Dominion

by Melody Manful

  A water fountain bubbled in front of the main entrance to the house. In the middle of the fountain, a life-size Greek marble sculpture of a woman held a large scalloped shell with both hands as water overflowed it. Underneath the sculpture, streams of water spiraled high into the air, reaching the shoulders of the woman before falling back into the basin.

  The limo parked in front of the mansion and Abigail stepped out, saying, “Thanks for the ride.” Then she walked toward a baroque-inspired covered portico.

  Tristan and I followed her into the house. The first thing I saw when we entered the grand foyer was the double wrought iron staircase. The two-story, sky-lit foyer boasted a vaulted ceiling, which was crowned with intricate moldings. I looked down at the contrasting marble-and-stone floor.

  “Do you want something, Miss Cells?” Ben asked.

  “No, thank you,” Abigail answered politely.

  I turned from her to look at some pictures of her and a woman who I assumed was her mother. I imagined the other miscellaneous people in the portraits were also family.

  “Call us if you need anything,” Felix said as he walked in and stood behind her. Abigail nodded and passed through an opened door across the room. Tristan and I followed.

  The room Abigail entered was classic. It looked like one of those fancy human restaurants, very tidy and unique. There was a long dining table in the middle and a flat-screen TV hung on the wall beside a glass cupboard filled with gilded silver plates.

  Abigail didn’t stop when she entered the room; she went on and opened another door. A woman with dark hair and a sunny face was already in the next room, standing behind a deluxe double oven. “Hi, Morgan.” Abigail greeted the woman, who I assumed was the house help.

  “How was school, honey?” Morgan walked over to Abigail.

  “It wasn’t bad.” She made her way to a chair.

  There was a glass door close to where Abigail sat, and from where I was standing, I could see a veranda behind her. Two chairs sat on the veranda as well as a little glass table. A swimming pool was just beyond the veranda. I glanced at Abigail as she wordlessly gazed at the pool. She seemed lost in thought because she didn’t even notice when the woman placed a sizeable bowl of ice cream in front on her.

  “Are you okay, honey? You look a bit tired.”

  “I’m fine, Morgan.”

  Liar.

  “Well, eat your ice cream. I made your favorite—strawberry-vanilla swirl.”

  The ice cream looked disgusting to me. Seriously, I didn’t know why humans enjoyed eating all that rubbish. We angels had a different appetite, while the Lumenians gained strength by feeding on the happiness and love around them, the Grandinians grew strong by feeding on the weakness, sadness, and pain of others. I, on the other hand, inflicted pain and fed off it.

  Abigail ate three spoonfuls of her ice cream without looking at it. Morgan watched her silently from behind the counter.

  “The children’s hospital called,” Morgan said. “They can’t wait to see you Friday.” Suddenly, Abby’s face lit up.

  “I can’t wait, either,” Abigail said with a smile. She ate another spoonful of ice cream. “I ordered them new books and toys. They should be here tomorrow.”

  What a waste of space she was.

  Abigail’s phone beeped. She grabbed it, glanced at the screen, and smiled. As she read through the message, her face clouded. I looked over her shoulder and glanced at the message.

  411!!!! It’s on. 2nite. Concert at 8:00 XD. C ya soon. Kiss, UR BFF Sarah *w*

  “Thanks for the ice cream, Morgan. I have some homework to do.” Abigail said and hurried out of the kitchen.

  Tristan and I followed her up the double staircase and into her bedroom.

  Abigail’s bedroom was a roomy suite, which included a small sitting area containing a bookshelf, sofa, TV, and another shelf packed with DVDs and CDs. There were two open doors that could be seen in her room, one led to her walk-in closet, the other to her bathroom.

  A pair of french doors led to a balcony with tall columns. The view overlooked the beautiful garden below.

  Abigail went into her bathroom minutes after she entered her room. The shower turned on, and I walked out of the bedroom and onto the balcony, where I decided to pass the time by pretending I didn’t notice Tristan’s presence at all.

