by A.G. Porter
Fallen Souls
The Darkness Trilogy Novella
by
A.G. Porter
Fallen Souls
Published by A.G. Porter
Copyright ? 2015 by A.G. Porter
Edited by Elizabeth Kelso
Cover Art ? TaniaART | https://taniaart.deviantart.com/
Photo ? Undrey | Dreamstime.com
All rights reserved
Dedication
To my Street Team, this one is for you because you ROCK! All of you are the most amazing people I have had the pleasure to know. Some of you I haven't even met face-to-face and I consider you friends. I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me and my books. Never stop being who you are.
Acknowledgements
The title, as you can see, of this Novella is Fallen Souls. This is the perfect title and this isn't me bragging on myself, this is bragging on a certain Street Team member, Mr. Andrew Redden. You see, I had a competition with my Street Team and asked them to come up with a title for my Novella and boy did they come up with some great ones! Yet, I could only choose one and it was Andrew who came up with Fallen Souls. It fit so well with the theme of the Novella that I had no choice, but to pick that title, it spoke to me on so many levels! He knew what he was doing that, stinker! Andrew is one of my Street Team members that I have actually met. Our first meeting was at The Geek Gathering in Sheffield, Alabama. His energy and charm captured my heart from the beginning; we have been friends since then. I love you, Andrew!
In the words of Andrew Redden:
I love this series because it puts a new spin on the points of "good versus evil" by the use of these incredible characters and how they conquer the trials at hand. A.G. Porter writes this lovely series that shows just how her characters are the top of the totem pole when it comes to the kickassery powers of faith and hope. She does a wondrous job with injecting Rayna with a faith-based background, which inevitably helps her in the long run. I highly recommend this series for anyone that wants to read a perfect piece such as this series.
Chapter 1
The Shadow
I've had many bodies and taken many forms. Some have been more pleasant than others, some more beautiful. There have been women, men, children and youth. Once I had the body of a beloved politician and well, he's not so beloved anymore. Many years ago, I can't actually remember when, I occupied the flesh of a king who went on to be known as ruthless monarch and womanizer.
Of all these different bodies, despite their differences, they have one fatal flaw. Their flesh is weak. Even those with spirits of lions and hearts of tigers, eventually their bodies start to falter. It isn't usually noticed on the outside right away. I can feel it from within.
First, the body I occupy will yearn for slumber. I will feel fatigued and lack energy. Food and drink lose their flavor and that certain spark of life fades in their human eyes. Only those who are emotionally connected to the body will notice. They'll believe their loved one just isn't feeling well and needs a doctor.
Soon, other signs appear. It's this next step I am less fond of; pain, just white-hot pain. It's as if the soul is giving escape one last try by ripping through it's own skin. My every bone (well theirs if you want to get technical about it) and muscle aches. It's more than that really. I can feel it in their veins, down to the tiny molecules that make them who they are.
Since I first crawled out of the pit and took possession of a human this has been the way of things. I would wear their bodies like a suit until I could bear to wear it no longer. Some lasted as long as 50 years and others just mere days. It all depended on how bad they wanted me to stay (I did bring them great joy and fulfill desires of many kinds) or how desperate they were for me to leave.
With Patrick, things started out great. He wasn't a boy of any faith and he was Gifted. I found out the hard way that the Gifted can sustain me longer than a mere human. There is another side of the coin as well. If they are blessed with a Gift then that also means they can more easily see me out. Meaning, holding on to them is far more difficult.
It was a double-edged sword. His body was strong enough to keep me incubated, but his will was superhuman. I first noticed him picking at the seam where we were connected the night I confronted Rayna at the prom. He didn't want me to hurt her. His screams echoed in my head, distracting me from my goal. That was the only reason I let her go that night.
Then again when Vance cornered her at the bank of the creek. I knew that I was capable of controlling her more, but Patrick was fighting with me. When I wanted to move right, he moved left. When I wanted to seize her mind, my powers began to drain.
So now, here I was with him in my head, screaming all the time. I'll manage to cage him up somewhere, tuck him in a corner, but he always finds a way out. The insufferable brat has brought me to my wit's end and I want nothing more than to be rid of this body and find a new one.
That new one just needs a bit more persuasion. Once Rayna knows I will stop at nothing to claim her, if I have to kill every single soul on this planet to do so, she'll have to give in. She is a heroine, someone who rescues others; she won't let me go that far.
Her powers and body will fit me just nicely. Then we can be one for all of eternity. I've only dabbled at taking control of her mind and the dose was too short lived. I need another taste of her innocence, of her purity again. It was driving me mad with desire! I needed to know what it was like to truly take over her soul.
Once we are joined, soul-to-soul, nothing can stop us. We are far too powerful for a mere mortal or even a Gifted to stop us together. We'll cover this world like a plague, devouring all traces of the Gifted and Children of Light. Nothing will stop us. Of this I have no doubt.
I thought of these wondrous things as Vance entered my room. The house Patrick's uncle occupied was now my home base. Poor Uncle had to take a leave of absence from work due to an aggressive form of cancer. That's what his counterparts believed anyway. He was actually chained to a pipe in the cellar. If I didn't need him alive in case anyone came calling, I would have killed him a long time ago.
"Master, have you not slept?" Vance questioned as he pulled back the curtains, sunlight spilling into the room.
I backed away, nearly hissing with pain. The light burned my tired eyes and I was almost certain it had seared my flesh. This wretched body was failing and fast.
"What of the boy? Have you kept an eye on him as I asked?" avoiding Vance's question.
"Yes, my Lord," Vance snapped his fingers and a tray of fresh fruit and other breakfast items was brought in by a servant. "The boy remains in with the Palm Reader, Rose."
