Mortal Wounds

Chapter Seven

Davian's POV

At 8 am, someone bangs on the door and when I ignore it for a minute, the person knocks louder and more obnoxiously.

"Up and rise, motherfucking sunshine. You and little Miss Cambion better not be soiling my sheets," Cosmo shouts.

I grab my pillow and smother it against my face as if it can soak up my mortification. Last night was real. A chronic nightmare I will forget. I hope I'll forget, because right now it's emblazed onto the back of my eyelids, blaring in my head on repeat for hours. I nearly slept with a demon. My brother would disown me for my stupidity. The demon wasn't here when I woke up. Last time I checked, Beau was snoring away on the couch, which means Cosmo must have just gotten home.

"I swear, I will drag you by your fuckin' hair!"

"I'm awake!" I shout, although I want to do is hide under the covers and pretend the outside world does not exist.

Sadly, that will only make Cosmo throw me out the window. I make the bed and straighten my clothes, nodding with satisfaction, making sure there isn't any evidence of last night. I walk out and find him leaning against the door frame. His eyes narrow on me.

"Did you get laid?" he asks with a glare. My jaw drops. Can he actually read my mind? "Hickey," he answers with a mouth full of cornflakes.

"Where's the demon anyway? Did you scare him off?" I ask.

"Don't know, don't care, look after the preppy dude."

Just as he says that I hear vomiting. I walk inside the bathroom and wince at the foul stench. Beau is hunched over the toilet. What did he eat? A solid diet of everything awful in the world? I awkwardly crouch behind him and pat his shoulders.

"There, there," I console unenthusiastically.

Looking like an extra from The Walking Dead, he just a finder in my face.

"You—! You got me drunk! You slammed my head into a table! You—"

"Did your hatred for me literally change your memory of last night?"

"Screw you! I'm going to tell everyone about you. I—" he goes green before he can finish and throws up.

His hair slides over his shoulders and I'm surprised by deep jagged scars marring the back of his neck.

"What do you get out of holding my relationship with Morgana over my head?" I demand.

"Because you shouldn't be with anyone, you freak. We both know you're unholy. What sane person tells someone when they'll die," he snaps at me.

Two years ago, I made the mistake of helping Beau who was walking to school with a nosebleed. I handed him a tissue and some of the blood got onto my hand. Before I knew it, I had a minor seizure with a vision about his death. He was to be hit by a car in Gomorrah.

When I told him, he spread what happened to everyone in town and because of that everyone thinks I'm the devil incarnate. I don't blame them but man, would be so hard to cut me some slack? He avoided going Gomorrah because of me and he's still alive.

"I don't see why I have to suffer because you don't want to let that go. I was having a seizure. I don't even remember what I said," I lie, folding my arms.

He draws in a shaky breath, covering his mouth.

"Cass would flay me is he saw me like this," he mutters to himself.

"I'm guessing you and your brother have a bad relationship,"

His eyes snap fire at the accusation.

"How dare you say that. Cassiel and I are great brothers," he says rather defensively, and narrows his eyes at me, "Screw you. Leave me alone"

I shrug and I walk down the hall, only to stop when I overhear a hushed argument. I peek around the corner to spy into the kitchen area. Cosmo rigidly stands in the kitchen, his bulky arms crossed in front of his chest and he's staring at a man sitting before him. I stiffen completely at the sight of the stranger. He gives androgyny a sacred name from his soft face, a flood of gold braided hair and a red robe he only seems to be wearing. Sharp nails of a raven chatter against the counter.

An Incubi. His eyes are red wine and he carries a similar vibe to the demon possessing Virgil.

"You're hiding something from me," the stranger concludes calmly, the type of calm you'd expect before a storm.

"I'm only twenty years younger than you. Do I sound like a child?! I didn't send anythin'!" Cosmo shouts at him.

"You're an awful liar. Didn't your mum and I raise you better than this? You're breaking my heart, Cosmo."

"I didn't send anythin'! Do you think I'd joke about this s**t?"

"I honestly don't know. I don't know who would be horrible enough to text their parents and all their uncles and aunts their Invidian isn't dead. You should be thankful that I haven't told anyone else where you are because I'm sure they're all eager to rip out your innards."

What kind of conversation am I listening to? Cosmo grinds his teeth but refrains from yelling any further.

"Dad, I swear I didn't send you or anyone a text saying Invidian is still alive."

Whoa, dad?!

I jolt when I realised I must have asked that out loud because both turn to stare at me. Cosmo immediately yanks me into the kitchen.

