The Stranger- Chapter 16

My eyes grew just as wide as Lyo’s. Neux, who held the form of a girl my age with bouncing red curls, ran to the back where Taiph had gotten the sedative from. She plucked one from the sack and rushed over to me, big blue eyes pleading as she held it out. I released the light from my grasp and took the little ball of chocolate, sighing, and putting it to my lips. Everyone watched me as I ate the thing, grimacing as the disgusting liquid burst into my mouth and ran down my throat. The familiar wave of drowsiness ran over me. Morphi and Dimo, looking like a young married couple, rushed over to me as I slumped over. Morphi stroked my hair softly, her voice ringing through my head,

“Thank you.”

Dimo held me up, gripping my hand. His dark brown hair fell into his black eyes as he stared at me, whispering, “Are you feeling well?”

“I’m… A little dizzy…” The words were hard to form because my tongue felt so thick.

A flash of gold appeared in front of me, then crystal blue. Morphi’s eyes were boring into mine, scrutinizing my face. She frowned,

“What a shame, that the sedative has such effects on you.”

I nodded, “Th... This is… Irritating…”

She raised an eyebrow, “A regular angel would be completely unconscious, though. Be thankful you can still function properly.”

I stared at them, and their human forms. The forms that were apparently once real people. Curiosity sprouted in me and I murmured,

“Who were… The people that you take… The form of…?” The numbness in my tongue was slowly starting to fade.

Correl shuffled over, “All of us take the form of the people that used to live in this manor before Master came and destroyed them all.”

A shiver ran down my spine. Her words reminded me that Wraith was truly a demon, and that he had manipulated the people around me to worm his way into my world.

She continued, “We had quite the work to do, erasing the memories of the townsfolk. Although, we could not reach you. Your angel had quite the wards on you, child. Either way, I am sure you remember the Sanderson’s.”

My mind grasped the familiar name, trying to recall where I had heard it. I had to stop myself from letting out a gasp as realization hit me full on. The Sanderson’s were a rich family living on the very outskirts of town, near the woods. They always felt comfortable being secluded from the rest of us in their great manor at the end of the day, quite solitary people. Not even our manor was as far from the town, and we were all the way up near the lake. There was a day, almost two months ago while I was out near the church, where I could see a ghastly black glow coming from their end of town. There were the most terrible screams I’d ever heard echoing through my head, but when I looked around at the townsfolk, they acted like nothing was happening. The screams kept going, but no one even bothered to lift their head towards the noise. I asked a passerby if we should help the Sanderson’s, but he gave me a puzzled look and kept walking. It was awful, how it had rang through my skull, and now I realized that no one reacted because I was the only one that heard. Later that night, Kendell had come to visit, and he seemed casual enough, but I could recall the slightly tense air he held. I had even confided my experience with him, and he simply shrugged it off, saying that he heard nothing, saw nothing. The entire day had flashed before my eyes before I stiffly nodded.

“By the time it took you to respond, I assume you had experienced something.”

“…The screaming…”

Correl chuckled, “Yes, the screaming. It was troubling, yet so amusing to see them screaming their lungs out, hoping someone would hear. No one did, because of the enchantments that were bestowed. No one except you and your angel, of course. How simple it was, to take the minds of all the townsfolk, wipe them clean of the Sanderson’s, and replace them with Master. Or, as you had all known him, Lord Jacob Wraith,” she chuckled again, clearly amused with the human disguise Wraith had taken.

My voice was barely louder than a whisper, “…You even manipulated my father…?”

“But of course. Although, that angel’s tricks were difficult to overcome, but not impossible because your ‘father’ is, after all, a human.”

Bile made its way up my throat, the bitter taste making my face contort. Correl noticed and her face turned sympathetic for a moment before she continued, “I am sorry, child, but we cannot disobey Master. Afterwards, when the Sanderson’s were wiped away from everyone’s minds and Master had replaced them, he took the manor. And that was the end of that.”

I gazed at her, my mouth pressed in a tight line. Nothing was worse than hearing confirmation of a terrible event like that, hearing that it was true that my father was manipulated, even if I already knew. “Why can’t Wraith just kill me and be done with it…? It was driving me mad, his indecision and stalling.”

