Breathing hard, I stared down at Zane’s body, shaking the pain from my fingers. “I’m really sorry about that.”
Agatha strode over and stood at my side, her arms crossed. “What do we do? I can go get another soap container. I have, like, a hundred.”
Zane stirred a bit. My muscles tightened, ready to take him out again should he try anything.
“Well, the bad news is that I’ve never done a successful exorcism.”
“And the good news?”
“Um, I have some holy water in the van?” I sighed. “That’s about it.”
The door swung open behind us. Mikey walked in, long Cheeto streaks on his gray hoodie, which read RDF, and underneath Resting Dick Face.
Well, shit. I stared at him as his gaze darted between the three of us, waiting for the odd scene in front of him to register. So…this would be fun to explain.
17
Mikey jerked to a stop. “Um, what the fuck?”
Agatha went rigid.
“He passed out,” I blurted, tossing a look at Agatha, who nodded like a bobble-head.
Mikey eyed the crutches. “Uh-huh. And”—he pointed at both of us—“what are you two doing in here?”
I shrugged, leaning into my back leg, trying to look as casual as possible. “I really had to go, and…uh…”
“The girl’s bathroom was wet,” Agatha piped in.
“Right. Wet.” I nodded. “Wet with all that water.”
“Uh-huh. Zane, you dead?” When Zane groaned, Mikey shrugged and turned to Agatha. “Hey, Aggie, looking good. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”
A vivid shade of red bloomed across her whole face. “Th—thank you.”
He strolled over, placing orange-tipped fingers in the front pockets of his Resting Dick Face hoodie. A noise like Styrofoam sounded. So that was where he kept his Cheetos.
“So…” He lifted himself up onto his toes and then rocked back. “What are you doing later?”
“Um, nothing.” She clutched her right wrist into her left hand and toed a crumpled paper towel on the ground. “Nothing. I’m not doing anything.”
He nodded while eyeing her up and down as if coating her body with sleazy Cheetos dust. “You want to meet me outside the library after curfew? I want to talk to you about something.”
She turned to me, but I tried my best to set Mikey on fire with my gaze. I didn’t like the fact that he was suddenly being so nice to her when it didn’t seem to come from an honest place.
“Um.” She tapped her foot against the floor. “I guess—I guess so.”
Mikey nodded. “Cool.”
“Great, anything else you want?” My voice came out spiked like barbed wire.
Mikey laughed. “I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” A taunt gleamed in his eyes, a smug little light I wanted to snuff out.
“Yeah, we’re kinda in the middle of something,” I said.
He dropped his gaze to Zane. “Yeah, don’t let me interrupt. Funny how you came in here just as he passed out.”
Zane groaned again.
“Yeah, funny,” I agreed. “He was lucky.”
Mikey hiked a thumb toward the urinals. “Well, I got it from here. Do you mind?”
I rubbed my palms against my cargoes. We really shouldn’t be leaving Zane here in his possessed state.
“Or I can report you to Mrs. Crenshaw,” Mikey said, a casual smile playing at his lips. “You know, for playing weird sex games in the boys’ bathroom.”
“Are you serious?” I snapped.
Agatha tugged at my arm. “Come on, Kasey, let’s go.”
“Fine,” I said, poisonous darts in my glare. “When he wakes up, you can tell him he should really stay off that leg and to leave his cast alone and…maybe say a prayer for him.” Anything to help him.
“Yeah. I’ll get right on that.” He waved us toward the door, then shot Agatha a sly smile. “I’ll see you later, Aggie.”
She flushed and nodded. A shy little schoolgirl.
I almost threw up in my mouth. Frustrated, I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out the door.
As soon as we were back out in the hall, I rounded on her. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
She glanced back at the bathroom door, a wistful smile stuck to her face. “Am I sure what’s a good idea?”
“Meeting up with Mikey after curfew.”
Her eyes turned to slits, her puppy love instantly forgotten. “What do you care? I thought you didn’t like him.”
“I don’t. Like, I really don’t.” I wound my arm through hers and led her away from the bathroom a couple feet.
