The Lost Fallen

by L. C. Mortimer

  She was just…her.

  What had she thought when she got the news? How had she found out? He wanted to ask if she was okay, if everything was all right, but more than that, he needed to play it cool in front of the other students. He could just grab Serenity, kiss her, and promise her that everything would be okay.

  That would draw attention to them, and not the good kind.

  “Please,” Serenity said, placing a hand on his arm. “Have a seat. We’re doing colored pencil drawings today. I think you’ll enjoy this.”

  He nodded and headed toward his regular seat. Clemecia wasn’t in her spot.

  “Hey,” he asked the kid who sat on the other side of him. “Where’s Clemecia?”

  “Who? Clover?”

  “Yeah.”

  The kid shrugged. “Dunno. She went home from school early. Sick.”

  “Sick?” He knew she’d had a cough for awhile, and it had seemed to be worse lately. “What kind of sick?”

  “Teacher said she needed to see a doctor. That kinda sick.”

  Wrath locked eyes with Serenity from across the room. She nodded, just a little. So she knew, or had heard, that Clemecia was ill. Wrath’s heart felt like it might rip in half. First Serenity was in danger, and now Clemecia was sick.

  He wasn’t sure how Serenity was going to be able to make it through class so calmly, so coolly, but he followed suit, and he did his best to stay calm.

  ***

  Wrath waited until the classroom was empty before he approached Serenity.

  “Where’s Clemecia?” He asked.

  “Her mother called me,” Serenity said. “She’s been admitted to the hospital. Pneumonia. It’s pretty bad, but she’s going to be all right, Wrath. The doctors here are great. She’s in good hands.”

  “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Wrath whispered. He saw the tears in Serenity’s eyes. She couldn’t hide those from him. He wrapped his arms around her as the tears finally broke through, and he held her as she cried silently.

  “You don’t always have to be so strong,” he whispered.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I’m here now,” he told her firmly. “And I will be strong for you, Serenity. I will always be strong for you.”

  “I love you,” she whispered, and his heart stopped. He hadn’t expected to hear her say those words. Not now: possibly not ever. Serenity was a strong woman, a determined woman, and she didn’t depend on anyone for anything.

  He didn’t know why she would love someone like him.

  Something like him.

  He was, after all, a demon. Or at least, he had been until very recently. He was adjusting to his new life, but those demonic quirks would last a lifetime. His anger had subsided significantly, but it could resurface at any time. Anything could happen. He could lose his mind or go crazy or just become a huge asshole.

  Life changed people, but suddenly, what he wanted more than anything else in the world, was to experience those changes with Serenity.

  “I love you, too,” he whispered. The words floated easily off his tongue, and the smile that spread across Serenity’s face could have lit the darkest night. She kissed him softly, gently, sweetly, and Wrath thought he might never be able to get enough of those kisses.

  He held her close. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “But I will always protect you, Serenity.”

  “I know.”

  She sounded certain.

  Positive.

  “How can you be so sure?” His voice wavered. He didn’t want to show fear. He would never be that guy, yet somehow, he knew he could be vulnerable around Serenity and she didn’t care. She wouldn’t mind if he wasn’t always strong. She wouldn’t care if he wasn’t always brave. She wouldn’t even be upset if he struggled to hold it together.

  She just cared that he did his best.

  She cared that he tried.

  “Because I know you, Wrath.”

  “You haven’t known me very long,” he pointed out. It had been weeks.

  “I’ve known you long enough to know you’re a good guy,” she said. “Even if you don’t always know it.”

  “I’m not Oliver,” he whispered. “I’ll never replace him. I’m not trying to.”

  “Oliver is dead,” Serenity said. “I miss him every day, Wrath. I think of him all the time, but he would want me to be happy. He would want me to go on living. Oliver was the happiest person I’ve ever met. Even when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, do you know what he said to me?”

  “Tell me.”

  “He said he wanted me to be happy. He said he was happy knowing he had lived a full life and that he had been loved more than any human had ever been loved, and then he made me promise that I wouldn’t stop living just because he did.”

  “He cared for you very much.”

  “Just because we lose someone special to us doesn’t mean the world stops.”

  “Sometimes it feels like it,” Wrath said.

  “Feelings are just feelings,” Serenity whispered, and she kissed him again. Then she took his hand.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Home,” she told him. “And in the morning, we’ll go visit our little Clover.”

  Chapter 15

  They arrived at the hospital and found Clemecia’s room quickly. She was on the third floor, in the children’s ward, and the entire place was decorated with bright colors and pictures of cartoon animals.

  The nurse was adamant that they needed to wash their hands before going into the room. Once she was satisfied with Wrath and Serenity’s personal hygiene, she handed them each a disposable mask to wear while they were in the room.

  “Don’t cough on her.” The elderly woman glared especially at Wrath, and Serenity bit back a laugh. Wrath made a face that said, What? I’m innocent!

  That just made Serenity giggle harder.

  Clemecia was in the Mouse room. There was a little mouse on the door, and when Wrath and Serenity gently knocked, they heard a quiet voice call out, “Come in!”

