by Trudi Jaye
I hesitate over the probe for a moment, knowing it’s going to sting. But I harden my resolve. This isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, or even the most painful. I put one hand against my skin, the thumb and first finger surrounding the Taser pin, pulling the skin taut. Grabbing the other end, I pull quickly.
I’m glad I paid attention when the guard did it last night.
A low hiss escapes my lips as the pain hits, but I don’t wait. I move on to the second Taser pin and prepare it the same way. A sharp pull, and it’s out. I gasp as I do it, the agony focused on the two holes in my skin.
Blade is standing stiffly beside me, his hands clenched, and his expression dark. He’s not looking at me, but off into the distance, as if pulling out the Taser pins is hurting him more than it’s hurting me.
Ha. As if.
I purse my lips. I’m not letting this get to me. At least I have my body back under my control. I push myself up, so I can stand next to Blade. He still towers over me.
“What happened to me?” I ask, trying to ignore how intimidating he is.
“Your professor has some very dangerous items in that room of his,” he says.
I shake my head. “Most of it’s junk.”
“Some of it’s not. Those metal disks for one. They call demons when you spin them. The bottle you broke for another.”
I bite my lip when he explains what the disks do, thinking guiltily about how I had one spinning on the desktop. I glance around, but there are no demons lurking in the bushes. The disks probably don’t work anymore. But it’s good to know what they’re supposed to do. Maybe I can fix them.
“How did the Taser make the demon go away?” It’s information I might need in the future. Maybe I can use the same electrocution techniques in one of my devices?
Blade hesitates for a second. “The demon hasn’t gone. It’s still inside you.”
“What?” I sit back down on the bench abruptly.
“It’s not possible to get rid of a demon that easily.” Again he pauses, as if he’s not sure what to say. “It’s there inside you, waiting for another chance to take over your body.”
“I don’t feel it anymore,” I say a little desperately. My hand brushes my arm, pushing down the sudden spray of goose pimples rising along my skin. It can’t still be inside me.
He frowns, staring down at me like I’m an insect under a microscope. “There’s something strange about you. You’re recovering too fast.” He takes a sniff of the air, as if he’s tasting it. “And you don’t smell like any human I’ve ever met.”
I blink a few times, trying to make sense of what he just said. “I don’t understand.”
“Demons are creatures of mindless emotion and energy, remnants of something that has mostly left this world, but they can be powerful. It usually takes a while for the Taser to work on humans. I wasn’t expecting you to stand up and interrogate me.”
“Maybe I don’t have one inside me after all,” I say, relieved.
He shakes his head. “No, you’re definitely still possessed by a demon.”
I gaze up at him suspiciously. “How can you tell?” Maybe he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Maybe he’s lying. I look around, trying to think of some other explanation than the one he’s given me.
“I have some… experience… with demons.”
His words rivet my attention back on him. “Do you really believe in demons?” I say, squinting up at him, trying to read his expression. Maybe this is some kind of hoax? That could explain it. Sometimes the younger students like to play pranks on the Professor because of his paranormal research. Maybe they’ve decided to have a laugh at my expense instead?
Except Blade doesn’t look like any student I’ve ever seen.
“Demons, among other things, are very real,” he says eventually.
I shudder. I know how real they can be. “How do you know? Have you seen them?” Is he some kind of expert? Does he see them like I do? And if he does, is he right about the demon still being inside me? The thought makes me feel like I’m going to throw up.
“Look, uh…”
“Hazel.”
“Hazel, there’s more to this than demons.”
“Like what?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to scare you or give you more than you can handle. Let’s just deal with that demon for now.” He pulls out his phone. “I’ll call someone from the agency who’ll know what to do about it.”
A flare of alarm knocks all other concerns out of my head. This person he wants to call sounds official. All my usual alarms go off inside my head. I shake my head vehemently. “Don’t you dare call anyone. I’ll figure it out on my own.” I can’t even tell there’s a demon inside me. If there’s even really one there.
“But he can—”
“No. Promise me.” I know I’m being weird and paranoid, but I can’t help it. Someone more official means I’d run the risk of being discovered. That’s the last thing I need.
Blade stands in front of me for a moment, as if sizing me up. Eventually he gives a sharp nod. “You can give it a go on your own. But as soon as you want to admit defeat, you tell me, and I’ll call him.”
“That will be exactly never,” I say, trying to give off a confidence that I’m definitely not feeling.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” he replies, but he’s got a tenseness about his shoulders that belies his words.
Who is this guy? And why does the demon inside me matter to him?
“So tell me what you know about demons,” I say. Maybe I can learn something that will help me get this demon out of me on my own. “How did that one get in the bottle? What kind of energy do they give off? Why haven’t I seen any demons recently?”
He shrugs. “There aren’t many demons around here because Stanford and its surrounds became a banned area for supernaturals of all kinds when the CIA and the Stanford University researchers started their studies in the ‘70s. It’s never been lifted. If you want to know more you should really talk to my friend.”
