Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) (5 page)

“Are
you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?”

“Thank
you, but no. I have some manuscripts that need editing. I just came by to drop
the kiddo off. Enjoy your evening. Call me when you want me to pick you up,
Angel.”

“I
will, Daddy.”

“Don’t
be silly. We can bring her back for you,” my dad chimed in.

“Thank
you. I appreciate that. Nice seeing both of you again.” He exited and I
sat down next to Jess. Claire plopped down on the floor.

“Did
you have fun at the movies?” Jessie’s voice had a peculiar lilt to it,
almost as if she was hopeful I didn’t.

“It
was okay. The movie was strange, but I didn’t pick it out. Something with
demons in it.

She
laughed. “Rebirth of Onan?”

“Yeah.
I think that was it.”

“Yeah,
not on my list of want-to-sees. When are you going to take me to a movie?”

“How
about Friday?”

“Good.
It’s a date.”

“So,
how are you doing, Claire?” Mom started a conversation with Clarisse.

“Hanging
in there. Going crazy between school and work. My mall job is gearing up for
the holiday season. I’ve been going non-stop.”

“Where
do you work?” Dad made an effort to join the conversation.

“Angelique’s
Closet. It’s a lingerie store in the mall.”

“I
know. I’ve been there a couple of times.”

“Ewww,
Dad. More than I needed to know,” I said.

“What?
I buy stuff for your mom for Christmas and birthdays. I’m allowed.”

“Whew.
I thought you were buying for yourself,” I replied and gave him a wink.
Clarisse and Jessie both started giggling. Mom just blushed.

“Er…
Yeah. I’m going to start getting dinner ready. Honey, go start the grill.
Claire, you’re staying for dinner, too.”

“Yes,
Mrs. Sullivan.”

“Jessie,
would you prefer chicken or hamburger?”

“Chicken,
please.”

“Claire?”

“Both.”

Mom
nodded and headed toward the kitchen. Dad dutifully left to go start the grill.
I took the opportunity to give Jess a quick kiss. “Missed you,” I
whispered.

“Did
you?”

I
frowned. “I always miss you when you’re not with me. Don’t ever wonder
about that.”

“I’m
sorry. I’m being a brat, aren’t I?”

“Clarisse,
give us a sec would you?”

“Sure,
I’ll go help your mom in the kitchen.”

I
waited until she left the room and turned on the couch to face Jess.
“Actually… No. No you’re not. I had a bit of a realization at the mall
today.”

I
saw the color drain from Jessie’s face. I felt horrible. “What?”

“Not
whatever you’re thinking! Let me finish. I came to the realization that I was
the one being stupid. I know you know that Claire and I are just friends and
that’s all we’ll ever be, but… I thought about it. If the roles were reversed
and you went to a movie with another guy, I’d probably be acting a bajillion
times more jealous than you have. You’ve been really cool about Claire’s and my
friendship. So from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry and thank you.”

I
watched as a single tear rolled down Jessie’s cheek. I gave out a strangled
mrmph
as she tackled me on the couch and began giving me little kisses all over
my face.

“No,
Connor. Thank
you
. Thank you for putting yourself in my shoes and not
being a stubborn dick. More importantly, thank you for
talking
to me
about it. I love you!”

“Love
you, too, beautiful.”

Chapter 8

“Dear
Monday, I hope you die,” I whispered to the ceiling, hoping that something
heard me. I didn’t want to get out of bed. Not even a little. Mondays and
homework should have their own constitutional amendment, banning them for all
eternity.

“Are
you up?” Mom stuck her head in my door. I resisted the urge to hurl a
pillow at her.

“No.
Can I be sick?”

“Only
if you can fake blood coming out your ears. Get up, lazybutt.”

I
groaned and rolled over. “Five more minutes, Mom.”

“Sweetie,
it won’t take me anywhere near five minutes to get a pitcher of ice water. You
have two.”

“You’re
evil.”

“Now
you know where your sister gets it from.”

She
left me to wallow in self-misery. When my internal clock registered a
minute-and-a-half, I dragged the covers off my body. I didn’t want to chance the
pitcher of water that was more than likely on its way up the stairs. I passed
Caelyn on the way to the bathroom. “How you doing?”

“Actually,
much better. Hey. I need to thank you. For what you did and introducing me to
Jenny and Elizabeth.”

“What
are brothers for? And don’t say annoying the crap out of,” I said and
slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

It
took me three minutes to get ready for school. Externally. Internally I was
still nowhere near ready, nor would I probably ever be. I grabbed my backpack
and headed downstairs.

“Hurry
up, you’re going to miss the bus,” Mom said as I watched the big yellow
cheese-wagon sail past our front window.

“Too
late, I’ll take my scooter. Want a ride, Cae?”

“Sure,”
she said and grabbed her backpack.

“I
still don’t like you riding that thing. It’s dangerous.”

“Yeah,
well I don’t have a job, so I can’t afford a car.”

“Connor,
we discussed this. You may be sixteen now, but you’re not ready to drive a car
to school every day.”

I
sighed. “I know. The scooter is my idea of a compromise.”

