Can the mark be unmarked?

This is a blog dedicated entirely to my book series 'The Marked Trilogy'. The books, in order, are; Marked at birth. Marked to die. Marked by love. DISCLAIMER: All Gifs, audio, video and pictures seen are not that of my creation unless expressed, by me, that I did in fact make it. I take no credit for anything that is not mine. Currently Reading: Lost in time (Blue Bloods #6) by Melissa De La Cruz Wattpad

[fictionalrealms-blog]

Fictional Realms will remain closed until all currently open characters are taken; current applications will be accepted tomorrow.

[dontcallmepyroarchive]

Guys. Come on, please? Pretty please? There are only four characters I believe…FOUR AWESOME CHARACTERS THAT NEED YOU!!!!

They are all from Vampire Academy and that series is amazing and jebus come on now peepz! 

Angeline Dawes

Rosemarie Hathaway

Dimitri Belikov

Edison Castile

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Marked at Birth Chapter 10!

Wow this was long and I got it done so fast!!!

Enjoy! xxxx

I grimaced as I looked at my wall. I drew and X through the day and sighed. A fresh calendar hung on my wall, it was now the middle of January and each day brought the day of my eighteenth birthday—my final day—closer. I had had four training sessions with Marune since we started them in November and I was getting ready to go to my fifth now.

I put a jacket over my tank top and jeans, slipping on my shoes and tying my hair back into a bun. I gave myself a once over before leaving my room and walking downstairs.

My parents sat at the kitchen table, my father sipping coffee and my mother doing a crossword. It was a perfect picture of normalcy for them. I smiled a little and my mother chose that moment to look up. My smile faltered and I looked down.

“Where are you going?” My mother asked, catching my father’s attention. He looked up at I saw the change in his face, the expression that meant he wasn’t going to let me go.

“Out,” I said simply. “Is that a problem?”

“You know it is.” My father said, putting his coffee mug down. “You can’t just go out Cecile, it’s dangerous.” He sighed. “Go back to your room.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave a defiant expression. Normally, I would do as I was told, but lately, I just wants to rebel. Maybe it was because I had less than five months left to live, maybe it was because I had never actually rebelled before and done what I wanted until recently. Either way, I wasn’t going back upstairs.

“Why is it so dangerous? Because there could be a demon out there, waiting to kill me? Like the one that is going to be killing me in a few months.” My mother flinched at this. “God, I have been cooped up my entire life, and now that I don’t have long left, I want to enjoy life. I want to go out and see things and live.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Is that too much to ask for?”

My father ran a hand down his face and sighed loudly. My mother looked over at him and they had a silent discussion. I waited, arms still folded, drumming my fingers on my arms.

“Alright,” my father raised his hands in defeat. “Go out, do whatever it is you want to do. Just, be home before dinner.” He said as he got up and took his mug to the kitchen. “And if you’re late, that will be the last time you leave. Understood?”

I simply nodded before walking out. I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and texted Marune.

I’m free where do u want 2 meet? I sent him and moments later my phone vibrated with his reply.

I’m a couple blocks away. I’ll drive up and meet you at the corner.

I put my phone away and started walking to the end of my street. I only had to wait on the corner for a few minutes before Marune pulled up. I hopped in and buckled up, settling back in my seat.

The worst of the snow had already gone, but there were still some traces of it. I was sure there would be more to come, normally it snowed a lot in December and a small amount in January in Waterfall. I loved the snow and would sit out in my backyard, rugged up and just watch it fall.

“Milkshake,” Marune greeted as he pulled away from the corner and began driving towards the barn.

“Burgundy,” I gave him a nod of acknowledgement. He shot me a smirk and I grinned back at him.

I hadn’t seen him since our last training session which had been just before Christmas. It had been a few weeks and it was strange how much I had missed spending time with him. Marune was the only person I had spent any time with and he was helping me. Even though I didn’t really know what he was and I didn’t really trust him, I could at least count on him to help me learn to defend myself and to help distract me from my impending death.

“What?” He asked suspiciously. I looked away from him, focusing on what was straight ahead.

