by Susan Stec
Christopher hammered the "speaker" button on the cell and turned the phone toward Chick. "Hell no! Betty's a goddamned possible mate for Dorius. Fuck me! Turn this damn car around!"
"I'm sorry, Chris," Susan's voice floated from the phone. "I knew you wouldn't want to hear it from him. But that's not the only reason I called. I have some good news, too. JoAnn…"
"I don't give a shit about any good news!" Christopher yelled.
"Susan, tell me you didn't snag your sister's ass first, after all the work I've done!" Chick demanded, her eyes shooting daggers at the phone.
Christopher said, "Tell me you did. I need to get to Miami. Dorius is not…"
"JoAnn's not here." Susan's voice nipped Christopher's words. "Lily is! And you are not going to Miami. Just leave it alone, Christopher. Come home and we can talk this out. It's not like she was a possible mate for you, anyway."
Chick jerked the car off the road, skidded to a stop, pulled the phone out of Christopher's hands, and held it in front of her face. "How the hell did you get Lily without your sister?" she asked over her fangs.
Christopher hammered the passenger door with his fist. "Damn, Dorius!"
Susan sighed. "Mom, it's a long story, but bottom line, Raphael was aging Lily for the coronation so she would get the respect of the other demons as the new Gate-Keeper-To-Hell. He was about to age her some more and JoAnn was having none of it. So we summoned Lily and now all we have to do is get JoAnn."
"How old is she?" Chick wanted to know.
"About six, but he wanted to age her to sixty-six," Susan said.
"How's she acting?" Chick asked.
Christopher rubbed his face and then pulled a bag of blood out of the cooler at his feet.
"Like she's older and smarter than all of us," Susan said. "And I sure could use some help with her. When she's not in front of the television, she's glued to the Net. I put in parental controls, but she found a way to disarm them. Then she took your Discover card out of your dresser, Mom, and just told me she has a package arriving tomorrow. She figured out how to overnight something. And she won't tell me what it is. She's been quoting privacy laws and her rights as an individual under the Constitution of the United States. She considers herself an adult. You both need to come home. Now!"
Christopher pulled the empty blood bag from his fangs and stuffed it in a Walmart bag hanging from the dashboard. He turned to look at Chick, hope riding his expression.
The car was silent for a moment. Chick finally answered, "We're not coming home without JoAnn, and that won't…"
Christopher interrupted, "What about Betty and Dorius? I'd like to at least talk to…"
"Look, we're almost there," Chick said. "And you know you can't do shit about Betty, anyway. Just deal with it!"
"Mom," Susan warned. "When Dorius finds out where you two are, he's gonna lock you both up and throw away the damn key! Look, I've got another pink phone and Marcus and I are on it. Just come home and help us from here. Dorius never has to know you left."
"Screw Dorius." Christopher switched gears. "We'll have JoAnn in the next couple of days. In fact, we were just about to call her. We'll see you when we get there. You can personally tell Dorius I said, 'screw him and the ho he rode in on'."
He pulled the phone out of Chick's hand, flipped it shut, and ordered, "Let's get this show on the road. I want to get back and check this demon kid out."
"Now you're talkin'," Chick said, cranking up the engine.
* * * *
Dorius strutted across the gym toward Betty and Zaire. "We are going to use this opportunity to check out Betty's fighting skills. You will both be fighting Warren and Veronica in the first match."
Betty snickered at Warren. "Can't handle us alone, sweetie? An' look at ya; ya pick a woman ta help."
Warren sneered. "I can take the both of you with my eyes closed. This was not my idea."
Zaire slid her gym bag across the floor and it landed between the bleachers and Veronica. Betty sauntered over to the bag, sizing up Veronica.
"Come on, Warren, whaddaya say? Let's you and me go at it first," Zaire teased, doing a few leg stretches. "Let's see if you got enough dick to take me."
"Bend over, bitch," Warren growled, cupping his crotch with his hand.
Zaire bounced around on the balls of her feet, shaking her arms. "I'd keep holdin' that thing, I was you. You wouldn't want to lose it."
