A Demon Made Me Do It (15 page)

“
Lucky…” Drawing out the
word, he cocks his head to the side and grins. “Cool
name.”

“
Thanks. So’s yours. It
sounds like the name of my favorite Japanese beer.”

He laughs, wiping away any awkward
tension. We sink back toward each other and stare at the sky,
admiring the billions of diamonds twinkling high above us. His arm
is still snugly wrapped around my shoulders, and even though I’m
beginning to feel very hot, I hope he doesn’t move it.

“
So, Lucky, tell me. What’s
a bad girl like you doing in a nice place like this?”

Smiling, I lean in closer.

******

I hate watching the sky change from
grey to lavender; I want my time to last forever. But I’m tired and
still weaker than I should be.

It’s been so nice, sitting here in
silence, beside my new friend. Despite the horrors of the evening,
something good came out of it.

“
What are you thinking?”
Kieron asks, breaking the lull.

“
That I could seriously use
some drinks right now.”

He laughs. “Funny, you must be reading
my mind. Let’s head back to Dryndara, shall we?”

I let out a long sigh. The nearest
Portal to Thiberoux is several miles away. Normally this isn’t a
problem, but right now even walking to the outskirts of the park
seems daunting.

“
I’m parked near the
entrance,” Kieron says, as if he can read
my
mind.

“
You have a
car?”

He chuckles. “Well, no, not exactly. A
car isn’t really doable for navigating the woods. It’s more of,
well, it’s a motorcycle. Actually, it’s a Ducati.”

I don’t know what a Ducati is or why
he feels compelled to mention it. All I care about is not hiking
all the way to a Portal. “Oh, you don’t know how relieved I am to
hear you say that. I can’t imagine walking right now, forget
running…”

He has an apprehensive smile as he
holds out his hands and helps me up. Together we make our way
toward the south gates, passing by the corpse of a slain Altrumina.
Like the others, it is rapidly decomposing and will be nothing more
than a pile of dust within the hour. This doesn’t stop me from
giving it a swift kick to the head.

My relief at being chauffeured to
Thiberoux is cut short when Kieron stops next to a sporty racing
bike. My jaw drops, and I scowl with disappointment. “How are we
both supposed to fit on that?” I ask, incredulous. “Am I supposed
to sit on the handlebars or something?” The seat is only big enough
for one, and the bike’s sleek, aerodynamic design clearly isn’t
intended for passengers.

“
I think the only way for
us to do this is for you to sit on my lap. I’m tall enough to see
over you, and my arms will reach around. Unless you have a better
idea…”

I don’t. And I have to
admit, as long as I don’t fall off and break my face, his idea
isn’t
entirely
unappealing. Until I remember what I’m wearing.

Great
. Of all the nights to hop on a motorcycle, it has to be a
night I’m wearing a gown? For riding Diablo it’s fine, as the
generous material has plenty of room to flow freely over his back.
But on this tiny thing? Why couldn’t I be wearing my leather
pants?

Again, Kieron reads my mind. “Just sit
here,” he says patting his lap. “Use one hand to hold up your dress
and cloak so they don’t get caught in the wheels. Hold on to this
bar here with your other hand. I’ll have one arm wrapped around
your waist, so don’t worry about falling off.”

I do as he says, and soon his arm
locks into place around me. Gathering up the folds of my dress, I
rest my legs on his. From behind me he chuckles softly. “Okay, this
is a new one for me, so I’m gonna take her slow.” The engine roars
to life, and I feel a thrill shoot through me.

“
Just to a Portal, I’ll
summon Diablo from there.”

“
You got it.”

Thank Sweet Satan we reach
a Portal in less than ten minutes. Even with Kieron holding me
tight, I felt as if we were on the verge of toppling over at any
second.
Definitely
not my favorite form of transport.

I dismount from the bike,
blow a sharp whistle, and wait for my
proper
ride. Kieron stares at me as I
straighten out the crinkles of my gown, and I happen to catch the
quizzical look in his eyes.

“
What?” I ask, not
unkindly.

He shakes his head. “Nothing, just
glad you’re doin’ better is all.”

Diablo charges from behind the trees,
stopping beside me. I softly stroke his neck as he nuzzles my face.
“Hey, boy,” I whisper.

Seeming to sense my exhaustion, Diablo
lowers his body to ease my mount…as if he knows I had some trouble
earlier and feels bad he wasn’t there for me.

“
Meet you at Demon Bar?” I
ask as Diablo rises to his full height.

Kieron revs his engine.
“Yup.”

We both take off racing down the
trails, leaving nothing but dust and rubble in our wake.

Chapter 8.
Liora

Oh, my God…what
the…?

A thousand angry butcher knives stab
mercilessly through my head. Moaning, I roll over in bed. I try to
swallow but can’t; my mouth feels like it’s filled with cotton.
There’s an old glass of water on my nightstand and I eagerly chug
it down, but it’s like drinking fire. As soon as the liquid hits my
queasy stomach, my body spasms and I vomit on the floor beside the
bed.

Oh, God. I’m dying. Lucky
finally got us killed.
I fall back on the
bed, unable to sit up; my head is spinning out of
control.

But I’m at home. If Lucky had gotten
hurt or poisoned, wouldn’t I still be out in the woods
somewhere?

“
Tattie,” I call out
weakly, “Tat, I need help…”

Within moments she glides into my room
carrying a tray with a small loaf of bread, some oatmeal, a banana,
and a pink-tinted water concoction.

“
There, there, don’t worry.
This will pass. You just didn’t have enough time to metabolize.”
She places the tray beside my bed and disappears into the
bathroom.

I cover my face with a pillow, the
sight of food bringing me to the brink of upheaving again. “She did
this on purpose,” I moan.

