A Night of Flame and Blood

by Elisabeth Huerta

  The faster Daston and I traveled through the party, the more blatantly obvious something was becoming. Rebecca was not here.

  Daston turned to me, his eyes were guarded, and he kept glancing around the house as if he expected someone to jump out and attack us.

  “This isn’t good, is it Daston?”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if Rebecca isn’t here, there is only one other place she could be at. And it’s not good.”

  Derik’s face flashed in my mind.

  Daston pulled me away from the party and back towards his car all the while keeping a constant stream of cuss words. He kept glancing down at the floor as if he were cursing the entire world. He stopped abruptly making me collide against him.

  I almost yelled at him until I saw what brought him to a stop; or better yet who. I looked around Daston and saw Robert leaning against Daston’s car.

  “Robert?” The disbelief was evident in my voice. “What are you doing here?”

  Never in a million years would I picture Robert here. It seemed so out of place to see him against Daston’s car, a look of cool collectiveness on his face. His eyes passed over me barely sparing me a second glance before he fixed his gaze on Daston.

  “I know my car is beautiful, but could you get your grimy paws off of it and admire it from afar.” Daston’s voice was light but there was something in his eyes which made the challenge evident.

  “This car right here?” Robert gave a quick glance towards Daston’s car. “Not much to look at.” He kicked the car door once before stepping away from it and towards us.

  Daston’s lip twitched. “Did you just kick my baby?”

  Robert raised his head and looked at Daston through slitted eyes. “And what if I did? Are you going to try to lunge at me?” Robert’s face turned into a cold smile. It seemed wrong; it did not belong on Robert’s face. He had never looked at anyone which such a cold calculation before. “But of course, you aren’t. You wouldn’t want Brianna to see your wild side.”

  And there it was. Robert had said my name without one ounce of emotion. Robert had always said my name with warmth; with a smile on his face. He always seemed grateful that I was his only friend. I might have believed many things from Robert but this was the last straw. This was not my best friend. Derik had changed him. My resolve grew brighter than ever. If I ever got my hands on Derik, I was going to kill him. I would show no mercy for what he did to my best friend. He made the person I trusted most into something unrecognizable.

  I clutched Daston’s arm reminding him that I was there. “Daston lets go. We need to find Rebecca.”

  Robert’s gaze snapped towards me and for a moment I saw my best friend. “Don’t go Brianna, not with him. Come with me.”

  He seemed so sincere, but my head was shaking no. “Brianna please.” He sounded desperate. “Please, don’t go with him. Come with me.”

  “No, I can’t. He has Rebecca, Robert. But you already knew that didn’t you?”

  He looked at me startled. “What?”

  “Derik. He has Rebecca. Or didn’t your precious ally tell you.” I could not help the sneer that came out. This was not my Robert, I kept reminding myself. This was Derik’s Robert.

  “Brianna it’s not what you think. Derik isn’t—“

  “Stop.” I screamed. “Robert please get out of our way we need to find Rebecca. I need to find Derik.”

  “No, you can’t.” His gaze hardened. “I won’t let you. It’s Daston Brianna, he’s evil. Not me, please. I am your best friend. You and I have always told each other the truth. We have always trusted each other. Trust me now. Do not go with Daston. Please stay here with me.”

  I wanted to ask him so many things but for some reason only one question came out. “Will you tell me why you and Jackie were talking?” He mentioned we had always told the truth to each other, but he never explained this to me.

  He turned his head away from me and I knew his answer. No, he would not say.

  “I’m sorry Robert, but I’m leaving with Daston to find my sister.”

  His face crumpled up in pain. Seeing Robert in pain tugged my heart. He was always closer than a friend to me; he was my brother.

  I left with Daston my heart still heavy with grief. I did not speak while Daston drove. It was quiet. I trusted that Daston knew where he was taking us.

  I was hardly surprised when we arrived at the cemetery. I should have thought of it before, of course Derik would be cliché enough to go back to the scene of his first crime.

  Daston came around the car and opened my car door quickly, helping me descend from the car. In normal circumstances I would have declined but I felt oddly vulnerable; weak.

  I was here, I was going to face Derik, and all I had with me was some salt and pig’s blood that I might not even be fast enough to pour on him.

  The whole world started spinning and my vision began to blur.

  A strong voice sounded in my ear. “Brianna, breathe, please Brianna breathe. Rebecca’s in there, we need to get her out.”

  Those were the right words to tell me. As soon as I heard my sisters name the world righted and I could see clearly again. Daston was standing in front of me; his hands cupping my face, steadying me.

  “I’m fine. Let’s go get Rebecca.”

  He gave me a look filled with worry. “You don’t have to go in there you know. I can get her out. Just stay here where you’re safe.”

  “No. I have to go in there. It’s the only way.” I said fiercely.

  Daston must have known I was serious because he just nodded his head and lead the way.

  Chapter 19

  It had only been the week before that I traveled through this cemetery in broad daylight with Rebecca. Now it was dark, and I was with Daston. Under difference circumstances going with Daston to an abandoned room hidden away in a cemetery would have been quite intriguing. This on the other hand was like the universe distorting every girl’s fantasy into something sick.

