She thought of making a run for it, but if she ran she would lose the chance to confront Michael before he returned to Hallow Hall with a plausible story. She needed to confront him now.
A snap from behind the oak tree made her jump.
“Michael,” called Alexa. Her voice sounded steady, but her nerves churned with panic. She kept a safe distance from the strange black rift, or whatever it was.
“I know you’re there. I know we weren’t properly introduced, but I know you know who I am. Come out now and face me like a man, you coward.”
If she attacked his ego, surely he would come out, whether he was a demon or not.
She took a careful step forward, searching the area for any movement. “I know what you did to those girls,” she said after a moment. “And know that the heads of all the houses are going to know because I’m going to tell them.”
The strange dead air caused a high-pitched ringing in her head.
“Michael!” she bellowed. Her breath coiled in front of her in clouds of white mist.
Then she spotted wisps of darkness coiling around a figure who was hiding in the shadows behind the ancient tree. The figure stepped forward until she could see him clearly.
The trouble was, it wasn’t Michael who was waiting for her.
CHAPTER 18
THE THING WASN’T EVEN HUMAN.
It had mimicked the shape of a man to lure her. In a flash, the shadow broke apart, and ten creatures with bat wings came at her. They had childlike bodies and large mouths filled with razor sharp teeth. They attacked her like sharks.
Alexa swallowed her scream and moved on instinct. Her vision sharpened in the moonlight, and she saw a shadow rush toward her like a dark blur. The air smelled of feces and rotten flesh.
She slashed her blade in a great arc, and her arm reverberated as it cut through flesh and bone. Something heavy fell at her feet, but she didn’t have time to look at it before it burst. She spun and sidestepped, dodging the teeth of another creature as it came at her. In that split second, she had a better look.
What she thought were two creatures was actually one. It had a head and arms at both ends of its body, so that where the crotch should be, another head, torso and arms emerged. Both heads were full of snarling teeth. She was so stunned that she forgot herself for a half second and payed dearly for her mistake.
Pain erupted on the back of her left leg. She turned and thrust her soul blade right through the skull of one of the creature’s heads. The top half of the thing went limp, but its twin still chomped away at her calf. Alexa attacked the second head swiftly. The creature rolled on the ground twitching, and then it burst into a cloud of ash.
But she’d never fought so many opponents at once. She knew the key to fighting multiple attackers was to avoid fighting them all at the same time. But she didn’t have that luxury.
The creatures emitted clicking hisses as they lunged at her. Alexa pulled out her other blade, spun on the spot, and hacked at as many of the things as she could. Her blades caught them on their claws and ripped their rotten hides open. She could feel the warm wetness of their blood on her face and body.
But her strikes did nothing to hinder their attacks. Their teeth and claws were so fast and vicious that Alexa knew she would be done for if she even dared to blink.
A creature lunged for her with long leathery limbs that were covered with blisters and rot. When its black, depthless eyes met hers, Alexa’s insides froze at the evil she saw there.
She screamed as sharp teeth pierced the back of her neck. The creature began to pull her down, so she put all her weight into it and threw herself down on her back. With a satisfying grunt the beast let her go, and she leapt back to her feet. With two fast jabs, she cut both their throats. Three down.
Alexa danced in circles around her next assaults, cutting them down as fast as they arrived. But they were too fast, and there were too many of them.
Two of the creatures bit into the flesh of her left arm, and she lost her grip on her blade. It slipped from her hand. Her angel essence was seeping from the deep cuts in her arm. It illuminated the beasts’ faces with silver light. She cringed at the sight. With her right arm, she severed one of their heads, and they backed off.
But Alexa barely had time to register what had happened before they attacked again. She felt pain in her right hand, and her soul blade fell to the ground. The bastard creatures had disarmed her. They were clever.
How many were left now? Eight? Seven?
Another creature came at her, and she ducked under it, coming up with her fists ready. She backhanded it away with her other hand. Desperate, she rushed over to the large flat stones, picked one up and hurled it at the closest creature. It hit the top head straight on, and the thing plopped to the ground. Its wings flapped once, and then it exploded in a cloud of dust. She marveled at her aim.
But they were on her right away, and she felt the sting of their teeth on her legs, her arms, and her back. They were too close, and she couldn’t stop them. Still, she hurled another stone, and another, until she’d thrown the last. But to no avail. She could see their beady black eyes everywhere. There was nothing she could do, and even if she could get away, she had nowhere to run.
Two or three of them crashed into her, and she pitched forward. Even before she hit the ground, they had her pinned. The air was filled with hissing and grunting and tearing of flesh. Her flesh. She felt a surge of warmth as her M-9 tried to resist what it could, but there were too many mouths ripping at her clothes, and too many fingers tearing at her flesh. She knew it was bad when rays of white light spilled from the cuts and lashes on her body and illuminated the night.
Alexa screamed until her voice broke. But what did it matter?
No one would hear her cries for help. No one was coming for her. Even if Michael had been nearby, he would be long gone by now, happy that these creatures would take care of her. Dying as a mortal by breaking one’s neck was nothing compared to dying as an angel by being eaten alive by spindly, stinking, vile creatures from the Netherworld.
