By Kat Heckenbach
Simone’s nails dug deeper into the leathery skin of the demon’s neck, and a thick, black liquid oozed over her fingertips.
“I told you to leave her alone, Wraith,” she said, forcing his head to the side and ramming his cheek into the brick wall of the alley. In human form he was devastatingly handsome. In his present state he was anything but. His laboring, sulfurous breath gagged her, but she showed no indication. “She’s mine,” she hissed.
The demon’s eyes traveled up the opposing wall to a second-story window, on the other side of which lay a sleeping girl. The forked tip of a scaled tongue poked out between his black lips. His voice rattled through his constricted throat. “Yes…Lady Simone.”
She eased back on her grip, but held herself at the ready to tackle him once again. “You know the law, Wraith. She’s too young. If I catch you here again, I will be forced to…dismantle you.”
The demon cringed and blinked acquiescence. She released him. He sucked in a breath and exhaled yellow vapor. “Thank you, Lady Simone, for sparing me. I shall not disappoint you.”
Simone’s full, red lips curled into a satisfied smile. I hope you try again. It will be my pleasure to take you apart, cell by cell.
The demon spread his bat-like wings and shot straight up between the alley walls. A howl echoed with his departure, and Simone was left alone in the quiet pitch of midnight. She examined the black ooze that coated her fingers. It was already beginning to congeal, turning from black oil to opaque liquid glass, its freezing point a mere 70 degrees. It tightened around Simone’s fingers and tingled icily as it froze against her skin. With a slight twitch of her finger, the dark glass shattered and scattered silently across the litter-strewn alley. Simone sighed and then walked down the alley, her stiletto-heeled boots clicking on the pavement.
As she emerged on the street, she raked her hand through her auburn hair. It hung only to her shoulders now. She hadn’t worn it this short in nearly two hundred years. She peered into the night sky as clouds parted, revealing a paper-thin sliver of moon.
Cars passed, the thump of bass reverberating through open windows, the stench of exhaust filling the polluted air. Something inside Simone stirred, a desire to run from the ugliness and hate that filled the city. A desire to leave the presence of these lowly humans. But she was bound as their guardian until her sentence was served.
She turned, walked several paces, and climbed the steps leading to the glass-panel door of the young girl’s apartment. This was her purpose. She placed her ivory fingers against the pane, and the glass immediately darkened and swirled like oil on a wet road. Like the demon blood she had just discarded. She pushed her hand through the swirling glass. Yes, this is my purpose and my curse.
Once upstairs, she entered the girl’s room and walked to the bed, her slim frame casting no shadow, her stiletto heels silent on the wood floor. The girl knew nothing of her. When she awoke she would have no idea she’d been protected from Wraith—or rather, the demon protected from her.
Simone ran her fingers through the blond curls, brushing them gently aside to reveal a soft, slender neck. She could sense, if not see, the blood pulsing through the young girl’s jugular. She grimaced at the thought of what she had become, what she was forced to do. The girl was innocent, helpless, and did not deserve to be violated like this.
Simone bent down slowly, tiny protrusions emerging from behind her eyeteeth, stinging as they surfaced. Her pulse quickened and her stomach tightened. The need overcame her, like an electric current that ran just below the surface of her skin. Her mouth watered, and her senses awakened. She breathed in the scent of the girl’s skin, sweet and salty. Her eyelids lowered as her lips parted.
The prick of her fangs was momentary, and soon the blood trickled from the girl’s neck and drew into the reservoirs above the fangs. Simone felt like a monster—she’d be called a vampire by ignorant humans. But she didn’t drink the blood, only held it captive to use against the demons that were under her command. Another bite into their leathery skin was all it took to inject the blood and subdue them.
As Simone stood, a tear escaped and trailed down her cheek. The young girl would never know Simone had been there, never know she had been used. Her innocence would not be affected, but Simone would suffer for her act.
A crowd of teens had taken over the street corner, and Simone cut into the alley to avoid them. No moonlight penetrated the isolation of the alley, and she slid through the darkness as if in a dream. Hot sulfurous air wafted into her nostrils, burning her throat and bringing her back to her surroundings.
“Wraith, what did I—“
A leathery hand wrapped its thick fingers around her arm. Simone yanked free, spun, and planted a sidekick into the demon’s chest. He stumbled back, and the brick behind him cracked under the impact of his massive torso. His maw opened slightly, splitting his face with a devilish grin.
