Demon

by Laura DeLuca

  Rebecca flinched. Poor little Gizmo. He hadn’t died of natural causes after all. He had been murdered, by the same hand and in just the same way his mistress was about to be murdered.

  “The next day,” Livy continued nonchalantly, “Scott was onstage, pretending to break an imaginary bird’s neck, and I thought it was a funny coincidence. Even the thing with the pizzas wasn’t originally intended to mimic the play. We just happened to order pizza because that was what everyone agreed on. It wouldn’t have mattered to me what kind of food it was. I just made sure to grab it from the delivery guy first and fixed it so Justyn would be … indisposed for a while. I hated to have to hurt him like that, but he didn’t really leave me any other choice. Sometimes he’s just too damn chivalrous for his own good.”

  “You poisoned the entire cast just to get to me!” Rebecca demanded. “That is so twisted!”

  “Well, it was the only way, Becca! You have Justyn wound so tightly around your little finger he would never have let you out of his sight long enough for Daddy to get to you if I didn’t do something extreme. But if I just poisoned him, someone might have gotten suspicious. So I spiked all the pizzas while Daddy kept you occupied, telling you how terrible of an actress you are. Justyn almost screwed everything up by saving you a piece of the pizza, though. If you had gotten sick too, the whole thing would have been for nothing. I was just about to ‘accidentally’ knock the dish onto the floor when Scott grabbed it and saved me the trouble. Poor Scott.” She snickered. “He was more helpful than he ever realized.”

  Rebecca shook her head. The cops had thought there was a copycat rapist, but it had all been Livy’s convoluted way of getting to Justyn. They had known her attack was a setup, but no one, not even the police, had ever considered the food poisoning had been a part of the plan. Livy poisoned the cast, trashed her bike, memorized her schedule, and then sent Professor Carter to attack Rebecca when she knew she would be alone and defenseless. It was sick and twisted, but at the same time, almost brilliant in a convoluted sort of way. Rebecca was glad Livy had no idea how close her plan had actually come to succeeding. How close Rebecca had come to packing her bags and leaving the college.

  “I didn’t even make the connection to Demon Barber until everyone was complaining about how terrible the pizza was and Justyn started singing The Worst Pies in the City. Livy continued with a small laugh. “It was then that I realized I was bringing Demon Barber to life, right here in the twenty-first century. Even Daddy tracking you down was just like what Judge Turpin did to Lucy, and seemed to fit the score. Of course, he screwed up my whole plan when he let you get away … but I forgive him. You were such a pathetic basket-case afterward, it will still help to make my backup plan believable.”

  “Justyn will never believe I’d take my own life! Never, Livy! He knows me better than that.”

  Rebecca kicked out with her feet as Livy came closer with the open bottle of sleeping pills. Not that it did any good. She wasn’t close enough to strike her, and Rebecca couldn’t break the hold the professor had on her arms. Livy looked at Rebecca with an almost compassionate expression as she took a few pills from the bottle and laid the rest on the nightstand by the still-blasting stereo.

  “Oh, but he will, Becca. He’ll have no choice.”

  The deranged look was back in her eyes as Livy climbed on top of the bed, pinning Rebecca’s legs down with her full body weight. She leaned in so close Rebecca could feel her hot breath against her skin. Despite the pounding in her heart, she refused to look away. She met Livy’s eyes and held them, even as the other girl grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back as hard as she could.

  “Let me tell you just how this story is going to play out,” Livy said as she held the first little white pill up in front of Rebecca’s eyes. “Everyone thought that poor Becca was getting better after her traumatic experience. But she was a better actress than any of us ever imagined. Poor thing.” Livy yanked Rebecca’s hair so hard it brought tears to her eyes before going on with her narration. “She was really just too weak and pathetic to cope. So she came home one day and swallowed a whole bottle of pills. Not unlike poor Lucy. Only the poor thing really does die. When it’s all over, Justyn will need a shoulder to cry on, and I’ll be there to make everything better. Before you know it, he’ll have a brand new angel of music. One with a much better fashion sense.” She smiled humorlessly. “So there you have it. A happy ending all around. Well, except maybe for you, you poor thing.”

