Free Rise of the Fallen by Teagan Chilcott Page A

ice-cold hand. He winced in pain as the flames burnt his fragile skin but in seconds the flames had disappeared. He let go of my arm then turned around and walked wordlessly back up the stairs, past Soul.
    Soul slowly walked down the stairs, not taking his eyes off me. “You really should learn to trust me, Emilie. I’m not your enemy.”
    â€œHow do I know you don’t just want to kill me?” I retorted.
    I was on the verge of both slapping him and actually trusting him again. I had no idea why, but he seemed so honest and I doubted he wanted to hurt me. I had begun to trust that Soul wasn’t completely like the others. What concerned me more was that Zacharia was an elemental. Was Soul starting his own little collection of powerful beings?
    That wouldn’t be totally unheard of. From my short time in the demonic realm, I’d heard stories of many demons having earned the label ‘collectors’ for that very reason. Zacharia had the potential to be exceedingly powerful, and he was even more determined to disobey Soul. In fact, it seemed like Soul had no control over the child at all.Zacharia was simply trapped here, refusing to do anything about it. I looked around and realised that the magnificence of this house was merely an illusion; what lay beneath it was, tragically, nothing but a lie.
    It was depressing to be here, in this frighteningly surreal mansion where it seemed the most daunting of things could happen. It amazed and horrified me to think of what would happen if more upper-level demons grouped together. I knew there would be no hope left; absolutely nothing.
    It was possible that Lilith and Samael were watching right now – there were more than enough mirrors in the foyer to act as looking glasses. Soul placed his hand on my cheek and leaned down to make eye contact with me.
    â€œI love you. Trust me, I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.”
    I stared into his almost black eyes and felt afraid as the words left my lips in a soft whisper, “I’m beginning to trust you.”
    Soul smiled and touched his lips to mine in a single strained and passionate moment. As we separated, I gasped for air. I knew he had killed an innocent human, using his teeth, like some kind of animal. He took a step back, obviously trying not to crowd me for fear of being pushed away again.
    I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him and, reaching up on the tips of my toes, kissed him gently on the neck just below his jaw. He hugged me tighter in response. I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heart beating. It was steady, strong and fast. When I pulled back I asked what he wanted to do.
    He smiled, “Whatever you would like to do, Emilie.”
    I sighed impatiently but Soul just laughed, “I’m not sure what I want to do.”
    â€œHmm … What about school tomorrow? Going?” Soul asked coyly.
    â€œYeah, I want to see if Cael’s alright,” I whispered.
    He nodded and wordlessly steered me into a room to the right of the staircase. It was strange I hadn’t noticed this room before, but I suppose I hadn’t really looked. It was dark and cool. Soul flicked on the dim lights and led me over to a long black lounge chair and gestured for me to sit down. Across the room was a large television screen that looked as though it belonged in a cinema. He opened an antique looking cupboard, revealing shelves packed with DVDs.
    â€œSo, any requests?” Soul turned to me.
    I forced a laugh and shook my head before leaning back and resting on a cushion. Soul chose a movie from the collection and placed it in the expensive-looking DVD player before collapsing on the couch next to me. It was some sort of vampire movie, slightly clichéd but amusingly entertaining nonetheless. Despite the humour in the movie, I was still reminded of Soul’s attack on Sophie and struggled to brush the thoughts away. We watched movies much the same as