“Are there any other supernatural creatures out there?” I changed the subject. “Like vampires or zombies or wizards?” Honestly, it was something I had been curious about. Surely if there were demons around a vampire wouldn’t be too farfetched. Were demons like vampires?

I thought about the demon from my dream, it has fangs alright. It didn’t have a pair like most vampires in fiction and it did have horns, but it was still a possibility.

“A wizard?” He asked with an eye roll. “Vampires are a myth, zombies are too. Wizards, there are no wizards but there are warlocks.” He shrugged. “I guess their kind of the same thing except they don’t use wands and they are more into black magic.”

“So, what is a warlock then?” I asked curious.

“A warlock,” Marune began, keeping his eyes on the road. “Is made because of a debt, people who owe a demon that already has a body or is preparing to take one. They live forever, never aging, and some say this is a curse. They can die, but not easily. What is a fatal wound on a human isn’t necessarily one on a warlock. It’s like they sell their soul, well part of it, to a demon and the demon curses them with some of its essence, hence the immortality and their ability to do magic. They are part demon.” I shuddered at the thought. “And,” he said as afterthought. “The older warlocks or the ones with more demon in them than human are the ones that hunt down the marked. Not every marked person knows that they are fated to death by demon. You’re one of the lucky few.”

I gave a shaky sigh and looked back out the window, contemplating all of this. I couldn’t imagine never having been told what was to become of me. I couldn’t imagine living with the thought of having a future when I didn’t have one. For once, I was actually thankful for the person or, Warlock as Marune said, that came to my door and told me what I was. I didn’t think it would be possible to be so grateful to be told I was going to die when I turned eighteen. At least I knew.

The rest of the car ride was silent as I still took time to process this new information. Warlocks, part demons, existed. I didn’t know what to make of that. It shouldn’t be such a shock that other supernatural creatures existed and I had already contemplated vampires being real—even though they weren’t—but something about selling your soul or even part of it. I was fighting hard to keep mine from being stolen from a demon and people were just giving theirs away? For what? Eternal life? The thought made me angry and I ended up glaring out of the window.

“What,” Marune asked as we pulled up to the barn. “Has the scenery done to upset you?”

I scowled. “It’s not the scenery Mr answer-for-everything. It’s Warlocks.”

“You have an awful problem with something you just found out about.”

“It’s what they do to get that way,” I explained as calmly as I could. “They sell their souls to demons and here I am trying to keep mine so that I can live. Why can’t the demons just take their souls and their bodies and leave other people like me alone.”

“Because,” he replied. “Sometimes the people are selling part of their souls, or yes in extreme circumstances their whole soul, because they have no choice. Some do it for selfish reasons, others for selfless reasons. And the demons can’t take their bodies because they aren’t marked.”

I groaned and unbuckled my seatbelt, getting out of the car. Marune followed after me. He unlocked the door and we headed inside. I guessed that we would be focusing on counter attacks today.

“It’s still stupid.” I continued on the subject. “Why would anyone want that?”

“Because some people don’t have anything left to lose.”

I was taken aback by his tone and look. I swallowed and cleared my face of the shocked look that was no doubt on it. I tried to decipher why he was so shocked, but I couldn’t figure it out.

“Are you a Warlock?” I blurted out. Marune snorted.

“Hardly.”

I nodded slowly, accepting this. Though, I was still unsure. Maybe he wasn’t a Warlock, perhaps someone he knew was one. Or had been saved by one. I frowned, maybe Marune had been saved. Maybe he had been on the brink of death and someone he knew had sold their soul in order to save him. I felt guilty for condemning all warlocks then.

“I…I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make a prejudgement. Actually that’s a lie, I did mean it but now I can see that I assumed things when there was another explanation.”

“All is forgiven Milkshake,” he said breezily. “Now, let’s see how far I can get into your head this time.”

I made a face at that and walked over to the couch and sat done. Marune came to sit next to me and my heart beat a little faster at his close proximity.

