Chapter Twelve- False Memories

Chapter Twelve in the "Hina's Tears" series

Chapter Twelve 

False Memories

Angel’s eyes snapped open.  She sat up quickly and looked around.  The small room had a single bed in it, a dresser, and a nightstand with a lamp on it.  The window showed, to her relief, an ocean outside.

At least I’m not in the castle, but where am I?

“You’re awake.”  A voice said as the door opened and a boy walked in.  His long black hair was tied back into a low ponytail.  His crimson eyes watched her while he shut the door behind him and locked it.  “How are you feeling?”

Angel slowly got out of the bed and backed up to the wall.  

“The window won’t open, and there’s a barrier on it to prevent people from seeing or hearing you.  Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”  He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What do you want with me?”  Angel whispered with a gulp.

The boy opened his mouth for a moment then closed it.  

“I want to protect you, but right now I can’t.  They want to use you as bait.  I won’t be able to stop them.  You won’t be able to either.  Just remember to listen to your heart.  It’ll bring you back.  I know you can do this.”  He sighed and walked over to her.  Angel dashed to the nightstand and grabbed the lamp.  

“Stay back!”  her hands trembled as she held the lamp in front of her.  

The demon tilted his head and walked right up to her.  She slammed the lamp against the wall causing it the shatter than picked up a shard of glass and swung at his face.  He didn’t try to block it as the glass cut a line across his right cheek.  Blood started to fall down his jaw line.  

The boy reached forward, grabbed Angel, and pulled her into an embrace.  

Angel caught her breath and froze.  

I don’t understand any of this!  

“I’m sorry.”  The demon whispered as his hand touched her back.  Energy filled her unlike the energy she felt before.  Her head started to hurt, and her eyes grew blurry.  She tried to fight it but her arms went limp as all the strength she had left her.  

“Remember, follow your heart.”  Those were the last words she heard before darkness overtook her again.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing on the street facing the ocean wall at night time.  Someone stood next to her.  Angel looked over at the demon.  

What was I doing before this?  The demon, he looks familiar.  I’m not scared of him.  In fact, I belong with him.  I’m supposed to help him fight against someone bad.  Who?

“He will be here shortly.”  The demon stated.  The street was empty with dark clouds rolling in.  

“Who?”  Angel blinked and faced the demon.  “Who are we fighting?  I’m sorry.  I should know this.”  

Why does my head hurt so badly?

“You’re fighting Youkai.  All you have to do is use this.”  The demon reached out with a black blade and handed it to her.  “He won’t attack you.”  

“Are you sure?”  she asked looking the blade over.

“Trust me, I’m sure.”  The demon turned and faced the street.  “He’s here.”

“Angel!”  Kai was running towards them as rain started to come down.  Angel faced him and started walking towards him.  “Angel!  I’m so relieved to see you…”  Kai stopped suddenly and looked past her.  “Angel move!  There’s a demon behind you!”

Angel glanced back at the demon and took a deep breath.  The demon nodded but said nothing.  

“Angel!”  Kai took a step forward just as Skyler and Bryan appeared behind him.  

“That’s the demon that took her.”  Bryan stated with his katana out.  

“Something isn’t right.”  Kai replied taking another step forward.  

Angel watched them and frowned.  

I wasn’t taken.  I’m supposed to be here.  Right?

“They are trying to confuse you.  Don’t let them.”  The demon whispered.  Angel nodded and started walking towards Kai.  

“Let us take care of the demon.  You get Angel.”  Bryan said as he and Skyler ran past Kai and Angel towards the demon.  The demon dodged their attack and jumped back.  

Kai met Angel in the middle and stared at her.  His eyebrows were pushed together as his eyes wildly looked over her.  

“What did they do to you?”  he asked in a quiet voice.  

“Youkai…”  Angel took another step closer to him.  He looked at the black blade in her hand, shook his head, and closed his eyes.  

“If this is what you desire then so be it.”  

Angel jumped forward and the air went still.  The blade went into Kai’s stomach.  He spit up blood and fell to his knees.  Bryan and Skyler stopped trying to fight the demon and faced Kai and Angel.  The demon, which had been dodging and not fighting, landed further away and watched.  

