I needed to see Clyde. Grandpa had called him last night, and the Demon had promised to try and learn more about the strange Guardian illness. He hadn't told Clyde that the virus was real, and I didn't protest this lie. It seemed best to keep Patrick's condition a secret. Grandpa intended to take me to visit Clyde whenever the Demon contacted us, but after sitting in class all day, I needed to do something. I needed to go see Clyde myself.
“Please?” I breathed, pushing my mouth to Patrick's cheek. Who knew? Maybe I could use his own moves against him. I let my lips light gingerly against his cheek, then drew them slowly down to his jaw, one thin breath at a time.
I wondered if it was working, but I didn't have to wonder for long. I could feel the tremble in his fingers against my face, felt the shiver ripple through his body. His lips pressed against the curve of my neck, and then he groaned very lowly. It wasn't a groan of pain; it was the kind of groan that made my stomach flip.
“It's not fair,” he whispered. “You're not fair.”
“It's for your own good,” I argued. Finally I slipped my mouth to his, and he kissed me deeply. His palms on my face were comforting, and I tried to offer him the same sensation by stroking my fingers through his hair. I pulled him closer and closer, suddenly desperate to keep this kiss from ending. His lips melted to mine, and I knew from the way his hands shook that he was as determined as I was to make this moment eternal.
It didn't matter that we were standing in front of the school, that people were walking all around us. For that moment, it was just us. My every thought was on him, and his only concern was strictly for me. There was no one else, nothing else.
His mouth lifted, but only subtly. He breathed my name, and I shivered down to my bones. I felt the pleased smile twist his lips, because they rested so completely against mine. “I can do it too,” he confided, almost mockingly.
I could feel the tears behind my closed eyelids, burning, stinging, wanting to get free. No matter how hard or long he insisted on pretending that nothing was wrong, I wasn't going to believe him. Would it be worse if he were in constant mourning? Maybe. But this fake ease he was trying to achieve… it almost made me sick to my stomach.
But of course I couldn't tell him that. Whatever made this easier for him, I was willing to play along.
I forced a smile, ordered my tears to retreat. Then I opened my clear eyes and pulled back from him, letting him see that everything was fine. I could pretend too. “You need to go. We can't leave a bored Toni lying around—there's no telling what he'd do.”
Patrick smiled, brushing his fingers a final time against my face before he dropped his hands. We remained standing very close together, my hands still on his shoulders. “You're right—we can't have that.”
“I'll come pick you up for the recital,” I said spontaneously. “You shouldn't be driving, and Toni probably shouldn't randomly show up.”
He nodded once, accepting the plan. “I'll be waiting for you,” he promised.
“I love you,” I whispered. The words were quiet, but completely sincere.
He stooped in for a quick kiss, and then he took a step back and my hands slipped from his body. He forced a smile. “I love you, Kate. More than you can imagine.”
It was a good thing he stepped around me then, because if he hadn't moved in that second, he might have seen the moisture once again gathering in my eyes. I turned to watch him walk away, more rapidly than he usually moved. His tense shoulders were slightly hunched, and I got the distinct feeling that he was running away from me. From the emotions he refused to show.
I took a deep breath and released it expansively. It was time to get to work.
Lee was a little surprised by my sudden desire to go shopping, but she told me that she was still hoping to find a purple necklace for next week, so she was all for it. I didn't mention that we were heading for a pawnshop, because the twins were still in the car, and I didn't want Grandpa to know I was going. That was the whole point of having Lee accompany me. He would never believe that I would do Seer stuff with my best friend, let alone go visit a Demon, even if he was “safe.”
I dropped the twins off at the house and told Jenna that I'd be back around five. After we'd pulled out of my driveway, Lee asked if we could stop by her house so she could pick up some more cash. Though she probably wasn't going to need it, I pulled into her driveway anyway—next to Peter Keegan's car.
