by Wendy Cole
Red opened the door without knocking, and as I followed her lead, I found a group of people all sitting in a circle, four candles strategically placed around them.
I did a head count. Four guys. Three girls. One, I couldn’t see past the dark black hood covering their head. They were all staring intently at what lay on the floor between them—so much so that they didn’t notice our entrance.
“Hi, guys!” Red shouted.
“Oh fuck!” a guy hissed as another girl let out a blood-curdling scream.
“What the fuck, Red!” came a deep male voice. It was the hooded figure. He flipped back the garment, allowing me to see he was nothing more than a young man with a baby face. “You scared the shit out of me!”
Red smiled, not sheepishly at all. “What the hell are you all doing sitting in the fucking dark?”
“Rick got a Ouija board,” one of the girls answered, sounding excited. “We’re trying to make it work.”
“No way!” Red plopped down in an empty spot. “I just finished reading this book about a sexy demon. You think you could try for one of those?” She bounced in place, leaning forward to inspect the wooden board.
Sexy demon. Fuck you.
I took a step back, clutching my purse tighter.
“Amelia!” Red motioned for me. “Guys, this is my new friend Amelia.”
I chewed my lip, weighing my options. Have a seat or make the long walk back in the dark? I clutched my purse again as realization dawned. Brady couldn’t come. Demons probably weren’t real.
Heaving a sigh, I dropped down between Red and Rick. “Hi, everyone.”
A chorus of welcomes and hellos filled the air around me, and along with it came a feeling of ease, almost comfort. I looked around at the easy expressions and realized this wasn’t like a party. This was a gathering, and each person here wasn’t just a mindless body fueled by hormones and a need for alcohol. As a matter of fact, no one even seemed to be drinking. I eased further.
“Okay,” Rick prompted, pulling his hood back into place.
Everyone leaned forward, placing their fingers onto the little plastic piece on top of the board. They looked at me, and I sat torn for a moment. There wasn’t enough room between me and either of the people beside me, it was too big to put in my lap and still be able to lean forward, but I was absolutely unwilling to relinquish the purse. After a full minute of being stared at, I finally opted to place it behind me. It will be okay. It will be safe.
“Are there any spirits who wish to communicate with us?” Rick asked in a voice a little too theatrical.
“Are there any sexy demons?” Red added.
The plastic began to move. It swirled around the board twice before settling down on the word yes.
Red bounced. “Yeah, buddy! I’m gettin’ me some today!”
A couple of people laughed, but Rick’s expression remained flat. “They were obviously answering me.”
“Nu-uh.”
“Yes-huh,” Rick countered. “What is your name?” he asked the air.
Everyone’s eyes went to the board, and minutes ticked by like hours. I stared in anticipation, even though I knew no spirits were involved. They couldn’t be. I had the stones.
The plastic once again began to move. It swirled twice.
“B,” a chorus of voices sang out. Another two swirls. “R.” My breath locked within my chest. “A.” I was sweating. Definitely sweating. “D.” Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He couldn’t. He can’t. I have the stones. “Y.”
“See, Red? No sexy demon has a name like Brady.”
Red said something, but my ears heard nothing but white noise. My gaze drifted outside the circle, around the darkness beyond the candles glow. I slowly pulled a hand away and reached back. My fingers found hardwood, then more of it. I jerked and flipped around. It was gone! Gone!
“My purse!” I shouted. “Where’s my purse!” My voice was manic, far too desperate over what shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. At least, not as big of a deal as it was.
Red looked around. “Did you leave it in the car?”
“No!” I searched, heart pounding, hands shaking.
“Relax,” Red cooed, her hand landing on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me. “It has to be around here somewhere.”
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed through the room, and bright, red light, like a burning flame, filled the center of our circle. It blinded me, but the shouting let me know the others saw it too.
Red gripped my hand, pulling me back, but we’d only made it a couple of inches before the light disappeared, revealing the chiseled, fiery red body, of one very real, in the flesh, sexy demon.
“Did someone summon me?” Brady’s voice boomed throughout the room.
I looked up, and sure enough, despite his demonic coloring, it was most definitely Brady.
Screams erupted once again, and I looked around to see everyone scrambling backward in a desperate fight to escape. All except for Red that is. She was frozen in place, mouth open in either shock or awe. I couldn’t tell which.
Brady let out a deep throaty chuckle. “I demand a sacrifice!” He pointed in my direction.
I met his gaze, saw the twinkling eyes, the anticipation. “You wanted a demon. I always deliver.” He crooked a finger, and my legs straitened on their own accord. I took two steps forward, and no matter how hard I fought against the compulsion when he crooked his finger again, I repeated the action. I was stepping right into the danger zone, and within it was one very devious looking devil.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Brady kept that same devious smile in place until I was within reach, then snatched my hand and tugged me towards him. I slammed into his blood red chest, and it was smooth, hard, and far too nice considering the circumstances.
“Rocks, Amelia?”
I looked up at him, and he wore a slightly amused, slightly condescending expression.
