Keeper of the Innocents

by Kristy Centeno

  But then, no matter how much I tried to deny it, deep down I knew he and I were not that different. We both had something to hide. We could never reveal to others who we were. Our lives were far from normal. And, yes, we both strived to fit in and call no attention to ourselves so that our deepest, darkest secrets could remain that way, a secret.

  Demon or not, Rhyzel felt, suffered, and even cried just like every other human. It was only a matter of me coming to accept this. The problem was, I had a hard time trusting him.

  “Stop that!” I pushed on his chest to keep us from touching.

  “Stop what?” He gave me an annoyed look.

  “Stop thinking so damn much. Every time you think about the past and then touch me, I see what you see.”

  Rhyzel looked startled for a second there, but the look on his face quickly changed to undisguised anger. “How do you know I was thinking about the past?”

  “I—” Funny how I came to that conclusion. I don’t know exactly why, but I got the eerie feeling something about the house had triggered a memory in him, and as we came in physical contact, he transmitted his thoughts—or a distorted part of them to me. “I only seem to have a vision around you when you’re…in that mood.” I gestured to his face as if the answers were all written on it.

  His demeanor completely changed. For a second or two he actually appeared vulnerable, lost even. I looked at him and couldn’t help comparing him to a scared child looking around for his parents.

  No demon I’d ever met ever gave out this level of vulnerability.

  “That gift of yours is very annoying,” he replied at last. “I didn’t mean to share anything. It just happened.”

  “I know that.” I just had to look away. I couldn’t stare at his handsome face anymore and begin to see him as more human than evil. I couldn’t allow myself to think he could be remotely good so I turned back around and hurried up the stairs to the front porch. “Just keep yourself away from me when you’re…thinking.”

  “I’ll try my best.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but I ignored it.

  As I got to the door, I noted there were no lights on. If I had luck on my side at all the people inside would be fast asleep. As much as I needed to protect my temporary charge, I didn’t want to be arrested for breaking and entering.

  Hoping to get an idea on whether or not the parents of my charge were asleep, I leaned against the door, placed my ear against the wood, and listened for noises. Everything was silent.

  “I don’t think they’re awake,” Rhyzel whispered next to me. “I just looked in through the windows and there’s no one around that I could see. I think they’ve already hit the sack.”

  I took a step back and spared a glance in his direction. “You’re thinking about going in there with me, aren’t you?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “You might need some help.”

  I wanted to argue that I knew what I was doing and didn’t need help, but the more I argued with him the more time I wasted.

  “Just stay back and don’t mess things up.” I turned my attention back to the door, wrapped my hand over the doorknob, and used a slight burst of purple magical strings from the tips of my fingers to the keyhole, where they worked at unlocking it. The second I heard the locks click, I turned the knob and opened the door. I stepped inside with Rhyzel closely behind.

  “Do you even know where you’re going?” he asked as he turned to close the door.

  “Keep your voice down. Someone might hear us,” I whispered harshly.

  I didn’t need to take a second to observe the house’s layout. Thanks to Ezekiel I knew exactly what the interior looked like with the lights on. He’d made sure to provide as many details as possible to help and I was thankful that my gift, as inconvenient as it was at times, did help more than it hindered.

  I did take a moment to make sure there was no one moving about. Rhyzel stood quietly next to me, his gaze focused ahead as he too, listened for any indications that we had been discovered. Everything was silent and still, a clear indication the inhabitants were either fast asleep or already in their bedrooms for the night.

  “Mom! Mom!” A cry from somewhere on the second floor erupted through the otherwise quiet household. The fear in the little boy’s voice propelled me to move forward. Without giving much thought to anything, I rushed across the foyer and up the stairs that led to the second floor. Rhyzel kept pace behind me.

  Halfway up the flight of stairs I was forced into an abrupt halt by the sound of movement and the click of a door as it was being opened.

