Inner Demons (7 page)

Shortly after the fireworks display, people started to head home. Even though the band was booked until two, most people had curfews. Ella Mae had talked to Ms. Shadowford and gotten special permission for me to stay out until one, so I needed to leave soon too.

I found Drake by the punch bowl with Foster.

“You about ready to go?” I asked. Truth be told, I was only anxious to get home so I could start getting ready for my late-night recon mission. I needed to rest and let my energy build back up so I could turn into the invisible girl.

Drake's shoulders hunched a bit. “If you are, I guess.” His words slurred beyond the comfort zone.

“I don't think you're going to be driving,” I said. I was annoyed. After all, he knew he was my only ride home tonight. A couple of drinks early in the evening was no big deal, but he was drunk. There was no freaking way I was getting into a car with him behind the wheel.

“I can drive, baby.”

“Not a chance,” I said. “Can you call your dad or someone to pick us up?”

Drake snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “Don't go yet, Harper. It's still early. Have a drink. Let loose.”

He offered me a drink, but his depth perception must have been off because he ended up slamming the vodka-spiked punch into my arm and dumping the red juice all over Lark's white faux-fur vest. I jumped back.

“Oh gross,” I said.

“Dude, you just ruined her coat thingy,” Foster said with a laugh.

“I'll buy you a new one,” Drake said. He turned and gave Foster a high five.

I grabbed a napkin from the table and tried to wipe off some of the punch.

“Hey, I've got a great idea,” Foster said. “We should totally get the gang together and head out to that creepy graveyard. We could take some drinks, tell some tales. It'll be awesome.”

“Which graveyard?” Drake asked.

“You know, the one on the far side of town. Out by the old Brighton Memorial Hospital.”

“My curfew is in less than an hour,” I said. “I need to get home.”

“Come on, Harper. You're no fun,” Drake said. “Come here and give me a kiss.”

He puckered his lips and lunged toward me, but I side-stepped him. He looked hurt as he leaned against one of the poles holding the tent up.

“Don't be a bitch,” he said.

I'd had enough. “Sober up, Drake. Until then, stay away from me.”

I walked in the direction of the front gate, but Drake grabbed my arm. He yanked me back hard enough to send a shooting pain through my shoulder.

“Hey, that hurts, let go of me.” I tried to pull my arm away, but he wouldn't let go. Instead, he gripped me harder and pulled me toward him.

“Don't walk away from me.”

He pressed his lips on mine hard. I could feel the stubble on his face grinding against my cold skin. I pushed on his chest, but he grabbed me with both hands and continued to kiss me. If you could call that a kiss.

I stomped on his foot as hard as I could.

“Ow, dammit, what was that for?”

I stared at him with disgust. How could he not know what I'd kicked him for?

“Go then,” he said. “Find your own ride home.”

Anger fumed up inside of me like hot ash, making my mouth go dry. I never pictured Drake acting this way, but I guess I should have known from the way he acted the first time we met that he was capable of being a real dick. I guess it was only a matter of time before his true colors began to show.

I spun on my heel and walked to the gate, my heart pounding in my ears and my face feeling frozen from the cold wind that whipped through the area outside the main tent. I didn't run. I didn't want him to have the satisfaction of thinking he'd rattled me.

Crap. I needed a ride.

I thought about walking, but there was no way I could make it the six miles home on foot. A small town like this didn't have any taxis, and I didn't have any money to pay for one anyway.

I stood in the driveway looking out at the empty fields and trying to think of anyone I could beg a ride from that was still sober. Something out in the dark pasture across the road caught my eye. A spark of light? It was only an instant, then it was gone. I peered into the darkness, but headlights from an idling car made it hard to see very far away.

I walked down the driveway to the edge of the grass and looked again. Further from the lights of the house and cars in the driveway, my eyes began to adjust to the semi-darkness. Across the road, a little ways out in the field, I definitely saw something. A car maybe. A figure. Someone smoking a cigarette, I thought.

Jackson
.

I don't know how I knew it was him. I just did. He'd probably brought his motorcycle out here so he could listen to the music. Of course, he wouldn't have been caught dead actually attending the party like a normal person. I ventured a look back toward the house to make sure Drake and Foster weren't following me, then stepped across the gravel road and into the field beyond.

The grass was slightly wet already from dew and each long weed I passed slithered across my leather boot like a snake. My footsteps made hissing sounds as I walked. The figure was still too dark to make out for certain, but I had the feeling he'd been waiting for me.

“Nothing like a midnight stroll through an abandoned cow pasture,” he said.

“What happened to the cows?”

“I scared them all away.”

“By the looks of this grass, that was quite some time ago.”

“Did you enjoy the fireworks this fine evening?” Jackson said. Now that I was close enough, I could make him out a little more clearly. He was lounging against the silver bar on the back of the bike with his boots propped up on the handlebars.

