The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation) (22 page)

Katie ignored the question. “Did anyone else say anything? Talk about what an awful person I am?”

“No. Why would anyone say that?”

Katie shrugged. “Zack told Wes and Josh I wasn’t worth fighting over. You should have seen the looks everyone gave me.”

Deb clicked her tongue. “I don’t think Zack thinks any woman is worth fighting over. He’s a jerk. No one listens to Zack.”

“He’s the freaking quarterback! The most popular guy in school. Isn’t his word like gospel?”

“Do you live in a high school movie? People know him, yeah, and he’s popular, but he’s also the most conceited jerk in the whole school. He couldn’t get a date with a member of the chess club. Everyone pretends to like him, but no one really does, and no one listens to what he has to say.”

Katie found that surprising. She’d always equated popularity with likeability, but as she thought about it, it made sense. Hitler was popular and not well liked. She really needed to break out of her self-absorbed shell and pay attention to what was going on in her school.

“Still,” Katie commented. “Everyone must think I’m such a witch.”

Deb squeezed her hand again. “Are you kidding me? At this moment, you’re probably the most popular girl in school! Everyone wants to know who you are and what is so special about you that you have boys fighting over you.” Deb snorted. “Not that anybody cares about Wes. No one knows who he is. But still. Everyone is talking.”

Katie grimaced. Earlier in the day, she had found the attention flattering. After seeing what Josh was capable of—what he was—she didn’t want to be in the limelight anymore. She wanted to fade back into obscurity. She didn’t want things to go back the way they were because she didn’t want to have to deal with Wes and the heartache, but she didn’t want her classmates scrutinizing her every move either.

Deb rolled over onto her side and placed her arm under her head. “Is that why you’ve been so weirded out lately? Because Josh and Wes have been fighting over you? If you ask me, Josh is the clear choice. He’s smart, has an amazing body, and a smile to die for. Now, Wes isn’t exactly ugly, but his past actions speak volumes. How many times has he hurt you? You don’t want him to continue to do that to you.”

Katie’s gaze drifted toward the leaves. It would be so nice if the situation was that simple. Of course Josh was the obvious choice. Katie would have gone for it in a heartbeat if it was a normal situation. Deb had to know the truth. Otherwise she would be mad and think Katie was super picky when it came to boys, and then the school would get wind of it and she’d probably never date again. She turned to face Deb.

“Things are a little more complicated than that.”

Deb’s face crunched in confusion and disbelief. “I know you have a long history with Wes and change can be scary, but come on! You deserve better! And I can’t believe you let Wes bring you home.”

Katie shook her head. “Deb, seriously, this goes way beyond feelings I’ve had since kindergarten. Besides, I don’t think Wes will ever talk to me again. We had a huge argument.”

Deb rolled her eyes. “How many times have I heard that before? You and Wes are always fighting. He’s always doing something to hurt you or upset you. There have been numerous calls where you’ve been crying and distraught because of something he did. Normally I just sit back and listen, but I’m done, Katie. I’m done listening to how much that boy has hurt you. I’m going to say it flat out. Wes is no good for you. You need to move on, otherwise, he will be the death of you.”

Katie couldn’t agree more with Deb’s statement. It was just a shame Deb didn’t know how true her words were. And Deb was right. She normally sat back and listened to Katie, was a shoulder for her to cry on, rarely ever telling Katie she was an idiot for liking Wes. Katie wasn’t stupid enough to think Deb liked Wes. Just because she kept her mouth shut and didn’t say much about him didn’t mean she didn’t think ill of him. Katie could tell by the way Deb’s jaw set when Wes’s name was mentioned or how she narrowed her eyes at him when he passed in the hall. Katie appreciated that Deb kept her opinions about him to herself, especially when Katie thought she still liked him, but apparently Deb had her breaking point, and this was it.

“Deb, this time I’m serious. I made some comments about his family. Things I probably shouldn’t have said, but it’s too late now. I can’t take them back. I really hurt him.”

Deb’s eyes lit up. “Don’t beat yourself up for saying those things to Wes. They probably needed to be said. He probably needed to be hurt as badly as he hurt you. So then there’s no issue. You and Josh can hook up and everything will be all right with the world.”

“Not exactly.” Katie took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was going to say next. “Josh is a demon.”

