The Stranger- Chapter 8

Words and rants flew out of my mouth like the breaths it took to make them, and I was quickly finished explaining everything.

“I mean, how can one person, one single soul, turn everything around like this? Everything was fine and wonderful, and Wraith, some demon out to kill me, comes along and turns everything upside down. And Kendell, an angel? He defies every stereotype of an angel I’ve ever heard of! By God, you’d think I’d be mad and I was just seeing things, that’s how absolutely ridiculous this story sounds,” I sighed heavily and stared at the book Kendell gave me, “Others would think I’m mad for talking to a headstone…”

I dropped the book and hugged my knees to my chest, “I want to scream. I always asked for a more exciting life, but I meant some kind of harmless adventure. Now I’m going to war, some demon wants to kill me and my best friend is who I’m supposed to be with? I can’t do any of that! I’m just me. I’m weak and useless, I always was and I always will be.”

A violent gust of wind blew into the grove, causing my hair to fly into my face. When I moved it away, the book was in front of me and was opened to the chapter about angels. One single line caught my eye,

“The angels are undoubtedly powerful, even if one were to feel as if they weren’t.”

Slowly, a ghost of a smile crossed my face and I whispered, “Thank you, Mother.”

The wind, more gentle this time, came and ran through my hair again. I sighed, staring at the open book in front of me, before giving in and picking it up. The pages were yellow with age and rather brittle. How old was this book? I was about to start reading about angels, but Wraith floated back into my mind and my curiosity got the better of me. I flipped to the section about demons and stared at the first paragraph, my brows scrunching in concentration.

“Demons are nothing more than fallen angels, ones that turned against God to join Lucifer. Whether or not they feel regret for their actions, depends entirely on the demon. Some feel nothing and enjoy tormenting and killing humans, others are reluctant to carry out the demands they’ve been given and wish to return to Heaven. Once they fall, they lose their pure heart. In physical form, their blood is black with death and agony, it no longer runs through their veins as there is no heart to carry it. They feel emotion through their tainted soul, mostly negative emotions. They have complexions whiter than most humans from lack of warm blood. Their eyes are commonly red, or brownish red, occasionally white, their hair black as the darkness itself. They have wings like a dragon’s, but can hide them with effort. When angry, their eyes glow with a silvery white light.”

I lifted my head back up and frowned. Demons could feel without a heart? But they could only feel negative emotion? This book was practically speaking in riddles. I shook my head and continued to read the chapter.

“In Hell, a demon has no need for a physical body. They become their true selves, often wispy bodies of black scales and completely red and black eyes. They have claws and fangs like a dragon, along with their wings. Even a spaded tail, all black. Their shoulders can be silver, occasionally, as this is a sign of great spiritual power. Demons who aren’t strong enough to gain a physical form are typical causes of possession, while most demons merely use it for amusement or gathering information. Holy items burn their physical body and reduce them to their spiritual form. They are weak in this form on Earth, for the Earth’s power is too great for spirits to handle. The only way a demon can be killed is by being bathed in holy light.

The chapter continued on like that, several chapters after it about the different kinds of demons. Detailed pictures of each type of demon’s physical form and spiritual form started each page. I flipped through the pages, seeing demons from all different lands. Some were oriental, others European. I saw demons that looked like old, senile men, and seeing demons that looked like… Wraith…

The picture of one demon, called an archdemon, fit Wraith perfectly. As I suspected from the title, they were the opposite of an archangel. The pictures were of a man, strong, beautiful and pale like Wraith, and a black scaled demon with silver shoulders. Oh my.

“Archdemons are demons of great power and social standing among other demons. There are truly millions of demons in the depths of Hell, but archdemons look over them all. They obey Lucifer, taking commands from him and ordering the rest of the demons. They are commonly used as spies and war generals, finding ways to plot against God and defeat Him. Never have they been successful, and so long as the archangels stand strong, never shall they become successful. An archdemon feels no pain. They can radiate such fierce negative energy through their demonic aura that humans can’t tolerate without a fierce mood change.

This book was fascinating, at least…

To think Wraith was an archdemon sent shivers down my spine. He had to be, there was no other demon that fit his profile so well.

But that meant he was… So strong… He could kill us all whenever he wanted to.

The thought made me want to cry. I couldn’t read this book anymore, not for a while at least. I closed it and scrambled up off the ground, dusting off my pants. Looking at my mother’s grave, I whispered,

“Goodbye, Mother.”