I tore my eyes away from him and looked up at the starry sky. “I bet it looked much cooler from out here. There were too many lights on from the party. How long have you been out here anyway?”

“Long enough to hear the last couple sets the band played,” he said. He slid his boots from the handlebar and straddled the bike. He was wearing a long-sleeve black button up shirt, jeans and his black cowboy boots.

I shivered in the wind, but wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from the way he looked in the moonlight.

“Long enough to see that asshole put his hands on you.”

His words cut straight to my heart. Weird how I had managed to keep my cool all through the actual incident, but hearing Jackson mention it, his voice laced with such anger, stirred me up. I looked back toward the house, thinking it would have been impossible for him to see that far. I could see the gate leading into the party and a few people milling about behind it, but nothing looked very clear.

“There's no way you saw that from all the way out here,” I said.

“I have very good eyesight.”

“Like Superman, I guess.”

“Perhaps.”

“So does that mean there's also a kryptonite out there for you?”

“Maybe you're my kryptonite.”

He threw his leg over the bike and stood. My heart pounded and my breath caught somewhere deep in my throat as he approached me.

“You shouldn't let anyone treat you like that,” he said. He crooked his index finger and put it under my chin, then lifted my face up so our eyes met. “You're too good for that, Harper.”

I swallowed, then opened my mouth to let in a nervous breath. I didn't trust myself to speak. I exhaled warmth, then sucked in the cold night air. Jackson's lips descended on mine, enveloping them in a warmth that spread like wildfire through every nerve in my body. I leaned into him and pressed my palms flat against his chest. Through his shirt, I could feel the heat coming from his body and it warmed my cold hands.

When we parted, our breath came out like puffs of smoke in the frozen air. Our eyes stayed locked on each other until finally, I looked away. Jackson's fingers left my chin and found their way into my hair. He slowly wrapped a strand of blonde hair around his index finger, then unwrapped it. My heart thudded wildly.

“Why do I feel so drawn to you?” I said.

I expected my question to shock him, but he just smiled with one corner of his mouth. “What happened to your curls?” he said. When I didn't fall for his attempt to avoid my question, he sighed. “Maybe you're just drawn to bad guys.”

A gust of wind whipped through the pasture and I felt it glide through me like a shadow of ice. “You're not a bad guy,” I said. “I have a feeling you're more like a sheep in wolf's clothing.”

He laughed and ran the back of his hand across my cheek. “I think you've got that backwards.”

“I don't think I do,” I said.

He glanced at his watch. “Shadowford expects you home by one. It's already twelve-forty now.”

“So I'll be late.”

Jackson shook his head and walked back over to his motorcycle. “Get on,” he said, holding his helmet out to me.

I stood still for a minute in protest, then grabbed the helmet. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he said. “As long as you promise to get on the bike.”

“Do you feel drawn to me too?”

His smile faded and he looked straight at me. An electric energy passed between us. “Like a moth to a flame,” he said.

I climbed onto the bike and put my arms around his waist. My heart thundered in my chest. He started the bike, but before he took off, he put his warm hands over my cold ones, then moved them inside the pockets of his leather jacket. I drew my arms tighter around him, my hands now snug in his pockets, so close to the warmth of his body.

In my room, I got under the covers fully dressed and waited. I was willing to bet that Brooke's final initiation would take place at three am, so I had just over an hour before I needed to venture out back to the garden. I kept myself awake by thinking of the way Jackson's lips felt against mine.

Drake was technically my boyfriend, but what kind of boyfriend got drunk when he was supposed to drive you home, then grabbed your arm and called you a bitch when it was time to leave? Not one worth keeping, that's for sure. Thinking about the way he treated me, I guess I wasn't all that surprised. I should have known he was too good to be true.

He'd just been hiding his true nature. For what reason? So he could have a girlfriend on the cheerleading squad? He'd mentioned once how important that was to his mother. If I had to guess, I would say his mother was probably an official member of the Order of Shadows and wanted to make darn sure her boy was going to be with a girl who was in the Order as well. It was no secret that women in the Order were rich, beautiful and successful. Usually, their husbands were equally as successful, probably due to their wife's magical abilities.

I had no idea how much the men in this town actually knew about the Order, if anything, but a man married to a woman in the Order was automatically rich and powerful in his community. It made sense his mother wanted that for him.

She had another thing coming to her if she thought I was ever going to marry Drake Ashworth, though. Not after tonight.

I sighed and pulled the covers from my body. Why couldn't I just be a normal teenager with normal parents, a house with a white-picket fence, a dog, and normal everyday problems like homework?

On my way to the bathroom, a flash of light out near the garden caught my eye. My stomach twisted into knots.

