My Demons

Chapter Twenty

Tess was in Levi's room, pinned against the wall. He walked toward her, his grey eyes sad,
"Why didn't you save me Tess?" Tess looked at the bullet wound through his head,
"Levi I wanted to, but I couldn't," She pleaded,
"You let him kill me," His voice turned dark,
"Levi, Silas had no choice," Levi crossed the room in the blink of an eye. He slammed her spine against the wall, and his eyes turned black,
"Levi, wake up!" Tess screamed. He wrapped his hand around her throat,
"You let him kill me and now I will kill you!!" He squeezed down onto her throat and Tess started gagging,
"I will rise from my grave and all will be lost!" He cackled,
"The ground will cry tears of blood!" Tess clawed at his hands, as he pushed harder. She could feel the life being sapped out of her. She screamed one last time.
   

~

Tess sat up and screamed,
"Help!" She gripped the blankets. Warm hands reached for her and she fought them,
"Help!" She screamed, kicking and writhing in blind madness,
"Tess! Tess, calm down!" Silas's voice said urgently. Tess kept fighting until Silas finally pinned her hands,
"Tess, stop it!" He shouted. Tess looked around, her vision clearing. Silas was holding onto her with a fearful expression in his eyes,
"Oh Silas," Tess wrapped her arms around him, clinging to the only thing she could trust in life. Silas pulled away from her,
"What's wrong?" He asked. Tess swallowed,
"It was a nightmare."
"About what?"
"Levi and the demon, but it seemed so realistic, so tangible," Tess muttered,
"What happened?"
"The demon said that he was going to rise from the grave and the ground would cry tears of blood," Tess shivered. Silas looked troubled,
"It can't happen can it?" Tess asked,
"What?"
"The dead rising."
"No," Silas answered, "it was probably just a bad nightmare," Tess couldn't shake the weird feeling the dream gave her. She got up and went to the bathroom, splashing water on her face. She knew Silas was probably watching her from the make-shift bed he had on the floor. Tess wouldn't admit it, but she wanted Silas to be near her at all times, and he didn't seem to mind staying close to her,
"You look worn out," Silas commented from the floor,
"I am," Tess said, walking out of the bathroom. Levi's funeral had been three days ago. She was slowly shifting back to normal, and was going to return to school next week. Her parents had given her all the space she needed, and she finally had time to think. She brought the Seers book out from under her bed and opened it to the marked page. Silas had been teaching her the secrets of the ancient book. He looked at the page briefly before standing at the foot of the bed,
"Now besides being able to speak Latin, Seers can also move things at will, but it takes immense concentration," He pointed to the book on her nightstand,
"Bring that book to you, by flotation," Tess sighed, she didn't see the reasoning behind the exercise, but she would do it,
"Adveho ad ego," Tess said the Latin words easily. They came to her like an instinct. She concentrated on moving the book, but it slid to the edge of the nightstand and fell to the floor with a thud. Tess frowned,
"Focus Tess, you are powerful, you are better than this," Tess hated it when Silas talked like that. Telling her "she had the world at her fingers" or "she wields a weapon of power" it made her feel like everyone should fear her, and Silas said they should. She focused on the book once more calling to it. It slowly came off the floor and steadily toward her. She got so excited that it began to drop, but she caught it before it hit the floor. Waving it triumphantly, she turned to Silas, but he was frowning,
"You must concentrate until you finish the task or you will be vulnerable," Tess huffed,
"Thanks for the 'great job Tess, you're doing great,'" Silas smiled,
"Good job," Tess rolled her eyes. She sat down and idly flipped the pages in the book. She stopped at one that showed a demon, it looked like it was separating from a human,
"What is this spell?" She asked, intrigued. Silas frowned,
"You aren't ready for that."
"What is it, Silas?" Tess demanded,
"It's a demon expulsion spell," Silas said quietly,
"You mean, that you can separate the demon from the human it possesses?"
"Yes, but it is very complicated and should not be used unless the situation is dire," Tess froze,
"I could've saved Levi..." She started,
"No Tess, the spell would've killed you," Silas seemed angry at her suggestion. Tess looked up at him,
"I think we're done for today," Silas grabbed the book and closed it. Tess glared at him angrily, but he ignored her,
"Tess, you can't do everything," Silas's voice was low,
"What good is this whole Seer thing if I can't even save the people closest to me?" Tess growled,
"Tess, your gift can help save thousands of people, it was just too late for Levi, and you have to accept that," Tess knew he was right, but it still pained her,
"Everything seems so hopeless, you know," Tess flopped down on her bed and looked at the ceiling. Silas laid down much more gently beside her. Tess turned her head and looked at Silas's golden eyes, his gorgeous golden eyes. Silas held her gaze, his eyes searching; they always seemed to be searching,
"I wish that the world would just fade away and that I could just sit here like this...with you," The words slipped before she could stop them. Silas propped his elbow up and rested his chin on his hand,
"What did you say?" He asked, a smirk playing on his lips,
"Don't act like you didn't hear that, you knew what I said," Tess said grumpily. Silas smiled,
"You want to know the truth?" He said,
"What's that?" Tess looked up at him,
