A Demon Made Me Do It (34 page)

“
Lucky, if I don’t turn
them in safely by the time my contract expires, I will be bound to
the Supreme Legionary for the rest of my life. Do you know what
that means? I will be a slave, forced to do their bidding, whenever
and wherever they want me, with no free will,
for the rest of my wretched lif
e.
I’ll have to leave here forever…that means never seeing you again.
But, if I turn them in before the bounty on them expires, then I
am
free
. That’s
the deal I made with them after I met you. I knew I needed to be
here with you. That’s why I was gone for a few days…not that you
probably even noticed. I made the deal for
you
…so I could be with you…so I could
have a life with you.”

My hollow laugh seems to be
coming from someone else. “Well, that’s a pretty crappy deal you
made because if you don’t tell me where they are
right this second
, not
only do I
never
want to see you again, but I’ll kill you right here and now.”
Instantly, two large balls of fire erupt in my palms. I raise my
hands ready to unleash them.

His eyes flash wickedly. “Lucky you
don’t mean that. Listen to what I’m saying…”

“
Oh, I’m listening…and all
I hear is how this is all for
you
. Well, I have news for you. I
don’t care what the cost is, or if I die trying—I
will
find the Amazèa, and
I
will
kill them.
Not you or any other creature on this planet, alive
or
dead, is going to stop
me. And if you get in my way I will kill you and not think twice
about it. Understand?”

“
Lucky…”

“
Get out of my sight…you
make me sick,” I turn my back to him. I can’t let him see how
devastated I am.

I hear him sigh. “It doesn’t have to
be like this.”

I don’t move. “You need to
get out of here,
now
.” My voice is barely above a whisper, but the threat is
unmistakable.

“
I’m leaving. Don’t follow
me. I’ll know if you do…”

I spin around, feasting my
fiery eyes on him for what I hope is the last time. “You are
done
giving me
suggestions. I have my own ways of finding them. And I will. But I
will
not
follow
you. I’ll never follow you anywhere…”

“
I’m so sorry, Lucky…” He
gives one last pained look before turning around and disappearing
into the night.

My heart shatters into a
million pieces. Spinning, I hurl the balls of fire onto a tree
behind me, and it explodes with a thunderous
crack
. I collapse on the grass and
scream as loud, and as long as I can, until I can scream no
more.

Then I cry. I cry for
Michael and Kayla, and their unjust and cruel sacrifice. I cry for
Ivy and Cody, in the wrong place at the wrong time, at what should
have been the happiest moment of their lives. I cry for the pain I
felt as I spat those hateful words at Kieron, and the cold look in
his eyes when he betrayed me. I cry for his unfair
predicament…his
and
mine.

And I cry for us—me and
Liora—because our only chance to reunify as one and reclaim our
rightful life will mean losing the one boy we
both
love.

We truly are damned.

******

Tears blur my vision as I angrily
slash my way through the forest, but they don’t slow me down. I
could run through the woods blindfolded if I had to. I’m too upset
to ride Diablo right now; I need to move my body, to do something
with all this energy before I explode. I knock down trees and blow
up boulders as I sprint through Dryndara, handy outlets for my
all-consuming rage.

Tatiana sits by the fireplace waiting
for me as I burst through the door and send it flying across the
room, narrowly missing her. She doesn’t flinch.

“
Why didn’t you tell me?” I
shout at her.

“
You didn’t ask,” she
replies quietly.

“
Do
not
patronize me, Tatiana. I
am
livid.
I want
to kill…I want to kill…”

“
Who exactly?” she asks, a
small smile on her face. The rage inside me boils to such a point I
fear I’m going to completely lose control. I take several deep,
measured breaths, and storm around the small room.

“
You know
exactly
who I’m speaking
of. The Amazèa. Kieron. They’re back and you didn’t tell
me…”

“
They are still far away,
and outside your boundaries. Hunting them is futile…even more than
when they are inside…”

“
But Kieron…he’s after them
right now. And he’s going to
save
them.” I picture his beautiful, chiseled face.
Then I picture myself kicking it with an especially pointy
steel-tipped boot.

“
He has a much wider
jurisdiction than you. Besides, he is working under official
orders, something you are not.”

“
I don’t care if he’s under
the orders of Lucifer himself. Find them and tell me where they
are. I cannot let him get to them first and save them…”

“
Maybe it’s
you
he is saving,” she
says.

“
Do
not
, Tatiana. You
do not
know that I will be defeated;
I don’t care
what
your freaky floating flowers tell you. I have the element of
surprise. I can kill from a distance. No one goes after them…they
think they are invincible. Untouchable. I have the
advantage…”

I can’t stand the boiling feeling in
my blood any longer, so I stomp into Tatiana’s room for my
emergency stash.

“
And even if you do
succeed, what do you think will happen?” she calls out. I grab the
freshly-refilled green bottle off Tatiana’s nightstand and stalk
back into the living room.

“
What do I think will
happen? It will be over. I can finally
live
…
that’s
what will happen. I can stop
being a prisoner of the night, and someone else during the day. I
can live the rest of my life knowing that I didn’t let the
creatures who killed four of my friends just get away with
it.”

