Betrayal

by Amy Meredith

  ‘Yeah, and while he was doing that, Eve and I killed the demon,’ Jess put in, a triumphant gleam in her eye.

  Alanna’s brow wrinkled. ‘What? What demon?’

  ‘A gigantic smelly one made of slime, or mud, or something,’ Jess told her. ‘Huge mouth, lots of teeth?’

  ‘Is that the one the Order has in the database?’ Luke asked.

  Alanna shrugged. ‘It doesn’t ring a bell. I can look it up once I get back to the Order.’ She narrowed her eyes and studied Jess. ‘You killed it?’

  ‘I took out its limbs with kung fu, and Eve zapped it into a puddle of goo,’ Jess said. ‘No thanks to you guys and your invisible fence around the town.’

  ‘Yeah. In fact, since I found the dead animals inside the boundary, it means the Order put up the force field after the demon had already showed up in Deepdene. I want Callum to know that. He ended up putting us all in more danger, not less,’ Luke said.

  ‘OK. I’ll tell him that as soon as I get back,’ Alanna promised. ‘Are the animals still in place? I’d like to look at them. It might give me an idea what kind of ritual was being performed.’

  ‘I’ll pass. I got a close enough look at the icky squishiness of the animals when I got some on my shoe,’ Jess said.

  ‘I left the animals right where they were,’ Luke said as the waitress delivered their mountain of ice cream. He wondered if he should still order Eve some coconut chocolate chip. That was her favourite, and he’d told her that he would order for her, but they already had enough ice cream to choke a couple of elephants. ‘Is there coconut chocolate chip in this?’ he called after the waitress.

  ‘There’s everything in that,’ she called back. ‘Every flavour, every syrup, every topping.’

  That should have Eve covered, Luke decided.

  ‘It doesn’t really matter what the ritual was, does it?’ Jess asked. ‘The demon is dead. Eve handled it, no problem.’

  ‘I think we should get as much info as we can on every demon that’s appeared in Deepdene,’ Luke said. ‘And it wasn’t just Eve who took care of the latest demon,’ he added to Alanna. ‘Jess did her share. Turns out she’s some kind of martial arts phenomenon.’

  ‘I am moving up pretty quickly in my kung-fu classes,’ Jess said, smiling. Luke smiled too. It was cool how Jess had decided she was going to go out and get herself some demon-fighting moves.

  ‘How long have you been taking lessons?’ Alanna asked Jess.

  ‘Not long, but I’m going to be testing for my blue belt soon,’ Jess replied. ‘Maybe my cheerleading helped me. There’s a lot of kicking in cheerleading.’

  ‘It would take quite a kick to damage a demon.’ Alanna licked a little whipped cream off her upper lip.

  That’s true, Luke thought. A kick probably wouldn’t have made Amunnic even blink. He believed that Jess’s kung fu had helped kill this last demon. But it wouldn’t have been as useful against the first one they’d met, Malphus. And if you tried to kick a warg, you’d probably end up without a foot.

  ‘This demon was weird,’ Jess said thoughtfully. ‘I mean, I guess all demons are weird, but this one was weird because it was really squishy. Like it was only partly formed or something. Do demons ever come out half-baked?’

  Alanna shook her head. ‘Not really. But the varieties of demon are almost infinite. The Order keeps cataloguing them, but it’s virtually impossible to keep up.’

  ‘I’m trying to get a database of our own going,’ Luke said. ‘I have everything we’ve figured out about the portal in Deepdene, and the demons we’ve fought so far, and Eve’s powers.’

  ‘So where were you and your trusty sword when Eve and Jess were doing battle?’ Alanna teased. ‘Inputting data?’

  ‘He wasn’t needed,’ Jess said playfully.

  ‘True. I wasn’t. But I still wish I’d been there,’ Luke said. ‘If there’s a fight, I want to be there. Even if the girls don’t need me to do much more than cheer them on.’ Actually, he’d rather take on the demons alone. He hated Eve or Jess being in danger. But there was nothing he could do about it, at least as far as Eve was concerned. She had the power. He didn’t.

  For a moment Luke flashed on the damage Eve had done to the woods with that power. He hoped he never saw her lose it like that again.

  ‘Do you practise with the sword?’ Alanna asked. ‘Just so you’ll be ready?’

