by Sophie Stern
I heard what he said about Zax, and part of me can’t quite believe it. Part of me can’t quite believe that this is the reality I’m now facing. The person that Daisy loved – or thought she loved – was such a horrible piece of trash that his choices affected everyone around him.
People throughout the entire city.
Annoyed, I undress quickly. I toss my clothing on the floor and set the blade on the bathroom counter. Then I climb into the shower and let the stress of the day just wash away. I stay in the shower for as long as I can. I let go of the anger, of the pain, of the sadness. I close my eyes and just let the dirt and the grime and the emotions wash away.
Then I get out, only to realize I didn’t grab spare clothes.
Of course not.
Fuck.
Now I have two choices. I can either hide in here until someone takes pity on me and brings me clothes, or I can be a brave motherfucker who doesn’t care about anyone leering at me. I’ve got spare clothes in the closet, so after a moment of hesitation, I wrap a towel around my body and step out into the main room. Both Daisy and Harrison turn to look at me.
Ignoring their stares, I head to the closet, pull out a spare set of clothes, and go back into the bathroom. I try not to think about the fact that Harrison seemed happy to be looking at me. He’s handsome, and that’s definitely not okay.
He’s a demon.
I’m not.
And I do not want to date him.
I think about Daisy’s warning, “Amy doesn’t date anyone.” It’s true, or at least, it has been, but maybe it’s time for that to change. For a long time, I thought that dating was part of the reason I lost my family. I thought that being selfish and pursuing a relationship was part of why they died. Maybe if I’d been at the compound, I reasoned with myself, they wouldn’t have died.
Now I know that’s total bullshit. I was a kid. I was no match for a group of vampires. Even if I’d been around that day, I couldn’t have stopped anything. I only could have died alongside my family, and what would the point of that have been? For years, I’ve kept my love life on lockdown and stuck to this idea that I was better off alone.
Well, I don’t know if I believe that anymore.
Having Daisy to back me up tonight was pretty nice.
Hastily, I dress, yanking on the clothes. I cringe as I run my fingers over a few spots on my belly that are definitely going to bruise. Fighting tonight was a terrible idea. It was unavoidable, but still a bad idea. When I finish dressing, I look up and I stare in the mirror at the broken-looking girl staring back at me.
How weird is it that only hours ago I was getting ready for freedom?
Only days ago, I was gearing up for the best night of my life?
I really thought that tonight would be the night I was going to be able to make it all happen. Now? Now I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I do know that I’m not going to be able to retire to the woods for a very, very long time.
Not if I don’t want to starve to death.
I look over at the Sword of Edith. It’s resting where I set it on the wide counter by the sink. I reach for it, touching the blade. I killed three people with it: zero, if we’re not counting monsters.
And now what?
What’s going to happen now?
I have this incredible, magical blade, but I no longer have a purpose.
I thought I wanted to go live by myself, but tonight both Daisy and Harrison needed help. They needed me. When was the last time someone actually needed me? Even my sisters never needed me.
The feeling isn’t exactly nice, but it’s satisfying to know that when someone was hurt or in danger, they could come to me. They could depend on me. I was the type of person they could trust to help them.
I did that.
Finally, I pick up the blade and leave the bathroom.
“All done?” Daisy asks? Harrison stays quiet, but I know he’s watching me. I don’t look at him.
“Yeah, it’s all yours,” I say to Daisy. Unlike me, she’s prepared for the moment. She’s got her spare clothes when she goes in. I hear the water turn on and then I count. It’s less than a minute before I hear her first quiet sobs, and my heart kind of, totally breaks.
I move, ready to go in and comfort her, but Harrison holds out his hand.
“Let her cry,” he says.
“She’s hurting,” I point out.
“And sometimes what people need when they’re hurting most is to let the pain go.”
I don’t want to admit that he’s right, but I know that he is. When I lost everything, everyone, I spent a lot of time staring at walls and crying quietly. Crying doesn’t solve anything, but sometimes dealing with pain isn’t about solving things. Sometimes it’s just about finding a reprieve.
I look back over at Harrison. Tall and lanky, he doesn’t look much like the demons I’ve seen. That’s probably why I didn’t recognize him as one. Usually, demons are much shorter, for one thing. One of the problems with being raised in hell before being cast out is that the place isn’t exactly known for its sunshine and rainbows.
“How are you feeling?” I manage to ask him. The question seems to surprise him a little.
“Fine,” he says.
“Stand up,” I motion for him to move, and he does.
“What are you doing, Amy?”
“I’m going to check your wounds,” I tell him.
“I don’t have many.”
“You have too many,” I frown. I don’t know how fast demons heal because I’ve never really dealt with a demon up close before. I lift up the edges of Harrison’s shirt and look at his abs. He’s bruised already, and he’s got some marks here and there. Scars. He’s been hurt before, but he’s not bleeding anymore now.
And he doesn’t need to be stitched up or anything.
“You heal quickly,” I murmur. He pulls his shirt off and tosses it to the side.
“So you can have a closer look,” he says when I raise an eyebrow in confusion.