  Livy sang the last two words in her sweet soprano, managing to sound almost sympathetic. Then she yanked Rebecca’s neck back as far as it would go. Immediately, Rebecca gagged from the combination of the bitter taste of the pills and the salty sweat on Livy’s fingers. She had taken her by surprise, but still, not all the pills made it down her throat. She was able to spit two of the three back in Livy’s face, which only infuriated the Goth even more.

  Livy’s hand came back again with another dose, but this time Rebecca was more prepared. She wasn’t about to go down without a fight. It was hard to move when both Livy and the silent professor had her pinned to the bed, but she wiggled and squirmed as much as possible. Despite the fact Livy had a firm grip on her hair, Rebecca swung her head back and forth with a vengeance. Her constant fidgeting made it difficult for Livy to juggle the pills and still hold her immobile, even with Professor Carter pinning her arms down. She kept dropping the capsules when Rebecca’s head would whack her hands. So Livy resorted to shoving one pill down her throat at a time. She succeeded with one more, but on the next attempt, Rebecca bit down on the girl’s finger so hard she tasted iron, and she knew she had drawn blood.

  “I’ve got your DNA now, bitch!” Rebecca swore. “Kill me if you want to, but at least Justyn will find out the truth eventually!”

  “Damn it!” Livy actually backed up for a minute, and put her wounded finger in her mouth. “You just can’t make anything easy, can you?”

  “So sorry I’m not cooperating with my own murder!” Rebecca shouted sarcastically. “I tried to tell you I wasn’t as weak as you thought I was!”

  “Livinia, we are running out of time!” Professor Carter reminded her, speaking for the first time in several minutes. “The boy will be home eventually, even if he does fall for your little ruse. We must get on with this!”

  Livy gave him a dirty look, but climbed back on top of Rebecca and tried again to shove a few of the pills down her throat. They made it into her mouth, but Livy was so worried about getting bitten again, she pulled away too quickly. Rebecca was able to spit the capsules back out. The harder she tried, the more impossible it was becoming. Rebecca thought maybe she had won the round if not the battle. At least, she wouldn’t have to worry that her parents or Justyn would be tortured by thoughts that she had taken her own life. The two tablets she had swallowed weren’t enough to kill her, but how long would it be until their effects kicked in and she wasn’t able to fight back anymore?

  “Aghh, forget this!” Livy climbed down from the bed and reached into her pocket again. She pulled out an antique-style razor blade, just like the one Justyn had found in his locker. “I tried to make this painless for you, Becca. I mean, I really didn’t want to have to kill you at all. I had hoped you’d just run home like the little baby that you are, but you’re just so darn stubborn. Now you leave me no other choice.”

  “Screw you, Livy! I’m not afraid of you!”

  Rebecca screamed, defiant even though she was helpless. Of course, the music was so loud, even if anyone was home in the building, they probably wouldn’t have heard her. In the unlikely event they did, they would just think the crazy art school kids were rehearsing for another play. Her cries certainly didn’t seem to affect Livy in any way at all. She inched her way back over with the razor blade in her hand.

  “What do you say, Becca? One little prick at a time? Or one long gash across your throat in true demon barber style?”

  The coldness in her voice made Rebecca freeze.
Her bravery started to evaporate as she envisioned the pain that little blade could cause before it finally brought death. The look in Livy’s eyes made it clear she wasn’t nearly as worried about forensics. She was only concerned with causing Rebecca as much physical distress as possible. Professor Carter must have recognized that psychotic glint in her eyes, and whether it was out of compassion or fear, he moved and stood in front of Rebecca, blocking Livy’s path and setting Rebecca’s arms free.

  “You are going too far, Livinia! I won’t let you butcher her like an animal!”

  “Afraid of a little blood, are you, Crater Face?” Livy asked sarcastically. “After slicing up those pretty girls’ faces, I wouldn’t have expected you to be so squeamish.”

