Hotblood

by Juliann Whicker

  I walked aimlessly trying to figure things out, then felt a wave of horror when I looked up and realized where my feet had taken me. I’d walked without any clear direction and now stood across the street from the cemetery. In the fading light I could see a line of trees that led to the woods on the right, curving around to enclose the grounds. The wall was old with cracks running up the chipped blocks where it wasn’t covered in ivy. It was so different from the last time I’d been here. I watched a yellow speck flutter down from a tree, flipping and gliding until it came to a rest at my feet. The trees were changing, shifting from the green of spring to the brilliant autumn.

  Snowy was right; I should be grateful. I had so much to be grateful for— one, that I could feel my nails digging into my palms; two, that I noticed things like a bright color against a world of greens; three, that I could get angry at Snowy or do anything on my own volition. I was myself and for that I would be thankful if it killed me.

  I took a step into the street, one step closer to the cemetery and the woods beyond that Satan had warned me against. I took another step and knew I was smiling as I thought of all the things I could do now. It was remarkably fun to ignore good advice. I picked up my pace, deciding to cut through the cemetery to get to the woods. It would be much faster to take the woods to my mother’s house instead of following the meandering suburban road the way I’d come. I loved the feel of my hair blown into my face by the wind as I shoved through the iron-gate, sending it clanging against the wall. If I hurried I should be able to get home before it was entirely dark.

  I walked through the cemetery, making a wide circuit of Devlin’s grave. It was impossible to miss from its position on the hillside, but I did my best. I broke into a jog as I passed through stones, most of them ornate crumbling statues. It should have been creepy, not exhilarating to jump over the low ones and race around tall ones. I didn’t slow down when I reached the woods. My new instincts were clearer, sharper, and I could smell the undergrowth and taste the wind, even diminished through the trees.

  I heard a crack to my right, like a branch had fallen that made me jump. I laughed at myself and hurried on. It was slow going in some places where I had to go around patches of blackberry or wild roses. It was darker in the woods, much darker and I found my nervousness growing each time I heard something unfamiliar.

  I found myself looking over my shoulder, a sense of panic building in my chest. It was ridiculous for me to be afraid of the gentle woods around my mother’s house, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being followed by something I couldn’t see. I hurried and wished I’d listened to Satan as it got darker and darker beneath the trees. I was probably halfway through the woods to my mother’s house when something brushed my face. It was a light touch that felt like it left an oily residue, but when I put a hand to my cheek, there was nothing. I ran faster, feeling phantom fingers brush my leg. I could hear my heart ricochet in my chest as I raced, fear making me clumsy as I slid to one knee. I forced myself to fight the horror that gripped my mind, to slow down and think. I realized that I’d changed directions and instead of following the perimeter of town I was heading away towards the river. It scared me that I’d gotten disoriented when I knew these woods so well.

  I forced myself to stop and close my eyes, trying to ignore the fingers, the whispers I could almost hear. I turned towards town and started running, forcing my mind to focus on what I was doing, to block out the rising screams inside my head and the touches that grew more oily and substantial, until I could see a glowing streetlight. In a few seconds I broke out of the trees. Whatever they were, they did not want me to go to the light. I felt their gnashing fury more than heard it, the wailing in my head getting louder as I ran past the large shape of an old barn. That’s when I heard the scream, one that came from outside my head and made the fear I’d felt disappear, consumed by a different, stronger emotion. It was the scream of the Nether creature, the silver something, and it was here, just like me. I ran, with my head turned to look over my shoulders until my feet hit something solid and I flew through the air. My arm hit the gravel first. The sensation of rocks imbedding in my flesh made focusing much simpler. Apparently running as fast as you can while looking backwards wasn’t particularly bright. I rolled into a crouch ready to attack but found myself facing the warmest, sweetest eyes the world had ever framed.

  “Are you okay?” Lewis asked, his face in an expression of concern as he looked at me, his hand on the sleek metal of a car like he’d just pulled himself up off the ground.

  I blinked and wondered if I was in shock from blood loss, or hallucinating for a different reason. That voice wasn’t possible. The blood leaking out of me nearly drowned out his scent, the oil and spicy shampoo mixed with something else, warm and sweet. Another scream broke the spell. I looked past Lewis towards the woods. He turned as a deep sheet of darkness raced towards us. As the shadow expanded I saw darker forms caught in it, distorted human shapes that twisted and spun in the shadows. They writhed and struggled but they were caught. The hair on my arms rose as the darkness reached Lewis. There was no time to run. I thought I heard him gasp the split second before I was engulfed. It was warm and smelled like autumn, only so much sweeter. I breathed with my mouth open, panting while I tried not to smell so much, to ignore how much I wanted the Nether darkness, and then it was gone. It took one blink for everything to disappear. The darkness was simply gone and with it all of the things that with some time I could probably convince myself were the effect of an overactive imagination. Lewis was not gone. I stood looking at the back of his head, the scent of Nether rendering his own scent as far less spectacular.

  He exhaled abruptly and turned towards me. “Well, that was something. What, I’m not sure, but definitely something.”