Dad
came walking down the stairs. “I’d almost rather you drove a car. It would
be safer than that little pile of crap on two wheels.”

“Thanks,
Dad!” I used his words against him and shot out the door making him think
he had given me the green light on the vehicle. I was pretty sure Mom was
inside reading him the riot act, and would be for quite a while. It might even
carry over into that night’s dinner conversation.

“That
was pretty slick,” Caelyn said as she joined me outside.

“Mom
yelling?”

“You
have no idea.”

“Come
on. Let’s get going.”

I
spun the scooter around and let my sister hop on the back of the banana seat.
Once she held on, I throttled out as fast as the tiny engine could push two
people. We got it up to forty about three blocks down the road. “Slow down,
Sir Speedy,” my sister laughed in my ear.

“Shut
it. It’s better than yours.”

“True.”

“I’ll
make you a deal.”

“What?”

“
If
Mom and Dad sort out the fight and I’m actually allowed to get a car, the
scooter is yours if you want it.”

“Hell
yes! Thanks.”

“Least
I could do.”

We
pulled into the school parking lot and parked. We even walked into school
together, which was even more unheard of. Maybe my sister getting turned into a
bloodsucking creature of the undead wasn’t a bad thing.

“You
need a ride home?”

“No.
I have cheerleading practice and then I’m meeting Elizabeth at her house. She’s
helping me with some homework.”

“Okay.
Be careful.”

“Doing
homework or splits?”

“Splits.
There’s some Chosen on your cheerleading squad. I don’t know if they’ll be able
to see through your orb. They might not appreciate a vampire on their
squad.”

“Chosen?”

“Yeah.
The Fallen are the good guys who look like demons. The Chosen are the angelic
ones who are real assholes.”

“Um…
Okay. Who?”

“Shannon
and her two lackeys.”

Caelyn’s
eyes doubled in size. “I knew it!”

“What?”

“That
she wasn’t human. The bitch does like three thousand sit-ups a day.”

I
couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Just watch your back. If you have any
problems, let me know.”

“Okay,
big brother. Thanks” She disappeared down the hall toward her locker. I
kept walking to find mine and hopefully Jessie.

I
nodded to the few friends I saw. James Underwood High wasn’t a large school at
all. We had around two hundred kids per grade, making the entire school’s
population around eight-hundred including the teachers and staff. Everybody
knew everybody, and everybody knew everybody’s business. It was both charming
and annoying.

I
opened my locker and tossed my backpack inside, grabbing only the books I would
need for the first two periods. English and Algebra, my favorite. I didn’t mind
English, but I still bore a grudge against Algebra for turning me into a demon.
Yet another reason why homework should be outlawed. I should move to France. I
heard they were outlawing homework.

I
closed my locker and jumped. Jessie had been standing behind the door waiting
to scare me. She succeeded. “Morning, sexy,” she said and leaned in
for a kiss.

“Morning,
beautiful. How are you this fine, fine day?”

“Pretty
damn good now that I’m not fumbling around the halls not being able to
see.”

“I
imagine. And what do you think of the beauty that is our fine establishment of
learning?”

“It’s
boring. I pictured way more color in my head. Maybe I’ll just keep my eyes
closed while I’m here. Except when I’m looking at you of course…”

“Good
answer. And not a bad idea. I keep my eyes closed for most of the day here,
too.”

“That’s
because you’re sleeping. Come on. Homeroom. We don’t want to be late.”

“You
don’t, I do,” I said and took her arm out of habit.

“You
know you don’t have to lead me around anymore.”

“Shhh.
Close your eyes,” I said and winked.

She
snuggled closer, but kept her eyes open anyway. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Homeroom
was quick and English seemed to drag on forever. I expected Algebra to take
twice as long to get through. At least we’d have lunch after two more periods
and one of them was PE.

Everyone
in class was surprised at Jessie walking around without her customary white
cane. It had been the same in homeroom. And walking through the halls. And
everywhere else we went. It was during a flurry of excited congratulatory hugs
and praises that Jessie took her usual seat next to me as Mr. Johnson began his
monotonous drone about exponents.

“I
hate Algebra,” I whispered under my breath.

“Yes,
but at least you’re better at it than everyone in the class.”

I
was a little surprised that Jessie could hear me. I had
barely
whispered
it. “Yeah, now. I didn’t used to be,” I whispered again to see if she
could hear.

“I
can’t imagine you being bad at anything.”

“Who
are you talking to Ms. James?” Mr. Johnson turned and stared directly at
her. I was whispering. Jessie hadn’t.

“Myself.
Sometimes when I repeat things I have a better chance of remembering
them,” she lied smoothly.

“Well
do it quietly, please.”

He
turned and went back to making slash marks across the green blackboard.
“Nice one,” I whispered.

“Thanks,”
she whispered back.

“I
love you.”

“I
love you, too.” She forgot to whisper. Everyone in the class started to
giggle. Mr. Johnson didn’t seem as amused.

“See
me after class, Ms. James.”

“Oooh,”
everyone chorused.

Jessie
blushed and gave me a dirty look. I did my best to look apologetic. I hoped she
didn’t get into too much trouble. “Sorry,” I whispered again.

