The year was unknown to me as I had only recently fallen, but it was near the beginning of the medieval period. The caste system was well and truly developed. Men were regarded highly, and it was thought women could only survive with men by their sides. The first sign of the plague was spreading in isolated cases, but it wasn’t as deadly as the sickness was to become in the later centuries.
I had befriended a noble lady; her husband had recently succumbed to the plague. She had since inherited the fatal disease. But also, she had inherited many estates with fertile farming land. My noble lady was being pushed to marry by relatives in power, and many suitable matches were sent to her.
A noble man presented himself with promises of love and partnership. This man seemed worthy of her, and she fell in love and married swiftly.
I should have recognized the signs of evil myself, but even I was still naïve. This man turned out to be a wretched, horrible man who had never intended to be a loving, caring husband. First, he seized full control of her entire assets, rationed all food for the servants, and stole their Sabbath.
Eventually, he grew tired of looking into the pleading eyes of his stunning wife, and he locked her in a cold dark dungeon, infested with rats. He fed her scraps and squandered her money on whores. I had seen the fall of a wonderful woman and could not watch this anymore. I had been planning on freeing her. When I noticed her servants felt the same way, we conspired together.
Benilde intervened in my affairs for the first and last time. He ordered me away and forbid my involvement in these humans’ lives. I foolishly listened, as a freshly fallen, to this request. One night, a messenger came with grave news. The servants had continued with our plan, only to be caught. The noble woman was lashed to death in front of the servants who had helped. I was livid with anger and went to see this man. As I walked inside the castle, I developed a headache. As I approached his den, my headache got worse and worse and I kicked open the heavy oak door. I could sense him sitting in a chair with his back to me. I felt nausea for the first time, and I became sick. Staggering, my vision was becoming clouded with black dots. This man was so evil it was seeping out of him. I backed out of the room and clenched onto the wall to prevent myself from plummeting down the stairs. I was cold and withdrawn before this situation, but I believed I was on the right path.
Everything changed after the brutal death of my dear friend. My methods became harsher, and I vowed to not get close to humans ever again—until I came to this town, and met Connor and Nessa—I was doing fine.
I had been in my own little world and not paying any attention to Connor.
“Indy, are you going to eat that, ‘cause if not, I will?” Connor was an absolute pig.
“She’s been like this all day,” Mark commented with a laugh.
“Indy!” Connor yelled in my ear.
I fake backhanded him as hard as I could, pulling my hand just short of his face.
“Are you okay there off in your own little world”, said Connor.
“Yes, just thinking,” I said.
“We’re all going to the skate park after school; are you coming?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Leaning toward Nessa, I whispered in her ear, “Hopwood’s back …”
Nessa was a little shocked. She knew he would have to come back eventually; she just wasn’t ready to face him.
Nessa smiled her most courageous smile yet.
“Just sit with Connor, and you don’t have him ‘til last period, then school is over,” I tried to comfort her as best I could.
“Thanks, Indy, I love you so much.” The napkin in her hand was ending up in tiny pieces on the table, nervousness seeped out of her pores.
The bell signaled, and we went off to our afternoon classes.
For the umpteenth time, I clap my hands watching these boys skate. This had gotten boring after Connor and Mark had mastered the most basic, smallest, kiddie-sized half pipe. They were not ready to do any tricks and had enough trouble staying on the board. Now Nate was doing his tricks and giving us a show, but really had been showing off for the last twenty minutes. The patch of grass in front of me was getting was getting barer from my constant picking.
“Oh yay, he did it again!” I couldn’t help the sarcastic comments after what he said today.
“Still angry, Indy? I think he hit a nerve,” Mark pointed out.
“Mark, go and break your neck. I’m hungry … anyone want all you can eat pizza and dessert?” I asked.
I had bored myself enough for the day and was leaving alone if I had to.
“Yep, I’m in.” Connor was always in for pizza.
Nessa looked at Brandon, and they nodded their heads.
I asked Mark if he wanted to come along, and he responded, “Hell yeah, Indy!” Carissa and Corrina shook their heads, mumbling something about having a carb-free day. Whatever that means …. I know what carbs are, but why would you reduce them? Mad, if you asked me.
The lone skater packed up his gear and waved goodbye to us. I couldn’t say I wasn’t happy to see him go. I had spent the whole day with him, and he didn’t go out of his way to be nice to me.
“Hey, Nate, we’re going to go stuff our faces now. Come on! You’re a part of the gang now,” Mark said, obviously not knowing how I felt about this new Nate guy.
Turning to Mark, I gave him the dirtiest look I could. I pictured razor blades coming out of my eyes and cutting him up. I managed to turn my frown into a tight smile. That’s when I felt a hard elbow in my ribs. Grabbing my sides a few seconds later, like a normal girl would, I returned the gesture to Connor. He laughed loudly and slung his arm over my shoulder.
“Come on trouble,” said Connor.
