A Demon Made Me Do It (26 page)

She laughs. “I know, I
know, you’re right. That movie
was
pretty lame, I guess…I mean, who ever heard of a
demon that looked like some sort of male underwear model?
Puhleeze
.”

I have to smile. That was
the only part the stupid movie actually got
right
. As a rule, demons, male and
female, are
far
more beautiful than normal humans. And humans are so weakened
by beauty, they’re practically powerless against it; it’s in their
DNA. So physical perfection is in ours. That’s just how things
work. When
She
takes over, even
I
become more attractive than I normally am. I know,
because I’ve peeked in her world once or twice and have seen the
way the guys look at her…with such lust and desire. Especially her
friend, Bones. No one
ever
looks at me the way they look at Lucky.

“
Totally ridiculous,” I
laugh.

******

We take a break from window shopping
and head to the food court. I order corndogs and a strawberry
lemonade, and then pay for Corrine’s Chinese food, even though she
keeps insisting I’ve done too much already. I’d bought her a charm
necklace earlier and got such a kick from her squeals of delight.
After all, what good is the money I have from Lucky’s extortions if
it doesn’t make someone less fortunate happy?

We sit off to the side of the food
court, by the planters. The mall is crowded today, and I see a few
faces I recognize.

“
So, have you heard
anything new about what happened at school?” Neither Corrine nor I
have mentioned the tragedy earlier this week, but it’s still on my
mind. Tatiana is good for a lot of information, but human stuff…not
so much. “I wonder if the police have any leads,” I add, nibbling
the breading of my corndog.

Corrine grimaces and fiddles with her
chopsticks. After dropping her noodles several times, she gives up,
picks up her fork, and begins twirling. “I saw Jake Wheeler at the
Suds-n-Spin yesterday. His uncle works for the Pine Canyon police
department. Apparently they think the murders in Pine Canyon last
week and what happened at school are related.”

“
So it’s like a serial
killer thing?”

She pokes at her sweet-n-sour chicken.
“Guess so. But he says they think it’s more than just one person.
And I guess they found some weird stuff that makes them think it’s
not normal killings.”

I chuckle at her choice of
words.
‘Normal killings’.

“
Like what?”

“
He couldn’t say much for
details, just they suspect that it’s a few people at least, and
that they’re into witchcraft or devil worship or
something.”

My heart skips a beat. I slowly eat
several French fries and drink some lemonade before speaking again.
“What makes them think that?” I hope my voice sounds
casual.

She shrugs. “Dunno, he didn’t really
say. Just something they saw. Weird markings, maybe? I don’t really
believe in that stuff. Probably just a couple of sick
psychopaths…like that movie Kalifornia with Brad Pitt…you ever see
it?”

I shake my head, and squirt some
mustard on my corndog.

“
It’s really weird. Brad
Pitt plays a serial killer, and—”

“
Corrine,
focus.”

She takes a sip of her coke. “I don’t
know what to say…that’s all Jake told me.”

“
Do they know who the girl
is yet?”

She shrugs again and stands up,
gathering her trash. “He didn’t say anything about that. Look, I’m
sorry, but I really don’t wanna talk about this anymore…it freaks
me out too much.”

I nod, following her lead. We toss our
stuff away and head back to the main mall. A few stores down, we
pause to look at some pretty gowns in the window. Corrine grabs my
arm. “Oooh, let’s go in there and try some on…just for
fun.”

Ugh. I can’t think of
anything less fun than
that
. But it’s still her day, so I
follow her inside.

We enter the fancy boutique, ignoring
the looks of disdain from the salesclerk who sizes us up and
dismisses us, realizing there’s no commission to be made here. I
laugh to myself thinking how differently she’d treat us if she only
knew that less than one week ago, I had more money in my hand than
she’ll make in five years. She greets us with an icy smile, then
moves away to watch us from a distance, making sure we don’t do
anything to harm one of her precious dresses.

“
Ohhh, this one is so
pretty,” Corrine says with a longing sigh. She’s holding up a long,
pink frilly concoction that looks horrible with her dishwater hair
and ruddy skin tone.

“
Try it on,” I say. If it
makes her happy, why not?

“
Are you going to try on
anything?” she asks.

“
Mmm…dunno. Maybe, if I see
something I really like,” I say, though I have zero intention of
playing dress up. I just want Corrine to have some fun.

I wander through the racks
of beads and satin, fingering several gowns. For a brief flash I
imagine myself wearing one at a formal dance with Kieron.
This one
…the silver and
rhinestone silky one. I hold the delicate fabric up to my body for
a moment before returning it to the rack. Like that would ever
happen.
Ever.
Unless, of course, schools start holding dances at noon. Why
bother even fantasizing?

“
So, what do you think?”
Corrine asks hopefully as she emerges in the hideous pink dress.
Its tight fit hugs her ample figure unforgivingly, but she spins
around like a supermodel.

I smile at her. “You totally rock
it.”

She sighs, looking at the
price tag. “I mean, I know I can never buy something like this, and
where would I even wear it? It’s not like I’ll ever have a date to
the dance. No one’s
ever
asked me to a dance,” she mumbles, the corners of
her mouth turning down.

My heart goes out to her. Funny how
I’ve never thought of Corrine and me being in the same boat
before.

“
School dances are totally
lame anyways,” I say, trying to cheer her up. “I’m never going to
one, either.”

Corrine admires herself in the
three-way mirror, and I catch the salesgirl eyeing us
disapprovingly. “Yeah, but that’s your own choice. I’m sure guys
would ask you if you’d put your guard down, ever. And what about
Kieron? I’ve seen how he looks at you. I bet he’ll ask you if
you’re nice to him.”

