The Stranger- Chapter 9

I sat there on the ground for what seemed like an eternity, just sobbing with my face in my hands. Anything could have just happened. I don’t know how I’m still alive. And with the scene I just saw, I don’t know if Kendell or Wraith is alive, either.

“What? You know that an angel’s blood alone does healing wonders for beings like me.”

I was already an angel? Had I always been? Apparently so… I finally decided to collect myself and get off the ground. Sitting here crying like a coward was a waste of time. Brushing myself off, I straightened out my clothes as much as possible and groaned at the ripped up, blood soaked part of my shirt. How was I going to explain this? I decided to just remove my shirt and continued through the house in my corset. When I pulled it off, I made sure to bundle it so no one could see the stains. I ran my hand through my hair, only to discover dried blood on my head. Oh, right… Wraith slammed me into a tree… I used my shirt to get the blood off and continued walking. The house was so quiet as I walked back up the stairs that I thought everyone had disappeared.

No one had disappeared, of course… But they looked as if they wanted to. Everyone, old or young, was solemn and quiet. I was confused and spotted Katherine.

“Katherine, why is everyone so-“

“Shh!” She raised a hand to her lips angrily and spoke in harsh whispers. “Don’t speak! If he hears…”

“Huh?”

“Your father!”

“Now what?” I tried my best to stay quiet, but I couldn’t hold back a groan.

“Shh! He said that if he was disturbed, he’d permanently deal with the cause!”

“Oh really?” My father was getting worse. “And where is he…?”

“S-still in the study… Good Lord, you aren’t considering going to see him, are you?” Katherine’s expression was full of fear and worry.

“I’m not considering it, I’m going to do it. I know why he is the way he is, just stay here and keep watch over the others.”

Katherine hesitated before shakily nodding and scurrying away. I looked at the book in my hands and flipped through the table of contents as I walked. I found what I was looking for and flipped to the page about demon possessions.

“Demon possessions are serious problems for humans. Demons are much more powerful than them and can easily overtake human souls by finding a single shred of darkness in them. Possession varies by demon strength, and the most common possession is when a demon uses a human as their puppet to control into doing their bidding. However, there is possession caused by a demon’s anger and causes a human to become corrupted.”

Yes, yes, that’s great. I flipped through the book to find something of better use.

“The only way to end a puppeteer demon possession is by forcing the demon to say its name and then use the name to force the demon out of the human’s body. A demon name holds great power in terms of exorcising a demon puppeteer. However, possessions caused by a demon being too close to a human or a demon’s anger radiating on them can only be cured if the victim wears holy objects. Granted, this is difficult because the object will burn terribly as it eradicates the negative energy surrounding the human.”

And there is my solution. Clearly Wraith wasn’t in need of a puppet, so the possession is from him poisoning my father. Fantastic. I closed the book and walked past the study to my room for my rosary.

“You’re a b*****d, Atael.”

Kendell called Wraith Atael… It seems that would be Wraith’s real name, then. Not a difficult thing to figure out. Demons and angels usually had names like that, but for some reason I didn’t want to use that name. It didn’t fit like Wraith did.

“Give it up, Anzeleaz.”

He was talking to Kendell, so that must be Kendell’s real name. It was the same thing with him, I could never see him as anyone else but Kendell. I don’t know why they needed different names, though. Anyway, I went into my room and found my rosary and put it in my pocket, tossed my shirt in the corner along with the book, then trudged back to the study. The door was closed but I didn’t bother to knock, simply pushing the door open and walking in.

The room was a mess of papers and books, my father’s figure hunched over in his now tattered red chair. His hair was a mess, his skin was sickly pale and covered in age lines, his eyes were sunken in and heavy bags hung underneath them, his clothes were wrinkled and worn out, and he looked at me with such a scowl that I barely recognized him.

“How dare you enter here without my permission, in such disgusting attire, no less,” his voice was low and full of disdain.

“I never needed permission before.”

“That’s because I spoiled you, you stupid brat!” His words stung, but I pushed it aside and assured myself it was just because of Wraith.

“Believe what you will. Now tell me what’s been troubling you lately.”

“Lately? More like always. I hate all of you. All of you!” The pure anger laced in his voice made me actually want to believe him, but this wasn’t my father. You could always tell when he was truthful or not through his eyes, and he made it known that he loved me and the house staff. I kept repeating in my mind that there was nothing to worry about.

“Is that so?”

“Yes! What would you know, I hated you the most! I don’t know why I call you my child, you’re a freak! A disgrace to mankind! You’re obviously some kind of witch, with green eyes and white hair. You know what, I should burn you right here!” My father looked for a candle of some kind, only to find nothing. I rolled my eyes and walked right up to him, staring him straight in his now dull brown eyes.

“You’d actually consider burning a thing you’ve spent years raising?”
            “You’re damn right, I would! I never wanted you… Maybe I should have just sold you to Jacob and be rid of you forever!”