“Since when did he become part of the gang?” I asked.
“What’s your issue with him?” asked Connor.
“He said I wasn’t soft like most girls are, clearly trying to insult me, and he succeeded,” I responded.
“Since when do you care what some boy thinks about you?”
Trying to not look at Connor, I stormed ahead, dragging him with me.
“Your bitchy, moody attitude toward life is what I look forward to every day. He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” said Connor, as if that was supposed to make me feel better.
I put my arm around his waist, and we walked for the rest of the way like that. I would definitely miss this kind of thing when Connor decided to give into one of his female fans. We had to wait for two available tables, and by the time we were seated, I was famished. We all went up and served ourselves together. I grabbed a bowl of pasta and three slices of pizza. The boys basically ran up, got their food, and then sat down. What I saw on their plates embarrassed me. I wanted to sit elsewhere. Mark, Brandon, and Connor had piled their plates with so much pizza that there was nothing left for other customers. I had counted eight slices on Brandon’s plate, and I’d assume the others were about the same.
“We can’t take you boys anywhere,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Seriously, without us in your life, it wouldn’t be worth living.” Connor believed every word he just said.
“Indy, you would be at home painting your nails pink and dying your hair.” Mark was now pretending to be a girl acting out his exact words.
Nate mumbled something under his breath. Connor gave him a strange look afterward. I really didn’t know what his problem was and why he took an instant disliking to me. I suppose we just didn’t mesh well.
We all paired off—Brandon walked Nessa home, and Casey and Corrina lived next door to each other and had already started to gossip about some boy as they strolled down the road. Connor joined me, even though we didn’t live close, and Mark came up behind and grabbed my arm protectively.
“Okay, little Indy, I had better be your bodyguard and walk you home.” Mark was being all macho, thinking he could protect me.
“Nah, man, I’m going to walk Indy home tonight.” I smiled at Connor.
“Well, I will just tag along and keep you two company. You know, in case the boogie man is around.” Mark was trying to act all protective, and I couldn’t figure out why. I fully expected to be throwing insults back and forth, but surprisingly, he was on his best behavior.
The three of us walked along, joking about the other patrons at the pizza shop and their horrified looks when the boys took every last slice of the pizzas. We left Mark at the start of his street and ventured the short distance to my house.
“Indy, can I crash on your lounge again?” asked Connor.
“Yeah, sure, no problem. Is it bad again?” I asked.
“Yeah, the olds cannot stand to be in the same room as each other at the moment, but they both can’t afford to rent separately.” Connor rubbed the back of his head as he finished talking.
“You know I have a lounge for you any time,“ I reminded him.
Then I thought about it some more and told him, “Well my brother is gone, and it doesn’t look like he is coming home for a while, so why don’t you have his room?”
“Yeah, I know he wouldn’t mind, and it was his suggestion ages ago, but it would feel wrong. The sofa bed is okay,” Connor said.
Chapter Eight
Nate
The principal led me into my first class, which was Personal Development. This is the one that the Indy girl took. I made sure to take most of her classes—except for history; it was too boring for me. All those dates and dull battles were mind numbing. Mark was also in this class, which I thought was unusual because I had underestimated him. He didn’t fit the stereotype of the football jock.
Upon entering the classroom, the principal immediately started to chastise Indy about her manners and the way in which she spoke to the teacher. She lost me halfway through her speech, though. I wasn’t paying too much attention; I was too fixated on the teacher, who, apart from his tall bulky build, had obvious shoe prints down his face and two large black eyes. He was pretty mussed up. These bruises were old, and they were the ones that I could see. That distinct sweet, pinkish satin signature—unique to Indy—was hanging off him like a marker indicating with whom she had come into physical contact. I had not sensed this from her friends though, so maybe when she messed him up, the signature stayed for a while. She sat in her seat with a devilish grin spread across her angelic face. This girl had deception written all over her.
As pre-arranged, I walked over toward Mark to take my seat, and he stood and high fived me. I took a seat next to Indy. She had tried to smile at me, but I wasn’t going to play into her dirty little hands like her friends had. I looked at the teacher; I felt a little sorry for this guy. He had an unbelievable story. I would dismiss this teacher straight away if he had come to me with a story that a pretty, petite blonde had hurt him, but I had witnessed the impossible from other people like her. Turning my eyes to Indy, I was still shocked at what unnatural creatures roamed this earth, and the disguises they used to fit into society. I wondered if the appearance she had now was her natural form or if this was all some illusion? Maybe her natural form was as grotesque as she was beautiful.
The pair argued about the rest of their gang. It was all fun and games until Mark said that Connor was dumb. Boy, did Indy’s claws come out then. She was just as protective of him as he was of her. I could not help but ask if they were couple. The answer I got made me strangely happy. I really needed to understand how this girl ticked—did she get close to her prey then do her thing … whatever that was. Did that mean that Connor was her next victim? Images of succubi crossed my mind. I hadn’t ever met any, but where did people get the idea for these kinds of creatures otherwise.