They're here.

I glanced at the clock. They were earlier than I expected. I had work to do. I needed to make sure I wouldn't be seen, so I sat in the middle of the floor in my room, palms up on my knees, and meditated. Deep breaths in and out let me fall slowly into a trance-like state until I could feel the energy of the earth underneath me. Strange how I could be all the way up on the second floor and still feel so grounded and connected.

The glamour I needed tonight was tricky. I needed to make myself completely invisible. I'd been practicing it like crazy for days, but it was a tough illusion to hold onto. I had no idea how long I could keep it up, but it was my only chance at sneaking into the ritual.

I stared at my sapphire necklace in the mirror. The illusion would be easier to hold without it. My fingers hesitated over the clasp. This necklace had saved my life once before. I didn't like the thought of ever being without it. Then again, I wouldn't need saving if the illusion held.

I unclasped the necklace and set it on top of my dresser.

I stripped down to my underwear and sat on the floor. I concentrated on making every inch of my body invisible from the hair on my head to the tips of my toes. I felt a strange, warm tingle pulse through my body. The tattoo wriggled across my back in excitement. When I opened my eyes, I was gone.

My happiness over the success of the spell almost caused me to lose my concentration, but I quickly re centered. I went to leave my room, but the door was locked. I almost laughed. Certainly they didn't think a locked door could hold me in this room. Mrs. King had already taught me how to move objects with my thoughts. All I had to do was imagine the lock on the other side of the door flipping over. I was free within seconds.

I left my room, made my way downstairs and walked to the garden. More of the Order had arrived. The women all wore black capes with the hoods drawn over their heads so their faces were masked in shadow. A few torches were lit along the pathway and I followed a little ways behind one of the Order members.

The women took the same path to the back of the property that Brooke had led me down a few weeks ago. Only, this time, we didn't stop at the clearing. A woman in black touched the stone demon statue and it disappeared, revealing a stone stairway that led down into the ground.

I stood in the shadows along the edge of the woods and waited as the women filed past. Once I was certain everyone was inside, I very cautiously descended into the ritual room. The members of the Order were seated in a circle around the edges of the room, their faces hidden in darkness. Five of the women wore blue cloaks and stood at the five points of a pentagram engraved on the hard stone floor. In the center of the pentagram was a smokey blue pool of water. At least, it sort of looked like water. The more I looked, though, the more I questioned it. I'd never seen anything quite like it before.

My eyes drifted around the circle. There were exactly 35 women in the room. Was this the entire Order of Shadows? Or was this just the officers? I wondered. No one spoke or made so much as a sneeze of sound. After a few minutes, there were footsteps up near the entrance. All eyes turned anxiously toward the stairs. Carefully, I hid myself in a small alcove near the bottom of the stairs.

The five women around the pentagram sank to their knees on the stone floor. They closed their eyes, then each woman put her right hand over her heart and her left hand on a small blue stone embedded into the floor in front of them.

A woman in a black cloak stepped out of the shadows. Her cloak was unique. It had an image of a demon and a woman locked in an embrace embroidered across it in blue stitching. I hadn’t even noticed her there before, but I was certain now she'd been there the entire time.

“Sisters of the Order of Shadows, tonight we invite another to join our ranks.”

Her face was hidden, but when she spoke, I knew instantly who she was. Drake's mother, Lydia Ashworth.

My heart froze like ice in my chest. My stomach suddenly felt sick, and I struggled to keep up the illusion of invisibility.

Mrs. Ashworth spoke in a commanding voice that echoed throughout the room.

“Yanora, faithful servant of the Order of Shadows, we invoke thee.

Seeker. Huntress. Join us.

Yanora, faithful servant of the Order of Shadows, we invite thee.

Wise one. Seeress. Join us now.”

A dark smoke poured from the center of the pentagram. Slowly, the shadows took the shape of a woman. The energy of the room shifted. My knees locked, and I felt paralyzed.

“Priestess, your humble servant awaits,” the figure said. Her voice sounded distant. Muffled.

“Yanora, give us the name of the demon spirit.”

“Paldoran, priestess.”

“Thank you for your service,” Mrs. Ashworth said. “Depart from us until you are called again.”

The smokey figure bowed low, then disappeared into the floor.

In a louder voice, Mrs. Ashworth called out, “Bring forth the initiate.”

Up above, I heard a girl scream. Footsteps fell heavy on the stone stairs. There was a struggle. I could just make out the figures coming down the stairs through the darkness. Four hooded women stood on either side of Brooke Harris, carrying her by her arms and legs. She was struggling and trying to pull away from them. A thin strip of black fabric was wrapped once around her body, only covering her from her shoulders to her thighs.