“I told you, I don’t want to talk to him.” I have to concentrate hard on pushing away the automatic flare of panic every time he mentions his friend from the agency. I don’t even know which agency, but it doesn’t matter. They’re all connected, and they’ll send me back to Ravenwood. “If you don’t know anything more, I’ll get back to the lab. I have work to do.” I stand up again and stalk past him toward the building. My legs feel a little wobbly, like I have to remember how to use them, but I keep moving, unwilling to let him know how weak I am. Or that I can barely see where I’m going without my glasses.
“You should go home, rest up,” he calls after me.
I shake my head. “I’m fine. I have a demon to exorcise.” I’m trying to sound casual, but the words send a tremor through my body, and I stumble a little over my own feet.
“You’d be best to get my friend—” he starts to say but stops when I turn and glare at him.
“What were you really doing on campus?” I ask. When he hesitates, I know my suspicion was correct.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to,” he says eventually.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say, exasperated. Who is this guy? I really freaking wish I had my glasses on so I could see his face properly.
“You seem like you’re happy to keep trying to figure stuff out on your own,” he says, his voice grim. “I don’t want to interrupt your process. You know, make anything easier on you.”
“Don’t be an idiot. Just tell me.”
He gives a sigh. “Fine. Detective Cappello told me about your run-in at the scrap metal yard. I was coming to talk to you, to find out what was really going on.”
Fear surges through me, and this time I can’t control it. “You’re a detective, too?” I knew it wasn’t over with Detective Cappello. There was a reason I was tossing and turning last night.
He lifts his hands in a calming gesture. “Not with the police. I
consult for a government agency that deals with this kind of thing.”
That’s not much better than the police. “What kind of thing? Demons?” This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything about a government department for demons.
“Among other things.”
He looks reluctant to say anymore and it makes me impatient. “What does that mean? Among other things. What are you hiding?” I demand.
“Look, Hazel—”
“Just tell me, Blade,” I say, my voice stern. I need to know what I’m dealing with.
He stares down at me for a moment, like he’s assessing my capabilities. “There are a lot of things out there, Hazel. Somehow, you’re able to see things most humans can’t. That’s a dangerous situation for you to be in. It means you’re likely one of us.”
“One of us?”
“Supernatural.”
11
The air leaves my lungs. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m not a demon.”
“Supernatural doesn’t mean you’re a demon. It means you’re not human, and that you’ve got…special powers.”
I shake my head again. “I don’t have special powers. I’m just an ordinary person.”
“You’ve never…experienced anything strange?”
“Never. I can’t do anything special. I wish I could.”
“Then you’re a mystery, Hazel.” His soft words hang in the air, and for a moment, I wish it were true. I’d love to be some kind of mysterious supernatural who wasn’t stuck hiding from the authorities, living in fear all the time. I’d have invisibility powers, and I’d never have to dread the name Ravenwood again.
And then reality kicks in. He can’t figure me out, because he doesn’t know everything about me. And I can’t let him find out. I turn and start walking toward the lab again. “I’m not a mystery. But I do need to get back to work.”
“I’ll walk you back.”
I consider arguing, but I don’t have the energy. He’d just fight me on it. So I shrug and let him walk beside me in uncomfortable silence.
Is he for real? I honestly can’t be sure. I want to believe that he knows about demons. But I really don’t want to believe there’s still one inside me. I touch my stomach fleetingly with one hand. It doesn’t feel like I have anything inside me, not like it did before.
And what about the idea that there are more people with special powers out there? I know I’m definitely not supernatural. So what is true and what isn’t? Does the fact he’s wrong about me mean he’s wrong about everything? He could have made up that stuff about the spinning disks. It could be part of some kind of elaborate ruse to get me back to Ravenwood.
I let out an exasperated breath. I know that’s not true. Why on earth would they bother? They’d just swarm in here and grab me if they knew where I was.
So what’s this guy’s angle? Why is he here?
Does he really believe what he’s telling me?
I take another look. He seems sane. He’s not obviously a lunatic. And he appears perfectly serious. If there are demons—and I know there are—surely there could be other things out there, too?
Goose bumps appear along my arms, making me shiver despite the sunny day. As if I didn’t have enough trouble sleeping when I discovered demons were real. What the hell else is out there that’s going to scare me in the middle of the night?
“I can go on my own from here,” I say as we arrive at the stairs down to the ancient basement lab.
“I think you should go home. You’ve had a tough experience. I’ll drive you,” he says.
“It’s okay, I’ll be fine.” Aside from the fact that I don’t even know him, if he is who he says he is, I don’t want him knowing where I live. He and his buddy Detective Capello might know about demons, but no one else does. As soon as they start asking questions, I’ll be the one who ends up in a locked room with a straight jacket. I can’t let that happen, not when I’m so close to the answers I desperately need.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone,” he says, and manages to make it sound like I might be in danger.
I frown. “Why?”
His mouth thins into a line, and I can tell he’s still trying to figure out how much to tell me. “Just let me take you home, Hazel.”
