Broken Soul

Dawn was about to break. The entire castle was completely silent. Evan and Myra had just fallen asleep while October remained awake. She was standing on the south tower room's balcony watching the property. All was normal until she spotted someone in a long black footed trench coat approaching the gate. Their face was hidden but she had a feeling it was probably a vampire. He tried pushing the gate open, but it was locked so he couldn't. "Hey!" She shouted down at him hoping to scare him off. He knew he had been seen but continued to force the gate open. October literally leaped off the balcony and landed on her feet on the lawn below. She ran over to the gate and the vampire saw her and dashed away. She decided to try to catch him and find out who he was and what he wanted. They both raced down the street so fast they were seen as blurs through the air. October kept speeding up but never seemed to get closer to him. Unfortunately, she was unaware that this vampire was just a distraction for her. The real threat was hiding right outside of the castle.

Dusk's demon, Raine, was eying Dannie's bedroom window. She knew she could easily get inside and kill her, killing Evan as well. Her black lipstick smile was full of dark confidence. Once the deed was done, she'd get her payment. One more soul and she'd be invincible.

Her human form disintegrated into a dark black fog. An updraft lifted her right up into the air outside of Dannie's window. She crept inside from under the windows frame and hovered down above the floor.

The cat on Dannie's bed saw the disturbing fog and watched it move closer to her. A very angry hiss and growl made Dannie stir but she didn't wake. The blackness raised itself and began to hover above her. The cat jumped on top of her, batting his paw at it, warning it to stay away from his human. His eyes were wide with fury and his ears were folded back. Dannie finally woke up when he yowled at the fog that was just inches above her. "What is it, kitty?" she asked, not noticing Raine in the room yet. Her vision was blurry from being sleepy so she rubbed her eyes and then looked up. She saw the black mist and gasped, remembering what October said about demon forms. "Oh my god..." she whispered. Her breath was trembling and showing from the cold presence above. The entire room felt like a freezer. She laid still and watched the demon and waited to see what it would do. But it didn't do anything. It just hovered above her, causing her fear to grow more with every second. The cat growled at it again but it showed no sign of leaving. The mist clearly had dark intentions toward her and Dannie was confused as to why it wasn't doing anything to her. It was like something was stopping it.

Then she remembered the cross necklace Erick had given her. She fumbled for it and lifted it out from under her shirt's collar and held it up at the demon. It immediately backed away from her and started to move out of the room. Dannie saw the mist seep through the crack under the door and knew it was in the hallway. Quickly, she jumped out of bed and open her door. She looked to the left, then right, but didn't see where it was heading. "Come on, kitty," she called to the cat and he leaped off the bed and followed her. She ran as fast as she could down the hall to Evan's room. Dannie turned the knob to open the door but it was locked. "Evan!" she shouted and pounded on the door repeatedly. "Evan, wake up! There's something in the castle!"

Myra woke when she heard the noise from outside the room. She could barely open her eyes; she hadn't had much sleep. "Ugh...What is it...?" she muttered and got out of bed. Evan was still sleeping right through it. Once vampires fall asleep, it can be very hard waking them up. Myra yawned and unlocked the door having no idea what was happening.

Dannie opened the door before Myra could and she shouted, "We need to get out of here now!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Is Evan awake??" Dannie asked and pushed her way inside.

"No, he just fell asleep," Myra replied. "And what is the problem?"

Dannie rushed to Evan's side and attempted to wake him. "Evan, wake up! Come on..."

She grasped his shoulders and shook him but he didn't respond.

"What's the big emergency?" Myra asked.

"There is a demon in the castle," Dannie told her, trying to lift Evan up. He felt so heavy, it was like trying to lift a boulder off of the bed. "Are you going to help me or not?" she asked Myra who was just standing there watching.

An alarming smell suddenly started to fill the room. Myra made a face of disgust and asked, "What is that?"

"Smells like something's burning..." Dannie said then looked to the doorway and saw smoke building up in the hall. "Oh my god... The castle's on fire! Myra, get out of here! I'll get Evan out..."

Myra didn't want to leave him but she did as she was told anyway. Dannie was trying to awaken Evan and, she realized the cat wasn't with her. She hoped he had gotten out safely. But he was actually chasing the demon away and would soon come back to find Dannie.

The smoke was getting thicker and the fire had spread into the room. "God damn it, Evan, wake up!" A wall of fire was now blocking the exit to the hallway. It was only about a foot high but it was growing every second. This was the strongest fire Dannie had ever seen. It was unreal how fast it was moving. The fumes were already taking their toll on her. Dannie's lungs felt so heavy and her head was spinning. She was suffocating.

He still wasn't responding. "Evan...please..." she begged and then coughed as she collapsed on him. She barely had enough strength to breathe let alone speak. Her eyes were closing and she nudged him on the cheek with her forehead. "I'm not leaving you..." was the final sentence she was able to whisper to him. She would actually rather stay with him while the castle burned down than abandon him. The last thing she remembered hearing was the cat meowing loudly from the hallway before she blacked out.

The fire was too tall for the cat to jump over now. He cried over and over for Dannie but she couldn't wake up. He knew this form wouldn't be capable of helping her so he morphed back into his human form. "Danielle!" he screamed and jumped over the fire. He lifted Dannie into his arms and finally Evan woke up. He had no idea who this stranger was in the sight of him holding Dannie like that alarmed him. "Put her down!" Evan warned him. He didn't even care about the fire at first, he just wanted to keep her safe.

"She fell unconscious trying to wake you. The smoke suffocated her. We need to get out of here before she dies."

Evan understood and he opened the balcony doors with his mind and they both dodged the blaze through the room. Evan jumped first and then watched the demon, making sure he'd land safely with Dannie. After he did, they ran to the front of the castle where Myra was waiting. She almost burst into tears when she approached Evan and hugged him tightly. "Thank god you're all right...I was so scared... I almost came back in-" She eyed the stranger and asked, "Who is this?"

"I don't know," Evan replied. "Some demon, I think. He helped me and Dannie." He looked at her unconscious body, wondering if he could do something for her.

"Can you heal her?" the demon asked him. "She's not breathing..."

"I was just thinking the same thing." Evan stepped over to them and he held her hand with his right, and then touched her upper chest with his left. Everyone stood silent and still. It only took a moment.

Dannie jolted and took a deep breath in and out. Then her eyes opened and she looked at Evan. "You're okay..." she said softly and smiled a little at him. Then she lifted her head up and saw and who was holding her. "Erick?"

"Yes, it's me," he replied. He was relieved she'd be all right. Her skin and clothes were darkened by the smoke. And her breathing was consistent now. She fell asleep once again, safe in Erick's arms.