When I heard the chorus for the first time, I went numb: “A devil risen – an angel fallen – this world will not be our prison – fate is calling.”
I wasn’t the only one that felt the power behind those words; the crowd went wild. The stage lights were out of control, in perfect rhythm with the music.
Something odd caught my attention: the confetti that had been shimmering was now gray – like it was covered in a haze, like darkness was beginning to fall. It was working; this song was so powerful, the energy in the room was so electrifying - that it was calling the darkness.
After the bridge of the song, the stage went dark; only white spotlights behind them were blinking. I stared at Draven: his head was down. Though his hands were still moving at an insane speed across the strings, he was still – too still.
I thought the simple question: Where are you?, and at that moment I felt my soul violently ripped from my body; I wasn’t on the balcony anymore.
The air was still, the sky was a haunting shade of every dark color, and the grass in the open field was orange. The energy was dark and heavy. I spun around, looking for any sign of him, and behind me I saw images of all of us: the six of us standing in a perfect circle. I could still hear the song violently playing around us.
The images of all of us were still, and everyone’s head was down except for mine and Draven’s; he was staring coldly into nothing. I stepped between the image of me and him and screamed his name, trying to get his attention, but he wouldn’t move; there was nothing I could do to get a response out of him. I couldn’t bare to look at my image. I didn’t understand how I was in two places at once. I ran around the circle of all of us, screaming, “What’s going on? Where are all of you?!”
I heard a sinister laugh and turned, knowing who it belonged to: Bianca.
“What have you done?!” I yelled at her.
“Nothing,” she said, smiling, as her eyes glistened with pure evil. “Just enjoying the show. I love a good performance.”
“If he’s here, you tell me where – now!”
She laughed again and walked to the still image of him. “Right here,” she said as she moved her hands across his chest. I charged across the circle, but before I could take a step sickening images of her and him played out in the center of all of us. They weren’t innocent, not ones that could be mistaken as me taking it the wrong way; they were images of them locked in a passionate embrace.
I covered my mouth, starting to get sick – believing this illusion. Bianca walked around the edge of the circle, letting her fingertips run across the soulless bodies of each of us. Unwittingly, my eyes returned to the cruel images. As I looked at the back of her neck, the birthmark of two question marks mocking a broken heart was absent; I knew then that these images were a lie – an illusion meant to distract me.
She continued her slow stroll around the circle. “This circle, this balance of good and evil,” she said in a slow, seductive voice, “did nothing but offer me a distraction. It allowed me to have my way with the darkness he is. You can play with him in that world - but here, my power is what he craves…I make all of his wildest fantasies come true.”
She was passing by Winston as she said those evil words. As her fingertips crossed his chest, he came to life all at once and gripped her wrist. Bianca’s eyes grew wide with shock.
Winston pulled her wrist, flinging her out of the circle – and the cruel images vanished with her.
“This is the wrong circle, Charlie – she was distracting you!” he yelled over the thunder that was trying to quiet him.
“What?!” I screamed.
“There are more circles! Find him - this isn’t it!”
It took me a second to understand, then I ran between the images of us. At that moment, lightning erupted, and all across the field I saw sickening images of not only Bianca with Draven, but her with other men.
In the distance, I saw another circle. I didn’t think I had time to run there, so I told myself that I was there, that I wanted to be there – and my soul was jolted forward. This circle was just like the last one, only now Winston’s head was up like mine and Draven’s. Bianca was in the center once again. I pushed my way through to the center.
“I don’t have time for this – where is he?!” I yelled at her.
“I rather like the idea of your clock running out,” she said as she passed by Grayson, who came to life at that moment, grabbed her by her waist, and flung her from the circle.
“You’re closer, Charlie – run!” he yelled.
I pushed my way out of the circle again, looking in every direction. I didn’t know what to do, where to run. The lightning in the sky was mocking the flickering lights on stage in the real word. At that point, it was making me dizzy - but then in flash of light, I saw...purple...I saw a purple sky on a mountain top miles and miles away. I went with my gut and told myself that this was what Monroe was trying to say to me before; this was her unspoken direction.
I focused my stare there, and in an instant I was there. In this circle, Grayson was now aware, along with Winston. Bianca was standing in the center, mocking a bored yawn. She looked at the sky and laughed. “I wonder when this song will end.”
At that moment, Aden came to life and yelled, “When the drums end! I can keep this up all night long!” He then stepped forward, breaking the circle. When he did that, the images of all of us fell, and he was face-to-face Bianca. Grayson and Winston rose to their feet, blocking her in. I knew then that I still wasn’t in the right place. Suddenly, out of nowhere I head a roar – not the roar of thunder, but the roar of Draven’s voice. I turned to see a higher point on the mountain, a point that was covered in deep, dark purple.
I climbed the rocks that led to that part, and when I reached the peak I saw the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen: Draven was there, and around him – surrounding him – was a glowing purple light that mocked fire. Slithering around his feet was a massive snake, and as it hissed I heard Bianca’s voice whispering seductively to him. As he heard her words, he flinched in pain; images of a past that should be forgotten were flickering around the purple fire that was surrounding him.
