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"I never thought that I would be here." I gasped in pain holding my head, trying to find my bearings. What was up and what was down were two completely different things, yet they molded into one strong thing. Clawing at the pain in my chest, I knew that there was no way to take back what I had just done, to take back the death and sorrow, the blood shed and tears, and most of all, my love.
"You shall not eat of any tree of the garden," yet the serpent's hand extended the apple with temptation. "You won't surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Before me in the barren wasteland of my past, laid the sole soul of one man. The large slab of cold gray stone chilled me to the bone, and I was afraid to even breath. Tears fell from my face freely, as my head tried to grasp the reality of the situation. My body was cold, I was standing in water, trembling. Closing my eyes, I tried to forget for one sole moment, one moment of peace. Was it so hard to want to escape from reality?
My eyes were tight with anticipation, hands stretched forward with hope. With the touch of his hair in my fingers, I somehow knew it would all end up okay.
Apple
"From the Knowledge of the Tree of Good and Evil, our eyes have been opened."
By Alice B. Black
He's going to kill me. That thought alone left me trembling in my boots for hours on end in the morning before I entered his house. I still don't know why I had to tell him, but my parents insisted.
I have never been to hell, nor have I ever come close to the fiery gates. Yet it feels as though I've experienced the world first hand. Rolling back to the balls of my feet, I scowl in the demon's direction. Chewing my lower lip out of a nervous habit, I send thoughts of disapproval in his direction. "Why must you monkey around with things? You don't need surround sound, have you seen the size of the living room?"
A light hearted laughter echoed through the small room, almost proving my point in itself. "Darling," he pursed, cracking a loving smile, "you just don't know what you're missing. With this we will be utilizing the sound, and we'll feel like we're in the movie!" He held the box up for me to see, pulling several of the cords up with it. "Now if only I knew where this red cord went," he mumbled turning back to the disaster that laid about his feet.
"Well why don't you check the manual, one had to have come with it." Grabbing the box and throwing it on my lap, I sorted through the styrofoam noodles coming across the enclosed instructional guide to the surround sound system. Flipping past the Japanese, Spanish, and French pages, I found the ones in English which were in another language all together. Furrowing my brows, I tossed the book aside, not surprised at all that the booklet had found it's way to his hands without him even flinching a muscle.
If Blaise really loved me, he wouldn't care what I did, as long as I came back in the end. There is a necessity of hope in this situation however, for the demon was uncontrollably idiotic, and wouldn't see anything fit unless it was his way. If he didn't love me so much, I'm sure he'd be spouting off with her head the second I had crossed the line which was horribly transparent.
He tapped the booklet against the ground, staring at the blank television although it were from the future. In his hand he held three different colored cords. "Why would they give me these if they aren't even used?" Shaking his head, he stood up and turned the television around, plugging the cords in where ever he deemed fit. As soon as every cord was in place, he stood back beside me to stare at the television. "I think it's done now." The smile on his face proved that his ignorant mind thought that his method of assembly was in perfect order.
"I think I'm tired, I'm going to bed," I yawned. Chicken, my mind screamed with doubt of the reaction of my mate. Blaise proved to be an arrogant ass time over time; yet that arrogant ass always seemed to make up for his petty actions with some noble deed. I know he has never purposely tried to bring me any harm, any ill minded thoughts or the anger he makes me boil with rage.
Blaise furrowed his brow, throwing his head to the side, eyeing me with curiosity. "Something wrong?"
"Why would there be something wrong?" I began to fret inside my head, dead on thought.
He stood up suddenly, and I knew he had realized that something wasn't right with me. "Faye, you know I do have the powers to find out what's wrong, and I will crack open your pretty little mind, as painful as it is for you and me, and find out what's wrong." I tapped my foot with unease, and then stopped out of horror.
