Demon Heart (The Darkworld Series Book 3) (26 page)

“Eh.” Leo shrugged. “Could’ve been worse. Though Melmoth didn’t make it any easier. He was reclusive and snapped at anyone who came near the house. Of course people talked. Well, they didn’t know he was a vampire, but to be honest, that was less ridiculous than some of the rumours. I wasn’t sorry to leave that school.”

“I felt the same. I hated my school,” I said. “They never saw me as anything more than a candidate number, a grade-making machine. The teachers only noticed me after I said I was considering Oxbridge, and everyone else just kind of avoided me. I’m pretty sure they thought I was crazy in the end.”

“Because of the demons?”

“Yep. I just thought I was having a mental breakdown. I think the librarian thought the same, that time I threw an OED at a demon in the school library.”

“You tried to take out a demon with a dictionary?” Leo laughed. “You’re something else, you know that?”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“Need you ask?” he said, and leaned in to kiss me, which naturally caused my heart to forget how to beat normally.

“For the record,” he added, “I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“Good to know,” I said. “Well… that’s why I never dated anyone at school.”

I’d not told him that before, but now seemed as good a time as any. It wasn’t like this was the most shocking thing he’d heard about me tonight.

“Never?” He sounded surprised.

“Yeah. Well, I was at an all-girls’ school for most of my life, but I guess I always used that as an excuse. I just wasn’t interested.”

“I hope you’re interested in me.” His smile alone was enough to make my heart stutter.

“Of course I am.”

And I kissed him again. Softly, he pressed his lips to mine, coaxing my mouth open with his tongue. My entire body tingled in response to his touch.

It got progressively more difficult to concentrate on watching the film.

“You don’t have to go back to yours tonight,” he whispered. “You could stay.”

My heart was practically in my throat. “Really?”

“Of course. But you don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.”

He was giving me the option. But I wasn’t stupid. I knew rational thinking wouldn’t help in
this
particular situation. I’d faced my own death yesterday, and that made me see everything a little clearer.

I trusted Leo. Absolutely trusted him. There was only one answer really. I knew what I wanted.

“I’ll stay,” I whispered, and then his arms were wrapped around me, and mine around him. I could feel myself shaking with nerves and anticipation.

“You sure about this?” he murmured, lips brushing my ear.

“Yeah,” I breathed.

or the second time in a week, I woke up in Leo’s arms. I usually had trouble sleeping if there were other people in the room, let alone in such close proximity—and in the middle of the day. But the first thing I saw when I woke up was his adorable sleeping face on the pillow next to mine, and I felt the overwhelming urge to hold on to him tightly and not let go.

I hadn’t the heart to wake him up yet, so I just listened to his steady breathing and enjoyed the feeling of his arms around me; even asleep, he held me like I was something precious, important, like no one else ever had.

Even before the demons, I’d never considered that I could ever get this close to someone. After the demons, there was always the worry that they’d think I was crazy―and since discovering the truth about myself, the additional worry that they’d find out I wasn’t pure human. But Leo didn’t care. Besides, only humans could feel love.

Love. Yeah, it was the biggest cliché ever. But there was nothing like it.

“Morning, Ash.” Leo smiled at me. Hell, I could fall in love with that smile alone.

“Technically,” I said, grinning, “it’s afternoon. Or evening.”

I wanted to feel him, to run my hands over his skin. Just looking into his eyes made every nerve tingle. He pressed his lips to mine, and my heart thrummed in response.

Then things went pretty much the way they had yesterday.

Afterwards we lay side by side, hands locked together, hearts beating fast.

“It’s Sunday,” said Leo. “We could just lie here for the rest of the day.”

“True. Or we could go back to mine. I have a Nintendo Wii. With Lego Star Wars.”

“Did I mention you’re awesome?”

“Now you have.” I grinned.

A whole glorious world of possibilities was open before us. I didn’t even care when Alex and Sarah cornered me that evening, after Leo had gone home, and demanded to know where I’d been for the last day.

“At Leo’s,” I said, to get it over with.

“I knew it!” yelled Alex, and ran up the corridor, whooping.

“Keep it down!” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Yeah, it is. Unless you’re one of those people who says sex is overrated.”

“No,” I admitted. “I’m not.”

Maybe it was different for people who went in for one-night stands than if you were with someone who meant something to you. I didn’t know, but I sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

“Good. So, what happened? You used protection, right?”

“I’m not an imbecile,” I said. “Of course we did. What more do you want to know? I’m not giving a graphic description. I think Pete’s account of wanking over a photo of Danielle has downgraded this flat enough.”

“Ew. Why’d you even have to bring that up?” said Sarah.

“Did you know he’s taking his guitar to the open mic night in the bar tonight? He’s going to serenade her in public.”

“He does that anyway,” I pointed out. “Outside her flat.”

“Well, this is a big event. It’ll probably be painful to watch, but what the hell. Want to go?”

“Always good to laugh at the expense of others,” I said, grinning.

“That’s my life motto,” said Alex. “Also, Sarah’s singing.”