"That will be enough!" Dorius was not amused. "That was certainly not a commendable performance around a new recruit. I will be discussing lewd behavior, and punishment with both of you, in my office later." He turned toward Betty and Veronica. "Out in the center of the gym, ladies." He swung his hand toward the center of the room as he addressed Zaire and Warren, "Gentlemen."
Zaire turned angry eyes on Warren's grinning face. "Kickin' your ass'll make any punishment worth it," she mumbled as they walked toward Dorius.
Victoria shot a grin at Betty, who was squatting by Zaire's gym bag, reaching under the bleachers.
Betty stood, turned to face them, and tossed an athletic cup at Warren."That should free up yer other hand. We wouldn't want ya ta say ya had a handicap or nothin."
"Damn, Betty," Zaire bowed a wave, "I like your panache."
"Me too," Veronica whispered, a big grin on her face.
"That better be somethin' good," Betty said, brow reaching for her hairline.
Warren heaved the athletic cup at the bleachers hard enough to make it bounce so high, it almost hit the twenty-foot ceiling before it fell and landed by the gym bag.
Zaire and Veronica burst out laughing.
Everyone's eyes moved in Dorius' direction when he cleared his throat. The corners of Dorius' lips twitched. "Alright, enough, let's go over the rules for Eliza… Betty's benefit, shall we?
"If you bleed, you're out for the remainder of the match. Last one standing will fight Betty alone in the next match. Unless it's Betty, then she will choose her next opponent."
Dorius scanned the four immortals. "Are we ready?" They nodded—he nodded back. "Let's fight."
Zaire leapt at Warren, and they both landed on the floor, rolling, fangs extended. Veronica and Betty danced a circle around each other.
Warren wiggled out of Zaire's grasp, and shot up so fast, it would not have been visible to the human eye. She spun as he landed in front of her, kicked him in the stomach with both feet, and with a whoosh of breath, he flew backwards as fast as he'd come at her. She was on him again before he could get to his feet.
Betty ducked and slid between Victoria's legs, grabbing her ankles as she went through. Veronica landed on the wood floor with a slap, face first, and Betty rolled on top of her, straddling her hips.
"Exssscellent," Dorius hissed, his eyes locked on Betty.
Zaire had Warren's ear between her teeth, her hands wrapped around his neck. He was bucking like a bull.
A voice rang through the gym. "Blood!"
Dorius jerked to attention.
A speaker mounted under a window, high on the gym wall, boomed when the voice yelled, "Warren!"
Dorius was already running toward them. "Stop! Immediately!"
Zaire spat Warren's earlobe on the floor, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and started to stand. Warren lunged at her and had his fangs in her neck before Dorius could blink.
"I said stop!" Dorius yelled. "Desist! Warren, back off! Now!"
A loud screech came from Veronica. Dorius spun around. Betty lifted her head from Veronica's prone body, chewed, swallowed, and smiled at Dorius with bloody lips. Veronica pressed her hand to a hole in her bloody shoulder.
"Well done. Now sit!" Dorius ordered Betty as he pointed to the bleachers.
Six vampires ran into the gym. Four sprinted toward Warren and Zaire. Two headed for Veronica. She waved them off, already healing, and smiled at Betty, giving her a thumbs-up.
Loud growls, grunts and a shitload of cussing came from the four vamps trying to pull Zaire and Warren apart. D
orius was at the center of the group in a human heartbeat. With unbelievable speed, he grabbed Warren by the arm and tossed him into the air with one hand. Warren landed on the top of the bleachers and slid halfway to the floor, his face and neck bleeding, his arm clearly broken; bone jutting through skin.
"Shit! That's the first time I've seen Dorius in action." Zaire shook her head in amazement.
Betty shook her ass all the way up to Dorius, and patted him on the butt. "Hope ya don't move that fast in the bedroom, sugar. I like me a sixty-minute man."
~~~~
Chapter Twenty
~~~~
"Lily, sweetie, come eat your sandwich," Jeni coaxed. "Peanut butter and grape jelly. Every little girl loves PB&J. I even made you a glass of chocolate milk to wash it down."
Lily's head swiveled to face Jeni. The rest of her body sat on the oak floor in the living room facing the television. "No thank you, Cousin Jeni."
