“What am I missing?”
Volpert was the one to fill me in with a wistful expression. “Those creatures, angels, aren’t the only enemy we’ve got. There are others who tend to affect us when they get too close to us. You need to steel your mind in order to be prepared when you face them. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
His words confused me more than they helped me. We seemed to have a lot of enemies. Why exactly that was, I didn’t dare ask at that moment. My relationship with my new family meant everything—it was the only thing I had. Doubting anything they said wouldn’t be beneficial.
“Shall we get to work, then?” Blackbird suggested and got to his feet.
“Very well,” Volpert looked around, silent agreement meeting his gaze from all the others, “Adam, time to get your powers under control.”
“Please, stand up,” Blackbird asked and held out his hand.
I got to my feet without taking it, still cautious.
“What are we doing?”
“We are teaching you how to teleport.” Blackbird winked at me.
“For real?”
He laughed at my incredulous expression. “For real.” With a step toward me, he reached out again and proactively took my hand, pulling me to the center of the stone bench-circle. The force of his pull made me realize that he was even stronger than he looked and I was glad he was on our side.
“Okay,” I stumbled to his side, “what do I do?”
“Close your eyes,” Blackbird instructed, “listen to the sound of my voice.”
I did as he told me and shut out all the images of stone and brick, and the others’ faces. Blackbird’s voice was echoing from the hard rocks on one side and was absorbed by the bricks on the other. I had a sense of dimension, just by hearing the sounds. The architecture was clear before my inner eye, even the rough edges of the exit to the tunnels.
“I will teleport us to one side of the room,” he continued, “When we are there, do not open your eyes, try to use your other senses to figure out where we are.”
I nodded, overwhelmed by his instructions, but eager to learn.
We faded out of the room, sounds mute and smells non-existent for a brief second, then a gentle thud, and solid ground reappeared under my feet.
“Now, Adam,” Blackbird asked beside me, “Where are we?”
It was surprisingly easy. The harmonics in his voice were bright and rich, and I smelled moisture and sediment. But that wasn’t all. I could hear the others shifting and turning their heads behind me, fire crackling somewhere at the end of a tunnel.
“We are close to the exit, on the side with the natural stone,” I concluded.
Volpert clapped his hands in the center of the room. “Well done, Adam. Now teleport back to me.”
“How?” What had they said? Think of the place you want to go to? Nervousness rose in my stomach.
Blackbird let go of my hand. “Visualize the circle of stone benches,” he spoke with a calm voice, like a teacher trying to take away the fear of a student. And he was doing a great job. “You can do this,” he encouraged. “You have done it before.”
I had, hadn’t I? I was a demon after all. My little pep-talk, in addition to Blackbird’s words, kicked me over the edge and I visualized the place I’d been standing before. The stone benches, smooth and cold, and the people sitting on them. Nora with her fiery hair, ready to defend me, Volpert, so proud of my tiny achievements, Jin, providing for us with souls, and Maureen… I thought of her dark eyes, and her red lips and my desire wasn’t to open my eyes to Volpert’s face when I arrived in their midst…
The sounds and smells and ground disappeared for a second, and I stumbled into something soft.
A pair of slender arms caught me and I inhaled a scent I hadn’t consciously perceived.
“Nice work,” Maureen said into my ear.
My eyes fluttered open and stared into hers. I had done it, I had arrived in the stone circle—half crouching on the floor, but still, I was there.
Blackbird chuckled beside us, obviously having followed me back to the center of the room.
“Well done,” Volpert praised.
I straightened up and stepped back, watching Maureen’s smile as it slowly faded.
“Try again,” Blackbird instructed and I did. Back and forth between both ends of the room until after what seemed like at least twenty times, they were satisfied I was in control.
“You’re a fast learner,” Jin commented as he took over Blackbird’s position as teacher. “Ready to learn to do things human-style?”
