DEVIL'S HIGH

CHAPTER 20

SAMAEL’S POINT OF VIEW

“Is Keres planning something against us?”

Damien asked, swinging his legs as he sat on the hood of Levi’s car. We perceived that Keres would be abandoned by her selfish friends once the news of her breakup spreads, but we never thought of her to get along with Kiara, especially when she was a partial reason for their separation.

“She is not that cunning.”

Asmodeus was staring at his leather watch as he defended his ex girlfriend and his eyes looked bloodshot with all the drinking and lack of sleep. I know that he was still hooked up with what Kiara said and he was rethinking his actions with a bit of regret.

I noticed Keres’ expression today, and she didn’t even turn to see Damien; instead, her feet were shifted to Asmodeus’ direction, meaning that it was his attention she wanted. Did we all read the signs wrong? Wasn’t she actually attracted to Damien? Leviathan cleared his throat to reduce the tension enveloping us and smiled goofily.

“Anyway, don’t you think the Angel has transformed a lot. I couldn’t even recognize her at first.”

My shoulders tensed a little at seeing the glint in Levi’s eyes. He was definitely not being sarcastic and his sudden change in attitude towards her was making me damn uncomfortable. I already spent my entire night referring to different books and websites where I can find a similar case of energy collision, but it came up empty.

Wise men have assured that no energies from hell and heaven could coexist in both the worlds unless the human dimension. So why can Leviathan touch Kiara without getting electrocuted? And why did a single physical contact affect him so much? It’s not like he was a virgin or anything.

“You thought that too? If it wasn’t for her silver hair, I would have just passed by. She blends in well and for a second I was mesmerized by her looks. Isn’t that man too mean? If she looks this good, then does that mean all the women up there are that beautiful?”

I stared wide eyed at Damien. Is he being serious now? She isn’t even that beautiful. Just then, my brain rewinded how she turned back and her blue orbs slowly meeting mine. Her face was void of any artificial make up and maybe that’s what makes her more attractive. I remember my breath hitching as I forgot my surroundings for a millisecond.

“You guys sound like you indeed appreciate her existence here.”

My words were laced with anger, but Damien and Leviathan looked unaffected. They even laughed it off as if I was joking. What is happening to everyone here? Asmodeus was still in his own world, and he wasn’t even listening to the surrounding conversations.

“I hate her so much that I am ready to beat the crap out of her anytime I get a chance. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enjoy the beauty. It would be too much fun to destroy something so pretty. Besides, have you ever been so excited to come to school before? Take this as a time pass, guys. We will play with her for a while and then break her beyond repair. Right Levi?”

Leviathan blinked his eyes twice and gave a thumps up, smiling awkwardly. But he wasn’t meeting our eyes, and I realized that he was certainly smitten by her. Will my best friend betray me for our enemy?

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KIARA’S POINT OF VIEW

“See, we were a match made in hell, girl. Kiara. Keres. Both have five letters, starts with the same syllable, and even the pronunciation is so similar if it wasn’t for the ‘S’ in my name. Maybe we were supposed to be sisters.”

I ducked down my head in embarrassment as everyone was watching my crazy friend babbling endlessly. The teacher has already warned us five times to be silent, but the thickhead beside me didn’t even acknowledge her and finally the old woman gave up on us. Keres was continuously going on about how we should be besties forever and the reasons she brought up were so foolish and lame.

I can see that me defending her against Samael and others had made her lean on me and trust me more, but right now she was being really childish and I couldn’t stop her, as her excitement was definitely affecting her aura. Also, I can’t help but think that she was hiding her true character all this while behind her tough face and now that she was not afraid of getting judged anymore, Keres was ready to be herself in front of others. 

“So, what do you want for lunch? I am craving for a hamburger and fries.”

Oh right. Asher.

“I can’t eat lunch from the cafeteria. I will have to go to my house during the break.”

I said, hoping she wouldn’t ask me why I couldn’t eat from the school or where I was living. I can’t lie to her and if I tell her that I do not want to reveal my personal information to her, it will certainly hurt her. And to my relief, Keres just nodded her head in understanding and poked me with the pencil in a friendly way.

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself for an hour. And I also think that you shouldn’t consume anything from the cafeteria. There are bitches everywhere who are so jealous of your beauty, and they would do anything to hurt you. I know because I was also part of that chat group. But I left last night.”

I didn’t understand anything that she said after the second line and kept on staring at her, cluelessly.

“You don’t know what a chat group is?”

There was shock in Keres’ eyes and for the rest of the period and the next, she explained to me the basics about that dangerous box and I was awed by its ability to remember so many things. It even lets you communicate with the others without having to wait and you could know anything from anywhere just by clicking few words in the ‘keyboard’.

Samael was not in any of our classes as Keres changed all her schedules according to mine and I assume Asmodeus couldn’t share a class with his ex without feeling suffocated. It benefited me indirectly, and I felt guilty for thinking that way. When I told Keres about it, she reassured that it was fine and that she preferred to not see him again. She has cheated on him several times but he never let go of her and now, after years, she is paying the prize for not realizing his love and sacrifices.