  There was no light illuminating the cemetery. I kept tripping over my own feet. Twice Daston caught me before I fell. We somehow made it to the room. It was as if Daston had night vision because I could not see a damn thing.

  The shadow of the little room was just barely visible behind the inky darkness of the night.

  Daston opened the door and suddenly it was as if I was back in my dream. The whole room was decorated in candles. The candles covered every part of the room, but standing in the center was Derik, Rebecca next to him.

  “Ahh, Brianna, nice of you to join us.”

  My initial shock was gone, instead it turned into blind fury. “You make it sound as if you were expecting me.” I said between clenched teeth. My hands were tightly knotted into fists, my knuckles turning white.

  Daston was still in front of me, and only his hand, which he placed on my shoulder, was holding me back.

  “Why of course we were waiting for you. This party could not have started without you.” He grinned at me, and I found it disturbing to see such a bright smile on his face.

  I lifted my chin and gave him a mocking smile. “How nice of you to have gone to all this trouble for me. Too bad I can’t stick around to enjoy it.

  “Oh and why not.” He looked disappointed.

  “Because I don’t party with demons, as I recall I’m supposed to kill them. Isn’t that right, Derik? Or whoever the hell you are who is using Derik’s meat suit.”

  He did not look surprised. He was expecting this. Derik’s eyes left mine and slid next to me, looking at Daston for the first time since we came in.

  “Naughty, naughty, Daston. You know better than to tell the little seer our secrets. But never mind, I’ll give you the proper punishment in due time. At least you did your job correctly and got her here.”

  My head snapped towards Daston, but his gaze was only on Derik.

  “What’s the matter Brianna?” Derik called mockingly. “Didn’t you know Daston
here is my shadow?”

  He could not be. Many images of Daston came to mind. He had told me he was forbidden; he could not say a word about demons and seers to me. And he seemed to be in pain when he described the forbidden subject.

  When he talked about the men who sold their souls, what was it that he said. Men desperate enough to sell their souls for food and shelter. Men with family’s who were dying. He had said it was so much vigor, I thought it was because he had seen it first hand; but what if he was talking about himself?

  The cold hard truth hit me like a slap in the face. My eyes focused on Daston, it was so hard for me to believe that this could actually be true.

  Lightning fast Daston grabbed me and pulled me against him. His arms created a cage around me. My back was against his front, he had me in an inescapable hold. Daston leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “I told you to go home. I told you not to come here but you would not listen to me. Now I have no choice.”

  My breath caught. Daston voice was final, it was mixed in between coldness and grief.

  Derik looked at our exchange, a wry smile on his face. Rebecca appeared to be in a trance, she was standing next to Derik completely still; her eyes were wide open and appeared to be looking at something that was not here in the room.

  “Funny isn’t it.” Derik said. “I actually thought better of you, Brianna. But you were so easily caught. It’s rather disappointing. I thought for sure you were different. But turns out you’re just like Michelle.”

  I took a sharp intake of breathe when I heard her name. Michelle. Michelle, I’m sorry.

  “You don’t look too surprised. Do you know of little Michelle.”

  “Yes, I do.” My voice cracked. I cleared my throat and tried again this time my voice came out stronger. “I know that you killed her.”

  Derik’s eyebrows raised, “I see Daston didn’t tell you. Where are your manners Daston? Tell her now. Tell her how you lured Michelle. It was quite fascinating. All done to take me out of hell. But what are shadows for right?”

  My head shook. No! Derik was the murderer, not Daston. Daston could not, he would not. The trust I had for him was hard to let go. He had opened up so much to me; I had seen the goodness in him. That could not have been all a lie.

  “What’s the matter Brianna? Not what you expected. Typical. You fell right for my trap and you did not even realize it. Don’t you see? I did everything to make Daston your savior. I pushed you towards him without you even knowing.”

  A flash back of the first day I talked to Daston came to me. The only reason Daston sat next to me was because my desk partner, Bradley, had sat behind me in Dastons seat. Bradley had sat behind me, and next to Derik, both of them seemingly in a great conversation.

  “Bradley.” I whispered.

  “Yes, Bradley. All I had to do was offer him the seat next to mine, strike up boring human conversation and that’s all it took for the seat next to yours to become unoccupied. And what a stroke a luck that Daston was able to sit next to you don’t you think.”

  “But why?”

  “Why? Don’t you see that by sheer brilliance I got Daston close to you so you could trust him. And of course, there’s his handsome face; girls could never seem to resist it. That’s something both you and Michelle have in common. So easily persuaded by a handsome face, both of you were crazy enough to follow him through a cemetery in the dark.”

  “I came for my sister!” I shouted.

  “Ahh, that’s another thing. You should have hid your feelings for your loved ones. Might have saved them from getting hurt. I admit at first glance I thought both of you were mere siblings forced to live together, but you made the mistake of showing how much you really cared about her that day in the classroom. It gave me great leverage to get you here.”

  “You bastard! What did you do to her?”

  “Me, nothing. She’s in a simple trance is all. She’s none of my concern now, she served her purpose.”