  They pushed open the door and stepped inside. The first thing to his Serenity was the smell. It smelled like a hospital in here. It smelled like disease and sickness and pain. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this wasn’t about her.

  The last time she’d been in a hospital was when Oliver died.

  The last time she’d been in a hospital, she went there with him and left alone.

  The last time she’d been in a hospital, she promised herself it was the very last time she would let herself feel pain that deep.

  And then Wrath had happened.

  She’d given him something precious, something valuable. She’d given him the ability to save her heart or crush it, and she wasn’t sure which he was going to do. One thing was for certain, and that was no matter what happened, Wrath was worth loving.

  He was worth fighting for.

  “Miss Serenity?” Clemecia sounded surprised when she saw who her visitors were. “And Wrath? Ya’ll came to see me? How’d you know I was here?”

  “Your mother called me,” Serenity said, walking over to the little girl in the much-too-big bed. She looked weak, and frail, but she still had a little smile on her face.

  “That was nice of her.”

  “Where’s your mother now? Did she go home?”

  “Nah. She went to find some food. There’s a cafeteria. The foot down there isn’t too bad.” Clemecia lowered her voice. “Mama said she’ll sneak some food back to me.” She looked pointedly at the gelatin on her hospital tray. “Don’t tell my nurse.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Wrath picked up the gelatin and began to eat it.

  “Wrath!” Serenity’s eyes widened. “She’s sick!”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Wrath winked at Clemecia. “This way, you can tell the nurse you ate it. No harm, no foul.”

  Clemecia giggled brightly.

  “We missed you in class,” Serenity told her student. “I
brought you some art supplies in case you want to draw while you’re here.” She pulled out a blank drawing pad and some colored pencils and set them on Clemecia’s bed tray.

  “Thanks!” Clemecia reached for them and immediately started to draw. “I’ve been wanting to draw, but we left so quickly, I didn’t have time to pack a bag.”

  “If there’s anything else you need from home, just let us know and we can go get it for you, okay? I know your mama probably doesn’t want to leave the hospital.”

  “She has to go to work again in two days. Hopefully they’ll let me outta here before that.”

  “I’m gonna go find your mom and talk to her, okay? See if she needs any help getting lunch. Wrath will stay with you, all right?”

  “Don’t worry,” Wrath said. “I’ll help Clemecia make this the best purple dinosaur she’s ever drawn.”

  “I don’t want to draw a purple dinosaur,” Clemecia protested lightly. “I want to draw green fairies and sunsets.”

  “Well, we’d better get started.” Wrath pulled up a seat next to Clemecia and started drawing, and Serenity slipped quietly out the door. She pulled off her mask as soon as she was out of the room and took a deep breath.

  Although she’d only been wearing the mask for a few minutes, it felt restrictive, and the whole world felt like it was shrinking.

  “Excuse me,” Serenity asked the nurse. “Which way to the cafeteria?”

  “First floor,” the nurse pointed to the elevators. “But your best bet is to take the stairs. It’s lunchtime, so the elevators are gonna be crowded, and it’s only two flights down.”

  “Thanks,” Serenity said. Taking the nurse’s advice, she headed down the opposite hallway and found the door marked STAIRS. She pushed the heavy door open and began to descend. Finding Clemecia’s mother wouldn’t be too tricky. The problem wasn’t that the hospital was difficult to navigate, but that Serenity still felt so uncomfortable in places like this.

  She shook her head.

  It was nothing.

  She was just feeling uncomfortable because of Oliver. Not because of anything else. She was off her game because the magic user she’d met yesterday made her feel weak and intimidated. It was a stupid feeling: one she didn’t have time for. She pushed the thought out of her head and kept walking.

  She went down the first flight of stairs and then the second. When she reached the first floor, she pushed open the door and was overwhelmed by the crowd of people walking through. The nurse hadn’t been kidding when she said there was going to be a rush for lunch.

  Serenity began walking toward the cafeteria, but as she moved, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched.

  Followed.

  She looked over her shoulder, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to her. She saw Clemecia’s mother, Anna, up ahead through the crowd. She was walking away from Serenity, so she hurried to catch up. Maybe she could catch her before she went into the cafeteria.

  Serenity walked faster, pushing her way through the hallway, when she saw Anna turn into a room just off the main walkway. Serenity hurried, carefully avoiding doctors, nurses, patients, and family members. She tried to ignore the way the doctors looked so tired. She tried not to think about the way the family members seemed so worried.

  She reached the door where Anna had gone and pushed it open, walking inside.

  Immediately, Serenity’s gut clenched.

  It was the chapel.

  Anna had come to pray.

  She was in the first pew, eyes closed, focused on her prayers. Serenity could see her, but Anna didn’t look up or appear to notice Serenity. A wave of fear rushed over Serenity as she looked around, but she didn’t see anyone else in the room.

  Good.

  Maybe she was overreacting.

  Just because there were extra magic users in the city didn’t mean they were going to get her. It didn’t mean they were going to attack her or try to steal her blood. She was just anxious and nervous, and she was being silly.

