+++
"What the fuck are you doing ?"
"Paul", I whisper over my shoulder at him. Cursing was against the rules at DRA.
He'd snuck up behind me in the library. I'd smelled the smoke and men's body spray on him before I saw him. I'm not sure how I looked to Paul. I had an academic copy of the bible in front of me and was typing the Book of Genesis word for word in a blue word programming
"Practicing", I said
"Practicing for what ?"
"Typing. I'm so behind everyone
can type without even looking. So, I'm practicing a text I know well. I have a
paper due before Christmas break next week. Why are these keys so tiny ?"
He picks up the Bible and looks on the back like he's looking for a synopsis.
"Aren't you like. . . older than the Bible thing."
". . . I . . . guess I never thought of it like that", I slammed the book closed and turned the chair to him.
He made a dramatic gesture of looking around the library to make sure no one was watching and then he kissed me. I don't know why I liked it so much when he kissed me but it had become kind of a silly game we played with each other; around school and at St. Lilths. It was silly and meant nothing.
I went out with him one more time in search of while gold. It wasn't that I was okay with the stealing from the shops, but I was keeping tabs. I wrote down the places we went and what he took. I wanted to repay the owners one day, even though Paul said they had insurance for that.
"Hey--act like you don't want anything to do with me.", he said
"I thought that's what I was doing.", I said with a smile.
"No seriously."
I'm not sure what to do so I just shrug my shoulders and back away when he tries to kiss me again.
"What's going on ?", I whisper
"Corey Pendelton is watching us", he said "She host the New Year's Eve party I was telling you about. Isaiah is definitely going to recruit him some daddy-issue jailbait there. Get friendly with her."
Corey was a silly name for a girl but she was pretty with light blonde hair and a perfect smile. Humans had a love for blonde hair, something I wished my sister's appreciated.
"Corey really hates me", He said and he backed away, "Use that."
This was easy. Making friends was what I had to do for the cause. It was easy considering the things the others resisting Helios have to go through. What Seraphina had to do.
I stood up and walked over to her.
"Hi", I said, "Can I sit here."
"Why ?", she asked tucking her phone into a book and pretending to read.
"I told that boy over there I was meeting someone here . . . just to get away from him. He's been. . . bothering me."
"Oh, Paul ? Yeah, I get that.", Corey said, "He's odd."
"I'm only nice to him because I don't know anyone else."
"DRAs a really a nice and accepting school. You'll find your way ."
I nodded. This wasn't working. I thought about the kind of people Paul and Caden were. They were the kind of people Isaiah recruited. They were desperate, lonely and had their fill of vices.
"I could. . .uh. . . use a drink about now."
"What ?"
"I. . . just need something to take the edge off. My life hasn't been easy. I've been sort of abandoned and my sister doesn't have a job and my life has been a mess."
She looked over me and smiled. I'm not sure she believed me but I wasn't technically lying.
"Let me guess you've been hearing rumors about my New Year's party and want to be invited ?", she flipped her hair and for a second I missed my blonde locks.
"I'm not good at this. I've been very sheltered."
"If you wanted to go all you had to do was ask. You seem like you have a lot of potential and you're cute. Let me see your phone."
"Oh, I don't have one"
"Huh ?"
"Umm. . . I mean my older sister took it from me. For. . . reasons. . ."
Slightly annoyed Corey tore a blank page out of her book and wrote some information on it. An address, a date and a location. She then stopped for a moment to doodle a Lux Aeterna symbol on the page. She just did it like an afterthought. Like she was drawing a smiley face.
"What's that ?", I asked wondering what she thought it was.
"Nothing, just a thing. You'll have fun. . . the more that merrier."
+1+
Paris
It's a Mercedes Maybach, the sleek black stretch limo cooly pulls up to the front of St. Lilth's. Two flags are attached to the car and blowing in the wind. They flags are white and green and when I squint I see they have Helio's bastardized version of he Lux Aeterna. Instead of the Alpha and Delta it's emblazoned with the Sigma Gamma Iota. To add insult to injury a silver plated icon of his Lux Aeterna acts a the hood ornament.
Helios traveled like the king he would be once he had his took New York. He wore superiority so well. Helios gets out, he looks slim and powerful in a gray slacks and dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Leon and three other armedSGI are with him. Leon looks troubled. Leon hadn't warned us about this visit, which means this was a spur of the moment visit. I'm grateful the daemons and Ariel are at school. I jump as Isobel joins me at the window.
"What do they want", Isobel asks
"I don't know, but I need time to hide Sera and their stuff."
"Okay. I'll distract them" Isobel offers without being asked. I grab her hand before she can leave.
"Be careful."
I turn and run to the top floor, the familiar bustle of the men's dorm hits me in a nostalgic sort of way. I slip into the showers where Seraphina is trimming her hair. I'd taken it as a token of gratitude that she'd stopped giving a fuck about the other men being around.
