There was a moment of silence before he responded. “I told you I would. All you have to do is ask.”
There was a snap of a branch behind me, and I whirled around, fighting the instinct to grab my knife.
“Is there someone else here, Jonathan?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood as I scanned the trees. I gritted my teeth, trying to control my rising anger. “Where are you?” I asked, forcing myself to keep moving. “You call me brave by coming out here alone, but you stay hidden, refusing to show yourself. Someone might think you’re afraid.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
I had nearly reached the top of the mountain rise. Jonathan’s voice was ahead of me now. The tips of my cloth gloves had become wet from the snow, my fingers numb from the cold, but I was able to heave myself over the rock ledge, finally making it to the landing.
I dropped my hands to my knees, trying to catch my breath, and gazed down the deep incline. It was a harder trek then I had expected, and I had forgotten to calculate for the change in altitude, but I had made it. The area I had climbed to was almost rectangular in shape and about half the size of a football field.
“Where are you?” I asked again.
Jonathan’s laughter was soft. “Look up, Sarah.”
He stood on the middle of a branch of a colossal pine tree a few yards away, his arms hanging casually at his side. My head spun with a serious case of vertigo just watching him balance without any support. He, on the other hand, looked triumphant as he stretched his arms out wide.
“You’ve found me, Sarah. Now what will you do with me?”
“I have questions for you.”
His lips twisted, a hint of a smile. Then… he jumped.
I let out a cry as I moved quickly back, watching in amazement as he did a perfect aerial in the air and landed lightly on the ground without so much as a grunt. A jump like that would have killed any normal person—but Jonathan wasn’t normal. He was something much worse than normal.
He rolled his shoulders and looked me up and down. His stare was bold, assessing.
“I’m happy to answer them,” he said, a lover’s caress. He extended a hand toward me. “Why don’t you let me show you?”
“No.” I took a shuddering breath, remembering what it had been like the last time he tried to show me something. “No, thank you.”
His gaze narrowed, but he didn’t press me.
“I want to know what you are.”
Jonathan heaved a vocal sigh. “Does it really matter now?”
“It matters to me. You said you would answer my questions. That is just the first of many. I think I have it figured out, but I would like to hear it from you.”
His gaze rolled over me again, as if deciding whether or not to comply with my request.
“What has brought on this change?” he asked, suspicion marring his tone.
“I told you. I’ve had time to think. It’s amazing what one good night’s rest can do for a bit of clarity.”
He slowly walked around me, like a predator circling his prey. “I was upset when you wouldn’t let me in last night. How did you do it?”
My head snapped in his direction. “You go first.”
He shrugged. “My kind has been called many things in many different languages. It changes throughout time and is really quite hard to pick just one. But you and I came from the same place and are made of the same things. I’m not much different from you.”
“You’re not?”
“What separates us is that I am an outcast. Unrightfully judged, misunderstood, and forever evicted to spend the rest of eternity alone. I am one of The Fallen.”
“A demon.” It was only a whisper of a breath, but he heard it.
“I don’t prefer that name,” he growled out, glaring hard at me. “But, yes. An evil being, malevolent spirit, a fallen angel. Pick your favorite. To you, I could even be described as an incubus. Heaven knows I’ve tried. I’ve existed for thousands of years. I’ve seen generations pass before my eyes. I’ve been a part of history, both written and unwritten.”
“Were you the one that possessed Benjamin?”
He smiled. “Yes. It wasn’t the easiest of possessions. He’s not that bad of a guy, but he didn’t need the pain pills, and that kind of decision weakens the body, weakens the mind, weakens the soul. So I snuck in to see what you would do.”
He paused, shaking his head sadly. “Poor Sarah, you’re caught up in the middle of a battle that’s been waging since—well, since time began.”
The air around me grew even thinner, my breath quickening in response. “But why? What in the world does any of this have to do with me? What did any of it have to do with Ian or Benjamin, for that matter?”
