Jeremy Chikalto and the Demon Trace (Book III of The Hazy Souls) (9 page)

“Right,” said Jeremy. “And you can call me
Cajjez from now on.”

Jeremy was let inside the Victorian home and
he was about to ascend the staircase when he heard a familiar voice
call to him from the dining room.

“My son!” Vor Wantoro appeared, his hands
firmly planted on the back of Vinya Raaychila's wheelchair, smiling
despite himself, a short cropped beard framing his square jaw.
Raaychila was angelic in her chair, her red hair radiant in the
soft light.

Jeremy laughed and then ran to them. He
hugged his father and mother, then joyfully took his mother's hand
and kissed it.

“Jeremy, old boy!” It was Mateo.

“Hello, Mr. Nononia,” said Jeremy, jolly as
a spring chick.

“Oh,” Mateo shooed him away. “It's 'Mateo,'
come on now.”

“Are you okay?” asked Raaychila. “We were so
worried. You look famished!”

“Someone get my son something to eat!”
Wantoro called out. “We celebrate!”

“I suppose you should let Maren know you've
returned,” said Raaychila with a twinkle in her green eyes.

Jeremy nodded, bowed clumsily, and then
raced up the stairs. He ran down the hallway and flung open his
bedroom door.

There was a stirring under his bedcovers,
and then the blankets pulled back revealing Maren and a shirtless
Ren.

Chapter 15

Light of Mine

“Jeremy!” Maren sprang up.

“What are you doing?” stuttered Jeremy. He
felt behind him for the door as the blood rushed to his head. “What
the hell, Maren.”

“Oh,” Maren said, realizing how bad it
looked. “Jeremy, I missed you so much!”

Ren climbed out of the bed and pointed to
his watch. “My watch,” he stammered.

“Yeah, it's time to get the fuck out.”
Jeremy flashed between them and faced Ren, his back to Maren. “Get
out.”

“Jeremy, he was just
showing me his watch
—
it glows in the dark.” Maren spoke in a small
voice.

“It's got a solar battery and it doubles as
a flashlight,” said Rex.

Jeremy stared blankly at Rex. “I'll give you
a solar powered fist if you don't get out.”

“Jeremy, it's not what it looks like,” said
Maren.

Jeremy turned to her as Rex exited the room,
shutting the door behind him. “So is this Mitch, the sequel? How
could you possibly get under the covers with a guy who has a
flashlight watch.” He glared at her. “He was in my bed. His shirt
was... missing!”

“Oh, it's not like that Jeremy.” Maren
reached out to him for a hug. “He spilled orange juice on it,” she
added.

“Whatever. I'm alive, you're alive, our
parents are alive. Let's celebrate.” Jeremy walked out of the room
and slammed the door behind him.

Jeremy ran down the stairs and past the data
crunchers huddled together over a large wooden table. He slipped
between soldiers mapping out their next raid and entered the dining
room. His mother and father smiled at him, and then Tina pushed her
way through the small crowd and ran to him. She embraced him and he
squeezed her back.

“I knew you'd come back!” she said, smiling
up at him with brown, made-up eyes. Mascara dripped down her lashes
and stained her cheeks charcoal, and she wiped the tears away with
her sleeve.

“Crying for me?” said Jeremy. And then he
cried a little too.

Chapter 16

In Good Company

Jeremy's friends and family spent the rest
of the day celebrating the reunion. Jeremy kept a safe distance
from Maren, but was pleasant enough and laughed freely. They sat in
a garden for a time, and Wantoro regaled the party's adventures;
only a minor hail storm derailed their fun for a few moments, but
there'd been many hail storms in Jeremy's absence and people had
come to accept them.

That night, after Jeremy's parents and Mateo
had retired, Jeremy invited his friends back to his room, which was
plenty spacious and accommodating for a crowd. The best feature was
the cozy balcony. Jeremy waved Ren aside. “Ren, come out here.”
Jeremy slid open the glass door to the balcony. The air was damp
and heavy. Jeremy took a deep breath and let the cold fill his
lungs. He turned to Ren and gestured to the bottles kept on a small
round table. “I'm glad this is here because I no longer plan to be
just a casual drinker.” He handed Ren a glass and poured him some
scotch. “To miraculous reunions.”

The two clinked glasses.