“Huh. How’d you get these?” I run my hands over a few of the scars on his sides.
“Long story,” he says. “But a funny one.”
“Fallen angels?” I ask.
“Yep.”
“Seems like that’s a common trend tonight.”
“Well, they’re bastards.”
“Isn’t it a little cliché?”
“What?”
“Hating angels when you’re a demon.”
“They’re not as nice as everyone likes to pretend they are.”
“And let me guess,” I say. “You’re not as bad as people like to think you are? You’re just misunderstood?”
He nods, and I smile softly. I don’t even think that Harrison is bullshitting me. He seems like the kind of person who really does believe in what he’s saying.
“How’d you get the sword?” He asks, nodding toward where it’s sitting on the kitchen table. I should probably be guarding it from both him and Daisy, but I don’t feel any particular connection or lure to it. It’s not like some of those magical items where, when you set them down, an intense craving takes over and you’re unable to do anything else but stare at it.
No, this is different.
“I’m a very good thief,” I say.
“You don’t look like a thief,” he tells me.
“What does a thief look like?”
“Usually, they’re short. Bald. Carry a big, weird bag.”
“Are you talking about bank robbers from old cartoons?”
He nods, and I laugh.
“You had cartoons in hell?” I ask before I can stop myself.
There’s a pause, and I feel like complete shit for bringing up his past life. Nobody deserves to be asked about their past. No one. Not even this guy.
“I wasn’t raised in hell,” he finally says.
“How is that possible?” I ask. “I thought all supernatural beings came from other places. Even vampires are supposed to be from hell.”
&
nbsp; “Not me,” he shrugs. “I was born on Earth. In Texas, actually.”
“That must have been interesting,” I finally say. To my surprise, Harrison opens his mouth and laughs – really laughs. “I’m sorry, was that funny?”
He nods, smiling. “It’s just that most of the time, when people find out I’m an Earthborn demon, they want to find out what I can do. They don’t comment on my upbringing or on the cartoons I watched as a kid.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Well, what can you do? Any special powers?” I ask, but there’s part of me that doesn’t want to know. Harrison seems like he’s actually a nice person. He seems understanding, and in some ways, he seems really relatable. I don’t want to think that he’s the type of person who would betray another or that would kill someone.
“Oh, that’s easy. Mind control and possession,” he says. “Want to see?”
Instantly, I still.
No, I absolutely do not want to see that.
But Harrison looks at me strangely, as if he’s considering whether or not to trust me. Then, making a decision, he keeps talking.
“At least, that’s what the legends say,” he tells me. “But Earthborn demons are no more powerful than fallen angels. The demons you know from the city can’t really do anything that demons in hell can.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when an angel cuts off its wings, it becomes human. It gets to stay on Earth, but it also can’t do anything. Aside from the fact that fallens are completely huge and can seemingly overpower anyone they want to, they’re kind of a useless bunch.”
“And you’re saying that demons born on the planet are just as useless?”
“Pretty much. Why do you think magical items are in such high demand? No one really has any power anymore except for the vampires. And even their magic is dwindling, according to rumors.”
“Strange,” I say, glancing over at the weapon. “I’ve seen magical items before, but this one in particular seems really strong.”
“Well, maybe the strength of the weapon depends on the person wielding it,” he tells me.
“Nobody believes that.”
“I do,” he tells me with a nod.
“You really are something, you know that, Harrison?”
I’ve always been a little scared of demons, to be honest. That’s where my don’t-date-monsters rule came from. Daisy wasn’t just being ridiculous. She’s heard me ranting before about how there are no humans left in the area. It’s all just monsters and creatures of the night.
I suppose we all have Derek to thank for that.
Suddenly, there’s a large screeching sound and we both rush to the window where the morning sun shines bright. I probably should have boarded these windows up when we got the place, but I like the idea of being able to see outside. I want to know what’s coming for me if I’m being hunted or tracked.
“What is it?”
“The noise? Sounds like Derek’s plan is coming into play exactly how he wanted it to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look.”
The apartment is close to the edge of town. We can see the Mountain from here, but I mean, everyone can see the Mountain. It’s so big that it’s impossible to miss. I try not to notice how close I’m standing to Harrison or how despite everything we’ve gone through, he still manages to smell incredible. I’m tempted to reach for him, to hug him, to ask him to promise me that we’re going to make it through this okay, but I don’t.
That would be crazy.
I look back outside and see what looks like black smoke rising from the outskirts of town.
“What in the name of dragons is that?” I ask. The smoke rises like a curtain: even and strong. It goes up and up and up until it blankets the entire city, casting City 3140 into complete and total darkness.
But it’s daytime.
It’s morning.
Only, now it’s dark.
I turn to Derek, shocked.
“This is why Zax wanted to do this thing tonight,” Harrison says. “Derek has been planning to use magic-users to cast a spell over the city. The spell makes it always dark, always night, and the vampires can go out whenever they like.”
“Because they’re undead, so they don’t have to sleep. If they aren’t being forced into hibernation by the sunlight, they can go out whenever they want. They can hunt humans while we sleep.”
