Betrayal

by Amy Meredith

  Eve sighed. Then she nodded.

  Jess looped her arm through Eve’s, and they began walking towards Jess’s house.

  Jess realized that tiny tremors were rippling through her. Seeing Eve’s powers get out of control had shocked her to the core. Eve had lost her grip on them before, especially when they first started appearing. But shorting out the TV or melting a lipstick were in a whole different category to setting trees on fire. If the leaves and branches hadn’t turned to ash almost immediately, Eve could have accidentally burned down the whole town.

  ‘I’m not sure hot chocolate is going to do it,’ Eve replied. ‘I’m still just so anti-calm.’ She began flexing her fingers, and Jess did a check for sparks, trying to keep Eve from noticing that she was looking.

  ‘Did I mention chocolate whipped cream? Did I mention that the chocolate whipped cream would be a double serving? Did I further mention there would be Mint Milanos?’ Jess asked. She knew no amount of chocolate would be able to soothe Eve, but pretending it might made Jess feel better. Who knew? Maybe pretending would make Eve feel better too.

  Eve did try to force a smile, but Jess could see tears shimmering in her deep blue eyes. She wasn’t sure if they were angry tears or sad tears or both. ‘Luke and I practically just got together, and now I feel like we’re going to have to break up.’

  ‘Eve, no! You had a fight. One fight,’ Jess protested.

  ‘One fight about him not trusting me,’ Eve said. ‘That equals – what do you think – about ten regular fights?’

  ‘No way. Maybe three,’ Jess answered, torn between her loyalty to Eve and her deep feeling that Luke had been, well, kind of right. ‘But, Evie, he didn’t really say he doesn’t trust you. He – and I – we just thought there was a possibility the Order could be right about a potential demon attack on Deepdene. That’s all. We didn’t think they were right not to tell you what was going on. Especially not after you’ve taken down every demon that came here.’

  ‘Aaarrrgh!’ Eve let out a growl. ‘Let’s not talk about it any more. It makes me crazy.’

  ‘OK, topic change. Let’s see …’ Jess tried to think of something fun and light to take Eve’s mind off things. The prom, maybe? But Jess couldn’t shake the feeling that Eve might still be upset about the Dolce & Gabbana dress, even though Jess had a place to wear it and Eve didn’t, not really. Eve had said the dress looked awesome on Jess and acted happy, but they’d been friends for a long time, and Jess could tell when Eve was faking it. And she had been, at least a little.

  ‘Maybe we should have a Christmas in May movie festival,’ Jess suggested as they turned onto her street. ‘We could watch Elf. You have to at least giggle at Elf.’

  ‘Sorry, Jess,’ Eve said. ‘I’m still too angry to laugh. I’m so mad at Luke! Even though, like you said, the Order could be right about an attack. They know a lot about demons, even if they are a bunch of arrogant pigs who want to trap me in Deepdene for ever.’

  Jess didn’t mind that Eve had said she didn’t want to talk about it any more, then almost immediately started talking about it again. Sometimes a girl just needed to vent, even if she was sick of venting.

  ‘They were probably only thinking about keeping demons out. Callum even said they weren’t sure how the barrier would affect you, since you just have some demon blood,’ Jess answered. There were away from Main Street now, away from the crowd, so it was safe to use the ‘D’ word.

  ‘I have to try and let it go,’ Eve continued. ‘I shot out all my power at the barrier around town, and I can already feel the power building up again. Sometimes it’s as if the Deepdene Witch energy feeds on my emotions.’

  ‘Let’s see how you feel after my hot-chocolate-chocolate-whipped-cream-Mint-Milano-Elf plan,’ Jess said. She hoped it worked. She didn’t like the idea of Eve’s power getting so hot again so soon. ‘If that doesn’t do it, we’ll—’

  Jess broke off, staring at her house. She could hardly believe her eyes.

  ‘We’ll what?’ Eve asked.

  Jess grabbed her best friend’s arm. ‘Up there, by the bushes. Is that Simon?’ That’s the last thing she needed. She’d just gotten started on the Eve-calming.