"Okay, so sweetie, please don't ever rotate your head like that again. Okay? It quickens my heartbeat, sweetie." Jeni put her hand above her breasts and took a deep breath while Lily's body rotated to align with her head.
The little demon smiled. "You know I do not need food for sustenance, right, Cousin Jeni?"
I stepped into the living room, pulled a blood bag from my mouth and asked, "What do you eat?" I really didn't want to hear the answer. My mind was tossing around possibilities, and none of the choices could be purchased from the local grocery store.
Lily stood up, pointed the remote at the television set and turned off the SpongeBob cartoon. She had the Directv programming down pat and knew how to set TiVo to record her favorites.
"I simply exist off the feelings of others, Auntie Susan," Lily said, placing the remote on the corner of the glass top coffee table directly over the gator's mouth. She giggled at the image. "The more mental chaos, the healthier I become. My new family seems to be a virtual cornucopia of stress, so I feel just peachy. SpongeBob says peachy. I looked up the definition in the dictionary, quite a helpful book, and although peachy can be the taste of a particular fruit, it can also mean something is excellent. So my health is peachy at the moment."
I swallowed hard. "Do you ever feel the need to drum up those chaotic moments, dear?"
Lily climbed up onto the picnic table and picked up her sandwich. She took a big bite, chewed, swallowed, and reached for her glass, while holding up a finger for me to wait until she took a sip. "My, that texture is quite alarming. It sticks to the roof of your mouth, now doesn't it? But it has a unique flavor." Her eyes sparkled as she turned them in Jeni's direction. "Thank you, Cousin Jeni. I will be content to consume mortal food if you wish." She shot me a quick glance before continuing. "I wouldn't want to distress you."
Marcus stepped into the room looking all fresh from his shower. "How's our little demon girl doing this evening?" he asked, giving Lily a big grin.
"Just peachy," I said, eyes on Lily.
Marcus raised a brow and frowned at the blood bag in my. "Do you have a moment, darling? I have something I would like to discuss with you up in our room."
"Not now, dear," I said. "I was having a conversation with Lily about her eating habits." I tossed the empty blood bag in the trash and stepped closer to the table. "Lily, let's get something…"
"Good idea, Mom," Jeni said, "let's crank up that chaos. Maybe Lily isn't rosy enough."
Lily swallowed another bite of her sandwich, followed it with a gulp of chocolate milk, and said, "Can you pass me the dictionary, Cousin Jeni? I believe a rose is a fragrant flower from a thorny bush, but like the peach, it may have another meaning as you have used it."
Jeni laughed. "Rosy in that context means the color of your cute, little cheeks. Pink and healthy looking." Jeni bent down and gave Lily a big hug and a peck on the cheek. "You are just too sweet for words."
Lily smiled and took another sip of her drink. "I rather like this liquid. It's sweet, just like I seem to be."
Yeah, about as sweet as strychnine, I thought.
Marcus cleared his throat. "Susan, speaking of sweet nectar, can you follow me upstairs? I'm in need of sustenance."
"Yeah, well, why don't you see what you can find in the fridge, 'cause Lily and I are going to have us a little talk."
Marcus tightened his jaw and it only distracted me for about two seconds, because Lily opened her cute little mouth again.
"Auntie Susan, I know my place. I do not intend to be difficult. However, if you wish a conversation to enlighten me as to the limitations you intend to impose upon me, I will oblige, but I am more concerned with my mother at the moment. She is about to get herself into a very bad situation, and I think you should contact her."
Marcus came to attention. "Can you expand on that? What kind of trouble?"
Lily pushed back her empty plate, took the last swallow of her drink and placed the glass delicately beside the dish. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, tucked it under the plate, and looked straight into Marcus' eyes.
"My mother is speaking with Grandmother Chick right now. Grandmother is instructing her to be packed and ready to come home tonight. However, Grandmother will be unable to follow through with her promise. Later, when my father sees the suitcase my mother will shortly be packing, he is going to be very angry. He will then send her into Abandon and you will not be able to reach her. I suggest you stop her actions."
I sucked in a breath. Okay, so what question do I ask first?
