Intern: A 13 Covens Magical World Adventure (YA)

by Cassandra

  “I know what you are,” the woman mouthed.

  Her eyebrows shot so far upward that they almost disappeared into her hairline. She watched as the woman passed their table with her large ice cream sundae in hand and sat in the red booth directly behind them.

  Jessica blinked, unsure whether or not the woman had actually spoken out loud. Judging by the way Kacey continued to talk and eat his ice cream sandwich, he still hadn’t noticed anything exceptionally unusual. He certainly hadn’t heard the woman.

  Her mouth went dry despite the ice cream she’d been eating. A cold chill went down her spine, and she suddenly no longer had a taste for her dessert. She felt too cold to finish it.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked when he finally sensed that something was amiss. “You don’t like your ice cream?”

  “Huh? No, it’s only… I had too much popcorn and candy, that’s all.” Jessica looked at the pathetically melting ice cream cone. She grimaced at the stickiness of it on her fingers and chanced a glance at the strange woman again. She caught her eye right as the stranger dropped the cherry into her mouth.

  She smiled at Jessica and began whistling again. It was the same creepy tune that Jessica couldn’t place. A little desperately, she sifted through her memories until it finally dawned on her. Her eyes widened. She suddenly knew exactly where she had heard that odd little tune before.

  At the church. It was the crazy man’s tune, the one who had yelled at Pastor Norman after services had ended. The one Grandma Ethel had told her was a demon. An Aquiel demon, to be more precise. A demon that could jump into bodies and possess innocent people.

  Jessica swore repeatedly in her mind. The woman, whoever she was, had initially been a normal person before the evil creature took over her flesh. She could hardly fathom what it must feel like to be possessed by a demon. To feel trapped inside your own body. To be a passenger inside your own body instead of being in control. It was a thought too terrifying to consider, and by no means did she ever want to find out what it was like firsthand.

  She stared at Kacey—she didn’t want him to have the misfortune of experiencing that either.

  When something brushed against her hand, she nearly jumped out of her chair. With a start, she realized it was Kacey. He had reached across the table to take her hand briefly in his.

  “I’m sorry.” He withdrew his hand quickly and a slight flush infused his face.

  “I need to call Pastor Norman,” Jessica muttered aloud without thinking.

  He stared at her from across the table, his eyes wide. “You… What?”

  “Pastor Norman.”

  “Your pastor? Are you serious? Why? It’s not because of me, is it?”

  “Huh?” she only halfway paid him any attention.

  “Jesus, you’re all pale. Look, Jessica. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just… I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear.” He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “All I did was touch your hand. I won’t do it again. I’m sorry. Come on, Jess. We’re two friends hanging out, that’s all. This is all perfectly innocent. Why do you need to call a pastor over this? It’s not that serious. Look, if I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”

  Jessica had thoroughly tuned him out by now. On some level, she knew he had made the wrong assumption. But with a body-hopping demon behind them, she didn’t have time to explain herself. And what would she say anyway? “Hold on a second, Kacey. There’s a demon behind you. Let me call my pastor to come to kill it right quick. It must have gotten away from him earlier today. Just be still. If we don’t make any sudden movements, maybe it won’t get us. Got it? Good.”

  Kacey continued to squirm and ramble on while she pulled her phone out and quickly scrolled through her contact list for Pastor Norman’s number. She cast another glance at the demon and tried to keep her gaze nonchalant.

  “Hello? Jessica?” Pastor Norman’s voice came through the line.

  She lowered the volume on her phone hastily and turned sideways in her seat as she tried to look casual. “Hello,” she squeaked. So much for acting casual.

  “Jessica, really.” Kacey panicked across the table. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. “It’s not that serious. We’re not doing anything wrong. You don’t have to call.”

  “I’ve found the…the Aquiel,” she whispered into the phone and twisted even farther in her seat.

  “Where?” Pastor Norman asked instantly.

  “At the ice cream parlor. Not Betty’s.”

  “The place you kids like to hang out?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Stay put. And whatever you do, don’t try to fight it. I know you’ve fought demons before, but this one is different. You can’t risk it possessing you. Keep your eye on it, but do not, under any circumstances, engage it. Do you understand?” His voice was suddenly solemn.

  “Yes.”

  “Is Chad with you?” Pastor Norman asked. “If so, he could take care of it.”

  Jessica looked at Kacey. “No. I’m with a friend.”

  “A decent well-mannered respectful friend who hasn’t done anything wrong,” Kacey blurted.

  Jessica shot a quizzical look across the table. She was confused but didn’t have the headspace to consider what he was talking about so simply turned away.

  “All right,” Pastor Norman concluded. “Stay put. And make sure your friend stays put too. I’m on my way.”

  “Okay. See you soon.” Jessica ended the call, took a deep breath, and tried to slow her racing heart.

  “You… Did you just… You invited your pastor? You invited your pastor here, Jessica? With us?” Kacey leaned back in his chair and looked completely thunderstruck.