  All angels were supposed to give humans privacy when they were having private moments. This meant that whenever they were undressed, we gave them their privacy. Since I only came to Earth to kill them, that part wasn’t my problem.

  “Where is it?” Abigail shouted from inside her closet. I walked back into her room.

  Tristan walked into the closet. I vacillated but followed a few seconds later. Abigail was carelessly throwing her clothes around when we entered. She was already dressed in a black tank top and a simple pair of skinny jeans.

  “There you are!” She pulled a band T-shirt out of the mess. Abigail put the shirt on and dialed a number. A familiar voice, Sarah, told Abigail they were coming to get her soon, and operation “Sneak Abigail Out” was in action.

  After Abigail ended the call, she hurried into her bedroom. Looking into her schoolbag, she took her watch out and put it under her pillow. She then started yanking off the bed sheets one by one.

  Once the sheets were on the floor, she carefully placed them back on the bed, one after the other. Laying her pillows in a line down the bed, she then situated her sheets over them. As soon as she did this, the bed looked like someone was sleeping on it. She smiled to herself and went out on the balcony.

  After a while, she sat on the railing with her hands tightened around the stone edge as she dangled her legs. Tristan went out, too, standing a few steps away from her and staring into the distance. I saw this as an opportunity.

  I wanted to kill Abigail at the concert while she was having fun, but I was bored and hungry. I looked at her questioningly, wondering what harm I would choose to do to her. It took less than five seconds before the best idea occurred to me. I smiled, and without looking at Tristan, I walked closer to Abigail. Without a second thought, I shoved her hard from the balcony railing.

  She screamed as she fell.

  HELL ON WHEELS

  “Give them hell, give them heaven,

  and all they’ll do is forget when you’re gone.

  Give them mercy, give them grace,

  and they’ll only pray, when all hope is gone.”

  Melody Manful

  

  It took Tristan barely a second to realize what I had done. He zoomed past me as Abigail’s scream rang out.

  Strength filled me. I knew Tristan wouldn’t be able to catch her without having to draw attention, so nothing could go wrong. One moment, Abigail was seconds from hitting the ground; but the next thing I knew, she had landed perfectly on her feet.

  What the hell?

  I didn’t understand why she wasn’t dead. Daligo didn’t tell me Abigail was also going to be a challenge. Was I tricked into this?

  I was about to ask Tristan if Abigail was more than a human, when I saw the lights disappearing from his fingertips, indicating that he had somehow managed to save Abigail from breaking both her legs.

  Abigail took a second to catch her breath, and then she scanned the balcony, took her phone out of her pocket, and pressed it to her ear.

  She looked at her legs when she took the first step. She walked around the house and spoke into the phone. “Logan, I want a full sweep of Cells mansion.” She kept glancing over her shoulder as if looking for someone. “Where are you? Well then, please make the time. This is important.” Abigail ended the call and slid her phone back into her pocket.

  Tristan stood behind Abigail, magically calming her down and healing whatever pain she still felt in her legs.

  Abigail looked around her once more before she silently made the long walk toward the front gate. When she arrived at the gate, she furtively passed the night watchman, who was busy cheering on a footb
all game.

  An old Toyota pulled over the moment she exited the gate. Her friends were wearing the same matching T-shirts.

  Abigail climbed into the car.

  “How did you get out without your bodyguards?” Sarah asked.

  Jake didn’t hesitate before driving away slowly, leaving nothing but the soft echo of the car’s engine.

  “I sneaked out and tip-toed through the front gate,” Abigail lied.

  Tristan flew along the side of Jake’s car, and I flew behind it.

  The city of San Francisco felt alive. The streetlights were lit, stores illuminated their products in windows, neon signs beckoned customers, and buildings were darkened except for a scattering of glowing office windows. People walked on the sidewalks, enjoying the evening breeze. Around us, the lights from cars brightened the busy highway.

