“Exactly” he remarked. “You're asking me for some reason...”
“Your childish elusive attitude made me wonder. When you want to pretend that someone doesn’t matter you don’t act like that. You greet her as if she were a stranger and that's all”.
“You wouldn’t understand…”
“Why not? I know what it's like to be in love...” Ali risked. She knew it was a bold comment but pride was the key to opening any door with Kaliel. He stopped short.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh please! It's more than obvious that that girl is in love with you!”
“That's not your business” Kaliel said mordantly and continued walking without looking at her.
For a moment Ali felt more embarrassed. But she couldn’t give up now or it would seem that she really cared. What she really wanted was to understand what it was that everyone seemed to know about Kaliel except her.
“Excuse me! I thought I could help... It's obvious that you're scared to death of the fact that anyone knows what you feel”.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than analyze me? Where is it that your priority was to find your father?” He snapped, bordering on fury.
“Why do you have to be so rude?” Ali yelled. They were arguing again. “That was the only thing I wanted to know! Why are you so rude to everyone? Why, for example, were you so rude to her? Did you date Charlotte?”
Kaliel turned sharply.
“No” his answer was categorical.
Then he continued on his way in silence but Ali knew it wasn’t over.
“And this is the only way to help her” he added.
Ali smiled satisfied and hurried along with him to hear the story. She had achieved what she was looking for.
“By behaving like a slob?” She encouraged him.
“Yes” Kaliel admitted in spite of himself. “I am aware of Charlotte´s feelings but it’s a mistake. It should never have happened”.
“Oh, why so exaggerated? It's a nice girl...” insinuated Ali.
“Everything happened when she got the plague and her days were numbered. Then she decided to sell her soul in exchange for becoming immortal so that she would never have to separate from me...”
That was nothing like what Ali had imagined. It didn’t make sense either.
“But you didn’t reciprocate, did you? Nobody sell their soul for nothing...”
“Nothing justifies you selling your soul” Kaliel opened his eyes bewildered. “I couldn’t have done anything to give her love wings. I'm sure not. I couldn’t have loved her like that...”
I don’t know what the rules are, Charlotte had said.
“But why?” She insisted.
Kaliel ignored her question. They had entered the cathedral and he lowered his voice to a whisper as they crossed the darkness to the high altar. His footsteps echoed throughout the room.
“Alexander managed a deal to recover her soul but now she must comply with a punishment. She is condemned to remain inside that house until she has recovered her soul. Then she will have to die”.
Carefully, Kaliel ran the table under which the door to the weapons room was hidden. The rubbing of the heavy stone rumbled in the silence.
“And how does your rudeness fit in all this?”
“She has to understand that her soul is the most important thing and the seriousness of the mistake she made... If I have to make her hate me I'll do it”.
“How arrogant! Do you have to help her forget you?” Ali mocked as they descended the stairs to the weapons room.
“She committed a sin of idolatry, you know?” He said entering the darkness to deposit the mirror in its place.
“Sure, yes, I understand: and your bad humor will save the world...” Mocked Ali. “Well, you know what? I don’t intend to sell my soul for you so you can stop being so rude, okay?”
“Am I rude to you?”
“Resign, girl. Men stop being gentle once you've agreed to sleep with them...” said a female voice behind her.
The sculptural beauty of Zhaira was standing with her hands on her waist in the doorway. He had come right behind them and they hadn’t noticed it. Kaliel watched her with contempt.
“Mikah is looking for you: Darry sent a message. We are in his office” she reported as she left. “Hurry up. You can make out later”.
A fiery flush rose to Ali's cheeks. Was that what they all thought of them? Did nobody believe in the friendship between man and woman? Well, nobody could believe that Kaliel was someone's friend and it was obvious why.
Swallowing his words, Kaliel let Ali pass first and followed them to Mikah's office.