“Shhh.”

“Since
you don’t feel the need to pay attention in my class, why don’t you come up
here and solve for Y for me?” He held out his piece of chalk, not allowing
her to back down from his challenge.

Jessie
stood and walked to the board, taking it from him as she passed. She stared at
the board briefly and let fly. Her arm was almost a blur as she wrote the
complicated answer beneath the initial line. Mr. Johnson looked over at me,
mouth agape. It would appear I wasn’t the only algebra prodigy to spring up in
his class…

Oh
shit.
I fought
down the panic. A few weeks ago, I had done the exact same thing when my Fallen
powers began to manifest. All of a sudden, I could see glowing numbers in the
air in front of me. The problems began to solve themselves. All I had to do was
copy them down.
That means she could be changing, or just got really good at
math.

I
didn’t know what to do. Solving for Y was hardly a reason to panic and call her
father. I looked around the room. Everyone else was staring at Jess. Something
white in the corner of my eye caught my attention. On her seat was a solitary
white feather.

“Damn,”
I said and didn’t whisper.

“She’s
good,” someone else said.

I
knew the change was coming. I didn’t have enough solid proof to tell Mr. James;
I
would
however, tell him the next time I saw him what had happened.
Hopefully, the change wouldn’t happen quickly. Hopefully, we had time.
Hopefully, she would still love me when she found out what I was…

*
* *

I
slid into the lunch line right behind Jessie. “Hey beautiful, is this spot
taken?”

“Why
yes it is. By a handsome man who just happens to look like you.”

“I’ll
kill him!”

“Dork.
How was PE?”

“Cold.
You’re lucky you have study hall.”

“I
am.”

“Sorry
about before… How much trouble are you in? Johnson give you detention?”

“No.
He lectured me and let me go. And it wasn’t your fault. I’m the one who needs
how to learn to whisper.”

“Salad
for the lady and sloppy-joes for me,” I told the lady behind the counter.

“How
do you know I didn’t want sloppy-joes?” Jessie gave me a wink.

“Because
you’re smarter than I am? Duh. I thought you knew that.”

“I
think you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. I also think you need
to quit putting yourself down every opportunity you get. It’s one of the few
things about you that drives me crazy.”

“Gasp!
You mean there’s
more
?”

“Yes.
You’re way too attractive. I’m going to have to start beating the girls away
from you with a stick.”

I
frowned at her statement.
If you only knew the half of it…

I
still needed to tell Jess about Shannon. I had meant to earlier, I just hadn’t
had the opportunity. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. The truth was
I didn’t want to hurt her and I didn’t want her to hurt me.

“What?”
She looked at me quizzically.

“Come
on. Let’s eat. I’ll tell you over lunch.”

“I
really don’t like the sound of this…” She picked up her tray and walked
over to our usual table. Clarisse and Jeremy, who normally ate with us, were
thankfully absent. She put her tray on the table, sat down, and folded her
hands over her food, waiting expectantly.

“Aren’t
you going to eat?”

“After.
Maybe.”

I
gave her a half smile. “It happened Saturday…”

“
What
happened Saturday, Connor?”

Oh
shit, she said my name.
“I went to the mall to get some pretzels. Shannon got a job there and was
working–”

“Shannon
who?”

“Shannon.
Cheerleader. Senior Shannon.”

“Okay?”

“Well
she was acting all weird. She gave me free pretzels, I said thank you, ate and
left.”

“That’s
it?”

“Well
no, I haven’t gotten to it yet.”

“Talk.
Now.”

I
gulped and took in a large breath. “Well, I walked around the mall for a
bit and when I was leaving, she sort of ran up to me and kissed me.”

Her
face went blank. She calmly reached down and grabbed her salad dressing, opened
it, and began pouring it over her salad. I expected her to say something,
anything, but she just started munching on lettuce.

“Are
you okay?”

“Yup,
I’m fine.”

“Aren’t
you going to say something?”

“Trust
me, you don’t want me to say anything right now. Eat.”

I
sighed, doubted my wisdom in saying anything, and tore into my sloppy-joe. We
sat quietly for almost ten minutes before the silence was broken by Clarisse
sitting down with a tray of food next to Jessie.

“I
hate school. Have I mentioned that lately?”

“Did
you know?” Jessie calmly sat her fork down and turned to look at Clarisse.

“Know
what?”

“Connor
just shared some interesting information with me.”

Clarisse
looked over at me. I looked down at my food. “About…”

“Don’t
play dumb, Claire.”

I
panicked. I was worried Clarisse would think I had told her about the movies.
“I told her about Shannon,” I said apologetically.

“Good,”
Clarisse said and started eating.

“Good?
He kisses a girl and you say good?”

“Yes.”

“Would
you care to elaborate? How is it good that my boyfriend is kissing other
girls?”

Clarisse
sighed heavily and set her fork down. She turned to look Jess right in the eye.
“First of all, yes. I knew all about it. Connor told me about it at the
movies. I didn’t tell you because he said he couldn’t keep anything from you
and it would kill him if it hurt you to find out what happened. I even told him
not to tell you about it.