“The position’s open, man, if you want it. Until you arrived I was starting to think she was a dyke.” Mark threw the words at Indy. I had made up my mind that if she weren’t this horrible person, I would ask her out. That scenario didn’t look promising.
The teacher standing in front of me was undeniable evidence that she was, in fact, Amaliel, Angel of Weakness. She hunted weak victims and punished them severely for no apparent reason. Now I would turn her tactics against her. It would be a pity to destroy such a beautiful face. I threw some nasty comment at her about not being soft enough, and this managed to silence her for the rest of the period. I laughed silently to myself while Mark antagonized her continuously. I was very annoyed that I had decided to settle into my house that had been prearranged instead of following her all weekend. I could have already gathered enough intel and completed my mission, but instead I had to sit through classes I had completed at a much higher level years ago.
Indy was spaced out in her own little world for the entire class, most likely thinking how she was going to slay Mark for his harmless comments. This teacher was very timid and shivered every time he looked up in her direction. If she had gotten out of her seat and approached him, he most likely would have run.
I wanted to know what he did to wrong her. So I waited ‘til the class left and approached him.
“Hi, sir, can we have a chat?” I asked.
“Yes, sure, did you need study material to catch up?”
“No, I will be blunt, sir. What happened to your face?”
“I fell down the stairs,” Mr. Hopwood lied and looked at the ground, ashamed.
“Sir, I don’t believe you, did someone do it to you?” I pushed gently.
The teacher grimaced while standing in front of me. He may have been recalling this horrible injury happening.
“Did that Indy girl do it?” I was going to be persistent.
He stared at me, assessing my face for any reason to trust me. It was obvious he was very scared of her. I needed to give him a reason to trust me. I didn’t have any real super human powers; I just knew it was very hard to kill me now. I healed at an extremely fast rate since the demon saved my life in a selfish act. Hopefully this could be my way in with Mr. Hopwood.
I got my knife out of my pocket and slashed my wrist. The wound was regenerating as fast as the blood flowed. Within a few minutes, I was completely healed, as Mr. Hopwood stood in amazement, blinking his eyes rapidly to make sure he was awake. His eyes conveyed complete trust.
“She waited on the side of the road pretending to have a flat tire. When I got out and leant down to change the tire, she started to hit me with the changing iron. I hit the ground and then she repeatedly kicked me in the face.”
“I’m sure you did nothing to warrant that—she has everyone here fooled,” I reassured.
“I only failed her on the last assignment,” said Hopwood.
“I’m here to take care of her, so she won’t be bothering you again.”
I ran off to the next class before I was missed, and continued with my day.
I would have to ring the boss tonight and let him know what was going on here.
The last class finished, and I walked alongside Mark toward the front door. I had my skateboard and was going to head to the park to do some jumps to waste some time. I knew that my boss would be busy at this time and contacting him now would only anger him.
Brandon and his girlfriend, Nessa, were waiting out front. I wasn’t too sure that the pair was in a relationship, but guessing by the way they stood so close, I presumed they had something going on.
I always wondered what it would be like to have a real girlfriend; the mission was always drilled into me before I departed—especially this one. I was reminded constantly before I left that this girl wore a very well rehearsed mask, and she would not hesitate to kill me if given the chance. But I still wondered what it would feel like to be a part of someone’s life and not have to hold back any secrets about what I was. I wasn’t the guy who was into that lovey business, but it would be nice to at least kiss someone and know that I would see them the next day. In this job I could be moved across the world with only a few hours’ notice.
We joined Brandon and Nessa who were waiting for Indy.
“Hey do you guys want to head down to the skate park? I would love so
me more tips Nate,” said Brandon.
I thought that if I was with the entire group, I would at least know where Indy was and that she wasn’t off doing damage somewhere else. This was a very good Idea.
“Yeah, sure, I have lots of tips,” I said.
Brandon looked at Nessa, “You don’t mind, do you? You girls don’t have to come. I would like it, though,” said Brandon.
Nessa Looked thrilled to have been asked to tag along, but she needed that Indy girl’s permission. Connor and Indy were looking over at us; she rolled her eyes to the idea of coming with us. For someone who was such an evil creature and had this fake façade painted on, she didn’t keep her opinions secret.
I took great joy in watching Indy’s boredom as I taught Brandon the basic skate tricks. He was a fast learner and mastered them pretty quickly, while Mark tried a few, but kept falling off. He gave up fast and was tormenting the girls. Shortly after, Brandon called time. The others had decided to go to dinner, but I was happy to part ways and make that important phone call, ‘til Indy displayed her disgust at the invite I received. Not able to resist, I accepted and followed them to the unhygienic all-you-can-eat pizza joint.
Heavenly Hell (Heavenly Hell Book 1) Page 5