  It finally occurred to her how unusual the conversation must have seemed from his perspective. No, it wasn’t exactly normal for a teenager to abruptly call her pastor during the middle of an outing with a friend that was very likely a date, let alone to suddenly invite him on the date.

  He must think I’m insane, she thought.

  Jessica closed her eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of her nose as she wondered how she could possibly explain herself. When she opened her eyes again, she was fully prepared to spout off some excuse. Instead, her voice froze in her throat and her eyes fixed on the space behind their booth.

  The woman—or demon—was gone.

  Pastor Norman had asked her to keep her eye on the thing and she had failed him already.

  She swore, dropped her ice cream cone, and couldn’t bring herself to care about the mess she made.

  “What is it now?” Kacey asked, his voice weary. The expression on his face would have been comical if Jessica wasn’t so upset.

  She scooped it up, stood, and headed quickly to the trash can to throw out her smashed, half-eaten ice cream cone. That done, she grabbed some napkins and cleaned her hands as best as she could before she threw them into the trash as well.

  “Stay here,” she snapped as she bypassed their booth and headed for the door. Kacey called after her, but she ignored him. From the corner of her eye, she could see him dig into his pocket and throw money onto the table before he followed her.

  He’s not good at following instructions, I see, she thought inconsequentially.

  Cold air greeted her as she stepped outside the ice cream shop. She whipped her head around and looked in every direction, but there was no trace of the woman. The bell above the door behind her chimed as Kacey made his way out.

  “Jessica, seriously. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” she answered. She balled her fists at her side, unable to believe her luck. How had the woman disappeared so quickly? She clenched her teeth and hated the thought of having to call Pastor Norman to tell him that the demon had escaped.

  Did I talk too loudly? Maybe the demon had overheard her conversation despite her attempt to be discreet.

  “Nothing? Yeah, right, Jessica.”

  Jessica turned back to Kacey and saw the disappointment on his face. A tw
inge of guilt ran through her. She hadn’t meant to ruin the night like this. Even though it wasn’t her fault, given that she’d had no control over the fact that a demon had crashed their outing, she still couldn’t help but feel bad about how things had turned out.

  She brushed her hair out of her face as the wind blew it around her head. “I’m sorry, Kacey. It’s getting late. I think we should call it a night.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You mean before your pastor gets here?”

  Jessica suppressed the urge to cringe and instead gave a careless wave of her hand. “Don’t worry about that. It was nothing.” She looked up and down the street and hoped that, by some miracle, she would see the demon-woman again. Regrettably, she had no such luck.

  She turned back to Kacey. Whatever was going on and wherever the Aquiel may have disappeared to, she didn’t think it was a good idea for him to hang around any longer. It probably wasn’t good for her to hang around either.

  “Can I give you a ride home?” she offered.

  Kacey blinked at her. He shook his head and laughed. “That’s very chivalrous of you, Jess. But I drove my own car, remember?”

  “Right. Right. Sorry. I forgot.” She ran her hand through her hair again. “Well, let me at least follow you home. To make sure you get there safely.”

  “I’m reasonably sure I should say that to you.”

  Jessica waved her hand dismissively. “Says who? It’s the twenty-first century, Kacey.”

  He stared at her for a moment. “I’m a big boy. I can make it home to my own house without a chaperone.”

  Her cheeks burned.

  Kacey cleared his throat. “Well, thanks for, um, coming out with me.” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “It was a fun night.”

  Jessica nodded, although she could practically hear him say, “initially.”

  It had initially been a fun night. Then things took a weird turn.

  “Yeah,” she agreed half-heartedly. “It was. Maybe we can do it again sometime?” It was now her turn to shift uncomfortably on her feet. Despite everything she had to be concerned about, she began to worry that her word-choice made it sound like she considered the outing to be a date. Because it wasn’t and she didn’t.

  She swallowed nervously at the expression on his face. She suddenly realized that he had moved several steps closer. Furthermore, his gaze had momentarily flickered toward her lips.

  Jessica cleared her throat and turned her head. She was vaguely certain she would die if he tried to kiss her. Honestly, she didn’t like him like that. She looked at her phone and made a show of checking the time. “Yeah, so. My grandmother. She’s probably waiting.”

  Kacey took a step back and nodded a little too vigorously. “Right. You said that earlier. Okay.” With another nod and something that looked oddly like a salute, he headed toward his car.

  “Kacey, are you sure?” Jessica called but then faltered. She wanted to ask if he was sure he would make it home all right. The question sounded silly in her head, especially since she couldn’t tell him her real reason for being worried.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?” He looked curious but there was also a slightly hopeful tone to his voice.

  Jessica blushed and hoped he was far enough away not to notice. “Um. Never mind. Have a good evening. And get home safely.”

  “Yeah, you too,” he muttered and scratched somewhat awkwardly behind his ear. He turned and continued across the parking lot.

  Inwardly cringing at how uncomfortably the night had ended, Jessica headed to her Jeep.

  It was a mark of how preoccupied her mind was that she didn’t bother to pull out her extra gloves and hat. Her body already felt so chilled to the bone that no extra layers of clothing would help, anyway.