“
Now, now, dear…I don’t
think she was being malicious,” Tatiana returns from the bathroom
with a wet wash cloth and gently wipes my forehead. The cool
sensation eases my dizziness a bit, but I still feel like I’m
dying. I wish I
was
dead.

“
She had a rough night last
night. Her emotions were overcharged, and she was weak. You know
what that can do to her body.”

“
She did it on purpose.
This is payback for the dumpster, I
know
it is. She hates me.”

“
She wasn’t pleased, but I
believe she understood the necessity. Just as you will now.” She
pushes the tray of food closer, and I make a sour face. “Drink this
first,” she instructs, holding the glass of mystery liquid, “…then
eat a little bit, but do it slowly. Your body will re-adjust
faster. Otherwise it may take several hours for you to
recover.”

I moan and roll over again,
wishing Tatiana would leave me to die in peace. But then I remember
yesterday; more specifically, I remember Kieron. Even though my
brain hurts too much to form any real thoughts, I know I
have
to see
him.

Tentatively, I sit up and
force myself to sip some of Tatiana’s drink. As I do, I realize I’m
still wearing Lucky’s dress from last night. That’s odd. Normally I
wake up naked, as Lucky never wants me anywhere near her clothes.
If she didn’t even have enough time to change, then I suppose I’m
just fortunate she managed to make it home at all. Once, she’d left
me in the middle of the forest. Man, was Tatiana
pissed off
about that. I
really wish I could’ve witnessed the ass-chewing she gave Lucky
that night. Whatever she said obviously worked, as I’ve never since
woken up anywhere other than my own bed, albeit it usually nude,
and always cold.

Tatiana’s potion must be kicking in
because I’m actually able to keep down a slice of the bread and
some of the oatmeal. After a few minutes I feel almost close to
normal. But even if I still felt like death, nothing is keeping me
from school today.

I have to see him.

Tatiana returns with a fresh, damp
cloth and sits beside me. “Better?”

I nod. “I need to get ready,” I say
getting out of bed.

“
I don’t know if it’s wise
for you to go to school today,” Tatiana says, a concerned look on
her face.

“
Why? I feel much better.
Great, even. You should sell that little hangover potion of yours,
you’d make a killing—”

“
That’s not it,” she says
with a frown. “There is a stain of darkness there; a cloud hangs
most menacingly…I feel something terrible has passed, or will
soon.”

“
Well,
duh
, I could’ve told you that. I
refer to it as P.E. class,” I mutter.

She shakes her head again, but I’m
already halfway to the shower. “I’ll be fine, Tat. It’s school. You
know if anything really terrible happens Lucky will show up. It’s
in her best interest to keep me safe too, right?”

I weave through the woods at a brisk
pace, and actually catch myself humming a happy tune. I’m not
thinking about how awful I felt when I woke up or Tatiana’s cryptic
warning.

I’m thinking about him.

Spending yesterday with
Kieron was the best time I’d had in years. After recovering from my
initial shock at his chosen locale—I mean
really,
who studies in a
cemetery
?—Kieron
explained to me why he’d brought me there, and why that place was
so special to him. He’d stumbled across it soon after coming to
town, and its quiet, haunting sadness had deeply affected
him.

Turns out the cemetery was used to
bury soldiers who died during the Civil War. Many of the weathered
tombstones had dates on them, but no names. Most bore the
Confederate symbol, but a few had the Union mark. So many young men
had sacrificed their lives fighting for what they thought was
right, only to be buried unnamed, ignored, and
forgotten.

I had to admit, there was something
strangely comforting about being in the quiet yard, with its
cracked headstones, overgrown grass, and deadened vines clinging
around its wrought-iron fence. It was as if just being there,
acknowledging the past, and the soldiers who died for what they
believed in, somehow made me feel part of something bigger than
myself. I felt a connection to the young men who died in battle,
many interred for eternity beside their enemy, who, in another
life, under different circumstances, might have been a
friend.

We’d each ‘adopted’ a soldier, leaning
against his tombstone while I caught Kieron up on his reading. The
few hours we spent together passed in a comfortable blur. We’d left
well before twilight, but not before making plans to meet up again
today.

It’s funny how just having this to
look forward to makes my whole world seem brighter. Happier. I
smile to myself, remembering the sexy way he grins with half his
mouth and how he looks up at me with crystalline eyes through those
dark lashes…

The wail of a siren
startles me from my reverie. Curious, and concerned, I furrow my
brow and pick up the pace. It sounds like
several
sirens, all heading in the
direction of the school.

I jog through the last line of trees
to the main road, just in time to see a cop car zoom by, quickly
followed by an ambulance.

What the hell…?

A crowd is gathering in the parking
lot, and a yellow police tape already cordons off the west side of
the school. People rush around frantically; many students hug each
other with tear-stained faces. A fat policeman and a dainty
policewoman work in tandem, herding people off to the side of the
entrance. Near the atrium, a TV news crew is preparing to start
filming.

My heart thuds ominously, and I survey
the chaos looking for any sign of him.

“
Oh, Liora, you’re here,
thank God you’re okay.” I nearly jump out of my skin as Corrine
accosts me from behind, wrapping her arms around me.

I turn to her and am startled to see
she’s as white as a ghost. “Corrine, what’s happening? Why wouldn’t
I be okay? What’s going on?”

Corrine is so freaked out, she’s
actually eerily calm. Tiny tears stream down her face. “They…they
only know who the boys are…they don’t know who the girl is yet…”
she whispers.

“
What boys? What girl?
You’re not making sense…”

Her voice is so quiet I can barely
hear her. “It’s Cade Johnston and Lee Marvis… they… their bodies…”
her voice breaks.