Demon (6 page)

“Sit down,” she ordered. “I’ll make you some of your mom’s willow bark tea. But then I want an explanation.”

“No, really, I’m okay. I don’t need tea.” He pulled her against him, burrowing his face in her hair. He held her so tight she had a little trouble breathing. “You’re always so good to me,” he whispered. “I love you, Becca. More than you even know. If anything ever happened to you … if anyone hurt you….”

“Is that was the dream was about?” she asked. “Someone hurting me? You called my name out a few times in your sleep.”

He gave her a weak smile. “I suppose that’s better than shouting out some other girl’s name.”

She pulled away from him, placing her hands on her hips. “Stop trying to change the subject.”

“All right, I’ll tell you.” He sighed deeply with resignation. “In the dream, you were alone and terrified, surrounded by fire. You were crying and calling out to me to save you. I saw myself standing there, moving toward you, but I had no control. It was like I was outside of my own body. You were looking up at me, but instead of looking relieved that I was there, you cowered away from me, like you were afraid. The fire kept getting brighter and I couldn’t see what happened after that, but you screamed … and then you woke me up.”

Rebecca shuddered, but tried her best to soothe him. “It really
was
just a dream, Justyn. I’m right here and I’m fine. We both know you would never hurt me. After all we’ve been through, I don’t think
anything
can hurt us now.”

“I hope you’re right,” Justyn whispered. “But I will promise you this—I would
kill
anyone who dared to lay a hand on you.”

She saw his face fall into shadows, and she knew there was nothing else she could say to calm him down. Instead, she took his hand to lead him back to their bed. He didn’t argue. He seemed grateful when she lay down beside him, gently massaging his neck and his sore shoulder to try to rub away any remnants of pain. After a while, she felt his heartbeat slow to a steady rhythm, and she knew he had finally fallen back to sleep. As she checked to make sure he was really out, she traced first the beautiful tribal tattoo on his right shoulder and then the puckered scar that marred the left. It made her think again about Justyn’s dream. Much like his mother Darlene, his premonitions often hinted at the future.

She shivered. Suddenly, even though she was exhausted, Rebecca found it impossible to fall back to sleep.

Justyn and Rebecca waited in the theater with the thirty-or-so other students who were fortunate enough to have made callbacks. Their presence meant they were all guaranteed a spot in the production, even if it was only in the chorus. Rebecca wasn’t sure whether to be elated or terrified. She and Justyn had practiced half the night, yet she still felt like a novice in the midst of professionals. Like Justyn, most of her competitors had been performing practically since infancy. Only Rebecca had made her singing debut less than a year ago. Unless of course, she counted all the time she spent singing in the shower. Her being stamped a musical savant only made it that much worse, because she had no idea how she would live up to a reputation that had been unwillingly thrust upon her. She was on the verge of a complete and total nervous breakdown. Beside her, Justyn had his legs up on the seat in front of him, lounging as though it were a day at the beach. She had no idea how he was so calm. She was absolutely petrified.

“Deep breaths, Becca,” Justyn teased. “Everything’s going to be fine. You made it this far, didn’t you?”

She nodded, too nervous to even bother arguing with him. To make matters worse, Livy flounced down the aisle with her two flunkies in tow, giving Rebecca a demeaning stare as she passed. Despite the fact that Chad and Scott constantly lavished her with attention, Rebecca couldn’t help but notice the beautiful Goth’s gaze kept drifting over to Justyn. She didn’t like it. For the first time, she started to appreciate what she had put Justyn through with Tom. At least Rebecca didn’t have to compete against the much more voluptuous girl. Justyn was already hers.

“Hey look, it’s Jerseylicious!” Chad suddenly exclaimed. Rebecca blushed and turned an even brighter red when he wagged his tongue at her in the most inappropriate way. “Didn’t think I’d see
you
here….”

“
I
didn’t think I’d see
you
,” Justyn countered. “I didn’t realize this was a daycare center.”

“What?” Chad puffed out his chest. “What did that mouthy freshman just say to me? I should—”

Justyn stood from his seat. “You should
what
?”

Rebecca took hold of his arm and gently pulled him back down. The last thing they needed was a fist fight. She didn’t want Justyn getting expelled the first week of school.

“Justyn, don’t. Just ignore him.”

“Oh, so you need your girlfriend to protect you?” Scott laughed sarcastically and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. “See that? Big man on campus is hiding behind his pretty little girlfriend.”

“No one’s hiding, you ignorant piece of—”

“All right, boys,” Livy interrupted, stepping between them. “Let’s all
try
to behave like adults. I know it’s not easy for some of you,” she gave Chad and Scott a hard stare, “but most likely, we’ll be spending a lot of time together. So let’s play nice, shall we?”

