by Amy Meredith
‘That’s what she said,’ Luke answered. ‘What were you going to say about that other demon? Was Eve upset just before it appeared?’
‘She was a lot more upset when she first got to my house. We watched a movie, and had some chocolate, and when she left, I thought she was feeling a lot better.’ It had been such an Eve-and-Jess afternoon, after all. Nice. Normal. ‘Then we fought the demon together, and she seemed totally on. It was even fun.’
‘That’s been bugging me too. How Eve finds fighting fun. It’s like she loves the violence in a way she didn’t before,’ Luke said.
‘I had fun kicking that goopy thing’s ass. I really did,’ Jess said softly.
‘You didn’t steal from one of your friends. You didn’t destroy something one of your friends loved,’ Luke reminded her.
The dress. Her beautiful dress. Just thinking about it made Jess feel like crying. Thinking about Eve ripping it up made her feel even worse.
‘What about the first Deepdene Witch?’ Jess felt a surge of hope. ‘She didn’t go bad, at least nothing we’ve found out has said so. It seemed like she was helping people her whole life. And she had demon blood too.’
Luke scrubbed his forehead with his fingers. ‘Maybe she was stronger than Eve. Maybe she was able to push the demon side down.’ The first bell rang. ‘I guess we have to go in. Be normal.’
Jess didn’t know if she could. Not when she didn’t know where Eve was. Or who she was.
Chapter Eleven
At least I got a new blouse out of the stinking heap of badness that’s been my day so far. The thought didn’t cheer Eve up the tiniest bit, even though the blouse was gorgeous, silk crepe with a vibe that was part military and part boho. Still, at least now she didn’t have to walk around Manhattan in a shirt that had holes and rips and blood stains from the pecking and scratching of those hideous birds.
She hadn’t exactly planned to go to the city. She’d run to the station, just wanting to get away, away, away. She’d gotten on the first train, and went into some kind of mental brown-out, not really thinking, rocking with the motion, staring out of the window without really seeing anything. Every train heading west ended in Manhattan, so when the ticket-collector had come round, she’d given that as her destination and paid.
It had been a good choice. There were so many people on the sidewalks, so many cars on the streets, so many sounds and smells and sights that Eve felt like a little speck of a thing, completely anonymous. Now that she’d gotten out of her bird-ravaged clothes, nobody even glanced at her. Nobody particularly cared about her. Which meant nobody hated her the way Luke and Jess did.
God, Luke and Jess hated her. Eve still hadn’t quite figured out how that had happened. Sure, she’d had fights with both of them, but a fight was just a fight. Usually after you fought with your friends, you both said sorry and everything went back to normal. But instead, Jess started accusing her of shredding the prom dress and Luke accused her of stealing the sword, and both of them were acting like Eve had suddenly turned evil or something. Even though she’d saved the town – or at least part of it – once again. She’d saved most of the prom decorations too, thank you very much.
Eve stepped out of Bloomingdale’s and started up Third Avenue. She couldn’t stop herself from pausing in front of one of the store’s huge window displays. There was a dress that would be perfect for Jess to wear to the prom. It was almost completely the opposite of the Dolce & Gabbana gown, which was a good thing. Jess didn’t want to wear anything that would remind her of the ruined dress. And this dress wouldn’t.
For starters, this dress was short, very short. And it didn’t have a romantic feel, it was full-out sexy: silver, with a geometric pattern that looked like it could have come out of a cool sci-fi movie. The only thing it had in common with the other gown was that they were both complete show-stoppers. And that the pink crystal pendant would go great with both. It would really pop against the silver.
Should I go back in and put it on hold for her? The thought was automatic. It took a few seconds for Eve to remember that Jess would probably never even speak to her again. And Eve wouldn’t want to talk to her anyway, not after the things that Jess had said in the gym.
Eve started walking again, picking up her pace to match the flow of the crowd. On 60th Street, she took a right. A frozen hot chocolate probably wouldn’t make her feel any better than the new blouse did, but she always went to Serendipity when she was in Manhattan – she had since she was a little girl. And most of those times Jess had been with her. It was totally touristy, but they loved it.
