Aura

by Rebecca Lynn Talley

  Alec's face went serious. "We call them Black Vapors because that's their true demon form—a dark mist that must find a human host."

  "Oh, I see." A nervous laugh fell out of my mouth.

  "This isn't a joke, Crystal. You're in danger because . . ."

  "Because?" I was sure he'd come up with some over-the-top explanation. Again.

  "Because of your Light."

  I scrunched up my nose. "My Light?" What am I, the sun?

  Alec glanced around "I can see auras."

  "Okay." I took a few steps back. Maybe I'd have to play along to get away. Far away.

  "You have such a strong aura that it drew me to you. Like a magnet."

  I stared at him, contemplating my options.

  "The demons can detect your aura, and they'll want to use it for their own purposes. They don't want anyone with Light to oppose them—they extinguish Light to spread their Darkness. The demons want to take over everything and everyone." His gaze grabbed mine while conflicting emotions tumbled inside me—like being on fire in the middle of a swimming pool. It all sounded so crazy. Bizarre. "We need to get you somewhere safe."

  I shifted my weight. "With you, I suppose?"

  He nodded.

  No way was I going with him. He was talking crazy. But something nagged at me, urging me to believe him. I tried to push the urge away and ignore it. He couldn't be telling the truth. Could he?

  "Crystal, you have to believe me." Though his voice was sincere and I was tempted for a millisecond to listen to him, I'd learned my lesson. No one would make a fool out of me again—at least not with my permission.

  "I need to go." I turned and started walking back to campus.

  "You aren't safe. I can protect you," he called after me.

  Over my shoulder I said, "I don't believe you. I'm sick and tired of guys playing me. I'm done."

  He jogged up beside me. "I'm telling you the truth. You know I am. Listen to your feelings."

  My insides were so twisted, I couldn't listen to anything. I kept walking, thoughts and feelings whirling in my head and making me dizzy.

  Alec reached over and pulled my arm. I hated that his touch sent involuntary vibrations all the way up to my shoulder. "You have to trust me."

  "No, I don't." I stopped and looked directly at him, focusing on my words, not his eyes. "I don't have to do anything. Leave me alone." I spotted my car and walked toward it, picking up my pace.

  "Crystal?"

  "I mean it. Leave me alone. If you don't, I'll call the police." My voice took on an authoritative tone that surprised me.

  A few minutes later, I reached my car. Thankfully, Alec had stopped following me. I opened the door and slipped inside, trying to figure out what to do. Nate's lies were all over school by now, and I couldn't face anyone at rehearsal. Cradling my head in my hands, I contemplated going home and burying myself in bed, but then I'd lose my part for sure.

  I gathered my courage to go to rehearsal, hoping that I'd be able to resolve my absence from my last class somehow. While walking from the parking lot toward the back door to the theater, Nate called out to me. I ignored him and walked faster.

  Nate yelled, "Crystal, wait up!" He was beside me before I reached the door. "Where have you been?"

  I had nothing to say to him. I wished I had magical powers to make him disappear. For good.

  "What's wrong?" he asked.

  As if he deserves an explanation.

  "Crystal?" He reached his hand out for mine, but I didn't move. "What's going on?"

  I said nothing.

  "Tell me what's wrong. Please?" He made a sad face, but it had no effect.

  Without looking at him, I said, "I have rehearsal and can't be late."

  He stepped in front of me. The air turned thick and heavy. "Why the cold shoulder?" He seemed genuinely confused. "I thought you forgave me."

  The nerve.

  He tried again. "I said I was sorry about the other night. I promise I'll never do it again. Can't we go back to—"

  "To what?" I glared at him.

  He shrugged. "I don't get it."

  I hated confrontation, but I hated being lied to, manipulated, and humiliated even more. "I heard you."

  He crinkled his forehead."Huh?"

  "Don't play innocent." Anger and hurt built up inside me, giving me strength to confront him, to make him own up to what he'd said.

  "I have no idea what you're talking about."