“I can play nice.” Scott gave Rebecca a wink. “I can play
real
nice.”

Livy rolled her eyes and waved them away. “Sorry about them. They aren’t so bad really … well, who am I kidding? They’re total idiots, but you know … they’re
my
idiots. We’ve done three plays together already. You have to stick by your team, right?” She gave Rebecca a cocky smile. “Even if they
aren’t
worthy of you. I’m sure you can both appreciate that. Anyway, I promise to try a little harder to keep them in line.”

“I would appreciate that,” Justyn said. He still glared at Chad, even though the other boy was on the other side of the stage. Chad glared right back. It wasn’t a good start to a new production.

“All right then,” Livy said. “I’ll chat with you later. Good luck with the audition.”

Rebecca was sure she heard a whispered “you’re going to need it” as Livy walked away with her black velvet skirt rustling, but it could have been her imagination. She didn’t have time to worry about it. The professor had arrived, ten minutes late and unapologetic about being tardy, despite his strict rules on punctuality. He plopped down his briefcase and pulled out his notes.

“Good afternoon, students. I hope you’re all ready to begin. I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible. I feel I already have a good idea about how the casting will go, but I want to be absolutely certain. As soon as the orchestra is tuned, we shall begin.”

“Sounds like he really loves his job, doesn’t it?” The blonde girl Rebecca had noticed from the initial tryouts slid in the seat next to her. She smiled brightly. “Hi, I’m Megan. I think we’re in English lit together.”

“I’m Becca.” She nodded. “I thought I recognized you the other day.”

“Lord Justyn.” He leaned over to shake her hand. Megan didn’t bat an eye at his unique introduction. Eccentric seemed to be the norm at the art school.

“You guys were amazing the other day at tryouts. I mean … I was totally flabbergasted with the way your voices just melded together. You were so perfect. I mean, the chemistry between you … it’s just …
wow
! You must have been singing together for
years
to pull off that kind of magic. Really, I don’t know how you do it.”

Rebecca was a little flabbergasted herself, because Megan had spit out that whole speech in under three seconds without taking so much as a single breath. At least she wasn’t going to have any trouble with the speed-singing in the play. Still, her smile was optimistic and cheerful, and she was the first friendly person Rebecca had come across since arriving on the campus. As they chatted, Rebecca realized she had made her first official college friend.

“Silence!” Professor Carter bellowed and Rebecca and Megan, along with every other person in the room, snapped their mouths shut. The director stepped up onto the stage and stared into the crowd. “All of you
freshmen
out there are going to find that being in
my
production isn’t going to be anything like your high school drama club. I expect a certain degree of professionalism—starting with the respect to remain silent when the instruments are tuning.” Rebecca swore he stared directly at her, and she swallowed hard. “In this career path, you should also learn to expect the unexpected. I know some of you thought today’s auditions would be with the partners of your choosing. Well, it certainly doesn’t work that way on Broadway and it isn’t going to work that way
here
. A
real
actor, a true
artist
, should be able to perform with
anyone
, under any circumstances. Therefore, I will choose who shall perform together today, and you will all have to make the best of it.”

“Don’t panic,” Justyn told her.

Rebecca hadn’t said a word, but she didn’t need to. She was sure the horror was written all over her face. She was just as sure the whole speech had been—at least partially—directed at her. For some reason, Professor Carter didn’t seem to like her very much. Maybe Miss King had written in advance to tell him how much trouble she had caused the year before.

“I can’t … I can’t … I can’t sing with s-someone else,” Rebecca stuttered. “I just can’t.”

“Sure you can,” Justyn insisted. “You sang with Tom, didn’t you? Just about every guy here is better than him.”

That made her smile. “That wasn’t very nice. I thought you two were friends now.”

Justyn shrugged. “We are, but the guy still can’t sing to save his life.”

That time she laughed out loud. The sudden outburst caught the attention of the director, who glared at her through narrowed eyes. “Well. Miss Hope, since you are obviously so well prepared for this turn of events that you find it humorous, perhaps you would like to go first. You can show the rest of the cast how it’s done.”

Rebecca swallowed hard and felt her cheeks turn beet-red. Everyone stared at her, but still she didn’t budge from her seat.

Professor Carter sighed. “
Today
would be nice, Miss Hope.”

“It’s okay. You’re going to do fine,” Justyn told her. “If you get nervous, look for me out in the audience. Pretend there isn’t anyone else here. Just like the opening night of
Phantom
.”