  Eve narrowed her eyes and studied Jess’s house as they approached. ‘It’s him all right. Sitting there reading a book on your lawn. I can’t believe it. I heard you on the phone. You made it completely clear you had no interest in him.’

  ‘And then he wrote me that letter,’ Jess said. She kept her eyes on Simon. He sprang up as soon as she and Eve turned onto the walkway to her house, dropping the huge leather-bound book he’d been reading.

  ‘I was w-waiting for you,’ he stammered.

  ‘This is so not a good time,’ Jess told him. She stopped, Eve beside her. ‘If fact, it’s never going to be a good time, Simon, OK? Please leave me alone!’ She sounded a little harsher than she meant to, but it had been a helluva long day, and that letter he’d written – it was creepy.

  Simon blinked a couple of times, then rushed past them, stumbling in his hurry to leave.

  ‘Your book!’ Eve called. She picked it up for him and held it out. Simon turned back and snatched it away, two bright red patches appearing high on his paper-white cheekbones. Then he bolted.

  ‘OK, I admit it, I’m officially in a state of extreme worry,’ Jess said, her eyes finding a drop of dried blood on a flagstone that her dad had missed when he hosed off the grass and walkway. ‘He was sitting almost exactly where we found Pumpkin.’

  ‘I was about to say I can’t imagine Simon doing anything like that,’ Eve said slowly. ‘But then I realized I don’t really know him. It doesn’t seem like anyone at school does. He’s always alone.’

  ‘What was that book he had? Did you see?’ Jess asked.

  ‘It just had a bunch of weird markings on the front,’ Eve told her.

  ‘I keep thinking about those strange words – if they even were words – he said to me on the phone,’ Jess said. Her eyes kept darting back to the drop of dried blood. ‘Do you think it could have been some kind of curse? I mean an actual curse, not a “darn it” kind of curse. Maybe that book … maybe it’s like a spell book.’

  ‘All I saw was the cover.’ Eve frowned. ‘We’ll just have to keep a close eye on him.’ She looped one arm around Jess’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry. Your best friend is the Deepdene Witch and you are nearly a superhero with your mad kung-fu skills. If we can handle Malphus and the wargs and Amunnic, we can definitely handle Simon.’

  Jess nodded. It had been scary seeing Eve with her power so out of control back in the woods, but now Jess was grateful that Eve had her special abilities – abilities she’d always used to fight evil. ‘Let’s go in and chocolatize ourselves.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Eve replied. She seemed better. Maybe it was good – in a weird way – that Simon had showed up. He was quite the distraction. It seemed like maybe Eve’s attention had just gotten sucked away from Luke and the Order and over to Jess’s crazy stalker.

  Jess opened the door. As they headed towards the kitchen through the living room, they almost walked right past Peter without noticing him. He was slumped down in one of the armchairs, staring at the TV – even though it wasn’t on. Weird.

  ‘You OK, Peter?’ Jess asked her little brother.

  ‘Peter?’ Eve repeated.

  Peter jumped, as if he had been dozing, then he turned towards them and smiled. ‘Just having a little brain vacation. In my head, I was in Hawaii. How great was that trip last summer?’

  Jess’s family had gone to the islands for vacation, and, of course, she’d convinced her parents that Eve had to come with them. It wasn’t hard. They loved Eve.

  ‘So, what’s the plan? If it involves food, I’m in.’

  Jess smiled. It was good to have her brother back to his usual self, annoying as that usual self could often be.

  YOU OK? CALL ME.

  Luke sent the text to Eve, but he doubted it would get a response. He’d already
left two voicemails and heard nothing. He flopped back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Man, she’d been pissed off at him. He’d never seen her even close to that angry before. The way her power had exploded out of her hands …

  Her power was stronger than he’d ever imagined. He had been scared that she might hurt herself today. Or take out the entire Deepdene Woods. She’d managed to blast through a supposedly demon-proof barrier. If the Order was right about an attack, a demon could already have arrived in town through the hole she’d made.

  So the question was: should he alert the Order that their protective barrier was now down? If he did, Eve would see it as another betrayal. She’d see it as him siding against her. Which he wasn’t.

  He’d seen Eve go head-to-head with demons. She was the opposite of dangerous to the town. She’d saved it again and again. Her power was a force for good, at least as long as she could control it.