She really had to stop thinking about Jess. It hurt too much. She didn’t want to think about Luke either. Not unless she wanted to end up crying on the streets of New York. I don’t want to end up crying in Serendipity either, she told herself as she reached the restaurant’s black awning. She managed to ask for a table for one in a voice that didn’t tremble even a little. So far, so good.
Eve ordered lunch first, even though she wasn’t hungry. But she needed a place to sit for a while and … and she didn’t even know what. Calm down? Try to glue herself back together? What were you supposed to do when your whole world turned upside down?
To occupy herself while she waited for her food, she re-read the familiar menu. She wondered what Luke would have to say about the Golden Opulence Sundae, the most expensive sundae in the world. It cost a thousand dollars and had ingredients from all over the globe. Luke would probably—
Eve suddenly felt like she was breathing in little shards of glass. Why had she let her brain go there? The image of Luke’s face twisted in anger as he yelled at her filled her mind. Thinking about him was as bad as thinking about Jess. She wondered how long it would keep hurting. She wondered if she’d ever actually be able to stop thinking of one or the other of them every few minutes.
It definitely hadn’t happened by the time she finished her food and started on her frozen hot chocolate. Hot chocolate reminded her of Jess and Luke. They both knew—
‘Eve! I knew you’d be here. When I couldn’t find you anywhere in Deepdene, I knew it!’
It was Jess! Jess was flying across the room towards her. And she was smiling. Smiling, but with tears running down her face at the same time.
Eve stood up so fast that she almost knocked over the wrought-iron chair. ‘What are you doing here?’ she exclaimed.
Jess hugged her hard. ‘I came to tell you I’m sorry. I’ve been the hugest idiot.’
‘I’m sorry too!’ Eve realized she’d also started crying.
‘You don’t have anything to be sorry for,’ Jess protested.
‘Yeah, I do.’ They both sat down at Eve’s table, and Eve wiped her eyes with a napkin. ‘I’m sorry I got so mad at you and Luke when you guys said I shouldn’t take the force field down without knowing what was going on. I just got stuck on the fact that they’d put it up in the first place. And, also, I have been jealous of you. Just a little,’ she added quickly. ‘I’ve been having panglets of jealousy. But it’s not because you’re going to the prom. It’s just because I always thought we’d have the whole prom experience together.’
Jess teared up all over again. ‘Oh. I’m an idiot. How could I not realize that? We’ve been talking about double-dating to the prom since we were five.’
‘But I’m also so happy for you,’ Eve added. ‘And I think I found you a dress you’ll love as much as the first one!’
‘Really? Yay!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘And if you’d been going to the prom and I wasn’t, I’d definitely have had panglets too.’ She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her tear-streaked face. ‘Nice blouse …!’
‘I still can hardly believe you’re here,’ Eve said after Jess had gotten set up with a frozen hot chocolate of her own. ‘You were so mad when I left. What changed your mind?’
‘When you ran off, I couldn’t shake my feeling that … well, that I just didn’t understand what was going on. And I got worried about you,’ Jess explained. ‘So th
en I realized that if I really thought you were a demon, I wouldn’t be worried at all. I’d be glad that you left.’
‘Hold on. You thought I was a demon?’ Eve cried.
‘Not completely a demon. Just maybe that the demon part of you was getting stronger than the you part of you.’
Eve stared at her, shocked. She didn’t know what to say. She felt like she’d been hollowed out. Her best friend thought she was turning into a demon?
Jess put her hand on Eve’s arm. ‘That day in the woods, you were pretty scary,’ she said softly. ‘And then when Peter said you were in our house right before my dress was slashed …’
‘But I wasn’t there. I wasn’t,’ Eve insisted. ‘I have no idea what Peter was talking about.’
‘I believe you. I promise,’ Jess told her. ‘Like I said, I knew I wouldn’t be feeling so worried about you if I really thought you were going all demony. And if you weren’t going all demony, then, of course, you wouldn’t rip up my dress. And you’d never hurt Peter. How could I have thought that? You’re the one who saved Peter’s life when Amunnic snatched him. You’ve saved lots of people, Eve.’