  “Shit!” I raised my right hand and commanded whoever was exiting the bedroom at the top of the stairs to freeze in place. The door had been opened halfway when it stopped. “Come on, we don’t have too much time.”

  My ring grew warm and began to vibrate, letting me know I was very close to something evil. Once quick glance and its red coloring confirmed there was a demon nearby.

  “What did you do?”

  “Froze them, but it won’t hold for long.” I started up the stairs again, taking a sharp right turn at the top and down the hall to where my temporary charge’s room was located. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me towards the door and swung it open with a slam.

  Sitting on a twin size bed, clutching a comforter to his chest, a look of panic written on his face, was the six year old boy I’d come to save. Floating next to him was a being so horrifying, for a second there I thought it couldn’t be real.

  “What the hell is that thing?” I took a quick intake of breath.

  Unaware of our presence, the strange being simply floated next to the little boy, it’s impossibly long, thin fingers reaching out for its prey.

  “I thought you witches were well educated in the arts of demon identification,” Rhyzel retorted, squaring his shoulders as he moved past me.

  I’d seen a great number of demons before, but this eight foot tall, emaciated looking being was definitely among the list of newly discovered supernatural creatures.

  “Spare me the sarcasm, okay? Sometimes we learn as we go. This is one of those times.” I took several steps forward and made to lift my arm, but Rhyzel shoved my hand down. I tossed a questioning look in his direction.

  “Didn’t your Overseer tell you what you’re getting into?”

  My Overseer? Just how much did he know about me?

  “My Overseer isn’t exactly the chatty type. He only told me to come to this address, save the boy, and not get myself killed,” I said, snapping my arm out of his hold. “And I’m wasting time talking to you.”

  “That’s a Rake. It feeds on fear. And it will go berserk the second you interrupt it from feeding.”

  The little boy screamed again, catching my attention. I turned my gaze away from Rhyzel and to my charge. Berserk or not, I couldn’t stop to think over a plan. I’d already taken too long talking with Rhyzel. The scene unfolding before me required immediate action.

  “I’m going to have to risk it then,” I replied. Lifting my arm and summoning the magic within, I spread my fingers apart and forced it out through the palm of my hand. A burst of purple mist rocketed out of my hand and slammed into the Rake, propelling it backwards. With a blood curdling scream, it flew back and crashed against a huge bookcase three feet away. The piece of furniture broke upon contact and crumbled into sections of wood on the floor as the Rake took it down with it.

  The noise sounded extremely loud in the stillness of the night.

  Knowing that the Rake would probably be down for a few minutes at the most, I ran to the bed and reached out for the little boy.

  “Come on, I need to get you to safety.”

  The dark eyed boy stared at me for a moment, as if he recognized me from somewhere. “I knew you’d come.”

  Startled by his statement, I stared back. “What do you mean? How would you know?”

  “I dreamed about you.” He then took the hand I’d offered him and was immediately assaulted by images of his life
. But instead of seeing into his past, I saw into his future. He was destined to be one of the best Demon Hunters to ever exist and tonight happened to be that crucial point that would mark his destiny forever.

  He had a bright future ahead of him, but it wouldn’t be easy. He would have to undergo numerous tests, some of which would test his own sanity. But he was a strong kid, he would make it. I could see that much. I could also see that unlike me, who was only able to have visions via physical contact, his came as he slept.

  That’s how he knew I was coming. I was also able to catch his name in the midst of the information flooding my brain: Devin.

  “Demi!” Rhyzel’s voice startled me and I let go of the boy’s hand. Seeing Devin backpedal over the mattress, his face a mask of fear, I knew something had to be wrong, so I turned on my heel only to come face to face with the ugliest demon I’d seen by far.

  Its beady eyes stared right at me. It's too wide mouth contorted into a snarl, drool dripped from in between tiny sharp teeth that resembled those of a shark.

