Broken Soul

Dannie had just finished eating. She was about to take her used plate and utensils downstairs to the kitchen. The rain was over now and bright silver stars glowed above in the night sky. Dannie couldn't resist stepping out onto her balcony to gaze at them. While she was leaning against the railing, watching a star shoot across the sky, she heard a noise. It startled her and she looked down to the grass below. The sound came from the bushes. Dannie decided to go inside and lock the balcony doors in case it was the strange man who had visited only an hour earlier. A strong breeze whisked through the trees and pushed her toward the glass doors. "Danielle," a soft voice whispered to her as she reached for the door handle to pull it open. She hesitated, but slowly, turned toward the darkness. No one was there.

"Hello?" Dannie asked, when slowly creeping forward onto the balcony. Still silence. A colder breeze went right through her, making her shiver. "Is anybody there?" Her eyes tried to search the dark for someone or something but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She figured maybe she was just hearing things and started to go back inside of her room. Just as she turned, she saw something from the corner of her eye. It looked like a dark silhouette emerging out from the trees. She took another look just to be sure. Certain enough, there was somebody there wearing a long, black coat with the hood up. All Dannie could see was a pair of black eyes glazing at her. "Oh, god..." she muttered in fear. "Evan!" She started screaming for help but the demon appeared on the balcony right in front of her in less than a second. "Evan, help!"

"Danielle, it's all right," the demon said and pulled his hood down. "It's me." His white hair was out in the open and she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Erick?" She wasn't sure if she were supposed to be happy or angry or afraid to see him. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I came to help-"

Dannie was so upset now, she didn't give him time to explain. "You were a demon all along, weren't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"We trusted you!" Dannie couldn't help it. She always felt angry around him. "We let you into our band-"

"You never trusted me," Erick reminded her. "But that's in the past."

"Where are Bryan and Caden? They'd better be okay!"

"They're safe," he promised. "They're at their homes."

"Why did you come here? I don't need your help."

"On the contrary, you do."

"I already have a vampire and another demon helping me, so just-"

He moved directly in front of her, causing her to gasp for the rest of her words. "Dannie, you are in danger." Finally, she let him elaborate. "The visitor you had earlier tonight was Dusk. Ravyn told you about him, am I correct?"

"Yes," Dannie nodded. She figured out who he was now. "Are you..."

"Ravyn's demon? Yes. She asked me to get close to you to protect you and joining your band was my only option."

Dannie felt all of her anger disentegrating. Every single bit of it. After how she had treated him, he was still here for her. It was his orders but regardless, he had to deal with her negativity and harsh words while all he did was guard her from potential harm. "So...that whole time you were-"

"Looking out for you?" He smiled at her softly. "Yes."

"Where's Ravyn? Is she alright?"

"She wanted to warn you but couldn't. I just conversed with her. She's fine."

"Dusk wants me dead, doesn't he?"

"Yes. But he'll most likely get his demon to do it for him." He took a cross necklace out of his pocket. Dannie had always heard demons were harmed by crucifixes so this surprised her. She didn't ask about it though. He put it around her neck and said, "This will protect you from other demons. They cannot touch you now since I gave that to you." He moved closer to her so they were face to face. Dannie couldn't stop staring into his eyes. He reached for her hands and held them in his. "And I gift you my powers." Dannie felt a rush of warmth sink into her skin. It only lasted a moment.

Erick started to leave, but she held onto him. "Erick, wait." Their eyes locked once more. "I...I'm sorry. For how I treated you. It was just really hard losing Evan and I guess I was affected by our separation and I was afraid of getting close to anybody else after that. I never meant to act that way.

"It's alright." He had always hoped she'd come around eventually. "I understand."

"Are you leaving now?" she asked him. For the first time, she wanted the answer to be no.
Erick sensed her longing for him to stay and softly smiled. "I won't be far. The demon in this home might not want me here. Vampires aren't the only territorial beings."

"I could tell her you're with me and you're helping me," Dannie proposed. "She might-"

"It wouldn't matter," he replied. "I'm another vampire's demon. She might not trust me."

"But I do."

Her words made Erick smile once again. "I promise I won't completely leave you. You just won't be able to see me. But I'll make sure you're always safe. Tell no one I was here." He slipped his hands away from her grasp and moved away from her.

"Erick, don't!" she called to him as he climbed on top of the balcony's railing and then stepped off of it, falling onto the grass below. Dannie rushed to the edge to make sure he was alright. She had forgotten what he was for a second. She didn't even see him.

Suddenly, she remembered he gifted his powers to her. The thought of it was bewildering. Out of all the people in the world, he had chosen her to share them with. He hadn't even told her what they were or how to use them. She wondered if some demons had different abilities than others. Dannie refused to wait and wanted to try to see what she could do.

The tray of used dishes was still sitting on her bed, waiting to be carried downstairs. Dannie walked back inside of her room and eyed the utensils. "Alright..." she sighed, concentrating on the spoon. "Move..." She lifted her hand toward it and stared at it, never blinking once. In her mind, she pictured it moving and silently kept repeating the command. Her eyes began to water and her head started hurting from trying to gain control of the simple object. After minutes of bad luck, she flinched her finger to the right. The spoon slid an inch across the tray. Dannie gasped and dropped her hand. She couldn't believe what she had done.