Lyla
All I’ve been thinking about all day was how Ethan made love to me last night. It was everything that I had hoped it to be.
Gentle. Passionate. Loving.
I never thought I would trust someone so much in my life. He made me feel completed in every way possible, and I couldn’t wait to do it with him again. Maybe we could try some different positions like I looked up this morning in class. I was on my phone, and I had it angled so no teacher or student could see what I was looking up.
Every time I even looked at Ethan I would blush. I knew he was thinking about what we did also, because numerous times though the day I caught him looking at me, flushing. It was so cute. He would even run his fingers through his hair, making the curls stick up all over the place.
He was perfect, and I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world.
I also never knew something could feel so good. It was just downright sinful. Every time he shifted his hips it was like boiling water was filling my stomach and chest up. It was so satisfying; I had no other word to describe it.
When school was over, there was something really wrong. On the drive home, I kept seeing dark shadows following us in the distance. I made Ethan turn around to look, but he claimed he didn’t see anything.
They were everywhere. They were at gas stations, fast food joints, in the supermarket parking lot, and even on a small playground. They were always there in the corner of my eye, and they filled every sense in my body it seemed.
They wanted me to see them. I know that.
I know I wasn’t going crazy.
When we pulled up to the house, suddenly, I was thrown out of the truck. I landed with a painful thud on the ground, and kicked out at my unseen attacker. My legs were being gripped just under my knees, and I was frantically trying to kick them off, but with no use.
Whoever it was wasn’t letting go.
Panic sunk in, and I cried out. Ethan yelled in horror.
My hair was gripped from behind, and I was being pulled up to the front steps of the house. Ethan stood there; trying to fight off whatever had a hold of me. An icy blast blew from his hands and his mouth, but it totally missed the target. It was invisible, so he couldn’t aim well.
My knees were skinned almost down to the bone it seemed while I was being dragged. My knees felt like they were on fire. Rocks and dirt were most likely embedded into the open wounds. I knew I would have to clean them good, or they would get infected.
The front door burst open by itself. I was dragged into the house, and got slapped across the face hard enough to make my head snap to the side. My vision darkened, and my head was spinning in dizziness.
I felt like I was going to puke.
Ethan was on the phone, frantically yelling at whoever was on the other end. I couldn’t make out what he was saying because I was in my own panic mode. I didn’t know what was happening, and it was a bit scary.
The thing was, I wasn’t scared for myself. I was scared for Ethan. I didn’t want him to end up getting hurt. I would never forgive myself knowing the only reason why these people were here was because of me.
When I started to feel hands glide up into my shirt, I screamed loudly, causing Ethan to drop his phone, and rush over. He was thrown back by an unseen force, hitting his head on the corner of the wall, being knocked out cold. He had blood streaming from the gash, and I wanted so badly to be able to go and help him. I hoped he wasn’t permanently injured.
Next, hands were in my pants and inside of my panties. This bastard was trying to rape me! That was it. I called fire to my skin, and my clothes immediately caught, sending the mystery person away from me with a loud groan of displeasure.
I scrambled to my feet just as Rylan stormed into the house. He rushed over to me, trying to pat the flames out on my clothes.
“I’m fine, go help Ethan!” I yelled.
Rylan rushed over to Ethan and tore his shirt off, balling it up and putting it under Ethan’s head to try and stop the bleeding.
Ethan whimpered softly, and the sound tugged on my heart strings in all the worst ways.
“Rylan, what the hell was that?” I asked, still panting slightly.
“Someone who is working for the fallen angels,
Lyla, you need to come to my house. I need to do something to keep you safe until your birthday. I know it won’t be ideal, but it’s the only thing that I can think of to keep you safe. Can you walk?” he asked, and I nodded. “Good. I have him.” He lifted Ethan over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. “Get to my SUV, now!”
***
A little while later I was sitting next to a very disoriented Ethan. Rylan said Ethan most likely had a concussion. He said it was nothing fatal.
I watched Rylan tie the last stitch, and stand up.
He picked up the needle and thread, dumping it all into the Sharps container I’ve grown to hate over the last couple months.
Rylan cleaned up the scrapes on my knees, and I almost screamed from the pain when he touched them with antiseptic. It was so horrible my vision went dark for a few seconds until he was done.
When Ethan was well enough, he sat up. “What the hell?” he asked, gripping his head where there was eight stitches.
