02 Awaken-The Soulkeepers (38 page)

Dante smiled. “And no one will kill her for her Chelsea Light. She will transfer it over to The Order because I will ask her to. They may use its power however it suits them. And it will no longer concern me or Sophia. She will have her memories back and we will be happy again.”

“Looks like you’ll need a wing man.” Vaughn followed him up the stairs. “If Lord Brutus’s spy tries to stop you from dancing with Sophia, I’ll take him down.”

“Yes, take him down. Whoever he is.”

I’m so mad I can’t see straight. I completely humiliated myself at Dante’s. What was I thinking, walking into World War Z?

I’ve been driving for an hour and end up on the back road outside the barn. It’s the only place I could think of to let off steam. I want to punch something, to beat something to a pulp. If I don’t, I may sink into a self-loathing crying fit.

I stomp through the snow and throw open the barn door and march inside. The barn is not empty. The demon hunters are there, sitting on some rocks by the stream. There are three others lounging around, whom I don’t know, and Michael and Raph. I stop in my tracks. Everyone looks at me. Michael and Raph stand up, sensing my reckless emotions.

I have the distinct feeling that I was the topic of their conversation. Chang`e walks over and takes my arm, leading me closer. She says I should join them. When I’m within range, my second heartbeat starts and my eyes cut to Michael’s. He doesn’t flinch, so I can’t get a beat on his mood. He watches me like a hawk, and he is most definitely missing the love I want to see in his eyes.

Chang`e introduces me to the three strangers. Tarja, who is from Estonia. She has pale skin, white hair, and a pleasant smile. Then Gargi from India; she is thin and tall, with wide brown eyes that don’t miss a thing. And Dubaku of West Africa, who is large and tense. Raph says he’s built like a Nandi Bear, and everybody laughs at the private joke. Dubaku breaks into a wide smile, flashing large white teeth, and then drops the smile and looks tense again.

I don’t know what to make of this so I just say “Hey,” like I don’t care. I’m not in the mood to socialize.

Kanati says, “Sophia, these are the demon hunters we spoke of. Remember? We noticed too many demons in Haven Hurst?”

“Oh.” Reality dawns, and my face grows hot with embarrassment. They must be angry to have so many demons here. They must know it’s my fault. I don’t know how to apologize for it, so I shift uncomfortably.

Raph thinks he’s coming to my rescue by admitting that they know Dante and
Vaughn are back in town. He says they all now understand why I’ve been so tense lately. I look at Michael, and his eyes narrow, boring into mine.

So that’s why he hasn’t spoken to me? He thinks I’m hanging out with Dante?

“You okay?” Raph asks. I shrug, deciding to let them believe what they want. It won’t do any good for them to know the real reason for my mood; that I’m failing to complete the final trial.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” I plaster on a fake smile and wish it were true. I wish I could forget everything for a while and just hang out with friends. I miss my friends. I miss the Patronus family, too. I haven’t been over since my training began. It’s just been too painful to be around Michael, and I knew I couldn’t hide my feelings from the others. Even now, I have to avert my eyes or risk exposing my broken heart to Raph.

I tell Kanati and Chang`e that I stopped by to get in some extra training. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.

“You’re not going to the dance, then?” Michael finally speaks, and I catch the question in the gut. I force myself to look at him and try to mask my emotions the way he does. It’s another thing I fail at. My throat closes up and I can’t answer, so I turn away. I came here to demoralize something inanimate, not to cry.

I walk toward the punching bag hanging from a tree. Chang`e cuts me off, suggesting we spar. I follow her toward the open meadow, grateful to move away from the others. While Chang`e straps on her weapons, I pull my hair into a high ponytail and wrap a braided dreadlock around it. The four remaining dreads are buried in my thick hair. Then I walk to the table and buckle on my weapons. Knowing Chang`e can be rather destructive, I strap a small round shield to my forearm. We begin with hand-to-hand combat.

I’m stiff at first, my shoulder and back sore from being pummeled by the graveyard demons. The memory of that humiliation starts a fire in me, and I become aggressive in my workout. Reckless. I’m fueled by emotions not strategy. Too many times I fumble and leave myself vulnerable to attack. I feel the others watching, which only adds to my embarrassment.