His blood-red eyes blinked and he released a deafening roar, which seemed to emanate from every direction. Sulfurous smoke filled the alley, and Simone stepped back. Swirling yellow vapors stung her eyes as it thickened, and almost immediately began to clear again. Pair upon pair of blood-red eyes blinked and converged in a suffocating mass.
A brick wall lay on Simone. Vices held her eyes shut. Distorted noises bombarded her eardrums, and a cacophony of muffled sounds rattled in her brain. A buzz, and then a voice broke through the din.
“Doctor, her pulse has returned to normal and she seems to be waking.”
Shuffling footsteps.
Simone opened her mouth, drew in a reluctant breath, and choked on the cold, antiseptic air. But the brick wall lightened its load and the vices loosened their grips. Sensations filtered in from every part of Simone’s body. Soft below, warmth around her legs, bindings on her wrists and elbows, tubes in her nostrils. And then…pain everywhere. Sharp, stabbing pain in her limbs. Throbbing pain that traversed her body and slammed her skull from the inside.
A gentle voice whispered, “Can you hear me, Simone?”
Simone forced her eyelids apart. A blurry female face hovered just inside her field of vision. Blond tresses floated around the face. Simone felt she could trust this one. Her voice creaked as she tried to speak.
“How…did you know my name?”
The face broadened in a blurry smile, and the blue eyes glistened. “Emily told us.”
“Emily?”
“Yes, dear. The little girl who found you.” The face began to clear, the features becoming more distinct in moments, and Simone saw confusion in the sky-blue eyes. She averted her gaze as the nurse continued. “She said you were calling for her. You don’t remember what happened, do you?”
Images poured into Simone’s mind like a movie running in fast-forward, and she clenched her eyes shut. Wings and sulfur, outstretched talons tearing into her flesh, flashing red eyes. So many demons, too many for even Simone. They will pay…
* * *
Colors swirled behind Simone’s lids, energy that forced away the pain and cleansed her body of the chemicals being pumped in by the I.V. Pain killers that worked on humans only dulled her mind, and she needed to think clearly. Her skin burned as tape peeled away and needles slid free from her veins.
Her eyes popped open. The pain had become an underlying ache that stiffened her body, but it was no longer strong enough to hold her down. Without the dulling chemicals, however, she could sense every inch of torn skin. She smiled at the nurse who stood with mouth agape and eyes wide and horrified.
The woman finally found her voice and screamed, but Simone blocked the sound before it could escape the room. She tried to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, but her left leg would not obey. Simone concentrated on the tissue and determined her knee was dislocated. Damn! Aren’t hospitals good for anything?
She gripped her leg above and below the knee and pulled hard in opposite directions. Bone scraped bone, and a tsunami of pain rushed through Simone’s body, followed by a satisfying pop and relief. The thud of a body hitting the floor snatched her attention. The nurse lay in a crumpled heap. Simone sensed that the woman was unhurt and she snickered. Not in the right line of work, are ya honey?
She attempted to stand, and her knee immediately gave way. She lay her fingers against the skin and opened her mind further. Torn ligaments. They would take too long and too much energy to heal right then.
Voices echoed in the hallway, and Simone remembered the nurse’s call to the doctor. She needed to escape quickly. She scanned the room and spotted her boots under a chair in the opposite corner. Her clothes were nowhere to be found, and she glanced down at the ridiculous hospital gown draped across her body. I guess it will have to do.
She hopped over to the chair on one foot, and grabbed a boot. Gripping it firmly with both hands, she tore the leather with one smooth motion. She dropped the bottom half and wrapped the upper piece around her knee. She tightened the laces and tested the brace. Perfect.
Simone examined the room for the best means of escape. An awning was visible below the second story window of the room. It would be a nasty jump, but offered less of a struggle than fighting her way through a crowded corridor. She turned to the window just as the door opened.
The glass shattered as she slammed through. The shards contacting her skin instantly turned shiny black and rolled off her like drops of oil. Simone intended to drop, tuck, and roll, but her left leg refused to bend, and she tumbled gracelessly off the edge of the awning.
Branches dug into her skin as she landed in a mass of thorns and brush; something jagged found its way into an open gash on her back. She stifled a scream, and the hedge around her burst into flame. The elements never obeyed when she lost her temper. But the fire consumed the bush in seconds, and Simone landed on the ground in a pile of ash.
