by Serena Robar
I found Aunt Chloe in the back of the house, getting ready to take a nap.
“Did you see Piper, my dear?” she asked when I peeked in her bedroom.
“Yeah, she’s on her way out.” I decided to sit on the bed and visit with her. It seemed we rarely saw each other, even though we lived in the same place.
“Hmm, probably meeting that boy on the motorcycle. Not that I blame her. I wouldn’t mind meeting him.” She winked at me.
I became very still. “What boy?”
She pulled the covers down and said, “That one you two were fighting over. The one from the garage. They went out the other night. He took her to a cemetery, isn’t that something? Very original. Didn’t she tell you?”
I stood up. “No, she didn’t mention it.”
“Probably thought you’d disapprove. You need to have more faith in your friends, my dear.”
I walked woodenly toward the door. Stopping, I looked back at her. “Aunt Chloe, I want to be the one to greet the blood van this afternoon, okay? I think I should be more involved in House activities.”
She looked confused but nodded in agreement. “If you want, dear. Van arrives at four.”
It was silly of me, but I wasn’t going to risk Aunt Chloe’s life. And anyway, no vampire zombie would be hiding in a van that we would open during the day, with the sun out. Of course, a possessed vampire wouldn’t be so concerned about burning to death in the sunlight if it thought it could jump into another body right away. A body like Aunt Chloe’s.
No, it was hardly plausible, but I would meet the van regardless. I should be more visible around the House anyway. We had new members who really didn’t know me. It would be good for everyone.
Putting my vial of blood on the desk, I changed clothes and slept until early afternoon. I woke up sneezing and heard a crash followed by a yowl. WTF?
In the far corner of my room was an orange cat, hissing, teeth bared and backed into a corner. On the floor was the vial of blood, shattered, crushed beneath my computer speaker.
“Sophie!” I bellowed, ready to kill the maid. Momentarily, Ileana and Sophie entered my room, looking very confused. The cat slashed out with its claws and snarled.
“You brought another cat into the house,” I accused. “And it wrecked my room.”
Sophie looked around for damage. “But I didn’t, miss. Not since you said I could have another pet. I swear it.” She appeared frightened, wringing her hands.
As soon as she said it, I knew it was true. Sophie was the worst liar on the planet. She wore every emotion on her face. She really had no idea about the cat.
But I was still mad. “Who let it in here, then?”
The cat sensed its chance for a quick getaway and flew past them, out the door. I wanted to chase it but Ileana said, “Let it go. It’s too late. The damage is done.”
I had to agree. The damage was done. My Slayer blood was smeared all over the hardwood, kitty paws effectively spreading it out so there was no way I could save any of it.
I dropped down on the bed, numb. “What am I going to do?”
Neither had an answer for me but I knew. I had to get more. I had to find Hunter. Throwing on my clothes, I barked, “Make sure that cat is out of the house.”
Within minutes I was rushing to the teahouse where I thought I’d find Piper. The gal behind the counter said she was there earlier, but left with a smokin’ hot guy on a motorcycle. This did not thrill me.
I called her cell and each time it went directly to voice mail. Dead battery or she had turned it off. Checking my watch, I discovered it was quarter to four. In my excitement, I almost forgot about meeting the blood van.
It was weird, walking back to Psi Phi House. It seemed everywhere I looked, a cat was watching me. I swore I saw the same orange cat that sabotaged my potion and numerous others. At least five of them. If Piper hadn’t told me demons possessed cats I never would have noticed them but somehow, each one had a sinister quality.
I made it home in less than ten minutes. Inside the house, several sun-friendly half-bloods were putting out cookies and orange juice in anticipation of students donating blood. I tried Piper’s cell again and almost threw my phone against the wall in frustration when voice mail picked up immediately. Time was running out, I was sure of it.
