Milayna's Angel (32 page)

“Yes.” I studied his face. The briefest
flicker of emotion crossed his features. If I hadn’t been watching
him so closely, I would have missed it.

“Who is it?” I saw his shoulders tighten. The
cords of muscles in his arms constricted.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before,” I
lied. His body relaxed, a breath hissing through his teeth.

Maybe I should have told him I knew it was
him, that I’d overheard him talking to Muriel about his visions.
Maybe he’d try to fight the visions harder, let me help. We
could’ve done it together. I could’ve reassured him that I trusted
him, that he wouldn’t hurt me.

Then again, maybe it wouldn’t have made a
difference at all.

***

Friday night, they showed up again. It was
the worst night for them to make an appearance. Police response
time was notoriously slow on the weekends, which was exactly why
they chose it.

They stood in a line on the sidewalk in front
of Muriel’s house. Waiting. Watching.

“Oh, for the love of Mike,” my aunt said,
looking out the window. “I’ll call the police.”

I’d had about enough of the whole mess. The
constant visions. The threat of the relentless and pointless
fighting. I was ready for it to be over with, regardless of the
outcome.

I was out the door before anyone could stop
me. “What?” I yelled, lifting my arms out to my sides before
letting them fall against my legs. “What do you want?”

“To play,” Friendly said, sticking his head
around the corner of the house. I rolled my eyes. The hobgoblins
were another thing I was tired of. Their fat little bodies running
through the yard was getting old. I was definitely over it.

“Go away,” I snapped. Friendly’s face
turned…well, not so friendly. His wide eyes turned black and he
scowled, his fat lips pulling grotesquely over his square, yellow
teeth.

I jogged down the porch stairs and stood in
the yard. Hands on my hips, I stared back at the group of Evils and
demi-demons.

“Milayna, what are you doing?” Xavier walked
up behind me. “Do you want to fight?”

I blew out a breath and wiped my forehead
with the side of my hand. “No. I want this to be over.”

I wasn’t paying attention. Big mistake. While
I was talking with Xavier, Jake rushed us. He picked me up and
slammed me on the ground. My teeth clamped together from the
impact, and pain sizzled through my back and shoulders.

Jake raised his hand, and I braced myself for
the blow. Chay plowed into us before his fist connected with my
face. He and Jake rolled on the ground, exchanging punches. That
got the party started. The rest of the group advanced on us, and I
braced myself for a long, painful battle.

A pretty brunette sauntered up to me, a sweet
smile on her face. I was momentarily distracted, thinking maybe
she’d be reasonable and see how pointless the fighting was. Then
she slapped me hard across the face and brought me back to reality.
Demi-demons were not reasonable. And they didn’t see the fighting
as pointless. They saw it as a way to wear us down, weaken the
group. It was also a distraction—a fact I’d be reminded of.

I was deep into the fight with the brunette,
holding my own. Our skills were fairly matched, so neither of us
gained the upper hand. She’d jab, and I’d block. I’d kick, and she
blocked. It was boring, actually. Then things took a turn for the
worse, at least for me.

Another demi-demon rushed over to help her.
He punched me hard in the gut. I bent over in pain. The brunette
took a swing at my face. I concentrated on my power to feel others’
feelings to anticipate her blows before they connected. Her arm
moved in slow motion toward me, and I blocked.

Jen saw I was out numbered and ran to help.
She pulled the brunette off me. I concentrated on blocking the
blows from the second demi-demon. He was big, but I concentrated on
following his thoughts. I was able to block most of his blows while
managing to sneak in a few good jabs of my own.

Still fighting off the demi-demon, I felt the
earth begin to shake and heard the demons punch through the dirt.
The smell of burning flesh and sulfur stung my nose. The heat
radiating from the opening in the ground melted the snow around
it.

Momentarily distracted, I lost the connection
with the demi-demon’s thoughts. He walked toward the hole, jabbing
at me, forcing me to back up. He pushed me closer and closer to the
pit. I could feel the heat, hear the screams and moans of the
damned. The smell made me gag. The guy threw a punch, I ducked
under his arm and sidestepped, turning from the pit. He tripped
over the mound of dirt surrounding it and fell in. I cringed at his
screams as he fell.