  "Your buddies." The scene flashed through my mind, upsetting me even more. I wanted to slap him. I wanted to tell him exactly what I thought of him and banish him to Outer Mongolia.

  Nate stared at me. "My buddies?"

  "I heard you in the hall bragging that . . ." I couldn't even finish the sentence, it made me so mad.

  "That what?"

  I'd never noticed how stupid Nate was. Or how easily he lied. "About after prom. How you supposedly scored with me." I narrowed my eyes and dared him to tell me I was wrong.

  "Oh, that." He waved his hand in the air. "Just guys talking. Didn't mean anything."

  I clenched my jaw. It may have meant nothing to him, but it meant everything to me. He thought so little of me that he lied to his friends.

  "Guys talk like that all the time. It's no big deal." He smiled.

  I shook my head. "You are such a liar." I stepped around him.

  "Come, on, Crystal." He reached out and grabbed my shoulder, turning me to face him, which made my hands sting with fury. "I'm sorry."

  I moved back. "You think you can tell me you're sorry and that'll make everything okay?" Such a jerk.

  "But I really am sorry."

  "I don't believe you." I held my hands up. "Everything has been a lie. You've been playing me all along." Tears of humiliation stung my eyes.

  "That's not true."

  "And idiot that I am, I fell for it." I wiped my eyes, mad that I allowed him to see me cry.

  In a soft, pleading voice he said, "You have it all wrong." He moved closer.

  "No." I pointed at him. "You have it wrong. I don't want to see you again. Ever."

  "Now, now." He grabbed my arm, and his face changed. It was dark, hard—almost unrecognizable. He glanced around. "I have a job to do, and your pathetic feelings don't matter to me at all. You will not stand in my way." He spoke in a strange deep voice that seemed to echo.

  "Let go." I tried to yank away, but he had such a firm grasp that my muscles ached.

  His eyes dulled so that I could no longer tell what color they were. It was like looking at a dead person. "I might have failed once, but not again."

  Tremors traveled throughout my body. I focused all my energy on the one thing I wanted. "Let me go. Now," I said with a force I'd never experienced. A volcano of bright, white Light erupted in my mind.

  His hand went limp. He couldn't move. It was like he was frozen. Again.

  Not my imagination then. Definitely not my imagination now. Somehow I'd paralyzed him. But how?

  I backed away. His face blazed with rage, and the veins in his neck bulged. He swore and called me names. "You really think you will stop this? You think you can?" He gave a sick laugh. "We will yet triumph, and you will suffer for your interference. I will see to that."

  I whirled around, grabbed for the door, and rushed inside. With my heart rapping against my ribcage, I ran through the backstage area and into the dressing room, plopping onto the couch. What was that? Nate wasn't himself. At all. Could Alec be right? Was Nate possessed? Was I really in danger? Adrenaline whooshed through my veins while I rocked back and forth, breathing heavily and contemplating the possibilities.

  What does all of this mean?

  I glanced at the clock on the wall. Rehearsal would begin soon, and if I had any hope of keeping my part, I had to put Nate—and everything else—out of my mind, and get into character. No time to waste. I focused on calming my breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

  Footsteps sounded outside the dressing room so I darted over to the ba
throom and locked myself inside just in case. The voices of cast members floated into the room, and I closed my eyes in relief.

  They spent a few minutes in there talking and laughing. When they left, I came out of the bathroom, my heart still beating erratically. I scanned the room—no sign of Nate.

  I made my way out to the stage and did my best to concentrate on my lines and become my character, even though I was confused. And scared. Every time my mind began to wander, I forced it back to the play, refusing to let anything, or anyone, distract me. I gave Mr. Jordan plenty of reasons to yell, but at least we got through rehearsal without a complete meltdown. When rehearsal finally ended, Erin followed me back to the dressing room.

  After everyone had cleared out she said, "What's wrong? You seem all jumpy today." She sat on the couch, and I sat next to her, my nerves making my stomach queasy and my hands feel all pins-and-needles.