  Before I could react, it wrapped its skinny fingers around my neck and lifted me off the floor. Instinctively, I grabbed its wrist with both hands, trying to give myself some control of my own body by not allowing the Rake to hold all my weight by the neck only. This way I could at least try to stop it from breaking me in half.

  How would I accomplish that? I had no clue. But I wasn’t about to go down without a fight. I wasn’t ready to die yet.

  The damn thing’s fingers made up about two thirds of its hands and as a result they wrapped around my neck almost a second time. Not only that but they seemed to mimic a rope as they tightened around my neck muscles, slowly cutting off my air supply.

  I quickly came to the conclusion that I was in serious trouble.

  I tried to kick at it with my legs, since they were already dangling a few feet off the ground, but no matter how hard I tried, the lower portion of the Rake’s body did a great job at avoiding getting pummeled by reducing its legs to a grayish condensation. It must have been a defense mechanism, one that hindered my attempts at bringing it harm. One moment it had two extra-long, thin legs and the next, it floated about a foot off the floor, as if made up of fog or mist.

  Behind me Devin screamed out my name. I assumed he knew it because of his gift, but it was the fear I heard in his voice that spurred me into action.

  I dug the tips of my fingers into the grayish skin of the demon’s wrist and summoned my inner magic again. A second later I was forcing several purple threads to wrap themselves around the length of its unusually long arms and act as conductors for the torrent of magic I was about to release from within.

  Having caught up with my plan, it began to shake me by the neck, thrashing me from side to side like some rag doll. I held on to its one arm with my hands and commanded a huge release of magic out through the threads. The Rake let out an ear-splitting screech as it was hit by the equivalent of 50,000 volts of electricity.

  To me it seemed as if everything was going in slow motion, but I knew it really wasn’t.

  “Demi, brace yourself!” I heard Rhyzel say seconds before he crashed into the Rake, sending all three of us smashing against the double bay windows on the right side of my charge’s bed. The glass broke instantly, a piece of it slashing my upper left shoulder. In no time at all I could feel the warm liquid dripping down my arm, not to mention the pain—it was almost surreal. That was the least of my worries, though. Our bodies breaking the glass forced it to give way and made it easy for all three of us to free fall from a two story height.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I Don’t Hate You

  In a matter of moments I found myself falling to the hard ground below with the Rake and Rhyzel keeping me company. I knew that if I didn’t do something to soften the blow I’d end up hurt more than I already was. My shoulder burned like hell, but that would pale in comparison to a few broken bones and a possible concussion.

  The good thing was that the emaciated demon had let go of my neck as we smashed clean through the double bay window, so I could breathe again. The bad thing was we were seconds away from becoming part of the landscape.

  My survival instincts kicking in, I squeezed my eyes shut and summoned the magical power within, willing it to form a shield around us. I needed to protect Rhyzel as well, but I couldn’t do that without shielding the Rake, too. We were all much too close for me to save one without the other. Thinking that I could most definitely kill the Rake once we landed safely, I forced a round, barely visible sphere to form around all three of us.

  It absorbed most of the shock of the impact, but landing was still painful. I, for one, landed on my back, almost knocking myself unconscious. What little air I had in my lungs came out in a rush as my posterior made contact with the ground. By then, I was in too much discomfort to even worry about the Rake and Rhyzel.

  My vision blurred momentarily—not that I could see much, anyway. Since it was nighttime, I could only make out so much.

  “Demi!” Rhyzel’s voice resounded from someplace nearby. “Get up!” There was an edge of concern to his tone that motivated me to at least glance to my right where he should have been. I found the Rake hovering over me instead, one hand reaching out for me.

  “Crap.” I rolled to my right side and picked myself off the ground seconds before the bony fingers touched me. Dizzy though I was, I forced my body to cooperate and work with me. I couldn’t afford another mistake.

  I faced the Rake once I stood on steady legs, but found its attention had shifted to Rhyzel. My demon neighbor was staring at the skinny creature with glowing red eyes. At first I had no idea what he was doing, but I quickly noted that every time he blinked, the Rake would scream and take a step back.

