardson

  Alexa had almost forgotten about the older woman in the room. Her face was expressionless, and there was no warmth in her voice.

  Alexa’s eyes widened. “I haven’t decided yet.” The woods were nice, but they weren’t exactly the Hilton.

  “Good. Then you’ll stay here as our guest,” said Valerie, and then she added quickly, “and I will not take no for an answer.”

  “It has been quite some time since an angel has graced us with their presence here in Hallow Hall. When you report back, I’m sure the Legion will be happy to know that their generosity has gone a long way, and that their money has been well spent. We would not want the Legion to accuse us of being negligent with one of their angels.”

  “No—I mean, yes,” said Alexa. “That would be great.”

  Valerie smiled briefly. “Well, now that everyone’s been acquainted, perhaps Matthew can give our guest a tour, if she feels up to it.”

  “I’ll do it.” Erik swung his naked legs off the bed and smiled at Alexa. “I think I’ll need pants first.”

  Rachel was clearly pissed that her boyfriend had volunteered to show Alexa around, and Alexa felt some satisfaction at Rachel’s displeasure.

  She should probably wait for Lance to return, but she knew that a tour of the old hotel would give her a better insight of the Sensitives. She still needed to figure out who wanted her dead.

  Alexa headed for the door, but Valerie swung out her arm and stopped her.

  “First, you will take a shower and change your clothes. I will not have you parade like that in front of the younger ones. Angels can take showers, I presume?”

  Alexa couldn’t help but notice the edge in Valerie’s voice, but she replied simply, “Yes.”

  Besides, Erik and Matt were looking over her clothes and hair with obvious distaste.

  “Good. Follow me.”

  Rachel’s laugh echoed in her ears as she followed Valerie out the door.

  CHAPTER 14

  VALERIE TOOK ALEXA DOWN THE hall and into room number 310, an unoccupied guest room with an en suite, just like Erik’s.

  “Since this used to be a hotel, you will find that all the bedrooms are equipped with their own bathrooms,” Valerie closed the door behind her.

  The room was large and lavish with beautiful polished wood furnishings that looked antique and maybe even dated back to the original hotel. But the carpets, beddings and curtains were all new. While Erik’s room was masculine and tailored to him, this room was more neutral in color and furnishings. It was still grand, and Alexa wondered if Valerie had purposely brought her to this spectacular room to impress her.

  Alexa crossed to the window and peeked at the grounds below. She faced the front of the hotel, which was good since she had a clear view of who came and went through the front entrance. The pond reflected the reds and oranges from the setting sun. It would be dark soon.

  Alexa peeled off her clothes. They had been soaked with demon blood, which had mixed with M-suit perspiration and hardened. She barely glanced at the claw foot tub. She never took baths. While she untangled her hair, she took a moment to stare at her naked self in the bathroom mirror.

  It was both haunting and terrifying to see one’s dead self looking back. Her face, her arms, her breasts, her stomach, everything was exactly as she remembered. She even retained the long scar on her forearm she’d gotten when she’d fallen off her bike when she was nine. When she was satisfied that everything seemed to be in its rightful place, Alexa turned around and peered at her reflection over her shoulder. She let out a gasp.

  The death blade had cut her skin deeply, and now the wound was oozing a yellow transparent liquid that she was sure was not her artificial blood. Angry black veins surrounded the cut, like a spider web. Alexa feared the worst. The poison was still in there. The Legion had been wrong. Her M-suit couldn’t neutralize it. Her body was infected and dying. It took all her self-control to keep her knees from buckling at the sight.

  “Is everything all right in there?” Valerie called from behind the door. “Alexa?”

  For an apparently angry old woman, Valerie seemed unduly worried about what Alexa was doing to her precious bathroom. She couldn’t figure her out.

  “Fine,” said Alexa, although she was still trembling. “I just can’t believe how dirty I am. I’m going in the shower now,” she said and jumped under the delicious stream of clean, hot water.

