My Fallen Demon

Chapter Three

DAPHNE 

The silhouette of an unrecognizable figure startled me.

Although I knew this was in no way a hidden spot, I had always assumed I was the only one who visited this place. The tall oak trees surrounding the secluded clearing and the dense patch of undergrowth had all human tourists heading in the other direction. It was almost like a thick, natural wall had deliberately been built to keep people away, but I couldn't imagine anyone dedicating so much time to such a tedious task. Nature had its way of rendering me speechless sometimes.

I skittered closer, careful to step on patches without dry leaves, and my eyes widened as I spotted two red horns peeping out of a clump of light brown hair on a boy's head. A theory crossed my mind, but it couldn't be true. I was in the human world, in a place I thought only I knew about.

The guy must have sensed my presence because he half-turned to look at me. He appeared startled as he scrambled to his feet. His hood was pulled over his head before I could inspect the horns—which must have been fake—and take a closer look. I cursed him for wearing a hoodie; the shredded wings, or lack thereof, would have been a dead giveaway.

We gazed at each other for a long while, neither one saying anything. The silence held more meaning than words ever could. My fist clenched and unclenched as I tried to find a way to distract myself from the present. It was ridiculous, but I would not be the one to speak first. I might be face-to-face with a demon for the first time ever in my life. The bedtime stories about them were carved into my brain, and I had to refrain from taking a step back from the boy as a precaution. He probably wasn't a demon anyway, couldn't be. Besides, even if he was, I would never willingly show weakness by cowering away.

When his gaze strayed to a spot behind me, I became aware of my temporary lapse of common sense. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And it's not even the first time. I immediately made my wings disappear, hoping against hope he would think he was hallucinating. Fingers crossed he doesn't act as rashly as the humans I encountered ages ago, although I know I'm better prepared if it comes to that. Ever since my first failed assignment, I had never been so frozen in place that I allowed myself to get caught. A mistake made twice means the lesson was never learned.

The loud rustling of leaves to my right startled me. Mine and the not-demon's heads snapped towards the noise, and a second later the head of a young girl popped out of the bushes. I blinked at her, dumbfounded and trying to come to terms with the sight in front of me.

Two strangers in one day?

I had come here to get my mind off this morning's disastrous events and instead met two humans in a place I thought no living soul besides me knew about. Truth be told, though, this unforeseen encounter had proved to be a sufficient distraction; my mind was racing with thoughts and theories to the point where everything else had faded into a dull blur in the background. I had been visiting this clearing for over a millenia, and today not one, but two humans showed up.

The girl waved at us awkwardly, a sheepish grin on her rose-tinted face. "Hi. I'm Amy."

We both stared at her openly. Amy shifted her feet and dropped her gaze to the ground when we kept gazing at her without uttering a single word to break the silence. After a few moments Amy glanced up again, a determined look on her face.

"How did you do it?" Her prying stare pierced through me like daggers, this time making me be the one to look away.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." My eyes wandered over to hers once more. Maintaining eye contact was crucial if Amy was going to believe I wasn't lying.

Amy looked ready to fire a series of questions at me but her words died on her tongue as our eyes met. I nearly grinned when I realized I had what my friends had dubbed 'the effect' on her. Ever since I was young, everyone always told me my piercing blue eyes, eyes the color of the sea water as it glinted under the sun's golden rays, made them uncomfortable. My stare was as intimidating as someone else's coldest glare; I was often told it felt like I was peering into their very souls.

"Those eyes... I know you!" the girl gasped. "You're the witch!"

Witch?

From my time spent in the human world, I had discovered that substances which made you loony or delirious existed. I assumed poor Amy was under their influence. "You must have mistaken me for someone else," I said kindly. "I have to go now."

Before I could communicate with the guy silently, have him follow me so I could find out what he knew and suspected, the girl grabbed my arm in a vice-like grip. Her sharp nails dug into my skin. I hissed in pain and tried to shake her off, but she only held on tighter.

"The hell is up with you? Let go of me this instant!"

I heard the guy chuckle at my profanity. I shot him a deadly glare in response. Just because I was an angel—which, hopefully, he didn't even know—didn't mean I'd allow strangers to grab me without protesting rather loudly and obscenely.

"Please, wait. I've been looking for you for so long," Amy said.

Her hand remained wrapped around my upper arm as she balanced her backpack on one knee, almost like she thought I would disappear if she let go. She threw out an assortment of things—weird-looking gadgets, mostly—before her features lit up with a triumphant smile. A round bottle, half full with purple powder, dangled from her grip.

Amy released my arm, and I assumed she was fully aware she had captured my attention. Amy unstoppered the bottle and carefully deposited a few particles of the powder on her outstretched palm. I threw a furtive side glance at the guy, who hadn't said a word since I saw him, but his gaze was fixated on Amy.

I nearly gasped as Amy closed her eyes and threw a pinch of the purple powder into her mouth. She coughed.

Amy's brown eyes took on a light grayish-blue hue. Her black hair faded into blond. An all too familiar girl stared at me, rendering me speechless.