I grabbed his hand. I didn’t want him to pull them out.
He winced.
I knew he was in some pain. He was sweating, and breathing raggedly. Maybe he was hurt in areas that we couldn’t see?
“Rylan, get him something for the pain, please.” I begged him, and turned back to Ethan. “You needed stitches. Your head was busted open really badly.” I said, trying to calm him down. “You lost a lot of blood.” Rylan didn’t think it was that much, but I sure as hell did.
“What happened?” he said, and I gave him a run down.
Suddenly, he remembered. His eyes darkened, and he was pissed. “Son of a bitch… I couldn’t keep you safe, I failed.” He dropped his head in defeat and tightened his fists. “I failed you, Lyla! My stupid, useless powers…”
“No—there was nothing you could have done. I’m sorry you got hurt…”
He reached out to touch my bruised face. It took everything I had not to flinch from the pain his touch brought. “You’re hurt baby, don’t worry about me. The freaking ghost tried to rape you for crying out loud!”
Rylan came walking back into the room, and gave Ethan, “Codeine”, and a small cup of water, then sat in the nearest chair. “I would like to say something if I may…”
We both nodded for him to go on.
Ethan tossed the pills into his mouth, and drank quickly.
“I have a solution. One that will last until you can get to New Orleans to get your soul. It isn’t ideal, but I promise it will keep the fallen angels and demons away from you for a while. Did you want hear what I have in mind?” Rylan asked, folding his hands over his stomach.
“Yes.” Ethan and I said in unison.
“There is a spell, a spell so powerful that the fallen angels won’t even recognize Lyla. But it is going to take a lot of commitment on your part, Ethan.”
Ethan nodded, and waved his hand along impatiently. “Go on.”
“The spell will last for two weeks… If I time it correctly, it will fade when you reach New Orleans. I’m going to start by asking you, Ethan, have you ever cared for a small child?”
Ethan swung his legs over the bed and grasped my hand. “No.”
Great. I was really worried about where this was going. I could just imagine.
Rylan sighed. “I will help you as much as I can.
But, Ethan, are you willing to take care of a three-year-old? I will go to the school tomorrow during the school-wide assembly and persuade everyone into thinking you’re on a vacation for a few weeks.”
“Okay, so what are you getting at?” I asked slowly. Rylan turned his bright green eyes on me. “You, my dear, are going to become three-years-old again. It’s fool proof.”
I jumped out of my seat and almost fell over from the shock of what he said. “Three!?”
“Yes. No one will attack you once the spell is in place. The only downfall is that your mind will be that of a toddler. You will still remember who we are, but Ethan won’t appeal to you as… a lover anymore. Once the spell wears off, you will be normal again.”
“No way!” I shouted at the same time Ethan said, “That’s a good idea.”
I shot a glare at him, and he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, babe, if it keeps you safe, I’m up for it. I’ll take care of you. I promise. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Lyla, you must agree before I can do it.” Rylan said softly.
I nodded reluctantly. “Okay, I’ll do it.” I really didn’t like it, but what freaking choice did I have? It was either this or risk getting raped by a fucking ghost.
“Ethan, go to the store and buy some 3T clothes. She will need something to wear once she’s transformed.”
When he said transformed, I shook in fear.
Ethan got up without a question. “Lyla, I’ll be back. I love you.” He leaned over to kiss me lightly on the lips.
With that, he left me and Rylan alone.
“So… you love each other?” Rylan asked once the front door slammed shut.
I nodded. “Yes.”
Rylan’s gaze was intense, but I saw what was inside of him. He had feelings for me. He tore his gaze away and started for the cabinets in the back of the room. “First, I’ll need a lock of your hair, and a few drops of blood.” He pulled out scissors and a scalpel.
My stomach dropped, and I wanted to puke.
He moved over to another drawer and pulled out a small boiler like the ones we have in chemistry class. He also took out some dried herbs and flowers, and something that kind of looked like an apple seed. He set everything in a row, and pointed for me to get into the middle of the room.
I realized that this was more than a hospital room… it was where he conducted spells.
I was suddenly scared. I didn’t want to do this without Ethan being here, and I told him as much.
“This spell takes an hour to even set up, so we need to get down to business immediately. I’ll do some chanting, and then I’ll make the potion.”
“Okay, I’m ready, Rylan.” I said.
