An Autumn Dream

by Melissa Giorgio

  I was screaming at this point, but I didn’t care. I needed to get this out; it had been sitting inside me since Chloe had come home crying one night last summer, telling me how Christian had used her until he had gotten exactly what he had wanted. For two short weeks, she had felt like the most beautiful, amazing girl, and once he had tricked her into his bed and dumped her the next day to be with his next catch, she had completely reversed, hating not Christian but herself. It had taken weeks for me to coax her out of the house, which had been a mistake because as soon as she had gone to one party, she had gone overboard: drinking and coming home hung over, expecting me to cover for her, fooling around with other guys to “forget” Christian (which obviously hadn’t worked), and fighting with Dad constantly. It was only now, after the Davenport incident, that she had calmed down to the point that she was almost a completely different person. She may have finally gotten over Christian, but I hadn’t. He had hurt my sister, and I was too overprotective to just let it slide.

  I put my hands on my hips and stared up at him. “You want to know why I hate you, Christian? Why I refuse to give you the time of day, let alone ever go out with you? Because you’re an asshole.” I took satisfaction in the way he flinched at that word. “I would rather die alone than ever be with someone like you.” I allowed myself a bitter smile. “But I don’t have to worry about that, now that I found Rafe. Someone who treats people like they’re actual people and not objects that are meant for possession. He’s sweet and kind and he will never force me to do something I’m not ready to do.” It was so true. The boy blushed at the most innocent of things! But I found his shyness endearing and wouldn’t have it any other way. “So leave me and my sister the hell alone!”

  Christian was looking at me like I had grown another head. True, these were the most words I had ever spoken to him at one time, but I think this was also the first time someone had told him the truth. I’m sure he had been slapped across the face before, though. He did treat girls pretty badly…

  “I don’t see what’s wrong with having a little bit of fun,” he said quietly. I narrowed my eyes, seeing nothing but red. Did he not hear a single word I had just shouted in his stupid face? Why had I bothered wasting my breath? It was like speaking to a wall, I swear. No, wait, that’s insulting the wall.

  “Everything all right?” Evan asked, startling me badly. I turned to see him walking up to us covered in green demon blood. I wrinkled my nose; I could smell him from several yards away. Behind him was the dead demon, sprawled out on the pavement with its severed head laying a couple of feet from its body.

  Christian took one look at the body and the blood drained from his face. Whirling around, he proceeded to throw up all over the ground.

  “Oh, boy,” Evan muttered, pulling out a cloth to wipe his knife clean. “This one’s a real hero, isn’t he?”

  I should probably have felt bad for Christian, but I didn’t. “He’s a jerk.”

  “Yeah, I can tell that.”

  “We should have let the demon eat him.”

  Evan chuckled. Putting away the knife, he raised his eyebrows. “How do you want to do this?”

  “I-I don’t understand.” Which was a lie; I knew what he meant.

  Evan, for his part, didn’t call me out on my lie. “How much do you want him to forget?” He gestured to the body. “Just the demon or… everything?”

  I felt my cheeks flush, certain Evan could see the deep red stain despite the poor lighting. He had heard everything I’d said, including the stuff about Chloe.

  But there’s no point in focusing on that, I thought grimly. What’s done is done. I couldn’t exactly ask Evan to wipe his own memory. Besides, he would never tell anyone what he had overheard. He wasn’t like that. He wasn’t like Christian.

  I made up my mind quickly.

  “Everything,” I said. “Everything that happened after he started dancing with the demon. Just make him think she left him on the dance floor.”

  He studied me carefully for a full minute, making me squirm under his gaze. A quiet Evan was unusual and sort of creepy. “Are you sure?” he finally asked.

  “Yeah.” I turned my back on a still-puking Christian. “Just do it. It’s not like what I said made an impact on him, anyway.”

  “It’s a shame I can’t convince him to be a better person,” I heard Evan mutter. “Magic can’t change personalities, unfortunately.”