“So Maren discussed everything with you?”
asked Ren. “We're good then, right?” He smiled and took a small sip
of scotch.

“No.” Jeremy stood up and Tina came out on
the balcony, bumping into Jeremy with her hips. “I want to drink
with you guys, too!” She began hopping up and down.

“I'll take something,” said Frisky, poking
her head outside. “But can we close the door? It's getting
drafty.”

With the door to the balcony once again
shut, Jeremy and Maren's room was a warm and inviting space. It was
a large room, but the way the furniture was arranged made it seem
intimate. Jeremy dimmed the lights beside the nightstand, pulled
back the curtains to the balcony, and allowed a soft moonlight to
filter in. Then he stood up on his bed and waved the bottle of
scotch.

“I'm so happy to be back.
It's great we're all here together. And so
strange
—
I only
felt like I was gone for a second, but three weeks?” He whistled.
“Wow, so much can change. Including the people you think you know
best.” Jeremy tipped the bottle back and took a long swig. Tina
cheered.

“Can you finally tell us where you've been?”
asked Maren. She smiled sweetly up at him.

“Where have I been,” repeated Jeremy. “Sure,
I can pull the blankets back and reveal my little secret.” He
winked at her, then took another swig. “I went to Hell.”

Everyone quieted.

“Are you okay?” asked Tina, breaking the
silence.

“I guess.” He laughed. “I
followed my demons. Came this close to eternal damnation,” he
pinched his thumb and pointer finger together. “Escaped with my
life
—
dignity in
tact, until, of course, I came back to a hell of a surprise.”
Jeremy wagged his tongue crudely at his friends.

“Jeremy, you need to start drinking water.”
Maren reached up to him and grabbed his hand to lead him down. He
recoiled from her.

“Oh, let him get wasted,
Maren!” Tina gave Maren a gentle nudge. “Promise we'll all forgive
him for his drunken shenanigans. He
earned
this!”

“I did, I think,” said Jeremy. “Let's
dance!” Jeremy sang like David Bowie.

Jeremy put on a Frank Sinatra record while
Tina went out to find more alcohol. He held his hand out to Maren,
and she accepted. Then he whipped her about for a minute, at last
flinging her onto the bed.

“Like that?” he asked. Tina returned and
Jeremy grabbed a bottle of gin from her stash. He removed the lid
and took a swig, his eyes trained on Maren. “Bitch,” he whispered
between gulps.

Maren sighed and got off the bed. She walked
over to Tina, who was dancing seductively for anybody who would
watch. Jeremy disappeared onto the balcony with his gin.

Frisky and Ren sat in the back of the room
on bright yellow benches positioned around a small marble table,
taking in the music.

“I miss my dog the most,” lamented Frisky.
“It's a crazy world out there now. He ran off when I first left my
place. Got scared.”

“Oh, there are plenty of dogs out there.
They're managing. What did he look like?”

Frisky stared wistfully at the ceiling. “A
brown pitbull mix, with a patch of white shaped like a heart around
his eye.”

“Hey,” said Ren, smiling. “I saw him last
night on patrol. He was all right.”

“Oh, stop!” Frisky shook her head.

“A sweet boy he was?”

Frisky nodded.

“He'll find a companion then. Times like
these, everyone can do with a companion. A sweet dog will find a
sweet love.” Ren sipped at his scotch while Frisky nodded
thoughtfully.

Jeremy approached the table and stumbled
slightly over a chair. “Get up.”

Ren stood and held up his hands. “Hey, we're
good.”

“What's going on?” asked Frisky.

Jeremy punched Ren in the face.

Chapter 17

Stripped Down

“Let's take this party outside!” yelled
Jeremy. He raised his arms up in victory.

“Jeremy!” Maren helped Ren up. “Apologize to
Ren.”

“Oh please. 'I just got a new flashlight
watch, want to see it under the covers? Oh, how inconvenient, I
just spilled orange juice on my shirt. Better go check out that
watch before Jeremy gets back.'” Jeremy pulled up his shirt to
reveal his chiseled abs. “Like that, girls? I can share so much
more. Come outside.” Jeremy laughed and then took another swig.
“I'm going to show you how we do it at the Donegall Estate.”

“No, someone help me.” Maren tried to steady
Jeremy with her hand, but he disappeared and reappeared on the
other side of the room.

“You don't get a say,” said Jeremy, slurring
his words. He walked out of the room.