"You can read my mind!" I screeched with fear, tightening my fists with anger. Poking him in the chest, I was prepared to do more than jab my index finger at him, I was ready to bash that new television set into his thick head. "Don't you think that somewhere along the line, you could have told me! How often have you read my mind you jerk! No, no, I don't want to know, I don't even want to be near you right now!"
He took my hands in his, bringing them tight into his chest. "Faye, calm down, I thought I mentioned it before," he replied hastily with a nervous edge. His eyes searched mine for forgiveness, of which he found none. "Darling?"
I closed my eyes trying to imagine that I was somewhere else, somewhere no where near him. "I promise you," he remorseful voice called out, "I promise I've only done it once, and I'm not even that good at it. The one time I did tap into your mind was the first night I had met you."
In my anger, I saw no reason in telling him the truth, no reason to not tell him. I could hardly care if he hated me now, for I hated him. "I'm going to college, I just got my acceptance letter. I'm going to California, and you are staying here. I don't want to be anywhere near you anymore!"
The room's temperature dropped quickly. I looked into his eyes and my own anger quickly morphed into one of fear. Red eyes stared down at me, his anger showing clearly.
"Never," he spoke carefully, "will I leave you. You are my mate, and I will not let you go." But he did, his grip loosened, dropping my hands so that they were again at my side. I quickly caught on to the reason, his sharp claws were now extended, loosing control of them with his anger. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, yet I was fearful of this form of Blaise.
Turning on my heal, I fled upstairs to his room, throwing myself on the bed. I sat there crying, wondering to myself how puffy my eyes now were.
Looking at the clock, I saw nearly a minute had passed before his curse echoed through the house loudly. His vulgar words were followed by the storm of footsteps up the stairs, and soon he was before me, kneeling at my feet, resting his head on my lap.
"That wasn't very nice of me," he whispered.
Shrugging my shoulders, I hugged his head to myself. "Those kinds of acts rarely are." The thought of his new found ability still was vibrant in my thoughts.
"Will you forgive me?"
I sighed, still holding his head. I began to massage his scalp, running my fingers through his beautiful hair. "I can't always forgive you, I don't want you to always lose control over your other self when you get angry."
He whimpered quietly like a puppy. "It's still me, still your Blaise. I thought you once told me that you thought my demonic form was cute." He lifted his head to look at me with a yearning to be forgiven.
"Fine, to speed this whole act of puppy love along, you are forgiven this time," I groaned. Pushing his head off my lap, I moved to stand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go tell my parents that I told you so that they will finish filling out my housing forms."
I took one step towards the door, and gasped as I found Blaise blocking the way. He stood in the doorframe before the closed door, smiling down at me arrogantly. Trying to pass him, I was roughly shoved back. He ticked his tongue, shaking his head. "Now darling, you know you're not getting out of this room until you promise that you won't go to that silly school of yours." I once again tried to get past him, and once again I was pushed back.
“Stop doing that!” I threw my hands down to my side and stared him into the eye, trembling in my boots with anger. I could hardly stop myself from not attacking the man before me. “You- you jerk! Let me out of this room!” Blaise simply frowned, standing in front of the bedroom door, crossing his arms over his chest in a pompous manner.
Fuming, I sat down on the bed instead of trying to fight against him to get to the door myself. I wouldn’t have gotten past him anyway; to him I am a bird that needs to be caged. “Darling,” he spoke with ease, “please don’t be mad, I’m doing this for your best interest.”
Crossing my eyes, I mocked him in my anger. The bed sunk with his added weight, and I turned so that my back was to him. “Darling-”
“Don’t darling me!” I shifted around to gaze directly in his direction. Poking his chest, I matched his own gaze. “You are doing this in your best interest! I want to go to college, I want to have my own life! Someone needs to knock you down a few notches! You arrogant jerk!”
Snatching my hands in his own, he laid back in his bed pulling me down for the ride. “Hush, you’ll wake the neighbors.”
I shook my head, resting it on his chest. “No, you just don’t want to hear the truth.”