A withering look was cast on me as Correl responded, “You know very well why he cannot destroy you. You remind him too much of his life as an archangel, a time he has been desperately clinging to.”

“But he’s no longer an angel! Why does he insist on clinging to his past when he chose to make the mistake of leaving Heaven?!” I bristled and stood up, knocking over my chair. “This was something he had done to himself! I’d rather be dead than be kept here as some kind of comfort, a rag doll to remind an idiot of the life he abandoned!”

The other boggarts stared at me with thunderstruck expressions. I immediately regretted getting up and knocking the chair over as my legs were still weak. Gripping the counter for support, I continued my thoughts, my voice rising, “Out of all the things that had to occur in my life, of course I had to have a complete wreck as a foe. One that could not, would not kill the one person he was supposed to kill, the one person that was the cause of his torture. He even stopped me from killing myself, stubborn idiot that he is! He told me he could not feel love nor happiness, and I pitied him. I pitied him! I wanted to help, but now look where I am. Perhaps I’m the idiot, too, thinking that something like him could actually be helped or saved. I’m here because of his deranged misery, that’s all.”

My eyes bore into Correl’s, who returned my gaze with utmost horror. I saw a black shape float to me from the corner of my eye, and something came in contact with my face. Stinging pain blazed through my cheek, and I looked up to see Taiph, his black tentacle still outstretched from the slap. His shapeless form seemed to quiver as he slowly shrank away, chattering to himself. Neux whispered,

“Hello, Master…”

I snapped my eyes up to the door, where Wraith stood. Marb stood beside him with a disapproving glare on his face. The expression on Wraith’s face made my heart shatter. There was so much pain, from so many emotions, hurt, sadness, anger, all swirling in his eyes while the rest of his face remained calm. And it only lasted for a moment after I looked at him. Wraith managed a perfectly cold face, the life draining from his eyes, and he growled,

“What did I say? This one was to be given the sedative right away.”

Dimo choked out, “W-we did not know that she had not eaten one, Master… She never said anything about not eating this morning.”

“No excuse. I know that you let her use her weak light. Did you think you could hide it from me? Taiph. You useless thing. Follow Marb to the Sun Chambers. He’ll determine how long you spend in there for your foolish choice.”

Taiph began to shake violently and slowly left the room with Marb. The other boggarts began to quiver, reduced to their original black forms. Wraith shot an evil look to each one of them, sneering,

“You’re all very fortunate that I’m not sending you with him. Annabelle,” the way he spat my name out made me flinch, “You’re going back to the room. And you’re going to stay there until I say you may leave. Take her there, Dimo, unless you wish to join Taiph.”

A tentative tentacle wrapped around my arm and began to pull me forward. I didn’t move until a dark shadow passed Wraith’s face, and he stormed away. Dimo pulled harder on my arm and lead me out the door. Wraith was nowhere to be found. My mind was numb and didn’t pay attention to where I was going, until Dimo stopped in front of a large door. He pushed it open and gently pushed me inside, dragged me to the collar and snapped it around my neck, then turned and floated towards the door, giving me a lingering look before closing the door and leaving me all alone again. A sharp pain bloomed in my stomach. I had caused Taiph to be punished because of my selfish decisions.

But, then again, could it really be considered selfish, if I was here as a kidnap victim and those creatures were enslaved to my captor? Regardless of how kind they had been to me, why should I feel bad for the creatures that helped destroy an innocent family and tamper with the town’s and my father’s memories? Even if they didn’t want to do such a thing, they still did it. The home of a demon was not a place to let trust grow. Straightening my back, I proceeded to stride past the bed, and to the hoard of skulls that glowered at me. This was not a time for any sort of emotion, and I made that as clear as possible by sneering at the skulls, before finally walking to the bed and collapsing upon it. Darkness swallowed me, the black roof of the room

Every effort I could ever produce was in vain. I could not help a demon. I could not help Kendell. I could not help myself. I could merely sit in a dungeon, and wait for nothing. Nothing! The faster my wings came, the faster I could be out of this place. Although, knowing Wraith as well as I do, he would probably rip them from my body… All is lost, I fear. There’s not a thing I can do to prevent anyone getting injured. My mind drifted back to the war Kendell spoke of. The battle between God and Lucifer… How many would suffer during that time? How would I be able to make any difference, if I could not even save myself from a broken creature like Wraith? What use was I? And Kendell dared to insist that I was important? Fool. In frustration, I ripped a pillow from under my head and threw it across the room. The skulls in the corner stared at me with such an intense gaze that I felt like a criminal. I felt guilty, like I had done something horrible and this was my punishment. But what had I done, besides being born into a twisted fate like this? Was it truly my fault? How?