It was dark outside. “Free show for the
ladies and gentlemen!” yelled Jeremy, waving his arms overhead.
“Everyone, come on down to the stage! Don't want to miss this!” A
few lights flickered on in the bedroom windows of the bunkers.
Jeremy aimed his palm at a lone tree that stood ten feet from the
amphitheater. He shot a bolt of lightning at the tree and it went
up into flames. “Oops!”

People were now pooling into the area
surrounding the amphitheater to investigate the ruckus, many still
in their bed clothes.

“Got to resurrect this
dinosaur,” said Jeremy, and he flicked on the amphitheater’s sound
system and looked through a stack of cds. He put one in and the
speakers started to bump with a jungle drum and bass. Jeremy downed
the rest of his beer and then stumbled to center stage. “Hey, here
comes Maren and Ren! I need lighting
—
Ren, light me up with that
flashlight watch!” Jeremy struck a pose, illuminated by the burning
tree. He threw his empty beer bottle off the stage.

Jeremy's muscle memory pulled through and
his feet began to two-step in time with the music. The bass pulsed
through him and he rolled waves from his hips to his neck while
unbuttoning his shirt. A few women cheered; men began to shout
obscenities.

Jeremy ripped his shirt off and then spun
around, using a free-standing pillar as a dance pole. He flipped
around it gracefully, and then played with his pants. “I want a
girl up here.”

Maren was crying and Tina tried to comfort
her but kept glancing at the stage. Jeremy pointed to Maren and
eased himself down into a perfect split.

“Come on up, sweetheart.”

“Stop,” said Maren.

“Okay, not you, maybe you.” Jeremy pointed
to a tall young woman with shiny, mid-length brown hair. She
giggled and then her friends pushed her forward. Jeremy helped her
up to the stage. He danced for her and goaded her to help him take
off his pants. Soon he was stripped down to a purple g-string.

Tina nearly died. “Maren, does he wear that
under there all the time?!”

“No! This is so embarrassing!” Maren ran off
and Frisky ran after her. Tina stole a final glance and then chased
after them.

Jeremy continued to dance around, amusing
the crowd with one-armed pushups and gyrating hips.

“Jeremy Chikalto, get off of that stage
right now!” Raaychila rolled forward in her wheelchair and parted
the crowd. Everyone quieted. Jeremy stumbled forward.

“Oh my God,
mom
—
don't look!”
Jeremy crossed his hands over himself and ducked low.

The crowd started to laugh and cheer.

“Jeremy, you listen to me. Get off that
stage and put your clothes on.”

“Soon!” Jeremy wiped the sweat off his brow,
vomited and then lay down on the stage, passing out face-down on
the wooden boards, butt cheeks exposed to the world.

Chapter 18

To the Sky

After being returned to his bed, Jeremy
slept well into the following afternoon. Maren had moved into
Frisky's room and waited patiently for Jeremy to awake so she could
get some of her stuff. At around 2:00 pm, Jeremy slipped out of his
room to grab a bite to eat, and Maren ran in to retrieve her brush
and clothes. When Jeremy returned, he remained in his room for the
rest of the day, save a few carefully orchestrated trips to the
bathroom.

The next day, Jeremy ventured downstairs for
dinner. People snickered as he passed.

“Hi,” he mumbled to his father, taking a
seat beside him.

“Hello,” said Wantoro. He passed his son the
orange juice. “You are a fool.”

“Yeah, it was just a joke that no one got.”
Jeremy cleared his throat and watched as his mom rolled into the
room. He shrank a little in his seat.

“I've washed your clothes, so you can come
by my room to pick them up whenever.”

“Yep,” Jeremy rose from the table, grabbed
his bowl of stew and juice, and quickly exited the room.

Maren was at the landing to the
staircase.

Jeremy sighed and tried to walk past her,
but then stopped short in front of her. “I hope you're enjoying
this,” he said cooly.

“I'm not,” she replied. “Ready to join us
mortals again, your grace?”

“You realize we're done, right?”

“What? I realize you're incredibly immature
and reckless.”

Frisky, who was making her way down the
stairs with her hiking backpack on, leaned in, “I sort of realized
that when he dropped acid and crashed a jet.” She gave Jeremy a
cursory grin. “But I hear you're in excellent shape, so keep up the
good work.” She let herself outside.