  I was shaking all over and if Daston did not have me in such a tight grip I would have leaped on Derik.

  Derik leaned over and pressed his face against Rebecca’s hair, inhaling deeply. “Mmmm she smells rather nice, doesn’t she? Too bad she is so shallow. I’m surprised that you love her as much as you do, seeing how she is.”

  “She isn’t shallow; Rebecca’s a good person, unlike you.”

  “You’d think that wouldn’t you. But Rebecca is a shallow bitch, always has been. You think just because she has changed that everything is better? Didn’t you find it a little weird that Rebecca started changing, turning into much less of a bitch after her encounter with me.”

  “You’re lying. You didn’t…”

  “I did. I performed a hypnosis on her. You see how much power I have over your life. I made you trust two people that were under my control. I got all the information I needed about you from what they told me. And you know what’s even better, not only did I push you to trust my people; I also made you distrust the only person who could have helped you.” He laughed out loud, nearly buckling over.

  Grief overtook me. Robert. He was talking about Robert. An image of Robert’s pained face flashed through my mind.

  “All I had to do was get Rebecca to make you come to Robert’s house so you could see us together. How incriminating.” He laughed again. “If only you knew he was striking a deal to save you.” Derik wiped the tears that came out of his eyes.

  “Robert was trying to help me?”

  “Of course, he was. Don’t you think it’s a rather big coincidence that you made a friend who just happened to have a weird obsession for hell. How he made you study so many defense mechanisms against demons and informed you about the supernatural world. Almost like he was preparing you. All I had to do was get Rebecca to get me information on you and Robert. As soon as she told me about Robert’s obsession, I knew what he was. He was your guide. An inexperienced one, but still your guide.”

  Robert was my guide. Robert was my guide and I abandoned him. Robert was trying to save me, and I ditched him for a guy I hardly knew. Remorse tasted bitter, and it did not go down well. “Now Daston if you will, kill her.”

  “Wait!” I shouted. “Why is it that you went to so much trouble to kill me? I was alone with Daston several times, why didn’t you have him kill me then.”

  Derik looked at me seriously. “Because, my dear, I needed you to come willingly onto hollowed out ground. You see this room is built around hollowed out ground. And in order for the ritual to be done correctly you needed to step foot on it willingly.”

  “R ritual, what ritual?”

  “The one I need so I could forever be bound to Earth and never be sent back to hell. Not many demons know of it. I need a seer; a seer’s blood needs to fill up the ground and I must bathe in it.”

  Bathe in my blood. “That’s disgusting!” I said out loud.

  Derik took a step forward. “I’m glad we share the same thought.” He said calmly.

  A cold sensation on my neck made me aware of a cool sharp object poised against it. Daston must have flipped out a knife while I was distracted; he held it securely against my neck. I winced when he pressed a little too tightly. I was sure there was a thin cut on my neck.

  “This whole time you were lying to me.” I whispered to Daston so only he could here.

  His voice came out choked. “I warned you, didn’t I? I told you that demons could be anyone, that you should trust no one. It was your fault if you still chose to trust me after that warning.”

  “But you’re not a demon.”

  “No, I’m far worse. I’m his bitch, forced to do anything he wishes. And right now, he wishes you to be dead. You must understand that I have to comply.” His voice was shaking, and I heard years of grief behind it. “You must, please I did not ask for this.” He lifted the knife from my neck and lifted it at exactly the same angle I saw the shadow lift his knife when he stabbed Michelle.

  There was no doubt in my mind that Daston was th
e shadow I saw murder Michelle. But I could understand now that he did not do it out of his own free will. Daston was forced to live his life obeying his demon master. He had sold his soul for this. Deep inside I knew Daston was not evil. In his own way he was trying to save me. He wanted me to stay behind; he did not want me to come. He had purposefully avoided me for days because it was his job to round me in.

  I could see it now, the warning he could not tell me. The little slips he made that pointed to him being the shadow. They were so clear now.

  With all these thoughts flashing through my mind there was only one thing I had to tell Daston before I died. “Daston.” I whispered as I saw the knife coming towards me. “I forgive you.”

  Chapter 20

  I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the bite of the knife, but it never came. When I opened my eyes, I saw the point of the knife mere centimeters away from me. Daston kept it still with a shaking hand. He turned me quickly around so I could meet his eyes. There was so much in them, grief, sadness, and a determination that was strong but fading.

  “Run.” It seemed to be taking everything in him to say the words. “Go, as fast as you can. I don’t know how much longer I can hold it.” Daston was shaking from head to toe, his teeth clenched. He was holding back, but the power Derik had over him was strong. I could see him waging and internal war, one I was sure he would lose. He could not hold off Derik’s power for long, but he was giving me a few seconds head start.

  I could hear Derik’s angry shouts when Daston let me go. I did not stick around to hear what he said.

  I ran as fast as I could. The room was full of blinding light, outside was nothing but darkness. I did not know if I was going the right way. The grass kept tickling my feet as I ran past it, my shoes made a squishy sound from the mud that surrounded the ground. Shadows of trees were on both sides of the path I was running through. I swirled around the gravestones being careful not to run into one.