“Yes, that’s what you should have done,” sarcasm dripped from my voice as I sat on the desk, in which my father tried to shoo my away. I ignored him and put on a curious face, “Where is Lord Wraith, anyway? Have you seen him lately?”

“I bet I know why you want to know, you prostitute… And he left last night for a drink and hasn’t come back. You probably had something to do with that, didn’t you?!”

I raised an eyebrow, not amused with his first accusation, but unable to deny the truth in the second. A lie formed in my mind anyway as I spoke, “I assure you I have no interest in that… man, and I haven’t had anything to do with this disappearance.” I got up from the desk and hovered behind his chair, slipping the rosary out of my pocket.

“Don’t lie to me, brat! You must have offended him in some way. My wife should have taught you some damn manners before she died…”

That was enough. I dropped the rosary on him, making sure that it ended up around his neck. As soon as it made contact with him, a loud sizzling filled the air. He tried desperately to rip it off, but I jumped on him and held it there. The sizzling continued, louder and louder until I saw my father’s face actually start to form horrible blisters. His skin began to crack and his eyes sunk in even further. I thought he was dying, but fought the urge to pull the rosary off. If I did, he’d never get better. I heard bones pop and crack as his eyes smoldered, a strange black mist rising from them and swirling in the center of the room.

The door flew open and Katherine stood there, staring in shock. She looked like she was about to faint as she took in the smoke and my father’s condition.

“Katherine, don’t just stand there! Get the holy water!”

She sat frozen before nodding and dashing back out. A raspy, choked hiss escaped my father’s throat as he clawed at my hands.

“Get it off! Get. It. Off. Now!”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Damn it, girl! Can’t you see you’re killing the one who raised you?”

“I’m not killing you, I’m helping you.”

“Like hell, you are! Let me go!” He clawed my hands so much that he cut them, blood dripping all over his desk and shirt. My face contorted in pain as the cuts burned, but I didn’t let go. The mist continued to rise from his eyes and pool in the center of the room, and that’s when I noticed it was taking shape. It formed slowly into what looked like feet, then started to build up into some other shape… A coat?

The struggle continued for another very long few minutes and I prayed for Katherine to find the holy water and get back here. Now the black shape was slightly longer and narrowing in. Another moment passed and Katherine finally burst into the door, the bottle opened.

“W-what do I do with it?”

“Pour it on him! And don’t touch that black shape, whatever you do!”

Katherine timidly scurried inside, staying as far from the black shape as she could. She gasped as she got a closer look at the mess of a man before me. Her hands were shaky as she tipped the bottle and poured half of it on his head. A piercing wail left his throat and steam floated in the air as if Katherine had dumped acid on him. The black mist traveled faster from his eyes and started to build into a man, the arms and chest forming. Katherine covered her mouth with her free hand and stared in horror. Just a little longer. Eventually, the mist gathered up to the neck and built the face and the long, dark hair.

Katherine murmured, “It looks like…”

“Wraith…” I finished for her as the figure stood there. Its jaws stretched and a wild howl left its throat. My father went limp and I took the rosary from his throat, flinging it into the figure. Another howl, one of pain echoed against the walls and I took the holy water from Katherine, emptying it on the figure. The water sucked all the mist into it and seemed to evaporate, leaving my rosary to fall to the ground.

“Oh my God… Oh my God…” Katherine grabbed the desk for support.

I stumbled over to the rosary and plucked it off the ground, grimacing as my hands bled a bit more from the movement. Placing it around my father’s neck, I pulled him up and Katherine quickly bent to help. Slowly, we carried him from the study to his bedroom. Once we had finished laying him on the bed, Katherine took hold of my wrists and examined my hands.

“The cuts aren’t deep, but let’s get you bandaged anyway.”

She was still shaking as she led me to the bandages and took out the supplies, cleaning my wounds and wrapping them in white bandage. I winced at the sting. She stared at the gash on my head and cleaned that as well. Thanking her, I sat there as a million thoughts floated through my mind, each one present for no longer than a second. I needed time to process everything that just happened. It was too strange to be possible, the normal people would tell me so. They would tell me that I was just dreaming, or they’d lock me up in the asylum, or they’d assume that I was possessed and try to exorcise me. The normal ones would tell me just how wrong I am, and make me believe them.

But why should I care about what the humans say…
            Surely they can’t be right about this.

Not this time.

I know what I saw, I know what I did, I know what I’m going to be, or, already am, I know about the people around me, and I know what I’m supposed to do. No one else currently matters, neither does their opinion or anything else. I just have to keep telling myself that. And maybe after a while, I’ll believe it. Katherine coughed,

“What just happened, Miss- Annabelle…?”

I sighed, debating on whether or not I should tell her, “Alright. You can’t tell anyone, not a word. If someone found out, well… It wouldn’t be good at all. Understood?”

She nodded and stared at me wide eyed.

“My father was possessed by a demon. Well, a demon’s anger, to be exact. It happens when a demon is upset and too close to a human for a long period of time.”