Try as I might I couldn’t deny that Marune was very good looking. His black hair that had grown a bit since we met, his fringe falling just above his eyes and he had to occasionally flick his hair off his face. His sparkling green eyes, always filled with amusement or studying everything around him. His body was lean and I was sure he had some muscle and his skin had a hint of a tan. This was the first time I had actually studied him and I had underestimated his looks.

“Checking me out Milkshake?” I blinked and saw the smirk on his lips and felt my face heat up. I averted my gaze from his amused one.

“I was giving myself something to work with. By thinking of you in great detail I can easily block you out. Then again, you might love yourself enough to stay in there forever and just look at yourself.”

At this his smirk changed to a full grin. “You know me so well.” He joked before his face turned serious and he pulled my gaze to his and I felt him in my mind.

I liked to think of it as a small worm and my brain as an apple. As strange as that sounds it gave me a much better picture to work with and I could see it. See the worm chewing a hole through the apple, trying to get inside and get to the better stuff in the middle. I imagine Marune as the worm and put up a barrier to the apple.

I had been getting slightly better at counter attacks now that I had been working on them so much. My physical strength was lacking and I needed to do a lot more work in order to build it up and become strong enough to defeat a demon should it take on a corporeal form. I brought up my barrier, though I could feel him pushing past it. I grimaced and tried harder. Soon he would see all my thoughts from the last year and then peel ever more back and see every thought I had ever had.

My eyes widened as I realised he would see the dream I had. I didn’t want him to know about that, about me being terrified of something my own imagination conjured up. I quickly put all my strength into the barrier and pushed him out. Marune fell back slightly and I leaned against the couch, panting. I looked over at him from the corner of my eyes and he was studying me—hard.

“What are you hiding?” He asked general curiosity in his tone.

“I could ask you,” I replied through heavy breaths. “The same thing.”

Marune twisted his lips but didn’t reply to that and instead he looked away, frowning at the floor, as if he could figure out what I was hiding from the hardwood.

I knew I should tell him. For all I knew, it wasn’t really a dream and the demon had been able to invade my mind like Marune was doing. But the thought of telling him, of revealing that I was completely terrified stopped me. I didn’t want to be viewed as a weak little girl that was still having nightmares. I didn’t want to be the girl that ran to everyone else for help.

I was strong, or I could be. I was training, training to fight back and I wasn’t going to give up. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

“Marune?” I broke the silence.

“Hmm?” He lifted his head, his green gaze meeting my hazel one.

“I’ve been thinking a lot. Everything you’ve told me, it makes sense except. Why do demons need human bodies? Why don’t they have their own?”

Marune knotted his eyebrows. It seemed as if her were considering my question. He looked away from me for a long moment before turning back and answering me.

“Demons want to live on earth. There is a good balance of good and evil,” I snorted at this and he gave me a wry grin. “They feed off the pure and there is nothing more pure and good than a new born child. It’s soul is new and clean of all evil. Demons need a solid body on earth; their corporeal form can’t withstand this plane for long. If they do come to earth, the only stay solid for so long, depending on their age and whatnot. So, in marking newborns, they have guaranteed themselves the purest of souls. When the time comes, when they are ready to take the soul, it’s like water and air to them. The purity, it keeps them alive.”

I took in his explanation and touched the mark on the back of my neck.

“What if the baby grows up and, I don’t know becomes a murderer or something?” I asked.

“Once marked, their soul remains pure. I don’t know exactly how that works, but a marked can do anything and their soul remains free of any evil or sin they may have committed.”

“Is this why demons take peoples souls and make them warlocks?”

Marune shrugged at that. “They take more from the people who want to become one for selfless reasons than of those that want to become one so that they can live forever.” He sighed. “Most of the time they don’t take the entire soul from the warlock.”

“Why are only certain newborns chosen? What makes them—what made me—special?”

“That is something I actually don’t know.” He smirked. “I know it’s a strange concept for me not to know something, but I am sure you will survive the shock.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Alright, I get it you know everything and you’re the greatest.” I grinned slightly. “Can you tell me one other thing?”

“Of course I can. I am all knowing, well, most of the time.”