The whole thing felt wrong down to my core. Brooke had said she was scared, and now I knew she had damn good reason to be. I had expected to find some kind of graduation ceremony with grand speeches, a few secret spells, and maybe some refreshments. But this felt like an abduction. This wasn't what Brooke wanted. As she was carried past me on the stairs, I saw her eyes widen with fear at the sight of the hooded women in the ritual room. She screamed again and kicked out with both legs. She yanked her arms violently, but the women holding her were strong. Even when she kicked them, they made no move to retreat or let go of her.

“Please,” she said. “Please, don't.”

“Silence,” Mrs. Ashworth said.

Brooke's mouth closed, but I couldn't tell if it was by choice or force.

I wanted so badly to help her, but what could I do against more than thirty skilled witches?

The four cloaked figures pulled Brooke to the center of the room and positioned her on top of the pentagram. Her body went immediately rigid and straight and the women holding her let go. I started to reach out as if to catch her. Only, she didn't fall. Brooke hovered in the air over the strange blue circle. Her long brown hair dangled down toward the floor and her body shook slightly.

It reminded me of this one time I went to a slumber party where we played '
stiff as a board, light as a feather
'. This was like that, except about a thousand times creepier.

The five women in blue cloaks kneeling on the points of the pentagram began to chant in a foreign language. The louder the chants became, the more Brooke's body seemed to fall under the influence of their spell. Her breathing became fast and labored.

I came out of the little alcove I'd been standing in so that I could get a better look at the ritual as it passed. Already it had gone far beyond what I had imagined. They didn't even give Brooke a chance to speak for herself. It looked like they just stripped her clothes off and dragged her down to a cold room, kicking and screaming the whole way. Now, she was under the influence of their magic with no free will of her own. This wasn't right. Couldn't they see? Wasn't her mother in the Order? How could she sit by and watch this happening?

I shivered, more from fear than from the cold. The only thing Mrs. King had ever told us about the final initiation ceremony was that it was a special moment that would forever change our lives. She never mentioned we'd be half-naked in a room full of faceless women.

The chanting stopped abruptly and the room went silent except for Brooke's breathless panting.

Mrs. Ashworth held her hands out to her side, high in the air with her palms facing upward.

“Paldoran, demon of the shadow world, we call to you.

Enter into this sacred place, we demand your presence.”

The five women standing in the pentagram began to chant again, and this time the blue pool in the center of the floor started to glow brighter and brighter. Finally, a small pinpoint of dark blue light shot up from the center of the smokey liquid. It seemed to pass straight through Brooke's body and continue shining all the way up to the room's ceiling.

Even from my perch on the stairs, I could feel the power and energy of the bluish portal coursing through me. In the small of my back, I felt the demon tattoo shift and twist along my skin.

The women sitting around the room all stood up and began to hum a single note in unison. The portal responded to the energy in the room, deepening in color and casting the entire room in a deep blue light. I kept my eyes on Brooke.

When the portal was fully formed, the humming quieted to a soft undertone. At the base of the portal, a dark shadow writhed and twisted. Mrs. Ashworth spoke from just outside the pentagram, her voice more intense.

“Paldoran, demon of the shadow world, we bind you.

Enter into this holy vessel, we command you.”

As she spoke, the blackish blue circle on the floor seemed to bubble up. The dark shadow poured forth from it like smoke and wrapped itself around Brooke's legs. It encircled her torso and her arms, all the way up to her face. Brooke's breathing became more labored. Her back arched upward and her legs slowly kicked as if trying to rid herself of the shadow.

“Paldoran, demon of the shadow world, I command you.

Unleash your powers and embrace Brooke, your new mistress.”

The shadow smoke writhed around Brooke's body, moving faster and faster until suddenly, Brooke screamed. It was a bone-chilling, horrifying scream that pierced through my heart and broughthot tears to my eyes. It took every ounce of my willpower to keep from crying out and running forward to help her.

As she screamed, the black smoke poured into her mouth like a thick snake. Her body convulsed wildly as the spirit entered her. As soon as the last trail of the black shadow was inside of her, Brooke's mouth slammed shut. The humming in the room halted abruptly and the circle in the center of the room faded back to a dull blue.

“Body and spirit, these two are now joined in power.”

Brooke's body lay still. Her hands hung limp at her sides and her eyes were closed. She looked dead. I lifted my hand to my mouth and saw with horror that my illusion was beginning to fade. My heart screamed for me to stay. Leaving her like this was torture, but deep down, I knew it was too late. I had to save myself.

I stumbled into the night. Tears of anguish fell down my face and my heart pumped hard. I ran to the house, my footsteps wild and misplaced. By the time I got up to my room, I was visible again. Scratches ran up my legs and blood trickled from a scrape on my knee.

I rushed to my bathroom. My stomach lurched, and I doubled over. What had I gotten myself into?