Just hearing his name makes my chest
feel fuller. Corrine returns to the dressing room to change and I
follow, leaning by the door. “I don’t think he’ll ask me. But even
if he does, I can’t go.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because you know I can’t
leave my grandma—”

“
No, I mean why don’t you
think he’ll ask you? I haven’t really noticed him even talking to
anyone but you. Whenever you guys are by each other, you just look
so, I dunno…
right
together. Like you match or something. It seems logical he’d
ask you.” She doesn’t sound even the tiniest bit jealous or
bothered by her observation. Considering how gaga she was over him,
this seems like a pretty quick recovery.

“
Kieron and I are just
friends,” I say.

She chuckles from the other
side of the door. “Sure. He was reading you poetry and took you on
a romantic fishing trip?
Trust
me
, he’s interested in being more than just
friends.”

Earlier when Corrine had asked what
I’d done with my time off from school, I’d given her the
cliff-notes version of my time with Kieron. But I didn’t tell her
that he’d only pretended to need my help with his homework. I still
wanted her to think that’s why we were hanging out.

“
It doesn’t bother you that
he might like me?”

“
No, of course not. I mean,
if you do hook up, of course I’d be totally jealous ‘cause he’s so
gorgeous and all. But I know I’m not in his league…it’s not like
I’d ever stand a chance.”

She emerges from the tiny dressing
room in her sweats, the gown in her arms. The saleslady instantly
swoops in and takes it from her. Corrine rolls her eyes. “Let’s
go.”

I notice the time. “Sorry, Corrine,
but I have to get headed back…”

She nods. “I understand. Totally.
Thanks for today—” She stops and grabs my arm. “Wow, speak of the
devil.”

I look at her surprised face and
follow her line of vision. My heart sinks into my stomach. Sitting
by the elevators eating frozen yogurt and laughing is Kieron…and
Drusilla.

My insides feel like ice as
I watch them. I’m so stupid. So very stupid.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“
Forget them,” Corrine
says, pulling my arm. “Come on, let’s just go. You don’t want to be
late.”

Suddenly I want to get out
of there as fast as I can…before Kieron or Drusilla happen to
glance up and see me. What are they doing here together? Is he
reading her some poetry, too? Is that his
thing?

Sickened, I spin on my heel and rush
the other way, Corrine right beside me.

Chapter 15.
Lucky

Sighing, I signal Gyan to bring me
another drink.

“
Bones, you’re being
ridiculous.” I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

“
Am I? Some demion shows up
and the next thing I know you’re telling me we can’t hang out
anymore because your feelings are all confused. Why
shouldn’t
I kill him?
He’s a nobody…a nuisance…and he’s got you all messed up in the
head.”

I roll my eyes and take several long
swallows. The way Bones is acting, I know I’m in for a long night.
At least he’s speaking to me again, although listening to him plot
Kieron’s demise isn’t much of an improvement.

“
Trust me, it’s not his
fault, it’s
hers
.
Like I told you before. You wanna kill someone, kill Liora. Be my
guest.” I swish my hand like I’m swatting away a fly, and spin my
chair around to check out the rest of the room. Same as always. And
no Kieron in sight.

Where is he,
anyway?
I haven’t seen him in a few
nights…

“
You know I can’t do that,”
Bones says and chugs his whiskey.

I press my lips together
and start tapping my feet to the loud music. I’m glad Bones stopped
me at the Bridge tonight so we could come to the Bar together. But
his attitude is testing my patience.
I
don’t even know what I’m feeling.
How am I supposed to explain it to
him?

“
Is it because he’s part
human and I’m not…is that why you like being around him so much?”
he asks a few minutes later.

I sigh again, and twist a long lock of
hair around my finger. If only Bones could understand. But he’ll
come around eventually…he has to. I’m sure it’s just his precious
ego being hurt that’s pissing him off. He’s not accustomed to
having any competition for my affections; he’s used to having
anyone he wants throw themselves at his feet.

“
Partly…I think. But that
doesn’t change the fact that I still need you…he’s not replacing
you. You’re my very best friend, and I don’t know what I’d do if
that ever stopped. I just want to be friends with him,
too.”

His eyes meet mine. Despite
my growing feelings for Kieron, Bones can still melt my insides
when he wants to. “
Yeah well, just
remember, I’ve been around longer and I’m not leaving. No
outsider’s gonna change that.” He sets down his
drink and wraps his strong arms around me.

I get the familiar flutters I always
feel when Bones holds me close. This time, though, it’s my relief
that things are okay between us again. I hug him tight, giving him
a kiss on his warm cheek.

“
Thanks,” I whisper. “You
don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say
that.”

Bones pulls away and looks
me up and down. “But I’m telling you now…if he steps outta line…if
he does anything, even
one thing
to hurt you,” he holds up his finger before
gliding it across his neck, “then all bets are off. I’m gonna let
the whole pack loose on his pretty-boy punk-ass and scatter his
limbs to the furthest corners of the territory. I don’t care who he
thinks he is,
nobody
messes with my girl.”

I roll my eyes again. Bones
can be
so
dramatic
sometimes. But the sentiment is sweet. “Everything will be
fine…”

Bones’ magnanimous mood
ends abruptly as Kieron enters the Bar. He stiffens and clenches
his jaw. I focus on remaining stoic, cool. Now is
not
the time for me to
make it obvious how happy I am to see Kieron again. It has only
been a few nights, but I’d been growing increasingly
concerned…