“You liked giving that guy a hard time,” Reed Taylor accused.
“I dated his brother for a bit,” I explained, but my attention wasn’t on Reed Taylor. It was on the demon following our waiter around. The way it was moving, it wasn’t right.
“So did you like his brother?” Asked like he didn’t even care. And maybe he didn’t.
“Not especially.” My body was very still.
“What’s wrong?”
I didn’t answer. The demon had gone from a drifting, ramshackle gait to a hurried, quick one. He had matched it directly up to Owen’s.
“Luna?”
“This isn’t right,” I mumbled under my breath. Reed Taylor turned around to see. Frustrated, he turned back.
“There isn’t anything there.”
The demon inched closer to the waiter. He was only half a foot away.
Realization slowly dawned.
“No!” I said, jumping off of my stool so quickly that it fell over. The few customers in the place started.
“Luna, what’s going on?”
I heard Reed Taylor yelling after me, but I didn’t stop. I leapt over my chair and ran as fast as I could toward the waiter. I felt a quick draining of energy, and the demon was reaching a suddenly much more tangible hand toward the boy’s shoulder.
“Owen!” I screamed, and the waiter turned to stare at me in shock. “Owen, look out!”
I crashed into Owen a second before the demon did. The force of my body knocked him flat to the floor, and his trays went flying. The demon’s hand landed hard between my shoulder blades, and I arched my back from the freezing pain.
It was agony.
I felt the will of the demon as it tried to burrow deep inside of my skin and my soul. Its fingers were tapered at the ends, sharp, and they pushed through my skin like pins, trying desperately to drive down to the very core.
“Uninvited,” I gasped out. “Uninvited.”
The demon panted, its face right beside my ear. “You took him from me,” it hissed, and pushed harder into my body. I could feel tendrils of it, waxy and cold, sliding across the protective top layer of my soul. It wanted in. It wanted in so desperately that I could taste it. It made me taste it. I twisted up onto my tiptoes, my body spasming.
“Let me in, Luna. Your soul for his. Fair trade.”
Reed Taylor watched me, his mouth open. The other customers in the restaurant looked confused, as if they couldn’t decide whether to applaud the floor show or call an ambulance. Or, more likely, the men in white coats. I felt a brief burn of shame until movement caught my eye.
Owen scooted away on the ground, his face terrified. He was much younger when I had seen him last. An awkward little high school punk who didn’t fit in anywhere, didn’t have anybody but his brother. I felt my eyes narrow.
“You will not touch him,” I spat and twisted around to face the demon. Its red eyes sparked, but I knew it was wearing out, too.
“You fight, Luna.” Its smugness ticked me off.
“Better believe I fight,” I said, and then I let it explode out of me.
That’s the way to put it. All of the rage, all of my loathing for the darkness I’m bombarded with, all of my despair shot out through my skin. I could feel it. More importantly, the demon felt it. It was being forced to solidify against its will. It withdrew its fingers a fraction of a centimeter from between my shoulder blades, and howled.
“Keep screaming,” I yelled, and let the power continue to flow.
“Stop,” it gasped out. Its eyes were burning bright red. I had to act fast.
I slammed my forehead into its face. Something crunched, teeth or nose, I didn’t have time to think about it. The demon’s cry was shrill and agonized. It made my blood burn.
I yanked myself away, ripping its fingers from the blazing pain in my back. The scream that came out of my own throat was almost as harsh.
“Luna?” Reed called my name tentatively.
“Stay back!” I barked at him. “You don’t want to become a target.”
“A target for what?” he asked, but I hissed as the broken demon snapped toward Reed Taylor like a leather belt in the hands of an abusive lover.
“Don’t touch him!” I growled and elbowed the demon in the jaw. It tried to dematerialize, but I pushed more of my anger and energy into it, holding it fast in its solidity. “No, you don’t. No hiding.” I elbowed it again, aiming toward its smashed face. It threw its hands up, and I elbowed it in the stomach instead.
“Just let me have the boy,” it moaned.
“Never.”
The demon spit something up, something dark and phlegmy and disgustingly alive. It mewled and crawled across the floor with wet, stubby legs. I was killing it, I knew.
“Please,” it begged. “Please don’t.”
“I’m strong enough to defeat you,” I snarled.
The demon bent itself in half backwards and shrieked. It was a horrible sound. The mewling thing tried to scramble away but I stepped on it, impaling it on my high heel. Its cry echoed the demon’s.
“You are destroyed,” I cried, and pushed my clawed hands through the demon’s body. My hands felt like cold fire. The demon looked at me with utter contempt.