Chang`e pulls out her sword, and I instinctively reach for my crystal dagger. It fits comfortably in my hand, unlike Vaughn’s oversize meat clever. But my dagger is no match for Chang`e and her sword. She outmaneuvers me to no end. I’m trying my best but I’ve become distracted with the strangest feeling.

When we stop for a break, I lean forward, bracing my hands on my knees, panting. Chang`e is instructing but I’m not listening. I have a strong sensation that something is wrong. I stand up and look around. The others are watching and chatting
among themselves. No one is concerned. Not even Michael, who has taken up his power stance with arms crossed and eyes drilling into me.

You didn’t go to the dance either
.

I snap out of it and resume fighting. We move across the field, over the ground where Michael and the candidates killed that beast. Chang`e hurls herself in the air and comes down with a hard blow. She makes a solid hit against my shield that sends me reeling. I roll across the meadow and skid to a stop. She is relentless, whirling through the air, end over end like a possessed cheerleader. I jump aside and she comes down where I had just been laying. She pounces, and we summersault twice before crashing sideways. I’m flailing, distracted.

“Stop!” I yell before she strikes again. We’re breathing heavily, but Chang`e tells me not to stop, to fight. Always fight.

I look toward the barn door. Something is wrong. Is it Bailey? Somehow, I have the overwhelming feeling that Bailey is in trouble. Serious trouble.

I climb to my feet and march across the meadow. “I have to go.”

Chang`e is on my heels. “You have to practice, Sophia. Whatever you’re after, don’t go. You’re not ready.”

She’s right, of course. Haven’t I already proven that tonight? But I can’t stop. Something deep inside me is calling, propelling me to keep walking.

I pass Michael and say, “Bailey is in trouble,” but he frowns and shakes his head. Michael doesn’t sense that anyone is in trouble. I hesitate at the door. If Michael doesn’t feel it, then why do I? I look back at everyone staring at me. I’m the only one reacting to the jarring sensation that my friend is in trouble.

Michael says, “Don’t go,” but I walk out and slam the door.

* * *

The roads surrounding the town square have been blocked by decorations, so I park the jeep on the shoulder and climb down. My destination is the courthouse. I understand that the third floor has been converted into a glamorous ballroom for the dance. If Bailey is in trouble, that’s where she’ll be. I’ll just have to sneak in so no one recognizes me.

I pass the library and make it as far as the ice-skating rink on the courthouse lawn when I sense evil behind me. I stop and gradually turn around, raking my eyes over the square. With the dance well under way, the town is empty and quiet, like the inside of a freezer. Nothing moves.

But I’m not wrong. There is something out there. I move cautiously across the street, making my way between the Russianized gazebo and St. Basil’s Cathedral. The lights are on but they cast creepy shadows all around me. Snow crunches beneath my boots, making a racket in the stillness of the night. I stop in the center of the park and try to settle my fear. Bailey is in trouble. Perhaps a lesser demon got her?

I check the rooftops. They are empty for the first time in weeks. I didn’t like the demons up there, and I like it even less now that they’ve vanished.

Where have they gone?

The sensation that I’m being watched returns and I spin around, my heart knocking in my chest. I’m trembling. Something moves in the distance and I twitch.

Don’t be afraid. Not now. Not when Bailey needs me!

I walk toward the ice palace, to the opening of the long tunnel where the ice sculptures loom. A dark figure emerges at the far end, and I tense and hold my breath. Its head goes up and I hear a whinny.

My whole body relaxes.

It’s a freaking horse
. Probably got loose from the troika sleighs.

The horse tosses its head and moves on, clopping lazily through the snow. I walk into the tunnel where the dim back lighting begins to flicker. I stop, as awareness ripples through me. This is the place where I felt someone watching me and Bailey. This is the place that now reeks of evil.

My scalp prickles with fear, and I know I’ve been tricked. Michael was right. Bailey is not in danger. I am.

On either side of the tunnel are the ice sculptures that tower over me. I look closely at them for the first time and discover my horror. They appear as murky silhouettes, but now I can distinguish their distinct beastly heads; they are dark creatures encased in the ice. I hear a crackling sound that makes my blood freeze. The evil I sense is coming to life. I backpedal, slipping and falling against ice benches. The largest sculpture grows black in the center and eventually forms a man in a long black coat. Throughout the tunnel, the sculptures pulsate with red light, illuminating tiny fissures that are spreading across the ice like spider webs. They run deep and crack open as the beasts struggle to free themselves from their frozen coffins. They are tall, black beings with flat faces, gaping mouths, and horns that curve around their faces. Hideous creatures with dead eyes.