She took advantage of the smoke screen and limped to the safety of a nearby warehouse.
* * *
Simone stalked through the alley behind Emily’s apartment feeling disquieted. She had spent an hour crouched in the abandoned warehouse, waiting for the search for her to move elsewhere. She’d gone home and changed clothes, but still felt as exposed as she did in the flimsy hospital gown.
A hollow ache pulsed inside her, and she found herself running her fingers nervously through her hair. She felt…parched. It was not a physical thirst, yet she trailed a silky tongue across her full upper lip and then swallowed. Nothing would help until she saw Emily.
She moved soundlessly through the little girl’s room, and stopped in the shadow of a corner. Her knee began to throb, and she realized that every muscle in her body was tensed. She sound-proofed the room just in case she startled the girl.
Emily’s soft breathing was barely audible, yet it resounded in Simone’s ears like crashing waves. Her own breathing matched its rhythm and a single word fell from her lips, released with an exhale, although Simone had not spoken. Emily.
The little girl stirred, and groaned, and her breathing quickened. Her lips parted and she nearly moaned the word, “Simone…”
Simone gasped, and fought to keep her legs beneath her. In the fog of her awakening the impact of the nurse’s words hadn’t hit home, but now they slammed into her like a freight train. If Emily knows my name…does she know what I do? Then she calmed herself with the realization that she must have told Emily her name when the little girl answered her call. Yes, that it. That must be it.
She stood transfixed by Emily’s form. There was something this little girl carried that her other wards did not. She had always known that, deep down, but there was no reasonable explanation. She had written it off as imagination, or some sort of twisted motherly attachment to the child.
Emily stirred again, and Simone pressed herself against the wall as the girl’s eyes fluttered open. Without turning her head in Simone’s direction, Emily said, “Are you OK?”
Simone didn’t answer. Her heart drummed inside her ribs. This can’t be.
“I know you’re here,” said Emily, “even if you won’t talk to me.” The sheets rustled and Emily’s face appeared above the edge of the sheet, bathed in a patch of moonlight. Her eyes shone with worry, and Simone’s heart ached. She was going to have to speak to the girl, but it tore her apart to think of revealing what she had been doing.
Simone shuddered, and then stepped out of the shadows. Emily smiled at her. The universe seemed to dance in those pale blue eyes.
“Emily…I’m fine.” The words burned at first, and then Simone felt an overwhelming relief. She moved forward another step. Her knee throbbed, and she winced.
“You got hurt,” Emily said. “I didn’t think you could get hurt.”
Simone swallowed, and wrapped her arms around herself as if in response to a chill despite the warmth of the room. “Why…would you think that?” The words came a little easier this time.
“Angels aren’t supposed to get hurt.”
Angels? Could Emily really be that innocent, to not know the difference between demon and angel?
“I’m no angel, Emily. And I can most definitely get hurt.”
“But you can’t die.” Simone’s heart flipped in her chest, and she hugged herself tighter. What more does she know?
“Emily, how did you know my name? Did I tell you when you came to me the night I got hurt?”
The littler girl smiled, and scooted back until she was nearly sitting upright. Her eyes disappeared behind shadow, but her mouth remained illuminated by the patch of moonlight. Simone focused on the small lips as they spoke.
“I used to think you were a dream. You always came in so quietly, and touched me so softly. I thought maybe I was dreaming about my mother. Papa said she was tall and beautiful. But then one night I heard you crying. It was so sad. And I knew if I was dreaming about Momma she’d be happy…” Emily’s bottom lip pushed out slightly, but she stopped herself from pouting. Despite her apparent wisdom she was a mere child, and that quivering lip reminded Simone again of her ward’s unusual innocence.
Emily continued in a strained voice. “When I realized you weren’t Momma, and you weren’t a dream, I was kinda scared. But I could tell by the way you touched me that you’d never hurt me. I though you were an angel sent to protect me from the monster.”
“The monster?” Simone’s scalp prickled, and her nails dug into her arms as she squeezed herself even tighter.
Emily’s lowered even more. “The face that looks at me through the window. He watches sometimes when you come. But he never comes in. I thought it was because you were here.”