His lips twisted into a wicked grin and he huffed a laugh. “You still haven’t figured it out have you? It’s strange how you can be so oblivious to your own destiny. I myself am at quite a loss. I have no idea.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. He cocked his head to the side, trying to see me from a different angle, as if maybe from that view, he would finally be able to answer the mystery for himself. After a moment he shook his head.
“Oh, well. As for the two loves in your life,” he shrugged, “they had nothing to do with anything. I believe their only fault was getting mixed up with you.”
My breath collapsed from my lungs in response to his verbal blow. His words were intended to hurt, but there was also some truth behind them. I steadied myself on a nearby tree, closing my eyes until the nausea subsided. Jonathan chuckled softly as he watched.
“I feel for them, really I do. And I stayed around because…” He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Well, I stayed because I failed. I didn’t complete the assignment that was given to me.”
My eyes flew open; my heart beat erratically. “And what was that?” I asked through clenched teeth.
He ignored my question. “Most unusual, I have to admit. I don’t ever fail.”
“What was your assignment, Jonathan?” I glared over to where he stood casually watching me from a distance.
“Simple: to kill your friends and scare you back into hiding.” He cocked his head to the side again, observing my reactions. “Isn’t that what you’ve always done in the past when you’re afraid? Isn’t that what you did coming here?”
I shook my head, but couldn’t speak to deny it. “Why?” I finally managed to breathe.
His gaze tightened. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I never do.”
I swallowed. “The accident?”
“It’s so easy to persuade you mortals. All I need is a weak mind to make one see what I want them to see. And it helps if you have a sweet, sympathetic soul like Cheryl who doesn’t press too hard to look at facts.”
My skin crawled as he mentioned her name. Her gentle face haunted my mind.
Jonathan laughed bitterly. “Benjamin was never meant to survive that day. I waited patiently at the hospital to make sure of that. Then I met you.”
My chest tightened so hard, I could barely draw air. Jonathan’s sight raked over me. “It’s strange you don’t realize the draw you have. Mind-blowing, really. At first I fought it, but it didn’t take me long before I gave up. I really don’t think I had much of a choice once I got close to you.” He stalked me, his smooth, predator-like gait, quickly closing the distance that separated us. “I was willing to let this go a different direction. I tried to help you understand how I felt, but you pushed me away, creating this sick obsession I now have for you. But no more.”
His close proximity pushed against me, and I took several clumsy steps back, approaching too closely to the ledge I had initially climbed. Frantic, I fumbled for the knife in my pocket, but before I could pull it out, his hand seized me by the neck, lifting me from the ground. Fire erupted at his touch, and I grabbed at his wrists trying to wrench away his hands.
“Don’t you see?” His black eyes looked haunted, his face pinched in pain, as he cut off my airw
ay. “I have no other choice.” He panted as great beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead.
He was going to kill me.
Desperate, I let go of his wrists and reached to grip him by the face. Even through my gloves, power surged into my hands at contact, and Jonathan let out a cry of alarm, releasing me. A moment’s relief was replaced by dread as my feet awkwardly hit the ground, then slipped from the edge of the cliff, my outstretched arms smacking the hard rock as I fell.
There was nothing I could do to halt my descent. I felt the jarring effects as I slammed into several unknown objects, but there was no pain yet. I eventually rolled to a stop and unfurled onto my back, my involuntary gaze upon the snowy incline I had just toppled down.
My mother’s necklace had become dislodged during the fall and pulled sharply at my neck, the chain icy against burnt skin. My body felt heavy, one arm pinned underneath in an odd sort of way. A groan bubbled from my throbbing mouth, and I tasted blood from what I assume was a busted lip. Cold seeped into my clothes, consuming all remaining warmth.
I traced the path my body had taken, thankful that the thick snow blanketed most of my tumble down the steep mountain. It was probably the only reason I was alive at that moment, but I realized how quickly that would change.
“How pathetic you look from here.” Jonathan called from the mountain, standing in the exact spot I had just fallen from. “Where is your strength now?”