  ‘I should, I guess,’ Luke answered. ‘I haven’t, though.’ He made a mental note to come up with a workout that used the sword. He could be a lot better with it than he was.

  ‘Hmmm. I do a whole series of exercises with mine every morning. I’ll have to share them with you.’ Alanna leaned across the table and put her hand on Luke’s. ‘Tell me more about this database of yours.’

  Luke couldn’t help but notice that Jess’s bright smile immediately turned into a frown at the sight of Alanna touching him. But what was he supposed to do? Jerk his hand away? Wouldn’t that be rude? He decided to leave it for a minute then pick up his spoon, which would move his hand out from under Alanna’s without him making a thing of it. And it wasn’t a thing, anyhow. It wasn’t like Alanna meant anything by it. She was in her twenties and he was a freshman in high school. Alanna was just one of those touchy kinds of girls.

  ‘What kind of data have you recorded on Eve?’ she continued. ‘No one in the Order has abilities like the Deepdene witches.’

  ‘Eve’s power is mind-blowing,’ Luke began. ‘Besides the demon-fighting, she can also read demon runes and understand demon language. Eve has—’

  Jess interrupted him with some loud throat-clearing. He glanced up at her, and saw that she was looking at something over his shoulder. He followed her gaze and saw Eve standing behind him.

  She did not look happy.

  Chapter Eight

  Eve nibbled on her bottom lip. There’s my boyfriend, holding hands with the ridiculously hot Alanna. And I’m pretty sure he was just saying something about me to her, behind my back. And he hasn’t even ordered my ice cream!

  She forced herself to smile. The last thing she wanted to do in front of Alanna was look insecure and jealous. Especially because she had nothing to feel insecure and jealous about. It made total sense that they were talking about her. She was the Deepdene Witch. She’d just taken down the Order’s barrier and killed a demon.

  Luke pulled his hand out from under Alanna’s – which wasn’t really the same as holding hands – as she joined them at the booth. Jess gave her a wink, and Eve knew that Jess could tell pretty much exactly what she’d been thinking. She smiled, a real smile this time, signalling to Jess that everything was all good.

  ‘There’s coconut chocolate chip in there somewhere,’ Luke said. He leaned closer to the gigantic sundae and poked around with his spoon a little. ‘Got it.’ He flicked the spoon through the whipped cream and butterscotch sauce, then held it out for Eve to take a bite.

  ‘Yum. Thanks,’ Eve told him. There was something so sexy about a boy feeding you ice cream.

  ‘We were just talking about how you and Jess took down that demon yesterday,’ Luke said.

  ‘We’re a good team,’ Eve said, shooting a smile at Jess.

  ‘How does it feel when you use your power?’ Alanna’s eyes were bright with curiosity. ‘Does it hurt when the fire comes out?’

  Alanna didn’t seem to have any of the hostile vibes Eve had been expecting. Maybe she was getting over the fact that Eve had a natural ability to fight demons, while Alanna, a member of an ancient demon-hunting organization, didn’t.

  ‘It’s weird.’ Eve took another bite of ice cream. ‘It’s like … I know that it’s hot. When I gather up the energy, it feels like a ball of lava in my chest. But even though I know that, it doesn’t burn me. It’s kind of hard to describe.’

  ‘What do you mean, gather up the energy?’ Alanna asked.

  ‘The power is always in me,’ Eve replied. ‘It’s like a current, running through my whole body. When I want to use it, I sort
of concentrate and pull it all together right here.’ She touched a spot near the centre of her rib cage.

  ‘You should see her face when she lets the power go,’ Jess commented. ‘It’s radiant. It’s like she’s been eating light.’

  ‘It feels pretty amazing,’ Eve added. ‘I’m still not used to feeling so powerful. I was never a sporty kind of girl, not like Jess. But using the power almost makes me feel like an athlete, like I’m using my whole body.’

  She hoped Alanna would report that back to Callum. Eve wanted the Order to know how strong she was and to remember that they were on the same side.

  ‘Alanna, when the Order hears that Eve – and Jess – killed the latest demon, do you think it will make them more willing to share information with us?’ Luke asked. ‘I know you get that Eve should be part of any anti-demon plan, but do you think the rest of the Order will be convinced that there should be no more secrets from her?’

  ‘I hope so,’ Alanna answered. ‘I’ll do everything I can to bring them to that conclusion. Eve killing the demon they were worried about should remind them that she’s stronger than anything we can create. Look what she did to the force field. It should also remind them that she’s on our side – the side that kills demons.’