Lightning struck the sky.  Angel grabbed her head as pain hit her hard.  A sudden voice filled her mind.

Remember, follow your heart.

Her mind raced with images as her past memories came into light, and the dark cloudiness disappeared.  

What have I done?  

“No, Kai!”  Angel fell to her knees beside him and grabbed his shoulders.  “I’m so sorry!”  

“Angel, you’re back to normal!”  Skyler fell beside them and tried to pull Angel off of Kai.  “It’s not your fault!  It’s the demon’s fault!  Please, back away so I can stabilize him!”

It IS the demon’s fault!  He made me hurt Kai!  He knew I was too weak to fight against him!  I’ll hurt him for doing this to Kai!

Angel stood up slowly as a wave of pink light surrounded her.  It lashed out in whips and cut through the rain.  Bryan ran around her to Skyler and helped her move Kai away.  

The demon stood without a sound and waited for her to come.  

“You made me do this!”  she shouted as the light grew brighter.  “It’s your entire fault!”  

The demon nodded and closed his eyes.  “Do what you must.”  

The whips lashed out and wrapped around him.  As they began cutting into his skin, he refused to cry out.  Blood trickled from the new wounds as the whips lifted him into the air.  Angel walked closer as her eyes glowed from the same pink light.  

The demon winced from the pain as his eyes squeezed shut.  

I could kill him.  For what he did, I could end him now.  

As she concentrated on the final blow, a dark figure came from the shadows fast and, with its hand, cut the whips that were holding up the demon.  As the demon fell, the figure caught him and landed on the ocean wall.   

With the power cut, the light disappeared, and Angel fell, to the ground, breathing hard.  Lightning struck the sky, and she saw the face of the boy who had stopped her attack.

It’s a human!  

The boy was tall with long maroon hair.  His eyes were covered by a black metal band that went from ear to ear.  He wore a black sleeveless shirt with black pants and boots.  Along his bare arms were more black bands with glowing red inscriptions.

The demon had gone unconscious once the whips released him.  

“Why are you helping him?”  Angel whispered.  

The boy reached into his pants and pulled out a vile of blue liquid.  “Use this on the boy.  It’ll save him from the poison.”  He tossed it in the air, and it landed on Angel’s lap.  She looked down at the vile then back at the boy.

“Who are you?”

“We’re the same in every way.  I couldn’t let you destroy yourself like this.”  He smiled.  “Now go and save him.”  Angel nodded slowly, stood up, and ran over to Kai.  When she looked back, the boy and demon were gone.  

“Where did they go?”  Bryan asked as he looked up when she arrived.  

“The boy gave me this to help Kai!  Please use it on him!”  Angel forced the vile in front of Skyler.

“Are you freaking mad?  It could be even more dangerous!”  Bryan shouted as he balled up his fists.  

“Bryan, it might be our only chance.  I’m not powerful enough to remove this level of poison.”  Skyler grabbed the vile and opened it.  “We have no other choice.  If we don’t, he will die regardless.”  

“Please, you must try!”  Angel begged as tears fell down her face.  

This really is my entire fault!  The demon took my weakness and now Kai might die!  How could I be so stupid and weak?  Please, Kai, don’t die!

Skyler gulped and removed her hand so the open wound was visible.  Blood ran smoothly from it.  She opened the vile and tipped it over the wound.  As the blue liquid landed on the wound, a hiss came with blue smoke.  Than it disappeared.  

“It’s not doing anything.”  Angel sobbed as she tried to brush the soaked hair from her eyes.  “Why isn’t it doing anything?”  

“Maybe it needs…”  Before Skyler could finish, a blue light flashed from the wound.  Everyone covered their eyes and, after a moment, reopened their eyes and looked down.  

“It’s healed!”  Angel exclaimed as the crying got worse.  

“Why would they give us something that would help him?”  Skyler asked as she touched the wound.  

“I think we just saw the other spirit.”  Bryan whispered as he looked around.  “Why did he save the demon then?”

