Dark Calling (11 page)

“Apophis.  He’s the one.  The one that tried…”

Nick nods.

“I always thought of him as a monster.  I
didn’t realize he really was.”  She shivers as the memory stirs. 

“Can you tell me what happened that night?  It may help us figure out why they want you dead.”

Keely nods.  Pulls the blanket off the back of the futon.  Covers herself with
it
though she isn’t really
cold.  She feel
s
protected;
it
g
ives
her enough security to say the words
that may help Nick
solve the puzzle.

“I was at practice—I was a cheerleader. 
He watched me from the bleachers
every day
for weeks
.  I thought he was cute.”  She shakes her head.  It seems so weird to think of him that way because for so long she has thought of him as such an ugly being. 

“He
would approach
me after.  We flirted
, but I wasn’t really serious about
him.  He was older and I had a boyfriend.  And there was something about him.  I had a weird feeling.
That limp and those cigars
…
  He made me uncomfortable.  He asked me out over and over.  Finally
, on
that
day
,
I told him I
just wasn’t interested.  I t
old him he had to go.  And he left
.  He could have killed me right then, but he didn’t.”  Keely grips the blanket tightly.  Her hands in fists.

“I thought that was it.  I thought he graciously
accepted
my rejection.  But I found out that night how wrong I was.

“He followed me to my friend’s house.  She was having a Halloween party that night.  I went as this girl from my school.  We were always making fun of her for the way she dressed.  Always in black.  Black make-up.  Black hair.  I thought it was a big joke.
”  Tears of shame fill Keely’s eyes.  She doesn’t move to wipe them as they spill over.

“So I went to the party and he
showed up
dressed in this suit and
wearing a masquerade mask, but I knew it was him. 
I
also
knew it was weird that he was there, but
I had been drinking and I ignored all those warning feelings
.  He was cute and seemed to like me.  So when he asked me to
dance, I danced.  The way he touched me, it was exciting.  New and scary, like I was living dangerously.  And when he asked me to
leave with him, I went.”  She shrugs.  “Part of me knew it was stupid, but a bigger part of me wanted so badly to make him happy.  He had the prettiest eyes, and it was like they were hypnotic.”

“They were,” Nick says in a low voice.  It’s the first sound he’s made since she began.

“I believ
e it.  I left
with him, but I wouldn’t get in his car.  I had enough restraint for that.  So we walked.
He held my hand and
gui
ded me several blocks away to
the war
ehouses
. 
He told me how much he enjoyed spending time with me.  Told me he was so glad to have met me. 
He started talking about the night.  About how beautiful the night sky was and how he didn’t often get to see it.  He
was looking at it so admiringly
so I looked up too.  And it was beautifu
l.  It was cloudless that night and I swear I
could see every star. 

“While I was staring at the stars, he said I couldn’t take this away from him.  Said he couldn’t allow me
to take the night away
.
  That I would ruin everything.  That I would ruin him.  But he wouldn’t allow it.  He had to stop me.
 
His voice was different, like he was speaking to someone that did something horribly wrong to him.  Like I hurt him in some way. 
Then he pulled a knife, like a small
mach
ete
from out of nowhere
and
came at me. 

“It took me a second to understand he was serious.  I thought he was joking at first.
  I had never done anything to this guy.  I had no plans on taking anything from him.  It had to be a prank.
  But then
I saw his eyes.  They were
filled with hate.  Hate for me.
  It was like, all of a sudden, it was a different person standing in front of me.  A cruel, sadistic imposter.
  I put my arm up just in time to block as he slashed th
e knife at m
e.

“I ran.  I ran as fast as I could. 
I must have tripped a dozen times.  I was sure he was going to catch me, but every time I looked back, he was walking.  Taking his time with
this insane smile on his lips.  It was like I was living in a scary movie.  And h
e liked it. 
It was just a game to him. 
I found a warehouse with an open door and I hid.
  I hid and I prayed that he would turn around and leave me alone.
  But
he didn’t.  H
e found me. 
Toyed with me to prolong his game.  Let me feel hope
and then
snatched it away. 
He started touching me.  Strangling
me. 
I couldn’t breathe and I was so scared.  When I thought I couldn’t take another second, h
e kissed me.
Called me
his
Keely. 
His
beautiful.
Told me he
loved
me.  He s
aid I was his favorite.” 
She shakes her head.  “His favorite.”  Keely
sits forward.  Her knuckles are white on the blanket.

“And then he slit my throat like it was nothing to him.
  Like I was nothing.
  I see his face nearly every time I sleep.  Every time I look in the mirror.”  Her hands release the blanket.  Fingers find the scar at her throat.  “
I relive it every single day.”

Keely blinks, coming back to the room.  Takes a long, deep breath.  “
Later, the pol
ice told me he was a serial killer.  That all of the girls were young blonds.  That I was the only survivor.  Afte
r my
therapy, when I was better
and knew I had to go
back to school,
I started dying my hair.
In all the ways he was light and bright, I made myself different.  Dark.
I was so afraid he was going to come back for me.  T
hat he would c
o
me back to
f
inish the job.  Now I know he will
.”

