Miraculous: Tales of the Unknown (5 page)

“
Rhylan. From this day forward you
pledge your soul to the one they call Alazander. You will be given
10 years to live, free of pain and sorrow and toil. After 10 years
your demon will call upon you to return your soul to him and him
alone. Do you agree to these terms set forth by Moloch?” He
dictated in a slow, monotone voice.

I’m going to die anyway, I thought
to myself. 10 years happy is better than 70 unhappy.

“
Yes. I agree.” I said without
hesitation.

That was it. We were back on the
same simple street in this fancy neighborhood, kissing under the
dim light of the moon. We pulled away from each other in an awkward
silence. Our hands fell to our sides and we started walking back to
the house.

“
So are you still driving me
home?” I asked quietly.

“
Yes of course.” He
replied.

“
So how does this work? I just go
about doing my own thing and everything will just happen on its
own?” I asked, puzzled about my next step.

“
Yes, everything will come to you.
You don’t have to do a thing I promise.” He smirked.

I laid in bed that night,
wondering of all the things that would come. Without even
realizing, I drifted off to the most restful sleep I’ve ever
had.

The light of the sun shone through
my window on to my face, waking me up for the brand new day I was
about to have. I ran downstairs to get my breakfast and there my
dad was in the middle of the kitchen…breakfast already made. He
kissed me on the head and gave me this look. I’d never seen it
before, but I could tell he was sorry. Maybe it was just part of
the deal, but it was enough for me. I grabbed my backpack and
hurried to school, anxious of the beginning of this brand new life.
I arrived at school minutes later. The energy about this day was
magical and I knew something epic was about to happen. I walked
into math class to a class full of curious seniors. It was like
they were seeing me for the first time. I felt…sexy today, I felt a
confidence that was new and radiating. Matt didn’t see me walk in.
With all the heads turning towards me as I walked in he was forced
to look my way. His jaw dropped when he saw me. I looked the same
as I always did but there was something about my energy that erased
everything he ever knew. I sat in my usual seat and survived the
boring formulas and unforgiving word problems. The glares from
every angle were unrelenting and I was glad when the clock turned
1. At my locker Jessica approached me, and feeling sorry for the
way I acted I apologized for what I said. We hugged it out and I
left to art class. Dustin was sitting in his normal seat seemingly
waiting for me. He grinned his sexy grin and I took my seat.
Charlie was late to class and he tried to make unobvious by
slipping into his seat while everyone was up getting their
supplies. While I was sorting through used canvas to paint over,
Dustin came up next to me. He made sure the area was cleared and he
grabbed my arm gently.

“
You know Charlie right?” he asked
with his smoldering eyes.

“
The guy that sits next to me?
Yeah I guess. We’ve gone to school together since Kindergarten. Why
do you ask?” I whispered.

“
He’s the one.” He declared,
keeping intense eye contact with me.

 “
What?” I accidently said
extremely loud. Of course everyone looked over at me to stick their
nose in my business. Dustin thought this was funny, so he gave a
small chuckle and gave everyone a look that they dared not
disregard.

“
Just talk to him, you have to
trust me Rhylan.” He pleaded. He took his hand off my arm and
casually slid back into his seat. I returned to mine, only to find
that Charlie talked to me first. The only thing was, I could not
get my mind off Dustin. Something about him made my skin all warm
and tingly. The kiss was shared was so electric. I felt like it was
so much more than a deal.

Charlie and I made plans to hang
out. He seemed like a nice guy. He was cute and artistic and
funny…everything I liked in a guy. I could see Dustin out of the
corner of my eye watching us as we shared smiles. Then I saw him
look down for a second and shake his head, like there was something
lingering in his mind that he could not let go of. He got up
quickly and left the room before I could even say goodbye. I
guessed that was the end of it, until of course it was time to pay
him.

Months went by and I didn’t see
Dustin. He just disappeared. Everything in my life was going so
perfectly. Charlie and I had been dating, my dad and I actually had
a relationship and no one was bullying me at school. On paper
everything was wonderful. It was my heart that told the truth. I
didn’t feel for Charlie the same way I felt about Dustin. I just
always wanted to see his smile and throw myself into his gorgeous
demonic eyes. Why couldn’t there just be a way for us to be
together?

I stayed late that day after
school. I had so much built up tension and anxiety I just wanted to
paint. The classroom was empty. I knew from experience the janitors
didn’t get to this classroom until about 7, so I had plenty of time
to relax and let it all get poured out onto my canvas. I chose the
largest one still left in stock and poured as many color as I could
onto my palette. I tied on my old smock and sat down in an old
rusty folding chair. I messily threw in my ear buds and cranked up
my Ipod. I closed my eyes and took a breath. This was the time to
let everything go. I started to paint furiously. Gray and white
filled the background as I carelessly scribbled words across the
canvas. He was the only thing on my mind. I had to paint him just
to see him one last time. I started to outline the shape of us. I
wanted to forever capture the moment he kissed me. I felt like all
my sadness and my happiness were pouring out at the same time.
Happy that I was finally, well, happy… and sad because I had to let
Dustin go. I finished my face and started to work on his. I
carefully thought of every inch of his beautiful face, his strong
jawline, his full lips-the intense look in his eyes that I could
not escape. Not 20 minutes into my session two warm hands felt
their way over my glasses.

“
Guess who?” the voice of a guy
behind me.

“
Oh shit! I screamed. I turned
around ready to punch someone square in the nose. I pulled my
earplugs out and turned around.

“
It’s just me, Charlie.” He
grumbled.

“
Oh Charlie. Geezus you scared the
shit out of me.” What are you doing here? I hissed.

“
I just wanted to see if you
wanted to go have dinner. But I can see from your painting you
aren’t thinking about me at all.” He snarled.

