Erik paid the entrance fee for the three of them. A wrinkled old woman with only a few teeth spewed putrid hot breath on Alexa’s face as she stamped her hand with a red devil’s face. Both Matt and Erik looked at their stamped hands with a look that suggested the red devil was an ill omen.
“Next in line,” barked the woman, waving at the three of them impatiently. Alexa didn’t have the heart to tell her there wasn’t anyone behind them.
FEAR FAIR was alive with energy, music, and bright lights. The air was thick with the sweet smells of candy floss, popcorn, hotdogs and burgers, and with the familiar underlining scent of cheap beer and vomit. They passed a rollercoaster, a Ferris wheel, and bumper cars that jerked and crashed into each other. Laughter mixed with the creaking of metal as people inside small metal cabinets were swung in wild circles. Red, pink and yellow lights lit up the night sky, which seemed unearthly and magnificent at the same time. The faces that passed them were dizzy with excitement, and kids pulled on the arms of their obliging parents as they pointed to what they wanted to try next.
The fair was exactly like it had been two years ago. She’d come with her mother and her mom’s new boyfriend. And, as usual, her mother had disappeared and left her alone without any money. So Alexa had made the two-hour journey home on foot. Her mother had passed out on the couch, and the new boyfriend was nowhere to be found.
A young couple holding hands passed her, drunk with happiness. She spotted another couple entangled in a passionate kiss, and she turned her gaze away. She felt a familiar ache inside because she knew she would never have someone kiss her, touch her, or even hold her again. She’d had her share of boyfriends, enough to count on one hand, but there hadn’t been any real love. And now there never would be.
Love or any kind of physical relations was forbidden in Horizon. Only platonic relationships were allowed. Celestial beings had more important functions. They had to save the mortal world. She’d been alone in life, and now she’d be alone in death.
She realized she’d been staring too long when Erik turned to look at her. She couldn’t read the expression on his face, so she looked away and pretended to look for someone. The truth was, she was looking for someone. She was trying to find Santo or any of the other operatives, but it was impossible to see through the throng of people.
But she didn’t have to look to feel a darkness in the air that was growing stronger. The atmosphere pulsed with it, and her head throbbed. Somewhere in the fair was a rift.
“What is it?” asked Erik, watching her closely.
“I think there’s a rift somewhere inside this fair.”
Santo’s intuition had been spot on. He’d been right to bring them here.
“Can you pinpoint its location?” asked Erik, looking slightly impressed.
Alexa shook her head. “No. But I can feel it. There’s something evil here.”
Matt rubbed his head. “This place is huge. How are we going to find it? And what exactly is it?”
“Demon, most probably, because of the missing souls,” said Alexa. “But I think it has to be in a human guise. It probably took possession of some unsuspecting mortal. That would explain how it lured the girls away. The girls must have trusted it. Maybe an older man seeking assistance? A young child? I don’t know.”
“That could be anyone here.” Matt surveyed in the scene around them frantically.
“We should split up.” Alexa tried not to show any emotions. “That way we can cover more ground.” Alexa wanted to be away from them for a while. She needed to think on her own. She needed to get away from Erik. She wished he’d stop looking at her like that. Where was Rachel when she needed her?
Erik looked as if he was loath to part with her. “Okay,” he said. He looked at Alexa carefully. Then he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a cell phone. “Here,” he gave her the phone. “It’s yours. I programed our numbers already. But you should know something first. We carry them, but they don’t always work. Demons and the supernatural sometimes interfere with electromagnetic fields, so don’t get too close if you see anything. Call me and don’t do anything. Wait, and I’ll come as fast as I can.”
“I can take care of myself,” Alexa snapped.
“Never said you couldn’t,” said Erik evenly. “But for whatever reasons, Higher demons appear to be after you. Which means that lesser demons are probably after you, too. Just call us. We’ll do the same. Deal?”
“Fine.”
“We’ll meet back at this spot in half an hour.”
Alexa slipped her phone into her pocket and walked away. She already regretted the snappy tone she’d used with Erik. She could see that she had made him sad, and she felt guilty. She cursed herself for being so stupid, so mortal.
She was dead. She was an angel. And it was about time she started acting like one.
Alexa pushed her way carefully through the mass of people. It was hard to concentrate with all the noise and movement. Still, she followed her angel intuition, and it pulled her deeper into the fair. Somewhere darkness called out to her. And she would find it.
Twenty-five minutes later, Alexa was still walking around the fair, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She had circled the fair twice and seen all the same faces. No one payed her any particular attention, apart from a few cocky teenage boys who smiled at her. To them, she was just a regular teen girl, not an angel. It would be easy to forget herself and get swallowed up in the crowd.
Subconsciously, a part of her felt normal again, and that would be very dangerous. She had to keep reminding herself that she was dead, that she had died and didn’t belong to the mortal world. Not anymore.
As she continued to search the crowd, she thought for sure she’d spot detestable Rachel’s perfect features. She might even be able to trip her accidentally, but she wasn’t that lucky. They might not be an item, but it was clear Rachel had some serious feelings for Erik.