I glanced at the house and drew in a sharp
breath. Edward was on the porch, trying to force his way into the
house. He hit my mother hard across the face, and she fell to the
ground, dazed. He darted into the house. I ran after him, but the
demi-demon who’d fallen into the hole crawled out and grabbed my
ankle, tripping me.

I heard more screaming from the house, and
knew I needed to help defend it from Edward. Rolling to my back, I
kicked the guy holding my ankle hard on the side of the head. He
went down. I heard another scream, and my gaze swung to the house.
Benjamin. Edward was pulling him to the pit. His strides were
faster and longer. Ben couldn’t keep up. Edward dragged him behind
him. Ben tried to pull away, his small hands pushing at Edward’s
larger, stronger ones.

“Daddy!” Ben screamed, tears running down his
face.

I quickly looked around. My dad was fighting
off a much younger demi-demon and having trouble doing it. The side
of his face was bleeding and he held his side, his face distorted
in pain.

I heard Benjamin scream again, a long,
high-pitched wail followed by sobs. He kicked and pulled away from
Edward, but a seven-year-old was no match for the much older and
stronger demi-demon.

Edward bent down to hand Benjamin to the
demon waiting in the opening of the pit. I jumped up, slipped, but
caught myself before I fell. Running toward the hole, I grabbed at
the dagger strapped to my ankle as I went. I lunged myself at the
pit, sliding on my stomach across the slippery snow toward the
glowing hole, the dagger in my hand.

Chay saw Edward with Benjamin and kicked Jake
so hard in the gut that they both fell to the ground. Chay rolled
toward the pit, his arms outstretched. Edward let go of Benjamin.
The demon’s arms wrapped around him. I skidded to a stop. Chay
grabbed Ben’s arms just as I stabbed the demon’s shoulder with the
dagger. It howled in pain before it disappeared in a plume of black
ash.

Ben dangled over the glowing, yellow pit.
Another pair of sickly gray arms reached up and grabbed his feet.
Chay tried to roll away from the hole, pulling Benjamin with him.
But lying on his back in the slippery snow and mud, he couldn’t get
any leverage. The demon yanked at Ben, causing Chay to slide closer
to the pit’s opening. Ben screamed my name.

“Hurry, Milayna,” Chay said through gritted
teeth.

I bent the top part of my body into the pit
and stabbed the second demon in the side, killing it. Chay rolled
away from the pit’s opening, taking Ben with him. They were safe. I
still dangled head-first in the opening leading straight to Hell. A
third demon crawled up the side of the pit, a grotesque smile on
its face.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Milayna,” it
hissed through its dagger-like teeth. “It’s time to come home.”

I held up the dagger, turning it in my hand
so the yellow glow of Hell’s fire sparkled off the jewels. A
rainbow colored the sides of the pit. The demon screamed at the
sight of the dagger and backed away.

I felt someone pulling me out of the hole.
Slowly, they dragged me up and away from the demon. I kept the
dagger in plain sight, and it stayed frozen in place while I was
pulled to safety.

A scream sounded from the pit. The earth
began to shake and the dirt moved. The mounds fell like invisible
hands were pushing them, filling in the pit. Little by little, the
glowing, yellow depths disappeared, taking the demons with it.

The fight was over. It was meant to distract
us so the demons could grab Benjamin. They failed. There was no
reason to keep fighting, so the pit filled and the demi-demons and
Evils melded into the black night.

Chay carried Ben into the house. My dad ran
to my mother and helped her into the house. The rest of us filed
inside behind them. Uncle Rory rushed to my aunt, whose face was
bleeding where Edward clocked her after pushing past my mother and
into the house.

“Milayna,” Ben cried and reached out to me. I
took him from Chay and cradled him to me. He cried against my
shoulder. For every one of his tears that fell, I grew angrier and
my resolve strengthened.

Abaddon is gonna pay for what he’s doing to
my family. Even if I have to fight for the rest of my life, I will
kill him.

25

Saturday morning, we all gathered around the
kitchen table at Muriel’s house. We were having our traditional
family breakfast. My mom and aunt made a huge meal of omelets and
fresh fruit. I’d just plopped a large omelet on my plate and sat
down next to Ben—who hadn’t left my side since the fight the night
before—when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” I said. Ben grabbed my hand. I
bent and kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be right back, frog
freckle.”