“Wait, but it looked like Lord Wraith!” Her eyes flashed as she worked out the situation, and then she gasped in disbelief, “Wraith is-“

“A demon, yes. And not just any demon, an archdemon. He’s insanely powerful. If you see him, try not to say anything or anger him. You don’t want to end up like my father. Although I doubt he’ll come by again…”

“But how? He seems human enough! Shouldn’t we tell Father Patterson-“

“God, no! He can’t do anything against an archdemon, Wraith is too strong. And besides, if word got out that a demon like that was in town, do you know what kind of chaos there would be? That and Larissa would probably find a way to run my father and I out of town. I’m only telling you because you happened to witness an… Interesting scene. I trust you to stay quiet.”

“O-oh, yes, Annabelle… Will Master Drevensek be okay…?”

“More than okay. He was merely tainted by negative energy. I’m sure he’ll be his kind self again in a few days. And be careful if Wraith does come back. Don’t even make eye contact with him, just to be safe.”

“Alright… I have other housework to attend to… Please be safe, Annabelle!” Face pale and grim, Katherine wandered away on unsteady feet, obviously caught up with what she’d just heard. She had every right to be scared.

Every right.

I slowly walked to my room as I thought of every possible thing that could be done. In three weeks, I’d have wings. The thought kept coming back, no matter how hard I tried to think of other, more important things. A wave of exhaustion hit me, to the point where I could barely keep steady on my feet. As I reached my door, I shakily turned the handle and sighed heavily. When I looked inside, my eyebrows shot up my forehead.

Kendell sat there looking just as exhausted as I felt. Head hung and shoulders hunched, his shirt was covered in blood, but he didn’t have any visible wounds, only faint scars. His skin was deathly pale and his wings looked mangled.

Kendell picked up his head and gave me a weak smile. The dark circles under his eyes shocked me. It looked like he hadn’t slept in ages!

“What happened to you?!” I all but screamed at him.

He winced and motioned for me to sit down. Once I had, he coughed, “I told you, I had to distract Wraith to let you get away.”

“Wraith? You mean-“

“Don’t say his name…”

“Why not?” My brows furrowed in confusion.

“Didn’t you read more of the book?”

“No… I kind of skimmed it, mostly…”

Kendell sighed, “Saying a demon’s name draws it to you. I think the last thing you want is to see him again. But, saying its name will also give you slight power over it, no matter how powerful the demon is.”

“Why did you need different names…?”

“Do you really think I can walk around the human world with a name like Anzeleaz and not raise even the slightest bit of suspicion? Humans are scared of what they don’t understand and don’t take kindly to what they aren’t used to. I thought you knew that.”

“Oh, right,” was all I could say as I blinked at him. I kept my eye on him, letting it travel over his wrinkled clothes, his faint scars, his translucent skin. I felt horrible for letting this happen.

“I’m sorry for getting you in this mess…” Kendell looked at the floor sadly.

“Are you joking? Look at you! You’re in a far worse condition than I am.”

“This is nothing,” he took my hands and I could actually see tears form in his eyes, “This is less than nothing… What happened to your hands?”

My gaze dropped to the floor, “I-I read more of the book… And decided I’d try to get my father back to normal…”

There was silence and I felt Kendell grow tense. When I dragged my eyes up to meet his, I almost laughed at his shocked expression.

“What do you mean you tried to get him back to normal? You didn’t-“

“Exorcise him, so to speak? I did, actually, and it went better than I expected. Although, he didn’t like it very much…” I held up my bandaged hands and gave a sheepish half smile.

He didn’t say anything, just gave me a remorseful look and dropped his gaze on his hands. A troubled expression crossed his face and he blurted out, “You almost died!”

“Yes, and…?” I tried to maintain a straight face despite the pang of fear that gripped me from the truth he spoke.

“It was my fault-“

I slapped him.

“No. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s Wraith’s. That stupid b*****d was the one who had to try and kill me, and you’re the one that saved me. Don’t go blaming yourself, there’s nothing you could have done that would have prevented Wraith from attempting to kill me again.”

Dazed, Kendell shook his head and stared at me fiercely, “I could have made you stay with me, or kept you on watch or something. This could have been prevented. I thought I was going to lose you, Annabelle. I never want to have to think that again.”

I cupped his cheek with my hand, “Well, that’s too bad, isn’t it? There’s nothing you can do, that will make my life any more risk free. Especially now that I’m evidently going to war? You can try to keep me safe until then all you want, but if Wraith is truly that much of an arrogant a*s, then he won’t stop trying to get to me no matter what you do. You could have God himself stand between him and me, and he wouldn’t stop.”

Those beautiful ice blue eyes stared into mine, searching for something. Finally, he spoke, “I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself.”

Author's Note

I don't really like this chapter very much, I don't know why... e.e
Comment? :D Thanks so far.

Reviews

[Review]

this chapter seemed to show annabelle and what she is capable of she and a prequel to how she'll cope with being an angel and as always wonderful keep it up