“I guess.” It didn’t matter if I was ready or not, I wanted to learn, I needed to. Anything I did brought a new chance of triggering a memory. Anything was better than sitting around and waiting.
“Lift your arm.”
I did. Jin laughed and I noticed how white his teeth were against his tan skin with a yellow-golden undertone.
“Way too fast. You are moving at demon-speed.” He lifted his arm at the same speed I just had. It looked completely normal to me. Then he repeated the movement in slow-motion. “This is what is tolerable when you interact with humans, not that we interact much with them…only when we are hunting.”
The others chuckled behind us, obviously amused by my basic training.
“Try again,” Jin said, tone a little sharper than before.
Again, my arm flew up, much too fast for what Jin was expecting. I stopped mid-air and dropped it, before I lifted it again, slowly this time.
“Acceptable.” Jin was a lot more critical than the others, it seemed, who applauded my minor achievement.
We did the same with walking, standing up, sitting down, turning, running, until after what seemed like an entire day, I was exhausted.
“You look hungry,” Maureen commented as she escorted me back to my room. I couldn’t help but notice a twitch of her mouth, indicating she was holding back a smile.
“I don’t think two will be enough this time.” I thought of our next meal. I felt drained, physically and mentally. Two souls wouldn’t satisfy my need for energy.
“Jin always gets enough for everyone. No need to worry.” She hid her eyes under a curtain of bluish-black hair as we turned the corner to my room.
Naturally, he would. He was the provider of the clan, he had helped me understand how to feed and I trusted he would know how much I’d need after this day of training.
“How long have you been with Volpert?” I asked, curious to learn more about my family. Despite the many experiences I’d had with them over the past hours, I couldn’t remember the slightest shred from my former life. I didn’t understand why they weren’t talking much about it, either.
“A while,” she said and tapped a brick in the stone wall. A small gap appeared and opened the view on something like a closet. Stacks of black pants and shirts were waiting to be pulled out and worn. “You might want to take a bath again,” she assumed, “Here are fresh clothes.”
“Thanks.” I stepped to her side and grabbed a set.
Maureen hopped aside, making way for me, as if she was scared of touching me, looking up at me from the side. There was tension between us—not the bad type.
“Maureen,” I asked, unaware if I would overstep any boundaries, “how close exactly were we before I…”
“Before you died?” she finished my sentence and her lips twitched again. She was struggling, that was obvious. What was she hiding? “Quite close, I’d say.”
That could mean many things. Like siblings, lovers, friends…
She turned and twisted into the narrow space between the closet and my chest, a hint of doubt flashing over her features before she smoothed them. “Approximately this close.” She leaned in and looked up from under two half-moons of black lashes. Had I had a heartbeat, it would have picked up pace.
Maureen held still for a moment before she ducked out of the narrow space between us and walked to the door, one elegant step after the other, in satin pumps I’d noticed fo
r the first time. I, on the other hand, kept standing there, clothes in one hand, staring after her like a moron. What had just happened?
As I glided into the steaming pool a bit later, the warmth of the water immediately did its effect on me. My muscles relaxed and my mind calmed as I watched the flaming-red symbols on the ground. Here in the water, neither time nor space existed. I was without a past or a future. I just was. Whether Adam was my real name or just a random one on a stranger’s gravestone, I couldn’t tell. Anyway, it was the name I reacted to now.
5
Limits
The meal had been satisfying. Two very bright souls and a less radiating one, and a good night’s sleep had done their job to fill up my empty reserves. I felt like a battery after recharging, ready to release my power on a target upon request.
“Today we have a new challenge for you, Adam,” Volpert announced as we all sat together in the room with the fireplace.
I lifted my head from watching the flames, catching a glimpse of Maureen’s face as my glance wandered toward Volpert. Her expression was sullen. The flicker of seductive force she’d used on me gone, or well-concealed behind the always-pensive mood when she was in Volpert’s presence.