  After a long shower and washing her hair three times just to get the demon guts out of it, Alexa dressed in the new clothes Valerie had given her. They were just like Rachel’s: black pants and black shirt under a black jacket. Was Valerie trying to say something? Alexa even had fresh new undergarments. She didn’t ask how Valerie had known her size. Her boots were all that remained of her old clothes. They must have met with Valerie’s approval.

  She looked at herself in the mirror again and felt relieved to be in the presence of a now a spotless angel.

  She tied her weapons belt around her waist so that it was partially concealed by her new jacket. With a traitor still lurking somewhere in Hallow Hall, having a soul blade on her hip made her feel safer.

  After she’d brushed out all the knots and pulled her wet hair into a ponytail, she exited the bathroom and followed Valerie down to the main hall.

  Hallow Hall was buzzing with life. Most of the dozen or so people who milled about were older than her. Some openly stared at her when she came in while others ignored her completely. She could see that they all had birthmarks.

  A balding man had a birthmark in the shape of an X with a line straight through it on his left ear. A woman who carried a stack of books had a sigil that looked like a mirrored small R on her forearm. A teenage boy stared at her with more disbelief than fear. His right temple was marked with a sigil in the shape of a small T. Alexa smiled at him. He blushed and then tore away down the hallway. While she had not seen the birthmarks of all the seven archangel houses, she suspected they were all represented. It was just as Lance had said.

  Erik and Matt chatted happily in the center of the lobby. Alexa was not pleased to see that Rachel was with them. Her womanly charms were nearly popping out of her tight tank top as she leaned close to Erik. Her perfect teeth flashed in her perfect face. Both the boys seemed to be enjoying her company.

  Figures. What young man wouldn’t want the attention of a gorgeous blonde? Alexa hated her more.

  She gave Erik a smile and his face lit up. His magnificent smile made her weak in the knees, made her feel things she shouldn’t, made her feel alive. A flutter of nerves like tiny electric shocks ran up and down her spine. Was this an M-suit malfunction? She shouldn’t be feeling like this. It was wrong. It was impossible.

  She tried to keep her true feelings from bubbling over. If Lance were here, she’d have asked him to bite her leg so she could focus on that instead of the growing ache in her chest.

  Rachel saw the smiles that she and Erik had exchanged, and her face darkened to an ugly red. Alexa could swear she saw fangs peek from her thick lips.

  Valerie gently tapped Alexa’s arm. “Here,” she said and handed her a keycard. “This is your room key for 310. It’ll be your room for the duration of your stay. I’ll have housekeeping bring up some more clean clothes. They should keep you looking fresh for the next few days.”

  Alexa tried not to stare at the archangel Uriel’s U-shaped sigil on Valerie’s right wrist. She took the key and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

  “Thank you.”

  Valerie watched her for a moment. “Is there anything else I can help you with? Do you have any questions?”

  “No.” She thought, Can you tell me who tried to kill me?

  “Well then, I’ll leave you to it,” said the woman. “I’ve got a council meeting in a few minutes. Erik will see to it that you’re properly looked after. I hope the Legion will be satisfied with your accommodations.”

  Alexa watched the Head of House Uriel disappear through a set of double French doors just
as Erik and the others came over.

  “I think she likes you,” said Matt. His easy demeanor immediately put Alexa at ease.

  “I seriously doubt that,” said Alexa. “She’s probably on her way to talk to my superiors.”

  Alexa knew she’d said something wrong by the strange looks Erik and Matt exchanged, and by the happy smile that Rachel gave her.

  “She can’t contact the Legion,” said Matt. “None of us can. Only House Ramiel can do that. They’re born with the gift of divination and clairvoyance. It’s a mind thing. The Legion speaks to us through them. I have no idea how it works. It just does. Only those who are powerful enough can communicate directly.”

  “So you can understand why your presence is freaking people out a little,” said Erik. “And why everyone’s staring at you right now. We’re not used to seeing angels in Hallow Hall.”

