Rise of the Fallen 1 - My Soul to Keep (10 page)

“Yup, he’s perfect. Now do what I tell you. Focus in on his thoughts
again, but whisper the words to the ritual, the ritual with the candle. Don’t leave
anything out, whisper it exactly as you remember it. The words burned themselves
into your soul.”

I started whispering under my breath. The mall fell silent and the
words beat with the thrum of their own power. I could feel them travelling across
the mall and settling on his skin like Mr. James’ strange words had on mine earlier.

“Now picture the candle being black and lit while you say the words.
Add that to your spell," Clarisse hissed across the table.

The whole thing felt very, very wrong, but I found myself doing exactly
as she said. I even pictured one of the few places in town where he could buy a
black candle. “Now with the last line of the ritual, promise him he can be a vampire.”

I finished the last line and promised him he could be a vampire and
with a final thrum of power. All the sound and movement around us continued.

“Whoa,” I said exhausted.

“Good job, worm.”

“What now?”

“We wait for the call.”

“What call?”

“You’ll know it when you hear it. Trust me.”

Chapter 10

“I hope you brought your walking shoes.”

“What?” I looked down at Jessie walking next to me on our way out of
American History.

“Don’t tell me you forgot? Here I thought for the past few days, I
won’t need to remind Connor about our date…”

“Date…How could I forget about that?” I smiled, remembering I had the
honor of walking Jessie home. She lived on the outskirts of town, but in Cedar Hills
that wasn’t saying a whole lot. I just prayed to whoever would listen her dad wouldn’t
be home when we got there. I doubted it, but it would be nice. I'd be surprised
if he wasn’t sitting in his Escalade with binoculars the whole walk back to her
house.

“Good boy, you get a cookie.” She giggled at her own joke.

We left the noisy hallways of the school and walked down the front
concrete steps without any mishaps. The stone stairs always worry me. If I let Jessie
fall, I would kill myself. The wind had picked up even more over the last few days
and I tried not to grin like an idiot when Jessie walked a little closer than usual
to stay warm.

“What are you doing this weekend?”

“Stephanie is coming over tomorrow night and sleeping over, but I’m
not doing anything Sunday…”

“That’s cool. I planned on immersing myself in some serious laziness
this weekend. At least after the bajillion things I have to do around the house
to earn my paltry allowance.”

“So, do you want some company on Sunday?”

“Who?” I realized she meant her as soon as my question left my mouth.
I also realized she was asking me if I wanted to spend time with her when she said
she wasn't doing anything on Sunday. I hadn't heard the invitation in her voice.
I really could be an idiot sometimes.

“Well I figured I could ask my dad if he wanted to hang out with you,”
she said and tried to slap me in the back of the head. She missed horribly. “Me,
Connor. Do you want to do something Sunday with
me
?” She spelled the last
word slowly so I could understand her.

“Another date?”

“Maybe. Let’s see how this one goes first,” she said but even I could
hear the teasing in her voice.

“I’d like that.” I smiled, meaning it completely.

We walked and didn’t talk for the first few blocks or so. When we got
to the third corner, a pink Bug slowly passed by. I saw a pair of glowing red eyes
in the window, but couldn’t make out Clarisse’s face through the tinted glass.
Her
windows weren’t tinted when she drove me to school this morning. Crap, I forgot
to tell her I didn’t need a ride home today. I’ll hear about that later.

I ignored the Bug and the hand sporting a middle finger as it rounded
the corner and sped away.

“Friend of yours?”

“Who?”

“The person in the car that just passed, they slowed down and then
sped off.”

“That was Claire. She gives me a ride to and from school. I think she’s
mad I forgot to tell her I didn’t need a ride home today.”

“Claire? As in Claire Awl, the senior girl everyone seems to be afraid
of?”

“Yes, that would be the Claire I know.”

“I haven’t met her, but I’ve heard from the other girls in the school
to try to avoid it. How come she gives you a ride?”

“We’re friends of sorts, I guess. She teases me, I tease back. Under
that crusty exterior, she’s actually an okay human being.”

“You’re not…” I could hear the question in her voice and my laughter
put her at ease.

“Not even remotely. Ha! I wish.” As soon as I said it I could detect
a definite foot flavor lingering in my mouth. Jessie stiffened and stopped walking.
“Jessie, I…”

“You wish?” I could hear the trombone going
waa waa waa waaaaaa
in the background. I really needed to clean my brain to mouth filter.

“Not with Claire!” I pleaded and saw her eyebrows meet just over the
tiny rim of her sunglasses.

“What do you mean?”

“I just meant I wish she would stop being so mean to me all the time,”
I said and watched her become more confused, but relax a little at the same time.

“Why do you hang around with her? If she treats you like crap, I don’t
get it.”

I sighed and thought very carefully of what I could and couldn’t say.
I couldn’t tell her the truth.
Well gee, Jessie, see I’m sort of a soul stealing
demon…yeah, probably not a good idea, Connor.
“Her mom and my mom are best friends,”
came pouring out of my mouth for some unknown reason.

“Ah, gotcha. I had the same situation with my older step-sister.”

“You did?” I tried not to jump up and down because I'd pulled it off.

“Yeah, my dad divorcing her mom and us moving away was a big sigh of
relief. I had to live with her, ride to school with her, spend time with her, and
I hated her. She hated me, too, probably worse. Don’t worry, Connor. I get it.”

I smiled and reached out and touched her hand. She smiled and let me
take it and we resumed walking. We finally reached the last of the houses and continued
down a roughly paved street. Trees lined both sides of the road and streetlights
flickered to life as we walked.

