Seraph X Chapter 1

A Chapter by Kristopher

“You’re busy again?” her friend whined, frowning.

“I have the naming ceremony to go to,” Sera reminded his friend. “We’ll hang out tomorrow, Kat.” She tied her black hair with the ribbon she held, and then looked up and down the street.

Kat glared at her. “You always have something to do.”

“It’s not my fault!” they started across the street and Sera continued, “I didn’t ask to be the heiress to Mother’s little empire, nor did I ask to be the oldest of six children!”

“Seven children,” Kat corrected, running her fingers through her brown hair.

“Whatever,” Sera muttered. A rush of cold air stung her face. “Did you feel that?”

“Of course I did; it’s winter,” she twirled a strand of hair around a finger. “Unless you think it’s some sort of spook,” Kat added slyly.

“Shut up.”

“Not my fault you’re scared of the dark.”

“No I’m not, I’m just superstitious.”

“Right; black cats, breaking mirrors, and all that.” A catlike shape darted across their path, running silently into a dark alley ahead. “Ooh, look! Follow the kitty!” Kat laughed.

“I’m going to slap you.”

“Really? Well, wait until tomorrow, I gotta go.” Kat ran across the street and vanished from sight. Sera swore under her breath, and then, shivering from the unnatural cold, headed into the dark alley.

The brick walls were marked with graffiti, gang insignia, and crude drawings. The cement was damp, with urine or blood, Sera couldn’t tell. She avoided the damp spots as best she could, maneuvering over or around them, when a familiar feline shape detached itself from the wall.

A pair of blazing yellow eyes gazed out at her from the darkness. Sera gasped and took a step backward, nearly slipping in a puddle of urine. The shape moved toward her and she saw that the pair of eyes belonged to a cat. The only problem, the cat was black.

“Shoo!” she said, making a flicking motion with her wrist. “Get away!” The cat hissed and lunged at her. Sera scrambled frantically to move out of the way. She fell into the wall and the cat landed nimbly on all fours. It turned around and padded back the way it had come. Damn cat, she thought, moving away from the wall. Stupid thing probably has rabies.

Sera glanced down the alley, took a shaky breath, and then continued down the empty lane. Unlike the busy, lively street she just left, this one was silent and eerie, like a cemetery. She didn’t expect mist to appear, or be attacked by zombies or something bizarre like that, but still.
Sera took out her iPod and turned up the volume as high as it would go. Satisfied, she made her way home.

The house’s porch light was on when she got there. The front door was ajar. Sera slowly proceeded into the house. The blue glow of the television was flashing from the living room. Her father was reclined in the room’s only chair, head on one shoulder. One hand held the remote loosely; the other clutched a half empty beer bottle. Everything seemed quiet.

She headed up the stairs. The wooden floorboards creaked underfoot. Sera stopped when she heard a loud crash from somewhere above. Robbers? She wondered idly. That explains the front door being open.

The noise got louder as she headed to her room. Voices, raised ones, were issuing from her bedroom.

“Lazarus, let’s go.”

“Oh, don’t be such a spoiled sport, cap’n,” the second voice was cheery and devilish. She could tell the voices belonged to boys, probably college guys. She barged into the room.

“Laz, it’s a human!”

“She can’t see us; we’ll be fine.”

The pair of boys both looked to be at least nineteen and they were dressed in cloaks. Sera groaned. She hoped her dad wouldn’t wake from his drunken slumber to find a pair of college guys in her bedroom.

The first boy had a grim expression on his face. His hair was silver and fell down to his shoulders. His indigo eyes stared directly into her purple ones.

The second was grinning like an idiot, turquoise eyes bright. He ran a slender hand through his thick curls of lavender hair. “See? The human girl doesn’t suspect a thing.”

Sera crossed her arms. “Who are you guys? And stop talking about me like I’m not in front of you.”

“Lazarus, she can see us.” This came from the silver-haired one.

“No problem,” Lazarus grinned and stepped forward. When he moved, his cloak rustled, revealing a metallic glint flashing by his hip.

“W-what is that?” Sera stepped back and froze. The silver-haired boy grabbed Lazarus’s shoulder.

“She’s a human, Lazarus, we can’t harm her.”

Sera still hadn’t moved. Her eyes moved from the silver-haired guy to the one named Lazarus, and lastly to Lazarus’s sword.

“You don’t happen to know the reverse memories spell, do you, Laz?” the silver-haired guy posed, tilting his head at Sera.

“Sure, cap’n,” Lazarus said. His hand shot out and he rested his fingertips on Sera’s head. A strange sensation overcame her and she toppled. The last thing she saw was two pairs of boots heading for the window.

A toe nudged her spine. She didn’t move. This time, an entire foot flipped her onto her back.

“Sera, wake up!” her father grunted. She opened her eyes slowly and winced when a sharp pain exploded through her skull. “What, couldn’t you make it to the bed?” her father’s breath smelled like alcohol and she had to keep from gagging at the putrid smell.

“Sorry, dad,” she muttered, hoisting herself into an upright position. Beams of sunlight cast shadows on the walls and floor. Sera realized that the window was open. Did I open that last night? She wondered standing and brushing the dirt and grime from her clothes. She had a splitting headache, and her father’s slurred, drunken speech was only making the pain worse.

“I’m going out for a beer.” He left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sera leaned against the door, trying to remember what had happened last night. She and Kat had been walking home; she got attacked by a cat, and came home to find her father asleep and the front door slightly open. A noise had spooked her and then she had headed upstairs. And that was it. The only strange thing was that she had fallen asleep on the floor.

I was probably just tired, she thought. Another thought hit her. The naming ceremony! She had forgotten all about it! She grabbed her messenger bad and rummaged through it. When she found her phone she flicked it open.

3 text messages from Kat, and one missed call from her mom, who she promptly decided to call Ashleigh after the witch had abandoned them. She checked Kat’s texts, but didn’t bother to reply to Ashleigh’s voicemail.

The front door slamming abruptly caught her attention. Her instincts kicked in automatically. She lunged for the pair of scissors on her dresser. If she was about to be robbed (it was common in her neighborhood) at least she had a weapon to protect herself with.

“Lazarus, we shouldn’t have returned. It’s bad enough we defied the Seraph Council the first time.”

Sera stopped a few paces short of opening her bedroom door. What was this guy talking about? What was a Seraph Council? And Lazarus; who named their child such an old-fashioned name? She didn’t have time to ponder over it because footsteps started marching up the stairs.

Memories from last night came back to her in a rush. Lazarus! The name of the lavender-haired college student that had been in her room last night! He was back! They both were.

She backed into the far wall, remembering the gleaming steel attached to Lazarus’s hip, and the icy touch of his hands on her skin. She remembered his nameless silver-haired companion and wondered what their reasons were for coming back here. Were they going to kill her this time?

The door opened slowly and there stood Lazarus, surveying the room casually. Sera noticed that the boy was unarmed this time, but what about his friend? The silver-haired boy brushed past Lazarus and smirked at Sera.

“What do you want?” Sera pointed at them with the scissors.

“Hmm, you were right, Zane,” Lazarus murmured. “She can see us.”

Sera repeated the question, but Zane cut her off. “You’re a special case. Lazarus?” Lazarus crossed the room in two long strides, cloak swishing, and blew a handful of dust into her face.

“What the—” she fell to the floor in a heap.