  Still, Serenity turned to slip out of the chapel. She could talk to Anna when the poor woman was done praying for her daughter’s speedy recovery. As soon as Serenity was back in the brightly lit hallway, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  She shouldn’t have.

  It was only when she leaned against the wall beside the door and let out a breath that she noticed the crowd of people nearing her.

  She looked up, and one of the women grabbed her, covering her mouth.

  “Not a word,” the woman said. “Or I’ll slit your throat right here.”

  Chapter 16

  Wrath and Clemecia drew together. They made drawing after drawing and he checked his watch, but forty-five minutes passed and Serenity and Anna hadn’t returned.

  Strange.

  Maybe they’d just gotten to talking.

  “You know what the best part of the hospital is?” Clemecia asked as she finished her picture.

  “The delicious food?” Wrath wiggled his eyebrows, and Clemecia laughed.

  “The button,” she said, and pointed to a little button next to her bed.

  “The call button?”

  “Yeah! I can press it, and no matter what time of day it is, a nurse will come help me.”

  “I hope you’re not abusing your newfound power.”

  “Not at all, but my mom gets tired, and if I call a nurse while she’s sleeping, they’ll help me with things. One of them even brought me some chocolate milk.”

  “Sounds like she’s a real keeper,” Wrath said seriously. Clemecia chuckled and they went back to drawing. Another fifteen minutes passed. The nurse came to check on Clemecia and take her vitals, and just as she was finishing up, Anna returned with food from the cafeteria.

  “Sorry it took so long, sweetie,” she said. “I stopped to pray.”

  “It’s all right, mama. Where’s Serenity?”

  “Who? Your teacher? I haven’t seen her, honey.” Anna cocked her head to the side, and then seemed to notice Wrath for the first time. They’d never met. “Hello,” she said. “You must be Clemecia’s friend from art class. John Smith? Is that right? She told me about you.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Wrath said. He stood and looked past Anna to the doorway. “You said you didn’t see Serenity?”

  “No,” Anna looked flustered. “Was I supposed to have? I must have missed her. It’s pretty crazy downstairs. There’s a big rush for lunch and apparently, some of the conference attendees wandered over to the gift shop to buy stuff. Who knows what they’re thinking? There were a half dozen of them just hanging out near the chapel when I left. Like they don’t have anything better to do.” She shook her head. “The security should kick them out. This is a hospital: not a playground.”

  Wrath’s throat went dry.

  Magic users in the hospital?

  And they were near the chapel?

  Serenity was careful. She was always careful, but if someone was looking for a fallen angel, she had “catch me” written all over her. She was pale and beautiful with long, soft hair, and her lips were always red.

  Always.

  An ordinary person might not notice her, but if a magic user even caught a glimpse of her scars, they would know.

  Especially if it was an overeager, young, new magic user who wanted to show off their new “skills.”

  “Where is the chapel?” Wrath said. “Please. I need to find Serenity.”

  He must have had an edge of worry, of fear, in his voice, because Anna quickly gave him directions and didn’t say anything when he darted out of the room. He ran down the stairs because he didn’t have time to wait for the elevator.

  Time.

  It was such a silly thing.

  It was so precious, so valuable, and then it was gone.

  He raced downstairs, taking care not to run into any of the doctors he passed on the way. One of them yelled at him to slow down, but he didn’t. He had to get to Serenity.

  There was no doubt in his mind
she had been grabbed, taken. There was no time for second-guessing himself. There was no time for coming up with a plan. He had to move, and he had to move now.

  She was in danger, and he had promised to keep her safe.

  He reached the first floor and headed toward the cafeteria. That was where she had been going. Chances were that the chapel was nearby. He found it quickly, and darted inside, but she was nowhere to be seen. They had taken her, though. He was certain of it.

  Wrath turned to leave the chapel. If this was where they had grabbed her, they would want to take her somewhere quiet, somewhere no one else could find her. They wouldn’t need to leave the building, and with so many people around, they wouldn’t be able to, so he needed to find an empty room.

  More specifically, he needed to find a locked room.

  He looked around, and he spotted a bracelet on the ground. It was Serenity’s. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. So they had grabbed her here. There was no longer any doubt. He grabbed a passing doctor.

  “Alert security,” he said. “A woman has been taken. Serenity Miller. 5 foot six. 145 pounds. Possibly by a group of people. We’ll need to review security tapes.”

  The doctor just stared at him, and Wrath growled.

  “Hurry!” He said. “Have them lock down the hospital. Nobody leaves until we’ve found her.” He took off down the hall, trying each door he passed to see if any were locked or marked as private. The first few were empty exam rooms, along with a couple of closets, but then he turned down a hallway that was almost completely empty, and he realized he’d found it.

  He’d found her.

  There was a door at the end of the hallway with two people standing outside of it. They weren’t nurses or doctors. They had “nerd” written all over their faces, and he knew immediately they were convention attendees. They were looking at each other, and around the hallway, but didn’t pay him much attention until he got closer.

  They glared at him. Were they trying to scare him away? Were they trying to keep him from entering the room they were guarding? What is it they were trying to do?