“God Faye,” he groaned. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers in frustration, emitting a low toned growl. “Right now it seems that I’m being selfish, or as you like to call it an arrogant jerk, but someday I think you’ll realize that I’m doing this in your best interest. I love you, and I don’t want to lose you. Why waste four years of your life studying some pointless subject for a job you won’t even get?”
It was my turn to cross my arms over my chest in my own anger. “And I suppose I’m just suppose to stay with you for the rest of my life, baring your children, and serving you in your life of eternity.”
“Fine, you don’t want kids, I get that. We don’t have to have them, maybe just a dog.”
“You just don’t get it!” I screamed in pain, “I don’t know what I want, it can’t just be decided at the drop of a dime.”
“Fine, we can plan for you to go to school, but we’re spending the summer in the mansion. If you still want to go to the silly school in California by then, so be it. We’ll rent a small apartment and live there for as long as we need. Just stop trying to push me away.” He held me down tightly, making it hard to move. Frowning, I wondered if I was still trying to push him away. Even after all these months, maybe I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to be with this man for the rest of my life.
Puffing my cheeks out, I pushed against him. His grip loosened, resting his arms around my waist. “Do you think I’m selfish?” I murmured quietly.
He froze for an instant, and tossed me to the side so that he could crawl over me. “No, I think you’re just confused. Though you may be a little selfish by not giving me what I want; but I hardly think that’s what you meant with your question.”
He moved against me slowly, coming to rest with his face hovering inches from my own. Kissing the corners of my eyes with his soft pink lips. His breath smelt of fresh peppermint today. I hugged him tightly before rolling my head to the side so that he could easily access my neck.
Blaise groaned my name with glee, and rested himself against me. If I didn’t stop things now, I didn’t think I would be able to. With his hands making their way up my light cotton shirt my head spun, plunging deeper and deeper into our growing passion.
- -
Allegra ran up to me in the crowded hall, pushing away the underclassmen as she called my name. I froze inside my locker, watching her with curiosity. Beside me Blaise laughed lightly, shaking his head as he watched my very human friend make our way towards us.
Allegra had been my friend since before I could remember. She’s one of the only people I can trust with my deepest thoughts, though I rarely share them. My best friend, she’s probably the sole reason I’m standing next to this evil man. I don’t hate him, even though I may fight with him so; Allegra was the one who pushed me to what I wanted, maybe even needed.
“Jesus,” she panted heavily as she slammed my locker shut before I could make a grab for the door, “Did you hear about Samantha! She’s going around school telling people that you’ve slept with that drug addict of her brother!”
Blaise’s neck snapped towards my innocent friend, but she ignored his actions. After awhile, it was easy to learn to ignore his over possessive tendencies. Or maybe we were just use to it because we knew Blaise for what he truly was.
“And why is she spreading such a rumor Allegra?” Blaise’s choleric attitude was surfacing, staring at my poor friend with his indignant eyes.
Sheepishly, Allegra stepped back with the demon’s anger directed solely on her. I moved myself before him, resting my arms on his hips to keep him at bay. Leaning up on my toes I pressed my lips to his ear in a tight whisper. “Please don’t lose control of yourself, especially in the middle of school.”
Allegra stared at me with a knowing eye. “She wants to ruin your relationship. In her mind I suppose she thinks that you’ll hear this rumor and dump Faye. I heard that she did that to Matt McArnold once. He was dating Jenny, or someone like that, and he dumped the poor girl as soon as the rumor spread like wild fire. And Samantha was there for the rebound.”
“How preposterous! I should go rip that girl’s throat out right now.” His eyes were dark with hate, and I was worried that if I left him he would do such a thing. Thankfully the sneaky bastard had made sure our schedules were the same.
Parting ways with Allegra, we made our way to math, both of our minds brooding on the many topics of the day.