Lightning flashed, bringing daylight for only an instant - and in that instant I saw dark shadows, a black veil seeping into the ball of fire. The break in the darkness also showed me that I was in the center of another circle – and everyone was aware except Madison. I saw the pain and frustration in the eyes of the others as they watched Draven suffer; they seemed paralyzed, unable to help me.
I wasn’t afraid – I was furious. I lunged forward, grabbed the snake’s tail, and pulled it back. I expected it to be heavy and hard to move, but it was as light as a feather. I then remembered that in this realm I could create whatever I wanted to happen; whatever I needed, it was mine. My confidence grew.
As the snake thrashed around, I threw my wrist up to block it. When its fangs expanded to bite down on my arm, it became frozen with a shocked stare. I saw the gems on my bracelet glowing. I sneered at the snake and imagined that the ground was made of millions and millions of those gems; instantly, the rocks on the surface of the mountain turned into just that, and when they touched the body of the snake, it turned to stone - then fell to ash. I ran toward Draven – toward his roaring screams. Before I could reach him, though, another image of Bianca appeared. I threw her out of my way, only for her appear again.
“What?!” I screamed. “You evil bitch!”
She just laughed. I charged at her again, missing and falling to my knees. She was doing everything in her power to steer me away from where Draven was, and it was infuriating me. Then I saw Madison’s emerald green eyes glisten in the darkness, and I knew she was awake - waiting for her moment. The next time Bianca came near me, I threw her toward Madison; before Bianca had a chance to fade or appear again, Madison had her arms around her. The two of them screamed and yelled, throwing slaps and punches.
Aden yelled, “Draven – Charlie!”
I turned to see that the darkness around the fireball he was standing in was clinging to him – and more was coming; the night sky was pouring into him. I ran to the circle, not even questioning if the fire would burn me. Instantly, I heard the screams of innocents, and I saw the demise of lost souls...I felt the addicting power of their energy pouring into Draven.
I screamed his name, and his eyes blazed right through me. He was struggling to keep his arms down, for them not to reach for me - but as his fingertips reached toward me, I felt part of my soul, my light, being pulled to him. I knew if I didn’t do something – anything - Silas would appear and end him – end us.
I stepped forward and laced my fingers through his. He held my stare; his eyes were still blazing, and an uncharacteristic lust was there. They were changing him, calling him back to the evil he was in the past, which was echoing around us, telling him that he had two choices: either step into the numbness, or fight his past. I wanted him to have three: I wanted him to see his victories, to see the moment he decided to be good long ago. I knew if I could get him to see that moment, he’d be strong enough to fight this pull of darkness forever – strong enough to help me starve out this evil realm.
“Draven!” I screamed. “What happened next?! What happened after this? When was the first time you saw me?”
I had to cover the images before him – block out the sound of the shadows. I imagined the tiny gems surrounding us – encasing us. When they appeared, silence instantly came and the energy around us was tense; it was as if the gems were numbing him, fulfilling his craving for energy – my energy. I had no idea how long this would work, when the desire to pull the light from my soul would take over him.
“What happened next, Draven?” I asked again in a calm, gentle voice.
As the scene around us changed, voices came to life. Together, we witnessed him sitting on a throne, his court entertaining him with a dance. An image of me stepped through the large entryway to the ballroom – and instantly I had his attention. Somehow, I knew this wasn’t the first time I’d laid eyes on him, that I’d been in his presence before. I heard echoes of our voices speaking words that led to that moment.
My gown was long and cream-colored, but the candles in the room made it look white. He stood as his court parted for me to move closer, ordering everyone away. The image of me ran from him, but he caught me in his arms on an open balcony, then gazed into my eyes and whispered, “I shall give you anything if you allow me to live here.” As he rested his hand in the center of my chest, you could see the glow of my skin under his touch – my light being pulled from me. My image placed my hand on his chest and said, “Set them free - all of them - and I will stand by you for all of time.”
His eyes grew wide with surprise. It was as if that was the last thing he expected me to say - as if I were the first person to acknowledge what he was.
“Promise?” he whispered, holding my gaze.
“Promise,” I replied in a shaky voice that was trembling with fear. It wasn’t an empty promise; I could see the passion, love, and devotion I had for him in my eyes...I was just as addicted to him as he was to me.
In that instant, shadows came to his eyes, then poured out of his body. He began to scream in pain, and in a natural instinct he began to pull them back to him. I fell to my knees next to him and held his face in my hands. “The pain is temporary – I am eternal...set them free.”
He gasped in pain, then all at once every ounce of darkness escaped his body, and the night sky turned to daylight. His people, his servants were restored; all that was taken from them was retuned, and the light of their souls beamed around us.
I knew what we were seeing was temporary and that at some point after this moment, he would be thrown out of that life - punished by the devil himself for releasing the darkness. I didn’t want him to see that.
