Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) (15 page)

Cae
turned and stopped. “Jess doesn’t know Claire is here. I’m not going to
say anything. Ever. We’ll talk later. Claire and I will be in my room, talking.
Take your girlfriend to the mall, Connor. Go somewhere. Far.”

I
nodded, even knowing she couldn’t see me since she was facing my open door. I
threw on a shirt and walked downstairs in a daze.

Chapter 21

“Hi
Jess!” I tried to sound more excited than I felt. It wasn’t that I wasn’t
excited to see her, because I was. It was the pit of fear and guilt that had
swallowed my stomach that made me not feel it like I should.

“Are
you okay? I texted you like twenty times and you never answered!” She ran
up to me and wrapped me in her arms as soon as I cleared the bottom step.

“Yeah.
I just slept most of the day and now I can’t find my phone.”

“As
long as you’re okay,” she said and squeezed me a little harder, but then
her arms went rigid. She turned her face into my chest. I thought she was going
to start crying, but she inhaled. Deeply.

She
pulled away and looked at me quizzically before reaching up and grabbing my
shirt, pulling it to her nose. She sniffed again and again. “Why do you
smell like perfume?”

“Cae
just gave me a hug.”

“No.
Your sister wears Dolce & Gabanna. I know. I gave it to her. You smell
like…” She sniffed again. “Sunflowers,” she said and I could see
the gears turning in her brain.

She
looked up into my face and must have saw a little bit of guilt. Without a word,
she pushed me away and walked up the stairs. I followed. She opened my door
first. She sniffed the air, frowned, and looked around. Then she went to my
sister’s room.

Without
knocking, she opened the door. I closed my eyes, and waited for the killing
blow. I didn’t hear an angry scream, so I opened them back up. My sister was
lying on her bed, earbuds on, and mp3 player playing God knows what. She pulled
one bud out and asked, “Everything okay?”

Unconvinced,
Jess walked into my sister’s room. She looked around and sniffed the air.
“Was anybody else in here?”

“No?”

“Sorry,
Cae. I thought I heard a voice.”

Jess
looked mortified. “I’m not feeling that well,” she said to me.
“I think I’m going to head home.”

“Are
you sure you’re okay?” I hated the game I was playing, but… At that moment
in time, it wasn’t guilt that drove me. What Clarisse and I had done was
inexcusable and would
never
happen again as long as I lived. I was truly
grateful my sister had come up at that exact moment and put an end to it. But
that wasn’t my driving motivation right then. It was not hurting Jess. If she
had found out about it… I was actually worried about her. She looked hurt,
confused, and a little unwell.

On
the verge of shaking, she nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Want
me to drive you home?”

“Do
you promise me nobody was here?”

“Of
course,” I said and tried to sound convincing.

She
nodded. “No. I’ll be fine. I think I’ll have a quick nap and call you when
I get up.”

I
leaned in and pressed my lips against her forehead. “I hope I didn’t get
you sick,” I said. I even went so far as to press my hand against her
forehead to feel her temperature. That seemed to mollify her and she slumped
against me.

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like an accusing bitch. I thought I really did
smell a different perfume. That and I’ve been worried sick about you all day.
Hurry up and find your phone so I can call you later.” She let go, kissed
me softly on the lips, and left Cae’s room.

“I’ll
walk you out,” I said and followed, not daring to look at my sister.

I
opened the front door for her and kissed her again. “You sure you don’t
want a ride home? You can pick your car up later if you want.”

“No.
I’m okay now. I really don’t know what came over me. I think I was still sick
over what happened yesterday. It’s okay, Connor. Love you. I’ll call you in a
bit.”

She
kissed me one more time and left. I closed the door gently behind her, turned,
planted my back against it, and slid to the floor. The urge to vomit almost
overwhelmed me.

Clarisse
and Cae came down the stairs.

Neither
one of them looked happy, but Cae looked
pissed.
“Sit down, both of
you.”

Clarisse
took a seat on the couch. I stayed on the floor. I really didn’t feel like
moving. “I’m sorry.” I said the words, but I don’t know who I was
saying them to. My sister who caught us, the friend on the couch that I should
have shown a little more restraint with, or the girl that I loved who had just
left and had no chance of hearing me. I guess it didn’t really matter. I was
sorry to all of them.

“Yes.
You are. Sorry is definitely a word I would use to describe your ass right now.
What the hell, you two? I thought you were just ‘friends’ and that nothing
could ever happen between the two of you. Trust me. If Jess weren’t completely
in love with my moron of a brother, I would be happy for you two, but come
on!”

Clarisse
looked even guiltier. “It’s my fault.”

“No.
It’s both of your faults,” Cae replied.

I
nodded. “It is. She leaned over to kiss me on the cheek to say sorry for
beating me. Fate intervened and I happened to turn at the wrong moment. Our
lips locked.”