I sat down in my desk, Blaise behind me, just as the bell rang signaling the start of class. The teacher walked in several moments later, and began discussing the upcoming final before graduation. It seemed simple enough and all I would need to do is study; I knew that Blaise would pass with flying colors without a second thought.
As soon as we were given work time, I turned to Blaise to find him staring at me with sorrow. “I don’t want to have to do this to you at such a time, but I’m afraid that I’m going to have to go out of town tomorrow for a few days my darling little mate.”
Setting my notebook on his desk, I furrowed my brow. “You mean, you’re actually leaving me alone for days, by myself?” I was awe struck, and I knew my jaw was on the ground. Scratching my ear, I stared at him with curiosity.
He grinned, kissing my forehead, before taking my notebook to begin my math assignment for me. “Well, if I thought it was safe to bring you with me, I would. I’m actually going to Moscow for a few days to meet with some associates of mine. There’s still the matter of my brother at hand, and I’d like to take care of this problem before it gets out of hand.”
“I don’t think there’s much of a problem,” I mumbled, propping my head up in my hand. Staring at him, I watched as he wrote the answers on my paper, calculating the equations in his head.
He shook his head, never looking up at me. “What do you mean you don’t think there’s much of a problem? He only kidnapped you Faye, and he could have killed you. In my world, we kill one another for such an act.”
In his world. I still didn’t know where I fit in to that. In his world, I’m on the edge of death, and all it takes is the disapproval of the demonic elders to end what little of a life I have now. It’s still hard to believe that I’m a demon’s mate; I'm dreading what will happen when he finally finishes his binding to me.
“Allister will be here, he'll make sure nothing bad happens. And you better not go near that boy, he’s gotten on my nerves lately. I still can't believe you went to the movies with him the other week.”
I rolled my eyes, and looked down to see him finishing the last problem. “I don't see what the big deal is, you sat right in between him and I.”
He threw the pen down on the desk, and glared at me with his boiling anger. “I should drag you along with me for that little comment, but I value your life more than I care about some little boy trying to sink his claws into you. “
“I think the only claws we have to worry about here are yours,” I mumbled.
He leaned forward, brushing my hair out of my face. “Is that a proposition?”
He laughed, holding the door open for myself. “Yes, well I hear that the same thing happened to you. We’re both getting to old for the life of a bachelor. My wife Francine is pregnant, soon we’ll have little demons running around raising hell.”
Pursing my lips, I followed the man through the house towards the old cellar door. “Yes, well we’re working our way towards marriage still. My Faye isn’t quite ready for marriage, and defiantly not child birth; but I love her all the same.”
“I also heard she was human.”
Nodding, I said no more on the matter. Although demons live alongside humans, and have been doing so for centuries, the two species seem to collide like atoms in an atomic bomb. Neither one means harm, but when they collide, there is nothing left but hell. We demons would bring hell to earth if we were allowed to roam free without rules or morals.
The cellar was bare of all light. Looking around in the dark narrow room, I spied what appeared to be a broken sword. Tye just smiled sheepishly at my quizzical look, fingering the cold metal lightly before moving on. I recognized the symbols enough to know to whom it belonged, and realized that for a man to part with such a power, could only mean one thing: defeat.
The sharp edge of the blade was rusted over with the decaying essence of blood. The foul stench filled the narrow hall leading into the depths of the cellar, and I found no remorse for the soul lost, rather for the blade of such power.
Stepping forward, my companion down this darkened path placed his hand upon my shoulder. Upon inspection of his face, I found he worn a mask of grim pain. "Come, Hector is awaiting our arrival. And you don't want to run too late and run into the other council members."
Pulling my mouth into a tight line, I withdrew my fingers from the sharp rusted blade, creating a thin red line along the tips of my fingers, healing as quickly as it had begun. Nodding to myself, I shook his hand from me. "Let's do this quick, I have a dinner date I can't miss."
"You just got in town an hour ago and you already have a date," Tye spoke with awe.