“Then what’s the issue?” she demanded.
I sighed, afraid to voice my real concerns and piss Agatha off further. That it was some sort of game to stand her up or get her alone. Or worse. “I don’t know. I just don’t want you to get in trouble.”
She shrugged. “I’ll just have to make sure I don’t get caught.”
I took a deep breath and decided to move along to the most pressing problem since I could only deal with one at a time. “What are we going to do about Zane?”
“Wait until Mikey leaves and then go back in?”
Well, yeah. That was my plan, but I meant afterward. We couldn’t exactly stuff him away somewhere until we figured out what to do.
Several moments passed. I tapped my foot, paced the tiles, and chomped on my nails. Finally, Mikey came out with Zane smiling at his side. My stomach leaped at the sight of him. He looked almost normal, aside from the cast and crutches, but when he glanced up, black had swallowed his eyes once again.
“What are you guys still doing here?” Mikey asked, unaware of the change in Zane’s eye color.
“Just wanted to make sure Zane was…okay,” I said, staring at him. He most definitely wasn’t.
“Yeah, he seems a little out of it.” Mikey pointed down the hall. “I’m going to walk him back to the dorm.”
“Icantakehim,” I blurted. “I mean… Yeah. I can take him.”
“Girls aren’t allowed in the guys’ dorm.” He smiled and it took every ounce of my self-control not to slap it off his face. “I got him.”
Zane’s eyes flicked back to normal as he nodded at Mikey, and they both slowly took off down the hall, Zane’s crutches rattling beneath his weight.
“Change of plan, Agatha,” I said, glaring after them. “I need you to call me if Zane does anything crazy. We’ll go shopping another day, okay?”
“What are you going to do?”
I squared my shoulders as all my doubts bubbled up to the surface of my skin. “I’m going to get help.”
* * *
Every inch of my skin crawled with nerves as I drove Miss Molly’s piece of crap church van down highway 11E. The damned thing bucked and rattled the entire way. Each time impatience pressed my foot harder to the accelerator, the van bit back, vibrating the engine like it was on the verge of exploding. I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles lost their color. I was in the middle of what Mauve—on the few occasions she used profanity—called a colossal fuck-all.
The rage in Zane’s eyes when he’d attacked kept surfacing to the forefront of my thoughts. Every now and then, my gaze darted to the passenger seat where my cell phone sat. I kept expecting it to ring with Agatha on the other end, hysterically informing me that Zane had snapped and burned Miss Molly’s Home for Troubled Teens to the ground.
That brought up the issue of Not Miss Molly herself. Where was she? Was she okay? But the thing that was really digging under my skin was that if Mom no longer ruled Hell, why hadn’t she come for me so we could go into hiding together? I felt like a pawn in the middle of a drunk chess game.
Finally, I pulled up to the curb by The Coveted Closet. I grabbed my phone then removed Blade’s flask of holy water with the naked lady on the front from the center console. With it secured in the back pocket of my cargo pants, I slid out of the van. The cold, windy air nipped at my cheeks, and I hugged myself as
I headed for the door. Clinking wood chimes announced my arrival to chaos and clutter and patchouli incense. Somehow, all of it soothed me.
The tall, cheery girl who had directed me to Maria last time stood behind the counter, fooling around with the antique register. There were even a few random shoppers strolling between the racks of clothing, picking up random knickknacks, and then placing them back down again.
The girl behind the counter waved so enthusiastically that I thought she might tip over. She pointed to the ceiling, and I nodded and headed upstairs.
A few seconds after my knock, a voice called, “Come in.”
I ducked inside and blinked the brightness of the room out of my eyes. Maria, who was seated on top of her desk, legs crossed like a graceful swan, smiled.
She removed the spectacles perched on the edge of her nose. “Kiera! What brings you here?”
I closed the door and leaned against it. When I opened my mouth to speak, the weight of everything that had happened hit me with a sudden burning at the backs of my eyes.
“Kiera?” She slid off the desk and strode over, her long dark hair waving around her beautiful face. “Are you all right?”
