Forsaken by Daniele Lanzarotta Page B

like this with everything going on,
     but I don’t want to look in the mirror and think about him.  I don’t want anything
     in common with the demon.  
    “What are you doing here?” I snap.  
    “Why the hostility, little sis?  As far as I know, you are here thanks to me.”  
    “No.  I’m here thanks to Hunter and Chase… and myself.”  
    Stephaine steps forward.  “We come in peace.  We just need to talk.”  
    I look from Benjamin to Stephaine and I see that she looks the same except for the
     black wings, which don’t seem like they belong at all.  She also looks extremely tired.  
    “What is it?” I ask.  
    “Can we go inside the house?”  
    Ethan starts to say yes, but I stop him.  “You can.  He,” I say looking at Benjamin,
     “he can stay out here.”  
    “Ouch, sis… words hurt, you know?”  
    “What do you want Benjamin?”  
    “For starters, I want to be away from here.  Let’s make it clear that I’m here mostly
     for her.”  
    “That’s sweet,” I say sarcastically.  
    He looks at Stephaine, “I told you this was a bad idea.”  
    “Just tell them,” says Stephaine.  
    He looks at her with such intensity and devotion that for a split second, I almost
     forget what he really is.  
    He turns his gaze on me.  “Father came looking for me.”  
    I give him a puzzled look wondering why he has come to warn us.  
    As if reading my mind, he says, “I’m not here to warn you.  I’m here to recruit you.”  
    “You.  Recruit me?” I laugh.  
    “The old man has gone mad.  He plans to give control to a kid.  He wants the kid to
     destroy the world like—like it’s a simple video game. I told him I’d join him.”  
    “And how are you here now?  Don’t you think he will find that suspicious?”  
    He shakes his head.  “He trusts me.  Besides, I told I just need some time before
     then.”  
    I laugh at the absurdity of it all.  “And he agreed?  Just like that?”  
    “Well, he told me I have twenty-four hours to stop playing house with Steph and then
     I better be by his side.”  
    “Why are you telling us all of this?  Why do you want to ‘recruit me’?”  
    He sighs.  “You ask too many questions, sis.  You should learn to trust people.”  
    Hunter grins and shakes his head.  
    “I need your help because if the kid destroys the world like father plans, Steph will
     be destroyed along with everything else.”  
    I see Stephaine approach him and wrap her arms around his waist.  
    “And you trust him?” I ask her.  
    “With my heart and soul,” says Stephaine.  
    I nod and look over at Ethan.  
    “Do you mind if we go inside and talk?”  
    ***    
    We all gather around the living room.  
    “What’s your plan?” I ask Benjamin.  
    “Well, you and I are the only ones who can enter Hell.”  
    “So can Hunter,” I say.  
    Benjamin shakes his head.  “Seriously?”  
    I nod.  “He goes where I go.”  
    I can feel Hunter’s hand on mine and without looking at him, I can tell he’s smiling.  
    Benjamin shrugs.  “Whatever.  Any way… it seems to me that the easiest thing to do
     is to take out the boy.”  
    I’m shocked at how careless he sounds about it.  Hunter senses me tense and get nervous
     about it all.  
    “Absolutely not,” says Hunter.  “You won’t even come close to the boy.”  
    Benjamin laughs.  “Look at you being all understanding and stuff.  Do you even know
     how the boy was created?  Do you know who he belongs to?”  
    “And you do?” I ask Benjamin.  
    “Of course.  Father told me everything.”  
    I drop down to the couch.  
    “Don’t you know how he was created?” he asks.  
    I shake my head.  
    “The kid belongs to you and Samael.”  
    “But we—”  
    “Relax,” says Benjamin.  “He was created by Lilith with yours and Samael’s blood.”  
    “How come he looks like us?”  That is one thing I’ve never been able to get