‘Everything’s so confusing.’ Eve rubbed her temples, hoping that would make her think more clearly. ‘Why did Peter say I was at your house when I wasn’t? And why did Luke accuse me of stealing the sword? Why would I steal his sword? I don’t need it to fight demons, I have my zap.’
‘I don’t know about Peter. Maybe he got the day wrong. Or even the person wrong. He’s been really out of it lately. Not all the time, but some of the time when I talk to him it’s like he isn’t even there. Kind of like that day when he was spaced out in front of the TV,’ Jess answered. ‘And as for Luke … you might have Alanna to thank for his weirdness.’
‘Alanna? Why Alanna?’ Eve had never liked the girl, but she hadn’t done anything too awful during this visit. In fact, she’d been sort of decent.
‘This morning after you … took off, Luke told me the Order sent Alanna to Deepdene to evaluate you. And you were right! They put up the force field so they could keep you contained while they observed to see what effect the demon blood had. I guess after you took the force field down, they were worried that you might be …’ – Jess hesitated, then rushed on – ‘a threat. And Alanna said that to Luke. She told him she thought your demon side might be taking control of you. I guess when he saw your earring and the sword was gone, he was primed to think bad things.’
Eve shook her head. ‘I guess that explains why Alanna was so much nicer this time. She probably figured it would be easier to evaluate me if she acted like she was on my side.’ She noticed that her frozen hot chocolate was becoming unfrozen, but she couldn’t eat it. All this new info was making her dizzy. Luke thought she was going demon? How could he believe something like that if he cared about her at all?
Answer: he couldn’t. He couldn’t care about her. She was just some girl to him. A plaything for the player. She had to be. And she – she almost loved him. Or maybe she completely loved him.
Jess thought you were evil too, for a while, she reminded herself. And setting the woods on fire isn’t exactly normal girl behaviour. It didn’t make her feel any better about Luke.
‘Alanna’s a sneaky witch. No, that makes it sound like witches are bad, and you’re a witch who’s good. Alanna’s a sneaky sneak. I bet she loved making Luke think something could be wrong with you,’ Jess said.
‘Well, it explains a lot,’ Eve agreed. ‘I’m less confuzzled.’ She used the word she and Jess had come up with for a combination of confused and frazzled.
‘I’m still confuzzled about the dress situation,’ Jess admitted. She nibbled on the chocolate stick from her dessert. ‘Now that I’m sane again, I know you didn’t do it. Can you believe I thought you would hurt a Dolce & Gabbana gown?’
‘No. I can’t believe that,’ Eve said with a smile.
‘But then who did?’
‘I guess we’re back to Simon,’ Eve said slowly, trying to think it through. ‘Even though he really sounded like he was telling the truth when Seth asked him about it.’
Jess snorted. ‘We have to remember that Seth was about to punch Simon’s face in. Maybe that gave him the motivation to lie really well. Although I thought he was telling the truth too. Especially when Seth was gone and he was talking just to us.’ She spooned up a bite of her frozen hot chocolate, but didn’t eat it. She stared around the restaurant, frowning.
‘What?’ Eve asked.
‘I keep feeling like someone’s watching me,’ Jess explained. She licked the chocolate off her spoon, but she didn’t seem to be tasting the yumminess. ‘God, maybe Simon is still in stalker mode.’
‘Well, Simon’s no match for the two of us,’ Eve assured her, trying to sound more like her old self. She glanced around the room too, but didn’t see anything unusual. Except for the unusually hot guy – well, hot man: he was probably in his late twenties – who’d just walked in. ‘Hel-lo,’ she murmured, giving Jess a little chin-jerk so she’d look over and see him – him with his black hair, and eyes that were so dark there was almost no colour difference between pupil and iris.
‘Wows,’ Jess whispered back. Her eyes widened. ‘Eve, he’s coming right towards us.’
Eve tried to take another look without being obvious about it. But he caught her at it and held her gaze. He spoke into a small mic clipped to his lapel – the kind cops wore – as he strode over to them, his expression grim.