During the short journey, Ali couldn’t help envying the curves of Zhaira. Tall, slender and with tight lycra pants that highlighted her figure, an angelic face and a fierce look that exploded with self-confidence, there could be no one capable of resisting her charms. And she wasn’t the only one: the other Redenttos still retained that disturbing beauty of their past as vampires. Among them, Ali felt opaque, miserable and simply insignificant. She couldn’t understand how Kaliel paid no attention to Zhaira. She understood his contempt for vampires but she wasn’t one. Her sensuality was hellish, just as Chase had told her: if the aim of demons is to tempt us they must be very seductive, don’t you think so?
The memory of his voice saddened her. Surely he had already run into female demons like Zhaira and that was why he was so sure of what he said. Feeling jealous now had no case. She turned her gaze to Kaliel to keep from crying. He was crossing his arms and watching the floor, as if he were too important to stoop to look at Zhaira. There was something in his proud attitude that she liked: it was as if he had more important things to think about, as if nothing in the world were worthy enough to receive his attention. Not even the beautiful Charlotte with her blond princess curls.
Shouts brought them out of their musings. Zhaira hurried to open the door. Ali saw all the Redentto arranged in a circle around something on the floor. The Redentto stepped aside to let Kaliel pass and Ali followed him. Lying on the ground, she recognized the mortal who was writhing with fang marks on his neck: it was his friend Martin, the boy Jess was in love with. Ali knelt beside him like Sabrina and held his trembling head in her hands.
“Martin, what have they done to you!?”
The boy didn’t stop convulsing. He was pale as a dead man and covered in a cold sweat.
“A... A... Alanis...” He managed to say when his frantic eyes found her. “Is... I'm de... dead?”
“No. You'll be fine, I promise” she consoled him.
“It... It hurts a lot!” He stuttered touching his shoulder. Only then did Ali notice the wound in the form of a tunnel.
“Darry has sent him with this” muttered Mikah's impassive voice by the fireplace. In one hand he had a bloody crossbow arrow and in the other a note also stained red.
Kaliel hurried to him and snatched it from his hand. He read it quickly and his eyes locked on Ali. With a terrible feeling, she went to him and read:
One mortal per day until you hand us over to the girl who started this.
“Why do they want her?” Kaliel mused almost to himself.
“To take revenge, it's obvious” reasoned Ali.
“No” Mikah intervened.
“To deliver her to his Master...” said an unfamiliar voice from outside and everyone turned to see.
Annabeth and Jared stood in the doorway of the office. She looked different, tired and frail like someone who had just recovered from a strong flu. Ali noticed that in her turquoise hair the roots of her natural dark hair were growing again.
“The first time we attacked her was not coincidence: Darry had ordered us to kidnap her” she confessed taking a few steps into the room.
The entire congregation kept silent while assimilating the information.
“He was very specific in his desire that we deliver her to him alive and without a scratch” she continued.
“Oh
yeah?” Ali interrupted sarcastically. “You were not very delicate that I remember...”
“You murdered my sister” spat Annabeth. Then she went back to Mikah. “Darry kept his reasons secret but when the girl murdered Mireya I felt that I should know more and so I spied one of his conversations with a messenger who arrived that same night. Darry wants the girl to give her to his Master”.
“His what?” Ali whispered to Kaliel.
In the room no one seemed to breathe. That couldn’t be good.
“His Master is the demon that created him, the one that made him a vampire and to which he must obey...”
Everyone was watching her closely, even Mikah. The question was implicit in their looks.
“Samael...” Annabeth clarified at last. A sepulchral silence took hold of everyone.
“Samael!?” Kaliel was scandalized and looked at Mikah. But this one wasn’t impressed at all. Ali began to think that Mikah already knew it too.
“Did you find out why he wants her?” Sabrina asked.
“No, I don’t know...”
“Well, what are you going to do, Mikah?” Zhaira challenged him. “Will you hand over the girl?”
“What's wrong with you!?” Sabrina yelled, standing up in front of her.