I laughed a little at that and Marune smiled at me. A genuine smile. Not a smirk or a grin but a movement of his lips that showed he was happy. I liked that smile and I wished he would do it more.

“How do you know all of this?”

Marune let out a small chuckle and went back to grinning. “You ask me that every time and I never answer you. Why would this time be an exception?”

“Because we’re such good friends now and you seem to be in a sharing mood.”

“You aren’t wrong there Milkshake,” he said. “But no. I’m not telling you all my secrets, I like to keep some of the mystery.”

I gave a frustrated groan and dropped the subject, for now anyway.

“Fine if you won’t tell me that and you’re done sharing can we get back to training?” I asked standing, hands on hips.

“Always so eager for me to kick your ass.”

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Chapter nine

Marked at Birth chapter nine is here!

Enjoy and so sorry for the long wait! xxxxx

Chapter Nine

I was running. I didn’t know why or where too, all I knew was that I had to keep running. I wasn’t even sure how long I had been running for but if the ache in my legs was any indication I had been on the move for a long time. Or I just wasn’t used to the motion of running.

I was running through a dark forest, sweat making my clothes and hair stick to me. I had to dodge fallen branches and rocks as I ran. The trees surrounded me, closing me in and it was all I could do to keep going, to not stop running and get away from it.

The fact that I didn’t know what it was didn’t seem to matter.

I began to run up a small incline, being careful of the rocks on the ground and the fallen debris from trees. I reached the top and looked down in relief. There, nestled into the woods, surrounded by trees on all sides, was a small lake. I ran down the grassy bank, never having been more grateful to see water before. My throat burned and now turned dry as the solution to its problems drew near.

I reached the water and knelt down on the shore of it, dipping my hands into the cool liquid and bringing them, cupped with water, to my face and spilling the liquid over my heated skin. The water was a perfect temperature, it wasn’t icy but it wasn’t warm either, it reminded me of a cold shower with the hot nozzle turned on just a tiny bit.

At that moment, as the water dripped down my face and I rubbed some on the back of my neck, it didn’t occur to me that the water could be something else, a mirage or even just dirty. I decided it was probably best not to drink it and that made my already dry throat turn impossibly drier.

As I was dipping my hands into the lake again, I felt a cool breeze and shivered a little. My clothes were slightly wet and didn’t provide much warmth. In fact, I looked down and realised I was wearing my pyjamas; a tank top and cotton shorts. I frowned slightly.

Why am I running around in my pyjamas?

My hands opened, dropping the water back into the lake and my frown deepened as something caught my attention in the waters reflection, the rippling water distorted the image and I couldn’t quite make it out.

As the surface of the water smoothed again I stifled a yelp as the image cleared and I could make out what was reflected in the mirror of the water.

I could only describe the thing as a shadow and that had me stumbling back on my hands and knees away from the water’s edge. I kept my eyes on the shadow, but I had no idea where it was being reflected from. Surely the shadow wasn’t in the water itself. As that thought passed through my mind, I felt a small sting hit the back of my neck, directly on my mark. I put my hand there, but felt nothing. I swallowed my fear and stood up, slowly turning around to face what was behind me.

I was now facing the shadow from the water. A black billowy cloak surrounded the figure, and it appeared to be an actual shadow, until it lifted its head and I could see under the hood. Red eyes looked out at me and I stumbled backwards as I saw what I thought was horns. The shadow grinned maliciously and I choked on a scream.

It lifted its hands, pointed a clawed finger at me and I felt all need to speak or scream or make any noise leave me. I tried, but only air came out. My eyes widened and fear surged through me. Its grin widened, revealing its pointed teeth. Like a mouth full of fangs.

When I was young and had nightmares, I used to wake up and run to my parents’ room. They would hug me and tell me everything was okay. That there was no bogeyman living under my bed and no monsters in my closet and they would let me sleep in their bed and no nightmares would come to me while I was safe with them.

I couldn’t do that now, so I did the only thing I knew to do when I was scared. Though, in hindsight it probably wasn’t the best thing to do.

I ran.