  I wasn't sure where to begin, because I wasn't sure what was real anymore. How could I tell Erin that I thought Nate was possessed? It sounded ridiculous—yet I couldn't deny what I'd seen or heard or felt.

  "Crystal? Tell me what's going on."

  I studied her, trying to figure out what to say. I finally decided to start at the beginning, before things got all crazy in the parking lot. "Nate is a total jerk."

  "Did he do something else stupid?"

  I told her what he'd said to his friends and how arrogant he was—made me want to scream all over again.

  "I'm sure it's a misunderstanding." She flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

  I held a hand up. "Oh, no. I heard him. He was bragging, letting them believe that we—"

  "You know how guys talk. I'm sure it didn't mean anything." She looked at me with an encouraging expression.

  I stared at her in disbelief. "Are you defending him? Really?" How could she possibly think it was okay for him to lie? To make people believe I'd done something I hadn't?

  She cleared her throat. "Of course not. I'm just trying to—"

  "Make excuses for him." Unbelievable.

  "No, I—"

  "He called me last night to apologize and then gave me a red rose today. Like he was actually sorry about what happened." What a hypocrite. And liar. And complete loser.

  Erin touched my arm. "He was. He told me all about it." She paused. "He loves you."

  "He has a strange way of showing it."

  "He gets carried away when he talks with his friends." She might as well have put on a cheerleading outfit with a big, fat N on the front. What was it with Erin always siding with Nate? Weren't best friends supposed to have each other's backs no matter what? Especially when a guy was being such a creep?

  "I don't care," I told her. "His girlfriend should come before his buddies. To tell them—"

  "You're totally right. He was being a huge jerk. But talk to him. Let him explain." Erin gave me a pleading look, but I refused to be swayed by it, especially after he'd turned psycho outside the back door of the theater. Whatever that was.

  "No. I don't ever want to see him again." I squeezed my eyes shut. "I hate him."

  "Come on, Crystal, you don't hate him. You're hurt by what happened. But give him a chance to explain."

  I opened my eyes. "I want to go home and forget about prom. About Nate. About everything."

  "That's a good idea. You'll feel better after you get some rest."

  I doubted that. Nate had betrayed me. Hurt me. Humiliated me. No amount of rest would change what he'd done.

  I walked over to the dirt lot in the east parking area, behind the theater.

  After opening my car door, I slid inside. Confusing, disjointed thoughts circled my mind. What if Alec is right about Nate?

  Earlier it was as if Nate had become someone else. If he really was possessed, that would explain the way he'd acted and the things he'd said—he really wasn't himself. Somehow, that didn't make me feel any better. Instead, the thought sent shards of fear through me. If Alec was right . . . I laid my head in my hands and tried to reel in all my crazy, mixed-up thoughts.

  Several minutes passed before I regained control of my emotions. I stared out the windshield, the last threads of daylight disappearing behind a black curtain. I checked myself in the rearview mirror and pulled at the skin around my eyes, trying to make the puffiness disappear. It didn't work.

  I stuck the key into the ignition and turned it. Nothing. I tried it again. Not a sound. "Come on, start," I said and turned the key. Dead. I leaned my head against the steering wheel.

  What else can go wrong today?

  A tap sounded on my window. I jumped back, hoping it wasn't Nate. I gulped down my nerves and turned to see who it was.

  Alec.

  What is he doing here? Since my car was dead, I couldn't roll down the window, so I opened the door slightly.

  "Are you okay?"

  "My car won't start." I shut the door.

  He knocked on the window.

  Grudgingly, I opened the door again. "What?"

  "Do you need some help?" He pulled the door open wider.

  Besides Nate, he was the last person I wanted to see--too many weird thoughts floating around my brain. "No."

  "I can give you a ride home." I made the mistake of looking at him, his electric eyes reeling me in for a few moments. I shook my head to break the spell.

  Mentally crossing my fingers, I tried the engine again, but nothing happened. "I need to call my dad."

  "No you don't. I'm here."

