The next night I was walking to the football game with London and a few of her friends from the dorm beside us. Their boyfriends tagged along while London stuck close to me for the off chance we might see Tara. I knew London was still taking it hard and it was obvious she wasn't eating or even working on her art pieces like she normally did. The door to our spare room, which she used as her studio, hadn't been budged even an inch. And by the collection of dirty dishes that continued to grow in the sink, it was obvious they all belonged to me.
I could tell this whole break-up was eating her from the inside out.
"So you think Levi's gonna be showing off for us tonight?" I grinned, trying to start conversation with her as she roped her arm through mine, like normal gal-pals do.
She shrugged, only half there. The other half of her was somewhere else; probably with Tara's memories.
"Hello? London!" Her other friend, I think her name was Aubrey, hollered in London's ear and caught her attention.
"Huh? Wha-" London jumped, clearly startled.
I shook my head grinning and continued towards the seats Levi had arranged for us to have that night. He'd somehow scored us decent tickets considering the team was running undefeated and this was a game against one of our rivals. London quickly sat down and shuddered against the cold wind. I zipped up my leather jacket and felt the cold flood through me as well, but suddenly I got a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. It felt like I was getting butterflies but not in a good way. Something wasn't right.
I looked around me skeptically, trying to see if I could find any shady characters around but there was nothing.
I bit my lip and leaned back in my seat, pushing it aside but remaining aware.
I watched as Levi waved to us from where he stood on the sideline, preparing for the game. I waved back and London gave a cheer for him alongside the blonde who'd come with us.
The game began and I remained interested in watching Levi play.
He played football like I played the piano, with such precision and certainty. I wasn't much for sports but watching him play was actually pretty engaging. I wondered for a fleeting moment if what Duncan had said was true. Could it be possible that Levi really did have a crush on me? I could remember plenty of times he'd went out of his way just to grab me coffee. Or other times where he'd offer to stay up late with me just so I could cram for a big test. I'd reciprocated that though; I couldn't count how many football games I'd gone to so I could support him and I'd even invited him to come down to my dad's last Christmas with me and Tara when he found out his parents didn't have the money to fly him home to Tennessee.
Suddenly a frightening thought appeared; was Levi under the impression that I might have feelings for him too? I felt a blush spread across my cheeks. I hoped that wasn't true; I wasn't sure how I'd be able to face him normally if that were the case.
Suddenly I felt as though someone had punched me in my stomach.
I coughed from the force and realized it was that dreadful feeling again.
Something horrible was about to happen.
I quickly jumped out of my seat but London gave me a funny look.
"Where are you going? There's a tie right now!"
"Coffee break, be right back." I lied and bounded up the stairs to make my way through the regular stadium. I started down towards the bathrooms and felt the feeling slowly grow inside me. I wondered if maybe it was like a radar. To test it, I stepped a few feet back and felt the feeling simmer down some but it refused to completely dissolve.
I shook my head and pushed forward once more; the feeling grew heavier and harsher with the closer I got to whatever was preparing to cause the disaster.
Suddenly I felt a hand grab my arm from behind and I planted my feet firmly, preparing to turn around and punch whoever was trying to stop me but as I drew my fist back and spun around I saw it was only Duncan. I sighed and relaxed some at the sight of him, but it didn't let any of my tension release.
"We need to get you out of here." Duncan explained seriously; as serious as he was the night outside of the coffee shop.
"What? Why?"
"They're coming for you. Let's go." He insisted and took my hand firmly but gingerly as he pulled me through the crowds.
"What? Who's coming?" I asked, and felt my eyes grow round. My last experience with an unholy creature hadn't been necessarily pleasurable.
"The vawerth. They're a brand of Demon that's not all powerful but they're more powerful than the kribas."
I suddenly felt as though Duncan was speaking another language and I gave him a look as though he had four heads. He sighed and explained while still dragging me along.
"Just like how there are different ranks of angels there are different ranks of demons. The least strongest are the Kribas; they're reincarnated souls who work as messengers for Lucifer. Then there are the Vawerth, they have powers to create chaos and destruction but they aren't usually blood-thirsty. Then of course there are Lilith's children."
"What're they?" I questioned, trying to keep the whimper out of my voice. We finally came to a stop just outside the stadium as Duncan glanced around; I couldn't tell if he was looking for enemies or just looking for an escape route.
Duncan grew quiet for a minute and stared at me very seriously.
I suddenly felt the dread like feeling consume me whole, to a point where my body buzzed with the energy. I felt a shudder run over my spine and Duncan's eyes widened. He looked around and suddenly I caught a glimpse of them.
They looked like normal people at first glance, but after a few moments, you could see the differences in their appearances. They had much sharper and dramatic features as well as vividly bright eyes varying in shades of violet and red. There were four of them; one woman three men. They wore clothes that made them look as though they'd just walked out of an interview for GQ or VOGUE. Also I noticed their skin was pale and nearly translucent. You could see the power they had humming under their paper thin skin as if it were their pulses.
Duncan pushed me behind him again. I wanted to push my way back around him and hold my own ground but something about the look in the creatures eyes made me want to turn and run in the other direction.
Their eyes looked so pained and merciless and worst of all...they looked starved. Nearly ravenous.
The male in the front, who was flanked by the female on his left, came about a foot from Duncan and I saw his muscles ripple with a challenge. A grotesque smile spread over his jagged teeth.
