The Devil's Lover: The Wish (6 page)

“
I’m well,” he
replied.  He noticed her little fingers were covered in a thin
layer of bandages when she had reached for his forehead. “I still
don’t know why you would intentionally cause harm to yourself for
my sake.” 

Why would he ask that? Anyone in that
situation would have done the same.

“
Well, I don’t understand
why you jumped in from the shelves for me. If you waited a few
seconds more, you could’ve avoided this whole thing
completely.” 

And you would have been dead.
Again. 

“
I owe you my life,” she
admitted when she thought back to the library. “I really thought
you were going to die. I really don’t know how to repay
you.” 

He reached out to her face. “You cried
genuinely for my sake,” his voice was soft and alluring. “I am
substantially rewarded.”

“
There has to be
something,” she insisted.

“
Maybe there is something
I want from you,” he drew her closer to him. “I want a promise from
you.” 

"A promise?” she asked. "What kind of
promise?"

"You must promise…” he placed a gentle
kiss on her lips, "to never regret meeting me.”

"Why do you think I would regret
meeting you?" Kali asked. It was a strange request even for him.
When she realized he had just kissed her, her coral cheeks turned
beet red. "If not for you, I would have been dead,” she stuttered
through the sentence.

“
Do not offer me hallow
promises, especially when you do not know what the consequences
will be,” he warned. “I won’t excuse, not even for a moment, if you
should break your words.” 

“
Fine, if it makes you
happy,” she said, nodding her agreement. After all, he had just
saved her life. She would agree to even more outrageous
request. 

“
You have my
promise.”

†††††

He had been waiting for her. The
dinner on the table was already cold.  Seeing her walking
toward the apartment complex from the window, he turned to face the
door.  Kali came in, took off her shoes, and then put on her
slippers.

“
You’re home so late,”
Chevalier said.  He stood up to grab a plate from the table
and placed in the microwave.

“
There was an accident at
school today,” she informed him. “The bookshelves at the library
suddenly collapsed.  If a friend hadn’t saved to me, I
probably wouldn’t have made it home at all.”  

“
Are you hurt
anywhere?” his eyes scanned her body thoroughly. He walked
over to take her bandaged hands in his. “Does this
hurt?” 

“
No, but I can see the
same for my friend,” Kali sighed. “He’s been hospitalized. I just
came back from there.” 

“
And you didn’t call me?”
he huffed. His brows knitted together in anger. 

“
You were at
work.”

“
It doesn’t matter where I
am,” he examined her fingers thoroughly. “You need to call me for
stuffs like this. What did the doctor say?”

“
Nothing major, it will
heal in a week.”

"I would go to the hospital and thank
your friend personally, but I have to work all day tomorrow. I’ll
wake up extra early to make your friend some chicken soup,
though.”

"That would be nice. I don't have an
appetite today. Put my plate in the refrigerator,” she headed
toward her room. "I'm skipping school tomorrow to take care of
him.”

“
Kali?” she turned back to
hear what he had to say. “A friend like that is hard to come
by.”

A smile appeared on her face. “I
know.”

†††††

Lucien could already stand up by
himself and was dressed neatly in his school uniform. Kali wondered
if the nurse had helped him before she arrived. She hurried to his
side to provide support, although he didn’t seem to need
any.

"You shouldn't be getting up yet. You
don’t need to go to school today,” she guided him to sit down on
the bed and poured him a glass of water. "I don't know who you
think you are, but after an incident like that, you should stay in
bed.”

"I’m fine.”

He didn't seem to be lying. "I guess I
should be glad you recovered so quickly.”

"This place is permeated by the stench
of death," he said, standing up again. "Come, I’ll walk you to
school.”

"Are you sure?” she no longer felt the
need to ask. His attitude was changing again, more formal and more
unpredictable. He had somehow reverted back to the man she first
met. She wondered if he had put up a charade just to impress her,
or if he had a split personality she didn’t know about. One minute
he was strong and confident, the next he was modest and vulnerable,
and then back again.

The weather was warm and sunny today.
Although it was high in humidity, Kali preferred it to rain. She
had thought she would need to provide him support just to walk, but
he seemed to be fine on his own.  She stole a glance at him
now and then to read his expression.  He and looked like he
was in pain.  Those bookshelves and textbooks must have
weighed a ton. 

“
You seem to be worrying,”
he finally said when he noticed she was looking at him.

“
A little,” she
admitted.  “Say, Lucien, you don’t happen to have a split
personality, do you?” 

His return stare made her felt silly.
“I suppose you could call it that.”

“
I see,” she said, giving
him an awkward smile. So he does have a split personality. 
That would explain a lot.

They walked silently for several
minutes. Suddenly she stopped, seeing a group of men ahead. Several
of them looked familiar. Their faces were the ones from her dreams,
but how could that be possible? Could she have seen them before and
incorporated their faces into the characters she had dreamed about?
That seemed plausible, but why did she still have this uncanny
feeling that it hadn’t been a dream at all?

“
What’s wrong?”  he
asked when she suddenly paused. 

“
Those men,” she murmured,
and hastily stepped to hide behind him.  Her heartbeat was
racing. “They’re the same men from my dreams.”

Lucifer threw them a quick glance. “So
they are.” 

“
I think we should go
another way,” she grabbed his hand and nudged him away. 
Suddenly her wrist was snatched from behind. 

“
You…” the man’s
expression was furious.  His face was reddening even further
under its sunburn. “You’re that witch!” 

His hand flew up to slap her. She
winced. 

When she didn’t felt any pain, she
opened her eyes. Lucien had caught the man by the
wrist. 