I heard queer laughter as someone approached unseen from behind. My chest squeezed in panic, but I remained unable to move.
“Take a nasty tumble down the big hill, did we?” a scratchy voice said to me, low and menacing.
Agh. The noise in the woods. We weren’t alone. Jonathan had brought reinforcements, and now it was going to finish me off. My breathing accelerated as I tried to look in its direction. I at least wanted to see what was going to kill me.
A warning growl echoed throughout the clearing as Jonathan leaped from the edge, landing just a few feet away. “Stand down, creature,” he commanded the thing in a clipped tone.
“As you wish,” it muttered, a slight inflection in its voice.
“You brought a friend,” I breathed, wiggling my arm out from underneath me.
“He’s not a friend,” Jonathan snarled, a warning to the newcomer. “He is the scum that roams this earth. I didn’t invite him, but his kind comes when they smell blood. I am not in the same category as his ilk.” He glowered at the unseen presence, and I heard it move in response.
I managed to turn my head enough to see a man in tattered and threadbare clothes. He crept closer, allowing me a better look. Ashen pallor and a gaunt expression, he smiled at me, his teeth disgusting colors of grey and brown. The wicked glint in his dark eyes spoke volumes and nothing at all. I wondered if this was the hermit in the woods spoken of the previous night, or the long-dead butcher.
Jonathan glared daggers at the new arrival, who quickly realized his mistake and moved back a yard, but it wasn’t enough. A low snarl ripped from Jonathan’s throat, an even deadlier warning. With his hands in the air, the man backed away slowly and disappeared into the forest.
I took a shallow breath. “He’s a demon?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes.” His voice was thick with revulsion. “A violent one.”
Jonathan crouched down closer to where I lay on the snowy ground and studied my prone form. He shook his head sadly. “I would have given you whatever you wanted. You were special to me.” He reached out his hand as if to lovingly stroke my face but never touched my skin. “I won’t deny that I will miss you. I didn’t want it to end this way, but I can’t—”
His gaze had traveled down the length of my necklace to rest on my mother’s pendant. He inhaled sharply, falling back and away from me.
“No,” he growled, leaping to his feet. “No.”
I mustered the energy needed to rise, pulling my switch blade from my boot as I stood, forcing myself to ignore my throbbing head.
Jonathan pointed directly at the black stone now resting against my chest. “What is that you wear?”
He took two steps toward me, but this time I didn’t hesitate. I opened my knife with an audible click and brandished my blade.
“The Demon’s Eye. Where did you get it?” He glowered at my defensive stance.
I didn’t know what the Demon’s Eye was, but I didn’t care. “It’s mine. It belonged to my mother.” Everything, including my voice, shook, but I stood taller when I said her name. “Rachel Matthias.”
Jonathan’s eyes widened, and a range of emotion flickered uncensored across his features: shock, disbelief—for the briefest of moments, even pity.
And then, all hell broke loose.
From the forest trees a terrifying bellow erupted. Jonathan’s arms went up in defense as, from the corner of my eye, something flashed, tearing past at an incredible speed. A long and deadly dagger impaled Jonathan in the forearm. He grunted in pain, then quickly grabbed the knife by the hilt and ripped it from his arm. I gaped as my father flew past me, knives drawn.
“Dad!” I called to him, but he ordered me back without a sideways glance. I did as I was told, watching as Jonathan pulled two tactical blades from his boot and stood at the ready to meet my father.
Dad clashed steel with my demon.
My heart plunged even further as Elisa ran past, followed by Laith.
No, no, no. They were all going to die for me, and I couldn’t allow it. I started after them, but a hand clamped down on my shoulder pulling me back.
Friend or Foe?
“Didn’t you hear what your father said?” a voice growled angrily. “Listen to your Guardian, girl.” Darius glowered down at me, his unconcealed displeasure set heavily upon thick, dark brows.
“Don’t touch me,” I hissed, twisting my body and weaving away from his brutish grasp. I crouched, ready for an attack.
