The Fallen Memory

Chapter Seven ~ The Deadly Flaw

"What the hell have you done!"

Ryder was standing in front of the bay windows, his back turned toward Alyxa.

"I saved them." His voice was hard. Cold as steel.

"No. You condemned them, Ryder. You stole them from Death. You just placed a bounty on those two girls."

Ryder's hands gripped his biceps, his arms crossed over his naked chest. He never bothered to put a shirt on once he got back. He was too busy trying to make sure the girls were stable.

His teeth ground together.

"Why do you think that?"

Truth was, he never thought about that possibility.

Alyxa gave an exasperated sigh. "You know as well as I do, Ryder, that there was a reason those two girls had wrecked. It was their Fate, and you just set everything off balance. You are going to have to fix this, mister.

"How? By taking their souls?"

"Actually, yes."

Ryder turned in his heels, his jaw dropping as he stared at her.

"I can't do that."

"Yes you can. I've seen you do it before. My God, it's your flaw, Ryder. It's what you do best."

His hands formed fists as he stared at her, his gaze black as night and cold as ice.

"Don't. Remind. Me." He managed through gritted teeth.

Alyxa stepped forward, placing a freshly manicured hand on his tense bicep. "I know you don't want to, but you have to. Would you rather have the demons find them and do it?"

He flexed his jaw. "No."

She rubbed her hand over his shoulders, her nails slightly digging into his skin. "Good. When are you going to do it then?'

Ryder turned to stare out the windows, his eyes trailing over the horizon. The navy sky had started to shift to a light blue as the day approached.

"Maybe later. I need to rest for now. I'm drained." Ryder stepped away from Alyxa, her hands falling to her sides.

He turned and walked out of her room without another word.

∞ ~ ∞ ~ ∞

The silence was deafening. Ryder's mind kept whirling with images and thoughts about the light brown haired mortal girl.

I hope she makes it.

The thought scared him. Partly because he was worrying about a mortal girl who was doomed to die. Also for the fact that he actually cared.

"What's happening to me?" He whispered as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

First he feeds without control. Then he gets engulfed by his inner inferno. Now he was worrying about mortals.

Ryder fell back onto his bed, his eyes closed, trying to block out the hectic world around him.

A soft knock resonated through his room. He sighed before sitting up.

"What?" His voice was harsher than he intended.

"Ryder?" Ander's soft voice whispered. Ryder watched as the door cracked open to reveal a tired looking Ander. Dark bags were under his eyes and his skin was a pastey white color.

Ryder jumped up in alarm and strode over to him. Ander was leaning heavily on the door, his knuckles white from his iron grip on the metal knob.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Ander closed his eyes and took a ragged breath. "Just... drained is all."

His mind went back to the mortal girls. Ander had taken them into the basement to heal them.

"Are they..." He trailed off, unsure how to ask Ander without expressing his concern for the lowlife mortals.

Ander nodded, reading his ami's thoughts. "Yes, they're both stable." Ryder let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. A weight lifted off his shoulders as his muscles loosened.

"How are you managing?" He asked.

Ander gave a weak smile. "I've been better. That one girl drained me. She was only a heartbeat away from Death."

"Which one?" Ryder asked, trying to be nonchalant.

Ander closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. "It was the one with the light brown hair. She was... if you had waited any longer to bring her here, she would have died." Ander's metallic eyes stared into Ryder's ink black ones. "You saved her life, Ryder."

Ryder felt something deep in him stir, something ancient that touched his soul.

Safe. She's safe. Ryder closed his eyes as a warmth spread through him.

"Can I go and see them?"

"Sure. Go on ahead. I'm going to stay here and rest."

Ryder nodded and followed him out. He watched as Ander walked into his room. Ryder turned the knob and opened the door to the basement. As he stepped onto the rickety wooden steps, he closed the heavy door and instantly became submerged in darkness.

∞ ~ ∞ ~ ∞

She was beautiful.

Even battered and bloodied, she still looked stunning.

That was Ryder's first thought.

His second was why the hell was he thinking that.

He ran a trembling hand through his hair. His eyes trailed over her as she laid there on the makeshift hospital bed.

Her brown hair had billowed around her like a rustic halo. Her eyes were closed, shielding the unknown hue they owned.

He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. His fingers ached to wrap around her cold hands, to warm her frigid body. Instead, Ryder brushed a strand of hair from her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. His fingers caressing the soft skin of her cheek.

Something moved inside him. He could feel his soul start to blaze as his palms heated up. He looked down at his hands, the tattoo on his arm started to glow a faint orange.

He quickly pulled his hand away, scared he might harm her. For some reason he was mesmerized by her - this girl he didn't even know.