Rylan came over to me and handed me the scissors and sharp knife. He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, and then pressed his forehead to mine. His eyes were deep green with worry.
“Lyla…” he whispered.
Suddenly, he was pressing his lips to mine, and bringing his hands around my back to hold me in place. My eyes flew open, but I didn’t push him away. God, why wasn’t I pushing him away? I kissed him back swiftly, and then he pulled back.
“I’m sorry; I wasn’t supposed to do that.” he said, looking flustered.
I touched my hand to my mouth. What the hell was I doing? I just cheated on Ethan! My heart panged in my chest at the realization. Why didn’t I push him away?! Why didn’t I refuse him?!
Ethan would never forgive me.
I pushed the thought from my mind with a lot of effort, and focused on the task at hand.
“Okay, cut a small piece of your hair off.” Rylan commanded.
I did just that, and handed it to him. He put it inside of the burner. Next, he instructed me to slice my palm, and put exactly five drops of blood into it. I hesitated, and then sliced myself open. I hissed in pain.
I brought my hand up, and followed the drops of blood trailing down my finger one by one until I counted to five. They landed with a soft plopping sound into the water. Rylan wrapped my hand up, and put the glass thing on the burner, turning the flame on low.
Next, I watched Rylan measure the ingredients. I stood right next to him and observed him while he worked.
I took in how handsome he was. I couldn’t stop looking at him. I was captivated by him. He was stunning to look at.
I heard him murmur “sage, rosemary, and hibiscus” before he added the leaves in.
When they hit the water, blue smoke billowed up and into the air. Rylan cut the apple seed into thirds. “For Lyla…” he murmured. “One, for a child’s innocence so fancy and pure, she won’t understand the meaning behind an ill-shed tear.” He dropped the first seed piece in. “Two, for a child’s precious spirit so fresh and light, make sure you hold her nice and tight.” He dropped the second in. “Three, for a child’s small body, so small and round, make sure that she is bound!” He added the last seed. The water turned a bloody red color, and I was suddenly nervous.
He turned to me, and had a sad look on his face. Suddenly out of nowhere, Rylan had a tear run down his face. He took it off with his thumb, and then dropped it into the mixture, making the liquid hiss on impact.
“Are you okay?” I asked, worried.
“The spell needed a tear from a demon.” Rylan said with a shrug.
“What else does it need?” “Lyla, are you innocent?” “Innocent?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?” I was confused by his question.
“You know… pure… chaste…” “Um?”
“Have you ever had sex?” he asked with a sigh, not looking at me.
“Y-yes…” I stuttered.
“Shit. Lyla...”
“What!?” I exclaimed, throwing my arms up.
He ignored me. “Okay, then there’s something that I need you to do in order for this to work… I was sure that you and Ethan never…” He shook his head. “Never mind. Okay, I’m going to have to make you a virgin again.”
“What?” I screeched. How was that even humanly possible? Once it’s gone, it never came back… right?
“Well, this time the spell works quickly. It isn’t permanent, but it should work. Besides, we have an hour before the potion is done cooking anyway.”
Cooking? Blech.
“Okay, just do what you need to do.” I said, shutting my eyes in displeasure.
Rylan came over to me and ran his hands up and down my arms. “You’re going to be okay…” he murmured. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, ever.”
Then he started chanting in a language that sounded evil and horrible. I figured it was demonic or something. It made my insides curl in fear. Then, I realized I’d heard the language before… from my step-dad… that’s really, really weird. Suddenly, there was a popping sound and tightening feeling inside of my body.
“Is it done?”
He nodded. “Yes, and it should last until midnight tonight. But by then, you will already be a little girl again and it won’t matter.”
Just then Ethan walked in with a few bags. “Okay, I got some clothes for her.”
Rylan nodded. “Thanks, mate.”
“Isn’t “mate” a saying from Australia?” Ethan cocked an eyebrow when he was done speaking.
Rylan shrugged.
“Is the spell ready?” Ethan asked impatiently.
“It has to boil for an hour before I can have her drink it.” Rylan said.
I felt bile rise into my throat. “I have to drink that crap?” I hollered.
“Well yeah. What did you think you had to do, rub it on like lotion?” Rylan made a sound of amusement.
I shook my head, and ran into Ethan’s arms. I wanted to tell him about the kiss, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know how he would react knowing that I didn’t push Rylan away. I didn’t want to know what he would think if I told him that I wanted to kiss him. So I told him the next best thing. “Ethan, I’m a virgin again.”