“Huh,” Lee grunted as she took off her seat belt. “He's here pretty early. I doubt Mom's home yet.” She suddenly threw me a look, when she realized I hadn't shut off the car or removed my own seat belt. “Uh, do you have something against my house? I don't want to be alone in there with him. You might as well come in and get a drink or something.”
“We don't have a lot of time,” I reminded her, glancing down at the clock. It was nearing four and fast.
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Kate? I don't think the store's going anywhere. It's hot. I need a drink. You coming or not?”
I hesitated, but gave in with a sigh. I twisted the key and reached for my seat belt. “Fine. But let's make it fast, all right?”
“Sure. It's called a pit stop for a reason, genius.”
She opened her car door, and I was a split second behind her. I didn't bother to lock the doors because I knew we'd be fast. I followed Lee to the front door, which she hurried to unlock. I was mildly surprised that Lee's mom trusted her new boyfriend with a key to the house, but I guess it wasn't any of my business. Besides, Peter really was a pretty cool guy, and I guess they had been dating for quite a long time.
We stepped into the house, and I glanced around the living room, expecting to see Peter. He wasn't around, but there was a cell phone sitting on the otherwise immaculate coffee table, so I knew he was here somewhere.
I looked to Lee, but she only shrugged, obviously not worried. “Why don't you get us some water? I'll be right back.”
Lee jogged up the stairs, and I moved to the back corner of the quiet house. I went right to the cupboard next to the sink, pulling out two clear glasses. I stepped up to the fridge and filled the first cup with ice, then moved it under the water dispenser. While it filled up, I pushed the second one under the ice.
The sounds were loud in the still house, and for no reason my arms were suddenly covered in goose bumps. I tried to shake off the feeling by concentrating on the glasses. Once both were ready, I carried them back out to the living room, sipping from one as I walked.
I wandered into the room, wishing that I could set the freezing glasses on the coffee table. My fingers were turning numb, but Lee's mom would kill me if I made rings on her wooden table. So I sat down on the couch instead and attempted to balance the cups on my knees—anything to try and relieve some of my fingers from the cold.
I was startled when Peter's phone suddenly began to vibrate in front of me. The dull whine rattled the whole table. I literally jumped, and tried to recover from the momentary scare by taking a deep breath. I glanced around the room, thinking that wherever Peter was in the house, he had to have heard that.
The phone continued to go off, but I heard no footsteps. “Peter?” I called out, albeit not loudly. It's hard to talk in a quiet house—it feels weird. Especially when it's not your own. “Mr. Keegan?”
He didn't seem to be coming. Unable to stop myself, I leaned over to read the caller ID, mindful of the full glasses I held. Maybe it was Lee's mom?
My heart—which had already been beating a little more irregularly since the phone first went off—stopped altogether when I saw who was calling.
Selena Avalos.
My lips parted in a wordless gape. The stinging cold against my fingers suddenly didn't matter as my confused brain tried to make sense of what this meant.
Selena Avalos, a Demon who wanted me, was calling Peter Keegan. She was one of his contacts, for crying out loud! And his car was in the driveway. He was in the house with me. With Lee. How could I have missed this in his aura? So he wasn't a Dem
on or a Guardian—but that didn't mean he was harmless. He was a Demon Seer.
He wasn't here by accident.
He was here for me.
It was a trap, one I'd fallen for completely.
“What are you doing?”
I gasped and jumped at the voice behind me. Water sloshed out of the glasses I held so tightly, and I whirled to stand and face the speaker.
It was Lee. I exhaled sharply in relief. “Oh my gosh! Don't do that to me!”
She raised a single eyebrow, and her blue lips drew apart in concern. “You weren't going to set those on the table, were you? My mom would kill you.”
I just stared at her, the light blue couch between us. The phone was still vibrating loudly. The annoying sound spurred my next action. I turned back toward the phone, dismissing Lee's protests when I set the glasses on the table and reached for the phone.
I flipped it open and put it to my ear, watching Lee dance quickly around the couch to scoop up the glasses, casting me an annoyed look as she did so.