“Precisely. The city just got a lot more dangerous,” Harrison frowns.
And my heart sinks.
Chapter Eight
Amy
“We have to stop them,” I point out. Harrison nods, but is silent. We both know there isn’t much chance of that.
Daisy emerges from the bathroom, finally. She notices the darkness outside and we fill her in on what’s happened. She just frowns.
“I need some sleep,” she says. “This will all look better in the morning.”
“It is the morning,” I say.
“Then this will all look better in the evening,” she tells me. “But I’m going to sleep. I need it, and so do you.”
She tries to give Harrison the bed, but he refuses. Instead, he moves to the closet and pulls out two sleeping bags and pillows. He tosses them onto the floor.
“Daisy, you had a rough day. Take the bed. We’ll be fine on the floor.”
She looks at me and starts to protest, but I agree with Harrison on this one.
“Take the damn bed, Daisy. We’ll talk when we wake up.”
To my surprise, Daisy doesn’t protest further. She lays down in the bed, closes her eyes, and goes to sleep. Within minutes, she’s snoring. Harrison and I are left alone. The apartment is dark now. The magical covering of the city has cast the entire space into darkness. I’m regretting the loss of my sunglasses now, especially since they enabled me to see clearly in the night.
“Come on,” Harrison says. The darkness doesn’t seem to bother or prohibit him from seeing or moving around in the apartment.
“Can you see in the dark?” I ask.
“Of course. I’m a demon.”
“I thought you didn’t have any powers.”
“I said I can’t possess anyone because I wasn’t given hell-demon powers. I’m an Earth-demon.”
“Please don’t call yourself an Earth-demon,” I say.
“Why not?”
“Because it just sounds weird.”
He chuckles. “You’re a strange one, Amy. Now come on.” He reaches for me, but I don’t know until his hand wraps around my wrist. In the darkness, he guides me to the makeshift beds he’s set up. Two sleeping bags: side by side. What could possibly go wrong?
I get comfortable on top of my sleeping bag. It’s way too hot to go inside. Beside me, I hear Harrison making himself comfortable, too.
We lay in silence for what feels like forever. I can’t stop thinking about all the chaos of the day. Everything that happened is wild. It’s crazy. I broke in to the damn Mountain. Daisy’s husband was secretly a villain. I killed him. I killed someone. I killed her husband. And then we made it back in one piece. Now the Vampire King is going to destroy everything we love and care about if we don’t stop him. We need to find a way to stop him.
I close my eyes, but I can’t sleep.
Neither can Harrison.
I can’t see him, but I can sense his presence. I roll over onto my side so I’m facing towards him, but I can’t actually see Harrison at all, so I squeeze my eyes shut. It seems better than just staring openly into the darkness.
“I can’t sleep,” I whisper. My heart is racing.
“What do you want me to do about that, Amy?” He lowers his voice. His deep, sexy voice. It washes over me and offers me a comfort I don’t want to accept, but I feel like I must. Somehow, it seems like this comfort is going to be what keeps me going when the nights get long and hard. That’s what we’re in for, I know.
Long, hard nights.
The vampires have managed to find a way to make the city royally suck. W
e’re all going to either find ways to escape or find ways to kill the vampires.
Both are fairly horrible options.
“I don’t know,” I tell him.
“I think you do know, pretty girl. Brave girl. That’s what you are. You know that, don’t you Amy? You know that you’re brave?” He seems genuine. He seems like he really believes that.
I don’t want to know that I’m brave. I don’t want to be brave. Tonight shouldn’t have happened. Things should have gone according to plan, but they didn’t. I did everything right, everything I was supposed to. People still died.
Daisy’s baby died.
I don’t know how long it takes to get over a loss that great, but I’m guessing it’s not something we’re going to be able to conquer in a day or two. That’s fine because I’m going to stay with Daisy and be by her side.
But I don’t know if that makes me brave.
“I’m a thief,” I tell him. “That doesn’t make me brave.”
“You’re more than a thief, Amy, and you’re right. Being a thief doesn’t make somebody brave. Your heart is what makes you brave.” He presses his hand to my chest. Now my heart seems to be beating completely out of my chest. And despite my solemn vow not to date monsters, I’m suddenly second-guessing whether this one really is that bad.
Maybe it was a stupid rule for a stupid girl.
Maybe it was a dumb idea.
“Harrison,” I murmur. Inside, my body turns to goo. I just want him to touch me. Suddenly, the desire washes over me, and I try to fight it because the moment is entirely wrong. There’s a time and a place for dating and this isn’t it. I haven’t been with a guy since that day. My first time was also my last time, but the reality is that I haven’t craved anyone since that day all those years ago.
“Tell me what you want, Amy.”
What I want?
When was the last time I thought about what I wanted?
Every move I’ve made has been for revenge or because I thought it was the right choice. Each step I’ve made has been with the goal of leaving the city, of going far away. Tonight, everything I did was to help others, to save them.
But what do I want?
When was the last time I really considered my own desires?