"Come on", I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the hall and down the stairs.
"What is it. What the --"
"Helios is here, I have no fucking idea why."
She goes silent and drops the hair shears she was using. I lead her to the main room and felt around for the loose floor board where we'd hidden her and Ariel last time."Shit, I can't find it."
Lysander had followed me down and started tapping the boards with his cane.
"It was here", he said. He got on his knees and tried to lift up the boards, "Fuck someone sealed it shut I can smell sealant . . it was done recently."
"What ? Who could have done this ?"
Lysander looks up.
"One of us ?", he answers, "I think someone's turned."
"Shit"
"Run, Sera. Get as far away from here as you can. Hide in the woods and I'll come for you."
She just stands there trying to look around the building and to where Helios is.
"He. . . can't know I'm here", Sera says and I realize she might be going into shock.
"Go, Sera. It's fine. . ."
"I can't go back there--"
"Go, Sera. Run. I've got this."
I push open the back door and shove Seraphina out of it. She turns and starts to run. I watch as she disappears into the woods. When I return to the foyer I see Lucien, Augustine, Elado and Marcus have quietly made their way into the room. Lucien gestured to one of them to open the front door. . . to let Helios in. They looks they give me are of pure hatred. Lysander sees this as well.
I guess I found my traitors.
"You bastards", Lysander said, "Taking Judas . I mean Jona's route."
"Are you as blind as you are crippled", Lucien says to Lysander, "Jona's living like a king in the Angel's mansion and we can't even afford heat. . . or food. Fuck that. New Aeterna doesn't have to be just for the Angels. It can be for all of us if we are loyal"
"Loyal to Helios ? You sold your own kind out for a decent meal", I say.
"That retarded bitch is not our kind, she is a small price to pay. Others will follow us to Helios side once they tire of you. You are a joke Paris Prince."
Helios steps in moments later with Isobel at his heels. Isobel looks at me apologetically and find I my arm automatically reaches out for her.
"Helios you can't be here. You have your territory. . . we have ours.", I tell him.
"Unless I've been invited", He inclines his head at Lucien, Augstine, Marcus and Elado.
Fucking traders.
"You", Helios continued, "Lied straight to my face. Where is she ?"
"Gone. . . now", I said, "Truly."
Helios nodded to Lucien and Augustine.
"Find her", he said. They snapped to attention and began searching St. Lilth's
"She's gone. She won't be coming back here."
"She's a traitor. . . traitor's must be dealt with. You lied to me, Paris. Do you know what the cost of a lie is ?"
"No. But then again you take all of my profits so I can't exactly pay it."
"Don't worry. This isn't monetary. You can pay with your blood."
Helios nodded to Leon and without hesitating Leon grabbed me in his thick hands and pulled me into a chair. He held my arms back and I felt like my arms were going to be yanked out.
"Helios", Isobel said, "Stop. Sera's not here."
"Don't worry. . . I'm not going to kill your fiance . . . he might just be a little sore for the honeymoon."
"Sorry, kid", Leon whispered to me when Helios wasn't looking, "This is going to hurt"
Helios unsheathed a clean and precise stiletto knife. It was a shimmering white gold with an intricate pattern on the handle.
"Fuck fuck fuck", I manage not being able to say anything else. Helios moves in front of me. He carefully opens my shirt and I close my eyes block out the unavoidable scene
"Bring her to me."
"No"
I see the stairs start to fill with my Brotherd. Helios' two other guards have their attention trained on them. Lysander is holding Isobel back. Fuck, why did she have to be crying.
Helios is artful about what happens next. He reopens the cuts around my mouth first. . . that way I can't scream. Then he pushes the tip of the knife deep into the c orner of one of my smile scars he draws a line down my cheek and chin. He picks up the line on my chest and makes a clean deep incision straight down my chest. He doesn't cut any blood vessels, he's opening me up and it hurts like hell.
Helios stops at to-fucking-close-for-comfort point at my pubic bone. The he knicks a few vessels and blood drips down my body like water. It take a lot of blood loss to kill a Demon, I guess I'm about to find out how much. Helios slips the knife into the incision beneath my skin.
I have to will myself not to cry out, I just keep my eyes closed and think about Seraphina. Wait. . . She's the reason I'm in this fucking mess. I should have let Helios have her. She's not fucking worth this. I involuntary make this horrible grunting sound behind my clench teeth. A pathetic scream that Helios found hilarious. I can't stop. It hurts.
I think about Barnes & Noble. Christmas last year. Isobel and I always met there when we had time because it was quiet and open late so she could study. I taste salt in the corners of my mouth and decide to give myself up to death.
I feel Leon's grip slip. He let's go and wipes my excess blood off his hands. I slump down in the chair and Helios drops the knife on the floor.
