Beloved Purgatory (Fallen Angels, Book 2) (28 page)

"Then I'm sorry, too. I have to do this," I
explained, though it was pointless to apologize to a being like
him. But I had to say it, I think, because I didn't want to admit
he was really that empty.
When did I stop hating you?
I
wondered, just barely resisting the urge to touch the invisible
surface where his hands lay. I wish I still did.
Hating you was
easier, and it hurt less.

I shut my eyes. When I looked up, the angel was
gone.

Forneus let go of me. My skin still felt cold where
he'd touched me. "He'll be back, unfortunately. It would be best if
we finished before Azazel got here. We probably only have five
minutes."

"Why do I have to decide now?" I demanded, voice
shaking.

"You're wasting time," Forneus snapped. Then, he
continued softly: "I'm not all powerful. There are a lot of things
looking for you, and the
Rukah-Hayim
that shields you from
them needs to be replaced."

"Why does that matter?"

He chuckled. "I don't work for free. From now on, if
you want my protection, you will need to give me something in
return."

"I have Camael and Azazel."

"And both of them will have to endure endless
bloodshed in order to protect you. They won't stop coming for you
until you're dead."

My upper lip curled up in horror. "What are you
talking about?"

Forneus flashed his teeth. "You'll have to start
running. You'll need to live in isolated areas, because you'll
place the lives of anyone you come into contact with in danger. But
even your absence won't save the people you care about. They will
be targeted, in order to get to you, or out of spite."

My stomach contracted so violently that I felt it
bruise, as if he were beating my sides with a lead pipe. "You're
not making sense. Why would anyone do that?"

"Because of who you are. Uh uh," he cooed, pressing
his waxy finger over my lips. "Don't ask. I won't tell you."

I was gasping. The full weight of what he said washed
over me, crushing me. "You can't just say something like that," I
wheezed. "What--what--"

"Don't get so worked up. I will fix it for you."

"I don't want you to!"

He sighed. "What you or I want doesn't really matter.
The only one who can spare you from such a fate is me, Devi." He
touched the necklace with his index finger. "It may not look like
much, but it is the one thing I can do that they cannot. Now, we're
almost out of time. What is your answer?"

I coughed. He patted my back, purple eyes glowing
above me. Even when I doubled over and shut my eyes I still saw
them, burning in my mind like violet suns in a nuclear winter.

What was a soul even, anyway? It was only my ability
to feel--only my connection to the earth, and all other living
things. If he took it after I died, it would only mean that no part
of me would return to those things I loved. But that was a small
price to pay, if it meant they could live.

...Am I really even thinking about this?

Yes.

...What if he's lying?

Devils can't lie.

...I'm scared.

I clenched my sore stomach muscles and stood. It was
probably okay to be afraid when you were about to give away your
soul. I grit my teeth.
Please forgive me, Oz. I'm sorry.

Then I looked at the devil, and tried not to think
about anything anymore. "I want you to find my brother. I want to
save him."

Forneus cocked his head. "What if he doesn't need to
be saved--or if you don't want to?"

Like Hell that would happen
. I sighed. "Fine.
You make sure I find him, and if I want to bring him home, make
sure I can."

The devil nodded. "Alright. Anything else?"

"I want to save my father. I want his spirit to go to
Heaven."

"Alright. Anything else?"

"You can't make any deals with my friends or family,
even if the deal goes bad. Don't do anything to my mom and
Kim."

Forneus paused. "I'll leave them alone, but if they
come to me I can't promise anything." He tapped his foot in the
silence. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Devi, I won't approach them. They don't even have
anything I want. However, if anyone comes to me with a request, I
can't say no, no matter how much I'd like to."

He sounded upset about that, which seemed strange. I
paused. "Alright, don't suggest it to them, then."

He nodded. "I won't."

I looked down and bit my lip. "I want my mom to be
happy."

Forneus raised a brow.

"I want her to live a long life. I want her to go to
Heaven. I want..."
to make up for all the times I've ignored or
hurt her. For her to know how much I love her.
I wiped my eyes.
"I just want her to be happy."

