Body and Soul (The Chronicles of Light and Darkness Book 1) Read online

did everything correctly the first time, so that he wouldn’t have to go back or start over. Kate marveled at the fact that he didn’t touch her skin if he didn’t have to, and then when he did, it wasn’t for very long.

  “There you go,” he said as he got up to toss out the bloody gauze. He put all of the supplies back before making his way back toward Kate’s bed.

  “Thank you,” Kate mumbled when he came back. “I appreciate your help. I don’t know if I could have done that myself.”

  “Anytime,” he said and smiled. “Now get comfortable. I have a story to tell you.”

  Rico repositioned himself so that he was facing Kate; his back leaned against the wrought iron footboard. He crossed his legs and extended them so that his black Converse sneakers hung off the edge. One arm hung over the metal footboard, tracing the intricate spiral details of the wrought iron; the other rested in his lap.

  Kate grabbed a pillow, snuggling with it as she sat back against the headboard and curled up, her knees touching her chest, the pale, floral blanket wrapped around her legs. She watched Rico formulate his ideas; his eyebrows knitted together, and Kate could tell that he was deciding what to say and how to say it. She watched his silent war with a strange sense of fascination.

  “You know how the universe formed, Kate?” Rico asked, probing her thinking.

  “Of course,” she answered. “A star exploded, and bang, hello world. You know, the big bang theory,” she added, seeing his look of incredulity.

  “The big bang theory was invented by a demon scientist to lure people away from the light. It’s not true.”

  “Why do you keep mentioning demons like they’re real? I mean, I’ve seen the exorcist too, but it doesn’t mean that demons are real.”

  “Demons are real, Kate.” Rico paused, giving Kate a moment to reflect, to mull over the possibility in her mind, to disagree if she had to. When she didn’t speak, he moved on.

  “A long, long time ago, before the beginning of time, Light and Darkness were at peace. They sort of lived like friendly neighbors, inhabiting the universe, creating galaxies and planets because they could. After a while, they grew lonely and decided to create living beings that would act as their children. Light created humans, mortal bodies with immortal souls. Darkness created demons, immortal bodies with no soul.” Rico paused again and waited.

  Kate nodded to show that she was following, and Rico continued.

  “Humans were made to live on planet Earth and demons were made to live on another planet, Lilith. Demons were never meant to inhabit this planet, but they do now. You see, demons are evil in nature, their sole purpose is to hate, to destroy. Endless battles raged on Lilith, and eventually there was nothing left except the demons’ bodies. Darkness, in a fit of anger and greed, took the demons and placed them here, on Earth.

  Light grew angry with Darkness for doing this. Humans, and their mortal bodies, died at the hands of the demons, who – as I said before – were created to destroy everything. That was the end of peace between Light and Darkness.” Rico paused again and looked up at Kate. He looked into her grey eyes, eager to read her current thoughts and emotions.

  “What happened next?” Kate’s question came out as a whisper, so quiet that Rico could hardly hear what she said.

  “Well, there were wars,” he said. “Every great war in history has happened as a result of arguments between humans and demons.”

  “But we’ve won some of those wars, the humans I mean. How is that possible? Aren’t demons scary monsters with sharp claws and jagged teeth?”

  Rico chuckled. “We’ll get to that stuff later. I need to explain some other things first. I need to explain the initial war, the one that started it all. This war wasn’t just fought among demons and humans; Light and Darkness actually fought one another too. This battle was the worst; millions of humans died, their souls ripped from their bodies by the demons that craved them.” He looked at Kate’s face when he said this, registering her shock and disgust, and smiled to himself.

  “The demons, however, could not take human souls. Instead, they found that they could inhabit human bodies, sharing the soul with the human owner. This is what people now label as being possessed. The human bodies resisted this new torture, expelling the demons that claimed them.” Rico paused, tracing the floral pattern on Kate’s blanket.

  Kate watched him, entranced by the story that he told. She was worried that it was true but also tried to convince herself that it wasn’t, that it could never be true. She untangled herself from the blankets, suddenly warm. He looked up at her and tore his hand away from the blanket, a look of sadness swirling within his cobalt eyes.

