Chapter Seven

I watched as the tree's swayed in the moonlight, casting shadows across the vast backyard. I wasn't sure how much time had past. An hour? Two? Five?

I paced. I cried. I braided my hair. I played cards.

But nothing I did was able to distract me from staring at the grain of the door. A couple times I went up to it and started to kick it, shove it, cry out to Blake to let me leave. Each time I would collapse onto the ground and a new batch of tears would spout from my eyes.

"Ugh," I groaned out loud and flopped down onto the bed. 'Just open. Open. Open open open,' I thought fiercely, narrowing my eyes at the door. 'Open. Open. Open…'

I thought I began to hallucinate. Because suddenly, the door creaked open, opening an inch at a time.

Cautiously, I walked up and swatted at the opening. All my hand met was air. So I wasn't hallucinating. The door really did open.

I put one foot out and leaned my body out of the room. There was a hallway. It was dark. All I could see was shadows. I blindly felt my way. I actually wasn't sure where I was going. A couple times I walked straight into walls. And walls, I figured out, were very, very hard.

"Shit," I rubbed my forehead after knocking it against…I wasn't sure. I folded myself onto the floor. Walking wasn't getting me anywhere. There were so many turns and so many…walls.

If I was courageous, I would just scream for Blake and curse him to hell. Oh. Wait. As he had said, he has an 'all access pass'. And let's face it. I wasn't living in a fairy tale. I was not courageous. I was the cowardly lion. Blake was not my knight in shining armor. He was…a flying monkey. And Dominic…I wasn't sure what he was.

Home. I wanted to go home. To my bed, where I could go to sleep and wake up, my life normal again. Blake would be gone and Dominic would still be that beautiful, untouchable boy who made butterflies fly around in my belly. I would come home, do homework, then talk on the phone with my best friends for the rest of the day. Of course, there would still be the nightmares. There always was nightmares. But I would rather be ignorant. Rather not know what the nightmares meant. That they just were nightmares, figments of my over active imagination.

A dull hum reverberated through the hallway. Then another. Soon, it sounded like music. Powerful, ringing melodies weaving through the air. It steadily grew louder and louder until my ear drums bled. Blindly, I got up and groped my way down, up, around the hallway, following the music. It was so loud, so menacing that a yell fought its way up through my throat and I winced, pressing my hands over my ears. Willing it to stop. And it did. Just as it first started, the music grew softer. Soft enough that I could bear to move again, to a door. I knew because my hip jammed into the handle when I ran in to it.

Blake sat in a room, dark with candles flickering around in tall iron holders, a chandelier dripping with crystals hanging from the ceiling. It would be classified as a ballroom. High ceilings and windows. Only, the only thing inside the room was a grand piano, sitting in the center, where Blake was.

"It isn't polite to stare, you know," He called without turning to me. I jumped. I hadn't realized he knew I was there. But then again, it was Blake. He could be there one second, and be gone the next.

My footsteps echoed through the room as I moved closer to him. He was playing softly now, just a ringing murmur of notes played fluidly. Standing behind him, I twisted my hands in the silk of the robe.

"Where the fuck do you get off," I hissed, "Locking me in a fucking room just so you can come in here and play some piano."

"I didn't lock you in there so I could play piano," He said, voice low. "I did it because I knew you wouldn't stay. But it seems…it seems your strength is surfacing."

"Strength?" I asked, slightly less angry.

"Yes, strength. You got the door open, didn't you? With what? Just wanting it to? Strength Oriel. Strength of the mind, of the spirit. It can be useful."

"So what am I? Telekinetic or something?"

He laughed. "Telekinesis is when you read minds. And no, you aren't what you're thinking."

"Then what am I?" I wondered, crossing my arms over my chest and sitting on the bench next to him.

"You're a girl. An extraordinary, beautiful, infuriating girl," He whispered.

I watched him. He was very watchable. Meaning, he was a…interesting person. Demon. Devil man. Whatever you would call him; he had such an air, a presence that I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. His fingers, long and strong, regal almost, glided over the piano's keys, producing such a sweet sound that seemed so detached from its dark maker. His eyes closed and he used his whole body when playing. He committed to it.

"You can go if you want," He said softly. "You can go."

My mouth fell open. "W-What? You won't stop me?"

"No. No I won't." He stopped playing but didn't look at me. He looked so sad; head bowed, shoulders hunched. Vulnerable.

"I spent so long, after you died, trying to convince myself that I didn't love you. That I didn't need you. I went back to my old way of life. The Coven accepted me back with open arms. I was, after all, their master. I had everything. Money, women, everything I wanted. We threw parties and we killed. No one cared that you died. They were glad. Then…then Dominic had the balls to meet with me. Him and that fucking brother. They came with all the Others and said that I had killed you. That I needed to pay. I was driven out. The Coven was attacked. We were overthrown. I gave up all will to live. I just…wasted away. Not dying, but no one could see me. Purgatory, I guess. My soul just wandered. I couldn't remember who I was, what I was. All I did was see."