  “Evan, I’m pretty sure nothing short of a lobotomy would change him.”

  He snorted in response.

  “GABI!” The school doors were thrown open with a loud crash and Rafe came charging out, looking like he was about to kill fifty demons to get to me. He gathered me into his arms, pulling me to his chest so I could hear his rapidly beating heart. “Are you okay?” He pulled back and saw the welt on my face. Rafe swore. “What the hell happened?”

  I gestured toward the dead demon. “Sharkrat hit me after I cut its tail.”

  “What?” The confused look on his face was so comical, I had to smile. But Rafe’s eyes flashed and he shook his head. “This isn’t funny, Gabi! This thing hurt you! What the hell were you doing, fighting it? Did you want to get hurt?”

  “No, I—”

  “And what was Evan doing, just standing around as usual?”

  “I am standing right here, you know,” the blonde said as he worked his magic.

  Rafe ignored him. “What the hell, Gabi?” His nostrils flared as he struggled to keep his anger in check.

  I wasn’t used to seeing him like this. Ever. “Why are you so mad?”

  “Because you didn’t come and get me!” he yelled. “You left me in the gym and decided to go fight demons by yourself? To save that guy?” He gestured toward Christian, who was watching us with a blank look on his face. “You got hurt helping him?”

  Was he jealous or just really pissed off? Maybe a little bit of both, I decided. Putting a hand on his chest, I spoke in a low, soothing tone of voice. “Look, Rafe, it all happened so quickly, and we didn’t mean to leave you behind. The thing was about to take a bite out of Christian and as much as I wanted to let it do that, I couldn’t…And you were, you know, talking with Stacey…”

  I could see him blushing as he tried to avoid making eye contact. “I wasn’t talking with her.”

  “Drooling then? Over her costume?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. The only one I wanted to look at was you.”

  My heart skipped a beat, but I said, “Wanted. Past tense. You don’t want to look at me anymore?”

  He pulled me closer and murmured, “I always want to look at you.” But then he blinked and shook his head a little, as if waking up. “But don’t change the subject! You can’t fight demons the way you are!”

  I was a little lost. “You mean in heels and a flapper dress?”

  “No, I mean inexperienced!” Rafe’s grip tightened around my shoulders. “If you want to fight them, then you have to let me train you.”

  My eyes widened. “T-Train me?” I felt a little thrill of excitement. “As a demon hunter?”

  “No.” He scowled. “But I will teach you self-defense, so you can hold your own against them. I’m hoping I can take you out on dates where we don’t see a freaking demon, but at that rate we’re going…”

  “It’s better that I know how to take care of myself,” I finished for him.

  “Exactly.” Rafe finally smiled, looking more like the sweet boy I had fallen for than the scary, overprotective one. “I’m a great teacher, too.”

  “Oh yeah?” I stood on tiptoes so our lips were almost touching. “Does that mean I get rewards when I do something good?”

  “Depends on your definition of rewards,” he said, brushing his lips against mine in a short but sweet kiss. “This I can do as much as you like. But if you want a new shirt or a piece of cake every time you land a proper punch or kick, I’m afraid I won’t be able to afford it.”

  I pouted. “My boyfriend is a cheapskate!”
r />   “Oh gross, now I’m going to start puking,” Evan complained, interrupting us from any further kissing. I shot him my death glare, which, as usual, he ignored. “Listen, the idiot’s memory is clean, but we still have a body to take care of. Can you detangle yourself from your girlfriend long enough to help me, Rafe?”

  There was an evil glint in Rafe’s eye when he answered. “I don’t know, Evan. You were so eager to drag Gabi out here and take on the big bad demon all on your own, so why should I help you now?”

  “Rafe, come on,” Evan said in a pained voiced. “Don’t make me clean it up on my own!”

  “Unlike your lame cape, this is a rental,” Rafe said, pointing to his suit. Adjusting his fedora, he put on his terrible gangster accent again. “Cleaning up demon ick sounds real swell, but I gotta get my doll home.”