Perplexity crossed Deb’s face. “Like in the sack?” Shock replaced the confusion and she smacked Katie’s arm. “Katie! I can’t believe you slept with him!”

Once again, Katie shook her head. “No, Deb. That’s not what I meant. I mean he’s an actual evil-from-Hell demon that takes people’s souls.”

Deb forced out a laugh but stopped abruptly when Katie didn’t join her. “Why aren’t you laughing? That was actually a good joke.”

Katie closed her eyes. “You have no idea how much I wish that was a joke. I know how crazy it sounds, but please hear me out. I really need to talk to someone.” She opened her eyes and stared at her friend.

At one point, Deb’s family had been extremely religious; they went to church every Sunday. Katie had joined them on a few occasions. Deb’s parents and siblings still attended service, but Deb had stopped going. Katie asked her about it once, but Deb had just shrugged and said she was trying to figure things out. Katie didn’t push her. Deb would talk about it when she was ready to.

Deb’s eyes were wide and she nodded in quick, jerky movements.

“The next thing I’m going to tell you, you have to swear not to tell anyone else.” She held up her pinky.

Deb wrapped her finger around Katie’s. “I swear.”

“The reason Wes and Josh are fighting is because Wes is a Praesul.”

Katie told Deb everything that had happened in the last few days. Deb listened silently, her mouth pressed into a line, her head bobbing every now and then to indicate she was still listening.

Katie felt a weight lift off her as she spoke. It might not have been the best idea to reveal that Wes was a Praesul, but Deb needed to know the whole story. Besides, Deb pinky swore she wouldn’t tell anyone, and Katie knew she wouldn’t. Deb didn’t like Wes, and the school knew that, but even if she told everyone what Katie just told her, no one would believe the story anyway. No way would Deb risk her popularity on craziness like this. Her mouth would stay shut.

“Now you understand why I’ve been weirded out lately and why things are so complicated.”

Deb stared at her friend for several long moments. “So a Hell Hound tore up your arm, not a stray dog?”

Katie nodded.

“And you were in the warehouse as bait because Josh took you there. You didn’t actually skip school to make out with Wes.”

Katie pushed her eyebrows together. “I never said we went there to make out. I said we went there to talk.”

Deb waved her hand through the air. “Whatever.” She took a deep breath. “Now I have something to tell you. Something I’ve wanted to tell you forever but didn’t think I could.”

Katie’s confusion deepened. “What?”

“My great-uncle, my grandpa’s brother, was a Praesul too.”

KATIE SAT UP AND STARED AT DEB,
searching her face for…what? Deb wasn’t one to lie to Katie. She had never done it before. And no one would make up knowing a Praesul. They kept themselves a secret; they didn’t want the world to know about them. Katie shouldn’t have been surprised, especially with how religious Deb’s family was, but they weren’t the type of people to shove their beliefs down others’ throats. Come to think of it, neither were Wes and Randy. In fact, she couldn’t remember a time when Wes had gone to church. Perhaps it wasn’t important that the Praesul went to a church and worship but that they just believed in God. Katie would have to ask someone about that.

Deb sat up next to her and held out her hands. “I know, you think I’m making this up, but I swear to you I’m not. He’s really truly a God’s chosen protector.”

“A few days ago I would have thought you were crazy. Now, absolutely anything is possible.” Katie took a deep breath. “So what do we do now?”

Deb reached out and put her hand on Katie’s shoulder. “I don’t know.” Her gaze drifted over Katie’s shoulder and she was lost in thought for several moments. “Now that you explain that about Wes, his actions make sense. I should have put two and two together.”

Katie grimaced. “Oh, so now his actions are excusable?”

Deb focused back on Katie’s face. “That’s not what I meant. It doesn’t excuse what he’s done, just explains his actions. He’s still a total jerk, but at least he has an explanation for why he did it.”

“Did your great-uncle act the same way?”

Deb waggled her head side to side and pursed her lips. “Possibly. He wasn’t around much. I never really knew him.”

“Then how do you know he was a Praesul?”

“My grandma told me. And I’ve read the letters he’s written her.” She smiled slightly and got a faraway look in her eyes. “I found them after my grandpa died. I don’t think I was supposed to, though. They were buried at the back of her closet. I was just trying to help her clean out Papa’s stuff.” Her gaze flicked to the ground, moist with tears.