  “I’m afraid that we’re leaving far too much evidence behind as it is! Making it look like a suicide was one thing … but this? I just can’t be a party to this!”

  “You don’t have a choice, Daddy,” Livy fumed. She lashed out with the blade, making Professor Carter flinch, though the blade wasn’t even close to touching him. “If you don’t do exactly what I say, you’re going to rot in jail for sure.” She gave him a cocky smile. “And you know what they do to rapists in prison, don’t you?”

  Professor Carter stopped to consider that for a moment. It didn’t take him long to decide his own fate was much more important than Rebecca’s. He stepped out of Livy’s path. But that brief reprieve was all the time Rebecca needed. While her hands were free, she reached toward the nightstand and grabbed the only weapon she could find. She hid it on her lap as Livy inched her way closer with the silver blade glittering in the candlelight.

  “Ready to die, Becca?”

  Rebecca sat up a little straighter and faced Livy without flinching. “Bring it on!”

  Livy rushed forward. The silver blade was only inches from her face when Rebecca lifted her secret weapon. When Justyn had given it to her, he said the stone would offer protection, but she somehow doubted he meant it quite so literally. Still, at that moment, it was the only thing standing between her and a bloody death.

  Using all her strength, Rebecca slammed the crystal geode directly into Livy’s temple.

  The blow didn’t knock Livy unconscious as she had hoped, but the heavy rock definitely left her stunned. The crystal points that protruded from its recesses also left a few jagged scratches along her temple. Shocked and wounded, Livy stumbled off the bed and into the nightstand, knocking it to the ground. The stereo fell over, and at last, the awful music was silenced. But the crash resulted in a far more serious accident. The candles that had been set along the table toppled over, rolling in all different directions. One instantly set the curtains beside it ablaze, while another did the same with the sheets on the bed. Rebecca jumped away from the flames and tried to run for the door, but Professor Carter overcame his shock at the new development in time to grab her arm, trapping her within the confines of the room, which was quickly becoming a firetrap.

  “No!” she cried. “Someone help me!”

  She knew her screams were in vain even before the professor smacked her so hard that she fell to the ground. Feeling dazed, her head spinning, Rebecca was sure this was finally the end. She had fought valiantly, but it was getting too hard. The fire was spreading, and the flames grew steadily larger all around them. Already, the smoke alarms were going off, which meant they had to kill her swiftly if they expected to have any chance of getting away.

  “Look at what you’ve done,” Livy said as she watched the flames. “You just brought to life yet another scene from the play.”

  Livy pulled herself to her feet with a wild grin on her black lips. For the first time, her performance was less than stellar as she opened her voice and croaked out a few lines of a song meant for Lucy. Of all the people in the play, poor, crazy Lucy was the only one to see through Mrs. Lovatt’s sweet widow’s guise and recognize the real monster within. Rebecca wished she had been as wise as her character. Maybe then she wouldn’t have fallen into the trap Livy had set for her.

  “Look at the smoke rising high.

  That woman is a witch and it’s no lie.

  See the fire rising to consume the city.

  Stop the fiend, for heaven’s sake have pity.”

  Rebecca coughed and gagged on the smell of burning cloth as Livy loomed over her, singing those same lines over and over. Somehow, her voice was even more deafening than the stereo had been. Even Professor Carter, lurking behind his daughter with his razor blade, was not nearly as terrifying as the wild-eyed Goth. As the smoke billowed around them, Rebecca realized Livy was bringing Justyn’s dream to life. He thought he saw himself standing over her while she was surrounded by flames. Yet, all along, it had been a premonition of this she-wolf wearing his clothing. Livy was the villain who haunted his dreams.

  “You know, it wasn’t very nice of you to attack me, Becca,” Livy whispered as she touched her bruised and bleeding forehead. “I’m going to have to make you pay for that.”