She didn’t encounter any of the other operatives either. She checked the time on her phone. She had just under five minutes before she had to rendezvous with Erik and Matt. Hopefully, they’d been more successful than she had.
A familiar pretty face came into view. Sarah Leclaire had been the most popular girl at Coffin Grove High when Alexa was alive. She was a short and voluptuous brunette. Typically, she was draped in designer clothes with a matching handbag and shoes that would have cost enough to feed all the children in the town for a year. She strutted her way through the crowd like she was on the catwalk.
Her entourage was exactly the same—Cathy Ringwald, the tall redhead who had an unnatural addiction to Skittles, and Ella Moradi, whose face muscles had stopped moving altogether when she was fourteen. Her large, sausage-like lips made her look like a sexbot.
Even though Alexa had never spoken a word to these girls, she had passed them in the hallway. They had always exploded in laughter when they had seen her, and they always made sure that she and the rest of the school heard them.
“OMG! Did you see her clothes?” and “I told you. She smells like the poor.”
Right. Because all poor people smell.
Sarah walked right past Alexa without seeing her. Alexa was tempted to stick out her leg and trip her, just to see the expression on her face before she hit the ground. But she smiled and resisted the urge.
Surprisingly, she felt sorry for the girls. All the luxuries in the world didn’t matter once you knew what was really out there. Fancy cars, designer clothes, the latest smart phones. They were all crap. Most mortals were blind to the lurking threat in the darkness that surrounded them.
But it’s always there. Waiting. Waiting for the right moment to corrupt and kill. In the end, all that mattered was that the demons didn’t win.
Alexa was surprised at how she had changed. Back in life she would have hidden from these girls. But now, in death, she couldn’t care less. It was a small victory.
When she’d first stepped into the fair, her angel intuition had told her that
something supernatural lurked in the area. But now the feeling came and went like a distant memory, and she began questioning whether she’d actually felt it at all.
As the Fun House came into view for the third time, the lights flickered once, and then went out.
Alexa froze.
The customers screamed in delight with nervous laughter and barely contained fright. They thought the power failure was part of the show. But Alexa knew better. She pulled out her cell phone. The screen was black.
A chill crawled up her back, and she felt her pulse surge in her wrists. The drone of laughter and voices receded as she homed in on the Fun House. It was the only building in the vicinity that had lost power. For an instant she thought she glimpsed a flicker of movement on her right. It was a flash of white that could simply have been a face. It could also have been a demon.
Slowly, Alexa followed her instincts and moved towards the building.
Another scream, but this one was different. It was a scream of horror, the sound of pure terror.
Alexa sprinted towards the sound and pulled out her soul blade. She dashed behind the building. Although the lights were still out and the area was pitch black, she could still see better than any mortal.
The mood in the air had shifted again. She felt a surge of evil. It was as if a well had opened somewhere in the Earth’s Veil and black fire was escaping. She was close now. Very close.
She came upon a group of teens. Their faces were white with fear, and they stood over something sprawled on the grass next to one of the trailers. Alexa dashed towards them.
A girl lay in the grass at their feet. Her body was in an unnatural position. Her lips were pale and gray, and her eyes confirmed that she was dead. With the pain still visible on her face, she looked up into the night sky with empty, scorched sockets.
The lights of the Fun House flicked back on, and all the mortals jumped.
Alexa ignored the crying all around her and stared at the illuminated screen on the cell phone still clutched in the dead girl’s hand. She sheathed her soul blade, kneeled next to the girl, and took her phone. The girl’s skin was still warm.
“Oh my god! What are you doing?” said a girl behind her. Her voice was raw and filled with emotions. “Don’t touch her. You can’t touch her. Get away from her!”
“Philip, call the police,” said a male voice.
But Alexa ignored them as she read the dead girl’s last text messages.
Darknight: You still wanna meet?
StaceyM: Yeah
Darknight: Meet me in the back of the Fun House in 5
StaceyM: Okay, see you there
Alexa was even more certain of her theory that a demon had possessed someone. Now she knew it wasn’t a weak old man or woman, or even a lost child. It was a male and probably the same age as its victims. The demon had probably possessed someone who was handsome and charismatic, otherwise the girls would not have followed him into these dark places. The girls trusted him. But it still didn’t explain why it took the souls and where it was taking them?
Alexa realized the flash of white she had sensed must have been the girl’s soul. Her wounds still oozed with fresh blood. It couldn’t have happened more than a few minutes ago. Her killer was probably still here. So where was he? Where was this Darknight?
She felt eyes on her, and when she looked up she saw the familiar figure of a tall and beautiful man with a long braid watching her. His face showed no emotion at all, and Alexa knew he had been responsible.
Michael whirled around and disappeared into the crowd.
CHAPTER 17
ALEXA POCKETED THE DEAD GIRL’S phone, ignored the screams of protests by that one girl, and bolted after Michael. It was crazy, she knew it was, but in the split second she had seen him she had noticed a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. If he hadn’t been caught at something, why would he have run away from her?