I made a move backwards, away from the shadow and then ran right, around the figure and back towards the incline. It probably wasn’t the smartest place to go but it was either that or attempt to walk on water, which would have been even less smart.

I slipped on the grass but made it up to the top, I went left and ran at a full sprint, not knowing where I was going but trusting my instincts. I had to dodge a lot more debris when coming this way than I did when I was running away from the…I didn’t even know what that was.

A part of me didn’t want to admit that I knew what it was. I didn’t want to actually acknowledge it, but the more I thought about it the more sense it made.

That thing, that shadow. It had to be the demon that had marked me. It had to be the demon that was going to take my soul. It made me angry more than anything. Now I had a face to put to my killer and that was more incentive than anything to train harder than I ever had before.

I stopped suddenly as I felt a cold breeze blow through my. My head snapped up and the demon was in front of me. I whirled around and went to run in the opposite direction but the demon was there in a flash. I stumbled backwards, twisting to turn again when I lost my footing, falling back and landing in a heap on my side. I groaned and rolled onto my back, sitting up on my elbows. I decided it was a futile effort to keep running and, instead, just kept my eyes on the demon in front of me, watching for any sudden movements.

The demon let out a dark, spine chilling laugh that was full of malice. I cringed and quickly got back to my feet. Even if I wasn’t going to run, I could at least stand and take control of that much.

“Oh my sweet,” the demon whispered. Its voice was almost sweet and it entranced me with its melody. “Soon you will be mine.” The demon reached out, it’s clawed hand coming closer to me. My whole body tingled with fear at the thought of it touching me. Its hood tilted back and I saw the red in its eyes, the horns that curled inwards slightly at the ends. The demon was tall and imposing, making me want to shrink back in fear. I jutted my chin out, trying to radiate a confidence and strength that I didn’t actually possess.

Its hand was going to my throat, about to wrap around me and cut off my air. I screamed, my vocals working and the sound pierced the silence of the woods. His hand curled around my throat, my scream still echoing through the trees and then it cut off and I sat up, drenched in sweat and panting.

I looked around. I was in my room, on my bed and I had been asleep. I reached over and turned on my lamp and breathed in a shaky breath, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. I sat back on my pillows and raked a hand through my hair. I felt disgusting and quickly got out of bed, ripping off the sheets and throwing them to the other side of the room. I got out a fresh set and remade my bed before laying some fresh pyjamas on the bed and taking a cool shower.

Images of the dream plagued my mind and I scrubbed at my skin, as if getting rid of all the dirt from the woods, the feel of the demons hand closing around my throat and the realisation that I now had a face to go with my future killer.

Getting out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around me and headed back into my room. I dried myself and got dressed before sitting on the edge of my bed. I reached over and took hold of my mobile phone, looking down at it and contemplating whether or not I should call Marnue.

I was scared; there was no point in denying it. That dream had shaken me to my core and I really didn’t want to be alone. I couldn’t go to my parents like I would have when I was little, because they wouldn’t have done anything. They had been closed off to me since the moment I was told what was in my future, though I still didn’t understand that.

They had kept me sheltered my entire life, yet the claimed to have had no idea of what was to become of me until that…whatever it was came to my door and told us all. I had my suspicions but there was no point in pursuing those suspicions because what was done was done. Yet, the thoughts still plagued me and wanted to be acknowledged.

I leaned back down on my bed, phone still in hand. I should have called or texted Marune. Surely seeing my demon in my dreams was something he would need to know but, for one thing, I still didn’t completely trust him. And another thing, I didn’t want him to think I was scared.

It was a stupid thing to worry about, but I had to be strong. Mentally, emotionally, physically strong and blubbering about a dream was no way to do that. So, I put my phone into my drawer and got back into my bed, shutting off my lamp and closing my eyes.

I tried not to think of red eyes, horns and claws. Of hauntingly beautiful voices or shadowy cloaks, but I couldn’t control what went through my mind as I started to slip into sleep.

The memories of the dream plagued me, but at least the dream didn’t return and, at least, I had no new ones to add to the already terrifying images of the demon.