"Lily, what exactly is Abandon?" Jeni asked, and I mentally checked that one off my list as I exhaled.
"In your world, it would be like a state penitentiary."
Marcus started pacing.
Jeni sat down next to Lily. "Don't worry, sweetie, we won't let your dad send your mother to Abandon." She turned to me. "Will we, Mother?" she asked pleasantly with her arm wrapped around Lily's shoulder.
Marcus asked, "How do you know Chick will not be able to bring your mother to Earth?"
Okay, so I could cross another question off my list.
Resi came running into the house from the garage, screaming, "The snake ate the raccoon! I did it! I mind pushed it to eat the animal! It worked!"
Lily made a tsk-tsk sound with her tongue. "Cousin Resi, I've been monitoring your endeavors and I assure you, the snake ate the raccoon simply because it was hungry. It did not eat it earlier because you made it cautious with your constant visuals, not because you instructed it not to. You cannot now, nor will you ever be able to mentally guide its actions—whether in an immortal state or otherwise."
I heard Marcus grinding his teeth.
"How the hell do you know that?" Resi asked. "I've done it with the damn infected animals when we hunt them. So there!"
"Resi, don't cuss in front of the child!" Jeni said, placing her hands over Lily's ears.
"She's a demon, for Christ's sake!" I shouted.
Lily patted Jeni's hands and gently removed them from her ears. "Hell and damnation are not bad words, Cousin Jeni, although, used in that context, it is disturbing. I have no intentions of adapting a crass demeanor in any event. But I do feel peachy again."
Marcus hit the table with his fist and hissed like a teakettle in overdrive. "Answer the question I asked, demon. How do you know Chick won't be able to follow through?"
Lily tossed her jet-black hair over her shoulder, lavender eyes gleaming. "Because I am a demon, Uncle Marcus, and I see things."
Son-of-a-bitch, she was getting on my last nerve. "Lily, you will answer your uncle's question, or you're on restriction! No more television for you, young lady."
Jeni burst out laughing. "Oh, I'm sure you can follow through with that one."
"Can she, like, possess one of us, or something?" Resi asked as she backed into the kitchen.
"Of course she can't," I said as I turned to Lily. "Can you?"
"I will do only as you wish, Auntie Susan, but it would behoove you to think about this in a rational manner. The mission Grandmother is on is a dangero
us one. One you will also have to address eventually. But my mother's safety is a more urgent issue at the moment."
She had my head spinning. She was not giving specific answers. I took in a breath and asked, "Lily can you possess any of us?"
Lily pointedly ran her eyes over everyone in the room, and stopped on me. "Auntie Susan, you summoned me—remember?—I must obey you."
There was that, but still, not a detailed answer. I decided to let it go for the moment. "I will keep that in mind, young lady. And you and I are going to have a long talk before you go to bed tonight."
Lily got up, picked up her plate and glass and carried it to the kitchen. "I will look forward to that, Auntie Susan. But at this moment, I strongly suggest you contact my mother before it is too late," she sweetly added as she slid the plate and glass onto the counter.
"Is she cute or what?" Jeni asked.
Marcus had a look of dire concern on his face.
"As cute as a sleeping water moccasin," Resi answered.
I pulled the pink phone out of my jeans and leered at Lily over the breakfast bar.
~~~~
Chapter Twenty-One
~~~~
I stepped through my bedroom door, glaring at the image of my sister on the screen of the pink phone in my hand. Tootles lifted her smelly head off my pillow, her eyes sleepy, one side of her cheek flattened against her maw.
"How do you know Mom isn't going to be able to get me home tonight?" JoAnn asked, not even bothering to look in my direction. Tootles growled the minute she heard her voice.
JoAnn stood in front of the camera lens, holding up a red blouse to her chest, turning her body from side-to-side as if she were gazing into a mirror. In the background, I could see a large bed with a red velvet coverlet, and assorted pillows in gold. Black and red adorned the headboard, where, perched in the middle, loomed a huge, furry, stuffed animal that looked an awful lot like Big Foot.
"Because your daughter told me so," I answered, my eyes taking in the colorful room on the screen as she folded the blouse neatly against her chest. "Did you know she could see future events?"