Nick moves his hand
wanting to p
lace it on hers.  He hesitates,
then lightly touches the tips of his fingers to her knuckles.  “I’m so sorry Keely.  I promise I will
do everything in my power to keep
him
from
hurt
ing
you again.”  He pulls his fingers away quickly.

She wipes the tears off of her cheeks.  “I can’t believe
my dad isn’t really my dad.  I can’t believe
those other girls were actually my sisters.  I mean, why donate your sperm if you don’t want
someone
to have
your
children?”

“That’s a
really
good question.”

Seven:

“Who found you after?”
Nick asks as an afterthought.

“A night security guard at the warehouse.  He stumbl
ed upon me during his rounds.  I guess h
e
performed CPR and
called 911
.  He
saved my life.  If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve died like the other girls.”

“But you did die, right?”

Keely nods.  “Twice they say.”

“Do you remember anything from the moments when you were dead?”

“No.  One minute, I’m
on the cold floor in the warehouse
, certain I will never see my friends or family again, the next, I’m in a hospital bed with a tube down my throat.”  Keely’s eyes squint with the memory.  A chill passes down her back.  She shive
rs.  “That’s all I remember,” s
he
says
through a yawn
.

Nick looks at her thoughtfully
.  She seems so young, so innocent
at this
moment.  The way her eyes clo
se
and her nose s
crunches
, her mouth forming into an O.  He f
inds himself lost in a trance, staring at her.  This isn’t the first time.  It happens quite often.  This is, however, the first time she catches him. 

Keely shifts uncomfortably.  Wonders why
Nick is looking at her this way
.  It sends a rush of nervous butterflies twirling through her stomach.

“It’s getting late.  You should get some sleep.”

“Where
do
I sleep?”

Nick raises his eyebrows.  “Right where you are.”

“Oh.  Well, where do
you
sleep?”

Nick stands up, points to the floor.  “R
ight here.  I’m a light sleeper
so you don’t have to worry about anything.  And just kick me if I snore.”  He takes several blankets and pillows from a small closet.  Tosses Keel
y a pillow.  Makes himself a spot
on the floor.

Keely tries her
parents’
phones once more to no avail.

“Nick?”

He is
just settling onto his uncomfortable
bed. 
“Yeah?”

“Why do you do it?”

His eyebrows crinkle in confusion.  “Why do I do what?”

“This.”  She lifts her hands, palms up.  Let’s them drop to her lap.  “Why are you protecting me?  I mean, you don’t even know me.”

This isn’t quite true.  Nick has
watched her for a year when she didn’t know he was looking.  He knows her very well.  Knows who she is.  The real her.  But he doesn’t say this.  Instead, Nick says, “This is bigger than you, Keely.  This goes
be
yond you.  Demons are dangerous
violent creatures.  They are evil beings beyond t
his world.
”  He props his arm on his knee.  “If there is a reason they want you dead, then we have to do everything in our power to ensure you live.”

He shrugs.  Fluffs his pillow.  “I was assigned to you.  They needed someone young enough to p
ass as a high school student because y
our mom was adamant
you not know.  I guess she was hoping you wouldn’t ever have to.”

“You were assigned to me?  What do you mean?”

He squints.  “I’m a Guardian, but I don’t go around protecting everybody.  I get assignments
like a body guard would. 
I will do anything to protect you.  As
your Guardian, I’ve taken
an O
ath to give
my life to save yours.  W
hen you are no longer in need of my services, I’ll be assigned to someone else that needs me.”

Keely feels deflated.  She had been giving him such a hard time.  Acting as if he
were a psycho stalker when he’
s willing
to die for her.  Even if she was nothing more tha
n a job to him, it still touches
her.

She clears her throat.  Snuggles into the pillow.  It smells faintly of shampoo and faded laundry detergent.  “How did my mom find you?  How did she even know to look for you?”

Nic
k is quiet for a moment.  He lies
back
staring at the ceili
ng.  P
uts an arm under his head.  “She
wasn’t exactly new to this world.  To my
world, I mean.  Before your dad, when she was very young,
there was a guy.  A White Warrior.  Some of us are born Watchers, some Guardians, and some of us
are special too. 
Anyway, she went
to Michael Laszlo.  He
went to t
he Hierarch
y.  My father’s on t
he Hierarchy
,
he
knew I was ready, and suggested me.  I have im
peccable records
so I was selected
.  I created a t
eam and we met with your mom
.

“She
said that she had received several phone calls prior to your attack
from someone posing as a representative of the facility she had used to conceive you.  Someone saying
records had been destroyed
and needed to be updated.  Your mom didn’t feel comfortable about giving out the personal information, but he convinced her with a story
, saying it was
necessary for medical purposes.  She confirmed the donor number, your birthday, name
,
address, everything.  She gave Apophis everything he nee
ded to find you.  Not long after
, you were attacked.