I hurried out of the grove as I clutched the book to my chest. I think I spent around an hour reading about demons and flipping through the different kinds. Later I would read about angels. Later. I shivered as I made my way back to my home and neared the lake. It seemed perfectly still and comforting, but the fragment of memory I had about Wraith and the lake made it seem sinister. No amount of sunlight or cheerful bird chirps could ever change that. It was like a gorgeous cobra waiting to strike. I quickened my pace even more, staring at the lake as I walked as though it would swallow me. Suddenly I crashed into something hard and fell over, the book flying from my arms. The worst feeling of hatred bore into my skull to the point where I thought I was going to be ill. I dared to look up and froze as a pair of bloodshot, brownish red eyes burned into mine.

Wraith towered over me, his face contorted into the ugliest scowl I’d ever seen. He looked like he hadn’t slept for a month, although he had been fine just last night. The circles under his eyes were so dark against his pale skin that he seemed ill. His lips were pale like the rest of him and his face bony, the skin seemingly stretched over it, only adding to the effect. His hair, always so sleek and magnificent, was dull and disheveled. Everything I had found beautiful about him was contorted into bone crushing tension and negativity.

“You disgusting thing.”

The voice was no longer human, a mere raspy hiss. Even so, it sounded intrigued, like I was a piece of rare meat, and trying to mask the wonder with a disgusted tone.

“Do you know what kind of torture you’ve put me through?” Wraith advanced, uneven lumbering steps replacing his former graceful stride. I shuffled backwards on hands and feet to get away, my efforts in vain as his bony hand grabbed my shirt and pulled me to his face.

“Do you?!”

“N-no!” I squealed.

“I’ve had to go through practically this entire damned continent searching for your pitiful self. Countless scars put on my back when I failed to find you. Countless threats on my existance, because you’re the thing to defeat my Lord’s army,” Wraith dropped my shirt and before I could fall to the ground he grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling me off the ground by it.

“This. This white hair. You’re the only one to walk the humans with this white hair. Why was it so hard to find you, then? When you clearly stood out so well?” I let out a yelp as he shook me by my hair and almost ripped it out, “I know why. That pathetic excuse of an angel, the one you call Inkcrest. He did everything he could to keep me away, didn’t he?” A hollow chuckle escaped Wraith’s lips, “And now here I am. With you in my hands, squirming like the vermin you are.”

I tried desperately to free myself from his grasp, kicking and clawing at his hands. All he did was chuckle again, that sick, hollow chuckle that made my skin crawl. I was panicking to the point where I could barely see his face, or anything else.

“Kendell!” The screech left my throat before I could process anything. “Kendell!” My screeches turned to sobs and Wraith slammed my head into a nearby tree.

“Shut up, filth.”

“K-Kendell…!” Something warm trickled down the side of my head. Blood? “Kendell… Kendell, help me…”

“Enough!” Wraith dragged me to the lake and threw me in, the cold water shocking me as it dragged me under. I stupidly tried to inhale, my lungs filling with the cold water. I tried to cough it out as I broke the surface, spluttering and trying to grab on to something, anything despite the fact that I was still in the shallow part of the lake. Wraith lifted a hand and I was dragged under again, the water crushing me with a realization;

I was going to die.

Tree roots had wrapped around my ankles and were dragging me further and further to the bottom of the lake. I had skipped the paragraph explaining some demon powers. Well, no need to read it now… If I got out of this mess alive. A voice, silky and seductive, Wraith’s more human voice, vibrated through my ears and in my mind,

“Just let go, Princess… It will be over much sooner if you stop struggling…”

“What if I don’t want to let go?!” I mentally shot back, still clawing at the lake floor.

“Then you’ll be making this job more difficult than it’s already been. I don’t appreciate you being a spoiled brat, and I won’t tolerate it much longer.”

“You’re already killing me, what difference does it make?!”

There was silence before he growled, “JUST DIE ALREADY!”

“Not yet!” My effort to stay strong was in vain, the last of what breath I had taken were floating away from my mouth. I could feel my lungs crumpling from the lack of oxygen.

“Damn it, you insufferable creat-“

He was cut off and the tree roots unraveled from my ankles. I desperately tried to swim upwards, practically crawling up the lake bottom. I was still so close to the lake shore, but my vision blurred when I was around a foot from the lake’s surface. A hand reached in and pulled me out, and I sharply inhaled.

“Annabelle!” The familiar, friendly voice made me fight to keep my eyes open.