"I want you to keep that.", Helios says indicating the knife. , "I hope this teaches the rest of you a lesson. My will is not to be ignored. If you want to disobey me. . . well I'll see what you are made of. . . literally.
He turns and I see Leon and the other henchmen turn to follow him. I also hear the footsteps of Lucien, Augustine, Elado and Marcus going with him. Devil take them. . . is the last thought I have before I black out.
+++
Sera wouldn't come back.
Isobel had gone out into the woods to find her, Sera had ran nearly a mile and climbed up a tree to hide from the SGI. When Isobel finally found her and told Sera that Helios had attempted to cut me open alive for hiding her, Sera outright refused to return.
Damien had gotten quickly to work stitching me back up like I was a rag-doll.
Lysander hadn't left my side and was just standing there shaking his head. I'd
taken up residence in the infimary. Everyone came in and out to see me.
"Helios must have gotten to them", Lysander said
"But, how ?"
"Could have been anywhere."
Ashe cleared his throat. I hadn't even realized he was there. Even more so I didn't realize I could identify a man by the way he cleared his throat. I slumped back onto the bed.
"Before things got serious some of the SGI guys used to hang out at the gay bars, that's how they got to Jona. There are straight version of those, right ?", Ashe said.
I gather I'm supposed to laugh at that joke, but the only painkillers Damien could spare were two Tylenols and a pot brownie. Damien had stripped me down and I was only wearing a blue medical sheet up to my waist. Damien had then slowly started stitching up my gaping wounds.
"That can't happen again. Helios brainwashes people. I think we need to institute a lockdown. We can't let anyone get taken in"
"What ? We haven't done that since like. . . The Plague.", Callum spoke up from where he was sulking.
I tried to nod. Father had restricted out movements nearly half a century ago. The Plague had nearly everyone and it would be suspicious if a whole boarding house of men survived. People were very keen on accusing people who survived the impossible of being witches.
"I'm serious. No one can leave St. Lilth's until after the New Year. Until Callum is ready to fight against Helios"
"The daemons", Callum says,
"I need them to still be able to leave. "
"Why ?"
"I just do. You want these bullets done or not ?", Callum's eyes are on on his feet, "They aren't going to turn on us. Trust me."
"Fine. Just to DRA and back."
"You are really going to be one ugly motherfucker now", Damien said as he finished the last stitch
"Thank you", I manged.
Ashe and Lysander both look up as Isobel walks in with Seraphina behind her. Sera keeps her arms close to herself and the coldness in her eyes almost melts when she sees me. Isobel takes a chair by my bedside and I wrap my hand around hers.
"He's not dying", Seraphina said, "You said--"
"I know", Isobel answered, "I only told you that so you'd come back."
"And", I added catching on, "Now that you are here you can't leave because I've instituted a lockdown."
"He did this to you", Seraphina said, "Because of me."
"Yep", Damien said as he started cleaning the stained blood from my chest.
"No.", I said, "This is just a show of power. If he really wanted you he would have done worse. He's just using you for an excuse."
She steps a little closer and her eyes run from the sheets to the cut down the center of my chest. Her eyes goes back to the scissors, tweezers and needles on the bedside cart.
"He. . . didn't cut if off. In case you were wondering", I couldn't smile a the moment but I tried.
She just gave a slight nod.
"Shut up, Paris", Callum said, "Shut the fuck up. Stop trying to make her feel better. He tortured you in front of everyone. She should get on her knees, grovel and be grateful."
"Callum--", I start.
Sera holds out her her hand to silence me. She looks at Callum and she very slowly gets to her knees. She took the hand Isobel wasn't holding and bowed her head. God, a Angel placating the devil. What a sight.
"I don't", she started, "I don't deserve your protection, sweet prince--"
"God, Sera. Don't--"
"I am an ungrateful wretched whore. I deserve nothing from you and yet you are so kind. I deserve nothing. I will atone for this."
"Well, while you're down there I'd let you give me a blowjob . . . but I'm pretty sure if I had an orgasm my guts would fall out."
Sera shifts uncomfortably and looks from me to Isobel--whom I forgot was holding my hand. I had to stop making dumb jokes.
"Uh", Daminen cuts in, "He's high. High Paris is the best Paris."
Still on her knees Sera takes off her sweatshirt and reaches for the blood stained washcloth Damien is holding. She dips it again in the basin of hot soapy water. Then she braces a hand on the bed while the other brings the wet cloth to my wounds. She catches my eyes for a second, then looks down. All of her attention is focused on the task.
Damien shrugs his shoulders and leaves her to it. Sera was tough and perhaps she had a maternal or nurturing instinct but I'd yet to see it. Either way washing a man was completely beneath her. The pain doesn't fade but instead becomes a distant hum and by the time I fall asleep I'm dreaming about her blue eyes.