‘Come with me.’ He grabbed Eve’s arm and pulled her to her feet.
‘What? Where?’ Eve exclaimed as he urged her to the door. Her heart skittered in her chest.
‘Who are you? You can’t just drag her out of here!’ Jess exclaimed. When the man didn’t stop marching Eve to the door, Jess pulled out her iPhone. ‘You don’t tell me, I’m calling the cops.’
The man snatched Jess’s phone without releasing his grip on Eve. ‘This doesn’t concern you.’ Eve noticed he had a slight Spanish accent. She tried to memorize everything about him. He wasn’t going to get away with this.
‘Of course it does! She’s my best friend!’ Jess cried.
They didn’t need the cops. Or a phone. All they needed was a loud scream. Eve opened her mouth.
‘You don’t want to do that,’ the man told her. ‘I’m with the Order. We’re connected all over this city. All over the world.’
Eve’s mouth snapped shut. She exchanged a panicked glance with Jess. The Order? She was being kidnapped by the Order. Had Alanna sent in her report? What were they going to do to her?
She imagined herself locked in a cell for the rest of her life. If they even let her live. The thought turned her knees to water. If the man didn’t have her arm, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand.
‘Is everything all right, girls?’ the waitress called as they reached the door.
‘Fine,’ Eve told her, forcing a smile. She quickly fished inside her purse and threw some money down on the counter to pay for the food and frozen hot chocolates. The waitress couldn’t help. If Eve tried to involve her, she might end up getting hurt.
‘We’re OK,’ Jess added as the three of them hurried out of the café.
‘In,’ the man ordered, opening the back door of a black sedan that was parked in front of the restaurant.
Eve’s brain whirled as she tried to decide what to do. She couldn’t use her power on him. He was human. And the Order would be able to find her wherever she went. Payne had sensed her when he was in Deepdene, and this man had found her among all the people in Manhattan.
‘You know what? There are some things I’d like to talk to the Order about too.’ Like trapping her in her own town. Like one of their members turning her boyfriend against her. She slid into the car, chin high. She hoped he believed the brave front she was putting up. Jess clambered in beside her.
‘Not you,’ the man said.
‘Where she goes, I go,’ Jess said. ‘And I don’t care who you are. If I start scre
aming about my best friend being abducted, somebody will listen.’
He didn’t answer. Just shut the car door, then got in the front seat. He started the engine and locked the doors centrally from the dashboard.
‘Thanks, Jess. Thank you so much.’ Eve didn’t want her friend to be in danger, but it felt good, so, so good, not to be in this car all alone.
‘Like I was going to let you have this big adventure all by yourself.’ Jess wasn’t bad at putting up a front either.
As the car pulled away from the kerb, Eve noticed that there were no locks on the back doors. There was no way to get out. She began shivering uncontrollably. Jess grabbed her hand, and her friend’s fingers were cold and clammy. ‘What are we going to do?’ Jess whispered.
‘I don’t know.’ Eve hated to say the words. They filled her with hopelessness and despair. But there was no other way to answer Jess.
In what felt like seconds, although it was probably a ten-block ride, the car glided over to the kerb and stopped.
The man, who hadn’t said a word the whole ride, climbed out and opened the back door. He gestured for them to get out. Why had Eve thought he was hot? Now he just looked scary. What did he need all those muscles for anyway?
When she stepped out of the car, Eve was surprised at how ordinary the block looked. A row of townhouses on one side of the street, a large apartment building and more townhouses on the other. The only strange thing was that the block was quiet, way too quiet for Manhattan.
Eve didn’t have much time to think about it. The man whisked her and Jess up the steps of the nearest townhouse. It looked just like the others on the block, but Eve was willing to bet that it didn’t take a retina scan to get into those buildings. Once the man’s scan was approved, the lock on the door clicked open.
‘Inside,’ he said.
‘Impressive vocabulary on you,’ Jess commented.
At least neither of us is letting this Order goon see how afraid we really are, Eve thought as she stepped into the foyer. She couldn’t see much more than the large marble staircase rising in front of them and the rug that lay in front of that.