  “Um, yeah.” My voice came out a croak. I couldn’t stop staring at him. The expression in his eyes was warm and gentle. I could feel how solid and assured he was.

  “Are you all right? I thought you were bleeding,” he said and I remembered my arm. I looked down and it was as smooth as if I’d never hit the gravel.

  “I…” my voice trailed off as I took turns staring from my arm to the boy. “I thought so too.”

  His chuckle sounded a little bit strained. “You must be a very fast runner if you could outpace demons.”

  “Demons?” I swallowed and took a step towards him without thinking, craving his solid warmth. “Are we safe here? Will they come back?”

  He shook his head frowning then rubbed the side of his knee. It was then I realized what I’d tripped over. “Not if a Nether had anything to do with it. From what I understand they’re very thorough. You look like you’re in shock. Do you need to sit down?”

  I shook my head and wished I hadn’t because it made my head ache. “No, I’m good.” It was not exactly true. “I need to get home.” Which was definitely honest. It was completely dark by now and if it weren’t for the streetlight I wouldn’t get to stare up at his sculpted features and warm eyes as I soaked in the sight of his real, warm, flesh. If I was in shock it was a toss up what had caused it. Staring at him, I felt my breath get short and I realized that I was hyperventilating.

  “If you sat down for a minute…” he said and put his hand on my shoulder.

  I looked down at the hand, the scar on his thumb inches from my mouth. I could see the veins in his hand, hear the pulse, and smell the blood. The anxiety left me and I felt my heart rate slow down until it beat in time to Lewis’s. I shoved his hand off me and turned towards the street. I could have sworn that my knee had gotten bashed, but now there was no pain. I had questions and maybe he had answers, but right now I was not to be trusted with someone too sweet to resist.

  “Goodbye,” he called faintly after me as I started to run. I was late and Satan was going to kill me when he found out where I’d been, but not angrier than I was with myself. I should have known better than to go out in the woods at night, for the sake of the Nether if nothing else. My heart
rate accelerated as I thought of him, the scent of darkness, and that he’d followed me to Sanders. I hated how exhilarated I felt at the thought of those shadows waiting for me in the woods. I didn’t know why the demons had wanted to chase me towards the river, or what they would have done if the Nether hadn’t come along. My father was very clear about the one good thing about Nether: that they killed demons. Lewis knew about Nether. I was confused that I could feel so strong about Lewis, and even stronger about something else.

  When I got home I went straight to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

  “Did you have a nice walk?” my mother asked from behind me.

  I froze as I wondered if I could manage to skip a few of the more unfortunate parts. “Snowy and I had a fight.”

  “Really?” She asked in surprise. “I’m sorry to hear that. You’ve never fought before…” her breath caught and she asked, “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

  “Mother!” I turned to her abandoning my sandwich. “Of course not. She’s a girl, and she was my best friend.” I had a memory of my father lying on the ground while blood seeped from his head and blushing got up from the table. “Good night.” I tried to push past Satan where he stood in the hallway but he grabbed my arm and I’d have to hurt him to make him let go. I was more tired than angry and my head ached terribly. When he handed me a vial and turned towards the kitchen, I was relieved to climb the stairs to my room. The vial had a little label, “Dariana’s Lullaby” in a beautiful calligraphy that looked like waves of water lapping on the shore. My dad hadn’t forgotten about my dreams.

  As I lay on my bed I thought about how I was going to manage school without Snowy at my side. I would manage. I gritted my teeth but a tear slid down my face anyway. It reminded me of the demon touch, and I shivered and pulled up my blanket. I would have to tell Satan about the demons. I had to do it since he was responsible for my safety. Tomorrow…I’d tell him tomorrow.

  7 School and Other Tools of the Devil

  The next morning, I found myself careening through the rainy streets of Sanders in Satan’s monster car. It made sounds that should have woken the dead. When he lurched to a stop in front of the ancient building used as a high school, I gave him a tight smile, ignoring his “Have a nice day at school, try not to kill anything,” while I struggled to open the door without kicking it. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, and forced a smile on my face to show the ninety-five percent of the high school that was staring at me, that I was happily oblivious of them all. I walked directly towards the enormous gothic building, studying the architecture intently, trying to ignore the gazes I could feel between my shoulder blades.

  There were twin towers on either side of the large doors that were set back beneath an arched porch. The towers were three stories high, the rest of the building two stories. It had been remodeled and expanded twenty years ago when my mother first came to Sanders. It was one of the few buildings left standing from the last time this town had been settled. It had been a cathedral. Now the structure was split into two floors, a long wide opening between the two so the light from the stained glass windows in the arched ceiling was filtered down to the bottom level. It looked different to me now, the way everything did. The stone was a richer color than the simple grey from my memory. The building was beautiful to me instead of a place where I sat in the cold waiting for Devlin. I shivered, and looked away from the building to fend off the memories.

  “Dariana,” Snowy called. I took a deep breath and forced myself to slow down and wait for her. I could hear her breathing heavily as her feet hurried over the wet grass.

  “Hi,” I said when she caught up. “No time to chat, I’ve got to get my schedule.” I tried to give her a smile, but she rolled her eyes at me and reached in her bag to pull something out.