“Oh please. I’m not going to hurt you.” Obviously unconcerned at any threat I might pose, his attention shifted anxiously from me to my friends, then back again.
Jonathan was death in motion, moving with primal instincts as his three opponents attacked from all sides. He moved to strike, but my father dodged, grabbed Jonathan by the wrist, and threw him aside. Jonathan landed on his feet and kicked out at Laith, then slashed at Elisa, who ducked just in time.
My breathing grew shallow. “Help them, please,” I begged Darius.
“They do not need my help.” Although he sounded confident, his grimace suggested otherwise.
Heat rose to my face. “If you won’t…” I ground out, taking a step away.
I waited for Darius’s inevitable reaction to my threat and when his hand caught my wrist, I twisted it hard, grasping his tightly and planting a side-kick into his ribs. His grip only stiffened, pulling my arm and burning my wrist.
I suppressed my outrage, realizing my plan to get free hadn’t work. Instead I was yanked into the large expanse of Darius’s chest. His arm hold tightened as I fought.
Darius snarled into my ear. “That is one of The Fallen. You cannot defeat him. He will destroy you.”
“But my dad, my friends. Elisa is—”
“More capable then you think. This is what they are for. To protect people like you from filth like that.” He gestured to Jonathan, still a flash of motion, and then he roughly let me go. I stumbled, but managed to keep myself from falling
I watched in horror as one fought against three. Their moves were quick and deadly, but Jonathan kept up with them all, slicing into my father’s abdomen while deflecting a blow from Elisa. I screamed, but before I could move again, Darius stepped into my path.
“I’ll go if you promise to stay here.” He looked into my eyes, unwilling to move any further without my word.
I nodded, then watched thankfully as he raced to join the others.
My father’s face was white as he battled, one hand over his bleeding wound, the other still lunging and parrying in rhythm with h
is opponent. Darius stepped between him and Jonathan, taking my father’s place. Dad fell to his knees, breathing heavily.
I called to my father. He looked up and motioned for me to stay where I was. He stood and readied his knives.
There was a loud explosion as something blew past me. It broke on a tree just a few feet away. Broken rock and dust flew into my face, causing me to cough and gasp for breath. I looked toward the direction of the attack and saw the other demon trudging through the snow, meat cleaver in hand.
Jonathan’s demon friend was the butcher.
“John Stilman,” I called loudly, naming the evil spirit. His momentary shock was enough to slow his advance.
He cocked his head to the side, considering. “She knows my name. How wonderful.”
“Stay back,” I warned.
His shoulders lifted as he smiled. “Sorry. She’s fair game now,” he said, as if speaking to someone other than me.
And then he attacked. I reached up and deflected his blow. For someone supposed to be dead, he was quite heavy. His skin was cold and grimy to the touch. My natural instinct desired to recoil from the contact, but I held strong as I deflected blow after blow.
Then it was my turn. I swiped my blade at his middle. He jumped back with a grin, but his grin slowly faded to a grimace as I jabbed and thrusted, throwing at him every move I had ever been taught. My mind was clear and saw nothing but my next opening, and then the next and the next… but I never took them. I could have finished him at any time, but I had never killed anyone before.
Sensing my hesitation, the demon stopped, dropping his hands to his side and daring me to make the final strike. When I didn’t, he smiled.
“Not a killer, is she?”
“Don’t,” I warned him, knowing his next move before he made it.
The demon ignored me and took a leap at me. I slashed through the skin of his arm as he lifted his cleaver. It wasn’t a deep cut, just enough for a warning, but as the knife made contact, my pendant burst open at my chest. Light poured from the surface, compressing against my body. The demon let out a high-pitched scream, abandoned its weapon, and tumbled backward. I dropped to my knees from the force, gripping the black stone in my hand, trying to stop the surging weight from overpowering me. When I thought it would consume me, the light finally faded and the pendant closed. The burden subsided, leaving me winded, struggling for air, and shaking uncontrollably.
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