Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) (22 page)

“Let
us depart,” one of the Chosen spoke. “No laws were broken by the
youngling. No Chosen died.”

Then
I understood. Shannon had changed. She had not become one of the Fallen, she
had become something much, much worse. Her people had abandoned her
imperfection and did not consider her death as a slight against them. To my
dying day, I would never understand the thought processes of the Chosen. At
least we had averted the war. At the cost of my friend.

The
tears began falling as I turned and kneeled next to Darius. He held his hand
over the gaping wound in Clarisse’s chest.

Her
eyes fluttered, she coughed and groaned, and sat up.

“What
happened?”

“You
freaking scared the shit out of me, that’s what happened,” I said and
began sobbing. She laughed and hugged me close.

Epilogue

I
stood next to Jess in my backyard. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her
into my shoulder, where she rested her head and gave me a content smile. I gave
her a gentle kiss on the forehead and looked at my sister.

My
parents had gone out for an impromptu dinner. Or so they thought. The truth is,
I had given them a fifty-dollar gift certificate to Red Lobster and a pair of
movie tickets and told them to get the hell out of the house with a bit of mind
magic. Now a smart teenage boy would have done all this to have the party of
the century at his house. Not me. I did it to make my sister happy.

She
wanted nothing more in the world than to be human again. The only way to do it
would be to sell her soul to the Fallen to get what she wanted. I thought the
price was too steep. She didn’t agree. She won the argument though and here we
were.

Elizabeth
and Cae sat at the ancient wrought-iron table on our back patio. Liz held Cae’s
hand while she scribbled a note in her own blood on a piece of notebook paper.
I knew what the words said. I could feel each one in my bones as she wrote
them. They were the same ones I had written a short time ago in my blood. They
were the words that changed my world.

I
gave Jess another kiss while we waited for her to finish. Clarisse stood above
her and supervised, whispering each word to her softly before she wrote them.

By
the time she was finished, the sun was setting. I reached into my hoodie pocket
and pulled out my black candle. I didn’t know why I kept it, but I did. I was
actually a little glad. They were a complete bitch to find and it was my little
contribution to this endeavor, since there wasn’t any way in hell they would
let me perform the magic. I’d probably turn her into an ultra-human or
something. I’ll admit it, too. The thought of having my normal human bratty
sister back made me smile. Plus it would make her happy.

I
gently let go of Jess and walked over to the table, setting the candle down in
front of my sister. Clarisse handed her a lighter. Cae took it, lit the wick
and the air around us stilled. It was like time stopped. The wick caught and
the candle burned merrily. Cae began reciting the words she had written in her
blood from memory and touched the paper to the flame. It went up in a puff of
smoke. The candle went out and my sister stood and faced Clarisse.

“Are
you ready?”

Cae
nodded.

“Okay,
wormette. What is it you wish for more than anything else in the world?”

“I
wish to be one of the Fallen…”

There
was a clap of thunder and the winds picked up.

Little
sisters suck.

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Rise
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Did You Miss My Soul to Keep?

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If
someone offers to grant you your fondest wish, wish for something you really,
truly want. Wish for something that will make the world a better place or you a
better person. Never ever wish to be a monster.

About the Author

Born the son of a fire chief, Sean naturally developed a love of playing
with fire. His family and friends quickly found other outlets for his destructive
creativity. Writing is his latest endeavor.

Always a fan of the macabre, mythical, and magical, Sean found a love
of urban fantasy and horror. After writing several novels in this genre, he found,
fell in love with, and immersed himself in steampunk. He has always wanted to rewrite
history and steampunk gave him that opportunity.

Sean currently lives in Florida as a fiber‐optic engineer as well as an author. He was blessed with the two most
amazing children he could ever hope for, has met the absolute love of his life,
who coincidentally is his partner in everything. His hobbies include grand designs
on world domination as well as a starring role in his own television sitcom.

www.seanhayden.org