My demon.

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Oh hey!

It has been a while. 

Well, my sister has leant me her laptop so...that means more chapters!! *throws confetti*

Also, Cecile now her her own blog: http://askcecilessoul.tumblr.com 

I rp, it helps with the writing and rpg as Cecile helps with improving her character.

Right, back to writing then!

xxxxxxxx

[iswearonemmaswaan]

It all makes sense now. Gay marriage and marijuana being legalized on the same day. Leviticus 20:13 - “If a man lays with another man he should be stoned.” We’ve just been interpreting it wrong all these years.

[johnnydae]

Reblog if one of this books (or even more) is your favourite

[malphas-akuma]

OMG! OMG!OMG!  BY THE ANGEL! NEXT WEEK! *Fangirling* 

[likechildreninafairytale]

OHMYGOD???????????

[jamesbucksiclebarnes]

OMFG

[rosereturns]

Harry attempting to distract himself

[thelastofhiskind-deactivated201]

#harry is us when everyone else is in a relationship

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Are you still writing?

I am. I am just without any means to write up and post the next chapter unfortunately.

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Any idea when the next chapter will be posted?

Hi there.Unfortunately I have no laptop right now to write on. I'm stuck on my iPod so there won't be a new chapter for a while.

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

I love your book. I am writing a novel myself. Do you have any tips on how I can improve my writing?

Hi there,Sorry about the, no doubt, late reply. Tips? Write. I have found that from when I started writing Marked at Birth to now I have improved. Honestly, it all comes with experience.Read books in the same genre of yours to get a feel for the writing even.

[nanerzbebored-deactivated201111]

When i want to show a fandom to a friend

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

[trystanemartell]

[bellamygrifffins]

this is perfection

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Chapter Eight.

Marked at Birth, Chapter eight is finally here! 

Enjoy!

“You know,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself to keep warm. “You have a massive house, with heating no doubt, so why are we training outside?”

It was early December and the temperature had plummeted and there was a light layer of snow on the ground. Not the good kind of snow either, it was slush snow.

“I don't feel like having my furniture broken, unless you are willing to replace it?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked towards me.

“We could just move furniture out of one room and use the empty space.”

“Nope,” he popped the ‘p’. “Fists up.”

With a resigned sigh I curled my fists and took a fighting stance.

“As soon as you learn hand to hand combat—right,” I hit his left palm with my right fist. “You can start learning weapons—left.” I hit his right palm with my left fist. “Sound good?”

I nodded as he called out ‘right, high’ which had me aiming for his left palm, held above his head.

We continued this for about half an hour. Right, left, high, low, side, side and in front.

I was getting the hang of it and was glad that Marune didn't stick to any kind of pattern, since the enemy I would be fighting would also be unpredictable.

Marune had his hand up and to the right and I moved to hit it when my foot slipped and I found myself falling backwards. I swung my arms behind me, ready to catch myself and braced for the impact but it never came.

I was hovering above the ground and I looked to see why and saw Marune standing above me, leaning down, his arms wrapped around me tightly, stopping my fall.

“Be careful Milkshake,” he said as he righted us both. “Wouldn’t want you to break something now, would we?”

I grimaced and looked up at him, noticing that he still stood rather close to me. I took a step back.

“Thanks,” I said as I straightened my jacket. “If we were training indoors though, this never would have happened.” I pointed out.

Marune gave a resigned sigh and shook his head.

“Fine, enough physical training, we’ll go inside and work on the mental training.”

I smiled and hurried along after him. I slipped again and Marune caught my upper arm, not letting go until we were safely inside.

I smiled as I engulfed in warmth. Marune had the heating on and I felt myself thawing.

Marune motioned to one of the black leather couches and I sat next to him.

He looked me over, studying me, getting a feel for how I thought. 

I looked steadily at him until I felt it, the feeling of something moving inside my head. I attempted to put my barriers up so that he couldn’t see into my thoughts but it was hard.

The level of concentration that went into it seemed to get harder rather than easier with every lesson I had with Marune.