It would happen soon and I wasn’t ready. Not near ready. I helped out and paced the floor. I greeted donors, asking them to make themselves at home. Aunt Chloe kept checking the time and making tsking sounds. At four thirty she called her friend at the blood bank. Yes, the van had left over an hour ago and no, they hadn’t heard from them.
It was official. The van was late. After fifteen more minutes, Aunt Chloe’s friend called back to say they couldn’t raise the driver on his cell phone. I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I left the house and was surprised to see some Tribunal Security standing guard outside the house.
“What are you guys doing here?”
Angie saw me and intercepted. “I called them. Piper thought there would be some trouble with the blood van and asked me to have security here. I guess if you can call not showing up trouble, then she was right.”
I nodded in agreement. That was very high-handed of Piper—and extremely thoughtful, I had to grudgingly admit. Where was she? Time was running out. I had to mix the potion soon and I still needed Slayer blood.
At seven o’clock I was ready to admit defeat. Not a word from Piper or Thomas. No blood van and a bunch of hungry, cranky half-bloods complaining how they worked so hard to make cookies and now they couldn’t even enjoy those.
I left the House to meet Ms. Weatherbee. I would have to make the potion without the blood. It was that simple. I was out of time and options. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen tonight. I knew it.
I arrived just as Ms. Weatherbee did.
“Are you ready to boil and brew?”
I got straight to the point. “I don’t have the Slayer blood.”
“You couldn’t get it?” She seemed surprised.
“Oh no, I got it. Then a cat smashed it.”
“What do you want to do? Do you want to wait?”
“I don’t think we can wait. I think something is going to happen soon. Like tonight soon.”
She nodded in agreement. “I agree. The signs are everywhere.”
I ignored her mystic prediction. “Let’s make the potion without the blood.”
“But, Colby—”
“I understand the risks, it can’t be helped. Let’s just make it up.”
She nodded and we gathered all the ingredients and headed to an unoccupied lab. She fired up a Bunsen burner then started adding ingredients. Mixing, pouring, crushing, reducing. The process took hours.
“You know, you may still be in luck. The blood doesn’t need to cook with the potion. It just needs to be added after these ingredients stew. If you get some, you can still use it.”
“You’re very much an optimist, aren’t you, Ms. Weatherbee?” I couldn’t help but comment. Sadly, I couldn’t share her sunny outlook.
“I believe you will do what’s right when the moment arrives.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know what that is, would you?”
She put the last of the potion in a glass vial and stopped it with a black cork. She smiled as she gave it to me.
“You gotta have faith.”
I nodded, taking the formula. It was still warm from the burner, but not so hot I couldn’t hold it.
“Do you have the other things you need?”
I made a face. “Yes, in my backpack.”
“Then good luck.” She caught me by surprise when she reached out to hug me.
“Thank you.” I nodded and left her in the lab. I had my potion, minus one crucial ingredient.
I left campus and made a beeline to Psi Phi House. No one called me on my cell to say the blood van finally arrived and Piper hadn’t returned my many calls. I was not pleased. I was even
more annoyed when a black cat popped out from the bushes and meowed at me.
I felt like kicking it but could hardly bring myself to harm a helpless cat that just happened to be in my path. This one didn’t emit a sinister vibe.
“Not in the mood, cat,” I said as it meowed again, sounding as pathetic as any cat could.
“I don’t have any food for you, so beat it.” The cat rushed toward me, stopped, turned around several times and meowed again.
“Okay, you’ve got my attention. Now what do you want?”
I stopped and waited for it to react. It sat back on its bottom and pawed the air, like it was trying to play with dangling string. Oh brother, I so don’t have time for this.
I started walking again and the cat raced toward me and took a swipe at my ankle. “Ouch!” I grabbed at my leg.
It sat back down and shook its paws frantically. It wasn’t playing, as I originally thought. It was pointing between two houses. Then it jumped up and walked in that direction, looking over its shoulder at me, as though expecting me to follow.
