Nephilum

Chapter 5

When I opened my eyes the first thing I noticed was a ceiling fan above me, moving in endless circles. The repeated action odly calmed me. The second thing I noticed was how my head and throat pounded, like World War two was occuring inside my body.

I groaned, sitting up. The pain in my head and throat increased tenfold. I did my best to ignore it as I scanned the unfamiliar room around me. I looked in a full length mirror hanging on the wall. I looked pretty much the same as I had when I first went to the library. Only now my clothes and face were dirty and I smelled like smoke.

I used to love the smell of smoke. It reminded me of late night bonfires with my friends. Something tells me I'm not going to enjoy that smell for a while.

I briefly wondered where I was. I walked over to the door, slightly surprised to find it ajar. I opened it and walked through the long hallway before me. It was particularly silent and I tiptoed, as not to disrupt the stillness.

I slowly crept to the end of the hall that lead to a living room. I gingerly peeked around the corner and my breath caught in my throat. James sat there on the couch, next to a tall, skinny guy. I could only glimpse the black hair of the stranger lounging on the couch.

"You can stop lurking." James said. "We know you're there."

At this, the unfamiliar guy turned his head, turning his striking blue eyes on me. He was also extremely handsome, but not as handsome as James.

Before I could stop myself I said the first thing that came to my mind. "You killed someone." It wasn't a question. I mentally scolded myself for bringing up the fact that I witnissed him killling someone. How do I know he's not going to kill me in order to keep his secret?

I subconciously stared edging toward the door. The guy I haven't seen before smiled apologetically. "Dude, you're freaking her out. Stop brooding."

James smiled slightly and shook his head. "Elizabeth, meet Michael. Michael, meet Elizabeth."

"Lizzy." I corrected him. No one but James has used my full name except my parents when I'm in trouble.

"Don't let him freak you out, he's just being moody." Michael said with a smile. If it weren't for the fact that he could possibly be a serial killer, I would like him. He seems very...interesting, to say the least. His black shirt and black skinny jeans deeply contrasted his pale skin.

"Back to what I said earlier. You killed someone." I stated, an edge to my voice.

"Your friend Joyce is fine. No thanks to me." James continued, ignoring me. He eyed me curiously. "You going to sit down or what?"

I didn't feel like standing awkwardly so I reluctantly sat on the couch opposite them. I was tense and they could tell. "Relax, we're not going to kill you."

"How am I supposed to believe that? You literally just killed someone a few hours ago."

"Actually, the fire was a few days ago." James replied. My eyes widened in surprise. It didn't feel like I was unconcous for days.

"Stop avoiding the subject. Why did you kill that guy?" I asked, a tone of annoyance growing evident in my voice.

"Well, this is getting awkward." Michael stated. "I need to go do something, somewhere else."

James rolled his eyes, none too subtly as Michael left the room.

"That guy was a demon. He aslo started the fire that nearly killed you and you friend. For some reason he wanted to kill you. Do you know why?" He said it like he thought I was hiding something.

"Are you crazy? There is no such thing as demons. What's next, is Harry potter going to come bursting in on his broomstick, demanding you're Voldemort?" I asked. I knew I was ranting, but this dude seriously thought he could justify killing someone by saying the victim is a demon.

"Are you blind? Did you not see his red eyes? Did you not think something was up when you just appeared outside my car?" He was getting frustrated too and I couldn't help but feel satisfyed at the fact that I could get him riled up.

"You are insane! Demons do not exist, and you should be in jail right now. You've probably killed before, haven't you?"

He didn't say anything. "Oh my God. Gow many people have you killed? Two? Ten?"

He still didn't answer me, just looked at me curiously.

"Dang it James, answer me!"

"I'm an angel." He blurted out.

I looked at him for a second, too stunned to speak. Without a word, I stood up and walked toward the front door. Before I could take two steps, James was in front of me. "Let me go." I said through gritted teeth when he grabbed my elbow.

"You can't leave Elizabeth. It's not safe."

"That's great, coming from a murderer." I retorted.

"I'm serious. You are in dan-" He was interupted by the sound of an explosion and glass breaking. James cursed under his breath, drawing his knife from his sleeve so quickly it was like second nature to him.

Seconds later, Michael was standing there with them. Seven demons burst through the windows. James and Michael stood in front of me, forcing me to peek over their shoulders to see what was happening.

They surrounded us. Though I hated to admit it, I was terrified. I mean, who wouldn't be? Seven red eyed people with various weapons were standing in front of me.

I bit back a scream and squared my shoulders. James said they wanted to kill me, what better time to find out why? I stepped in front of James and Michael, facing the most formal looking demon.

"Why are you here." I asked. My voice sounded confident, but I had to ball my hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

The demon raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"You'll find out soon enough." The demon smiled and in that moment, all I wanted to do was wipe it off his face. I went to take a step foward, but a hand from behind grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back.

"Enough talking. Are we going to do this or what?" Michael said from behind me.

There was a tense moment where I felt the need to hold my breath before everything turned into complete pandemonium.