“It was, but I’m still not an angel. And now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you anymore. You’re not supposed to know about me, Emily. Answer me now…please…how did you know my name?” Guilt rushed through Simone’s veins. She had put Emily in such danger, and her punishment suddenly felt too much to bear.
“The monster wrote it on the window,” Emily said, barely lifting her finger from its grip around the edge of her sheet to point. “The night you got hurt.”
Simone looked carefully at the window. She could just make out the faint outline of her name where the glass had clumsily been changed to darkness and back again. Panic seized her.
“Emily, please tell me you didn’t touch the glass!”
“No…no, I-I didn’t,” the little girl said with a tremor. She slunk down just enough that her eyes were visible again. They were huge and filled with tears. “He did it, didn’t he? He’s the one who hurt you, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Emily, he is. But he can’t kill me, so don’t worry. I’ll do what I can, but this wasn’t supposed to—“
The light across Emily’s face disappeared momentarily, as if something large had passed by the window and cast a shadow through the room. Simone held her breath, and quickly turned her head. Emily screamed, and Simone dove toward the bed as the window exploded into the room. She gripped the footboard and swung her body over it like a gymnast across a pommel horse, landing on her knees in front of Emily. Pain shot up her left leg as the brace dug into her skin and cinched her injured knee.
Wraith’s heavy breathing echoed off the walls of the tiny room. He spread his wings until he seemed to cover an entire wall.
“You can’t protect her from me anymore, Lady Simone.” His gravelly voice grated across Simone’s skin. She shielded Emily from his gaze.
“Emily, get under the bed,” she said. Her eyes locked with Wraith’s until she heard Emily drop to the floor and slide into hiding. Then she slowly shifted until she stood again in front of the bed. With her feet firmly on the ground, she flexed her quads under the tight leather of her pants and prepared to fight. Wraith’s face twisted into a snarl.
“You’re weak, Simone. Give up. You can never win against me in this state.” He inched closer, but Simone held her ground.
“You broke the law, Wraith.”
The demon’s voice hissed, “I never told her about you. She’s just not as innocent as you thought, which means she can be mine now—“
“She is innocent, and you cannot have her.” Simone pulled her shoulders even straighter and glared into the snakelike pupils. “And…I am not weak.”
The demon glanced at Simone’s knee and grinned. She stiffened, but didn’t change her expression. She would not give in, even if it meant fighting to the death.
But instead of advancing as Simone expected, Wraith folded his wings and closed his eyes. His skin smoothed down and lost its grayness, moving as if invisible hands were sculpting him. In a matter of seconds, he stood before her, glistening in the moonlight, the most captivating figure she’d ever seen. The same muscles that appeared ominous and threatening beneath leathery, gray skin enticed Simone with their strength as they rippled across his bare torso. Hair so black it seemed to absorb the surrounding light flowed down around his shoulders, framing a face that looked like chiseled stone. Flawless. His bat-like wings had transformed to pulsing starlight. Now Simone could fully understand mistaking a demon for an angel.
Simone shivered and couldn’t breathe. Wraith had always been gorgeous in human form, but this was beyond comprehension. He shouldn’t have the power of temptation, not like this. Not with her. His eyes bore down on her as if they could read her soul, and she desperately wanted those eyes to never release her gaze. What was happening to her? How did he gain such power? Or had she lost some of hers?
The energy began to drain from Simone and she clutched the footboard behind her for support. Wraith inched closer, and Simone’s skin tingled, electricity coursing through her body. The demon smiled slowly, perfect lips turned upward just enough to make Simone want nothing more than to feel them pressed against hers. Her heart pounded, and she finally released a breath and gasped it back in to avoid fainting.
“Weak, dear Simone…I told you so…you have no idea how weak you’ve become…” His voice was music, his breath like sweet wine as he stood inches away, intoxicating and succulent. Wraith’s hand slid across Simone’s waist and up her slender back, slithering into place at the base of her skull. He gently pulled her head forward and tilted his chin to the side. Simone could smell the salty sweetness of his skin, and allowed a tentative tongue to reach out and taste. She felt the sting of fangs push through her gums.
Simone sensed the pounding of his blood as it matched the pulsing of his jugular. The darkness that ran through his veins called to her. If she answered she would be free of her sentence, but would receive another, far worse. But she was too weak to fight.
“Simone,” a soft voice called. Ice shot through Simone. Emily…I forgot about Emily. The fog that had encased her began to clear as the little girl spoke. “Simone, don’t do it!” Simone jerked her head back and spat in Wraith’s face.