She couldn’t move. The ground had become wet, and she didn’t know if it was from the blood of the demons, or if her M-suit was bleeding out. It smelled heavily of citrus. Was that her artificial blood? Her angel essence?
Her last thoughts were of Erik’s soft, luscious lips, and how they would feel on hers. She imagined his strong body holding her close.
This was it. She was going to die a second time.
They were going to tear her apart and eat her while she was alive. And there was nothing she could do about it.
Spit dripped from one of the creatures’ mouths as it lowered its maw towards her face. She didn’t even want to think about where the other head was. Its breath was hot and putrid, and her eyes watered. Alexa braced herself for its teeth to pierce the soft skin of her face—
Branches suddenly exploded behind her, and she heard the sound of running feet. Something moved, and the creature raised its head in the direction of the sudden noise. It opened its mouth to hiss, but before it could defend itself it was hurled off Alexa by a powerful kick.
Alexa scarcely had time to blink before Erik stood in front of her, muscles tense and brandishing his weapon.
“You hurt?” he called out.
In one smooth movement, he brought his blade down into the creature’s chest. It collapsed to the ground, gurgling its last breath in a puddle of greenish color that Alexa could see, even in the dark. And like the others, it shuddered and burst into a cloud of ash.
“I’m okay,” she said, surprised at the effort it took to speak. She shook off her panic and jumped up.
Matt arrived in the next moment. He swung his long silver sword in great powerful arcs, and two of the creatures went down at his feet. Impressive.
The last two double beasts came charging at Erik. He whirled in an onslaught of flashing blades and severed the first creature completely in half. Its guts fell around him, and the two bodies twitche
d and then burst into ash. The last beast came up behind him, but he spun around and sliced its neck open. A howl died in its throat, and it exploded into ash before it hit the ground.
“Any left?” said Matt. He held his sword with two hands and looked like an ancient warrior or an action hero from the movies.
Alexa was impressed by both their skill, and she couldn’t tell who was the better fighter.
“I don’t think so.” Alexa scanned the area, but only piles of ash remained. She spotted her soul blade lying next to one of the piles and snatched it up. She couldn’t find her other dagger. “What the hell were these things?”
Erik moved a pile of ash with his boot. “Never seen this kind before. Most likely they were some lesser demons that slipped through the Veil looking for blood. I don’t know why they were here though, so deep in the forest. Lesser demons are usually where the meat is. They should have been at the Fair.”
True, the demons could have easily slipped into the fair and had a feast on the unsuspecting mortals. But the demons had stayed in the forest clearing. Alexa figured they must have been guarding the strange rift.
Alexa inspected her wounds. It wasn’t as bad as she had first thought, just a few cuts around her middle and thighs. Her M-suit had protected her. She couldn’t say as much for her new clothes. They looked as though a group of wild cats had shredded them. Her skin peeked out through the many holes. Valerie wouldn’t be pleased.
“You are hurt.” Erik rushed over to Alexa and lifted her left arm. White light spilled from her wounds and illuminated his face.
Too shocked by this sudden concern for her well-being to say anything, Alexa just stared at his face. It was such a handsome face. Just moments ago she thought she would never see it again.
Erik ripped off the bottom of his t-shirt and wrapped it around Alexa’s hand and wrist. It was like he had ripped a piece of paper. She didn’t understand the fierceness that gleamed in his eyes. He didn’t stop staring at her. And then he suddenly tensed, as if he was afraid he was wrapping her bandages too tightly.
Some silly part of her wished he would look after her like this forever. She almost felt alive again. She wanted to slap herself. She was being stupid.
“How did you find me?” she asked. But she couldn’t stop staring at Erik’s face, the line of his jaw, the stubble on his chin, and his full lips. His fingers merely brushed her skin, but their touch sent a jolt of electricity through her. She leaned more closely towards him. Why had he saved her when he said he hated all angels?
He stood so close to her that she felt the warmth of his body through his clothes. “When you didn’t show up at our rendezvous point, we went looking for you.” Erik tied the makeshift bandage with a small knot. He looked up at her. “We saw you charge after something behind the Skee Ball game booth. And then you disappeared through the fence. So we came after you.”
“What did you see?” asked Matt sheathing his sword.
Alexa braced herself for what she was about to tell them. “Michael.”
“Michael?” repeated Erik, searching her face. “What do you mean, Michael? Our Michael?”
Here it comes.
“Yes,” she answered. “Your Michael. I found another dead girl. Same as the others.”
She explained about the text messages and the rendezvous behind the Fun House. Then she described Michael’s reaction when he had seen her.
Matt shook his head. “It doesn’t prove anything. He was there. So what? So were you. He saw the body and was probably on his way to get the others.”
“But he didn’t,” said Alexa insistently. “He went through the fence. That’s why I followed him. His reaction was the complete opposite of what it should have been.”
“Maybe he saw something,” pressed Matt, raising his eyebrows. “That’s it. He saw those demons and went after them.”
Alexa opened her mouth to speak, but then she shut it. She curled her fingers and her nails bit into her flesh. She had known it would be hard to convince them. She was the stranger after all, and Michael was part of their family. If they didn’t believe her, chances are no one else would either.