“Focus Milkshake, I can read you like a book.”

I pressed my lips together and scrunched my eyes closed tightly as I pushed against him, wrapping my inner fence around my mind, stopping him from gaining access.

The pressure lifted and I slumped in relief, my breathing was heavy but I wore a silly smile on my lips.

“Kicked your butt,” I said in a tired voice.

Marune shook his head at me. “I was barely trying.”

“Next time, don't hold back then.”

“If I used my full strength, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Oh? Will the demon be aware of this and not use its full strength?” I asked sarcastically.

Marune smirked at me. He seemed to always be smirking and it was irritating me more than it probably should.

“Good point Milkshake.” He nodded to me. I smiled back at him.

“Finally you acknowledge that I can make good points.”

“I am only acknowledging it because that’s the only good point you’ve made.”

I scowled at him but said nothing. I was sure there were other good points I had made.

“You also said I had a point about you driving me home.” I said triumphantly. “So ha!”

Marune frowned at me. “Do you keep a diary of all the conversations we’ve had? That’s cute Milkshake.”

I scowled at him. He would turn things around so they favoured him.

“No, I just remember everytime I am right.” I said back with a shrug.

“Doesn’t happen often I take it?” He asked his smirk back in place.

I turned to him and glared but made no comment. I would just get some smartass retort from him and that smirk would stay on his face. It really annoyed me, that smirk, I’d like to slap it off.

Instead I decided to change the subject and get back on track. It was December; I had until April to learn everything I could about Demons before my one came for me.

“So, if you aren’t going to tell me how you know about demons, maybe you can tell me what you know.” I said.

Marune shrugged. “Seems fair, what do you want to know Milkshake?”

I considered this. There were so many things I didn't know, actually I was sure I knew nothing and I wondered what I should start with. Something simple, easy. Something that won’t terrify me. I pursed my lips, running a few questions through my mind before finding one that seemed suitable.

“Are there different breeds of Demons? How many?”

Marune rubbed his jaw as he considered this question and I crossed my legs and arms, waiting for the answer.

“There are many different breeds, thousands actually. No one knows them all,” he frowned. “Except the oldest demons. The ones that created them.”

I nodded. “What kinds are there?”

“Well,” he sat forward as he began explaining. “Every breed of demon is named for some...trait they have. Their main purpose or...I don't really know the intricate details of demon naming. There are older ones, the ones that created the demons.” He scrunched his eyebrows in consternation.

“What are the older ones?”

“The older ones,” Marune raked a hand through his hair. “Are the demons that were created, not born or bred, first. They are the only ones of their kind. Unlike other demon breeds where there are thousands of the same breed the first demons are the only ones of their breed. They are the oldest, the strongest and they are the leaders of the demon race.”

I frowned and I felt myself go cold. There were thousands of demon breeds, thousands of demons and then there were ones that were more powerful, older and one of a kind.

“Marune?” I asked tentatively. I wasn’t sure which question was more important to me right now, which one I wanted answered first.

“Yes Milkshake?” He eyed me warily, as if waiting for me to breakdown in tears or start pounding my fists against his chest.

The latter was tempting.

“If a demon has already taken over a body and that body has died out...can they, um, take over another one?”

I hated how small and weak my voice was, but I was scared. I had no idea which of these demons was the one intent on killing me. It could be any number of them and I hated not knowing which one would be walking around in my skin.

Marune’s features softened, it was the first time I thought I ever saw them soften, and he swallowed before answering me.

“Yes, they can.” Was all he said and I felt my anxiety grow.

I didn't even have any demons to eliminate, only ones that were already in their bodies and how was I supposed to know which ones they were?

“That’s comforting.” I said, raking my fingers through my hair.

“You asked.” He shrugged.

I didn't bother with a response. Marune wasn’t very sympathetic. I often wondered why he was helping me if he didn't care if I lived or not. I was sure it had something to do with him not want the demons to claim another life and nothing to do with me—or anyone else he had helped.

“Do you know what the thing was that told me that I was marked? Or who?” I asked this was something I had wondered since the day that...person had shown up at my house and told me I was going to die.