Her voice was soft as hellhound fur. I opened my mouth to answer, but only a choking sound fell out.
“Oh dear,” she said, pulling me farther into her office. “Have a seat. I expect you’ve heard about your mom? Everything’s going to be okay.”
I sank into the chair, my legs on the verge of giving out. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay.” She glided behind her desk, the fabric of her white skirt and jacket rustling with her movements. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
I unloaded everything on her. The longer I spoke, the wider her eyes stretched.
When I finished, she pressed her hand to her forehead. “Oh my.”
“Yeah. And I don’t know how to help Zane because I’m crap at exorcisms, especially without magic. And I don’t know how to find Not Miss Molly. And where is my mom?” The tears I’d been trying to control gushed free.
Maria pushed the crystal bowl of brightly colored candies closer. “Take some. It will help.”
I dived in, throwing handfuls into my mouth between sobs.
“Honey, I can’t even begin to imagine what life is like for you right now.” She offered a grim smile. “I don’t know where your mom is. Nobody does. Not even your grandparents. They think something… They think she’s somewhere safe, but they don’t have any idea where. They’re so worried about her. And you. They want you to come visit so they can protect you.”
“But I can’t just leave Zane and Not Miss Molly possessed.”
She tapped her chin with a perfectly manicured fingernail, then pushed to her feet. “Helping Zane will be easy.” She retrieved an ivory flask from a shelf mounted on the wall behind the desk and poured clear liquid from a bottle into it. Then she handed it to me. “This is holy wine. It’s more powerful than holy water.”
The flask was surprisingly cold to the touch. M.G. was engraved on the side among ivory swirls.
“A sip of that should get rid of the demon.” She leaned on the corner of her desk beside me. “Just be careful. Too much can send him into a dangerous euphoria.”
I thumbed the delicate ivory swirls. “Thank you.”
“As far as Miss Molly is concerned… You need to remember who you are, Kiera. You’re not helpless.” Her warm gaze was kind, yet sharp, and her tone held a little bite. “What do you know about demons? What do they want? How do they think?”
“Right.” I heaved a shaky breath and eyed the candy bowl. That stuff was like crack, but I kept my hands to myself so I could focus. “I follow you.”
She nodded and set her spectacles on her nose again. “Good.”
Another problem balanced on the tip of my tongue that I couldn’t seem to push out.
“Is there something else, Kiera?”
My phone rang and vibrated against my hip. I held up a finger, dug the phone out of my pocket, and pressed it against my ear. “Agatha?”
“Kasey? You have to get back…” Static garbled the tail end of whatever she was saying.
“Agatha? I can’t hear you.” My breath hung in my throat.
There was a brief rush of interference, followed by, “Get back here. Now!”
My stomach tied into knots. “I’m on my way.”
Something crashed in the background. Then a horrified scream.
I gripped my phone tighter. “Just…try to hang on.” I hung up and glanced at Maria. “I have to go.”
“I know.” She stood, rounded her desk, and pulled me into an embrace, taking me by surprise.
My body went rigid. Still, her hug felt nice. Motherly. I relaxed and squeezed her back, breathing in her smell of patchouli-laced warmed chocolate. Was that what Heaven smelled like?
“I have something else for you before you go.” She pulled away, hooked her fingers around a necklace hidden underneath her shirt, and took a small vial filled with blue liquid specked with silver. It looked like a mini sky full of stars. “Turn around and I’ll put it on you.”
I did and lifted the stray hairs from my messy bun so she could fasten the necklace around my neck. It felt cold against my skin, like the bite of winter’s first frost.
“What is it?” I asked, pinching the vial between my fingers.
“Just a small miracle.”
Was she being serious? I’d heard that miracles could be bottled—much like sin—at the hands of someone really skilled, but I’d never been this close to one.
“You never know when you might need a miracle. Just don’t expect something big,” she warned. “People hear the word miracle, and they expect grand, sweeping events.”
Kind of like sin in a way. A little sin wasn’t all bad. “Why would you give a miracle to the heir of Hell?”