  She didn’t even bother to turn on any music. Instead, she simply sat in silence and waited until Kacey pulled out of the parking lot.

  Don’t be so hard on yourself. If the Aquiel got away from Pastor Norman earlier, it can hardly be your fault that it got away again, she told herself.

  Still, she couldn’t shake the frustration she felt. She looked at her phone and started to call the pastor again. She canceled the call immediately. It was probably best to wait until he got there. Then she could talk to him in person.

  It didn’t take long for Kacey to make it home. He parked and looked into the rearview mirror, halfway suspecting Jessica to be lurking behind him. For some reason, he had expected her Jeep to trail him the whole way home. She seemed oddly concerned about his ability to make it home safely. He wasn’t sure whether to be flattered by the thought or offended by it.

  How the hell did this date go so wrong? he thought to himself.

  Still a little confused, he remained in his car and reflected on the evening. He tried to pinpoint the precise moment when things had taken a turn for the worst. They’d had a good time at the movie and had enjoyed talking to each other afterward.

  She seemed a little tense when he suggested they go out for ice cream, but he had presumed she’d worried about missing curfew. Things had continued easily enough between them after that. Things had actually gone so well that he had anticipated—or even hoped—the night would end with a kiss. As the evening wore on, though, it became obvious that a kiss was out of the question.

  He supposed things had officially gone wrong when he tried to hold her hand at the ice cream shop. Perhaps she hadn’t actually known they were on a date until then and the realization freaked her out. Maybe it made her feel guilty for some reason. Guilty enough that she had a sudden need to call her pastor.

  Kacey shook his head. He hadn’t taken Jessica as some kind of devoutly religious nut. He hoped the call to her pastor had simply been a result of her being surprised at his pathetic attempt to make a move on her.

  I should have let her know it was a date right from the start, he thought. If she had known that he had asked her out on a date up front, she could have given him a clear message by accepting or declining. Then, he wouldn’t be left trying to analyze what had happened.

  He glanced in his rearview mirror, subconsciously checking for her again.

  Well, she did say we should do this again sometime, he reasoned. Surely that’s a good sign.

  The thought made him feel a little better and he turned off the car engine. All hope was not lost and maybe he could turn things around. He would simply plan the next date a little more carefully and make his intentions known right from the start. Feeling resolute, he stepped out of his car.

  Suddenly, he heard someone whistling. An unusual tingle traced down his spine. For a moment, he thought Jessica had followed him after all. He had a crazy idea that she was playing with him or teasing him by whistling the tune they’d heard from that strange woman at the ice cream shop. And the woman had been strange. She seemed to know Jessica even though she denied knowing her. Soon enough, the strange woman emerged from a car on the street behind him.

  What in the world is she doing here? Did she follow me?

  Kacey stared at her, confused. He wondered what the chances were that Jessica really had known the woman and told her to follow him home to make sure he made it safely.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked as she emerged from the shadows and headed toward him.

  She didn’t answer but continued to whistle, her head tilted to the side as she stared at him.

  He swallowed. While he was nearly a grown man, he suddenly felt like a kid again. Something about the woman unnerved him to the core. The longer he watched her, the more uncomfortable he became. Thoughts of child predators came unbidden to his mind.

  Still, he didn’t want to let on how uncomfortable he felt, so he remained where he was. He drew himself up to his full height. “Look, lady, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but…” His voice trailed off when she stopped directly before him. His breathing stopped altogether when he saw red flash in her eyes. “What—”

  He never got a chance to finish his statem
ent. His body suddenly felt like it had been submerged in ice water from head to toe and his vision blurred and went dark. Then his mind went blank. Every trace of Kacey faded until suddenly, he felt like he was no more.

  The woman blinked. She stood in front of a teenage boy with a creepy grin on his face. The kid whistling an even creepier tune. She glanced around.

  Where the hell am I? she thought. And why do I have ice cream on my hands?

  The boy winked at her and without warning, walked away.

  Chapter Nine

  Jessica sat in the car and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she watched Kacey pull out of the parking lot and head down the road. She thought about him long after his car disappeared from view and knew that her next encounter with him was bound to be awkward. In all honesty, she had no idea what she would say to him when she saw him in school the next day. Then there would be her friends to deal with. Eric probably wouldn’t care but facing Sara and Ashley would be unbearable. They would corner her with questions and want to know every single detail of the night.

  She felt tired even thinking about it.

  Times like these made her wish she really was a skilled witch. There had to be some sort of spell that would make her situation more bearable. If only she knew what it was.

  Distracted by the thought, her mind wandered to the pages from her grandmother’s book that she had saved on her phone. She did have pictures of the convincing and persuasions spells. Maybe she could cast some spell that convinced her friends they had all gone out to see the movie with her and Kacey. Then it wouldn’t have been a date at all. Better yet, maybe she could find a spell that left him convinced that they actually hadn’t gone out for ice cream. That way, all the awkwardness that followed would never have occurred. Everything would be back to normal.

  Jessica scoffed to herself. Who am I kidding?