Marune shook his head, but he wouldn’t look at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and he shifted a little in his seat. I crossed my arms and kept my eyes on him until he finally turned to look at me. He met my eyes and, for once, he wasn’t wearing that smirk.

“Sorry Milkshake,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t help you there.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and waited. He continued to look at me with an innocent expression. I raised my eyebrows at him and tapped my fingers on my arm. Marune sighed and ran a hand through his black hair.

“I don't know Milkshake,” he told me, his eyes back on mine. “If I did, I would tell you. Why would I keep that from you?”

“Well, you aren’t exactly forthcoming when it comes to information.” I retorted and he chuckled.

“When it comes to certain subjects.”

“Like what?”

“Like,” he gestured to himself. “Me. You don't need to know about me, because it isn’t going to make a difference to you or your future.”

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling, praying for strength from whatever may be up there.

Bringing my gaze back to him I scowled and stood from the couch, stretching my legs and arms before walking over to the door. Turning back to Marune, I found him watching me curiously.

“What?” I asked as I crossed my arms.

“Where are you going?” I stared at him as he asked me that, I stared at him like that was the most idiotic question he could have asked.

“Home...” I said, in a tone that suggestive how obvious that answer was.

“Why?”

I indicated the clock on the wall and then indicated myself.

“Curfew.”

“Right, why not stay a little longer?” He shrugged when he asked this. Why was he shrugging so much?

“I mean,” he continued. “Stay a little longer to work on your training. We only have a limited time, I can drop you home.”

I quirked my eyebrows up in surprise. Marune never wanted me to stay longer, granted we had only had three training sessions but he always seemed relieved when it was time for me to go. Why the sudden change?

If I had to guess I would say it was because a month had passed and I had barely kept Marune out, and he wasn’t even using his full power on me. If I had any hope of beating this demon, I needed all the lessons I could get. I needed to up my game and work harder and succeed.

Unfortunately for me, I had worrisome parents.

“Last time I missed curfew,” I informed him. “My parents threatened to lock me away in my room.”

Marune frowned at this. “What about the window?”

“Bars.”

He chuckled and made his way over to me, picking up a jacket and his car keys as he did so.

I didn't want to be driven around while it was snowing, but Marune had told me he had taken all the necessary precautions so that we wouldn’t slide off a cliff. I was still unsure.

Despite my unease, I followed Marune to the car anyway and got in.

I gazed out the window as he drove to my house, contemplating everything I had learnt. It wasn’t much, but it was more than I ever thought I would know.

I was getting better at blocking my mind and defending myself and I had some more knowledge that was always a plus. I couldn't know too much about this subject but I could know too little.

“Why won’t you tell me how you know about this stuff?” I asked as we neared my street.

Marune didn't look away from the road, but I saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel.

“Do you really want to know how I know or do you want to know what I know?” He asked as he turned onto the street that joined to mine.

“Both.” I answered in a quiet voice.

“Why do you need to know how I know? It doesn’t matter how I know, all that matters is that I know about all of this and you need to learn it.”

I rolled my eyes at his evasive answer. He had a point; I needed to learn this stuff but I also wanted to know how he knew and why he was hiding it. I wondered if he was hiding more than just how he knew this.

Marune pulled up at the corner of my street and I hopped out the car. I looked back at him and saw him give me a small wave before taking off again and I shook my head.

I walked up the street to my house with only one thought running through my mind.

I had accepted that Marune wasn’t going to steal my soul, he had had the opportunity to many times, but it seemed that he was keeping something from me. Something more than how he knew about demons.

I was determined to know what it was.  

[maajczi]

[allurgic-deactivated20131111]

i am so ridiculously unphotogenic it’s not even funny

[danielsharmss-deactivated201409]

i’m not unphotogenic i’m just always ugly

[themarkedtrilogy-blog]

Cecile and Marune, Chapter 8.

Marune has asked her to stay longer.

Cecile: Last time I missed curfew, my parents threatened to lock me in my room.

Marune: What about the window?

Cecile: Bars.