"Do you have any special skills?"
"Not that I know about."
"Can you type?"
"I suppose I could try."
"Have you ever driven a car?"
A light laugh tickled her chest, unexpected and inexplicable. "Yes, although I don't remember when, or where, or how, but I'm certain I have driven before."
He typed away for a moment longer as Serah studied his small wooden desk, cluttered with office supplies, his faded nameplate bearing the name Douglas Barnhart. Frustrated groans echoed from him after a while as he gave up on the computer and turned his attention back to her. He stared her down, eyes narrowed as if he were reading her.
"Look, miss, this office can't help you."
"But?" She knew there had to be a 'but'. She could hear it in his voice.
"But I might be able to do something."
Serah smiled radiantly as she jumped up from the chair and leaned across the desk, startling the man as she squeezed him in a hug. "Thank you so much, Mr. Barnhart."
"Whoa, wait, don't you want to hear what it is before you celebrate?"
"Oh." She sat back down. "Yes, of course."
"My mother owns this little place across town, the Barnhart Motel. She mentioned hiring some extra help. It's not glamorous, you know... will mainly be cleaning rooms and stuff like that. And while it won't pay much, I think I can get you somewhere to stay out of the deal."
"That sounds wonderful!"
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely."
He nodded as he grabbed his phone. "I'll set it up right now."
She watched him, satisfaction settling through her. She knew he would help her. Somehow, she knew.
Seven of clubs.
Ten of hearts.
Two of spades.
King of clubs.
Six of hearts.
Six of diamonds.
Six of spades.
Luce laughed bitterly to himself, staring at the dingy cards spread out on the asphalt beside him. He sat around the side of Chorizon Elementary School, leaning back against the brick wall facing the vacant playground.
Six. Six. Six. What a fucking joke.
He tossed down the rest of the deck, discarding the cards. It was useless. There was no point to the game with no one to play it with him.
But what else was there to do?
He had wandered for weeks, alone and utterly bored, somehow ending up right back here where it all had started. It was not far from the gates... so close, in fact, that Luce could feel the powerful energy emanating from them. It was a pulse in the air that reached out to him, tempting him back to familiar territory.
He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered it. He was ten times stronger now that he was no longer marked, no longer cursed and confined by the magic. He could voluntarily waltz right back through the gates, back into the darkened pit, and pick up where he'd left off, making life Hell for everyone around him.
Literally.
But something stopped him. Something stalled him, keeping him up top and lingering around this little town.
As soon as the thought passed through his mind, he caught a subtle whiff of a familiar scent and felt a spark of energy in the air around him. His eyes studiously scanned the playground and the surrounding streets until he spotted her.
Serah.
She was different now, with her flushed cheeks and heartbeat so strong he could hear it where he sat, but remnants of the angel still lingered in her body. Her essence was intact, calling out to him, somehow connecting with a part of his soul so strongly that he could almost feel her heart beating within his own chest.
Probably because you hijacked her Grace, asshole.
Remaining still, sitting on the filthy ground, Luce watched her in silence. She was casually strolling down the street, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Happiness surrounded her like a warm glow, a fact that made Luce both smile and viciously ache.
Guess ignorance really is bliss.
She paused near the community center, her brow slightly furrowing as she glanced around. She was looking for something, but what, Luce didn't know.
He couldn't hear her thoughts.
He sensed the connection with her, though. The residual angel in her recognized something in the air. Luce could tell from the way the glow surrounding her flared, like a spark igniting.
As he stared at Serah, desperately trying to get a read on her blank mind, a pop of static electricity echoed through the playground. He forced his gaze that direction, caught off guard by the sudden presence of another angel, seeing a female in a red dress with curly blonde hair. A Virtue, one of the nature dwellers. She stood a mere few feet from him, her gaze focused across the street at Serah.
The angel shielded her mind, her thoughts purposely blocked from Luce. He prodded, his protectiveness urging him to try to get some idea of her task, to figure out what the hell she wanted from Serah, to no avail.
The angel's attention shifted to him when she felt him prying into her mind, her eyes narrowed. "You can't steal my thoughts, Satan."
Satan. Man, he still hated that fucking name. "Nice to see you, too."
"Nice?" she sneered, hostility in her voice he was unaware her kind was capable of possessing. "There is nothing nice about your existence. Your presence poisons the air, tainting everything I vow to protect."
He stared at her. Dramatic much?
"You, snake, are Earth's greatest enemy," she continued. "You're an abomination. A mistake."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Thought Daddy didn't make mistakes."