“What did the letters say?”

Deb shook her head. “Not a lot. They mainly talked about the places in the world he was visiting. The amazing sites. How much he missed her.” Deb smiled. “I think I caught my grandmother in a moment of weakness. She had been crying about my grandpa for days, but when I asked her about the letters, she smiled. She told me everything about Uncle Edgar. He sounds like an amazing man. If he has one fault, it’s his inability to have a relationship.”

“Sounds? So he’s still alive?”

Deb shrugged. “As far as I know. It’s been a few months since Gram has gotten a letter.”

Hope surged through Katie. This was exactly what she needed: an outside person she could talk with to get answers to her questions. Yeah, she knew Deb’s grandma, had gone to some family dinners with her and talked to her, but she wouldn’t say they knew each other well. Deb’s grandma was the perfect person to give her advice. And if the worst came to pass, maybe Deb could contact her great uncle to make everything all right. Katie leaned forward.

“Do you think I could talk to your Gram? Maybe she has some answers to what is going on.”

Deb’s shoulders slouched. “I don’t know, Katie. She’s pretty mad at me for becoming agnostic. She might really lose it if she knew I told you about Edgar. She swore me to secrecy.”

“Please, Deb. I really need some help. You can tell her about my situation if it will make things easier.”

Deb frowned. “I’ll see what I can do. Feel out the situation, but I can’t promise anything.”

It wasn’t what Katie wanted to hear, but it was going to have to do. No one wanted to risk their lives or the lives of their families, especially when a demon was involved. Maybe it was foolish to get Deb involved. What if Katie just endangered Deb’s life by telling her about Josh and Wes? She would never forgive herself if something happened. A knot developed in her stomach. Was this how Wes felt every day? No wonder he was always stressed out. It also became painfully clear why he never fulfilled his promises. Katie fought back the urge to leave Deb sitting on the grass. If a demon attempted to find her and wanted to force her to do something, threatening Deb would be a fairly convincing argument. Katie probably wouldn’t say no.

Logically, though, that thought process was flawed. Josh knew Deb and Katie were friends. He knew Katie had a family. Whether Deb knew he was a demon or not, if he wanted to use Deb to hurt Katie, he would. Any demon would. Humans were very social creatures and had lots of connections. It wouldn’t take much for a demon to exploit any of them. Katie’s presence could possible endanger her friends and family, but it also might save them.

Katie sympathized with Wes, but she found his actions reprehensible. Maybe now that Deb knew the truth she would be more cautious of Josh, watch and scrutinize his every move. If Wes had warned Katie, she would have avoided Josh all together. Knowledge was never a bad thing, and this information could potentially save Deb’s life.

“We should head back now.” Deb glanced around. “It’s getting late.”

Katie wasn’t quite ready to head back yet; she had some more thinking she needed to do. But she knew Deb was right. Her mom would freak out even more if Katie didn’t head home. She figured she’d made Mom suffer enough, especially if Deb was correct about her emotional state. Even though Katie was still upset, there was no sense prolonging the inevitable. She had to go home sometime. She sighed and stood. Deb followed her lead, brushing off the back of her shorts. They headed for the parking lot, and Deb put her arm around Katie’s shoulders.

“Everything is going to be all right.” She gave Katie a squeeze “By Monday, I bet most of the people forget what Zack said. But you’ll still be a celebrity.”

Katie snorted. “Yeah, because that’s what I’m most concerned about at this point in my life.”

Deb clicked her tongue. “Okay. Since you’re being pursued and used by a demon, I’ll talk to Gram. We’ll figure this out together so we can worry about getting dates for prom.”

Katie laid her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

Not that she cared about prom, but given the option of worrying about that or if she was going to lose her soul, she’d take prom.

***

Katie sat in the driveway and stared at her house. She felt a little better after being in the cemetery. She at least felt like she had a chance to breathe and think. It relieved her that Deb knew what was going on too. That way, if anything happened to Katie, like Josh taking her back to Hell permanently, someone would know where to look. Even though people wouldn’t believe her at first, Deb had a way of making people listen. She wouldn’t give up until someone did something. Besides, Deb had connections. She could get a hold of her great-uncle if worse came to worse.