  ‘Good.’ Luke slid his arm around Eve and started playing with one of her long dark ringlets. She snuggled closer to him.

  Alanna smiled. ‘You two are a cute couple. I wondered when you’d get together.’

  ‘Me too!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘I knew they lurrrved each other way before either of them did. At least before either of them would admit it.’

  ‘Jess!’ Eve cried, embarrassed. ‘Nobody has said anything about anybody lurrrving anybody.’ She shot a look at Luke, and he gave the ringlet wrapped around his fingers a tug.

  ‘I’ve never heard of this lurrrve thing,’ he said, grinning at her.

  ‘Well, if you want to know what it is, it’s how you feel right now, sitting there with Evie,’ Jess told him. She looked over at Alanna. ‘Can you believe how many months it took them to realize it?’

  ‘It was pretty obvious to me,’ Alanna answered. ‘I don’t know what their problem was.’

  Eve was surprised. Alanna was actually treating Jess like a human being. Usually, she pretty much ignored her. Eve remembered what Luke had told her about Alanna thinking the Order had been wrong to put up the barrier. Maybe that made her feel like all four of them were on the same side.

  ‘Can I ask another question about your power?’ Alanna said to Eve. ‘I’m not trying to drive you crazy, it’s just that …’ Alanna gave a little shrug, the roses on her shoulder tattoo rippling as if a breeze had passed by them. ‘It’s just that I’ve never met anyone who had anything like your abilities. And since I’m all about killing demons too, I’m really curious.’

  ‘It’s OK. Ask,’ Eve told her.

  ‘Is it basically limitless?’ Alanna asked. ‘If you had to fight a bunch of demons in a row, would your power still be as hot?’

  Eve shook her head. ‘It runs out. Well, not completely out. I can always feel a little spark of it inside. But I can only use it for so long at one time, then I need to recharge.’

  ‘It used to be that time was the only way for Eve’s power to build up,’ Luke added. ‘But when we were going after Amunnic, she realized that she could absorb electricity and use it to recharge. She blacked out the whole town the first time she did it.’ He flicked the maraschino cherry off the rocky-road ice cream, and then scooped up a bite.

  Eve reached over and plucked the cherry up by the stem, then popped it into her mouth. ‘You want to know the real reason I got together with Luke?’ she asked.

  ‘I do,’ Luke joked. ‘I’ve been wondering.’

  ‘Because he leaves all the cherries for me,’ Eve said.

  ‘Well … it’s just because I hate them,’ Luke confessed.

  ‘You like them, she hates them, you’re perfect together,’ Jess said. ‘You’re like Jack Sprat and—’ She was interrupted by her phone. She pulled it out of her bag.

  ‘Hi, Mom,’ she said, holding up one finger to show she’d be right back to the conversation.

  Luke rolled another cherry over to the part of the sundae dish closest to Eve. Really, why had it taken them so long to get together? Something about him being a player and … It seemed so long ago that she’d had any doubts about him.

  ‘What?’ Jess cried. ‘No!’

  Eve snapped her head towards her best friend. All the blood was draining out of Jess’s face, leaving her pale and scared-looking.

  ‘I’ll be right there, Mom.’ Jess lurched to her feet, knocking against Alanna.

  ‘Jess, what’s going on?’ Eve asked.

  ‘I have to get home right now,’ Jess told her. ‘Something horrible has happened!’

  Jess bolted up the stairs towards her bedroom so fast that Eve could hardly keep up. Luke and Alanna were only a few steps behind.

  ‘I came in to put away some laundry, and that’s when I saw it. I don’t know how it could have happened.’ Jess’s mom sat on the bed, holding the beautiful new Dolce & Gabbana dress in her lap. ‘I can’t imagine who would do something like this.’

  ‘Let me see.’ Jess took the dress from her mother and shook it out. She held it up in front of her and turned to face the mirror over her dresser.

  Eve gasped. The gown had been slashed in three places, the delicate chiffon hanging in shreds. ‘Oh, Jess. That’s awful. I can’t believe this,’ she cried. Who could have done something like that? And to Jess. Jess was one of those people who made friends with pretty much everyone she met.

  Tears began to slide down Jess’s cheeks. ‘We’ll get you another dress,’ her mother promised.