Frowning, I wondered how long he'd last in his current relationship. He was not prone to loyalty, nor a large attention span. I could already see his ill kept mind wandering away. Had I really been just like him? I watched him walk away, laughing quietly to myself. I was never that arrogant. Grinning, I followed along.
"So from what I hear, your brother is the one causing all our troubles," Tye grinned back at me, intertwining his arms behind his head, "Care to confirm any rumors?"
Shaking my head, I smacked the back of his head sending him tumbling forward on his feet. I watched with amusement as he caught himself. "Jerk," he muttered, rubbing his sore head.
"Yeah, well he was always the evil one."
Snorting, Tye punched me back harder on the shoulder. "Yeah, he was the one who put the alcohol in the punch at Cornelia's coming out party, and she came out," he whistled at the memory, "And he was the one who killed Mr. Ordonall's dog. Oh, and we can't forget about the infamous party in the head elder's mansion when he was out of town."
Smiling, I scratched my face. "You forgot to mention the part where I also fucked his daughter in his bedroom, drank all his beer, let his twenty thousand dollar painting get pissed on, and somehow manage to take a joy ride in his car."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. And he let you be an elder? You are such a lucky bastard."
Stopping at the wooden door at the end of the dark stone walled hall, I paused. Looking at him, I smiled sheepishly. "If you ever do meet Faye, take care of not bringing up any of those lovely attributes of myself. She won't find them as hilarious as you and I do."
Tye stepped back, ready to go back to the first level. "In other words, mention any of your least flattering qualities to the woman you're wooing, and it's off with my head." He motioned with his hands an axe coming down against his frail looking neck, causing me to erupt in laughter.
"Yeah, off with your head," I still chuckled. Pushing open the wooden door, I noticed the host of my trip to be standing over a wooden crate of sorts.
Tye laughter died down, and I nodded a farewell to him. He smiled, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "Hey, gimme a call if you need help sometime. I don't know what's coming," his eyes drifted inside the room behind me, "but it's sure to be hell. Plus, I gotta check out this little thing you're hiding from us. She must be something if you keep her hidden away."
Giving him a curt nod of departure, I slammed the door behind me upon entering the room. The other occupant of the room looked up, smiling. "Blaise, still have that anger problem I see."
"If he thinks for one moment that he's going to lay a finger on my mate, he's got another thing coming. I should kill him right now, just strangle him. Yes, off with his head seems quiet satisfying now in this light." I motioned the practice of strangling Tye before me, twisting my hands together in anger.
He laughed, shaking his head at my actions. "He means no harm; plus, why kill him before he gets the chance to experience the art of fatherhood. I'm sure he'll catch on quickly that he can no longer frolic with the ladies when it is born. That wife of his was no fool in having a child."
Hoisting myself upon a wooden crate, I stared down into the open one. There laid a body, mangled into what could be described as a painful was of torturous death. On the other side, I saw my long time friend smile at me. "So has she accepted your proposal yet?"
"Hector," I groaned through my hands. Leaning back, I noticed another open crate filled with the charred remains of another demon whom I barely recognized. "I always screw things up, sometimes she loves me more than life itself, and then the next second I look at her wrong, she's throwing it in my face!" I threw my arms up in frustrations. "I just can't understand her human mind."
Hector shook his head, and rotated the skull before us so I could examine the sharp edges of the broken skull. No doubt it was the damage of a sharp blade, most likely one of demonic power. "No my friend, that isn't her human mind, that's just women. And I know I've said this before, but it's about time you got yourself a decent one. Although I was quite partial to Veronica."
I raised an eye brow at him, picking up the skull for closer examination. "Who?"
"Oh you know, the blond one with the big..." He smiled sheepishly at the fond memory he held behind his eyes.
Shaking my head, I thought of the countless names of the one woman he just described. Scratching my head, I threw the skull in the air. "Again, who?"