“Have we passed all the houses yet?”

“Yeah,” I said and nodded needlessly.

“My house is the next one on the right, or at least that’s what my
dad tells me.”

“The old Wilkins' Mansion?” Realization dawned on me. Everyone in town
talked about the spooky old Wilkins' Mansion. I knew somebody had just moved in.
Word spread through town like wildfire. Jessie had told me she moved into their
old family home. I'd just never put the two together.

“Yeah, why?”

“The old couple that used to live there, they were supposed to have
been murdered. That was years ago.”

“Yes, they were. Ten years before I was born. At least it didn’t happen
inside the house. I don’t think I could handle that.”

"I don't think I could either. How did they die?”

“Nobody knows. My mom was away at college and the mailman found her
parents on the front lawn with stab wounds in their chests.”

“I’m sorry,” I started but Jessie shook her head.

“Did you stab them? No, so don’t be sorry. It’s okay anyway, I never
met them. I felt horrible for my mom, but it’s more like history. Know what I mean?”

"Kind of like your blindness thing?"

"Exactly," she said and nodded. Maybe I wasn't all that dumb.
Sometimes.

"Where's your mom?" I knew about her step-mother, but this
was the first time she'd brought her actual mother up.

"She died, right before I lost my sight. She was a doctor and
flipped her car one night after work."

I could hear the sadness in her voice and I caught myself starting
to apologize. Instead I tightened my grip on her hand just a little bit more.

"You learn quickly," she said and smiled.

“Yes, I do.” I steered us onto the winding, lamp lit driveway leading
up to the palatial home. The driveway was made entirely out of paver stones. Somebody
must have paid a fortune on maintenance because not one weed grew in between them.
Before we even made it to the stairs, the front door opened and Mr. James stepped
out onto the raised porch and waited for us. “I don’t think your dad likes me very
much.”

“Don’t feel honored. My dad doesn’t like anybody very much. Let me
guess, he’s standing on the front porch waiting for us?”

“Uh huh.”

“Figures, I was going to give you a kiss for walking me home,” she
said and sighed. “I guess it will have to wait until Sunday. Call me this weekend
and give me your address.”

“I don’t have your phone number…”

I nearly fainted when she leaned in close and whispered it into my
ear. When she finished, she kissed me in the same spot. “Think you can remember
that?”

“I don’t think I could forget that if I tried.”

“Then my plan worked,” she said and giggled. “Thanks for walking me
home. I had a great time.”

I shifted my focus on the house. The porch extended the entire width
of the palatial home. Mr. James decorated for fall, but not for Halloween, which
was only a week away. The school was having a dance, but I hadn’t planned on going.
With the kiss Jessie had just given me I might be changing my mind.

“Hello, Mr. James.”

“Conrad. Thank you for walking Jessica home.”

“It’s Connor, Daddy. You know that.”

“Sorry, Connor. Dinners ready, Jess. Go get cleaned up.

“It was my pleasure, sir. I’ll see you Sunday, Jessica,” I said and
turned to leave.

“It’s getting dark. Do you need a ride home?” I stopped and looked
at Mr. James. I didn’t want to see through his illusion, so I let my eyes relax
as I looked him in the eye. He looked like he wanted to turn
me
into a Halloween
decoration.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll be fine,” I said before making my way down the
circular driveway. Before I hit the street, I shot one last glance at Jessie’s house.
I expected everyone to be inside, but Mr. James still stood on the porch watching
me leave. The man made morticians seem warm and fuzzy. I fought the urge to run
around the corner to get out of his sight.

Chapter 11

I set the cordless phone down on my nightstand for the sixteenth time.
I'd actually dialed six of Jessie’s seven numbers at least nine of my sixteen attempts.
I don’t know what I was afraid of. I know she wanted to talk to me, but I just couldn’t
do it. I wasn’t just stupid, I was a stupid chicken.

I flicked off the light and rolled over in my bed. Closing my eyes
seemed pointless. I didn’t feel like sleeping, but I didn’t feel like playing video
games either. I sighed and finally closed them.

It
hit me right then, in the stomach.

Brett, the boy from the mall, sat behind the garage of his parent’s
house, not too far from my own. He'd just lit the black candle with gold flecks
in it and unfurled the paper with the words written in his own blood.

I smiled. I could feel the pull. I knew I had to go. I had planted
the seed in Brett's mind, and only I could grant his wish. I could see the whole
scene unfurling in my mind as I dressed and opened my bedroom window.

He spoke the first line and I stepped through the window onto the roof
of the garage.

He spoke the second line and my wings snapped out behind me.

He spoke the third line and I leapt into the air, letting my wings
unfurl.

He spoke the final line and the universe exploded in colors I'd never
seen before.

I beat downward with my wings and turned toward the source of the call.
I glanced over the dimly lit houses below as they passed by with frightening speed.
Below me, a single headlight illuminated the road, and the rumble of the Harley
Davidson picked up tempo matching my speed and direction. Clarisse must have heard
it, too.

The motorcycle screeched to a halt below me just in front of Brett’s
house. I closed my wings and dropped like a stone to the pavement next to her. I
did the classic “land on one knee with my fist on the pavement” just like every
superhero in every comic book I'd ever read.

“Nice entrance, worm. I told you, you would hear the call. Come on,
we’ve got work to do.”

“Good evening to you too, Clarisse.”

“Shut up. Do you still have your orb?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You don’t need it anymore. I doubt it would even work anymore. Your
own magic is growing too strong for the orb to mask. Take it off. We’ll give it
to the newbie.”