We’re the same in every way.  I couldn’t let you destroy yourself like this.  Did he mean that if I had killed the demon that I would be destroying myself?  We’re the same?  He had to be the other spirit!

“We should get him to somewhere safe.  Just because the other spirit helped us doesn’t mean other demons can’t come and attack us.”  Bryan stated as he pointed to his back.  “Put him on my back.”  

With effort, Skyler and Angel got Kai onto Bryan’s back.  

“This still doesn’t help us get him somewhere safe.  Going back to the mansion is a long way to not get attacked.”  Skyler stated as Angel tried to brush away her tears.  

I can cry when I’m alone.  Right now I have to help Kai.

“This is pointless.  We will have to go to the mansion.  There’s nowhere else for us to go.”  Bryan seethed through his teeth.  

“Maybe I can help with that.”  A voice said from down the street.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!  What now?”  Bryan exclaimed as they all looked up at a girl standing under an umbrella.  Angel immediately recognizes the girl as her eyes grew wide.  

“It’s the famous girl from before, Elizabeth!”  she pointed at the girl with her mouth gapping.

“I’ve been watching you for a while.  You are also fragments?”  she smiled and flipped her hair.  

“That doesn’t matter.  Right now we need to find somewhere safe for Kai.”  Skyler replied as she started walking towards Elizabeth.  “You said you could help?”

“Sure, let’s take him to the inn.  I’ll buy a room for him for a week.  That should be plenty of time to recover enough until he has to go back to the…err…mansion?”  She turned and started walking down the street.  The rain was finally letting up as they followed her to the inn.

Once at the inn, Elizabeth went in first then returned with a key.  “The room is around the building.  He will be safe.”  

“Thank you.”  Skyler said as they walked to the room and opened the door.  Inside was a huge area with a large bed, dresser, bathroom with shower, and armchair.  

“Of course, but first shouldn’t we get him cleaned up?”  she turned on the lights and walked over to the bathroom.  Moments later, the shower was running.  “I can help if you would like.”  

Help?  She means help him undress?  

“Absolutely not!”  Angel snapped as she rushed forward and grabbed Bryan’s hand.  “You will have to undress him and clean him up.  We will wait outside.”  She turned and ushered Skyler and Elizabeth out of the room.  When the door slammed shut behind her, she sighed and leaned against it.

“You are quite the rude little girl.”  Elizabeth remarked with a sigh.  “He will need clean clothes.  I’ll go ask my assistant if he has a spare.”  She walked away with Angel and Skyler watching her until she cleared the corner.  

“She certainly is different.”  Skyler stated after blinking.  

“She’s quite rude.”  Angel mimicked as she crossed her arms.  After a moment, she let out the air she had been holding and looked at the door.  

“It’s not your fault, Angel.”  Skyler whispered as she touched her arm.  

“I don’t know anymore.”  Angel felt the tears trying to return as she brushed them away and waited for Elizabeth to return.  She did after five minutes with a pair of clean clothes in her arms.  

Angel knocked on the door and waited for Bryan to appear.  Elizabeth handed him the clothes, and the door shut again.  

“It’s a good thing I did run into you.  I have been looking for Youkai since I’ve been on this island.  He isn’t easy to find.”  Elizabeth stated suddenly.  Angel and Skyler stared at her for a moment.  

“How did you know he was a fragment?”  Skyler asked as she stood up straighter.  

“Oh, Ender told me before I left Wales.  He said all the fragments were going to gather on this island so I had to come and find you.  So I did, right?.  He is Youkai?”  she put her hand on her hip and looked between Angel and Skyler.

“Whoa, wait a minute.  Who is Ender?”  Angel asked with her eyebrows pushed together and mouth open slightly.  

“You don’t know Ender?  He is the leader of the fragments.  He also opened the school for those gifted by Hina, and Hina gave up her life and powers for him.”  She stated in a matter of fact tone.  

Skyler rubbed her head and sighed.  “Perhaps we should wait until Kai wakes up before you go into details about all of this.”   

If he wakes up.

Angel looked at the door and felt her chest tighten for what she knew was about to be a very long night.