"I would rather be with you, then with any other person," Silas admitted. Tess felt her cheeks grow warm,
"Even if you are an annoying, nagging, bullheaded-"
"Hey!" Tess cut him off poking his side. Silas laughed and tried to get away from her,
"I'll get you for that," He tickled at her sides and Tess squealed,
"Stop it!" She laughed, banging her fists against him playfully. Silas grabbed her around the waist preventing her from getting away. Tess twisted around, trying to break his grasp. She flipped over in an attempt to move away from him, but instead her lips came inches from his. She felt all of Silas's muscles tense up, and she realized how warm his skin was. Tess looked into his golden eyes that flashed with apprehensiveness. Her breath hitched because suddenly, she wanted to kiss him. Silas didn't move, and Tess couldn't even feel him breathing,
"Don't Tess," He said quietly. Tess immediately understood. The angel rules, if she kissed Silas he would be in a lot of trouble. Tess rolled off of Silas quickly. He sat up, and looked extremely uncomfortable,
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Tess apologized. Silas held up a hand,
"It's fine, just don't bring it up in the future okay?" Tess thought she caught something unsure in his voice,
"Okay," She answered. She and Silas both sat in a quiet silence for about five minutes. She smirked at a thought and looked at him,
"Have you ever been kissed?" She asked. Silas shook his head, chuckling,
"Just because I'm angel, doesn't mean I don't have fun."
"So you have kissed someone then?" Tess quirked an eyebrow,
"Yes, another angel," Silas gave a sly grin. Tess wondered what the girl looked like, was she perfect like Silas?
"I won't bother asking if you have ever kissed someone."
"Why?" Tess asked curiously,
"Remember, angel, watches you at all times," Tess thought of the time Levi and she had kissed in his car, and she blushed,
"Yes, I saw that," Silas said grudgingly,
"Sorry," Tess looked away from him, wondering why Silas hadn't just looked away, but she knew he wouldn't want to answer that question. She looked at Silas's clothing. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt,
"I thought angels wore little white robes, and golden sandals?" Silas rolled his eyes,
"Common misconception, we only wear robes on certain occasions and they look a lot different."
"So you don't fly around on clouds half naked?" Tess smirked,
"Stupid cherubs, ruined our good name," Silas grumbled, Tess laughed,
"Do you ever wish you could be human?" Silas contemplated the question for a second,
"I think it would be interesting to be a human for a little bit. I don't understand the things humans do sometimes though."
"Like what?"
"Like trying to go to Mars," Silas said. Tess laughed, but then realized Silas was being completely serious,
"If God wanted you guys to live on Mars he would have put you there in the first place," Silas pointed out. Tess had to agree with him,
"I think it would be cool to explore Mars, but not to live on it," Silas gave a nod of agreement,
"Want something to eat?" She asked, her stomach had finally settled and she was hungry,
"That would be nice," Silas answered. Tess jumped off her bed and opened the bedroom door.  She walked into the kitchen as her father was walking out. He silently passed Silas without a word, but their disliking for each other was almost tangible,
"When will your father stop hating me?" Silas asked, opening a cabinet,
"How about whenever you stop hating him," Tess suggested,
"I don't hate him," Silas grumbled,
"Well you haven't exactly buddied up to him either. If anything you did the opposite."
"It's just, if you're a fallen angel it's nothing to be proud of, and angel's do not like being in the same room as the fallen," Silas seemed irritated just speaking of fallen angels. Tess found some leftover food in the fridge and set it out for her and Silas. She watched him eat out of the corner of her eye. Apparently angels still had the appetites of humans,
"How is your leg?" Tess asked him from across the table,
"It's alright" Silas didn't look at her,
"You're an awful liar," Tess smirked. Silas sighed,
"It still hurts, but it's better than yesterday," Tess frowned. Whenever it came to Silas's well-being, he was so careless. This made her wonder if he was lying again. She looked at him again and noticed he had stopped eating,
"Did you not like the casserole?" Tess poked hers curiously. Silas shook his head,
"No, the casserole was fine, I just..I have something for you."
"Alright and that would be?" Tess asked, propping her elbows on the table and putting her chin in her hands. He drew something out of his pocket that was sheathed in leather, its handle sticking out. The leather had intricate marks on it, which looked like endless amounts of ink black swirls,
"What is it?" Tess asked, taking it slowly,
"Open it and see," Silas answered, giving away nothing. She grabbed the handle of the item, it was pure white ivory, but with the same black swirls on it as its case. As she drew the majestic item out of its case, she realized it was a dagger. Not just any dagger either, it was made with celestial bronze. The blade flashed blue as it caught the light,
"Silas, it's beautiful," She eyed the dagger in wonder,
"I figured you would need something to defend yourself with, in case you came across more demons," Silas said modestly. Tess looked at him,
"You made this didn't you?" She asked surprised,
"Yes," Silas ducked his head,
"Thank you," Tess smiled. She wondered how long a project like this could have taken,
"I thought after Levi died, I would never be able to be happy again," Tess looked at Silas's gold eyes,
"But Silas, you're changing that for me."