Rise of the Fallen by Teagan Chilcott Page A

too.”
    Cael’s eyes widened and he blushed ever so slightly. “Holly, have you gone near your parents?” Cael asked quietly.
    Holly shook her head and continued reading. The house was quiet and, though it was slightly musty, there were no signs that there were a couple of two-week old corpses locked in a room. I voiced that to Cael as he led me through the narrow hallway.
    â€œI’m fairly sure the pentagrams have stopped decomposition. You’ll see soon anyway.”
    Cael stopped me in front of a closed bedroom door. I looked on silently, trying to mentally prepare myself for what I was going to see. Cael opened the door, and I saw two bodies lying side by side, their hands clasped together firmly. The bodies were intact; the only visible sign that Holly’s parents weren’t just sleeping was the completely horrific sight of their throats and necks.
    Each neck was so completely decimated that the spinal cord was clearly visible. I looked away in horror. Cael sighed and muttered that they should be left exactly as they were until the instant that we were leaving. I breathed deeply to steady myself before looking back at the bodies. The only odour was the distinct smell of pure bleach. There were at least five empty four-litre bottles of bleach sitting discarded on the floor. No doubt it was the bleach that had eroded their throats, though their mouths showed no visible signs that any bleach had passed their lips. I doubted a toxicology screening would have identified the bleach; the demons responsible would have made sure that the cause of death was impossible to determine.
    â€œDo you think maybe it was some demons from Legion Five?” Cael asked.
    I shook my head before changing my mind, “I don’t know, Cael, it could’ve been any number of demons.”
    Cael nodded, “I thought of that.”
    Cael led me out of the room, shutting the door securely behind us. We re-entered the lounge room, where Holly still sat quietly reading her novel.
    â€œWhen are we leaving, Cael?”
    Holly looked up, dropping the book to the floor. “You aren’t leaving yet are you? You can’t leave me alone!”
    â€œWe have to leave right now. We’ll be back tomorrow for you, Holly,” Cael said reassuringly.
    She just stared at him for a moment before nodding wordlessly.Cael reached out for my hand and I took it instantly. He led me into the backyard and opened the pool gate, gesturing for me to go first. I walked past him and he followed close behind, letting the gate swing shut noisily. All the while I felt Holly’s stare fixed on us – I couldn’t understand how she could stay in that house all alone, knowing what had happened.
    Cael put his hand on my waist and gently pulled me down into the cool, blue water. There was no resulting splash, nor the heart-stopping shock of the freezing cold water.
    I looked around and saw we were in Montague Park, standing knee deep in the muddy Brisbane River. Cael quickly pulled me out and once again we were completely dry. The sky was dark, but it was no longer storming. The park was silent and Cael told me that it was probably only three in the afternoon.
    â€œWe have nowhere to go, Cael …” I turned to him slowly.
    He looked down at me, then quickly looked away nervously before he spoke. “That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we’re both okay.”
    Cael hugged me to him and steered me toward the pathway. I don’t know how far we walked or for how long, but we saw the sun set and rise, beckoning a new morning. I wasn’t worried anymore; Cael would always be there for me.

CHAPTER 10
    We had been walking for most of the morning. School wasn’t an issue any longer; Cael had phoned in, claiming to be our father, and withdrawn us from Palomar State High School. There was nothing particularly upsetting in leaving high school for the umpteenth time. After all, I had learned