‹ Prequel: Dead Silence

Dead Wrong

The Truth Never Set Me Free

I couldn’t believe this; I can’t believe I’d fallen for their tricks yet again. How stupid could I have been? I’d token this “lost” little boy’s story and believed it. He’d played me like a fool. I’ve simply been a puppet on the strings to these creatures.

James dropped his head; something inside me was urging me to grab the steak that was on the bed and stab it through his heart. What does he mean he had to? Demons don’t bow to anyone, they have no masters right?

James’ eyes met mine, but only for a second before he dashed out the room. It took a second before my brain registered what he was doing, but as soon as I did I ran after him. I sprinted down the stairs and threw the foyer. I could see his sandy brown hair whip past a corner. I slowed down, feeling my heart pound in my chest.

He’s slipped inside the old laundry room, a dead end. My hands were trembling as I stepped closer to the wooden door frame. I was unarmed; my panic had made me forget to grab the stake. I could hear his uneven breathing only feet away.

“James?” I called his name, breaking the eerie silence.

There was no answer from the young boy as I stepped into the small room. My eyes drifted over to the corner of the room, where he sat huddled against the wall. I felt my heart skip a beat as I saw him, cowered over there. I could easily kill him now, in the body of a child like that, how hard could it be?

Carefully, as not to alarm him I crept over to where he was. I reached out a hand to him, before I could make contact with him, I heard a low growl. It wasn’t a human noise, but rather a feline’s growl.

“Snowball?” I questioned the cat that was perched up on the laundry machine. The cat’s normal eye color flashed a deep red as if she’d been caught in on coming head lights. That was just it though, there were no lights, and in fact the room was quite dark.

She opened her mouth, a horrible hissing sound emitting from it before she leaped down in a single bond. Her paws seemed to hug the floor as she made her way over to James. His body was shaking as he watched the cat. Snowball’s eyes were on me though as she came to a stop in-between James and my hand.

I stared at the cat, wondering what it was trying to communicate. I thought animals hated demons, so why is it stopping me? James took the chance to stand up; although he was still cornered he seemed somewhat more confident.

Snowball hissed on final time before brushing past me and running out of the room.
“You caught me” James said in a cool voice. There was no longer fear in his eyes, but rather defeat.

“Y-yes I know what you are, I just don’t know who” he looked around the room as if to see if anyone was watching him before he leaned down, whispering in my ear.

“Let’s go somewhere else” he said. Something in me possessed me to nod my head, agreeing. I followed him outside and over to the over growing flower garden. Why here, why out of the house?

“You’re right, I’m not a lost little boy, and I am a demon” he spoke as if it were nothing. I bit my lip, knowing exactly how much danger I was in. Little or not, he was dangerous.

“I am James though, I just haven’t been him for a while…” he trailed off.

“I lied to you, my parents weren’t kill in a car accident, but there were bad people after us, just not people…” as he said this he looked broken. His eyes looked up into mine as if pleading with me for help.

“Lilly, you have to help me, I don’t want to be this, I don’t want to kill people” he begged in barely a whisper. My heart broke from him, what does he mean?

“I don’t know how to help you”

“You know what I’m talking about though, because he tortures you too” he began to cry.

His voice was so quiet that I had to read the name off his lips. It was clear though who he was talking about as his lips formed the name “Abaddon”. My breath hitched in my throat as the truth begun to set in, Abaddon had indeed found a new taker.

“You hear him all the time, just like I do; he talks to me, inside my head. I hear him day and night, he tells me to do these horrid things. If don’t he hurts you instead. Lilly I’m supposed to kill you…” tears pricked at my eyes as I heard this little boy begin to tell the dark tale.

“I suppose you want to know why?” I nodded silently.

“The laws of the demon world forbid us for taking lives out of hate or spite, but Abaddon’s no ordinary demon, he’s a council member. There’s a hierarchy of demons, the Lord being the top, and Abaddon and him are very close.”

“It allows him to bend the laws, the rules. He’s so enraged about losing Jezebel to you, that he’s willing to break those rules in order to torture and kill you. The Lord, from what Abaddon told me fixed it so that Jack wouldn’t realize what I was, it was supposed to be quick, but I just couldn’t do it”

“Couldn’t do what?”
“Kill you… you are the closet thing I have to a family, and I miss my parents so much” he said, tears spilling form his eyes.

“I know what I’m supposed to do, and I know what I am, but… I can’t”
“Is that why you tried to kill yourself?” I asked.

“Yes… but demons can’t die, not like humans can, and I get so hungry, so sick, and I’m forced to do horrible things to people, to eat them!” my heart reached out for the pained boy.
I knew he could very well have been lying to me, in order to make me trust him. Something deep down inside of me told me he wasn’t though. He was scared, and lost. He needed help.

“I want to die, I don’t want to be this, but I’m scared of the pain”

“We’re all scared of pain James”
“I know, but it’s not easy”

I reached a hand out, kneeling down to his level. I want to know this boy’s story; I want to help him escape this hell. I can’t let Abaddon win; he can’t have another innocent soul.

“How did you become this James?”
“The same way they all do… the deal”
“Who made the deal?”

“My father, it was almost five years ago, and we were very poor. We hardly had enough money to keep our house and one day this man came by and he said that we had a week to pay the rest of our loans or we’d be thrown on the street”

“I didn’t know it then, but Abaddon had heard his moment of weakness, and he’d come. He made a deal with my dad to give him money in return for his soul, and he accepted. Things got better and we were able to pay off the lone. I didn’t know it but apparently Abaddon did, my dad was close to death already, he’d given five years, and stay true to his word…”

“But then one day he came to collect, my dad was sick, but we thought nothing of it. A man stood there in my den, he was tall” James whispered.

“He had long blond hair a these sharp claws, it was him. He wasn’t supposed to be there, in the human world, but the laws permit that if a dealer loses his taker he can find a new one… he didn’t want my dad though… he wanted someone young, someone easy to manipulate, he wanted a child”

Of course he did, like James said. Children are trusting and naive, kill their parents and promise them love and affection they become clay in your hands. James swallowed hard before continuing.

“My dad refused to go, and in one motion he became a bloody mess, my mom screamed but her fate was the same. I tried to run, but he’d already made up his mind. When he caught me, I hoped for the same fate, but it didn’t come. He took me, and brought me to this place… this other world and he told me that he’d love me and take care of me, if I only did what he said”

“Lilly I didn’t want to, but I was so scared!” he tried to justify. I put my hand on his shoulder and nodded.

“I understand why you did it James, you don’t have to explain that to me”

“I’m so sorry… I am so, so sorry, I thought maybe I could escape, but I can’t. I still feel all the emotions all my humanity, but I’m this monster!”

He grabbed onto my wrist and pulled me closer to him. His eyes were full of fear and terror.

“Please help me, please help me escape!” he begged. I hesitated. Agreeing to help this child means turning my back on Jack. It’s a leap of faith; I could lose my life in doing this. Yet what other choice do I have? If Abaddon really is after me, then I’m going to perish anyways, the least I can do is save another soul.

“I promise I will do anything possible to save you James”
“Thank you” he cried, hugging me tight.

“I’m going to save you” I whispered to myself.
♠ ♠ ♠
Sorry for the long wait, but here it is. I promise to have the rest of this book up soon, it's almost over. Of course there are two more books still left, but you know what I mean.