“You are?” I said to Sarah.

She flushed. “Yeah. It was that or go on a blind date with someone from LitSoc because Alex wouldn’t leave me be.”

“Hey, now,” said Alex. “Jake’s nice.”

“I told you, I’m not ready to start dating again. Ash, you’ve got to keep her under control. She tried to set me up with Mandeep earlier, too.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“We live in the same
flat
,” said Sarah. “Where is he now, anyway?”

“Probably hiding from Alex,” I said.

“Your conversation is scarring,” came a voice from behind his door. “Also, I’m trying to sleep.”

“Sleep?” I echoed.

“You were lucky you didn’t see the end of Pete’s party,” said Alex. “Everyone turned up for the free booze, obviously, but they got thrown out by the porters at five in the morning for making a racket. It wasn’t even the loud music or anything. It was because some bright spark decided to set up a Ouija board in Terrence’s old room.”

“Wait―what?”

“Yeah, idiots. They were wasted and managed to convince everyone there were evil spirits everywhere, and someone was moving the furniture. It did kinda sound like someone was throwing things around in there.”

I couldn’t share her flippancy. Terrence’s room had been the place where he’d repeatedly tried to contact demons, using God knew what method. Though he’d long since gone, I wouldn’t want to be the next person to move in there. Apparently, I’d been so focused on meeting Leo and the others, I’d missed out on all the action.

“I slept with earplugs in,” said Sarah.

“Yeah, me too,” said Alex. “Danielle showed up, and Pete spent the rest of the night chasing after her. She left him on the lawn with no money and no clothes.”

“No clothes?”

“You don’t want to know. Last I saw him, he was running out of Terrence’s old room, screaming about ghosts.”

“Okay,” I said.
It’s nothing,
I told myself.
Terrence is gone, and demons can’t come onto campus.

“Yeah, you’ve missed out on a lot when you’ve been screwing Leo,” said Alex.

“Hey!” I said, flushing. “That’s not all I’ve been doing.”

“Yeah, did you go for a swim in the pond? I saw you sneaking around with wet clothes on yesterday. Unless you and Leo decided to take a fully-clothed shower?”

Crap.
“No, it was just raining. Were you spying on me through the peep-hole?”

“Maybe.”

I laughed. “Okay, I shouldn’t have asked. I’ve got to tidy my room now, anyway. Leo’s coming over.”

“I’ll put my earplugs in again,” said Alex, grinning. “You left your door unlocked last night, by the way.”

“I didn’t, did I?”

I pushed at my door, and it swung open. “Oh.” I cast my mind back, but unsurprisingly, that wasn’t the most vivid memory of last night. Shrugging, I went into my room.

Something nagged at me. Perhaps it was because the last time my room had been unlocked, someone had broken in, but I couldn’t help looking around to check nothing was missing.

Of course, nothing was. Paranoia had ruled my life for so long I’d forgotten I lived at the safest university in the country.

I laughed. Everything seemed absurdly funny now. I hadn’t realised what a weight it had been, carrying the burden of being a monster, but for the first time in months, I felt free.

Even if Alex
had
signed me up for the open mic night behind my back.

“You what?” I said, as the guy running the open mic read out my name. Stifled giggles answered me, and I turned to face my friends. We sat in the corner of the student union bar―me, Alex, Sarah, Mandeep, and some of the English Lit society members who’d joined us.

“You’re up, Ash!” said Alex.

“Is this a joke?”

“Ashlyn Temple!” called the guy again.

“Not many people with that name,” said Sarah, also giggling. As nice as it was to see her laugh again, I wished it didn’t have to be at my expense.

“Blow us away with your amazing verse,” said Alex.

“I didn’t even bring any of my poetry with me,” I said, in a last-ditch attempt to get out of it.

“We did,” said Alex, shoving a piece of paper into my hand.

“Where did you get that?” I said, staring at the handwriting―definitely mine. One of the poems I’d written in the middle of a sleepless night, by the look of it.

“Well. You left your door unlocked…”

“I did not.”

“You’re up, anyway. Go!”

Sighing, I gave in. I’d already faced more than enough fears that week to make this one seem irrelevant, and it would hardly be as bad as Pete’s singing.

“She walks along this dark hallway by night;

Footsteps tracing the path of memory;

Vanishing with the blush of dawn’s first light.

The house falls into ruin and decay…”

It wasn’t a bad poem, as far as they went. It helped that I’d had a few drinks, but I’d come up with worse in the middle of the night. Plus I’d channelled my inner literary nerd and written it in iambic pentameter, which I thought was cool, even if no one else did. A poem about a ghost under a curse.

“To walk by night and vanish in the sun;

Imprisoned in this world she wanders yet.”

It might not have been literary genius, but I still got a round of applause that left me feeling flushed. Plus, Alex had also put Sarah in for singing, and she looked even more nervous than me. But she pulled it off, far better than Pete did. The latest chapter in Pete’s failed romance saga ended in Danielle storming from the bar, and the crowd booed him off stage less than five minutes in.