“How did you—”
Brady pressed a finger to my lips, then turned his attention to the rest of the terrified group. “You saw nothing,” he said in that strange voice of his, and everyone, to my dismay, reformed the circle as if we no longer existed. Brady’s head nodded in satisfaction as he took in the dutiful little souls. That was until his gaze landed on Red.
She hadn’t budged, not an inch, and her mouth was still gapingly wide as she stared up at him.
“You saw nothing!” Brady hissed, and I could feel the air fizzle and crack with the command.
“Like hell, I didn’t!” Red shouted. “I see you. Dammit, I see you!” Her hand came up to her forehead, then slowly ran down her face. “You are…you’re…you’re fucking glorious!”
Brady’s eyebrows furrowed. “You saw nothing.” His voice was quiet, testing.
Me, I was the one in awe now, only it wasn’t of Brady.
Red’s lips curved into a half-crazy, half-seductive smirk. “Oh, yes I do,” she sang. Then, like a soldier trained for combat, she hopped to her feet and stood ramrod straight. “I offer myself as tribute!” She shot her arm into the air and pointed at herself with the other. “I shall be your sacrifice, oh fiery, sex kitten.”
Brady stiffened, and his grip on my waist tightened. He looked around the circle of others, then growled, “Everyone else saw nothing. You all think the redhead is crazy!”
Red laughed. “Ha! Joke’s on you! They already think that!” She pointed a finger at him.
Brady ignored her. His arms formed a vice hold around me, smashing me against his unyielding chest. The move squished my face, lips puckering in what I’m sure was a very fish-like and unattractive expression.
Everything happened so fast. My eyes met Red’s, and I managed a very muffled, “Help,” just before a brilliant blue light blinded me.
The ground beneath my feet vanished. My stomach jumped into my throat, and every ounce of air whooshed out of my chest. I was flying but not flying, falling but not falling. I was up, down, and sideways all at once. I wrapped my arm
s around the only thing that remained of my existence, and unfortunately, it just happened to be the most unreal part of it.
Brady’s chest heaved beneath my cheek the moment I hugged him, and I felt his chin rest against the top of my head. I would have objected had it not been for the lack of, well, everything.
Just when I’d thought I’d had enough, that I’d pass out or die, my feet finally settled down onto a surface, and the world slowly began to come back into view.
To my surprise, as my eyes readjusted, I found myself in the last place I’d thought he’d take me to: my dorm room. I looked up to question him, but the familiar electric blue shimmering through his irises made me pull away.
Brady held firm. “You’ll fall,” he explained, then ever so gently, he turned and lowered me down onto the edge of my bed.
He looked around the room. “This is it?”
I let my own gaze wander around my meager and bare furnishings, and anger made its way past the fog in my brain. “My last place was fucking haunted.”
Brady tilted his head and rolled his shoulder in a smooth sort of way. “I suppose you’re wondering why I brought you here.”
I watched him closely, waiting for a trick. Brady took my silence as a prompt to continue. “This is where you want to be, is it not?”
I nodded once, but I wasn’t biting. This was a trick. It was always a trick. Everything was always a fucking trick. My hands gripped the edge of the bare mattress. Brady took two steps closer, then dropped down onto his heels in front of me. He was so massive, it put him almost eye level, and it was hard to think with those electric blues fixed so intently with mine.
“That’s why I brought you here. A show of good faith. In return, I need you to not pull any more stunts like the one you just pulled.”
“I want you to go away,” I managed, but my voice was too quiet and weak for my liking.
He pushed himself up and turned. I watched as he wandered the small room, taking in Red’s side, then my empty half. His gaze landed on the large space between the foot of my bed and the far wall. He didn’t look back at me, didn’t acknowledge my statement. Instead, his hand came out, and to my shock and amazement, a massive cherry wood desk appeared out of thin air to settle into the spot.
He turned to me, but his eyes focused on the mattress, and as he waved his hand again, I found myself sitting on a thick duvet. The feel of it was unlike any material I’d ever come in contact with, not cotton, not silk. Instinctively, my hands ran over the surface, and the texture could only be described by its creation—magic.
“What are you doing?” I asked, keeping my voice even so as not to show how much I wanted to keep the gifts. You don’t accept gifts from the devil. And that’s what Brady was, a devil trying to coerce me, trying to steal my soul.
“I need to explain some things to you,” he said evenly, all the while still waving his hand about, a new item appearing each time he did. Pillows, stationary, books, a laptop—I didn’t bother pointing out that I still had one. “There are things you don’t know, things you couldn’t even begin to understand.” He stopped and looked at me. “There is a whole part of this world you have no idea about.” He stepped forward and took a seat beside me.
To my surprise, I didn’t move away even though his leg was flush against mine, even though I could feel slight pulses of electricity from the mere contact. His eyes were no longer electric, but still, when they met mine, I couldn’t look away. It had to be magic, some sort of spell, but regardless, I listened.
“I’ll show it to you,” he continued. “But first, I need you to understand something more important. As much as you think you hate me, I’m not the one you need to be afraid of. Whatever sent your little,” he paused, and his lips twitched, “Piggybacking friend at the hotel room, isn’t something you want to be caught alone with.”