  Alexa tried to look cool and indifferent, doing her best not to show how foolish she felt. “You’re right,” she tried to laugh it off, but it sounded forced. “I’m—”

  Suddenly the doors burst open, and a large man carried a young boy into the room. The boy’s pale face was dirty and bloody like he’d been in a fight. But just by the way the whites of his eyes showed, and the way he looked around without really seeing, Alexa knew something was very wrong.

  “A drifter,” said Erik. “They’re the children of Sensitive parents who abandoned us and refused to live by our laws. They’re exiles. Their children are at the mercy of the mortal world, and they don’t understand what’s happening to them. They’re terrified. They see demons, and they think they’re insane. Sometimes they kill themselves if we don’t find them first.”

  With a profound sadness, Alexa watched the terrified boy. She imagined how scared he must have been.

  The boy’s eyes widened at the sight of her, and he started to scream and kick the man who held him. Alexa flinched back and bumped into Erik. She watched the boy until they carried him away. She waited until she couldn’t hear his terrified screams anymore.

  “Where are they taking him?”

  “To the medical wing,” said Erik gently. “Don’t worry. They’ll take good care of him. He’s much better with us in here than alone out there. He’s safe now, and in a few weeks he’ll join others who are just like him. Come on. Let me show you.”

  Alexa let Erik steer her away by the elbow, only too aware of Rachel’s laser-beam eyes on the back of her head. She could feel the warmth from his fingers while he held her, but the moment was gone when he let her go.

  Alexa had never imagined that Hallow Hall could be such a strange and splendid place. As she followed Erik, they met more people milling about the endless halls, doorways, and staircases. But for their various birthmarks, they would have passed for normal mortals. No one stopped them, or spoke to them, but they didn’t hide their surprise when they spotted Alexa. She wasn’t one for attention and felt like an animal at the zoo. She did her best to ignore them.

  They passed a large dining room with rows of mahogany tables draped in white linens and surrounded by comfortable chairs. The tables were laid with glittering silver plates and sparkling cups. A dozen or so mortals sat and ate at some of the pretty tables while a few younger girls and boys cleared the dirty plates from others.

  “Dinner is served from six to seven,” said Erik, and then he opened and closed his mouth like a fish, as though he’d said something he shouldn’t have. Alexa knew exactly what he was thinking. Angels didn’t eat or drink. Erik’s face flushed as he hurried her past the dining room.

  The windows that dotted the long hall were covered with light curtains, and lush plants grew in planters. Thick rugs covered much of the marble stone floors, and grand chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Alexa could see that the angel wings shading the light bulbs were part of an angel theme that was repeated throughout the house.

  Alexa turned around in place, taking in the grandeur of the ornate furniture, the paintings, and the plush carpets. All of it paid for by the Legion, or so Valerie had said.

  Outside she could see a large courtyard and garden with neatly trimmed boxwood shrubs that bordered gravel walkways. Hallow Hall was a giant U-shaped building.

  They reached a large wooden door that was covered in archangel sigils, like small letter T’s. Alexa could hear voices inside, and she peered in through the window.

  Rows of young teens sat in what was obviously a classroom, but they weren’t typing on their laptops or texting on their phones. Their tablets, phones, books, and even some Mars chocolate bars, hovered in midair above their desks, as though they had been suspended by invisible strings. These kids appeared to be capable of levitation.

  “House Ramiel.” Erik smiled. “They’re born with the gifts of clairvoyance, divination, and telekinesis. We’re teaching them how to control their abilities. I’ve heard of a powerful operative from a house in Germany who can kill demons with his mind. It’s a pretty awesome skill to have.”

  “I’d have to say yes, especially if he didn’t have to get close to the demon,” said Alexa.

  She watched a girl who was juggling two daggers in the air. She wouldn’t mind having that kind of power either.

  The next rooms were all classrooms where young operatives from all the different houses were being taught the skills required to fight against the forces of darkness. Each classroom was decorated with the sigil of a different archangel house. Across from the telekinesis teens’ room was House Raguel. Although it was empty now, Matt explained that new weapons were invented here.