She tucked my hair behind my ear, making me feel like a little girl again. “Because you might need it. Everyone needs a little help every now and again.” She tapped the vial resting just above my heart. “Now go.”
* * *
I tried calling Agatha three times on my way back to Miss Molly’s. All three times, it went straight to voice mail. The van chugged along maddeningly slow, but I finally arrived at Miss Molly’s. Almost as soon as I tore inside, shouting echoed from down the hall. I turned left and sprinted to the common room in record time.
It took me a second to understand what was happening. Everyone gathered near the corner of the room. For a moment, it reminded me of the scene I walked in on in the girls’ dormitory with Agatha rocking in the middle of a similar circle of bodies.
Agatha bustled near the edge of the circle. She was holding someone back. Zane. He was red in the face, and he wore mirrored sunglasses over his normal glasses likely to hide the fact that he was possessed. Saliva flew from his mouth as he spouted curse words at Mikey. Some of the other boys held Mikey back, who smirked a few feet away from Zane.
“Let the little bitch go,” Zane snarled. “He doesn’t have the balls to come at me.”
I reached into my pocket and clutched the ivory flask Maria had given me so tight that my fingers buzzed from the strain. I edged forward, my stomach lurching. This was all my fault. I should’ve been faster getting help for him.
“Zane, knock it off,” Agatha said, gripping his shoulders from behind. With the size of her arm muscles, she didn’t appear to have too much trouble. “Come on, let’s go somewhere and cool out.”
“You heard your girlfriend, Zane. Get the hell out of here,” a boy with red hair and a shiny nose said.
Agatha’s face blazed, and I thought for one awful second that she would release Zane and sic both him and the demon inside him on the entire school.
I unscrewed the top on the flask as I elbowed toward Agatha and Zane. Movement blurred past the right side of my vision. Mrs. Crenshaw bumped my arm as she swept toward the group, her normally tidy hair flying away from her face.
“What is going on i
n here?” she yelled.
The circle broke up a bit, and Mikey slumped his shoulders. Zane lunged at him, and Agatha’s socked feet slid on the floor as she pulled him back.
I sidestepped Mrs. Crenshaw to help Agatha, whose face flooded with relief as soon as she saw me.
“Zane.” I shoved my hand into his chest. “Come with me.”
He turned his head toward me, and even behind his mirrored sunglasses, his fury was crystal clear. A shiver raced across my shoulder blades.
“I said what’s going on here!” Mrs. Crenshaw shouted.
“WWE wrestling?” someone said.
She pointed toward the door. “Everyone, get out.”
The group flowed out of the room, shooting disappointed glances over their shoulders. Zane’s murderous gaze followed Mikey.
Mrs. Crenshaw moved forward. “Mr. Wilmont, what’s going on? What happened to your leg?”
Zane sneered. “Don’t talk to me, human.”
A muscle in Mrs. Crenshaw’s clenched jaw twitched. “Excuse—”
Zane reared back in a swift movement, then he launched his fist right at her face.
“No!” I shouted.
But she bobbed out of the way like a prizefighter, pulled something out of her skirt pocket, and let loose a spray into Zane’s eyes. He smashed his hands over his sunglasses and let out a pained, two-tonal howl.
The spicy smell made my eyes burn, and I hadn’t even been sprayed. Agatha doubled over and gagged.
“You are out of here, Mr. Wilmont!” Mrs. Crenshaw shouted. “Have you lost your damned mind? Trying to hit a grown-ass woman?”
Zane slumped to the floor while she towered over him, her fists posted on her hips and her purple-painted mouth curled in rage.
Agatha had her eyes closed and stumbled with her arms stretched out. I hurried over to help her, and when I turned back, Mrs. Crenshaw had pulled out her cell phone.
“They’ll teach you how to check yourself at Parker Hall!” She eyed me then Agatha. “Girls, get yourselves to Miss Molly’s office. I’ll come tend to you after I deal with him. Now!” She stalked out with her phone pressed to her ear before anyone could say anything else.
Daring the Devil (Reigning Hell Book 1) Page 13