  “This concert is going to be epic,” Danny said when Jake pulled the car onto the main road.

  “It’s a shame Tristan couldn’t get a ticket,” Jake kept his eyes on the road.

  “We’ll bring him back a shirt and some pictures,” Danny said.

  “I hope I get an autograph after the show!” Sarah squealed and then turned to Abigail. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, why do you act so weird around Gideon?”

  “I don’t,” Abigail said. “I’ve had a rough day, that’s all,” she added.

  That was her excuse? Maybe I should scream at her in class and run off tomorrow and see how she feels about it. Why did this even bother me? I needed to kill something!

  Abigail and her friends didn’t stop talking as they drove through the city, the car filled with laughter and happiness, making me weaker and Tristan stronger.

  Soon the car came to a stop at a traffic light.

  While Tristan was busy laughing and listening in on Abigail and her friends’ conversation, I scanned the area around the four-way intersection. The first thing I saw was a white moving van in front of the traffic across the street. The driver inside looked bored.

  Arise, all evil, I whispered to myself with a smile as I eyed the van. I magically pulled the van with my mind, moving it forward. The driver immediately grabbed hold of the steering wheel and tried to pump the brakes.

  The driver shouted as he crossed lanes, smashing into vehicles. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see Abigail and her friends spot the moving van. I heard their screams. They struggled to open the car doors, which I made sure were locked tight. Their faces filled with panic and fear and I smiled wider.

  Tristan waved his hands, and the van stopped just before it could ram the next car out of its way. The driver immediately turned off the engine and snatched the keys out.

  I clenched my fists in anger. Did Tristan have to save everything?

  “Must you do—” Tristan didn’t finish what he wanted to say because a passing car veered into the oncoming cars. He immediately vanished and reappeared near the car. I was controlling the street, and Tristan’s interference only made me angrier.

  “Gideon!” Tristan shouted as he stopped a car I was trying to crash into another.

  I sent more cars colliding in the chaos.

  Tristan waved his hands again, and the cars stopped. Again, I moved one of the cars toward Tristan. This, of course, was a waste of my time because the car stopped right beside him.

  I turned to the moving van again. I cranked the engine, and the driver gawked at the keys in his hands. He panicked as the van jerked forward, tossing him around. Abigail’s friends screamed louder, jerking on the door handles and banging on the windows for someone to let them out.

  Abigail, however, was staring at the van, dazed. Tristan whipped around when he heard the screams. He saw the van plowing toward them, and then, once again, the van skidded to a halt.

  Glaring angrily at Tristan, I conjured a ball of fire and threw it in his direction. His eyes weren’t on me. Luckily for me, it was too late when he saw the flames. I smiled as the fireball knocked him nearly twelve feet backward, smashing him across cars and into things until he finally landed hard on the ground.

  People screamed in panic when they heard the loud noise that Tristan’s body made when he hit the ground. They, of course, couldn’t see him; they saw only the char the fire caused.

  The street looked like a battlefield. People were crawling out of their totaled vehicles, and some of the cars had flipped upside down or lay on their sides. Some drivers struggled to get out, and others weren’t even moving.

  “Jake, wake up!” Sarah’s panicked voice grabbed my attention.

  I turned and looked at Jake’s car. Jake had collapsed. I supposed he was in shock. Danny and Sarah still struggled to get out of the car. And Abigail looked steady as she continued to gaze at the stalled van.

  I made the van move forward once again. The driver tried jerking on the steering wheel, but it didn’t respond. “Come on, move! Dear God, help me,” the driver cried in what I was sure was his last prayer. “Move!” he shouted as the van rushed toward Jake’s car, knocking the parked vehicles out of its way.

  “Get up, Jake!” I heard Danny shouting. “Jake!”

  I admired my handiwork. To make things more interesting, I inched Jake’s car forward.

  “What the—?” Abigail seemed to be the only one who noticed that Jake’s car was moving. I knew nothing could go wrong now. Tristan was still on the ground, and I was about to hit the jackpot.