My mind drifted back to Wraith’s eyes. How they swirled with a certain type of pain that I had never experienced. One that I could not describe. How coincidental, that he walked in on me as I had been screaming bloody murder. But what did he hope was going to happen? Did he believe that I was to be glad about being abducted? Or that I might feel something for him? When I said that I would show him love, did he think that I’d actually love him?

Time slowly trickled by, as thought after thought crowded my mind. Countless escape strategies and past mistakes all gathered into one, stabbing at me. I let a groan rumble from the back of my throat and rolled on to my side, only to see Marb staring at me. I flinched, meeting his hard gaze. Wordlessly, his hand reached up to his face, long nails inserting themselves into his eye sockets. I cringed. His nails made a sickening sound, as if he was peeling the hide from a dead animal. Marb pulled slowly, the eyeball sliding out from its socket and between his two fingers. I was shocked, there was only a black pit where the eye had been, no blood, nothing attaching it to his skull, just an eye and its socket. He held it so the pupil faced the ceiling, and a strange black beam shot out the top. The beam expanded, and in that beam was an image. Some sort of black shape sat at a desk, head down, and it looked to be melting, thick black liquid dripping from it and onto the floor. The room appeared to be a sort of study, books lining the walls and a fireplace empty of wood. Darkness, a thick, brooding darkness covered the room.

“Master…?” Annabelle heard Marb’s voice ring through the beam, and frowned, wondering why Wraith looked like a black mess, and realizing that this was what Marb had seen through his own eyes. She was deeply fascinated and found herself leaning closer to the beam, as if she was watching a suspenseful moment in a play.

“Get out…”

“But Master, why are you in such a state-“

“Get out!” The roar startled Annabelle, who watched as Wraith picked up his head and stared with large red orbs down at her. He seemed to grow a little bit smaller, but realized that Marb had only taken a step back.

“Master…”

“Why, Marb? Why? Is it fate, that my life fell apart because of that b*****d? That disgusting boy, putting thoughts into my head… Convincing me to do something so horrible…” A sob broke through his lips and his face crumpled even more. “Please, kill me, Marb!”

“No, I could never… There are so many things you need to do-”

“MARB!” The wail Wraith let out was enough to tear me up. “Look at me!” Marb seemed to turn his head to the side after a moment, the image gazing at the doorframe. Again, Wraith’s voice wailed, “LOOK AT ME!” His gaze returned to Wraith, who was reaching out a shaky hand, dripping black liquid.

“Master, I cannot kill you…”

“You are my servant, you will do what I tell you to! Kill me, please! End this! I am to die anyway, I know it!” A sharp feeling ran up my chest as I listened, “I am such a horrible thing… I am the bane of her existence… I am hopeless… It’s all because of that damn boy that I trusted… Because I let him take advantage of my weakness… I cannot continue this way…”

Just then, Marb’s gaze quickly tore away from him and turned to the hallway behind him, and he was swiftly walking away and down the hall. Wraith’s voice could still be heard from behind him, wailing for him to come back and end his life. Then the vision ended, and Marb slipped his eye back into his head. The look on his face was one full of stifled anger and pity.

“Do you see what he has to go through now?”

I clutched my hand to my chest, still trying to comprehend what I just saw. My voice was dry as I whispered, “W-was that because of…”

“Because of what you said? Yes. I’m not sure if you realize this, you idiot girl, but he hasn’t killed you for a reason. You remind him too much of the love he lost, the love he left behind where your God resides.”

“But is that my fault?!” The words began to rip from my mouth again, “Is it my fault that I was born to this fate?! That I have to fight him, and remind him so much of the woman he once loved?! What do you expect me to do, act as that woman?”