  “We’re going to do some serious necking in the car,” I chimed in, loving the way Rafe blushed at that.

  Evan stared at us for a long moment. “Please leave before I throw up.”

  “He’s such a wet blanket,” I told Rafe, who chuckled as he offered me his arm like the perfect gentleman that he was. “Let’s go, Daddy.”

  “I told you not to call me that!”

  We walked to Rafe’s car, my heels clicking against the pavement the only sound disturbing the still night. Before I climbed in, Rafe gently grabbed me around the waist to pull me closer for a passionate kiss. I had to grip his strong arms tightly to prevent myself from falling over as my limbs turned into wet noodles.

  He looked rather pleased with himself when he pulled away.

  I grinned. “What time is it?”

  “Why?” he asked, suddenly suspicious.

  “Think we have time for some more Trick-or-Treating?”

  “You’re not serious, are you?” He took one look at my face and groaned. “You are serious. Gabi!”

  “What?” I asked innocently. “It’s either drop me off at home and say goodnight because my dad is waiting up for me and probably won’t let you into the house—or if he does, it would be to watch the nighttime news with him in the living room, and this is after you explain how this bruise got on my face—or spend a few extra hours together getting candy!”

  Rafe grimaced. “I thought you wanted to neck in the car?” he asked, sounding a little flustered. He gave me a mock serious look. “Besides, if we go Trick-or-Treating, chances are we’ll stumble across another demon. God forbid we ever get to go out on a real date and have a good time.”

  “I always have a good time!”

  He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

  “What?” I asked. “I do! The ick is annoying, but spending time with you?” I slipped my arms around his neck, and he instinctively pulled me closer. “It’s worth it.” Rafe leaned in for another kiss, but I stopped him by placing a hand over his lips. I pouted. “But I really want free candy!”

  Rafe groaned again. “I swear you like candy more than me.”

  I pulled off his hat and placed it on my head. “Don’t you know, Rafe? I like sweet things. And you are about the sweetest thing I’ve ever known.”

  “We are definitely not heading straight back to your house,” he said in a rough voice.

  I beamed. “Just for that, I’m letting you have all of my peanut butter cups!”

  “What have you done with my girlfriend?”

  “Just shut up and kiss me already!” I said, my imitation of a gangster voice just as bad as Rafe’s was.

  And of course the boy complied because he simply was the cat’s pajamas.

  Indiana Rafe

  Evan Underwood threw the Wii controller on the table with a loud clack and said, “This sucks. I’m bored. Let’s do something else.”

  I tried unsuccessfully to hide my grin. “You’re just saying that because I keep kicking your ass.”

  “Because you keep making me play this stupid baseball game,” he complained, gesturing toward the screen where my team was currently celebrating their shut out against his. “If it was a magic contest, I would totally wipe the floor with you.” Evan stood up abruptly, grabbing his coat. “Come on, let’s do something.”

  “Like what?” I asked, using the remote to shut the TV off. “Patrol for demons?” I couldn’t hide the eagerness in my voice and Evan picked up on it immediately.

  “You wish,” he snorted. “Wasn’t Davenport and his nest of raving, drooling lunatics enough to satisfy your hunger?”

  I shook my head. “Never. As long as they’re out there, I can never re—”

  “If you finish that overdramatic sentence, I swear I will kill you.” Evan searched through the pockets of his coat, frowning when he pulled out an empty package of cigarettes. Then a slow, evil smile spread across his face, and I instantly went on alert. “Hey, why don’t we go visit Gabi? She’s working tonight, isn’t she?” He shook the empty pack. “We can kill two birds with one stone: I can get my nicotine, and you can suck face with your girl.”

  I felt a blush creep across my cheeks. “We do not suck face.”

  “Really? Then you’re doing something wrong.”

  I glared at him.

  “Come on, Rafe! You’re a teenage boy! You’re supposed to be doing things a thousand times worse than sucking face. Things that would make her father want to kill you.”