“Don’t
hand me the bullshit. That kiss was no cosmic accident.
You
weren’t
wearing a shirt and
you
barely had any damn pants on.” She even
pointed at each of us in turn. “Let me ask you this. What would have
happened if I hadn’t walked in at that
exact
second? Would you still be
up there?”

“No!”
We both said it at the same time, but I looked at her and she at me. We both
were questioning our response.

“Right?”
I tried to get some affirmation from her.

“Of
course not. I’m not into worms. That kiss was a total accident. In fact, I
think it made me a little sick. I’m going home to take a shower and gargle with
some bleach. He still tastes like pretzels.”

Clarisse
stood and I watched her go. Grateful, actually, that she was leaving.
“Wait,” I said and she turned back, looking hopeful. “Where’s
your car? Why didn’t Jess notice it in the driveway?”

“It’s
still at school. I flew here. Rule number one with skipping, always leave
evidence that you didn’t,” she said, turned, and strode out the front
door, slamming it behind her.

I
looked over at my sister, who looked like she wanted to do very harmful things
to me right at that moment. I opened my mouth to say something, but she just
held up her hand for silence.

“Talk
to me when you grow up and stop thinking with your boy-parts.”

* * *

Needing
to blow off some steam, work out some aggression, and basically get my mind off
of things, I decided to go meet with Raven. That and I was afraid of missing a
session with her. She might hurt me.

The
clearing was empty as I stopped my scooter between the last of the trees. At
least she couldn’t swoop down from above and cleave me in half through the
dense branches and leaves. At least I hoped she couldn’t. Warily I looked up
while I got off and walked the rest of the way into the clearing.

I
made my way to the center when she finally made her appearance. There was no
attack. She simply walked out from the trees on the other side and met me in
the middle. I could tell by her face that something was wrong. She looked less
happier than usual.

“What’s
wrong?”

“I
need to leave,” she said simply.

I
nodded. “Oh. Okay. Is everything alright?”

She
shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. There’s been more incidents in the
areas surrounding.”

“What
kind of incidents?”

“Like
the one involving your sister. Changed humans have been attacked and killed.
Reaped for no reason. Whoever is behind it is breaking our laws and must be
found. The Covenant has been in place for eons. The Changed must be
protected.”

I
nodded in understanding, though I was confused why Raven would be helping. She
usually avoided the duties of the fallen. “What about my sister? And her
friend? Should I be worried?”

“Yes.
Keep watch over them. Should you find anything… Call me.”

“How?
I didn’t know you had a cell phone.”

She
rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Simply think of me and call my
name.”

“Oh.”
I did understand. I had used the ability to contact Clarisse in the past. I
didn’t know it would work with any of the Fallen. I guess that’s how Clarisse
called Darius when she needed him.

“Connor.
Be careful,” she said and turned to leave.

“Raven?”
She stopped and turned to look at me over her shoulder. “Thank you. For
everything you taught me.”

“Our
training isn’t over yet! I wish to dance with you again, youngling. Take care
for now.”

I
nodded, gave her a small smile, and waved as she left me standing alone in the
center of my clearing. I sighed and headed back toward my scooter. With little
else to do, I had only one other thing that could cheer me up… A bag of
pretzels.

Chapter 22

Raven’s
warning about my sister nagged at me on the ride to the mall. I decided to play
it safe and called her cell. It went to voicemail. I was pretty sure she was
still pissed at me and ignoring me, but I had to be sure.

I
drove past the mall and headed to the house to check on her. The front door was
locked, my parents weren’t home, but Cae was. She was in her usual position, listening
to music on her bed.

Even
with her music blaring at dangerous levels, she heard me enter her room.
“What?”

“Want
to go get a pretzel?”

She
pulled the earbuds from her head and gave me a level look. “Look. I don’t
know if you know this, but you’re not my favorite person in the universe right
now. So no.”

Okay.
I deserved that. “I know. But I’m feeling like shit and hoping a pretzel
will cheer me up.”

“So
go.”

“But
I’m also worried about you. And Elizabeth.”

She
scrunched her eyes in confusion. “Why?”

“There’s
been more attacks. It wasn’t just you. I just found out.”

“Am
I in danger?”

“You
could be. It’s why I don’t want you alone. Will you come get a pretzel with
me?”

“Okay,”
she said and I heard a tinge of fear in her voice.

“Call
Elizabeth. Let her know what’s going on and tell her to meet us there.”

I
left her room to let her get dressed and make the call. Changing my shirt quickly,
I headed downstairs to wait for Cae. The doorbell caught me off guard and I
almost stumbled down the last few steps.