It must have been Michael. Somehow he was murdering these girls. Was he getting something out of this? What would drive a man to kill innocent girls? And what was his connection with this girl? How was she involved? What did Michael gain from killing her? Was this the real Michael or was it a demon?
Alexa had heard of Sensitives that had turned to the dark side. They were called Seirs. Wicked and deadly, the Seirs had been born Sensitives, but an evil streak in their souls made them susceptible to demonic influence. Was Michael selling the girls’ souls to a demon lord? Had he struck a deal with the Netherworld?
It still didn’t explain how and why the girls’ eyes were burned. If he was still human, what would possess him to do such a thing?
The head of House Michael was so tall that it was very easy to spot him in the crowd. He towered over the average mortal. Should she call Erik and Matt? She would have to stop and dial, and in those few crucial seconds she could lose Michael. Besides, they probably wouldn’t believe her.
No. She had to catch him first. No doubt Michael was strong. He was from the strongest archangel house. But he was still a mortal and would be no match for an angel with supernatural strength. What she was going to do with him once she got him was an altogether other matter. She’d think about that when she reached him.
Michael turned around and frowned. But Alexa didn’t stop. She pushed her way through the swarm of people, ignoring their cries and shouts as she rushed past. She could see his broad shoulders and the sway of his braid across his wide back. She realized that they had crossed the fairgrounds and were nearing the edge of Mystic forest. He was leading her away from the fair and into the cover of darkness, just as he had done with the girls.
Alexa crashed into someone, and she lost her focus.
“Oh, sorry, pretty lady,” slurred a voice.
But she was on her feet quickly and ignored the stale beer breath of the large man who had made her fall. But when she looked back to the spot where she’d last seen Michael, he was gone.
She clenched her jaw in frustration. She’d lost him.
She dashed over to where she’d seen him and halted at the edge of a metal fence that separated the town fair from Mystic Forest. But there was no sign of Michael. How could he have vanished like that? It made no sense. Alexa swore to herself as she scanned the area. Where the hell was he?
As she whirled on the spot, she felt the tug of evil more prominently. She focused on the feeling and followed it like a bloodhound on a scent. She found a gap in the fence that was large enough for a burly man to squeeze through.
She pulled herself through the gap and blinked at the darkness of the forest in front of her. She shivered at a sudden chill that licked up her back.
She’d been wrong. The rift wasn’t within the fair; it was somewhere in Mystic Forest.
Mystic Forest had its own urban legends. Over the years she’d heard them all: the ghosts, the goblins, the headless woman riding on a horse, a phantom coach and horses, or black hounds that would bring bad luck to all who saw them. The urban legends were so well known that Mystic Forest was considered a popular attraction for tourists. But now that she knew monsters really did exist, the forest brought a different kind of fear.
The forest seemed out of place somehow, like it didn’t fit with the happy little town. In the growing dark, the forest seemed to be breathing. It was unnatural.
There was no chirping of crickets and no croaking from the male bullfrogs in the nearby marshes. It was too silent. The air hummed, thick with the fumes of sulfur and rotten meat. Devils, demons and the worst kinds of fiends were born from the same impenetrable darkness that was in that forest.
Alexa clasped her soul blade so hard it hurt her hand. The wound in her back was suddenly sore again, and for the first time since she stepped foot in the world of the living, she felt tired.
It was a strange sensation at first. While her limbs felt weak and numb, she could also feel her mortal suit humming. It was in need of repair. The poison was not dissipating and it stung her back like hot wax. There was nothing she could do about tha
t now.
She gave herself a mental slap. This was not the time to panic. She thought of calling Erik, but she knew he would ask her to stay put, and by the time he arrived it would be too late. She would never catch up to Michael. Not in that forest.
Alexa made for the first wall of trees. She ran as fast as she could without poking out her eyes with the branches that slapped and sliced her face as she moved. It was too cold for this time of year, even at night in a forest. And this winter air did not smell of snow and pine. This air smelled of rot. The farther she walked into the woods, the more tightly the darkness closed in on her.
Her footsteps crunched in the leaves. She halted and listened. If Michael could hear her, she could probably hear him, too.
She heard nothing at first, but then she heard the snap of a breaking branch. Alexa rushed in that direction, amazed at her own agility to duck and jump over the many roots and branches.
He was close. She could feel it.
A flash of white light. Alexa flung herself after it.
She emerged into a little glade where a circle of dead grass surrounded a giant oak. The tree was gnarled and deformed, and she could see an opening at its base that was large enough for a car to drive through. There was only impenetrable ominous blackness inside.
The tree looked ancient. Its bark felt like solid rock. Flat stones with markings Alexa couldn’t read circled the foot of the tree. It looked like the kind of place where some ritual or ceremony would occur. Something evil could have been summoned here, but it did not look at all like a rift.
Rifts were rips and tears in the Veil. She’d never actually seen a rift before, but other angels had told her that they produced a ripple effect and looked like a wall of clear water. This one was black and solid. Well, it looked solid to her. And somehow she knew this was different. There was something wrong here. Something powerful. The pull of darkness was strong. She could feel it pulsing in her ears. Whatever this was, she was certain it was pure evil.
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