“What’s the challenge?” I wanted to know, feeling strong and ready—invulnerable. Maybe not having a memory wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. Maybe it gave me a new freedom. No history holding me back like shackles.
“We’re going to see how strong you really are.” There was a bit of playful mocking in Blackbird’s voice as he stepped to my side and grabbed my arm.
In an act of reflex, I twirled around and grasped his throat, pinning him against the wall. A smirk found its way onto my face as I noticed his surprised look.
“Okay, okay,” he lifted his hands in a defensive gesture. “Easy.”
A feeling of superiority spreading in my chest, I loosened my hold on his throat.
“Damn,” Nora commented as she entered the room. “Blackbird’s the strongest of us. At least he used to be.” She laughed and Volpert joined in.
I couldn’t suppress a chuckle myself, and dropped my hands, human speed, just to practice, and freed Blackbird.
He coughed. “Not bad, Adam.” He rubbed his neck. “Let’s see how good you are with your non-physical powers.”
“I have even more powers?” This was getting interesting.
“Your demonic core is strong, Adam,” Volpert reminded me, “You are made to defend our cause.”
He had mentioned that before, but not shared what exactly that cause was. Curiosity mixed into my general mood of invincibility. “What is that?”
“In time, Adam,” Volpert repeated. “You’ve been through so much these past days. We don’t want to push it.”
There it was again, the feeling of something that didn’t actually spring within my own world of emotions. Was it a sense of superiority? I had felt it myself, but this version was coming from Volpert, I was certain. How was this possible?
“Show him how to incapacitate someone without touching them, Blackbird,” Volpert ordered. It was clear it was an order. Not the fatherly tone he used with me.
Blackbird nodded and held his hand out to Maureen. “Help me demonstrate, will you?”
Without a word, Maureen got to her feet and joined him, features a bit tense. Did he make her uncomfortable? I wouldn’t be surprised. Blackbird was twice her size and probably ten times her strength.
“It’s pretty easy,” he explained and lifted a finger, pointing at Maureen’s heart. “Similar to feeding. When you stand eye-to-eye with a human—or worse, an angel—you simply feel for their soul. Don’t just suck them out like you do when feeding, but search for the strings holding their soul connected to their body and you’ll be able to control the pain you inflict on them.” He inched up his finger and Maureen gasped.
“What are you doing? Is this normal?”
Blackbird grinned, not taking his eyes off of Maureen. “Demons don’t normally have a soul. She’s part human. That makes her a perfect demonstrator.”
“Is she in pain?” I wasn’t so much concerned as curious. How did this work?
“Don’t worry,” he reassured me, “She’s fine.”
“She doesn’t have a heartbeat,” I noticed.
“None of us do,” Blackbird commented.
“But if she’s part human…”
“Her heart stopped when she became a demon.”
How was that possible? “She died, too?”
“Technically, yes, just with her, only her heart stopped. She wasn’t buried the way you were.”
He smirked and let his finger sink. Maureen opened her eyes, dazed, but otherwise okay. Somehow I could tell from looking at her.
“Your turn.”
I shrugged and mimicked Blackbird’s gesture, lifting a finger and pointing it at Maureen’s heart. I felt the strings as Blackbird had described, they were running through my hand like leashes. They weren’t bright light as the human souls, the stars in their bodies, they were black as the night. With the smallest movement of my finger, I pulled and watched Maureen lose balance.
“Not bad for a first try,” Blackbird praised.
I dropped my hand and helped Maureen up. “Did I hurt you?”
She grabbed my hand and pulled herself up, brushing dust off her silken skirt.
“You would have to use a whole different force to hurt me,” she grinned and kissed my cheek. “You’re doing just right, Adam,” she whispered in my ear before she let go of my hand.
“You can’t hurt a soul if it’s not there,” Volpert explained. “It’s just the empty channels you’re using, the former pathways of the light.”