“
Run,” he said to her over
his shoulder. “I’ll see you at school.”

She shook her head,
horrified. 

“
What about you?  You
just got out of the hospital!”

“
I said, run!” his
tone brooked no argument. The other man took the opportunity to
punch him in the stomach, and then pushed Lucien to the
ground. 

“
Lucien!” she flung
herself at the man, fists flailing. He pushed her aside. Several
men from the distance began to gather closer. 

"Get out of here, now!" this was not a
request. The brute was stomping on his body, over and over. When he
changed his target to come after Kali, Lucifer shoved against the
ground to grab onto his leg. Kali fell back two steps, not knowing
what to do in the face of the men who were charging her. There was
nothing to do but run and get help. 

"Let go, you freak!" the man was about
to give Lucifer another stomp. This time, his body froze. Watching
Kali vanishing around the corner, Lucifer calmly got up and brushed
the dirt from his school uniform. The man and his comrades were
frozen, confused and frightened at their inability to
move.

"I knew I had forgotten something,"
Lucifer said.

"It wasn't the girl, it was you!" one
of the men realized. "W-what are you?”

Kali was pleading with everyone as
they walked by, but they seem to be ignoring her
intentionally.  In fact, their cold stares seem to pass right
over her. Brushing her aside, they continued with their normal
days. Her cries for help were evidently falling onto deaf ears. She
could feel herself beginning to get hysterical. If she couldn’t
find someone to help him soon, he could be dead. Oh God, she
shouldn’t have left him behind! The people around here wouldn’t
even blink if someone fell over and died in front of them. 
Turning, Kali dashed back to the street where she had left
Lucien. 

It was completely silent. There was no
one here. 

She began racing through the alleys,
looking for him. She couldn’t find anything except trash cans and
stray cats. Even the other bad men had disappeared. Maybe they’d
kidnapped him! She felt like crying. What would she do if she
opened the paper tomorrow and see a picture of his corpse? 
She shouldn’t have left him behind…he had just gotten out of the
hospital!  She should have just run at them with whatever
weapon she could find and hope that it would scare them away. The
worse that could’ve happened is that they would have died
together.  She couldn’t live with the guilt! 

Then she heard his voice calling her
name. She turned to find him standing a few yards away. Although
there were footprints on his uniform, he seemed to be completely
unharmed. Words failed her as relief flooded her body. She started
crying again. 

Chapter 6: Chained
Hearts

The two couples were sitting opposite
each other. The beautifully-attired hostess had placed them at a
table overlooking the city.  They were all finding it
difficult to admire the detailed tableware, the pleasant scent of
freshly prepared cuisine, or the inspiring scenery.  It was
just too obviously awkward.  Whether the feeling was real or
imaginary, Kali wished that she hadn’t agreed to Hana’s
request.  It had seemed like a bad idea from the
beginning. 

“
Is that all?” the
waitress asked, a hint of flirtation directed at
Chevalier.

“
That’s all,” Chevalier
replied. Hana was proud that her boyfriend’s good looks attracted
those kinds of reactions from women.

“
So Lucien,” Hana said,
her voice ever-so-playful. “How does it feel to be the hero
rescuing the damsel from distress?"

“
I wouldn’t call myself a
hero,” he replied.

“
You’re too modest,” she
complimented him. "I think it's naughty that you kept us in the
dark for weeks.”

Lucifer glanced at Kali, who was
looking down at her hands. She hadn’t said a word since they
arrived. Lucifer observed the young man sitting on the opposite
side of the table, who was evidently paying close attention to her.
There was something about those beautiful golden eyes that Lucifer
despised. “Kali?” he called to her.

“
Yes?” she looked up to
him, “You said something?”

Lucifer cleared her bangs from her
face. “You seem distracted.”

Lucifer noticed the change in
Chevalier’s eyes in response to the scene before him. He was angry,
wanting to object. If they had been alone, he would have attacked
if provoked any further. 

“
Sorry, I have a tendency
to space out.”

“
You should eat,”
Chevalier finally spoke. “You haven’t been eating much
lately.”

“
Really?” Hana looked into
Kali’s face. “You do look a bit pale.”

“
I’ve been studying,” Kali
said with a smile. "I'm glad finals are over.”

Hana looked to Lucifer. “Come to think
of it, you guys make a great couple. If only Lucien would lose the
glasses and get contact lenses or something.”

Hana stood up and leaned forward to
take off Lucifer’s thick glasses. They revealed a pair of angelic
blue eyes that Hana was obviously not expecting. Her mouth began to
drop in astonishment, and she lost her grip on the glasses. They
fell onto a plate with a crash that drew attention from the whole
restaurant. The room suddenly became dead silent, with the
exception of dishes dropping to the floor.

Lucifer picked up his glasses and put
them back on. "I prefer wearing them. It is more convenience to
me," he said.

“
I…see,” Hana
stuttered.

"I don't see the point of this date.
I'm going home,” Chevalier stood up and grabbed Kali’s hand. "Let's
go home, Kali.”

"Okay," Kali agreed.

"Before you leave," Lucifer placed a
small box into Kali's other hand. "I want you to have
this.”

"What it is?" Kali asked. She
curiously opened the box. Inside was a brand new key.

Chevalier snatched the box, throwing
it aside. Anger warped his face, but he knew it wasn't the time to
act on it. "We're going home," he said firmly.

"This doesn't concern you," Lucifer
said, with utter disregard. Their glares met with such intensity
that Kali feared they would come to blows.

Kali subtly pushed Chevalier back. "I
don't understand," she referred to the key.