I
crept as quietly as I could to the front door and peered out the peephole. The
last person on earth I wanted to see was standing there, the last of the day’s
sunset casting an orange glow on her normally blond hair. I sighed and opened
the door.

“What?”

“I
couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to come and apologize.”

“Shannon.
Just do me a favor. Don’t look at me, don’t talk to me, and more importantly,
don’t ever touch me when Jess is around.”

She
seemed angered at first, but then an evil smile slithered across her face.
“So does that mean I can touch you when she’s not around?” Without
waiting for an answer, she ran her fingertip from my neck down across my
stomach and only stopped when I grabbed her wrist.

“What
has gotten into you? Why are you doing this?”

“I
want you. I want you more than anybody I have ever met.”

“But
I’m taken. I’m in love with Jessica.”

“For
now, but that doesn’t mean you will live happily ever after. If you want me to
wait, I will.”

Okay,
I was totally creeped out. “Um. Okay. Yeah. You go wait. Over there,”
I said and pointed east.

“I
knew you would want me to wait. Don’t make me wait too long. I’m not a patient
person.”

She
shot an evil glance over my shoulder and left. I breathed a sigh of relief.
That Chosen was bat-shit crazy.

“What
was that all about?” My sister’s voice from behind me made me jump.

“Your
guess is as good as mine. She’s not right in the head.”

“I
gathered that by your conversation.”

“You
heard all that, huh?”

“Dog
ears. Comes with the fangs.”

“Yeah.
I know. And don’t you mean bat ears?”

She
punched me in the arm. “Let’s wait inside. Elizabeth is picking us up so
we don’t have to ride the scootermobile.”

“What,
you don’t like the scooter?”

“It’s
fine for one person, but have you ever ridden behind you? Your cologne smells
like rotten moose.”

“It’s
called eau de Cae. I thought you might like it.”

“Har
har,” she said and sat down on the couch to wait.

“Does
it really smell bad?”

“Not
like rotting moose, but you could find something better.” I was about to
fall into the recliner when I saw Elizabeth pull into the driveway with her
SUV.

“Come
on, let’s go.”

Cae
called shotgun and hopped in the front, which was fine with me. I liked
Elizabeth and I missed Jenny, but alone in the backseat was good. I figured as
much distance between me and any other girl besides Jess was a good idea.

“Are
we really in danger?”

Elizabeth’s
question caught me off guard. “Honestly, I don’t know. What I do know is
that I’m not willing to take the risk. You’re far safer with me than by
yourselves.”

They
both nodded at me. Cae looked a little doubtful, but I let it go.

“So
why the mall?”

“I
wanted a pretzel. I’ve had a bad day.”

“Pretzels
are like antidepressants to him. I think they even help with his ADHD and
cleared up his acne,” Cae explained.

“Sometimes
I miss having acne,” Elizabeth said. Cae gave her a strange look.

“Why
on earth would you miss that?”

“Because
it meant being human.”

“That
I get. I’d practically do anything to be human again,” she said and gave
me a dirty look.

I
rolled my eyes and stared out the window in silence for the rest of the drive.
I was not going to debate the merits of not selling one’s soul again with my
sister. I may have promised her I would think about it, but I lied about other
things, too.

We
pulled into a very crowded mall. I groaned at how busy it was. I still needed
to figure out what to get Jess. I didn’t have clue number one.

Elizabeth
didn’t have the blessing of the parking gods like I did and we ended up almost
as far as you could possibly park while still being on the mall property. I
debated calling my wings and flying to the freaking entrance, but my sister
would probably make me carry her, too. So I walked.

The
smell of freshly baked pretzels wafted over us as soon as we opened the door. I
started salivating. Ditching the two vamps with me, I made a beeline for the
rapidly expanding line. I just hoped they saved some for me.

Pretzels
in hand, I looked around for my sister. They were nowhere in sight. I almost
panicked, but figured they were safe enough in the mall. It was obscenely
crowded. Hard to kill a vamp without people around you getting suspicious.

I
sent a quick text to my sister to have her call me when they were ready to go,
slipped my phone in my pocket, and headed toward the Gamestop. I hadn’t been
there in ages and I had no idea if any new games were coming out that were
worth my time, and more importantly, my money.

I
weaved through the crowds and past endless clothing, shoe, and jewelry stores.
Finally, the red and white illuminated Gamestop sign came into view. It didn’t
even look that busy.

The
smells of plastic, stale food, and unwashed teenagers assaulted my nose as I
crossed the tile to carpet threshold. I blinked a few times and looked at the
new release posters behind the counter.

“Hey,
Connor.”

“Jeremy?
When did you start working here,” I asked with a smile and walked up to
him. We bro-fisted and grinned. Yes, we were those guys.

“My
uncle closed his garage. I had to find suitable employment elsewhere. I got
lucky and ended up here about three weeks ago.”