"Alright, your mom lives a long time, is happy, and
goes to Heaven. Is that it?"

I shook my head.

Forneus grinned. "I generally only give people one
wish, you know."

I curled my hands into fists. "You make this last one
happen, or it's no deal."

"Fine," he snarled between clenched teeth.

"You have to save Oz from me," I said.

For a moment, all he did was stare at me. "What?"

"If I kill him, the deal is off."

Forneus turned around and clawed at the back of his
head. He dropped the F-bomb as he slammed his fist through the
drywall.

"I think you mean 'oh gees'," I muttered.

Forneus glared at me. "What?"

"I mean, you're gonna have to cover that hole up with
something."

He rubbed his temples. "I will try my best on that
last bit."

Try his best? Was he kidding me? "No, you either do
it, or this is not happening. I won't kill him, Forneus."

"You don't have much of a say in the matter, I'm
afraid," he muttered. "But we might be able to figure out
something."

He held his head for a moment. "You better hope this
works. There are far worse creatures to owe a debt to," he said
without facing me.

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

He turned, and immediately I noticed that he'd bitten
through his bottom lip. Blood dripped off his chin, onto his white,
starched dress shirt.

"I won't initiate a deal with your friends and
family. I will release your father's spirit from Purgatory. I will
make sure you mother lives a long and happy life, and goes to
Heaven. I will orchestrate your meeting with your brother, and
after, make sure his spirit does not go to Purgatory. And..." he
bit his lip again. Black ooze gushed from his mouth. "I will make
sure Oz does not die by your hand."

He stepped forward. "If you accept these terms, give
me your left hand."

I acquiesced.

He rolled his eyes. "Your other left, Devi. I swear
to God."

"Sorry, I thought that was the one."

"Uh huh." He cradled it in his palm, and began
chanting.

It was soft at first--a whispered, atonal Gregorian
chant. I had to struggle to hear it.

His claw-like grip on me tightened. He pulled me
forward, pressed his cheek to my cheek. Horrific whispers filled my
ear--as if, instead of chanting, his jaw was breaking. Blood
dripped from his chin. It seeped through my shirt and pooled in a
hollow of skin near my collarbone.

Just as I was about to push him away, he bent over
and kissed my wrist.

His lips were dry and rough, like sand paper. Blood
still filled his mouth. I felt it spill out over my wrist. It
burned. It made my blood burn, too.

"Stop," I whimpered, pushing at his head with my free
hand.

He pressed his lips to my skin, harder. Something
pierced my wrist. The scent of seared flesh filled my nose.

I beat and clawed at his skull. Blood from his scalp
stained his purple hair. "Stop it! What are you doing?"

The sharp pain sank deeper, into my marrow. Then, it
shot through my body. Intolerable, hot, consuming. My body seized
up and my wrist contorted beneath his dark kiss.

My bones are shattering. Everything is shattering. I
can't...

Then it was gone.

Forneus let go and pulled a handkerchief from his
front pocket. "Clean yourself," he said with disdain, as if it were
my fault I was a bloody mess.

I did as I was told. Beneath the layers of blood,
there was a small black dot in the center of my wrist I couldn't
remove. "What is that?"

"I've marked your soul. When our contract is
complete, your soul will belong to me. If the contract fails, the
mark will fade and I'll be unable to collect." He smiled at me and
pushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear. My body turned to ice.
"You haven't made it easy for me. But then again, when one is
seeking a treasure like this, it shouldn't be easy."

Then, he took my hand and headed to the door.

I shook him off. "What are you doing?"

"I thought we'd go save your father--or do you want
him to suffer another day in Purgatory?"

Chapter 15

It turned out that you couldn't get to Purgatory from
just anywhere. That made sense. What didn't make sense was just how
close the nearest entrance was.

"Are you seriously telling me that our indoor gym is
a gateway to Hell?"