Snatching back the demon remains, Hector eyed me with disdain. "Probably just one of your one night stands." He brushed off the specks of dust on the head, fingering the crack in the bone. "All seven have the same markings, all of which I believe to have come from the same blade. One person then has to have been the result of all these deaths, and that thought alone can be terrifying for some. Who's to know who's next?"
"And you think it's my brother dearest?" I asked with a smug smile.
Setting the head in the box, he sealed the improper casket. "From everything you've told me, I can only assume it his him. Yet these deaths are as random as they come. If he was trying to send us a message, or make a statement, it is yet to be made. But if it is a war he wants, he certainly is asking for one."
Shaking my head, I jumped to my feet, staring at the closed box before me. "He is after those in power, I'm not so certain that this is him. I mean, why would he kill that nobody from Japan, or the folk singer from Italy; it just makes no sense at all."
The door to the cellar was thrown open, and both my companion and I glanced towards the lighted hall. Three figures stood there, smiling at me although they had a secret to tell. My hand itched forward, gripping the crate out of anger; how I wished to have departed before their arrival. The current reminder of the threat on my mate's head still hung heavy in the air.
The leader of the trio nodded in my direction, stepping into the dark cellar at last. "Good evening gentlemen, and may I be the first to say how surprised we all are to see Blaise here. We thought he'd be hours away by now, but then again, we came earlier just to have the honor of meeting him." Rolling my eyes, I glanced at my companion before accepting the hand offered to me. At least know I knew the reason for their smug smiles, they probably thought themselves quite clever by arriving early.
"Evening Brinestone, nice to see your still well," I mumbled, trying to at least seem attentive to my superiors. It was not her fault, yet the casualties were only for one reason, and that was to keep my little mate's health in the best condition possible: alive. "And I have to say, this trip has been a complete waste, there's no clues as to whom our perpetrator is."
Brinestone smiled, staring straight into my eyes. "Yes, well that's why we're here, to make sure that nothing is missed."
"I don't doubt Hector's abilities," I replied, matching his stare. Sitting back down, I watched as the men Brinestone brought along investigated all the bodies lying in different crates awaiting their mailing date to be shipped to their own new permanent homes. "So how are things in Frankfurt? Business well?"
Giving one curt nod, he sat beside me. "All is well, although Olivia has recently informed me that she no longer wants to work for the family company. So what am I supposed to do? Of course I have to let her run along, yet I want an heir tied into the business." I cringed to myself, out of all the casual topics to chose from, I stepped on a mine.
"Well I'm sure you'll have a son someday sir." I laughed it off, looking towards Hector for a quick escape. He merely shrugged, looking away to the body before him. "Or perhaps Olivia will get pregnant."
"But if you must excuse me," I stood before Brinestone could respond, "I have a meeting to attend, and I can't be late. Good luck with the investigation boys." Waving to the men, I slowly made my way to the open cellar door, "And Brinestone, I do hope that I can make it to your birthday party this year, but if I can't make it out, I'll be sure to send my gift in the mail."
Rushing out of the room, I heard Brinestone chuckle softly, and nothing more. No one came after me, no one mentioned another word of my sudden departure. Breathing a sigh of relief, I wondered how long I could risk avoiding any confrontation with the man. Perhaps I was only being paranoid, what did my stupid brother know anyway?
How I wished I was the good one.
Outside in my car, I leaned back to the soft sound of the radio, and stared silently at the clock. Holding my phone to my ear, I smiled as the phone rang. After two rings, she picked up. "Blaise," came her soft velvet voice, "Allister put ice cream down my shirt! I think that calls for you to kill him." Her giggles reached my heart, warming my stiff composure.
Shifting gears into drive, I imagined her face beside me. "As you wish, yet wouldn't it be even more fun to instead just switch the flour with the sugar?"
"I miss you," her voice called out to me, making me smile. I'd be sure to be home as fast as my feet would take me.