He started shaking, and released me, heading straight for Rylan. He pointed a finger at him. “What the fuck did you do to her?” he said as he grabbed Rylan’s shirt, punching him in the face hard, seething. “Did you touch her?”
“Ethan, stop! We had to do it. The spell required me to be a virgin again. There was nothing that could have been done.”
He narrowed his eyes, and released Rylan, swinging around to look at me. “You had to do what?” Suddenly his eyes were filling with tears, and he was taking off out the door.
I followed him; I couldn’t just leave him upset like this. He made it down the stairs before he turned to me in one fast movement. “Babe, did he touch you? Please, tell me what he touched!” Tears were falling freely from his eyes.
“He… didn’t touch me.” I lied. “He just said some words, and I was a virgin again.”
He wiped his eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked with doubt.
“Yeah,”
He pulled me close, and breathed in my scent. “I love you, Lyla… I’m sorry.”
“I love you, and I’m sorry.” He just didn’t know how sorry I was. I pressed my lips to his and he held me close.
He ran his hands over my back, and up into my shirt. He pressed me into the wall and took my leg, wrapping it around his hip. I moaned softly, and held his chin while I kissed him fully.
“Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but she needs to stay a virgin.” Rylan said, directing his words at Ethan.
Ethan pulled away, and glared at Rylan hard. I could feel the hate in Ethan’s gaze when he looked at him. I could tell he wanted to do more than punch him in the face. I’d never saw Ethan look at someone like that before. It was sort of scary that Ethan could have that much hate radiate off of him.
“Are you sure you wanna do this, Lyla? You can always back out.” Ethan said kind of eagerly.
“I have to do this; I need to stay safe until my birthday. I need my soul back, Ethan.”
“I’ll let you two have some privacy; I’ll come get you when the potion is done. And remember, Lyla, you must stay a virgin!”
Ethan pulled me back up the stairs, and into my room. I immediately started stripping so I could take a shower. I wanted the hot water to soak into my body and make me feel better.
I turned away from Ethan so he wouldn’t see my front side. I heard him gasp hoarsely, but I ignored it. I knew getting naked in front of him would be pushing the limits on his self-control, but I believed in him, and I knew he wouldn’t do anything erratic.
I took my time in the shower. I let the water cascade over my skin, and I relished in it. I shut my eyes and leaned my head back until it touched the tile. I can’t believe I was doing this… I was going to be a little girl again.
That in its own right should scare the crap out of me, but Rylan’s kiss scared me even more. I was more scared than anything what Ethan would do when he found out, because, come on, I’m going to have to tell him sooner or later… sooner was more like it.
I should just get my soul first, and then I will break the news to him. I started shaking at the thought of him crying and leaving me. He would be so heartbroken… the pain in my chest radiated through my body, leaving me breathless and a little sick.
I felt like I was going to throw up.
I grabbed onto the bars on the side of the wall, and tried not to fall face first into the tub. My mind was warping with images… okay; I really had to stop before I passed out. I took a deep breath, and rinsed the conditioner from my hair.
When I was done showering, I wrapped myself up in a towel and walked out of the bathroom. I wanted Ethan to see me naked before I turned into a little kid again.
I dropped the towel.
“Lyla…” Ethan warned. “This isn’t such a good idea…”
“I wanted you to see me one last time until I can be an adult again.”
He began tracing the swells of both of my breasts, then slid his finger down my stomach, and then lower. The back of his hand gently touched the small, delicate curls in my most intimate area.
“You’re so beautiful.”
I smiled, and gave him one last kiss.
After I got dressed, finally, it was time to drink the potion.
I watched Rylan use a very fine strainer while he dumped the nasty smelling stuff into a cup. He handed it to me. I wasn’t ready to become a little kid again, but what other choice did I have? This just wasn’t about me anymore. Ethan was involved too, and I had to do this to keep him safe.
“I love you, Ethan.” I said before I gulped down the whole thing. It didn’t taste too bad, but the smell of it alone was enough to make me wanna throw up.
“I love you so much, Lyla.” he said.
Suddenly, I was convulsing. My body had pains going through it, and it felt like I was being ripped apart. I screamed, and then suddenly I was staring at the inside of my pink shirt. My mind was no longer my own, and unexpectedly, I didn’t know who I was any longer.