  “I’m not frightened,” Kate said. “You don’t have to feel like you need to protect me.” She shivered despite the truth in her words.

  “You’re cold,” he said. “Take the blanket. Wrap it around yourself.”

  “I’m not cold,” Kate said, confused.

  Rico looked into Kate’s eyes, and she could feel the sadness he felt. It was terrible, knowing that there were evil beings out there possessing humans every day. Maybe the man that she met earlier was attempting to share her soul, to possess Kate’s body. Kate shivered once more at that final thought and focused her attention on Rico. He sighed before continuing again.

  “You see, demons are cold inside. They have nothing to keep them warm, alive. Human souls change that feeling of emptiness. A possession is pleasurable for a demon but not for a human. The demon achieves a feeling of euphoria, while the human experiences tremendous amounts of pain. If the human becomes weak enough, the demon can take over the human body that it inhabits, essentially living as that human. Eventually, the human body weakens and the human dies. Afterwards, the demon must return to his true form until he is able to possess another human.

  Light stopped this act of evil from happening by striking a deal with Darkness. The pair agreed that the demons would stop the act of possessing humans, of sharing their souls. In order for that to happen, though, demons would forever be able to inhabit Earth, to live among humans, like humans. Light erased the human memories of demons, giving demons the opportunity to mask their true identities. This deal has held out for a while, but the demons are becoming restless. They hate being unable to feel emotions with the same intensity as humans. Wars and battles have brewed every so often, with Light reminding Darkness of what would come afterward. You see, Light tricked Darkness that day, but let him remain on Earth out of pity. If a demon possesses a human and is unsuccessful, his life ends. With no soul, he is gone from this world, and all others, forever.”

  “An exorcism stops the demon, right?”

  “That, or an exceptionally strong human.”

  Kate nodded then asked, “Why did Light trick Darkness? I thought Light equated goodness.”

  “It does, essentially, but there are bad or evil humans out there. Humans can murder, steal, and rape. All beings have a mixture of good and bad in them; it all depends on which they favor – Light or Darkness.

  But to answer your initial question, Light did it because he had to protect his children. He knew that Darkness would go back on his word, and he wanted to make sure that he had something that ensured that Darkness’ end of the bargain remained intact. He had to have leverage, something to hold over Darkness’ head. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Kate said. “Even the best person would do something cruel to save someone he loves. Even the best person would hurt someone because they could,” Kate said the last part more to herself than to Rico.

  She looked at him then, really looked at his dark hair and even features. His raven hair reflected the light, giving the illusion that he had rainbow highlights. His lips were full and sensuous, probably soft and rough at the same time, like his hands. He held himself with an air of dignity, never slouching like so many teenagers did. Kate found herself wondering how old he was, wondering if he was too old for her.

  Rico moved suddenly, pulling Kate from her dayd
ream, and in one swift motion he was standing up. He moved to the window and looked back at Kate, that same look of sadness swirling in his blue eyes. “I should go now,” he said. “It’s almost two a.m., and I don’t think the demon is going to come back for you.”

  Kate started. “Wait,” she said, stopping him before he could jump out. “How do you know he won’t come back now, or even later? What am I supposed to do about it?”

  “Be careful and don’t talk to strangers, especially at night.” With those words, Rico departed, leaving Kate questioning what kind of advice that was supposed to be. She knew better than to talk to strangers, especially at night. What kind of an idiot did he think she was?

 

  5

  The next morning Kate slept in. She was glad that her mother and father didn’t bother coming up to wake her; that was the first night that she had been able to sleep since moving to Florida, and she knew that they would have ruined her much needed rest. Kate didn’t wake until well after the sunrise. When she did, the memories of her conversation with Rico flooded back. Images of demons and humans, Light and Darkness, and right and wrong swirled through her thoughts.

  Kate rose and was shocked to see the glass and blood that littered her bamboo floors. She had almost forgotten the worst part about the night before. The demon, the one that she had