  Down the hall was the House Sariel classroom.

  “These guys are occult experts,” informed Erik. “They study the ancient supernatural texts and demonology.”

  Alexa peered into the glass but could only see darkness. Although she didn’t feel the presence of death, she could smell it.

  On the doors at the end of the hall Alexa recognized the same sigil she’d seen on Valerie’s wrist.

  “This is House Uriel,” she said.

  She peered into the largest library she’d ever seen. Thousands of books were stacked on three floors of floor-to-ceiling shelves. The desks in the middle of the room held computers with touch screen monitors, and people on each floor were reading, writing, and whispering.

  Alexa loved books. She even loved the smell of books. This was like heaven to her. She spotted a comfortable chair next to a large window. She’d have given anything just to kick back and lose herself in a book…

  “House Uriel hangs out here, but everyone’s allowed to use the library,” began Erik, as though reading her mind. “You can use the computers, too, if you want. The greasy haired guy with glasses sitting alone over there,” he pointed. “That’s Daniel Turner, of House Sariel. He’s the biggest nerd in Hallow Hall. If you ever have questions about the occult, demons, or anything supernatural, he’s your guy.”

  Daniel, who Alexa guessed was probably in his mid-twenties, must have been the same Daniel that Santo had mentioned earlier. He winced at the sound of his name, but he never took his eyes off his laptop screen.

  There didn’t appear to be any other classrooms on this floor.

  “Where’s House Raphael?” she inquired. There were still three houses missing.

  “Downstairs, on the medical level,” said Erik.

  “And what about yours?”

  Erik’s face lit up. “This way.”

  He led them back down the hallway and crossed the main lobby to the east wing.

  Rachel had not said a word on Alexa’s tour, but she never missed a step and stayed right next to Erik. It was as if she felt she needed to protect him, as if Alexa was going to harm him somehow.

  A sudden breeze with a hint of salt brushed Alexa’s cheeks, and she spotted a large in-ground pool full of sparkling, crystal clear water. Just looking at it made her want to throw up.

  “And here is the pool,” said Matt, “in case you need to…you know…” He gestured as though he was jumping in. “It’s sa
lt water, too. Another bonus for you guys, right?”

  Alexa gave him a tight smile and scarcely glanced at the pool. She looked straight ahead and walked faster.

  Lastly, they came to a set of double doors just like the ones to the library, but these had the sigils of two different houses marked on them. She could hear grunts and shouts, and the clang of metal against metal from somewhere inside. They were familiar sounds to Alexa. Erik grinned at Alexa and pulled open the doors.

  It was a giant ballroom with polished floors that had been converted into a training camp. Mats had been placed at intervals all over the floors. And at the opposite end of the room were sparring and training rings. The west wall was covered from floor to ceiling with swords, daggers, spears, bows and arrows, maces, axes, and other weapons that Alexa had never seen before. But all the weapons were sharp and were obviously meant to kill demons.

  Adjacent to the rack of weapons, was another room, and through its open door Alexa could see more swords, knives, daggers, and other gleaming weapons. It was an armory.

  Girls and boys of all ages sparred with swords, daggers and spears in the training rings. They were fast, lethal, and brutal.

  In Horizon, Alexa had graduated quickly from sparring in red sand dunes at Operations, where all the rookies learned to train with weapons, to the more modern training camps in the Counter Demon Division. This training facility was very familiar to her.

  For the first time since her arrival in Hallow Hall, she felt as though she could fit in here. Definitely.

  “This is where we hang out and train,” said Erik.

  He crossed the room to the weapons area. “As soon as our aptitudes form, we start to learn how to protect ourselves and kill demons.”

  “Why are there two different sigils on the doors?” she asked to no one in particular.

  Before Erik could answer, the group of Sensitives nearby stopped their training and turned their attention to her. Amongst them was a large and very pale youth who looked particularly threatening. His pale pink eyes flickered with distaste, and his lips were pulled back in a snarl. His face was white with fury, and his focus remained on her.