"You! Back me up. There was this freak pretendin' to be a Cambion last night and Davian brought them back to my place. If it's anyone's innards you should be rippin' out, it should be his. I bet that delusional fucker did something."

Well, I never pegged Cosmo to be the type of person that's afraid of upsetting his father. The stranger looks at me expectantly for a response. Oh god, what did the demon do while I was asleep?

I shrug, wanting to back out of the room. He nods and gives Cosmo a stern look.

"Don't treat the one person that's keeping me from backhanding your back into the 7th century so rudely," the stranger chides him before looking at me with eyes I swear that I can get myself lost in.

His words roll off his tongue like poetry. Immediately, I don't think I'm straight.

"You're a demon?"

"I am the son born of the union between Lilith and Asmodeus. Please, take a seat," he beckons me, "You may call me Lilu."

My brother taught me about demonic forces. Good things never come from devils with blood-soaked history fuelled with death, feuds and sin. Lilith is the first mortal sinner. From her rejection of Adam in the garden of Eden, she evolved into a demoness, the mother of monsters. On Lilu's paternal line, Asmodeus is a demon king, the Sin of l**t.

"Last night my siblings and I received text messages from Cosmo's phone saying that one of our dead brothers is still alive. You can imagine why I'm upset," Lilu explains, "I am interested in this person who claims to be a cambion. I would like to have a civil conversation with him."

I swallow, not sure what to say. I feel like a demon's version of a civil conversation involves limb-ripping and bone-crushing. For some reason, I don't exactly want to sell him out.

"Text? Wait, do you guys live in Hell? How do you even have phone reception? I don't get it."

Both Cosmo and Lilu are taken off guard by the question.

"Hell is an alternate reality to the mortal realm. It has reception and the technologies the mortal realm has since it mirrors the mortal world. It exists alongside the mortal world. There are slip holes and gaps where humans can slip into such a world and vanish all-together. So, before I go off on another tangent, let's focus on the issue at hand. Where is your friend?"

"He's not my friend," I distract him with semantics.

Lilu stares at me as if trying to figure something out. After a moment, his lips tilt up in a sly smile.  

"Young love is such a sweet blessing," Lilu responds to my hesitance.

My cheeks burn. Not this s**t again.

"Whoa, no, love is way too extreme. We're more like acquaintances," I protest.

"Insecure of your sexuality? I've seen this scenario many times," he says wistfully, prodding his chin on the back of his hand, "And the fact he's a demon. How scandalous."

"I didn't sleep with him!" I reiterate, "We just-I don't know- we didn't go that far"

"Love. An old friend described it as something not still. It moves, everything passes and nothing lasts. Regardless, the moments are precious when living within them."

"I'm not in love."

"So, you're more hedonistic rather than romantic. I see where you're coming from."

I have no idea what he's going on about.

"Dad, please get back to Davian and break his neck for not telling us the truth."

I gulp inaudibly. He really wouldn't do that, right?

"Tell me, doll. I'd hate to prod your mind for memories and interpret what I see. I'd hate to give you a headache."

Fuck that, the demon isn't worth it.

"He's possessing one of my classmates, Virgil Evander. He started two days ago."

"Do you know why?"

I shrug at that.

"He said Virgil made a deal with him."

Lilu's brows knit together in a frown.

"Anything else?"

"Yesterday he wanted me to show him to a news press. We then split up and met again later. He had blood on his shirt, and I don't know why," I explain, recalling the newspaper he showed me.

For some reason, that story sounds familiar to Lilu because he tenses. Before I can ask what he thinks about that, the sound of loud, obnoxious steps distracts me.

"You're taking me back to GoldVine right now without being caught together or I swear to God, I will shove my $5000 shoe up so far up your a*s you'll be tasting leather for months," Beau shouts, strolling into the room looking much more like his regular self, except for bags under his eyes. His eyes snap to Lilu and Cosmo, "Who the f**k are you two? And what's with the whole demon get up? You look proper weird."

Well, there goes the whole prim and proper façade that he likes to put on.

"I came back from a Halloween party. Do you like my costume?" Lilu drawls with amusement.

As soon as Beau sees his eyes, his cheeks begin to flush and he appears to be starstruck by his beauty.

"But, er, Halloween is not for another few months" he tacts on, seeming to struggle to concentrate on the conversation.

"I'm Satanic, doll, every day is Hallows Eve."

"Ok?" he trails off before shaking his head, snapping out of it, "Davian, it's almost nine. We're leaving or else I'm going to tell everyone about your relationship with Morgana. It would be a shame if she had her life ruined because she was boning a heathen."