“I’ve got to be crazy,” I muttered, deciding to go. It seemed pleased that I finally understood what it wanted and rushed ahead. It weaved behind houses, through an alley and crept slowly toward an older Tudor house whose lawn looked in desperate need of a mow.
It was Mrs. Murphy’s house. The cat lady.
We cautiously made our way toward the side of the house, where the unattached garage was located. A screen of high, overgrown hedges obscured the neighbors from view. The cat dove into the greenery. Oh, I was so not going into the bushes.
“Psst, Colby,” I heard a voice from the hedge. Was the cat talking to me?
“Psst! Colby, over here.” This time I recognized the whisper. It was Piper.
I crept closer and scurried under branches to a small den-like haven within the bushes. Piper was there, leaves in her hair and the black cat by her side.
“Your new apartment is a little small for my taste,” I commented dryly, trying to position myself in the tight quarters.
“Yeah, but it’s got a great view.” She pulled the lowest branch to the side so we had an unobstructed view of the garage and side door of the house.
“And this would interest you, why?”
The cat meowed and Piper nodded in agreement. “You have no idea,” she said to it.
“You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“Demons in the house. Hunter’s in the blood van in the garage.”
“The blood van’s in the garage?” I took a peek over her shoulder.
“Yeah, they had a little glitch in their plan.” The cat meowed again and Piper smiled. “They so did not see that one coming, huh?”
“Are you talking to the cat?”
“No, I’m talking to the Sloth Demon inside the cat.” Her shoulders stiffened. “But then I don’t expect you to believe that.”
I ignored her last comment and asked instead, “What glitch?”
“I called the Humane Society on them. They took away about ten possessed cats this afternoon. It was great.” The cat meowed in agreement.
“Hunter and I decided to head off the blood van but things got a little messy and he was captured. I couldn’t leave in case they tried to move him or hurt him so I sent Mr. Whiskers to find you. Took him long enough.” The cat starting meowing in self-defense to which Piper responded, “Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge.”
“Mr. Whiskers?” I echoed.
“He used to live at Mrs. Murphy’s until all the Avarice Demons started possessing the regular cats. They’ve possessed Mrs. Murphy now, too.”
As if on cue, the house door swung open and we crouched farther back in the shadows. Mrs. Murphy and two zombie vampires walked over to the garage and entered. Mr. Whiskers immediately jumped up and followed them. He loitered just outside the open garage.
“Can you hear anything?” Piper asked me. I strained my head in the direction of the conversation but couldn’t make anything out. All the voices sounded like they were buzzing with electrical interference.
“No.” We waited in uncomfortable silence. Finally, I said, “You know it’s not that I don’t want you to be a Demon Slayer. Well, no, that’s not true. I don’t want you to be one, but not for the reasons you think.”
She glanced in my direction so I continued. “It’s just since I became Undead and had this whole Protector thing dumped in my lap, I’m always in danger and have this constant pressure on me to save the world. It’s overwhelming and I look at you and your life—” My voice broke so I cleared my throat. “I just look at your life and I’m so envious. I wish I could be you so badly that I want to keep you safe and normal and sort of live my life through you.”
She shifted her weight and looked at me with confusion.
“Don’t you see if you’re a Demon Slayer then you have all the same crap to deal with that I do without the benefit of being immortal? You could die, Piper. Way easier than I can.”
“Is that why you’ve been such a jerk about accepting my being a Demon Slayer? You know, putting your head in the sand and denying it is not going to make it any less true,” she pointed out.
“I know, but it’s just so …” I struggled to make sense. “So hard. Sometimes I just can’t deal with it all.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. “I know, Colby. I get it. I don’t know how you do it all. I’m scared to death about being a Demon Slayer. You know how I am! Hunter got captured and did I save him? No, I’m hiding in the bushes waiting for you to come and save my butt. Like always,” she ended bitterly.