“I was just asking...” Zhaira scoffed.
Then Max intervened.
“Will you allow the Gladius Dei to destroy us all for hiding a simple mortal? The treacherous preferences of Heaven never cease to call my attention...”
“Shut your mouth, asshole!” snapped Kaliel.
“If you don’t hand her over, I can do it...” Zhaira continued.
“It's a life in exchange for many” said a girl in the background whose name Ali had already forgotten.
“We'll stop them before that happens!” Sabrina exclaimed as the voices began to overlap.
“If you don’t hang over the girl, she should at least leave this place!” A voice rose from some uncertain point of the room.
“But there's nothing to think about!” Max said. “It's just a life in exchange for the end of the war, a small sacrifice!”
“Think of all the human souls that could be saved from being converted in the coming days!”
“You don’t care about human souls, you're only worried about your nasty ass!” Kaliel replied enraged.
“Enough! Enough!” Sabrina pleaded and then Sharon, the carrot haired girl joined her:
“We’ll find another solution”.
“How can you decide which life is worth more than another?” Glister interjected with indignation.
The commotion grew more and more and the Redentto were squeezing more and more into the circle of their discussion. It seemed that at any moment they would start punching each other. Kaliel radiated fury. Ali moved away from them and stood next to Mikah who looked at them without saying anything, with his hands entwined nonchalantly on his back.
“Samael is never going to give up! He has all eternity to pursue it!”
“If you are so afraid, why don’t you go away?” Kaliel spat at Max.
“Forget it, I'll stay here to see how you burn in hell along with her...”
“Better you forget it Max” Zhaira put her hand on the demon's shoulder moving towards Kaliel. “It’s clear that Mikah prefers the mortal...”
At that moment, everyone turned to see Mikah. It was as if only then they had noticed his silence. Beside him, Ali cried with her head down.
“Fools” said Mikah. Max and Zhaira opened their eyes wide. “Do you still think she's a mortal? Do you really believe that Samael would mobilize the entire Legion of Salisbury for a single, simple mortal?”
“If she´s not a mortal what is she then?” Sabrina asked surprised.
“Does it matter?” Max insisted and in two quick strides he was next to Ali. Then he took her by the shoulders of her sweater and began to drag her to the door. She let out a moan of fear. “If Darry wants her so much, why don’t we use her as a bait to catch him and end this matter at once?”
Suddenly Max seemed to go crazy. His eyes turned a blood red and pushed the rest of the Redentto with one arm as he ran towards the door dragging Ali as if he were a rugby player ramming his rivals. In an attempt to prevent her from escaping, Max took her by the hair and Ali started screaming. However, the demon couldn’t go much further. Kaliel passed by his side like a lightning bolt and blocked his way. Then he took Max by the neck and lifted him without apparent effort until his feet no longer touched the ground. Still gripped by her hair, Ali fell to her knees on the floor next to Max and could see Kaliel traversing him with the most angry look she had ever seen. His features had frozen and his lips had narrowed to a thin line as his eyes seemed capable of incinerating the demon with the fury that rippled through them like lava pits about to explode. For a moment, it seemed to her that Max’s hand was shaking.
“Release her now or I'll make hell look like an amusement park for children to you...” Kaliel's lips barely moved.
“Is this really your mission, Kaliel? Is the Throne going to forgive you because you are guarding this girl?” hissed Max.
“That's not your business. Worry about your redemption and you better get it because Lucifer will not forgive you after your betrayal...”
A noise rose in the air, like flesh being thrown on a burning surface. Long wisps of smoke rose from the place where Kaliel's hand came into contact with Max's skin. But the boy sketched a half smile.
“I know a better trick...”
Ali's screams tore the air violently. She could feel waves of pain surging through her body like electricity, or like a poison that burned in her veins and spread as fast as she breathed. Screaming until her throat hurt was all she could do.
