No no no. This couldn't be real, it was just a dream, Lilly told herself.
Tears welled up in her eyes that began rolling down her cheeks. With the amount of smoke and fire that surrounded them, she felt numb and dizzy. Her mother couldn't be dead.
"I'm so sorry, Lilly," Gwen placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Mom please wake up," Lilly held her mother's hand as she cried, hoping she would get up and tell this was all a game, "Please..."
"Come on Lilly. We need to go," Gwen said softly to which Lilly shook her head.
"I'm not leaving her," she whispered.
"Your mother would want you safe right now. Rose said to run," at the same moment a guy came to attack us. Gwen had been quick enough to pick whatever she found to smash it right on his face. Seeing Lilly's unwillingness to go with her, Gwen said,
"I'll try to get help, ok. Be careful," Lilly didn't reply but sat down close to her mother. Her hand trembled as she tried to move the flakes of woods away from my mother's face. There were scratches and blood on her skin.
After a few seconds, she heard someone walk in and looked up hoping it was Gwen who had brought help but seeing Ace with a sword she felt relief flood in. Getting up from where she sat, she ran to him, happy that he was here. Pulling back she saw him looking at the floor where her mother laid. He crouched next to her mother.
"Ace we need to get her out," Lilly said to him, "There are still chances of her surviving if we get help."
"She won't wake up, Lilly," he said in a serious tone, "She's dead."
"No you are wrong," Lilly shouted as she wasn't ready to accept it.
"Though I want to be sorry, I can't be Lilly," he said catching her suddenly off guard as he sat there facing his back to her.
"What do you mean?" she asked him in a shaky voice.
"Do you know they could have stayed in the other world but they chose to stay here and the reason was you. What was so special about a human they adopted that they didn't mind passing on their status to someone else. It didn't take me long to find out where the demon's soul was," he laughed turning towards her.
He didn't look like the Ace she knew. His eyes were cold and hollow.
"You were the demon's soul, Lilly," he said and she looked at him confused, "Your parents who were going to come back to the other side of the dimension changed their mind once they found out you were the soul. The soul that could revive a person. The soul can be used only at this full moon day in a year but your parents were protecting you so well I had no choice," he looked at the body.
"No," she whispered in denial, "You didn't.." he had a dead smile on his face. No! He couldn't have killed her mother. This was all a sick joke!
"We like each other," Lilly said but he didn't change his expression.
"That was just an act, cupcake," he said laughing, "The only person I have loved is Claire." she couldn't comprehend as to what he was talking.
"I met Claire when my mother was fixing up dates for me. She was sweet, smart and funny. Everything I could ask for but due to her ill health she..." he trailed. Her heart was shattering slowly as he spoke, "I befriended you, came close to you, studied you to make sure you were the soul. The soul that I can use to revive my beautiful Claire."
"Y-you are lying. What about the moments we spent and shared?" she backed away from him, "Didn't that mean anything to you?"
"All of it was for Claire, in her thoughts. I was worried every time someone came close to you because if they noticed you were the demon's soul I wouldn't be able to get Claire back to life. I didn't mean to betray you but you know the saying. Everything is fair in love and war," he said taking the sword, "I had to keep you alive until now but not anymore. Once I'm done with collecting your soul I can bring her back," he said taking slow steps towards her.
It wasn't the Ace, she knew anymore. This one was different, "It was good knowing you, Lilly," her heart began beating loudly. This was it. When he brought the sword forward ready to strike at her she closed her eyes to brace herself, " It won't hurt much, I'll be quick," I heard him she heard him say but felt nothing.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Ace still standing in the same position before she had closed her eyes. He was standing still like someone had frozen him.
It was then that she saw something move from his chest and a hollow form. Standing behind him was the tall man with the forest green eyes she had encountered this week. He was holding Ace's heart in his hand as Ace fell down on the floor.
"For a murder, he sure speaks a lot," the man said throwing the heart aside.
Everything was too much for Lilly and her head began to spin. Her mother was dead. Ace had killed her mother and was dead now. Unable to take it, her body went limp as she handed herself to the darkness.