Chunks of ice tumble down, and a roar shakes the tunnel as the giant beast in the black coat is freed at last. He steps forward, slowly turns his head, and looks down at me.

Wolfgang!

I recognize his black, bottomless eyes, dark hair, and square jaw, but he now has two small horns protruding from his temples. He is part man, part beast; but it’s definitely Wolfgang. His eyes blaze when he sees me, and I scramble away, racing into the square.

Instinct propels me in the direction of my house, but two lesser demons step from the shadows. Their eyes are solid black, and they carry battered clubs. I spin away, running for the crystal forest. More demons emerge with daggers and swords. I look to the right and more come. They’re not attacking but herding me back to Wolfgang.

I whirl around to find him slowly making his way from the crumbling tunnel. He and his creatures are kicking blocks of ice out of the way. Wolfgang stops and snarls at me.

“Nowhere to run this time,” he growls, and I stare in open shock. Wolfgang has fangs, and he snaps at me with some primitive urge. They are made to tear meat. And so is he.

Panic overwhelms me and I look for help. There is no one. I stumble over the ice, desperate to reach the life-size chess game. I wrestle a spear from the Nutcracker in Russian garb. A lesser demon laughs and comes at me, and I whirl the spear overhead with lightning speed. He lunges, only trying to scare me, but I knock him in the head. He reels away, cursing at me.

Lesser demons hurl chunks of ice, taunting and hissing. I duck and race for cover between the chess pieces. My cheekbone stings and I touch it, coming away with blood. Demons surround the chessboard, but Wolfgang yells orders that no one is to kill me. He, alone has been given the privilege. He stomps through the game, clawing and smashing and shoving the pieces aside. I scurry next to the king, who is tall and wide. As I flatten myself against him, my hand lands on the crystal dagger at my hip.

I have my weapons!

I drop the spear and whip out my dagger with renewed confidence. Lesser demons approach my flank, poking spears at me. They flush me out of hiding, and I jump forward, running across the park. Wolfgang takes off after me. I hear him tearing up the snow just behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see him loping like an enraged silverback. It sends a jolt of fear through me, and I stumble over a chunk of ice that a lesser demon hurls at me. I fall to my hands and knees.

A moment is all it takes, and I know I’m exposed; I’m an easy target now, and Wolfgang can make the kill. I scramble to my feet as he slides to a stop, fog shooting from his nostrils like a wild beast. He bares his teeth again, inching forward. I’m panting hard and my dagger is shaking in my hand. With lesser demons at my back, I face the worst, and I raise my chin in defiance.

“Look at you, Wolfgang,” I taunt, because all common sense has bailed on me. “Some great Demon Knight you are. Turned into a monster and sent to kill
me
, nothing but a small-town girl. I haven’t even graduated high school yet. The Order must think I’m all you can handle these days, huh?”

He rises to the insult, roaring an ungodly sound that makes the lesser demons cower. His hands claw the air while his nails extend into daggers. His face contorts and his eyes—wild with rage—roll in his head and then come around and lock on my dagger. Pulsating blue light radiates from it, and he recognizes its power. In one swift movement, I haul back and throw it at Wolfgang. It slams into his chest, just below the collarbone. He wails in pain. His arms tremble and his hands hover over the weapon but he won’t remove it. He’s afraid to touch it, and so he seizes in agony.

With Wolfgang writhing in pain, his creatures launch themselves at me. I whip out the pistol crossbows and fire, nonstop, until they stagger and fall. Lesser demons howl like sadistic wolves and race toward me, weapons raised, claws out. I turn 180 degrees, methodically firing at anything moving. I have an endless stream of arrows, but they hurl swords and daggers at me. I duck and take off running for cover in the crystal forest.

I weave in and around, firing at anything black. Shrieks echo far across the square, and I peer through the trees. Kanati, Chang`e, and their friends are attacking the demons. Kanati moves with unnatural speed, wielding a gunstock war club and a tomahawk. Chang`e slashes her sword, and then throws a moonglow grenade that explodes with dust. It burns the demons like acid. They screech and writhe, dissolving into lumps on the ground.