But I wasn't paying attention to her.
I was focused on the chillingly beautiful voice speaking impatiently into my ear. “Finally, Peter. Have you done it yet?” Such a cruel tone was unmistakable. It was her.
The phone slipped from my fingers, falling to the carpet with a muted thump. I could feel the sudden tension in all of my muscles, could feel the blood drain from my face.
Lee just looked at me like I'd lost my mind. “Kate, what the heck is wrong with you?” she demanded, glancing down at the still open phone lying at my feet.
Before I could decide if I should even try to answer her question, the sound of the back door opening cut through everything else. Loud footsteps announced Peter's return as well as any shout could have, and I knew I had to move fast.
I grabbed the nearest glass of water from out of Lee's hand and dumped it onto the phone. The ice cubes pelted it and scattered across the floor, and Lee's eyes popped extremely wide. “Kate, what the—!”
I grabbed her arm and jerked her toward the door. “Trust me!” I hissed. “We have to get out of here!”
She must have thought I'd lost my mind. But she followed me, her blue hair fluttering out behind us while we ran. I reached the front door first, and I was pulling it open when I heard the sound of Peter stepping into the living room. He must have seen the fallen glass and the ruined phone immediately.
“Lee?” he called out.
I pushed her out the door, not bothering to mute the sound as I slammed it closed behind us. “Get in the car!” I yelled at my best friend.
“What's going on?” she demanded, pausing at the base of the porch steps. She threw a glance over her shoulder, still clinging to the second glass of water.
I latched onto her arm and yanked, making her stumble with me toward the driveway. “Trust me!” I repeated loudly while we sprinted, digging in my pocket with my free hand for the keys.
We were just getting to the car when the front door was torn open, and Peter Keegan stepped onto the porch. His narrowed eyes went to us instantly, and his brown suit and blue tie flapped as he darted toward us—jumping off the porch in one surprisingly graceful lunge. Lee was in the car and slamming her door closed a second before me, and neither of us were thinking about seat belts as I shoved the ready key into the ignition and twisted it harshly. I shoved the gearshift into reverse and twisted in my seat to glare out the back window.
Lee screamed when Peter slammed into the hood of the car, and I punched the accelerator to the floor, too concentrated on getting away to think about the fact that a man had just thrown himself onto my car. Tires squealed and rubber burned, but I got up to the speed I needed. I peeled out to the street, and when I violently turned the wheel to the right, I heard the horrible sound of a body rolling on the hood.
By the time the car was in the street and I was looking up, Peter was falling off the front of my car, landing on the ground on the passenger's side.
I jerked into first gear, but I let up on the clutch too quickly, and the car stuttered and died.
“Kate!” Lee yelled suddenly, and I saw from my peripheral vision that Peter was coming to his feet. He looked dazed and a little bruised, but he was turning toward the car, focusing on Lee through the open window.
“Lock the door!” I screamed, brutally slamming the clutch and brake as far as they would go and twisting the key with a desperate shove.
Lee's hand crashed against the lock, and then she grabbed for the manual lever to roll the window back up. She turned it wildly, cranking it so fast that the glass shuddered on its way up. But she wasn't fast enough. Peter forced his arm through the gap and his hard fingers snagged her fast pumping wrist.
Lee's blue fingernails glinted against the glass of water she held—the glass of water she lifted and splashed defensively into Peter's face as he leaned in. He closed his eyes instinctively, spluttering as the cold water shocked his skin. The ice cubes glanced painfully against his face, and his grip loosened. Lee bashed his knuckles with the mostly empty glass, and the car roared in sudden life.
I floored it, and this time it didn't die. Lee yanked her hand free and we shot forward. Peter stumbled backwards, hands shoving the water out of his eyes. I shifted harshly to second, and then third. Lee was looking back out her window, and I was staring in the rearview mirror.
Peter was going for his car.
Lee was completely freaked out. “The psycho's getting in his car!” she gasped.