“K-Kendell…?”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” He crushed me in his arms, causing me to cough violently. I honestly don’t even know how I held my breath that long. It seemed like a lifetime. He loosened his grip on me so I could see his face, which was riddled with worry. Kendell’s wings glowed softly in the sunlight. All of a sudden, Kendell was ripped away from me and Wraith held him by his shirt collar. I let out a whimper, for the side of Wraith’s head had been burned, leaving only half a head of hair and charred skin and bone. His other eye was sunken into his head so much that it was barely visible, and the rest of his skin seemed to sag.

“WRETCH!” The growl didn’t sound like anything from a human, or even an animal. Just a pure demonic growl overflowing with hatred. Two giant dark wings sprouted from his back as he tossed Kendell through two trees. Yes, through. I was frozen, I didn’t know what to do. Kendell groaned,

“Annabelle, get out of here!”

“But-but-”

“Now!”

I turned on my heels and started to run, catching a glimpse of the book on the ground. My brain was swirling with terror as I plucked it off the ground and continued running. There was a loud crash that echoed through the trees and I dared to look back. I cried out as I saw Wraith crashing through trees, flying after me. His face was like from the first dream he spoke, eyes glowing like ghastly orbs and jaw stretched, revealing razor like teeth. My feet became heavy and I struggled to keep running, but he soon caught me. Lifting me up into the air, he bit deeply into my shoulder. I yelped as the blood soaked my shirt and his teeth secured themselves into my shoulder. I could hear him gulping down my blood, he drank relentlessly. A burning pain shot all the way down my body. My vision blurred. He was taking too much. I felt cold.

Cold…

So cold…

A shout barely made its way to my ears. More shouting. It was nothing but noise to me. I felt Wraith jolt and take his fangs out of my shoulder.

Then I was falling.

The leaf covered ground never touched me, instead I fell into a pair of strong arms. I couldn’t see clearly enough to see who caught me, but I knew it was Kendell.

“Annabelle! Annabelle, don’t die on me!”

“Oh yes, Princess… That would be most unfortunate for your friend…” The demonic rasp was gone from Wraith’s voice and it sounded human again… Strong and smooth, like I was used to, but with an arrogant, sarcastic edge. The sound made me want to slip my eyes shut and fall asleep, but when I tried, Kendell shook me.

“Don’t fall asleep right now!”

“Give it up, Anzeleaz. Just let her die and be done with this struggle.”

Anzeleaz…? Who was that?

There was no response, just a blinding light. I could feel my skin stretching and tingling, my sight and consciousness returning until I could register the dastardly situation I was in. My head snapped towards Wraith and I was shocked to see that his former disheveled appearance was gone, replaced with the clean, regal features he always carried. A triumphant smirk graced his face as he pushed a stray strand of hair out of his face.

The book was still in my hand somehow. I thought I would have surely dropped it, being drained of my blood as I just was.

“You’re a b*****d, Atael.”

“What? You know that an angel’s blood alone does healing wonders for beings like me. And it was certainly needed after the fool’s rosary stunt,” he spat out the last few words.

Kendell put me down and hissed, “I can only stall. Get out of here.”

I stared into his icy eyes, seeing the anger and terror in them before gripping the book tighter and dashing off into the trees. A slice and the sound of liquid splattering against the leaves echoed around the forest. There was a strange shuffling sound behind me that almost blended with the sound of my footsteps, only it was horribly uneven. I continued to tear across the forest until I saw the beginning of the field. I wanted to cry tears of joy. There was a dragging sound and crashes, more splattering and a lengthy howl of pain. I made it into the field and kept running despite my burning thighs, in fact, I think I ran faster if possible. Never once did I turn back despite the screams and howls, the sounds of flesh ripping, or blood splattering the ground. Never once did I turn back, despite every nerve telling me to run back there and help Kendell. Never once did I turn back, until I burst into the small wooden door that led into my house.

I turned back to close the door, and the one glimpse of the outside I saw was covered in blood, feathers and claw marks.

One more shriek rang through the air as I locked the door.

And there was silence as I dropped to my knees, and cried.

Author's Note

That was practically a skully. .-.
Strange to write.
Comment please~? :D

Reviews

[Review]

Gasp action scenes are hard to write you can't just say, and then he slashed his sword, and then he then he punched some guy at his right, then he kicked some other guy at his left you have to cover the feeling of the fight and the action. Hats off to you. You depicted the feeling and action really well and not just listed off every thing that was going on one of the best books I've read on writerscafe so far good enough to get published keep it up

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