  But that wasn’t the question. The question was whether or not he should tell the Order that the demon block was no longer in place. After all, their job was to fight demons too. They should know if one of their demon-fighting weapons had been compromised. But what would their attitude to Eve be once they heard she had destroyed it?

  Luke checked his phone, even though he knew he wasn’t going to get a message back from Eve. And, sure enough, he hadn’t gotten a message back from her. He went over to his desk so he could check his email. Nothing from Eve. Because that’s how furious she was at him.

  He used his feet to swivel his desk chair back and forth. Tell the Order? Don’t tell the Order? Possibly put Deepdene in danger? Definitely make Eve even madder at him?

  If a demon did come to town, Eve could handle it without the Order. She’d done it before. Still …

  She’d done it before, she could probably do it again, but he couldn’t risk it. What if she didn’t get to the demon in time? What if their first clue about where the demon was turned out to be a dead person? He couldn’t deal with it if someone got hurt – or killed – because he’d sat on his butt, too afraid that his girlfriend would be angry at him.

  With a sigh, Luke opened a new email window and began to write. He hit send before he had a chance to change his mind. The Order had the info now. It had been the right thing to do, even though, when he thought about Eve, it felt so wrong.

  Luke decided to spend some time studying for finals. It was better than sending Eve even more texts and leaving her even more voicemails. That was just pathetic, but before he could reach for his biology book, an IM popped up on the computer. It was from Alanna.

  AlannaG: So Eve took down the barrier. I don’t blame her. Callum shouldn’t have had it erected without knowing how it would affect her.

  Huh. Luke hadn’t been expecting that. Alanna didn’t usually take Eve’s side. He typed a response back.

  Sinbad: Why didn’t the Order tell us what was going on?

  He used the screen name Sinbad because he was a preacher’s son and knew sin was bad. Also, Sinbad, the legendary sailor, was apparently a real badass.

  AlannaG: Told Callum it was a bad idea. Eve is powerful. She should be used as an asset. That means telling her if there’s a problem. Not going behind her back to protect the town. She’s more protection than anything we can do.

  Luke wasn’t crazy about the word ‘asset.’ It made Eve sound like a thing rather than a girl. Like something less than human. But he was glad Alanna realized the Order hadn’t done the right thing.

  Sinbad: Why did he want to keep it secret?

  AlannaG: Who knows? The Order has politics just like everyplace.

  Sinbad: What do you think about the dead animals we’ve found around the border of town? Throats slit. Did a demon kill them?

  AlannaG: Possible. Definitely some dark power ritual. Dangerous.

  Sinbad: Advice??

  AlannaG: I’m coming to check it out. Be there tomorrow. Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out – you, me, Eve, Jess.

  Eve wouldn’t like that. She wouldn’t like anyone from the Order showing up right now, but she especially wouldn’t want Alanna anywhere near her. At least this time Alanna was acting like she and Eve were on the same side. And she’d actually mentioned Jess. Usually Alanna behaved as if Jess didn’t even exist because she wasn’t useful to the Order. Luke had the sword, obviously, which is what put him in the ‘useful’ category.

  But even if Eve didn’t like it, Luke felt better just knowing that more help was on the way.

  Sinbad: Thanks. We might need the assist. See you then.

  Luke knew he’d done the right thing, even if he had gone behind Eve’s back. He just hoped he could convince Eve of that.

  ‘Feeling better?’ Jess asked.

  Eve nodded, lingering in the open front door of Jess’s house before she headed home. ‘You?’

  Jess nodded. ‘So are you going to take pity on the boy and answer one of his calls or texts?’

  ‘I suppose.’ Eve sighed. ‘No, I definitely will. Eventually. I’m still a little angry around the edges, so I might wait at little longer. I don’t want to call back just so we can get in another fight.’

  ‘Just remember, when you make up you can have all that make-up making out,’ Jess teased.

  Which would be nice. Very nice. Extremely nice. If only Luke hadn’t acted like such a jerk.

  Slurquish.

  ‘Did you hear that?’ Eve asked, spinning round so she was facing the street.