“Sit down, little girl, or I’ll kill her!” Wraith’s hand tightened around Simone’s neck and she struggled for breath. He slammed her into the bed frame, bending her body backwards until she feared he’d break her in half. She still felt weak and confused, but dug her nails into his neck. Black ooze trailed down her arms, glistening and hardening, burning and freezing her skin at the same time.
Simone began to regain clarity, and a thought niggled at the back of her mind.
“You…can’t…kill me.” She forced the words through her constricted throat. “You…and all…your minions…couldn’t do it before…what…makes you think…you can…do it…now?”
Wraith’s grin split his face as he began to transform even while holding on to her. Returned to his natural form, he glared with snakelike eyes as he answered. “She knows now.”
Simone sucked in a breath and laughed. “She knew all along. She thought I was an angel.” She beamed despite her situation, basking in the knowledge that Emily’s knowledge of her had not hurt her. In fact, it may have been what saved her life.
“No!” Wraith screamed as he pushed her farther down, jamming the top of her head into the mattress. The footboard dug into the base of her spine and she stifled a scream. Wraith’s bulk hovered over her, his sweet-wine breath turned to vinegar. Emily crawled out from under the bed and cowered against the base of the headboard, crying.
“She couldn’t know!” the demon roared. “She can’t know and remain innocent at the same time! It’s not possible!”
Simone rolled her eyes in Emily’s direction. From her vantage point, the girl was upside-down and the moonlight distorted her face. Tears stung Simone’s eyes as she asked, “Do you know what I did to you?”
Emily nodded.
“And you let me continue?”
She titled her head and began to cry harder. “I—I wanted to keep you as my angel.”
The tears in Simone’s eyes broke free. “I’ll be your angel, Emily, forever, if you let me…I just need one more time…”
Emily didn’t hesitate. She flung her body forward, but was immediately snatched up by Wraith’s free hand. She dangled above Simone, her neck far out of reach. Simone groaned, and then felt something soft brush her shoulder. Emily’s arm. She turned her head and dug her fangs in, drawing the blood out quickly. Emily gasped, but didn’t pull away.
The pockets above Simone’s fangs filled to near bursting and she relinquished her grip on Emily’s arm. Then she turned her head toward Wraith. She pushed up with all of her might, feeling the snap of her ribs breaking as she pressed against his grasp. He couldn’t hold both of them at the same time, and dropped Emily back onto the bed. Simone took advantage of the motion and plunged her fangs into his shoulder, releasing the innocent blood, willingly given, into his veins.
An inhuman shriek escaped the demon’s lips as he let go of Simone and stumbled backwards. His gray skin began to turn white and flake away. Smoke sizzled out from holes where patches of flesh were burning. No, not smoke—steam. The flesh was freezing and disintegrating. His movements stiffened as his muscles withered before Simone’s eyes. Terror flared in his snakelike pupils, and then all light in them extinguished.
Wraith’s body remained a crumbling statue on the wood floor, the flesh turned to frozen ash. Slowly, the white powder that had once been a mighty demon drifted to the floor like snow, revealing a humanoid structure of intersecting blood vessels. Simone stepped cautiously toward the tangle of vessels and blew away the last of the white dust. The tiny tubules were the color of tar, but gleamed like polished stone.
Simone tapped the jugular ever so lightly with her fingernail. It rang like metal tapping glass. The sound reverberated around the room, bouncing off the paneled walls and hard floor, and soon the structure began to vibrate. Simone stepped back just in time—the tangled, crystalline network splintered and rained down into a glistening, ebony mound.
Emily jumped from the bed into Simone’s outstretched arms and clung to her. “He’s gone!” she cried, and buried her face in Simone’s shoulder. Simone stroked the little girl’s sweaty curls. Emily’s head tilted up, and she smiled weakly. “Now you’re safe, and you can stay my angel, right?”
Simone nodded, and brushed the sticky curls from Emily’s forehead. “Yes, I can be your angel now.”
About the Author
Kat Heckenbach is an aspiring author, freelance writer, and homeschool mom. She has several short non-fiction and fiction works scheduled for publication in various print and online magazines in late 2009 and 2010. She is completely addicted to YA fantasy and speculative fiction with a dark side.
©2009 Kat Heckenbach