  “I got yours for you,” she said and shoved it at me, looking at me critically. I ignored her instead studying the classes on the schedule.

  “Oh, thanks. That was really thoughtful.” I tried not to scowl.

  She tossed her hair. “I always get yours for you, you just never noticed before. Dari, what happened to you? When I saw you last you weren’t functioning. Period. Now, you seem like a completely different person.”

  I wasn’t sure whether she was trying to offend me or not. “I guess I am.”

  We walked slowly up the steps together. “So, what happened? Was it really your dad’s therapy that was so amazing or are you on medication?”

  I started laughing. She was definitely trying to insult me. “Don’t you think if meds could do it, my mother would have found one by now? She’s the brilliant pharmaceuticals giantess that employs Sanders, or had you forgotten?”

  Snowy scowled at me. “If she’d put you on medication you wouldn’t be suffering from the side effects that I attribute to your sudden lack of basic social skills.”

  I scowled back at her, both of our arms across our chests, and it occurred to me that we were having another fight. I’d never had a fight with Snowy before. I couldn’t help smiling at how ridiculous it was. “I like your boots; it tames down the preppiness a bit. Otherwise you look like a cheerleader.” Snowy was always very careful to distinguish the dance team from cheerleading.

  “She couldn’t look like a cheerleader with the assets she lacks,” a sugary voice broke in. I looked over and a very cheerleader looking girl pushed between us up the steps nearly making me lose my balance. Snowy recovered sooner than I did.

  Snowy glared at the blond girl with so much venom it made the look she’d given me positively docile. “Since you are so thoroughly the cheerleader ideal, it astonishes me that you’d bother with the dance team, Valerie. Don’t you think you’ll look a trifle overbalanced on the dance floor?”

  Valerie smiled and looked so flawless I could see how Snowy could hate her. It made me wonder what Lewis thought of her. “Don’t worry about me, honey. If the team has room for little autistic robots like her,” she nodded at me, “I doubt it will suffer too much at the overabundance of my charms.”

  Snowy’s face went white and I saw her fists clench. I was beginning to worry that she’d do some kind of violence to Valerie, when Osmond’s cheerful voice broke through the tension. “Dari, you’re lookin’ good,” he said as he draped an arm around my shoulders, his sheer mass forcing Valerie back a step. “Snowy’s introduced you to the new girl already? Cool. Let’s get inside before we’re responsible for making all the kids late.” He grinned at Snowy and I tried not to mind the weight of his arm on me. He touched me so casually, but he’d never done it before. No one touched me, but apparently he thought the rules had changed along with the rest of town.

  Inside I smelled something sweet and spicy that cut through the crowds of people, slamming lockers, scents of anxiety, and depression. I looked up at the same time Lewis turned his head and met my gaze. He smiled at me, and I gasped feeling almost dizzy. I told myself it was the unbelievable reality of him standing there, looking almost like any other student that was so unsettling. It had been less weird to meet him while being pursued by demons than to see him in the hallways of the high school, slamming his locker, shifting his books in his arms, and smiling at me. It was the weirdness of it, not anything to do with him. It could have been anyone, like Osmond. I looked up and Osmond was glaring at Lewis.

  “Osmond, why don’t you skip football and your classes and follow Dari around all day so she doesn’t have to face anything unpleasant,” Snowy said as I watched Lewis’ retreating back. I looked back at them and saw Osmond scowl at Snowy. Since when did Osmond frown at anybody, particularly Snowy?

  “Maybe I will,” he said then looking down at me winked. “See you at lunch, Dari. This is your class, right?”

  I looked at Snowy and she nodded her confirmation. He walked off saying hello to a friend, and soon guys who were mostly football players, but also some who were more academically minded surrounded him. Osmond was still a star without Devlin. I wasn’t a ghost anymore, not with the way people st
ared at me, but I wasn’t a star either— more like a freak. I wished for a moment that I could blend in, but then I shivered at the remembered cold. I stood up straight and looked at Snowy.

  “So. I guess I’ll see you at lunch,” I said wondering if I wanted to sit with her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course.” She swept off in the tide of people heading towards their classes.

  I walked through the door to English feeling a mixture of relief and irritation at Snowy’s easy dismissal of whatever fight we’d nearly had. The classroom was half full with only a few seats in the front and back remaining. I smelled him before he turned his head and I caught the profile. That’s what Snowy had been talking to Osmond about. Snowy had said that Osmond and Lewis got along fine, but apparently whatever treaty they’d had was over now that I was back in town.

  I dropped into the nearest seat and gave the girl beside me what I hoped was a friendly smile before focusing on the front where the teacher, Mrs. Briggs, glared back at me. The bell rang and she started droning about the books we were going to read. I tried to pay attention, but the stained glass windows high on the wall distracted me, the gold and crimson falling across Lewis’ bent head, lighting his hair like it was on fire.

  “Dariana, what do you think?” I blinked at Mrs. Briggs, her face a mockery of a smile. I felt my heart speed up and the warmth spread through my limbs as I realized she was setting me up to look ridiculous.