  Paying close attention to Rhyzel, I could see he was causing tiny explosions within the creature’s body that were barely noticeable, except for the fact that because it opted to keep its current form in a dark vapor, every time an invisible bomb went off, its lower body distorted in different shaped clouds.

  Although the Rake was in obvious pain and Rhyzel’s powers were strong enough to keep it at bay, it wasn’t being killed. We needed to vanquish the thing once and for all.

  Rhyzel knew his demons. He’d known that once I interrupted the Rake, it would come after me. He’d also known that the safest way to protect my charge was by getting me out of the house because the demon’s attention had shifted to me. It wanted me dead and it wouldn’t stop until it killed me.

  Even when Rhyzel was doing a pretty good job at keeping it busy, I knew it wanted to get to me and it was only a matter of time before it ended up feeding on his fears, or worse. The best option was to get it away from both my charge and Rhyzel. But there lay a dilemma. We were in the backyard of a house in the middle of an urban neighborhood.

  I glanced around the yard, hoping to get an idea how to lure the Rake away. I didn’t have to look very far. About forty feet away lay what appeared to be an abandoned house. Even though it was dark, I could scarcely make out boarded up windows from where I stood. There was also the forgotten yard, which attested to a long overlooked property.

  The only problem was I had to run across Devin’s yard, jump a fence, and run another twenty feet or so to get there. And then hope I could get inside and vanquish the Rake without being seen or hurt. That would prove to be a challenge.

  “Demi! The house!” I heard Devin yell from the hole left by our hasty exit. I glanced up and saw him standing there, pointing in the direction I had been focused on. “Go to the house.” He obviously knew something I didn’t since he seemed convinced that was where I needed to go. “Run!”

  It was survival of the fittest by this point and the Rake just had to go. So I acted, knowing it had a personal vendetta against me for interrupting its evening meal, and I took off running.

  I ran as fast as I could, keeping the chain-link fence as my focal point. The second I got to it, I jumped on it and started climbing it. The fence w
as at least six feet tall, but I didn’t have a problem climbing all the way to the top. I kept an active lifestyle. I walked a lot and went for a run whenever I had some free time.

  The only problem I encountered while climbing was the pain on my left shoulder. It was still steadily bleeding and stung like a son of a bitch, but I forced myself to ignore the pain and push on.

  When I got to the highest point and swung one leg over the top, I risked a glance back to see if I was being followed but got the scare of my life as I realized not only was I being followed, but the Rake was right on top of me. I screamed as it swung one of its massive hands at me, smacking the left side of my face. I screamed even louder when the impact caused me to lose my balance, get my jeans caught in a wire that was sticking out, which ripped opened a hole in the inner thigh area, and I fell sideways to the awaiting ground below.

  I landed with a thud. Luckily for me the overgrown foliage served to soften my blow. I waited no time picking myself off the ground. Ignoring all my aches and pains, I started running in the direction of the house. I silently cursed my bad luck as I tripped over debris I couldn’t see in the darkness.

  One more fall and the Rake would catch me and be done with its cat and mouse game. By this point I was pretty sure it was messing with me. It could have caught me easily and ended it once and for all, but it didn’t. It kept chasing after me. Since it fed on fear, it was safe to assume it probably thought I was scared out of my mind. Although I won’t deny I was a bit shaken up, I wasn’t exactly shaking in fear, either.

  I’d faced worse and come back the victor. This was just another day on the job for me.

  Behind me I could feel more than hear the Rake keeping pace with me. The hairs at the back of my neck standing on end proved me right. The sound it made a moment later—like whistling wind on a cold, windy night—also confirmed it was right on my heels.

  I made it to the house finally and ran to the front porch, which was lopsided, like it had seen better days. I was right about the house being abandoned. I was however, caught off guard by how dilapidated it actually was. I mean, the structure looked like it would blow away during a thunderstorm.