“Draven,” I whispered again, calling us out of that illusion into the hell that was all around us. I took his hand and put it on the center of my chest, then placed mine on his. “Release them...live with me in eternity.”
In his image, I saw a glow beaming from me. I didn’t want it to be too tempting to him – to make this harder on him. I thought of my butterflies, and instantly they all appeared, surrounding us; it was as if at that moment, they were a perfect combination of both of our powers – both light and darkness…it was a balance that couldn’t tempt either of us.
At that moment, he screamed in pain, and shadows seeped from every part of him. The rocks around us fell, and the butterflies pulled the darkness from him and into the sky above; they were leading them to their escape – a way out of this realm.
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me for dear life. Over his shoulder, I saw Madison fling Bianca over the edge of the mountain.
“Finish the song, baby,” I whispered into his neck.
I felt my soul jolt, and all at once I was back on that balcony. The lights were on Draven as he began to sing the chorus again: ‘A devil risen - an angel fallen - this world will not be our prison – fate is calling.’
I turned and ran for the stairs. Madison was right behind me
“Did you kill her?!” I yelled over the music as we raced down the stairs.
“No, not yet; she’s just begun to torment us. But I will – I promise you that!” she answered.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I ran down the hall, looking for an entrance to the stage. I saw Evan ahead, holding a door open for me, and I raced past him, finding myself on the stage just as Draven played the last chord of the song. I didn’t care that there were thousands of people watching; I ran to him. He pushed his guitar behind him and held his arms out for me. When I reached him, he squeezed me as tight as he could and spun us around in circles as Aden finished the last beat of the drums. The crowd roared, and the energy in the room was pulsing through us.
He sat me down gently, leaned his forehead to mine, and let his hands rise to my face. “Eternity!” he yelled over the crowd.
“Promise!” I yelled as I reached up and let my lips rest on his. Our embrace just made the crowd grow even wilder. Our lips slowed, and he whispered into my ear, “Do you hear that?”
I nodded. “They love you.”
He shook his head. “Listen.”
With questioning eyes, I stared at him and listened; the crowd wasn’t making all the noise...my whispers were back – and they were fierce, screaming our names. I looked out at the crowd to see the confetti falling from the ceiling. Shadows mocking the dark images of lost souls were in every dark corner of this place...we’d done it: they were back.
Chapter Nineteen
Draven and the others bowed to the crowd, then with his arm around me we left the stage. His father was waiting for him with a proud smile.
“Proud of you, son,” Evan said.
Draven held my hand tightly as the other band members flocked around him. One of the lead vocalists from the band that played before him patted Draven’s chest and said, “Man, those were some wicked roars near the end of that song – your throat must be killing you!”
Draven half-heartedly smiled and squeezed my hand as we both remembered what had caused those roars. As others flocked around us, I felt arms around my waist and looked up to see Aden holding me. In my ear, he whispered, “You’re fearless – I couldn’t have touched that snake,” in a teasing manner.
“Yeah, right,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I saw how badly you wanted to move.” He nodded his head and smiled, revealing his trademark dimples, then handed me his drumsticks before pushing his way through the crowd. There were so many people, I couldn’t breathe.
“I’m gonna get air,” I said to Draven as I let his hand go. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t want me to leave him, but he could see that I couldn’t breathe, so he let my hand go.
I pushed through the crowd, hearing “Happy Birthday, Charlie!” over and over. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, so I just said “Thank you” over and
over. Madison was on her phone by the door. I handed her Aden’s drumsticks, then nodded to the door, telling her I needed air. She took them as she nodded and held up one finger.
I felt the cool October air rush by me as I stepped outside, and I heard something devious that made me smile: my sinister whispers - they were back, and I was ready to help them now, to find a way to their light…I just had to figure out how.
I took in a deep breath, then let another one out. I tried to process what had just happened; it all seemed unreal, like a nightmare that had come and gone, leaving me peacefully in my reality. People were pushing past me, so I walked away from the door and down the sidewalk, feeling my breaths slowly come back to me.
In the distance, I saw a small shadow sitting on the curb, facing the football field. I walked in that direction, thinking it was odd for someone to be all alone way over there. When I got closer, I saw that it was a girl, and when I’d almost reached them I saw that it was Monroe.
“Hey,” I said as I got closer.
She didn’t turn at the sound of my voice, which scared me, so I jogged to her. When I put my hand on her shoulder, she looked up.
“Why are you over here all alone?”
She looked back to the field in front of her. “Listening.”
“To what?” I asked, wondering if she heard more in the whispers around me, beyond the honks of all the cars trying to leave at once; they were all I could hear.
She didn’t answer me; she simply held out the palm of her hand and showed me a single white butterfly that was glowing in the night. She blew gently, and the butterfly fluttered to the field; my gaze followed to see a purple haze in the distance.
Without knowing why, I crossed the parking lot and stepped into the field. The moment my feet landed on the dying grass, I heard silence and felt a calm come over me – a familiar calm. A few wandering butterflies drifted to the right, and I followed them.