“Put on your seat belt!” I ordered firmly, reluctantly slowing for the stop sign in front of us—I didn't stop completely—a lady honked angrily as we drove right in front of her, but I wasn't about to feel bad.
“Kate, what the heck is happening?”
“It's a little complicated,” I said through gritted teeth.
“My mom's boyfriend is chasing us!” Lee growled angrily. “He jumped on your freaking car while it was freaking moving! I want answers, right freaking now!”
I swerved around a slow-moving blue car, and Lee grabbed for the dash when I almost hit the new car in front of us. “Would you slow the freak down!” She gasped, fear mingled with the anger. “You're going to get us killed!”
“I can't slow down!” I yelled. “He's right behind us!”
Lee twisted around, and by her silence I knew she'd seen him. Somehow—though we'd had the head start—he was right on our tail. I nearly killed the engine again as I gunned it around the car that might as well have been parked, it was going so slow. I slipped in front of the blue car I'd just swerved around, and the driver flipped me off angrily.
“What's going on?” Lee muttered, sounding completely dazed. “This isn't happening.”
I didn't answer her. I couldn't.
I focused on the traffic, trying to put as many cars between us as I could before we reached the light. I also needed to figure out where I was going. I couldn't lead him to Clyde, but I sure wasn't going to take him to Patrick either.
But I knew nothing of high-speed chases, except what I'd seen in the movies. How on earth was I supposed to lose him?
I managed to put some distance between us by driving like a maniac. I felt like the rush of adrenaline was going to give me a heart attack, but I managed to make it into the left-turn lane without getting so much as a dent on the car. I was forced to stop at the light—three cars were between us and Peter.
Lee had her window completely rolled up by now, and while I waited tensely for the green arrow to flash on so the car in front of us could go, I took a second to slip my seat belt on. I glanced at Lee, to see that she was clutching the door and facing straight ahead, absolutely motionless.
I felt bad for her, but there would be a time for comforting her later. Right now I needed to save us both. I quickly locked my own door before focusing back on her.
I took a deep breath, for some reason remembering something Terence had told me. If the leader is freaking out, the person following would just freak out that muc
h more. And so I tried to be calm when I finally spoke.
“Lee, I need you to stay with me. Do you have your phone?”
“Wha—?” She turned to look at me, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. At least she wasn't screaming anymore.
“Your phone. Do you have it?”
“Oh. Yeah, sure. I got it.
““Great,” I interrupted her slow words easily. “I need you to call Toni.”
“Toni? As in, Toni, Toni?” Surprise leaked through her otherwise placid tone.
“Yeah. Tell him what's going on.”
“Sure. Why wouldn't we call Toni?” She reached into her pocket, and the light changed while she hit a couple buttons.
“He's on speed dial?” I asked as I shifted, somewhat surprised.
She nodded, the phone already at her ear.
“Oh. Cool.”
I hated making the slow turn across the intersection, but at least I knew Peter was just as trapped. He couldn't gain on me yet.
Suddenly Lee spoke into the phone, sounding almost bored. “Hey, Toni. What's up?”
I switched lanes while he gave her a short answer, and then she chuckled feebly. “Yeah. That sounds like fun. So listen, um, Kate said to call you. We're in the car, being chased by my mom's demonic boyfriend.”
I shot her a look. “No! He's not a Demon.”
“Oh. My mistake. Kate says he's not a demon. But he's obviously possessed, because he jumped on the car. While it was moving.” She paused. Then, “We just turned left out of the subdivision. We're heading toward Main…” She craned her neck around the seat. “He's coming up fast. He's just moving into our lane, and there's only one car between us.”
“Ask him what I should do,” I cut in.
She relayed my question, then answered hastily. “He says to come to the warehouse. He'll be outside waiting.”
I shook my head. “No. I'm not leading the Demons to Patrick.”
Lee repeated my words and unconsciously copied Toni's sigh. “He says that doesn't matter. You're going to get yourself killed if you keep driving like this. I happen to agree completely.”
Demons Page 24
