Fallen (57 page)

“Oh, he’s got something better,” his friend called out lewdly.

As much as this attention made my skin crawl, it was effective. The crowd of onlookers was growing.

“Well don’t make me wait,” he called out, still dangling the plastic bead necklace.

I stalled as long as I could, throwing back a flirtatious laugh, and lifting my shirt a little
higher, careful not to go any fa
rther than my belly button.

Hoots and howls rose up from the crowd below.

“Just do it,” the
blonde
girl next to me insisted, her voice
tainted
with jealousy.

I ignored her.

Just
as the girl nudged me with her elbow to get on with it and the crowd started to
get antsy
,
Abaddon
appeared from around the street corner, his followers
directly behind
.

I froze, watching them as they stopped across the street,
folding
their arms and
staring
up at me,
like
a small army waiting to advance.

They wouldn’t have to wait long.

I dropped my shirt and turned away from the balcony, boo’s and jeers
erupting
and
filtering
up from the street. I disregarded them. Let them call me a prude. I was dealing with
an issue far more important tha
n
baring my chest.

I made it down the staircase without falling
,
despite the
innate
hesitancy
I felt
in moving closer to my end. Out on the
street, I found the
Fallen One
s where they’d been before.
Abaddon’s eyes met mine
,
and I turned to head down the dark street
toward
a quieter spot, a less public place. I wasn’t sure what Abaddon had in mind
,
but I knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant. I didn’t want anyone
to accidentally find
us
or
to
valiantly
step in
, trying to be a
hero.

As I headed farther away from the commotion of Bourbon Street
,
into
the darkness, I didn’t need to turn to make sure they were following me.

I could feel them.

As we got farther from safety, my radar grew more and more intense, as if it was sensing their anticipation of what was to come.

I
approached
a dark alleyway and figured this would be as good a place as any to do it. Only the hazy illumination of
a
streetlight reached here
,
and no doors or windows could be seen, just the back sides of two buildings.

An efficient place to die.

It was here
and now.
I turned to face Abaddon
, startled to find
him leaning down,
merely an inch away.

One moment I was staring
into
the cold, black eyes of
a killer
and the next I was flying backwards at lightning speed, inches off the ground.

I braced myself, ready for the
sure
collision between the brick wall at th
e end of the alley and my spine.

I
t never came.

My body stopped a
foot
away, still inches off the ground, hovering.

I could feel my heart racing, trying to overcome the impact of what had just happened as Abaddon and his followers st
alked down the alley
toward
me, their shadows stretching long across the building’s walls.

They
halted their march
j
ust a
few paces from me
. Only
Abaddon
continued his approach
until he was
barely
out of arms reach. He smiled
,
and again
,
I was struck by how he appeared so young on the outside while I could see the wrinkles of age moving just beneath his skin, as if the top layer was translucent.

“You’ll forgive me if I keep you at a distance, won’t you?” he said in a deep, raspy voice.

I shrugged. “It’s not as if I have a choice.” I moved my legs to prove my point
,
and they flailed uselessly beneath me.

H
is raspy voice released a laugh, sounding
oddly
like two pieces of metal grating together. “It’s for our protection…you understand.” He said this flippantly
,
as if he truly thought I did.

I was certain my expression reflected my confusion when Abaddon
blinked in surprise, a
very human reaction I noticed.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“Forgotten what, Abaddon?”

He sighed, a
half-
cocked smile lifting his face. “I’ve missed the way you speak to me,” he whis
pered, contentedly. “Such fury
…
but
I
don’t recall
you
being
one for games, Magdalene.”

“I’m not…
”

He opened his mouth to speak,
pausing and starting
again, ultimately releasing another
deep
chuckle.
“Am I to understand
that
you
have no recollection of me
?” He seemed incredulous.

I
kept silent. There was no sense in dragging this out with
frivolous
conversation.

Abaddon glanced over his shoulders
,
sending
a dubious grin
toward
his followers and then back at me.

“You alwa
ys keep me guessing, Magdalene,” he said
,
wistfully
.
I got the distinct feeling that I had known Abaddon
for a very long time,
for
lifetimes
possibly
.
He drew a finger up t
o his lips, grinning behind it, and then dropped it to his chest, acting playfully glib.
“So how is it that you have no
remembrance
of me and…” he motioned behind him, “…my cohorts?”

“Don’t you have something more important to do than ask questions, Abaddon?” I said
, reminding him
of
why we were here.

Just as important, I wanted to
avoid admitting I had been reborn
which would also inform
them
that
I
had no abilities, no defenses as they had assumed I did.
If they did learn this, I had no doubt they would drag out my death.

It was Achan who figured it out.

He moved
toward
us with a curious grin.
“She
didn’t fall, Abaddon,” he said in a low voice,
never breaking his glare
from
me. “I think she chose to be reborn. She hasn’t had a cl
ue who I was all along nor Sarai or
Elam
…
”

Abaddon drew in an eager
,
shuttering
breath and his eyes widened with excitement.
His
elation with hearing
that news was unmistakable.

“
Reborn…” he sighed. “
Right you are Achan…”

For the first time, Abaddon stepped forward breaching the space where I could reach for him.

“You know what this means, Magdalene…” he stepped even closer
, drawn to me without hesitation
.
“You gave up the last defense you have…the secret that you have no defenses at all.”
He stared at me, inquisitively
.
“
You realize now this won’t be sudden.” His tone
desperate, containing pity.

He was referring to my impending death
.

“Yes,” I seethed.

“Ah, careful.” He held up a finger as one does
for the benefit of
an overanxious child.

“We wouldn’t want Eran coming and spoiling our fun now would we? At least not until the end…” He grinned mockingly
.
“It’ll be so similar to last time. A grand trip down memory lane.”

“Last time?” I whispered, immediately shoving aside all feelings, surprising myself at how capable I was at relaxing
,
especially during a time like this. Whatever Abaddon was referring to involved Eran
,
and
I wanted to avoid the potential of causing him any pain.

“I know you
won’t
remember, you being newly reborn,” said Abaddon
,
conversationally. “That’s much too bad.” He raised his finger to wag it at me. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll remind you. That way, you can relive it just as we will.”

He was playing with me, teasing
me
, and if I let myself go I would have been infuriated by this point. I refused to allow
I,
though.

“Why don’t you just get on with it?” I asked, careful
ly keeping
my emotions in check.

He pondered this, tilting his head to the side
.
“No, I think telling you will be far more enjoyable.”

I heard laughter behind him, the other Fallen Ones clearly enjoying the direction Abaddon had decided on.