  “Sorry to disappoint, but not everyone is a horny bastard like you, Evan.”

  He grinned like I had just paid him a compliment. I shook my head; fighting with Evan was always exhausting. When would I learn to just ignore him?

  “Seriously, how far have you gotten—”

  My face was probably the same shade as a fire engine. “We are NOT having this conversation.”

  He shook the pack of cigarettes again. “Easy solution to this problem, Rafe.”

  “Fine,” I said, grabbing my car keys. “But if you bring this up in the car, I’m kicking you out. While it’s still moving.”

  ***

  “Seriously, though, Gabi is a great girl,” Evan said in the car, drumming his fingers on the armrest. “I’m happy for you, Rafe.”

  I shot him a sideways glance and was surprised to see he was being one hundred percent genuinely honest. For probably the first and last time in his life. I gave him a manly grunt. “Thanks.”

  “It helps that she has the Sight and knows about your profession, so you don’t have to lead that whole double life and worry about lying to her.”

  “Yeah.” That was one of the main reasons why hunters almost always married hunters. Telling a normal person that demons existed usually sent said person running in the opposite direction, screaming their heads off.

  “And she’s got that whole healing thing going on, so she’s even weirder than you.”

  I barely stopped myself from driving into a parked car. “Evan!” I barked. “I told you not to bring that up!”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, fine, I’m sorry. But what are you so paranoid about? It’s not like Silver Moon is bugging your car or anything!”

  “It’s just not something we talk about, ever. Not until I figure it out.” And figure you out, I thought grimly. Evan’s girlfriend, Alexandra, had been in a coma since she was sixteen. If anyone needed a healer…

  Of course I wanted Alex back. I’d have to be a heartless bastard not to. But Evan hadn’t seen what happened to Gabi when she healed him. There was a fierce look on her face as her hands burned with a strange, silvery light, a light that quickly consumed all of her body as it flowed from her to Evan. For the briefest of moments I swore she had turned translucent, like a ghost or something, but then she was solid again, her body crumpling to the floor next to a completely healed Evan.

  I hadn’t told anyone about that. It had shaken me pretty badly, but I couldn’t say for sure if it had actually happened or not. Maybe it was just a hallucination, a result from my fight with first Boneless One and Two and then Davenport. If that was the case, then there was no point in telling Gabi and causing her unnecessary
worry. I needed solid answers first. Until then, I would pretend like it wasn’t a big deal to Gabi. I know she’d be pissed if she knew I was hiding things from her, but this was for her own protection.

  I’d sworn I’d keep her safe, and I meant it.

  I pulled the car in front of the Convenience Corral and Evan started snickering. Running my eyes over the garishly painted sign with the giant cow being ridden by a cowboy, I started laughing as well. Oh, poor Gabi. Of all the places to work, why did she choose a Western-themed convenience store?

  When we got out of the car, I struggled to keep my face straight, but I nearly lost it again when the buzzer at the door mooed when we stepped inside. Evan’s snickers turned into loud snorts, and when we spotted Gabi he fell to the floor, clutching his side as he laughed hysterically.

  It took a second for her to spot us, and once she did, her brown eyes widened before narrowing dangerously. Oh crap, I was in trouble. Then I saw the horrid lime green shirt she was wearing and burst out laughing, knowing I was so dead but unable to stop myself. I mean, seriously, that thing was brighter than the sun. Avoid direct contact or you would go blind!

  “Rafe,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “WHAT. THE. HELL.”

  Deader than dead, but dammit, that shirt!

  The woman Gabi was ringing up looked from her to Evan and I rolling on the floor laughing our asses off and said, “Excuse me, can you finish taking care of me?”

  “You can wait,” Gabi snapped, leaving the register. “I have to take care of them first—”

  “Harkins!” A middle-aged balding man stalked out from nowhere, his beady eyes taking in the scene quickly. “What are you doing? Stop fooling around!”