Megan gave her an encouraging nod, and Rebecca rose. But a little farther down, she noticed Livy smirking and whispering to Scott, who chuckled as he watched her step onto the stage. There were two more people who didn’t like her. Rebecca wondered how the audition could possibly go well when the director and half the cast were already out to sabotage her. Still, she somehow forced her shaky legs to carry her up to the stage and waited while the professor considered who her partner would be.

“Let me see here,” Professor Carter mumbled as he went over his cast list. “Francis Wade, would you do us the honor of dueting with our little starlet?”

A sweet-looking blond rose from the back of theater and jogged up to the stage. Rebecca vaguely remembered seeing him at the auditions, but she had left before he performed. He wasn’t easy to forget, because he didn’t look like he belonged anywhere near a college campus. He had the face of a twelve-year-old and the physique to match. The guy stood about a foot shorter than Rebecca, and she wasn’t even wearing heels. She also realized he was the only person present who was in her
acting for dummies
class, which made her think their pairing wasn’t so random. Still, his big brown eyes were friendly and his smile genuine when he stuck out a hand in greeting.

“Hey, I’m Frankie.”

“Be-Becca,” Rebecca replied. She wondered how she would be able to sing when she couldn’t even say her own name without stuttering.

“Don’t worry, Becca. I’m a little nervous too, but we can do this,” Frankie assured her.

“Let’s begin,” Professor Carter instructed.

Rebecca felt her heart start to race when the music began, but she forced herself to forget she was onstage with a stranger. She imagined she was still back at the apartment rehearsing with Justyn. She was only about three lines into it when the music started to take control. She allowed herself to embrace the part. She laughed out loud as she and Frankie sang about how they would be serving up their neighbors into their scrumptious meat pies. The only part that was awkward was when they tried to waltz. Frankie’s eyes came up just above her breasts, and while he certainly didn’t seem to mind, Rebecca was a little uncomfortable with his face so close to her bosom. She was relieved when the orchestra strummed down and the song finally came to an end. Breathless, Rebecca and Frankie stood waiting for some instruction from the director.

“Luckily, Miss Hope, your voice is lighter than you are on your feet,” Professor Carter said gruffly, and again, Rebecca felt her cheeks flush. “Still, it was well done—for freshmen.”

Rebecca thanked him and stepped down from the stage, returning to her spot between Justyn and Megan. She supposed it could have been worse. At least her voice didn’t crack.

“You were amazing.” Justyn kissed her cheek. “Absolutely stunning. Not that it surprises me.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “I don’t think the professor agrees.”

Megan waved her hand in dismissal. “He’s like that with everyone. Don’t take it personally. You did fantastic.
Really
.”

Megan was actually the next hopeful called up to the stage. She was paired with the dashingly handsome sophomore named Quinn Martin, whose stunning good looks were only rivaled by his gentle tenor. The pair looked like a living version of
Ken and Barbie
with their blond hair, blue eyes, and sun-kissed skin. It wasn’t quite the look that was needed to land the lead roles, but they certainly made a great pair. Their voices complimented each other well, and the chemistry between them did not go unnoticed by the director. He nodded almost enthusiastically as he watched them.

“Johanna and Anthony,” Justyn predicted.

Rebecca nodded in agreement. Johanna was Sweeney’s Todd’s captive daughter, who was being raised by the same judge who drives his wife to madness. Anthony was a sailor who falls in love with Johanna and tries to save her from the clutches of the ruthless judge, even when he hides her away in a Victorian lunatic asylum. Johanna was a heroine who was alternately forlorn and hyperactive. Anthony was the stereotypical savior of the damsel in distress. The two actors on the stage seemed to be made for those roles, especially Megan with her dazzling beauty and speed talking abilities.

When they finished, a few more couples were selected. Chad and Scott each took their turn, but the girls they were paired with weren’t the equal of their abilities. No matter how much she disliked them, Rebecca had to admit they were both amazing singers and accomplished dancers. Scott moved with practiced grace despite his bulky frame. Really,
all
of the auditions went well, if not great. But there were not many speaking roles in the play, and only three of them would go to the girls. Rebecca grew nervous again. She started to bite her fingernails. She had a feeling she would get stuck in the chorus. Well, at least this play had very little dancing, and she wouldn’t have to worry about trying to perform in graceful, synchronized motions with the other actors. Rebecca didn’t do graceful with any degree of accuracy.

“Justyn Patko and Livinia Clairoux.”

Justyn winked at her as he stood to take his turn, but Rebecca couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. Of all the girls to pair Justyn with, did Professor Carter have to pick
her?
It was obvious to everyone Livy had her sights set on Justyn as more than just a dance partner. Yet, it was easy to understand why the director had made the call. Even before they reached the stage, she heard approving exclamations in the audience.