  ‘What?’ Jess cried. ‘Is Simon back?’ She crowded up beside Eve, trying to get a better view.

  ‘No, it didn’t sound like a person. I don’t know what it sounded like. But something not right. Something—’

  Slurquish. Slurquish.

  ‘There it is again!’ Eve exclaimed. The sky had almost darkened and it was difficult to see, but Eve thought something was moving in the shadows across the street. ‘I’m going to check it out,’ she told Jess.

  ‘Not by yourself. I’m coming too,’ Jess answered. She sounded a little anxious and a lot determined.

  They hurried across the lawn, and just as they reached the sidewalk, the streetlamps turned on with a soft click. And Eve saw it clearly. A demon. A big one. Jess let out a gasp.

  The thing was massive, but huge as it was, it looked as if it had been slapped together without much care. Its torso was an ill-defined lump. Its arms and legs were thick, with no knees or elbows; its hands and feet were slabs with only a few fingers and toes.

  Its head appeared half finished too. The demon had a mouth, a huge gaping hole that filled more than half its face. Its nose was only two ragged holes. If it had eyes, Eve couldn’t see them.

  ‘Wow,’ Eve said. ‘I have seen some ugly demons, but this one wins Best in Show.’

  It turned at the sound of her voice, so maybe there were ears on that misshapen head too.

  ‘Are you the big bad demon the Order was afraid of?’ she asked the thing.

  Jess let out a soft whistle. ‘Now I’m mad at them too. They should have warned us about the smell.’ She waved her hand back and forth in front of her nose. ‘I bet I could kill you with a super-size can of deodorant,’ she called to the demon. She didn’t sound nervous any more. She must have switched into kickass mode.

  ‘Let’s show the Order that we don’t need their help,’ Eve said grimly. ‘Warning or no warning, I can take this bad boy.’

  Eve focused on her power, glad that her anger had already started building back up. She wouldn’t want to face this thing with an empty tank. The energy coiled into a tight ball just below her sternum. Just as she was about to throw out her hands and slam her lightning into the demon, it charged towards her, its feet making that disgusting squishing sound.

  It swung out one arm, and it stretched impossibly far. Eve didn’t have time to fire. She began to back up, but it was too late.

  ‘Hands off her!’ Jess shouted. She gave a roundhouse kick that connected with a wet thunk. The demon’s hand and half of its arm fell to the groun
d, spasming. ‘That’s right!’ Jess cried in triumph. ‘I said hands off!’

  The demon let out a gurgling growl. Its already huge mouth stretched open even further, revealing double rows of teeth. ‘Keep your mouth shut too!’ Eve yelled. She sent lightning bolts straight into the thing’s maw, and steam poured out – steam that reeked of rotten fish and was flecked with blood.

  Before Eve could strike again, the demon grabbed her around the waist with its remaining hand. It pulled her against it, and she felt its squishy body ooze over her skin, sucking her inside like some kind of mud pit. Her hands were trapped in the thick slime of its torso and the stench of the demon overwhelmed her.

  Eve held her breath and forced herself to think. Her hands were inside the thing’s body. Could she shoot her lightning bolts that way? She didn’t know. But she had to try.

  Her hands tingled and her arms shook as she tried to let the power burst out of her fingertips. Was it having any effect on the creature?

  Jess didn’t wait to find out. She aimed a fierce side kick at the spot where the demon’s knee would be – if it had a knee. The thing uttered a high wail and the bottom half of its leg fell to the ground.

  It hopped sideways, frantically trying to regain its balance, and Eve was able to yank one hand free. She zapped the demon, its flesh steaming wherever her lightning bolts hit.

  ‘Let me do that again. It won’t have a leg to stand on!’ Jess cried, grinning with the excitement of the fight. She whipped round and kicked backwards at the demon’s remaining leg, taking it off almost at the torso. Eve let loose another bolt of power, aimed right at the thing’s head.

  The demon collapsed to the ground, disintegrating until it was a puddle of goo. ‘Ding, dong!’ Eve said, as the foul-smelling puddle slid towards the storm drain.

  ‘The witch is dead,’ Jess finished for her. ‘Except this time the witch won.’