“No.”
“This is important.” He hesitates. “I’ll tell you everything I know about demons on the drive.”
I stare up at him, wishing I could see his features clearly. Can I trust him? I know I shouldn’t let him get involved in my life. It’s too dangerous. But he knows about demons. And he’s promised not to call his buddy. Would it really hurt to let him drive me home? Especially if I can get information that might help me in my search for answers. I can tell him the wrong address, like I did for Detective Capello. “Fine. Just wait out here for me, okay?”
He nods reluctantly, and I don’t wait around, racing down the stairs into the basement. For some reason I can’t explain, I don’t want the Professor to know about him just yet.
Professor Hasselblatt is just where I left him earlier, hunched over the new machinery he’s somehow acquired. “Professor,” I say loudly.
He looks up, his twitchy white eyebrows showing his displeasure.
“I’m going home, Professor. I don’t feel well.”
“Off you go,” he says distractedly, waving me away. “You’ve just been annoying me this morning anyway.”
My lips twitch. That’s one of the reasons I like him. He doesn’t hold back.
I race into the junk room and grab my glasses off the floor. It’s a huge relief to be able to see things properly again. The glass from the bottle is still on the floor, and the wooden box is on the table, just where I left it. I grab a broom and dustpan from behind the door and quickly sweep up the glass on the floor, shoving it into the trash as fast as I can. I’ve got my bag and I’m about to head out the door again, when I hesitate.
Turning, I walk over to the box, peering inside at the contents. The objects call to me now, even more than before. If Blade can be trusted, they’re the real deal. I could do a bit of testing on the bottles at home tonight. The Professor will never know the difference. I grab two of the bottles and put them in the front pocket of my backpack, swinging it onto my shoulder.
I don’t bother to say goodbye as I leave. He’s already completely absorbed in what he’s doing.
Blade is waiting exactly where I left him at the top of the stairs, tall and unapproachable. I take a moment to really look at him, the first time with my glasses on. His features hit me like a punch to the stomach. His vibrant green eyes seem to see past my external layers, making me feel more vulnerable than I have in a long time. His rich golden brown skin is framed by dark hair that’s pushed off his face in a messy cut that’s ridiculously attractive. Stubble shadows his chin and surrounds his strangely lush lips.
I swallow hard. He’s way more good-looking than I realized.
Thankfully, he just nods when he sees me, then turns and walks back along the hallway. If he noticed me staring, he’s ignoring it. I manage to push down my sudden nerves and run to catch up. I have to walk fast to keep up with his long stride, and it’s not long before we’re back out in the sunlight.
As we walk toward his car, a strange buzzing noise makes those sensitive hairs on the back of my neck rise again. It’s the kind of off-key noise that grates on my nerves, like fingernails on a chalkboard. Searching around, I don’t see anything immediately—until I look up.
On top of the main dormitory is an enormous glowing beast, crouched like he’s just waiting to leap down onto the students below.
Another demon. I freeze.
It’s about the size of a small car, but in the shape of a really scary stone gargoyle. It’s got long forearms, burning black eyes, ears that point up like a Doberman’s, and teeth too big for its mouth. I’ve never seen one of them during the day. I didn’t even realize they came out in sunlight. I’ve been hunting them at night because tha
t’s the only time I’ve ever seen them.
Is it really a demon? It’s not like the other ones I’ve seen, not exactly, other than the blue glow. Or is it another supernatural beast that I’m going to have to overcome now that Blade has let me in on the secret? The thought makes my stomach clench and my breakfast churn like it’s about to come back up.
Blade glances back impatiently, but stops when he realizes I’m not following. His nose twitches and he immediately searches the area around us. I can tell when he spots the demon, because his whole body tenses.
“What is it?” I ask through clenched teeth, like I’m trying to pretend I’m not really talking in front of the creature. “I thought Stanford was kept clear of supernatural creatures?”
As we watch, the demon sniffs the air. It very slowly turns its gaze until it’s staring directly at me. Those burning eyes glow bright blue, and a slow smile emerges on its face.
“It’s a demon,” says Blade grimly. “And it’s come for you.”
12
“You used the disk, didn’t you?” he says.
“Uh…”
“And here I was, thinking you were too smart to do something so dumb.”
“I just let it spin a little,” I say indignantly. “I didn’t know what it was.”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” he murmurs, almost to himself.
“What does using the disk do, precisely?” I ask. I mean, clearly, it’s bad, because he’s associating it with the appearance of the demon. But how bad?
“You called a demon to you. Probably more than one. And now they’re going to hunt you and kill you.”
Wide eyed, I look from Blade to the monster on top of the building. “I didn’t know. I didn’t mean—”
“Just stay here. Don’t go anywhere.” Blade runs off in the opposite direction from the demon. I stare after him in confusion. Where the hell is he going? Did he just desert the sinking ship? Should I really listen to the guy I just met when there’s a really insistent voice inside my head, telling me to run, and run fast?