"I'm starting to think Virgil was right. You care way too much about my life to not be stalking me."

Beau's face reddens like a tomato.

"Virgil is a goddamn liar and a fake!"

"Anyways, it was nice to meet you, Lilu. I hope you can sort out whatever is happening" I tell the incubus who flashes me a smile. I glance at Cosmo who looks like he's suffering from a migraine, "Thanks for letting us crash at your place."

"Whatever would score me brownie points with your brother."

And the truth comes out. I cut him a warning glare before leading Beau out of the apartment. I swear, that guy is unbelievable. As if my brother would stoop so low to date him.

I walk off through the city to get to the aqueducts as fast as possible. I weave through the morning foot traffic, hoping Beau wouldn't keep up. Once I get to the poorer side of Gomorrah I sigh in relief. But just when I thought I lost him, he pops up out of nowhere.

"I'm right behind you, idiot."

I bite my tongue and stride down the town. Beau ends up having to speed walk just to catch up with me.

"I loathe you. Don't ever think for a second I think of you any differently," Beau hisses.

"I tell you what will help me believe you? If you leave me alone."

"So, you can do anything suspicious? Not a chance," he responds defiantly before almost bumping into a beggar.

He retracts back as though he just touched fire and shudders.

"So many bums here."

My jaw ticks in annoyance. Please, whatever god there is, please smite either him or me. I'll be fine as long as I don't have to listen to his ignorant babbling.

"Why are they even here? Why don't they get a job or something?" he rants, continuing to follow me.

"Yeah, right. Who is going to hire them? Nice clothes that they probably had at some point is probably destroyed. They smell terrible because they don't have anywhere to shower. They probably don't have anything to clean their teeth with and are dizzy from starving. Not to mention, most of these people most likely have mental illnesses because most of society ignores them or treat them like lesser beings. Tell me, who's going to hire them?" I retort.

"Well, not me. That's for sure," Beau glares at me, hands stubbornly on his hips, "And what are you trying to say? It can't be that hard to save up money. My dad worked to keep his money. So does Cassiel. These losers just blow their money on drugs or booze."

"If they do drugs or drink booze, it's probably to cope with the fact they're homeless," I deadpan, "How exactly does Cassiel 'work' for the money he inherited from his father? Aside from just being his son."

"He—uh" he pauses in thought, before shrugging, "f**k you, that's none of your business."

I try to remind myself I'm saving Morgana's reputation by helping him. With that thought in mind, I open the sewer seal that leads to the ancient aqueducts. Watching me, Beau's lip curls in disgust.

"Do you want me to go down there? Ugh, that's absolutely disgusting!"

Ignoring his bitching, I begin to climb down, hoping to the gods I don't pray to that he doesn't follow me. To my disdain, as soon as I get to the floor of the aqueducts, I see him climbing down after me. I roll my eyes and continue without him.

"This place smells ghastly! What is wrong with you?" he whines when he catches up to me again. I turn my phone's flashlight on and pop in my earbuds, playing 'Something's Gotta Give' by All Time Low to the highest volume. By that time, all I can see is Beau's mouth moving with the music blasting over his voice. Ah, sweet bliss.

It takes a wonderful ten minutes until Beau realises that I'm not listening to me. He huffs and pulls the earphones out of my ears.

"How dare you ignore me! Damn you. This is why you have no friends in GoldVine. If you tried to be even a little bit pleasant you might find yourself somewhere in life," he tsks so loudly it echoes through the aqueducts.

My patience is a string pulled too tight, and I swear the strands are breaking.

"I also heard that you're failing in school. You know, my brother only lets you have free education because he feels sorry for you. That's going to change if you keep failing. Why are you failing anyway? Are you stupid?"

I swear I feel one of the strands snap. I try to ignore him but he's like a blood-sucking tick at this point that I can't get off.

"It's pathetic, honestly. At this rate, you'll end up just like your father."

That's the one thing of many things today that finally sets me off. I whirl around and slam him against the wall of the aqueducts. I pin him against it with my hands bunched into the front of his shirt, glaring into his eyes. I know he wants me to hit him so he can flaunt the damage to authorities, so he can tell them "I told you he was dangerous! He's insane, you should lock him up and throw away the key." I'm not going to give him that satisfaction.

Beau stares at me, seeming to be stunned into silence.

"It must be lonely thinking you're the only goddamn person who's perfect."

With that I let him go and walk on ahead. This time when I hear him follow me, he remains silent. Finally. Ten minutes pass and we make it out of the aqueducts. I dust my hands once Beau seals the tunnels.