‘”
No Charlie it’s just a memory,
it’s just a painting of a memory.” I assured.

Then there was another voice
coming from behind Charlie.

I moved my head around Charlie and
my jaw dropped. Dustin was standing there, ironically looking like
an angel. He literally made my heart skip a beat. Before I even had
time to react he leaped toward Charlie. He grabbed him by the
throat and threw him up against the wall.

“
Charlie I will tell you this once
and only once. Leave here now and forget you ever met Rhylan. This
is your only warning.” He hissed a low hiss that would normally
only come out of a wolf hunting his prey.

He let go of his grip and Charlie
fell to the floor. As soon as he could get to his feet he took off
running at full speed, tripping over chairs and almost falling to
the ground.

“
Well that was fun.” He said
snickered.

“
What are you doing here Dustin? I
thought you left. I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” I
mumbled.

“
I didn’t want to ever come back
Rhylan, and risk seeing you with him. From the moment I made that
deal I regretted it. There is something that pulls me to you. I
don’t understand it. I have never felt this. I had to come back to
see you one last time. When I walked in and saw your painting I
knew. I knew I had to be with you. The kiss we shared was more than
just a deal. It made me…feel something, and I’m not used to that. I
don’t know what is and I don’t know what to do about it. Can I just
try one thing?” He asked not only with his alluring voice but with
his expressive yet somber eyes.

“
Yeah sure I mean, you already
have my soul.” I said quietly. I was unsure of what was about to
happen but it was happening none the less. Everything started to
become hazy. He slowly moved closer and wrapped his arm around my
waist and laid his hand on my lower back. He pulled me in toward
him all the while keeping my gaze. I closed my eyes and waited for
it to happen. I dreamt about this for months. I saw him in my
dreams. I saw his face in crowds of people on the street. This was
finally it.

He put his lips on mine and a
pulse ran through my body. Just like before we vanished into a
desert. This time it was filled with light. He looked beautiful.
His eyes were light green with a yellow tint. He didn’t look so,
devilish you could say. He looked at me and laughed. He looked
around us as if any second he was expecting the world to fall out
from underneath us. And then he appeared. A tall, dark man with
black hair and white eyes. He was terrifying yet I had no fear, I
knew Dustin would protect us.

“
Alazander, never in my existence
have I seen this. For centuries I have had my demons make deals for
love and happiness. I have watched souls be taken into hell to
wander forever in the darkness. You have been my most loyal
servant. Surely you must know what releases a demon from his lord.
You have lived a long time Alazander and you have served me well.”
He lamented.

“
Moloch my lord. Never did I think
this would happen. I knew as soon as the deal was made that this
was the end. I could do nothing else but think of her safety and
her happiness. I wanted to be the only one in her life-even if that
meant killing a man. But I knew I couldn’t, because then we
couldn’t be together. I have never given second thought to human
life. You know my nature Moloch. But this is the end. You have to
release me of my duty. I have served you for longer than anyone
else. It is written in the stars that if a demon finds true love,
he contract is broken and he is allowed to live as a mortal, and
die as a mortal.” He asserted.

I couldn’t believe what I was
seeing. They stared at each other for a long time before Moloch
took his arm and wrapped it around Dustin’s. A light came from the
sky and twisted around their arms like barbed wire. The ground
shook and light began to fall from the sky. Our bodies were
vibrating, it felt like we were going to explode. Then their grasp
loosened and Moloch was sucked into the sandy earth. Dustin turned
back to my gaze and locked his lips to mine. We were back in the
classroom next to the painting. No words needed to be spoken. I no
longer needed a contract to find true love. My soul was his the day
he kissed me.

NIGHT CACHE

By: Cheryl
Casey

© Copyright 2013 by Cheryl
Casey

No part of this story may
be

Reproduced without
permissions.

All rights
reserved.

She found the green metal
box hidden behind a bush, next to a wall of the crumbling cemetery.
She tugged on the latch and it released with a bang, making her
jump. She looked around though she knew there was no one who would
see or hear in these desolate woods. The nearest building was a
shell of an old farm house, burnt and leaning.

She lifted the lid and
found an assortment of things, a compass, a small sewing kit, a
small plastic zombie with a dog-tag tracking code attached to it.
She sorted through the other things and found what she had been
looking for, a small notebook and a pencil. She had brought her own
pencil in case this one had been missing.

She opened the notebook
and hurriedly printed her handle and the date, Aayla - February 11,
2013, under the name and date of the previous hunter. With a last,
quick glance around, she placed the metal box behind the bush and
returned to her jeep. Aayla was tired from driving most of the day
and she was ready to return to the safety of her home where her
cat, Oscar, waited for his evening meal.

The sky was darkening but
there was one more geocache in the area that she wanted to find
before making her way out of this murky back-country - and another
one that she planned to avoid.

Locking the doors and
starting the jeep, Aayla checked her handheld GPS device for the
location of the next geocache. She knew it would be complete dark
by the time she got there but it was the last one on her list,
besides the one she would skip. She flicked the flashlight on and
off, checking the batteries.

She left the moldering
cemetery and let the GPS device guide her. She drove for miles
along the deserted gravel road until it deteriorated to a trail and
she thought she had accidentally strayed onto someone's pasture
road. There were just two tire grooves in the sand with grass
growing between them, a fence to the left, and lanky trees
stretching over the passage to form a dark tunnel. Her GPS device
still showed that she was on a marked road. She kept driving but
had her doubts.

The dark tunnel finally
gave way to the gravel road again. She took a deep breath and
shrugged her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension a bit. The sky
was completely dark now with a thumbnail moon low in the West. She
felt like she had made a mistake in not finding her way back to a
populated area after the cemetery. She didn't like to be alone in
the dark, though common sense told her there was nothing to fear if
she was the only person out here.