“At least play along!” The growl from Marb’s throat surprised me. For the first time, I could see genuine concern in his eyes. “Know that he will succumb to the pain, he will kill very many before the war even starts, if you do not at least try to comfort him. Wasn’t there a time, girl, where you said you could show him love? Help him? Where has that gone? Are you one to go against your words?”

My mouth fell open. How did he know about what I had said before? And even if I said I was going to, that was just a foolish mistake. There was no way I could help him, not after the things he did. There was no way… No way…

“There is a way, you fool!” Marb barked. “Just hold your tongue. You think Master is so evil? That he his your sworn enemy? Then think. What did your Messiah say? What did he tell everyone? What was said by others before him? What is in that accursed book you all hold so dear to you?”

What did my Messiah say…? Book…? I blinked, realizing he meant the Bible. Christ. What had he said…? The memory of a specific passage flooded my mind, “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person… Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…” How could I ever not go against an evil like Wraith? A strange feeling pitted in my stomach, as more pieces of scripture floated into my mind. The Romans… “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The Thessalonians… “See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.” I had read the Bible many times… I knew all of these verses… But surely they could not be talking about helping a demon. It was inconceivable to assume that any of that could apply to anyone else than humans. Then again, what was I? Was I human? No. I was, apparently, an angel. Does that not mean I should hold up the word of the Bible more than a human? Now I realized how confused I was with everything. How angry I was with everyone.

“You know what has been said. It does not matter what the book refers to, but as a blasted angel, you should be the one to uphold those words, not wallow in grudges like any other pathetic human. Can you not at least humor my master, who knows he’s going to die because of you? You may even understand one day, why things had to happen the way they did.” Marb gave me one last sad look before stalking out of the room, leaving me there with my thoughts. Could I really even humor Wraith? If what Marb had told me was true, then he was going to die regardless of what happened… Even if the demons won the war… Because he refuses to kill me… Why could he not just move on? Why could he not accept that things were no longer what they used to be? I laid back on the bed, staring at nothing. The Bible verses ran through my head again and again. They shouldn’t apply to my situation, but that would be picking and choosing when to obey them wouldn’t it? I shouldn’t be one to pick and choose when I want to believe in the words of my faith. But for God’s sake, Wraith is a demon!

And I am, apparently, an angel…

Apparently…

Neither of us were human, should that make me any less expected to stay true to those verses? A pure human must obey them and act civil towards tainted humans, so why should an angel not do the same thing with a demon? It was only fair, right…? One equal power for another? With a heavy heart, I eventually decided that I would comply. Maybe it was even for the best. Deep inside me, I still felt that bitterness for Wraith. Bitterness for him and everything he had done to the few truly innocent people of this town. Bitterness. Hatred. Anger. I detested him, and all he could ever be. But that would do nothing, only blind me. I took a few deep breaths and repeated to myself that I had to brush all feelings aside. My eyes slipped shut, and I lay on the bed, doing nothing but breathing deeply to the point where I must have looked asleep. My mind was silent. No thought managed to survive. Peace took over, and I let my grudges dissolve. Now was not the time to grudge, no matter how much the object of my grudges needed to be punished. Now was only the time to endure the situation I was in long enough to survive in time for Kendell to get here.

I laid there for what seemed like an eternity, thoughts slowly starting to return to my mind. What if my wings came forth before Kendell arrived? What was to be done once they came? How would I hide them? The peace faded away and was replaced by uneasiness. Would it be painful? It must be, for two wings to physically sprout from one’s back… My eyebrows knitted together as my thoughts sadistically picked at my every worry and distress. I felt my hands fly up to my face and rub my eyes, as I moved onto my side and compressed myself into a smaller shape. I shifted positions restlessly, hoping for the torturous thoughts to leave. They refused to leave no matter how much I fought them. Eventually I could fight no longer, and let them take their course. They soon began to fade into darkness. I relaxed once more, realizing with a yawn how tired I was. I also realized that my chest was completely hollow, not a single trace of any emotion found within. It felt strange, as if there was a gaping hole where my heart should rest. I decided that it was for the best.

Author's Note

And another :P