"I don't think I'm perfect," Beau murmurs to himself before I begin to leave him to get to the school.

Ignoring him, I swiftly head off to university so I can change in my dorm. To my dismay, Beau still follows me, but I chalk it up to the fact he's just going to school. Here I thought he didn't want to be seen in public near me. Once we get there, I frown at how empty the place is.

The path to university is coated in snow and the pathway is flanked by angel statues. The building is a majestic sentiment of Victorian architecture. Marble staircases wind towards the extensive classrooms, trapped in the 1950s where teachers still write on chalkboards. I sigh in the courtyard. Maybe I should skip my classes. I have never been a fan of institutionalised education.

It's a soul-sucking process that will leave you in deep, stress-induced fatigue that made you want a meteorite to smash the school into itty bitty pieces. GoldVine champions white and black morality, listening to authority without question. The boys wear crisp, ironed white shirts with pristine, polished leather shoes to outshine the glossy flooring. Girls wear knee-length dresses. Evil is questioning the system, which is the path Lucifer, the light-bearer, took when he disagreed with God's plan to make everyone without free will. I furrow my brows. Students should be going to classes.

"Where is everyone?" I turn when Beau asks that questions, "Today isn't a public holiday."

I stop walking and we exchange glances. So, I'm not the only one finding this odd. He walks up to one of the classrooms and throws open the doors. There is no one there. Following his league, I search the other classrooms. No one is there either.

"This is f*****g weird. I've never seen the school like this. There isn't even any staff," I mutter before shouting "Hello!" to hear it echo loudly through the school.

We wait for a moment. Nothing happens.

"Maybe everyone is in church?" he suggests, taking the phone out of his pocket. He pats his other pocket. "Where the hell is my wallet?"

"What?"

He shoots me a suspicious look before he walks over and starts raiding my pockets. I try to slap his hands off but he continues until he's sure there's nothing but my wallet and phone.

"Where did my wallet go?" he demands.

I shrug.

"Maybe the girl you hit on stole it."

He scowls at the thought before giving up and dialling a number. I roll my eyes and continue to search through the classrooms. I end up going up the staircase to the art room. Desks are toppled over. Broken canvases and art equipment lie scattered on the floor. I walk into the room and find someone standing in front of the series of open windows that align the wall across from me. I recognise the person as one of my schoolmates, and Morgana's best friend, Lavender. Although her thick, dark hair is tied in a ponytail, it flows down to her waist. It's the main reason that I recognise her.

"Hey, Lavender" I call, walking into the room, "What's happening?"

"Davian!" I turn to find Beau rushing into the room behind me, "Something went down last night and they're calling everyone down to the sheriff's office to interrogate everyone."

"What?"

Instead of explaining any further, he hands me his phone.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Davian," my heartbeat involuntarily quickens when I hear Morgana's voice, "Today has been horrible. Today they found Lavender beaten up b****y in the art room. Some of my friends were waiting for their next class and heard crying from one of the classrooms. She was in the corner of the room. Her clothes were torn. And she was covered in her blood. Her hair was cut unevenly at her shoulders. Her— her body was covered in violet and red. When they asked what happened she wouldn't say anything. She's in the hospital recovering right now but the teachers did a school-wide roll call and you, Beau, Virgil and you are the only ones who weren't here. You need to get down to the hospital right now and tell Dwaine where you've been."

I stiffen at the news and turn around. The figure I saw is gone. If Lavender is in hospital, who the f**k was that? Or what.

"Alright, we'll be there soon" I promise before hanging up on her, "Beau, did you see her?"

He gives me a puzzled glare.

"Who?"

"Lavender. She was standing right here," I tell him.

He frowns, his eyes sweeping the room for a moment.

"I don't see anything," he mutters, stepping back out of the room, "But we should leave now in case you did see anything. All of this is creeping me out."

I nod in agreement and follow him out of the school.

"Why does something like this have to happen today out of all days? Nothing ever happens here!" he protests, rubbing his temples.

I have to agree. While this town is full of passive-aggressive assholes, violence and drama don't exist here. On top of that, I don't see why anyone would hurt Lavender out of all people. From what I can tell, she's a relatively well-liked, nice girl. Well, my only interaction with her only included her begging the teacher to change class partners when she was put with me because she was scared to work with a heathen. I mean, at least she was honest about it and I didn't have to put up with her for a month with her wanting to convert me to Christianity. Other than that, she's a nice girl.

"What's our alibi?" asks Beau as soon as we leave, running a hand through his hair anxiously, "They're going to have us by the nuts over this, and then Cassiel is going to castrate me."