“There is a huge difference between being a coward and playing the odds. You are the bravest person I know, Piper. There’s no one I would rather have my back.”
“Really? Even Thomas?”
“Right now? Especially Thomas.” I gave her a wry smile.
“You’ll save Thomas,” she assured me.
“No, we’ll save Thomas. And Hunter too.”
Just then the cat came back, and Mrs. Murphy left the garage to return to the house.
Piper listened to the cat, seemingly impatient with its explanation.
“What? What is it?”
“The demons are standing guard over Hunter. They’re moving him into the house.” A crack of thunder reverberated through the air, catching us both by surprise. Lightening flashed.
“They’re going to open the portal between the worlds to let Barnaby come through with a legion of followers.”
“Where will the legion go? It’s not like there’s a bunch of cats or vampires hanging around.”
The cat meowed again. “The storm. They’ll live in the charged particles until their hosts arrive.”
“What hosts?” I wanted to know.
“I don’t know. It looks like I messed with the plan by calling the Humane Society. We’ve got to save Hunter.”
She made a move to leave the bushes but I stopped her. “No way we’re going to bust into that garage without any weapons. We have no idea what’s in store for us in there. Sounds like they want him alive so he isn’t in any immediate danger. Anyway, I have an idea how to get Barnaby, but I need some time.”
“You want me just to sit and wait in the shadows and do nothing? I don’t think so.”
“No, I want you to get captured by the demons after you’re properly armed, but first I want some blood.”
Her eyes got big. “Are you kidding me? You’re hungry at a time like this?”
I smacked her shoulder. “No, you idiot. I need the blood of a Demon Slayer for my potion and last time I checked, you were the only Demon Slayer around, so it’s time to bleed a little for me.”
“You believe me?”
“Of course I believe you. I’m staking our lives on it—hand over a vein.” She offered her left arm to me. I took out my fang headgear and gave her one last chance to back down.
I gave her the potion beaker to hold under the wound and nodded that I was ready. She took a deep breath and nodde
d back. I put her wrist up to my mouth and licked it, numbing the area. She shivered but kept her arm still. I knew how difficult this must be for her and I was so proud.
Slowly, I pierced the skin, fighting the desire to swallow her life essence and instead pulled away, watching the blood start to pool and drip into the potion. Piper looked positively green and I worried she was going to faint but her breathing stayed low and even. The cat meowed and she shook her head no. It moved closer and rubbed its head against her leg in a show of support. I tried not to sneeze.
When I had enough, or at least hoped I had enough, I licked the wound and it healed instantly. She pulled back, checking her wrist for scars.
“My turn.” I bit my own wrist and dropped a few drops in as well. We didn’t need much of my blood, so I licked the wound and took off my headgear.
“What is this stuff anyway?” she asked, swirling it in the vial so the blood mixed with the shimmering black liquid.
“It’s our secret weapon.”
“Really?” She looked doubtful.
Before I could explain, a car arrived. We peeked past the branches to get a better look. Two more zombie vampires arrived. They were escorting—oh no, it was Thomas! He looked dazed and exhausted. They pushed him forward. I noticed his hands were bound. So, Barnaby hadn’t fully possessed him yet. I was relieved.
The atmosphere crackled and the sky took on a reddish glow. Lightning continued to strike, accompanied by thunderous booms. We were running out of time.
I pulled a few things out of my bag that caused Piper’s eyes to widen. “You have got to be joking me,” she said when I laid them out on the ground. The cat made a sound like it agreed.
“I can’t do it myself, I don’t have a mirror.” I took out a piece of paper from my pants, unfolded it and laid it next to the implements.
“Do me first and then it’s your turn.”
“What?” she squawked.
“You can’t go in there unprotected. Period. It’s either this or you go back to Psi Phi House.”
We had a stare-down but she finally relented. “Oh fine. But this totally sucks, you know that, right?”
“How’s it feel to be a Demon Slayer now, huh?”