"Then, eighteen years ago, I was born again. My soul was drawn into my…mother. She and my father died when I was fourteen. 'Car crash'. That's what it said on the police report. Only, I came out unscratched. Not hurt at all. Ten people died, five severely injured. You want to know why I didn't die? I caused it. My father was yelling at me and I lost my temper and…bam. Dead. I didn't love them. I always knew who I was. But…they were all I had, you know? Then I came here. Just passed by one day and liked the charm. Figured the townsfolk could use a little drama, a little scandal. And I went to school and saw him. Dominic, Eli as he was called. He was telling me to leave. I didn't belong here. We knew someone was coming, so we…forced ourselves to calm down. And it was this girl, who looked exactly like Oriel. I couldn't let it get to me, or show Dominic I was affected by it…but fuck. When he said you were his, it tore me apart. Then he took you. I was never more afraid in my life. I thought…I thought he'd kill you again. But when I saw you walking and helped you…and you hated me, I just felt dead. But now that I know you don't hate me, you can go. Life will be somewhat more bearable."

"Blake, I-" I reached to touch his shoulder but he shook my hand away.

"It's alright."

I shook my head. "It isn't. And I'm sorry. But…you have to understand. I'm not Oriel." He turned to me to protest but I put my fingers on his lips. "Just don't. I might have been Oriel, but I'm not now. Can you understand that? With these nightmares I have…I've been inside her head and we aren't the same. Maybe with looks and in some other ways, but in spirit, we aren't. I wish I was. I want to be her for you, but I can't. I'm Lux Lucifer, normal teenager girl. Not anyone else."

He grabbed my hand and shoved it away. "How can you say that? Don't you feel it? You aren't normal! You said it yourself. You were Oriel. That means you are far from normal."

"Look!" I said and angrily stood up. "Just cut it out! I hate it when you did this! It's fucking pathetic Blake. You just need to get over it."

He stood up too, fists clenched. "I won't! And you know what I hate? When you act like a fucking baby! You just hate to know the truth. These nightmares…the necklace…can't you see that you're special? Haven't you noticed that when you get angry, certain things happen? When you're happy?"

I froze. He couldn't know…he just couldn't. No one knew. That when I get mad and storm into my room, I don't need to throw things. They throw themselves. That when I get happy, things float. These things I've pushed out of my mind. It happened when I was younger. Its like how they say kids can see things that others don't. Spirits, imaginary friends, that sort of thing. I accepted that I could make things happen that the other kids couldn't. But when I turned thirteen, I thought I was a freak and forced myself to believe that stuff like that couldn't happen. And it stopped. Until…until the door opened.

"I don't understand," I whispered feebly.

"You don't have to," He whispered back. "In time you will. Everything will come back to you."

"What if I don't want it to?" He pulled me to him when I started crying. The coldness of his skin was oddly comforting. Everything about him was so wrong but so familiar. Like how I knew he liked to stroke the skin of my back even before he started to. His arms were familiar. Strong and sturdy, holding me up and to him. I didn't want to…but I felt like he was someone that I would fall in love with. That maybe…I already was.

"I know it's scary." He whispered into my hair.

"What's going to happen to me?" I asked him, tipping my head back to look into his face.

He frowned. "Nothing. I won't let anything happen to you."

"But…but something will."

"No."

"I can feel it Blake." I told him and tucked my head underneath his chin, where it fit perfectly.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You won't leave me again," He growled.

My arms tightened around him. "What about Dominic? Why does he want me?"

He froze.

"Blake?"

"You...you're his…his…female counterpart."

"So what does that make me?"

He sighed and pushed my away from him, moving to the wall of windows. I followed and placed my hand on his back.

"I need to know," I said lowly.

"Please…just go."

My heart clenched painfully. It felt horrible being pushed away. I wasn't used to that with him. Usually it was me pushing him away. He was the one who was always after me.

"I don't want to," I said stubbornly and placed my hands on my hips.

He looked at me, almost sadly, before turning back to the windows, placing his hands on them, leaning. I could see his reflection in the glass, looking out onto the grounds below.

His voice was so soft that I wasn't so sure I heard him right.

"An angel shouldn't be comfortable in the arms of a demon."

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A/N- I know these chapters are short, but I just need to get into…the groove of things I guess. I kinda feel like its still just introducing things. Long introduction huh? But the plot will surface soon enough. Sorta like Romeo and Juliet with a twist. Cuz I hate Romeo and Juliet. And Blake isn't whiney like Romeo. Thanks to all of my reviewers so far. Next chapter will be a lot longer for you guys. So maybe…if people review a lot…I'll write SUPER long chapters. Wouldn't that be shnazzy?

Oh. And there's this lovely little indie band called Say Hi To Your Mom that have this lovely little cd called Impeccable Blahs. Its a great CD that just so happens to be about vampires, which, even though this story isn't about vampires, its close enough. Theres even a song called She Just Happens To Date The Prince Of Darkness. Yeah. I know. If this story would be a movie, which I hope it won't be, then this would basically be the soundtrack.