I swallowed hard and took in his serious expression. There was something worse than that thing? Something worse than Brady? “You mean—”
“I mean,” he gripped my hand tightly, “you need me, Amelia. I can protect you. I want to protect you. But I can do nothing if you keep fighting against me.”
The stones. “How did you get them?” I asked suddenly, pulling my hand away. “How’d you—”
He smirked that infuriating smirk that helped break the spell a little. “Think about it, Sweetheart. All I had to do was have someone go in and get them. You were all too busy playing with that stupid board to even notice.” He made a tutting noise as he shook his head. “See? This is why you need me.”
“I don’t!”
“You do!” he snapped, silencing me with his tone. He took a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled it slowly. “I will do so without interfering. I won’t scare you. I won’t mess with you. I’m sorry. You’re just so—”
Once again, I sat silent. Did he just apologize? I’m sorry? I’m fucking sorry? A roaring sound filled my ears. “You’re sorry! Sorry! Fuck off with your sorry! You ruined my entire—”
Brady held a hand up, and my voice locked into my throat. I tried to speak, to continue to rant, to hit him, but I was frozen in place by whatever magic he’d placed on me.
“Yes. Exactly. I’m sorry. Now,” he looked at me levelly, “here’s the deal. I am going to protect you, Amelia. Whether or not you stay in this dorm, go to this school, live the normal, boring, bland life you treasure so much, depends on your cooperation.”
My muscles relaxed as he stood and slowly paced the room. He gestured towards each wall, the window, the doorframe, and glowing blue swirls of light trailed each motion. All whilst chanting, low and smooth, his voice like smoke, the language too foreign to be human.
“What is that?” I asked. I wanted to scream some more, to argue, but his words echoed through my mind. There was no getting away. This only proved it. Cooperation in exchange for freedom…
“I’m making it so no more of your little friends or enemies,” he glanced in my direction, “can come in.”
He must have finished because he stopped chanting and turned around. “Good night, Amelia. You need to rest. I’ll be back to explain more tomorrow, but remember what I said. Don’t make me regret this decision any more than I already do.” With that, he disappeared, and all I could do was stare at the empty spot, wondering how my mind would ever be able to keep up with this rollercoaster of a life I’d been given.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Red arrived home to find me still seated on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing. “Are you okay?” she asked, her tone matching her steps as she slowly approached. “Amelia?” She gripped my shoulders and forced me to look at her.
“I’m fine.” My voice was monotone. The response was automatic. Was I okay? I couldn’t even answer. I wasn’t sure what okay meant. Had I ever been okay?
“Did it just bring you back here?” She studied my face then her eyes traveled over me in what appeared to be an injury check. “That was some wild shit. Nobody else remembers any of it.”
My tongue twisted inside my mouth. How was she so immune to him? I became torn. On the one hand, I could try to discover the cause of this unique skill she had and mimic it, or take the safer route and feign ignorance of the whole thing. My whole life I’d been hiding and fighting to keep the secret—to be normal.
Red wore an open expression. Why is she not freaked out? Why is she not a terrified ball of screams and wet pants? “Are you okay?” I asked.
Red’s lips curved. “Are you serious? I’m not the one who got kidnapped by a Ouija Demon.”
“I guess that’s—”
“I’m mortified! There it was, rippling and ready to reenact some very heated novel scenes, and then poof, he was gone.” She shook her head sadly. “Tell me though! What happened? Did he bind your soul to his because you’re his one true love, and he likes your ass?”
“What?” I blinked at her.
“That’s what happened in the book. Did he take you to his fiery hell to make sweet, sweet—”
“Oh, honey, that was definitely male.”
Her words conjured an image of the devil himself that had my skin tingling. Damn him! Damn him for being so magically fucking attractive!
“It’s a demon! Not a plaything! Don’t you know what demons do? They kill people! Take your soul and bathe in your blood. Torture you for all eternity!” How could she be so easy going with this? “It shouldn’t be real! He shouldn’t be able to do that, to exist! Why are you okay with him fucking existing!”
“Okay with it! I feel like a fisherman that just saw that mega, bus-sized fucking catfish! It was amazing, and I wanted to get it in my boat,” she paused to motion towards her pants and wiggle her brows at me, “but the damn thing got away! And now nobody’s going to believe me when I tell them about that magnificent demon-fish I saw!” She took a deep breath. “Except for you!” She gripped my shoulder again, like a desperate woman. “You saw him too!”
“I didn’t want to!” I released a growl and shoved her unceremoniously off of my bed. “Go to bed! Go to bed and forget about demons. They suck!” I flopped down onto my amazing new bedspread and tried to ignore how good it felt against my skin.
Red made a noise. “Well, guess I know somebody didn’t get any demon tail.”
I lifted the pillow and pulled it over my ear. I’d always thought having someone believe me, someone to confide in, to share the burden with, would be a blessing. Now, I wanted to go back in time and warn myself about that wish. It wasn’t helping, not at all.
***
Brady hadn’t lied, or at least, so far he’d stayed true to his promise. I got up like a normal person, got dressed like a normal person and ate breakfast like a normal person. Every class was uneventful. Even mythology, which suddenly had a new teacher who didn’t seem to have any clue that there was another before them, and strangely, neither did any student.