  “Just give it up, Livy!” Rebecca cried, making one last-ditch effort to save her own life. “Can’t you see that it’s all over? Even if you kill me, there’s too much evidence here now. You’ll never get away with it! And even if by some miracle you pulled it off, Justyn isn’t going to go running into your arms! He might pity you a little, but he’ll never love you! He doesn’t even like you!”

  “Liar!” Livy spat. “Justyn wants me! He has since day one! He’s just too moral to break his ties with you when he thinks you need him!”

  Rebecca realized her desperate plan was working. Just suggesting Justyn might not return her affection was making Livy so angry that she was wasting more time talking. Now, if she could just keep that going until the cops and the fire trucks arrived, maybe she would survive after all. The thought gave her new hope, despite the fact she began to feel a little tired. The pills must have been strong to kick in already. It was only the adrenaline rush that came with fear that kept her going at all.

  “You don’t even know Justyn!” Rebecca countered. “You’re obsessed with a dream! Justyn hates you!”

  “I do know him!” Livy shouted. She dropped to her knees beside Rebecca and put the knife against her throat, her dark eyes wild with rage. Rebecca trembled and closed her eyes as the cold blade touched her skin. “I’ve been watching him, studying every move he makes for weeks now. I know what music he listens to, what coffee he drinks, what shampoo he uses. I know everything I need to know about him! Everything I could possibly need to know to make him happy!”

  “You sure as hell didn’t know I was a vegetarian.”

  Rebecca snapped open her eyes, flooded with relief at the sound of the familiar voice, daring to hope it meant she was going to be saved after all. Livy turned too and was so stunned, her ever-steady hand faltered, and the knife slipped away from Rebecca’s neck.

  Justyn had arrived.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Justyn stood in the doorway, looking more furious than Rebecca had ever seen him. His hand was gripping the door handle so tightly, Rebecca was sure he would crush it with his grip. Yet he hadn’t made a move. He just watched, his eyes bulging, but not exactly sure what to do in light of the fact two armed lunatics were standing on either side of Rebecca with knives in their hands.

  “J-Justyn,” Livy stuttered, “it’s not what it looks like!”

  Justyn raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s good, because it looks to me like you were trying to kill the love of my life.”

  “No, no,” Livy cried, desperate. “I … I was trying to save her. Look, it’s Professor Carter! He’s the rapist!”

  “And her fath—” Rebecca started.

  Professor Carter cut off her words with a swift kick to her ribs. She was already smothering on the smoke, but now she couldn’t breathe at all as the pain from the blow made her double over, gasping. The teacher yanked her roughly to her feet and put his blade against her throat for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Yet, he remained sile
nt. Like Justyn, he was trying to ascertain the situation. Rebecca knew Justyn was the one at a disadvantage, and not only because he didn’t have a weapon. Even through the haze of pain she felt as she tried to catch her breath, she saw Justyn was about to lose control. He would launch himself at Professor Carter in true kamikaze fashion if he thought that was the only way to keep her safe. She knew the only thing stopping him so far was the fear she would get killed in the crossfire.

  “If you touch her again, I swear to the gods, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Justyn promised.

  Justyn’s voice was soft and calm, almost musical, but everyone in the room felt the intensity of the threat. Rebecca could tell Professor Carter believed he would make good on it by the way his back instantly stiffened. He was afraid for the first time—afraid because he was a weak monster who could only prey on unsuspecting women. He had never had to stand up to another man before. But he was also smart enough to know they were currently at an impasse. Everyone was holding their breath, afraid to make the next move. Around them, the curtains and mattress still sizzled, but there seemed to be more smoke than fire since there was nothing left to feed the flames.

  Livy was watching the exchange too, trying to figure out how to use it to her advantage. She was obviously willing to do or say anything to keep Justyn’s anger focused on her father instead of her, including betraying Professor Carter, which didn’t seem to surprise or upset him. It was as though he had expected the inevitable betrayal. In fact, it seemed that Livy forgot all about her father and Rebecca when the true object of her obsession was in reach. She slunk toward Justyn on her knees, almost groveling, desperate to get his attention. Yet, she still made certain to carry her razor blade along the way.