"Duncan; it seems we meet again."
"Not on pleasant terms I'm afraid." Duncan growled softly.
"They never are, old friend." The female laughed and brushed her long white hair behind her shoulders.
"What do you want?" Duncan snarled and I saw his hand flinch towards his belt. I then noticed he had a dagger slung to his belt loop. I felt myself suddenly begin to shake.
"We've come to see The Arête." The man at the front grinned again.
"You're such a damned liar, Felvius." Duncan hissed and the man; Felvius, grinned ruefully as his crimson eyes flashed.
"Such a temper for an angel. It seems though you're right to have your suspicions. You know we never leave without taking what we want."
He then looked into my eyes and I felt the darkness lock into my chest.
"Dear child, Lucifer is calling to you. Don't you hear him?"
I felt my muscles freeze in place and a sudden calm began to prick at my skin but it refused to consume the darkness in my chest.
Duncan began to snarl at them though and blocked my vision of Felvius.
"Leave now or I'll be forced to use divine powers against you."
The two males in the back flinched uncomfortably and the female squirmed a bit at the notion but held her ground. Felvius only smiled though and straightened up.
"Well, if that's how you want to play, let's take this away from mortal eyes."
Suddenly before I knew what was happening, we were spinning. I was spinning so fast I could see nothing but blurs of colors and Duncan who stood beside me. My hair ruffled from the breeze before I realized we were no longer outside of Penn state's football stadium but we were suddenly in the woods. It was a trail I used to hike in the summer that out skirted the campus. No one came this far into the woods in winter for fear they would get stranded and never be able to get out. A dusting of frost covered the plants in the clearing and the wind was colder than usual.
The band of Vawerth spread out and Duncan straightened up. I wasn't sure if I should cry and scream or make a run for it.
"Neither...I'll protect you Naomi." Duncan muttered softly; the wind carried his words to me.
I felt the chill run up my spine but somehow, I believed him.
Suddenly the demons swarmed on us. The female and one of the red headed males started for Duncan while Felvius and the other male grabbed me and threw me to the ground.
I screamed for a moment and felt the darkness in my chest increase. Suddenly my instincts turned primal. My screams turned to snarls and almost inhumane shrieks. Felvius looked pleased by the reaction and he pushed his palm to my forehead; he was trying to push through the barrier of my thoughts and force something into my subconscious but I wasn't positive of what. I forced his powers back as the darkness suddenly consumed me and turned to a searing burn. I screamed from the pain as before but this time it was different. As the burning ebbed away, I felt...stronger. I felt complete. I suddenly knew my eyes were glowing orbs of light. I let out another scream but this time, it wasn't in fear. It was in defiance.
Felvius looked confused for a moment before suddenly he jumped off of me and clutched his hand while he screamed. I noticed his flesh had begun to bubble. I knew I'd done it. I wasn't sure how, but I wanted to feel even more powerful. I wanted to cause him even more pain.
I was on my feet in just two fluent moves and zoned in on the other demon nearby. I held out my hand, palm up to him, calling upon my light. It burst forth towards him but he pulled his own hand up to meet my light halfway with what looked like a red shadow. It forced into my light like nothing I'd ever seen and I gritted my teeth, calling forth any power I had that would give me the upper hand.
Suddenly a tall oak standing about five yards away fell to the ground with an earth shattering crash. It had to be an old tree and in no danger of falling over before this battle had begun and before I'd released my powers. It fell just inches from the demon's feet because he jumped back as he'd heard the sound of cracking tree roots. He looked at me in near disbelief and before he could make another move, I was letting my light swallow him whole.
He screamed and fell to the ground in shatters by the force but when I got a closer look, he had completely disappeared in a cloud of smoke and ash.
I spun around and caught Felvius in my sights. He gave me a sickly smile and shook his head.
"Maybe another time young one; Rest assured though that we shall meet again."
Suddenly, he disappeared into thin air. I boggled for a moment before I felt the shadows in my chest dissolving and fading. I felt nauseous and like the forest was spinning. I suddenly fell to the ground, hit with a wave of dizziness.
I felt my strength quickly subsiding and I felt fatigue wash over me but I refused to pass out. I wanted to know Duncan was okay and that Felvius wasn't coming back. My eyelashes fluttered and I still heard the sound of scuffling but by the sounds being made it had to be in Duncan's favor.
I slowly tried to raise myself up onto my hands and knees and felt my arms shake from the strained effort. I forced my blurry eyes open and saw Duncan wasn't actually holding his own as well as I thought he was. Rather, the male had disappeared and the woman was taking some very fair shots at him. He was using his light to his advantage but it was also clear that she was stronger than she looked. I noticed a glint of silver a few feet away from me and I saw Duncan's dagger resting in the grass. My eyes flashed towards the scuffling couple before I crawled towards the dagger and took it in my hands.
For some reason, when my hand connected with it, I felt a surge of power and before I could even question it I jumped to my feet and plunged the dagger into the females back. She screamed for a moment and I watched the dagger suddenly begin to blaze with light. She dropped to her knees, still shrieking, and shattered like a glass vase.
Her shatters immediately dissolved into black inky smoke and a pile of ash that was carried off with the wind.
My hand shook and I dropped to my own knees as the dagger fell in the grass beside me. I forced my eyes to stay open and for my mind to remain lucid, but it seemed my will just wasn't strong enough.