Kaliel lunged at Max and they both rolled on the floor. Ali broke free and went hard against the wall, where she lay stretched out, barely able to breathe. With a quick movement, Kaliel pulled a dagger from his belt and frantically stabbed the demon's chest. However, he didn’t kill him. That only served to stop him.
“Kaliel, it’s enough...” ordered the always calm voice of Mikah.
Kaliel stood up, still watching Max with hatred as his black blood gushed out on the floor.
“I hope you've learned only with this...” he warned.
Then, Ali saw him blurry as he approached and lifted her up, languid and light as a rag doll. Max laughed loudly.
“Of course I’ve learned... I found your Achilles heel!” The demon shouted as Kaliel left the room. “The weight of your own boat will sink you, damned!”
“Sabrina, go with them” Mikah asked. “Jared, Annabeth, please take care of the new one...”
Those were the last words Ali heard before vanishing into Kaliel's comforting arms. For a moment, she thought she saw the huge black wings and felt its soft caress on her arms. It didn’t matter if Kaliel was an angel, a demon or a vampire, for her, he was the guardian angel that the Skies had denied her.
18
Doors that will never close
She didn’t remember how she had reached the top of the tower. She didn’t remember stairs; only the vague caress of the icy wind on her face and the warmth of the arms that kept her suspended in the sky. It was such an ecstatic feeling that she didn’t want to open her eyes for fear of it vanishing. In those moments, an ineffable peace replaced the pain and silenced her mind from the thoughts that hadn’t stopped tormenting her for days. So she fell asleep until Sabrina's voice took her out of her brief but wonderful dream.
“Why do you only have that dirty chair?” Ali heard her say.
“You know I don’t sleep...” Kaliel snapped.
“But she does!”
Ali opened her eyes slowly and saw Kaliel on her right, sitting as always in the window of his room, with one leg hanging in the vacuum and the other on the sill. To her left, leaning against the doorway and with her arms folded, Sabrina looked at him with clear disapproval. Ali felt something hard dig into her ribs: the wooden armrest
of the velvet chair. She was sitting in the most uncomfortable position, wrapped in the blankets with which she slept. Outside, dawn climbed the horizon like long orange fingers.
“Oh, I'm sorry... I woke you up” Sabrina lamented. “How are you?”
Sabrina's grave expression reminded her that it wasn’t a simple question of courtesy but that she was referring to her recent mishap with the demon Max. Ali looked at her hands, reliving the memory of that lacerating pain.
“What happened?” She asked. Deep down she felt terrified that someone could do that to her again. Was her father suffering similar tortures? Her heart clenched in anguish and that feeling of peace vanished completely.
“Demon poison...” Sabrina replied. “They can do that to you if they touch you. But don’t worry: it's not physical, it's not real, it's just an illusion”.
“It felt very real...”
“But it was just that: a feeling. Your body wasn’t damaged, you understand?”
“I think so... But he was right” Ali thought of Martin writhing on the floor of Mikah's office as he became a vampire. Would he still be Jess's boyfriend until then? Would she have to suffer the loss of her best friend and boyfriend in the same week? Or worse, would she be next? It was clear that Darry was pointing directly at the people in Ali´s inner circle. “You can’t risk everyone's life for me. What are you going to do? Are you going to hand me over?”
“Ali!” Sabrina reprimanded her with sweetness. “How do you think we're going to do that? We don’t do that. Our duty is to protect you... you and everyone in the city. We’ll find the way”.
Ali watched Kaliel. She expected him to say what he thought but she wasn’t surprised to find him looking towards the dawn with an icy expression that hid his thoughts. However, Ali was now certain that he was trying to pretend that nothing was bothering him. He wasn’t going to hand her over and he would kill anyone who tried. She knew it when she saw him unload all those blows from his dagger into Max's chest. Because getting the demon to let her go would have been enough to maintain his mission; the rest ran on his own. If his fidelity to his mission as guardian was so strong, then Ali could trust him more than anyone, even more than Mikah.
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