Word Count: 1370

D

"Are you sure you weren't hallucinating." I narrowed my eyes at Zach.

What they were saying was literally insane.

It sounded like something you'd see in a fantasy movie.

"Now, why would I be hallucinating?" He glared at me for the fifth time this night.

I don't know, maybe because you were literally stabbed and poisoned? Is what I wanted to reply.

I didn't.

Zach would probably repeat the same thing over and over again.

After Alexander clarified that it, indeed, wasn't him that stabbed Zach, we all headed to his appartement, which I had never been to before. We couldn't take Zach back to my house because my mom was still there.

I made sure to ask Alexander about Skylar, I didn't forget about her. He reassured me that she returned home safely with one of his friends. My guess is Azza. Apparently he pulled the 'erase memory' trick on her so she has no memory of today.

No matter how many times Zach explained to me that there was a shadow that appeared behind Alexander, forcing his hand to stab his shoulder, I was still not convinced. It's insane. What could that thing possibly be? Where did it come from? Why would it target Zach out of all people? He's literally the purest one out of the three of us.

I personally would've went for Alexander if I was that shadow.

No matter how many times I thought about it, it never made sense.

"To be quite honest with you, rapunzel, I don't really care whether you believe me or not. What I do care about, however, is the fact that I can't continue reading my damn book because you haven't stopped blabbering your loud annoying little mouth since you came here. So, do me a favor and quiet down if you're going to stay in my house." Alexander spat in one breath.

Damn.

He can't be for real.

"THIS is what you're thinking about right now? Your brother was stabbed and you claim it wasn't you who stabbed him but then again you don't seem phased by this at all. Do you not care?"

He gently closed the book, placing it on the bed beside him. I've never seen him be gentle with anything, he must really like books. He turned to look at me. "One, I already told you that no matter what I say, you're not going to believe me. So, again, I ask you; what's the point?" he raised one finger up in the air for emphasis. I scoffed. "And two" He raised another finger. "I couldn't care less about what the hell that shadow thing is since it didn't seem to be targeting me. I also don't care if it attacks Zach or you again because whether you believe it or not, rapunzel, I do not give a single damn about you OR him." He had a cold smile plastered on his face.

That's a lie and he knows it. It's true that he doesn't care about me but he certainly cares about Zach because if what he is saying is actually true and he really didn't stab Zach, then he's the one who saved his life. No matter what happened between them in the past, Alexander still saved his brother. He still cares about him.

"So, you're saying that if the shadow attacks Zach again, you won't help us?" I rolled my eyes.

"Help you? Yeah, that doesn't sound like something I would do. Are you done now? Can you leave with that white chicken sitting behind you?" Alexander grabbed his book again in one hand, brushing us off with his other hand. I heard a loud gasp from behind me.

"White chicken? I am an angel, you... raven. Dang it, ravens are actually cool." I wasn't looking at Zach but I could feel the anger in his voice.

"That's cool. No one asked, though."

I chose to ignore Alexander this time because this is hopeless.

I don't know why but my mind kept wandering back to the poison that was found on Alexander's knife when Zach was stabbed. It was his knife and if he wasn't planning on killing Zach before hand then why the hell did he put poison on there. It made no sense.

I turned to look at Alexander and he must've sensed my stare because he looked back at me and raised his brow. "If you have something to say then say it, darling. It's rude to stare."

"Where did the poison on your knife come from if you were the only one holding it? You told us that the thing that appeared behind you only pushed your hand and nothing else." Alexander squinted his eyes. He seemed to be confused too, like he had no idea himself. He placed the book down and straightened up.

"I actually didn't even think about that." Zach and I were looking at him suspiciously now. "My knife was clean when I was luring you in the tunnel and it was clean when I was fighting with Zach so how the hell did the poison get there?" He asked out loud. It seemed like he was thinking by himself and not addressing anyone in particular.

"Maybe it was magic." Zach joked around but Alexander's head shot up and he nodded. "Wait, you actually think it's magic? I wasn't being serious."

"Not just any magic, it's dark magic. You said the thing behind me looked more like a shadow than a human being and this reminds me of the shadows demons would create back in hell to target each other. If it was indeed a shadow from hell, then that would explain how the poison got there, magic. What I don't understand, is why a demon would be targeting you specifically; an angel."

That's what I was confused about, too.

I had always hoped that this was all just a dream I would wake up from some day. However, every time Alexander talks more about our situation, it starts sinking in that this is actually happening, I'm not dreaming.

I shook my head to stay focused.

I turned to Alexander again. "If a demon was targeting Zach, then why would he send a shadow instead of going after him himself?"

"Simple, demons can't leave hell." I wanted to ask what he was doing here then, but I held back. "Angels can't leave heaven unless they were guardian angels and demons can't leave hell unless they were, of course, fallen angels. "

"How is it a punishment to be a fallen angel then?" Im confused now. Besides the pain of ripping an angels wings, being able to roam the earth freely and having powers doesn't seem so bad to me.

"The heavens may not specify any rules as they cast you to hell but you eventually discover on your own that there's an inner demon living within you and you must feed him, or else he'd drive you mad. He's in my head. He talks to me. He tries to take over so many times. Now, you can either chose to feed on innocent people and continue to get yourself in trouble with the angels, or, you can chose to feed on evil sinners who walk this earth with no care; thinking that they can do whatever the hell they want and get away with it instead. " His eyes got darker again. This seemed to happen alot every time he got mad. I wonder if that's his inner demon trying to reach out.

"So, you mean to tell me that you willingly chose to feed on sinners instead of innocent people?" I tried not to seem surprised but it seems I failed. Alexander chuckled and stared straight into my eyes.

"Well, you sure don't get a reward for ridding the world of evil but it does feel good to get revenge for other people that you could not get for yourself." Zach tensed beside me. I could tell he had an idea about what Alexander was talking about.

I couldn't bring myself to ask, though.

Suddenly, Alexander's face darkened. He stared curiously at Zach.

"What trouble did you get yourself in Zachary?"