"Not Hell, Purgatory," Forneus corrected. He pulled a
bulging set of master keys from his pocket. "Most classrooms in
this building would work. The remnants of student's discontented
spirits are ripe for manipulation." He grinned as the door popped
open. "Since your classmates are running around outside, this room
was open. Also, I needed space to complete the ceremony."

Cool, damp air greeted us. Purple light emanated from
the corners, glowing like fireflies trapped in violet lanterns.
Mist obscured everything--the basketball hoops looked like spindly
trees, and the floor like a swamp from a movie set. The fog beneath
our feet parted as we walked, revealing the tape outlining the
basketball court.

"What would you have done with this mess if I'd said
no?"

The corner of his lip curled up. "Nothing. Some kids
played a prank and--" He cut himself off, clutched my wrist, and
went still.

A growl echoed in the gym. "Forneus. Devi."

It took a moment for me to recognize the voice--for
me to realize that the fear that gathered in my stomach was not
merely nerves, and that the deathly stench in the room was not from
Forneus' spell.

I stopped breathing.
A demon.

The dark figure jutted up from the middle of the
bleachers, next to something white and completely obscured by fog.
The dark figure looked as if he were made of shadows--all hard
angles, fading to black. The only color came from a touch of violet
reflected on his cheeks and lips, and the two narrow, violent green
eyes that stared at us.

My hands tightened around Forneus' grip
instinctively.

Forneus swallowed. "Run."

His voice was so quiet that I almost thought I'd
imagined it.

Then, again I heard him. "Run. To the center of the
court."

He took off, pulling me behind him. My legs locked
up, but still I limped forward, gasping. Mist coated my throat and
eyes. It was sweet, like honey, and it mixed awfully with the scent
of decay.

It only took six steps for the dark figure to
intercept us. Then Forneus was in the air. His waxy, white fingers
slipped through mine, and he began tearing futilely at the claws
around his throat.

"Why are you with her, Forneus?" Azazel hissed.

"Devi had some problems in math class. The principal
asked me to discuss them with her."

"No, I want to know why you're with her," Azazel
hissed, plunging his thumbs into the devil's throat.

"Stop asking questions and then making it difficult
for me to answer," the devil gurgled.

"Oz, he didn't do anything wrong," I whimpered.

Azazel dropped the devil on the floor. Forneus' body
cracked as he fell on his hip. His head disappeared under the fog
and he crawled towards the center of the court with his elbows,
leaving streaks of black blood in his path.

Azazel didn't try to stop him. His eyes never left
me. "He didn't do anything wrong?"

The demon repeated my words, then clenched his jaw.
The tattoos on his body began to move, dissipating and recollecting
like mist that swirled around him.

I almost said no--I wanted to say anything that would
redirect those cruel, green eyes away from me. He stepped closer.
My body tightened.
I will not tremble. I will not whimper. I
will not--

He stopped in front of me. "What did you talk about
with him?"

"Just about math," I whispered.

"Really?" He asked, brushing his claws tenderly over
my arms. I couldn't stop myself from trembling under his scaly,
inhuman touch. After he stopped, he left a cool trail of the
devil's blood on my arms. It beaded on my skin, refusing to
dry.

"Devi, was that really all?"

I still couldn't answer.

"Let me see your wrists."

"Why would you want to do that?" I laughed, lacing my
fingers together behind my back.

"Just let me see them."

His voice was softer, more desperate. My throat felt
dry. "First tell me why. It's so weird that you want to--"

"It will make me feel better if I see it," he
interrupted.

I bit my lip. "No it won't."

The demon slumped over. He pressed his forehead on
mine. His hair draped over my skin like black silk. "It won't?"

There was something deeply unsettling about his
voice. A suffocating aura surrounded him. I felt as if my heart
were contracting, as if the water in my body were evaporating. And
yet, that voice seemed so fragile. I didn't want to hear it
break.

His wrists clamped over mine.

"Stop it!" I demanded, trying to pull my hands back.
"Don't look at it!"

"Stop struggling, Devi," he whispered, pulling my
arms forward. My knees buckled. My fingers convulsed. I didn't want
him to see it--that imprint from the devil's bloody kiss.