For some reason, his words made perfect sense, as if I’d studied anatomy before and this was just an add-on to my former knowledge. Was I remembering something? I focused on that hunch very hard, ignoring that I was keeping the others waiting, but nothing happened. No epiphany, no revealing vision.
“Imagine if there was light in there.”
My mind immediately switched to the picture Volpert had painted.
“The way it would feel to slowly draw the soul toward you, little by little….the power….”
As he spoke I could feel it. It would be beyond what I’d experienced with feeding. It would be the ultimate control. Control over my own instinct to kill and control over the other being. A surge of excitement rushed through me.
“I think he’s ready,” Jin whispered behind me.
“Bring in the human.”
I barely noticed their hushed voices, so caught up in the image they’d put into my mind.
“Here she is.” Jin popped up in front of me, a bright star next to him.
“Time to try on a real soul,” Volpert said and rested his hand on my shoulder.
The pulsating light in the struggling girl’s chest drew my attention. It made my mouth water.
“Let me go!” she yelled and kicked Jin’s shin with her sneaker.
Her fight made her light shine even brighter…
“Focus, son,” Volpert reminded me what my task was, “don’t kill her, incapacitate her.”
I lifted my finger as I had before with Maureen and searched the girl’s aura for those ends of strings I’d felt in Maureen. It was an act of pure willpower not to drain her energy then and there.
“Look at her face, not her soul,” Blackbird suggested, “it’ll help overcome the hunger.”
I did as he suggested and focused on the girl’s eyes. They locked on mine, a silent plea in them as I hooked my claws into the strings of light and started pulling. I, on the other hand, had a triumphant look for her, proud to have found the handles, like a puppet master.
A shriek escaped the girl’s lips as I tore on the stings in an act of impatience. Then she fell silent and collapsed to the ground, panting.
“Did I do anything wrong?” I worried as she lay motionless. Her light was still bright, fanning out toward my hand. I didn’t let go of it
. Whether I was worried about her well-being or my family’s disapproval, I wasn’t certain.
“Everything perfect,” Blackbird said, satisfied with my first attempt and relief spread in my stomach. “Let’s not push it too far, though. You’ll need your strength for our real enemies. You can help, if you’d like.”
“Help?” I looked up at him, loosening the hold on the girl, and noticed her breathing becoming more even.
“We captured one of them last night,” Volpert filled me in. “He’s in the interrogation room.”
As I was still comprehending, Jin knocked out the girl with a punch, making sure she wouldn’t wake up.
“You can have her as a snack later,” he smiled and shoved her aside with his leg. “We’ve got work to do.”
Blackbird and Jin started walking while I waited for someone to tell me what was happening.
“Go with them, son,” Volpert encouraged. “They’ll need your strength.”
“Aren’t you coming?” I wondered, but Volpert shook his head and nodded at Maureen.
“This one and I have a lot to discuss.” He turned and started walking in the other direction.
Maureen pursed her lips and shrugged before she followed him.
With a last look at the delicious light on the ground, I rushed after Blackbird and Jin, not knowing what to expect
“This way, Adam,” Jin called from the end of the long tunnel.
I followed them deeper into the caves and the darkness thickened, enveloping us all in another layer of protection. No eyes, no matter how eager, could ever see us here.
When we were almost at the end of our path, I made out an orange shine waiting there. Slow, labored breaths claimed my attention.
“Where are we going?” I asked, trying to stay close to them in the narrow tunnel.
“Interrogation room,” Jin said curtly. He glanced over his shoulder, face full of anticipation. “We’ve been trying to track this one down for a while. This should be interesting.”
They led me into a cave, high enough to feel like a small hall, but shaped of natural stone. There were iron chains running along the wall across the room, then there was a flattened, circular area on the ground, right in the center of the room. A human shape was laying there, chest rising and falling in uneven motions. But what got my interest wasn’t his twisted posture, it was a pair of white wings, and the blinding bright light radiating from his body.
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