"We could just tell them the truth; that we all partied last night and stayed over at my brother's friend's apartment, then he can be our alibi"

"f**k no," he shakes his head, "No, we can't say that. No, we tell them that I got mugged last night, and you and Virgil were there doing whatever you were doing. I was shaken by the attack and it was late, so you suggested that we'd stay at your friend's house."

"They would ask why we didn't call the police there," I deadpan.

"Ok, then we'll say I lost my wallet and I saw you both then we spent until two trying to find it. We were tired and decided to stay at that Cosmo guy's house"

"I'd rather just tell the truth."

He walks in front of me and blocks my path.

"I swear, I will tell the whole school about Morgana and you if you don't go along with that story," he states firmly.

I give him an odd look, wondering why he's so adamant about no one finding out about this.

"Why are you scared of people finding out about that?" I ask.

He purses his lips and walks on.

"Just go along with it, ok? We'll make sure Virgil tells the same story once we see him."

We make it to the hospital. It is relatively smaller than the grand scale hospital in Gomorrah. Perhaps because of the small population of this town convinces people that they don't need better health facilities. On top of that, there is never any news of anyone dying in this town. In their old age, people usually move to another country, wanting to explore the world. The air is full of panic. You could hear the hysteria. Rustles from bustling doctors and nurses moving to and fro clutter the scene.

We notice Dwaine, the school's headmaster pacing up and down the waiting room with an anxious expression. Morgana seems just as anxious as she sits in one of the cheap, cerulean chairs that sit in rows in front of the reception desk. Her eyes widen and she pulls on Dwaine's sleeve when she notices us. Dwaine swerves around and narrows his eyes at us.

"Remember what I said," Beau mutters at the corner of his lips just as Dwaine storms over.

"Where have you two been?!" he screams in our face, causing both Beau and me to almost piss ourselves, "Do you have any idea what's been happening?!"

Beau gulps nervously.

"Sir, we had no idea until I called Morgana," he murmurs.

I roll my eyes at his sudden passiveness. It looks like I'm the one who has to give him the alibi.

"I was skipping school yesterday with Virgil. He wanted to check out the Arcade place in Gomorrah yesterday and I bought him Mexican food. We then saw Beau looking around the city for his wallet."

"Yes, I was out delivering papers on my brother's behalf," Beau pitches in.

"Yes, and the dumbass lost his wallet so we all spent until about two in the morning searching for the damn thing. When we came up with nothing, Beau was too scared to go home in the dark and was oh so afraid of the 'rapscallions' that were out and about," I drawl the last part so dramatically that Beau cuts me a death glare, "Then I offered that we'd stay over at my brother's friend's apartment, Cosmo, for the night."

Dwaine sucks his lips in between his teeth, looking thoroughly pissed at out confession. He looks close to blowing up in our faces. Beau hides a little behind my back, preparing to be yelled it. To his credit, Dwaine manages to keep it in as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"What was Virgil doing there?" his voice is incredibly strained.

"Virgil was curious about the Nintendo DS I have so he asked me to show him arcade games," I casually lie, "You can ask the guy who runs the store if I was there yesterday. He'd tell you. I thought that Virgil told you about the plan beforehand."

"Where is he now?"

I look at Beau who shrugs.

"I didn't see him at all after I woke up," he responds, "You?"

I shrug also.

Dwaine opens his mouth to begin, no doubt, a tirade/ lecture when he's interrupted by the only nurse this town has aka, my doctor. Morgana walks over so she can listen to the news. The shrink gives me a stern look, probably because I missed my appointment with him today before he addresses Dwaine.

"She's going to be fine. She's asking where her parents are, but since they don't seem to be here yet, you should make her feel like she's not alone. It should be fine for friends to go in also," he informs.

Dwaine accepts that and follows the psychiatrist to Lavender's room with Morgana right on their tail. Beau and I exchange glances, wondering if we should follow them.

"Well, I want to see what they're talking about," he states, following them.

There are no single rooms, just rows of beds with barred heads and ends. The most advanced piece of technology I can find is a heart monitor from the 1950s. In the middle row, I can see Lavender huddled up in her bed, wrapped in her blankets as she stares at the ceiling.

"Hey, pumpkin'. How are you doing?" Morgana asks tentatively, sitting beside her on the bed, "Your parents should be here soon."

Slowly, her eyes drift up to us. When it lands on me, she gives me the most terrifying scream that I've ever heard in my entire life.

"He did it! Davian attacked me!"