Erik raked his hair with his hands. “It doesn’t make sense. Yes, Michael can be a real prick and a pompous ass sometimes, but he’s not a killer. Especially not a killer of innocent girls.”
Alexa shrugged. “How well do you know him? I mean, people do strange things for their own reasons. Could your Michael have an evil streak in him?”
She wanted to say that perhaps he was working with the Seirs, or maybe he had already sworn allegiance to them. If he had, killing innocent girls and stealing their souls would be his ticket into the Netherworld. But she saw the denial on their faces. She didn’t want to put them off her completely. But mostly she didn’t want to alienate Erik again.
“No. We know him well enough,” said Erik, although he didn’t sound convinced. “It can’t be him.”
But Alexa had seen something in Michael’s face. He was hiding something. He had lured her into the woods because he knew what was there. If he had wanted her dead, what better way to wash his hands of her than by having the lesser demons do his dirty work for him.
“I don’t think Michael is Michael anymore,” pressed Alexa. “Either he’s changed, and not in a good way, or there’s a demon controlling him.”
Erik shook his head. “No way. I would have noticed if he had been possessed.”
“From what I’ve learned,” she added cautiously because she’d never actually seen anyone possessed by a demon, “—you can’t tell. Not unless they want you to. If they didn’t show their true selves, it would be impossible for you or anyone to notice.”
“Not buying it,” said Matt. He and Erik both scowled.
“It would explain how the Higher demons knew I was at the morgue,” she continued.
“The Higher demons want me dead because they think I’m getting close to something. Someone at Hallow Hall told them, and that someone was Michael.”
“No way.” Matt shook his head and frowned. “Sorry, Alexa, but you’re wrong.”
Alexa held in her sigh as she considered. “He saw me, so he ran. How else do you explain it? Why else would he run from me?”
A long silence. Matt and Erik refused to look at Alexa.
Alexa controlled her frustration, but her shoulders tensed. “Then how do you explain why he came here to the rift in the tree?” she asked as she pointed to the old oak.
“What rift?” said Erik, looking at her as though she were mad.
And when Alexa turned to look at the tree, the rift was gone. The strange black shape had disappeared.
CHAPTER 19
ALEXA HAD BEEN IN THE mortal world for three days. October was right around the corner, and the trees were aflame with the fall colors—vibrant reds, yellows and deep oranges. She felt more at ease at Hallow Hall now. She almost felt normal, whatever that was.
Just as Valerie had told her, Alexa had free rein in the old hotel. She began to see some familiar faces, and they began to warm up to her as well. She discovered that some of the Sensitives actually lived at Hallow Hall permanently. Valerie and Erik lived there. Others lived in the nearby towns or came to stay when they were on assignment.
The longer she stayed in the mortal world, the harder it was going to be to go back to the world of angels and being dead. She wanted to stay for many reasons. For the first time in her life she felt like she belonged somewhere. She felt at home in Hallow Hall with her new friends.
But she could pretend all she wanted, but she knew one day she’d have to leave. Lance still hadn’t shown up, and she waited for him anxiously. She didn’t know what was going to happen when he returned.
All her wounds except for the one from the death blade had healed. It oozed yellow pus and had now grown to cover half her lower back in angry black veins. The sight was enough to make a normal person faint, and every few hours it got a little worse. She felt a strange cold-to-hot feeling, like a
fever, and a growing tiredness and numbness in her limbs. But she knew she couldn’t do anything about it unless she returned to Horizon. Hopefully no one would notice the dark circles under her eyes or the way her cheekbones looked more pronounced. She knew she looked like a person who’d been without food for a week.
The throbbing pain from the wound was a constant annoyance, but Alexa did her best to ignore it. She knew she didn’t have much time left before she would have to go back to Horizon. Until then she was a time bomb.
And she still wasn’t making any progress where Michael was concerned.
“I know what I saw. It was there,” Alexa had repeated on the drive back to Hallow Hall after the incident at the fair.
“I’m not saying you didn’t,” Erik had said sympathetically. “I believe that you saw a black rift or something like it.”
“But not the part about Michael,” she’d pressed, and Erik had refused to comment.
Even though they had argued, Alexa liked the talkative version of Erik much better. He looked into her eyes when he spoke, and he smiled a lot more. Alexa was not going to get all torn up about the Michael subject, so she decided to drop it until she had more proof.
She had a pretty good notion that none of the other Sensitives would be believe her story either. It might even make things worse. They might even ask her to leave.
Where would she go?
She couldn’t risk causing a disturbance if the Head of House Michael was really possessed by a demon and living right here in Hallow Hall. Not when Erik lived just a few doors down.
Although it was creepy, it was better if she kept quiet because she could keep an eye on them both. For all she knew, the demon’s appetites might change. Today it might be young girls, but tomorrow it might be young men.
Hallow Hall was the safest place for her. She doubted Michael would sic his demon dogs on her while she was here. He wasn’t stupid. He’d wait for another opportunity, but Alexa would be waiting. If Michael was a demon, she knew the easiest way to find out.
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