"Not that I know about."
"Can you type?"
"I suppose I could try."
"Have you ever driven a car?"
A light laugh tickled her chest, unexpected and inexplicable. "Yes, although I don't remember when, or where, or how, but I'm certain I have driven before."
He typed away for a moment longer as Serah studied his small wooden desk, cluttered with office supplies, his faded nameplate bearing the name Douglas Barnhart. Frustrated groans echoed from him after a while as he gave up on the computer and turned his attention back to her. He stared her down, eyes narrowed as if he were reading her.
"Look, miss, this office can't help you."
"But?" She knew there had to be a 'but'. She could hear it in his voice.
"But I might be able to do something."
Serah smiled radiantly as she jumped up from the chair and leaned across the desk, startling the man as she squeezed him in a hug. "Thank you so much, Mr. Barnhart."
"Whoa, wait, don't you want to hear what it is before you celebrate?"
"Oh." She sat back down. "Yes, of course."
"My mother owns this little place across town, the Barnhart Motel. She mentioned hiring some extra help. It's not glamorous, you know... will mainly be cleaning rooms and stuff like that. And while it won't pay much, I think I can get you somewhere to stay out of the deal."
"That sounds wonderful!"
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely."
He nodded as he grabbed his phone. "I'll set it up right now."
She watched him, satisfaction settling through her. She knew he would help her. Somehow, she knew.
Seven of clubs.
Ten of hearts.
Two of spades.
King of clubs.
Six of hearts.
Six of diamonds.
Six of spades.
Luce laughed bitterly to himself, staring at the dingy cards spread out on the asphalt beside him. He sat around the side of Chorizon Elementary School, leaning back against the brick wall facing the vacant playground.
Six. Six. Six. What a fucking joke.
He tossed down the rest of the deck, discarding the cards. It was useless. There was no point to the game with no one to play it with him.
But what else was there to do?
He had wandered for weeks, alone and utterly bored, somehow ending up right back here where it all had started. It was not far from the gates... so close, in fact, that Luce could feel the powerful energy emanating from them. It was a pulse in the air that reached out to him, tempting him back to familiar territory.
He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered it. He was ten times stronger now that he was no longer marked, no longer cursed and confined by the magic. He could voluntarily waltz right back through the gates, back into the darkened pit, and pick up where he'd left off, making life Hell for everyone around him.
Literally.
But something stopped him. Something stalled him, keeping him up top and lingering around this little town.
As soon as the thought passed through his mind, he caught a subtle whiff of a familiar scent and felt a spark of energy in the air around him. His eyes studiously scanned the playground and the surrounding streets until he spotted her.
Serah.
She was different now, with her flushed cheeks and heartbeat so strong he could hear it where he sat, but remnants of the angel still lingered in her body. Her essence was intact, calling out to him, somehow connecting with a part of his soul so strongly that he could almost feel her heart beating within his own chest.
Probably because you hijacked her Grace, asshole.
Remaining still, sitting on the filthy ground, Luce watched her in silence. She was casually strolling down the street, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Happiness surrounded her like a warm glow, a fact that made Luce both smile and viciously ache.
Guess ignorance really is bliss.
She paused near the community center, her brow slightly furrowing as she glanced around. She was looking for something, but what, Luce didn't know.
He couldn't hear her thoughts.
He sensed the connection with her, though. The residual angel in her recognized something in the air. Luce could tell from the way the glow surrounding her flared, like a spark igniting.
As he stared at Serah, desperately trying to get a read on her blank mind, a pop of static electricity echoed through the playground. He forced his gaze that direction, caught off guard by the sudden presence of another angel, seeing a female in a red dress with curly blonde hair. A Virtue, one of the nature dwellers. She stood a mere few feet from him, her gaze focused across the street at Serah.
The angel shielded her mind, her thoughts purposely blocked from Luce. He prodded, his protectiveness urging him to try to get some idea of her task, to figure out what the hell she wanted from Serah, to no avail.
The angel's attention shifted to him when she felt him prying into her mind, her eyes narrowed. "You can't steal my thoughts, Satan."
Satan. Man, he still hated that fucking name. "Nice to see you, too."
"Nice?" she sneered, hostility in her voice he was unaware her kind was capable of possessing. "There is nothing nice about your existence. Your presence poisons the air, tainting everything I vow to protect."
He stared at her. Dramatic much?
"You, snake, are Earth's greatest enemy," she continued. "You're an abomination. A mistake."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Thought Daddy didn't make mistakes."