"I don't trust him," I confessed. "There is something about him that makes me wonder what he could do to foil our plans. I want him eliminated."
"And the Palm Reader?" Vance questioned.
"If they're together then I don't see why we can't kill two birds with one stone," I grinned at him. "Now leave me and take that tray with you."
"Master, if I may," Vance turned and picked up the tray. "You must sleep and you must eat. Until the conversion takes place that body must hold up. You're in too deep to take on another form."
I focused my power on him; the tray exploded in Vance's hands causing him to yelp like a cat. He dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him. I hated that little weasel. He was as devoted to me as he would be to the next demon that offered him a soft cushion in hell to sit on. Yet, he was rational and served his purpose.
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I had to sleep and I had to eat. This body needed it if I was going to make it through this Unification. The joining of
my soul and Rayna's was something that had almost never happened. Yet, it must have been fate that she and I would find ourselves on this path, fate, even though Wayland thought it was his doing.
My "brother" could be mistaken for a Gifted, but he was something far different. He was a Fallen; he had given over his vessel to a winged demon long ago and was very powerful. He made other demons run with fear at the things that he could do. He was blessed with an intuition I had come to depend on, he and I had seen Rayna as the form I had to take to avoid dumping body after body and to see my plans come to fruition.
"Brother," I said cheerfully when he answered my call.
"Brother," he responded.
"I need for you to go to the hospital and stay close to The Coles," I instructed.
"And what of Rayna?" he wondered, an edge to his voice that I couldn't put my finger on.
"Leave her to me," I stated. "She is my task after all."
"Of course, yes," he started. "I was only wondering, considering your failing form, if it might be better if I inserted myself more closely to her?and her family. It would be easy with Wu and I being friends."
"You worry for naught, Brother," I flinched as another wave of pain caused beads of sweat to break out over my brow. "I am fine. The body is holding out, despite it's obvious weaknesses. Leave Rayna to me and if I do need your help, I'll let you know. Now, do as I command and get to the hospital. Be a friend to your Doctor Jackson Cole. I want someone there to be a guide for dear Liam when he awakes."
"Right you are, Brother," Wayland's voice was pleasant, but I could hear the undertones of rage. "Please forgive me for questioning you."
"I take no offense," I said, choosing my words carefully. "I know that your only concern is for me and our ultimate goal."
"Of course," he said, sounding quite genuine. "I'll talk to you soon."
The phone went dead. He was a fool to think he convinced me of anything other than his treachery. His desire for Rayna was deep and had been since we set our sights on her. He wanted her for his own, as bride or lover. I would let him believe that his plans were obtainable for as long as I needed him.
This was beyond frustrating! Why was it so difficult to find any honest souls of the damned these days?
Sighing I headed for the bathroom, starting the hottest shower I could withstand in this feeble excuse of a body. As I let the water burn into the flesh of dear Patrick, I battled with him for control of his mind. He was a fighter and, though strong, eventually I won. I always win. That is what I tried to explain to him, but the human heart, if I've learned anything in all of these long years, should not be underestimated.
One probably wonders what a demon does on a day-to-day basis. Do we scour the earth looking for souls to condemn? Do we whisper murderous thoughts into the minds of parents, lovers, or children? What about filling the minds of the lost with unclean desires and wishful thinking?
Perhaps some do and I have been known to torment a soul I deemed amusing enough in the past. Alas, those days as a lowly demon, slithering across the world looking for a weak mind are far behind me. I've done my time as they say. Now it is time for me to wreak true havoc on this world.
These humans are given everything, the world at their fingertips and they waste it away on petty human emotions. They want glamour, money, beauty and power, sure, but they have no idea of their true potential if we only got this pesky soul business out of the way. If they latched on to their basic desires then this world would be much better off.
There may be a bit of jealousy in my intentions, I admit. I once had beautiful wings and a voice like water. There was a time that all I desired was light and would do anything for my Father. I was a devoted son!
Then, here come these "likenesses." These small, puny, fragile maggots that have infested this wonderful place called Earth. How could He place them above me, above us? We were to protect them and serve them? Why? Because He loved them? Did He not love us?
The anger swelled up inside of me and it took all that I had not to break out of this flesh and consume Rayna once and for all. I managed to refrain, knowing that she was not yet ready to take on our mission; the mission that was once supposed to be her father's.
It was probably better this way. He was a likely candidate, but much too strong for me. Mr. Stone had grown spiritually in a way that Rayna had yet to. Yes, she was washed in the blood, but what she lacked was experience. Unbeknownst to her, Mr. Stone had faced demons before and knew what he was doing.
They wanted to shield their child from this spiritual battle, they being her parents, so not even her mother has explained to her what her lineage is. She has no clue, and probably never will if her mother is kept in darkness of her Gift, that she comes from a family of demon hunters, of demon killers.
The biggest slap in the face to my Father when I took over this world was to do it by using one of His Gifted. I could think of no better way than to use one of the strongest demon hunters I knew, Ezekiel Stone. But again, he was far too smart for me. Once he realized what we were up to, he had to be eliminated.
Wayland said that we needed someone innocent, someone young. The next best thing to Stone was his daughter. She had shown early signs of being a Child of Light and we were not wrong. The power that runs through her veins is even stronger than her father's. The key is that she has yet to learn how to harness it, much less use it to defeat me.
However, I am not stupid. Time is of the essence and I must move quickly if I want to secure her form. There are things that need to be done, people that need to be removed. She must be stripped of all connections of love, friendship, and hope before she is willing to give herself over to me. I must reveal to her that she isn't as protected as she thinks she is, despite her faith. Before I am done, Rayna Stone will have nothing left.
Chapter 2
C.J.