”Do you want a mobile, too? I can get you a latest model if you are okay with it.”

I eyed at the hundreds of songs that the device could carry around and play it whenever you want, but remembered what Johnathan told me. It would make you lethargic and consume your time.

“Honestly, my fourth brother warned me about it before coming here and told me never to get my hands on it. But these songs are really luring me.”

“Well, I can’t disagree with your brother on that. This s**t is really addicting and it will pull you away from other activities.”

“Then why are you using it?”

This is what I don’t understand about humans too. They just keep on holding onto the things that cause damage to them even after realizing its negative side.

Keres smacked her lips in deep thought and shrugged her shoulders.

“Guess it has become a part of our lives now. Listen, what if I can give you an MP3 player instead of a phone. It can only be used to listen to songs.”

She wiggled her eyebrows in exhaustion, and I pondered over the offer. If it only includes one function, then it couldn’t harm me, right? I nodded my head, accepting her gift, and she gave me a pencil high five. We were quickly adapting to our limits.

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Soon it was lunch time and both of us went to our separate ways, promising to meet after half an hour in the backdoor of the cafeteria. I could feel the energy shifting once Keres passed a bunch of smirking girls and I realized that they were here to make trouble. I waited for several minutes to see if anyone of them were following her, but none moved from their place, so I just brushed it off and headed to my house.

Asher was still asleep as I entered the bedroom, but on hearing my footsteps, he lifted his tiny head and perked up his ears to listen. Unicorns had a fast growth rate, so his eyes were already opened up than last day and his instincts were slowly starting to surface.

I made some mixed vegetable puree for him and fed him, taking my time. He flinched a little when I touched him, but later he extended his neck for more massages. I have heard that some unicorns will only be attached to a single owner, and I wonder if Ashy belonged to that category. If that was the case, then I will have to report to the Council about his existence so that I can take him back to the heaven with me. But I have plenty of time for that and don’t need to worry now.

After I tucked the foal back to its newly made bed, I rushed to the school, seeing that I was already five minutes late. Keres was going to kill me.

I reached the school faster than I thought, all thanks to my wings, and made rapid steps to the cafeteria. As I neared the large hall, I could hear cheering and curse words being shouted in groups. The energy too was extremely strong and amidst that, I felt Keres’ aura getting lower and lower. They are attacking her.

I was literally running to the end of the hallway and stopped once I saw a large group of students surrounding the back seats. Keres must be inside.

“You treacherous s**t. I didn’t know you could stoop so low. First you cheated on your boyfriend, then flirted with his best friend and now you are betraying all of us by being friends with that b***h. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? How would you when your mother lived by selling her body.”

My hands were shaking from all the anger and for a second, I thought I would hurt someone. I looked to my right as I sensed someone staring at me and saw Samael watching me carefully. But my attention was on Asmodeus. He didn’t even looked at her direction was behaving like a coward by hiding his true emotions. If I walk through the middle of that crowd, my body would be in immense pain and I might even pass out before reaching Keres.

Hence, I walked to the four unmoving demons, and I stared right at Asmodeus.

“You won’t help her?”

I was surprised to hear my own voice, as it was bold and filled with disgust.

“She is not my concern anymore.”

I clenched my fist, afraid that I would punch him if I didn’t control myself.

“Right, she was a fool to love a coward like you. You will regret this, Asmodeus. You will regret this the day you realize that it was always you in her heart.”

Asmodeus was looking anywhere else but me, and I saw the obvious guilt in his eyes.

“Why are you blaming him when you are not helping her, either?”

It was Damien who asked me that, and I found myself smirking at him like a psycho. Lord, I really do care for that girl.

Samael was looking at me curiously while Leviathan just stared at what was happening behind me. They were now chanting all curse words at her and I heard Keres feebly sobbing. That’s it.

“Because I was giving him a last chance.”

Saying that, I turned back and closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on the furniture around me. It must have worked since I heard shrieks and yelping filling my ears as there was the sound of wood clashing against each other.

All the chairs have formed a protective circle around Keres, who was beyond stunned, and the girl who has been shouting profanities at her was under a round table that looked ready to fall down on her head.

I walked through the empty areas with my head held high and the chairs opened up a small space for me to get in. Keres gawked at me with a shaking body and I hugged her despite the sauces she was covered in. What a cruel world this is!

”I don’t know how you do it in underworld, but in heaven we consider our friends like family. So if something happens to them, we won’t hold back and just watch. Keres is my friend here and if she gets hurt, then I have no choice but to use my powers. The Council is not against it, so you can complain all you want. But be careful of the aftereffects. I told you already that I am not here to cause any trouble, then why are you so adamant about making it hard for both of us? And I hate when someone uses others to get to me. If you want to fight me, come directly and we shall indeed fight.”

I waited for anyone to come forward, but all I saw were scared faces. The girl beneath the table looked ready to faint, so I just moved it back to its previous position and she scurried back from the floor in record time.

“Keres, Kiara, the principal is asking for you.”

Mr. Zekiel was leaning on the door frame with a smirk on his lips.

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