I take several swigs, not caring that
it’s later than I should be drinking. I glare at Tatiana, my eyes
daring her to reprimand me.

“
And you just assume that
you’ll be magically reunified and your life will go on like nothing
has happened? What about consequences from the Legionary? They will
know you acted illegally and you’ll be severely punished. What good
would it do if you are banished to the Wasteland, or, at the
very
least, stripped of
your powers and demoted to lower demon status?”

She rises to her feet and walks
towards me. “…I must say, Lucky, while your emotion and passion
make you stronger than many other demions, they will also be your
downfall if you don’t use your common sense as well.”

I refuse to let Tatiana’s words sink
in; I’ve heard it all before. She’s made it perfectly clear over
the years that she’s not as convinced as I am that killing the
Amazèa will make me whole again…blend Liora and me the way we were
before—a pure demion.

But reunifying my soul
isn’t my only motivation; it’s getting justice for Michael and
Kayla…and now, Cody and Ivy. I
must
have my revenge on the monsters who murdered
them…I can’t
live
without it. I need to do what I
should
have
done that night five years ago, instead of what I did
do—freeze in terror and run away.

I acted like a stupid,
weak Sapie
.

I need to make it right;
undo what I did…do what I
didn’t
do. I’ve replayed the scenario over and over in my
head so many times, there are times when I believe I
actually
did
fight
back—that I was able to save Michael and Kayla—that the split never
happened, and we’re all still best friends who love each other and
share everything with each other. Sometimes, I’m able to trick
myself into thinking that Michael and Kayla are just around the
corner, waiting for me to come outside and play—not buried under
six feet of dirt a mile and a half away, under the circle of stones
I’d placed to mark their grave.

It was
I
who found the scattered pieces of
their corpses and lovingly put them back together again after I
returned to see what the Amazèa had done to them. It was
I
who buried them next to
the tree where Kayla had happily given me the nickname “Lucky”, and
Michael had given me my first kiss…the same place Tatiana had later
found me, catatonic, as the police combed the woods with Michael
and Kayla’s frantic parents.

Of course, the bodies were never
found; I couldn’t bring myself to tell their parents the truth—that
their beloved children were dead, and it was all my fault. Tatiana
had ushered me away and later placed a spell on the parents,
removing any traces of Michael and Kayla from their memory. But she
could not do the same for me.

And I will
never
forget.

Chapter 21.
Liora

I fumble through my locker in a
trance. I’m not the only one; it seems most of the students are
still dazed by what happened. It’s been a few weeks since the
murders, but the students have yet to regain their jovial and
boisterous attitudes from before. The hallways are much quieter,
and the sound of laughter is rare. Grief and tension are
palpable.

For once, I don’t feel like such an
outsider.

But my sadness isn’t from what
happened here; yes, it’s awful. Truly. But I grieve not for the
three classmates I didn’t care about, but for the one boy I did.
The one who is gone, probably forever.

“
Hey, Liora.” Corrine leans
against my locker, subdued.

I glance up and give her a half smile.
“Hey.”

“
Ready for the
test?”

I shrug. I don’t even know what test
she’s talking about, but I’m sure I’ll ace it without even trying.
I zip up my jacket as the wind gushes past, stinging my face. I
like the pain. It’s the only way I know I’m still alive. The rest
of the time I just feel numb.

I still catch myself
craning my neck, looking for any sign of Kieron. But he’s gone. And
I don’t even understand what he was doing here in the first place.
Or what he was doing with
me.

Even though I’d told him I
never wanted to see him again...and I
meant
it…I guess I just figured I’d
see him anyway. That he’d be waiting for me outside the cabin one
morning and we’d walk to school together. Or he’d be in class, and
after school we’d take off to the mountains again…or maybe the
cemetery to read poetry to each other.

Maybe he’d be able to tell me
something…anything…that could make the unbelievable ache in my
chest subside, even just a little.

At first, after I’d gotten over the
initial shock and anger at discovering Kieron’s true identity, I’d
cried. When I couldn’t cry anymore, I got mad again. Mad that he
lied. Mad that he deceived me. Mad that he used me.

I didn’t want to admit that
was
exactly
what
I’d been doing to him.

My case was different. If I
was still a
real
demion, I’d never hide it from other demions. But…I guess
I
would
hide it
from humans.

Sigh.

I know I’m angry at Kieron,
but the longer he stays away, the harder it is for me to remember
exactly
why
I’m
angry with him. As much as I hate what he is, there’s a strange
comfort in the fact that he knows what
I
am.

I love that he knows the real
me...just as much as I hate it.

I can’t figure out if I love him or
hate him. Maybe neither. Maybe both.

All I do know is, I miss him very
much. And I desperately wish I could see him again.

When class finally lets out for the
day, I hurry to the parking lot and jump in my Mustang. I brought
it today so I could drive to the cemetery after school to read from
Kieron’s poetry book. I’ve read it through several times already,
but just leaning against the headstones, feeling the crisp air sear
though my lungs, and reading the beautiful words that Kieron had
been so deeply fond of, somehow helps alleviate some of the painful
loneliness. Here he’s with me, if only in spirit.

I park my car and gather my
things....a small blanket and a snack for later. I’m going to stay
here as late as I can before I have to head home and let Lucky take
over.