  ‘I don’t want another dress. I want this dress.’ Jess slid her finger into one of the slashes. Eve could see that her hand was trembling.

  ‘Maybe we can find another one,’ Eve suggested. ‘I know that it’s an original, but maybe we could find something in the same style.’

  Jess shook her head. ‘I couldn’t wear anything like it. If I did, I’d just be seeing this one.’ She gently laid the dress on her bed.

  ‘I’ll let you be with your friends,’ Mrs Meredith said gently. ‘But call me if you want me. I’ll be right downstairs.’ She gave Jess a hug before she left the room.

  ‘Someone sneaked into my room and did this.’ Jess sank down onto the floor and leaned against the bed. ‘Someone came right into my room.’

  Eve sat down next to her. She and Jess had had so much fun in this room, watching movies, telling secrets, getting ready for parties. Now, suddenly, it didn’t feel like the same place. ‘It’s going to be OK,’ she said. ‘You’re still going to the prom – the Senior Prom – with Seth. That’s what matters.’

  ‘Who could hate me enough to do this?’ Jess asked, without looking at Eve. She stared straight ahead, eyes wide, as if she were watching her dress be destroyed again and again.

  Luke sat across from her. A second later, Alanna joined them on the floor.

  ‘Jess, I think we have a pretty good idea who did this,’ Luke said.

  ‘You do?’ Alanna exclaimed. ‘Who? Is there something the Order should know about?’

  ‘Simon …’ Eve breathed. She hadn’t even thought about him until Luke spoke. But he’d been skulking around Jess’s house, and watching her during school, and he’d written her that horrible letter.

  ‘Jess turned this guy Simon down when he invited her to the prom,’ Luke explained to Alanna. ‘He didn’t handle it very well.’

  ‘I guess not.’ Alanna glanced over at the dress.

  ‘I think he might have cursed me.’ Jess blinked a few times. ‘Eve and I saw him with this book. It had all these weird markings on the front. Not letters. It could have been a book of spells.’

  ‘What do you know about this guy? Is it possible he’s practising the dark arts?’ Alanna asked. Only someone from the Order would treat Jess’s idea about bei
ng cursed so seriously.

  ‘I know it’s Deepdene. And I know weird things happen here pretty much on a daily basis,’ Luke said. ‘But I don’t think we should jump to the conclusion that there’s something supernatural going on. To me it seems like Simon was obsessing about Jess, without her even realizing it. Then when she turned him down, he lost it.’

  ‘I’m so used to looking for paranormal answers, I just went there,’ Alanna told them. ‘But what Luke said makes sense, not that I know the guy. This Simon gets mad that you won’t go to the prom with him, so he cuts up your dress.’

  Eve sprang to her feet. ‘It was him. It has to have been him.’ She began to pace, her power roiling inside her. Her best friend was being terrorized. Eve wasn’t going to let it continue. It was stopping now.

  The fingers on her right hand twitched, and before she could stop it, a small bolt of lightning escaped. It flew towards the bed, and ripped into Jess’s dress with a sizzle. The scent of scorched fabric filled the room.

  ‘Oh, Jess, I’m so sorry. So, so sorry,’ Eve cried. She dropped down next to Jess and wrapped her arm around Jess’s shoulders. ‘I just got so angry thinking about Simon that … It just burst out.’

  ‘It’s OK. It was already ruined.’ Jess’s voice was flat and emotionless.

  ‘Luke, do you think …?’ Eve nodded towards the door. Jess needed her right now, but she didn’t need a crowd.

  ‘Alanna, you wanted to see the animal bodies I found in the woods. I can walk you out there now,’ Luke offered.

  ‘Thanks,’ Eve mouthed, then turned her attention back to Jess, trying to think of anything that could possibly make her feel better. This was way beyond the powers of chocolate.

  ‘What’s that?’ Alanna pointed to the strip of scorched earth running through the woods. ‘Was there some kind of fire?’

  Luke hesitated, but decided to tell her the truth. ‘Eve’s power made it,’ he answered. He looked at her face, trying to judge her reaction. When he’d first seen what Eve’s out-of-control power had done, it had turned his whole body cold.

  Alanna crouched down and ran her fingers over part of the charred area, her face giving no clue to what she was thinking. She turned her gaze from the ground to the trees. ‘Is that what happed up there too, those bare spots?’