  Three. Two—what the hell?

  “Impossible!” I shouted, looking at Jake’s car.

  Just as the van was about to crash into his car, the car swerved and lurched forward. It skidded to a stop out of harm’s way.

  I appeared beside Jake’s car, furious. In the driver’s seat, Jake was still unconscious, but Abigail sat in his lap, holding the steering wheel.

  What the hell?

  BEST FRIENDS FORNEVER

  “They say I’m evil because

  I have no heart and can’t feel,

  but how can I feel when they kept

  taking, pushing and asking much of me

  until I gave them my very soul?”

  Melody Manful

  

  Abigail let go of the steering wheel and crawled into the backseat.

  Did Abigail steer them away? She couldn’t have. Shock couldn’t begin to describe what I was feeling. I was surprised—and surprise wasn’t something I experienced often. I couldn’t think straight. No normal human could do what Abigail just did. What was she?

  The street filled with cries and chaos. It didn’t take long for police cruisers and ambulances to arrive. Paramedics rushed to help the injured.

  This time when she tried the car handle, the door opened. Abigail stepped out of the car and surveyed the surrounding hell. Sarah and Danny climbed shakily out of the car, tears streaming down their cheeks.

  My eyes searched the crowd until they found Tristan’s. The moment our eyes connected, tears started falling down his cheeks. The night sky rumbled, the roll of thunder pierced every heart and brought sadness into the soul of everyone around. Except me. I just thought the forces of the universe were kissing up to him!

  Suddenly he was right in front of me. “Are you happy now?” Tristan asked, clearly pained by the destruction I had caused. “Does this make you happy?” He pointed at the chaos around us.

  “Ecstatic. Do I win a prize?”

  “You’re just…” He paused, clenching his fists. “Just…” His blue eyes abruptly turned gold.

  “I’m what?” I asked, stepping closer toward him when I realized he wasn’t going to continue his little speech. “What, are you too good to tell me how awful I am?”

  “No, you don’t deserve even that satisfaction!” He transported himself to Abigail and her friends.

  My breath started coming on too strong as anger built up inside me. My body felt enflamed. I clenched my fists, letting the burning rage inside take control. Instantly, my right hand ignited and I hurled the ball of fire straight toward Abigail.r />
  Half a second before the fire blasted Abigail, Tristan’s hands snatched it from the air. Before I could inhale another breath, he stood in front of me.

  “Enough, Gideon!” Tristan shouted.

  “Oh, I’m just getting started,” I snarled, staring him straight in the eyes. “I came here for the girl, and she’s still alive.”

  “Then I suggest you come up with a more brilliant plan, because this one is pathetic,” Tristan said, challenging me. The fire in his hands evaporated into air, and he was gone again.

  “That is one angry prince.”

  I turned around at the sound of D’s voice. She stood behind me, smiling as if there weren’t chaos going on around us. She wore an erotic, short red dress with a seductive smile on her face. Around her neck dangled an ancient crystal necklace that glowed every time a soul died—which was every second, so the necklace never stopped shimmering.

  D was the only friend I had. She was the Grim Reaper and the keeper of the Underworld. As the Grim Reaper, it was her job to lead dead souls to the Underworld, where they’d cross over. And her being here meant she came to take the souls of those I just killed.

  “And he just made one angry Gideon.” I made an attempt to go over to Tristan, but D stopped me.

  “Patience, handsome. You aren’t going to get anywhere near his human by being Gideon.”

  “How the hell am I supposed to kill her then?”

  “I suggest if you want to kill the girl, you befriend her first.”

  I frowned, puzzled. That was the dumbest idea I’d ever heard. Why the hell would I waste my time befriending a human?

  “Trust me, it would be brilliant,” she added. “Tristan isn’t going to leave her side, and the only way you will even get close to her is by joining her circle. As a friend.”

  Her plan didn’t seem dumb when I realized she was right.