“Sweet.
Anything new coming out that I should be interested in?”

“Wolfenstein.
Pre-order it now.”

“I’ll
grab a twenty from my folks and do it tomorrow. I’m broke.”

“You
need a job.”

“Are
they hiring?”

“Hahahaha.
You funneh man. You have to wait ‘til someone dies or grows up to get a job in
this place.”

“How
did you get one?”

“They
recognize the talent when they see it. That and my mom is dating the
manager.”

“Ewww.”

“Big
time.”

“Well,
if anybody looks sick or on the verge of getting a corporate job and family,
let me know.”

“Here.
Fill out an application. At least it will be on file. I’ll let Ray know you’re
looking.”

“Thanks,”
I said and started filling out the paperwork. It was only one sheet, front and
back, thank the Creator.

“How’s
everything else been with you? I hardly ever see you anymore.”

“I
know. I’m sorry. Between Jessica and Claire, I don’t get to hang out much.
Basically it’s same shit different day.”

“I
hear ya. I’m working tomorrow. Drop by with the pre-order. I can give you the
employee discount.”

“Thanks,
man,” I said and handed the application back to him. It was a little bare
between my lack of school experience, work experience, and life experience.
They didn’t even have a column for soul sucking demons. The bastards. “Gonna
go wander. Don’t work too hard.”

“Not
gonna happen.”

I
walked out the front, narrowly missing a collision with a smoothie wielding
gothic wannabe. “Watch–” She started to yell at me, stopped
midsentence, blushed and hurried around me. I had never seen the girl before in
my life, so I didn’t have a clue.

The
big name stores were at the other end of the mall. My sister and Elizabeth were
probably in there drooling over the latest fashions. I rolled my eyes. Clothes
and I had a love hate relationship. My mother loved to buy them for me and I
hated wearing them. It’s not like I had a love for running around naked, I just
didn’t care what they looked like as long as they covered the important parts.
Yes, I was a fashion nightmare.

Lately
even Jess had started buying me clothes now that she could see what I wore.
Every once in a while she’d hand me a bag. At least she made an effort to buy
me stuff with video game logos, or Doctor Who stuff on them. I looked down and
smiled at the Tardis on my chest. And then I noticed how small the shirt was
getting and sighed. I definitely was filling out.

I
shrugged and headed for the food court. I wasn’t hungry, but I could go for a
coffee. Maybe I’d even try one of the foamy ones. They made them out of soy
milk or almond milk. I knew that for a fact, Jess drank them like water.

I
walked past Angelique’s Closet with a cringe before I remembered Clarisse
wasn’t working. I let out a breath of relief. I still didn’t want to think
about today and seeing her wouldn’t help. Even walking by her store brought a
flash of lips and the warmth of her skin to the forefront of my brain. I felt a
blush creep onto my cheeks as I hurried past and headed toward coffee.

Surprisingly
enough, even with the mall as busy as it was, the food court was somewhat
deserted. It was still busy, but not compared to the rest of the mall. I must
have hit a lull.

I
got into line at Starbucks behind two giggling girls that were a year or two
younger than I was. They kept glancing back at me. I tried my best to ignore
them when someone bumped into me from behind. I turned around and Clarisse was
there. I groaned inwardly and tried not to let my disappointment show. She
might punch me.

“I
thought you weren’t working tonight?”

“I’m
not, but I was bored.”

“You
want a coffee?”

“No.
I just like standing in random Starbucks lines.”

“Haha.”
I could feel a cold sweat starting to break out on my face. I was about two
seconds from starting to shake. “What kind of coffee do you want?”

“Verona.
Black.”

It
took about ten minutes for the line to clear to the point where we could place
our order. I pulled out my remaining cash and handed it to the barista.
“My treat,” I said to Clarisse.

“Thank
you,” she said with a half-smile.

We
stood, somewhat closely, while we waited for our caffeine. You could cut the
tension between us with a chainsaw. I knew the moment we had our drinks and sat
down, that we were going to have a conversation I didn’t want to have. I handed
the black steaming cup of coffee to Clarisse, grabbed mine, and motioned toward
some empty tables off to our right.

We
sat and we stared at each other, waiting for the other to start talking. She
broke down first. “Connor, we need to talk.”

I
couldn’t help it. I started laughing. “Sorry,” I said.

“What’s
so funny?”

“The
whole ‘we need to talk’ line. No shit, Clarisse. We definitely need to talk.
The problem is that I
don’t
want to. Would it be too much to ask to just
forget it?”

“Could
you?”

“Probably
not until the day I die.”

“That’s
the problem. Neither could I.”

That
took me a little by surprise. “What?”

The
blush that crept up on her cheeks was almost cute. Definitely hot, but cute,
too. “Look. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we should just drop it and pretend
it never happened.”