“’Kay,” he said, letting go of me.

I opened the door and froze.

What in the world is he doing here?

“You don’t look too bad this morning. I
thought you’d be more banged up.” He smiled.

“You look like Hell,” I said.

He laughed. I loved that sound.

“Are you having your traditional breakfast
this morning?” Chay asked.

“Yes.”

“Can I stay?”

“Why?” I blurted.

“I wanted to check on Benjamin. I thought I
could play some video games with him.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Chay. It
isn’t even our house.”

He hooked his thumbs through the belt loops
on his faded jeans and looked down at his feet. A lock of hair fell
over his forehead, and my hand automatically started to reach out
to smooth it back in place. I stopped before I touched him. Fisting
my fingers, I put my hand behind my back.

“You’re probably right. Will you tell
him—?”

“Chay!” Ben yelled and threw himself at Chay
in a huge hug. “C’mon, we’re having breakfast.” Benjamin pulled at
Chay’s hand.

Chay hesitated. He looked at me and shook his
head. “I can’t—”

“He can’t wait to beat you in that new video
game you got,” I said with a smile. I moved to let Chay pass.

“Thanks,” he whispered when he walked by.

I shrugged. “I did it for Ben.” After the
night Ben had, I was willing to do just about anything for him.

Everyone was happy to see Chay, and my mother
immediately set a plate in front of him piled high with food. I was
the only one confused by his appearance. He ate and talked with
everyone, laughing and joking like nothing was wrong. Like he
belonged. Like he never broke my heart.

After breakfast, he played video games with
Benjamin most of the afternoon. I tried to stay clear of him, but
Ben wouldn’t let me out of his sight, so I was forced to spend the
day with Chay—the one I loved but who didn’t love me. The one who
kissed me until my head spun and I couldn’t see straight, and then
told me it was a mistake. The one I hated… loved. The one who
confused the hell out of me.

The one who had visions of killing me.

Finally, when we were getting ready to sit
down for dinner, Chay told Ben he had to leave.

“Can’t you stay and eat with us?” Ben
asked.

“You’re more than welcome to stay,” my aunt
chimed in.

No, he’s not!

“I can’t. My grandparents are coming over for
dinner tonight, but thank you.”

“Bummer,” Ben muttered.

Yay!

“Milayna, walk me out?”

Ugh. You know where the door is
.

“Sure.” I walked beside him to the door,
trying not to inhale in his direction. He smelled so good. I tried
not to look at him. He looked amazing. I tried not to look at his
arms. They felt so good around me. I tried not to glance at his
lips. They caressed my skin like silk. I tried not to think about
how great he was with Ben. How he’d played game after game with him
that afternoon. My heart softened a little toward him, and I found
it hard to remember why I was mad at him. “Thanks,” I muttered. It
nearly killed me to have to thank him.

“For what?”

I shrugged. “Being so good with
Benjamin.”

“He had a rough night. I thought it might
take his mind off things.”

“Yeah.” I stood with my hands in my pockets,
rising forward on the balls of my feet before leaning back.

Chay grabbed my arm, pulling me outside with
him. He guided me away from the door and out of sight of the
window. Cupping my face in his hands, he kissed me. I closed my
eyes and felt his fingers thread through my hair. His tongue grazed
my lips—I leaned into him.

“Whatcha doin’, Milayna?” Friendly asked. My
two hobgoblin buddies sat on the chairs beside us on the porch.

The spell broken, I turned my head away from
Chay. He let his hands fall away and muttered a curse.

“Another mistake,” I bit out, throwing his
words from Monday night back at him.

“No,” he said.

“Then what?”

He rubbed his hands up and down his face. “I
don’t know. I can’t be with you, but I can’t stay away.”

“You are so confusing, Chay. You can’t have
it both ways. You either want to be with me or you don’t.”

He reached out and picked up the chain around
my neck, pulling it until the ring slipped over the collar of my
sweatshirt. “I saw this the other night. And I knew then that I
wanted you. And as mad as you are at me… you want me too. I don’t
like being apart, Milayna. I wish things could be different.”