  "No thanks. My dad will come get me." Everything about Alec was bizarre. I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with him. I dialed my dad's cell, but he didn't answer. My mom's cell phone went straight to her voice mail.

  Alec leaned down close enough that my heart burst into spasms—I silently yelled at myself for letting him affect me. "Is there a problem?"

  "My parents aren't answering." Where are they?

  "Let me give you a ride home," he said in his honey-like voice. Even in the dim light, his deep blue polo shirt accentuated his eyes. Stop it. Stop noticing.

  I quickly dialed Erin's phone, but it, too, went directly to her voice mail. Typical. She never remembered to charge her phone.

  "Come on," Alec said.

  I wasn't sure I could trust him, but I was running out of options and I for sure didn't want to walk home in the dark. By myself. With Nate out there somewhere. Besides, Alec had never hurt me before, and he had brought me home safely after the prom nightmare. "All right."

  I got out of the car and walked with him to his Subaru. The night sky looked like black velvet with crushed glass spread across it. I shivered in the cool air.

  "Thanks for the ride." I sat in the passenger seat, the new-car smell still evident.

  "No problem."

  We pulled out of the school parking lot. When we started driving down my tree-lined street an ominous feeling overtook me, almost choking me. My heartbeat tripled. Why do I feel this way?

  Alec glanced at me. He slowed the car as we approached my house. My mouth went dry and I started to feel light-headed. The house was dark. Not one light on. Not even the porch light.

  "My parents should be home." Fear inched up my back.

  A worried expression crossed Alec's face. "I'll walk you to the house."

  As we neared the front door, my legs grew heavy. The door wasn't locked. As soon as I stepped into the house, the room started to spin. Alec steadied me with a strong grip. "Are you okay?"

  "I think so." I looked around at the dark room. The curtains were closed, leaving no outside light streaming in. I switched on the lamp by the door, but it didn't turn on. I tried the switch a few times, but nothing happened.

  I walked across the living room and flipped on the light switch but, again, no light.

  "Maybe the breaker is tripped. Do you know where the breaker box is?"Alec asked.

  "The what?"

  "I'll see if it's in the garage." Alec made his way out to the garage while I stood, waiting for the lights t
o go on. My heartbeat drummed in my ears.

  Something is definitely wrong.

  As soon as the lights flashed on, I clutched at my chest and screamed.

  Alec rushed back into the living room. He stopped, staring with me at the overturned furniture, ripped couch cushions, and shattered lamp.

  I made a full circle, taking in all the damage. My body temperature rose while my stomach turned somersaults.

  Alec glanced at me, his eyes full of terror. "We need to get out of here."

  "No." I pulled out my cell phone. "We need to call the police."

  "Put your phone away," Alec demanded.

  "I'm calling 911."

  "Don't." He grabbed for my phone.

  I moved it out of his way and took a few steps back. "Why? The police need to know."

  "Listen to me. Do not call the police." He gestured toward the mess. "This is not what you think."

  I turned and took several steps toward the kitchen. I spotted a blood smear on the grey linoleum. My heart jumped to my throat, and my face burned like it was a forest fire. I screamed.

  Alec hurried over. "I think they were after you."

  For a few moments, I tried to speak but my tongue wouldn't let me form any words. Unable to tear my gaze from the blood stain, I whispered, "Me?"

  He grabbed me by my shoulders. "They took your parents instead. Probably for a trade." He glanced around the room. "We must've just missed them."

  I raked my fingers through my hair trying to make sense of what I saw.

  Alec rubbed his forehead. "We underestimated them." He kicked one of the green throw pillows.

  "Who?"

  "We need to leave. Now."

  I collected my thoughts enough to say, "I have to call 911 and tell them my parents are missing." The police would find my parents. Nothing else mattered.

  Alec grabbed my phone. "Definitely not." He took my hand and yanked me to the front door. He stuck his head out, checking from side to side. "Let's go."

  I hung onto the door frame. "I'm not leaving. I have to find my parents."

  "I know, but you have to come with me right now." He tugged at me but I refused to let go.

  "No. They're all I have."