“I know you, Luna Masterson,” it said. Its voice was surprisingly calm. “They want you, and I shall deliver you.” The pain between my shoulder blades ramped up, nearly drove me mad. I felt my teeth clench in terror.
“I Mark you,” it said, and vanished.
I took a deep breath, and realized I was panting right there in the middle of the fish and chips place. Every eye was on me. Owen was still on the floor, nearly incoherent with panic.
“Tell your brother hi,” I said to him, my hand on my ribs. I felt like I had just run a marathon.
“W-will do,” he promised. He dropped his head to the floor and closed his eyes.
I turned around, and Reed was staring at me. I tried to smooth my hair down with my hand.
“Uh, so that was…um,” I started, but suddenly the ground rumbled under my feet. I felt the feeling of dread begin to prick at my skin.
“Oh no,” I whispered, and ran to Reed. His pupils were slightly dilated.
“What’s going on?” he asked me.
Well, drat. This wasn’t how I meant to do this, but there just wasn’t time. I cupped Reed face in my hands and looked him directly in the eyes.
“Listen to me, Reed Taylor, and listen well. I see demons. They’re everywhere, and now we’re in trouble. We have to get out of here. Do you understand?”
“Demons?” he asked dreamily. The ground shook violently, and blackness began to gather in the corner of the restaurant. A glass of water tipped over and shattered on the floor.
My heart nearly failed me.
“Reed Taylor!” I barked. He jerked like I had hit him. This ticked me off. “Give me your keys! Now!”
He fished the keys from of his pocket, and I ripped them from his hand. “Your bike! Go!” We ran outside, and I hopped on the motorcycle, then threw his helmet back to him. I could hear a sick snarling coming from inside the door. I started the bike, yanked my helmet over my head.
“Hold on!” I shouted and was nearly crushed by his arms. Well, good. He’ll have to hold on tight with the driving I have planned.
I screeched off, bike roaring. Darkness swirled around us on the left and the right. I knew if I looked up, I would see no stars.
“Where are we going?” Reed shouted. I checked his eyes in the rearview mirror. They were completely wild.
“Home,” I answered and coaxed more speed out of his bike.
I only hoped we made it there.
Chapter Eight
Reed Taylor’s bike purred like a kitten, but I needed it to roar like a tiger. I was pushing it as fast as I dared, but I knew it wasn’t fast enough. You can’t outrun these things, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.
Even now, darkness twined around the trees and buildings like the search
ing tendrils of a plant, but these were tendrils of despair. They were loss personified. The closer they got to me, the more I felt like throwing my arms in the air and giving up. Except I’m not one to bow down. They ought to know that by now.
“Hang on,” I shrieked. The bike squealed and we hung a sharp left. We zoomed down a smaller side street. The darkness pooled around us, momentarily confused.
I chuckled.
“You’re enjoying this!” Reed Taylor sounded panicked.
“Stick with me, kid,” I said and pushed the bike to full speed again.
Demons were coming out of the woodwork. Literally. I saw them spill out of houses and vomit themselves up from the ground. I had never seen so many at one time. They scrabbled and crawled and flew.
“This looks bad, Reed Taylor,” I said, and suddenly my muscles contracted.
“Luna! What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t speak. The pain radiated out from between my shoulder blades and ran down my limbs. All of my energy was spent on keeping us upright. The bike slowed, and I struggled to push it up again.
“I. Will. Not. Lose,” I hissed and felt my eyes narrow. The motorcycle let out a roar as I accelerated.
“Do we have to drive so fast?” Reed Taylor asked me.
“They run fast,” I called back.
As if to prove it, I saw a dark shape out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and my heart nearly stopped. A demon was running alongside the bike, its face turned sharply toward me. He had visible legs, not the foggy, featureless robe of darkness that most of them had. This one was nearly tangible, even without my help. Seeing it loping eerily alongside us, its eyes on mine, nearly made me lose my mind with terror.
Dear heavens, please let this trick work again. I slammed on my brakes. Just for a second, enough for the demon to shoot past us, but it rocked the bike and made Reed Taylor go haywire. As it should. His bike was a beauty, and it would be a shame to drop it out here in the middle of the road.
Oh yeah, and to die while doing so.
“What are you doing?” Reed Taylor screamed. He was holding me so tight I could hardly breathe. I stuck my foot on the ground and made an abrupt right turn. The demon was doubling back.
“Saving your life,” I called out, then gasped. The pain was excruciating.
“You’re hurting. Where?”
“My back. Shoulder blades.” I could barely bite out the words.
Reed pulled up my shirt and muttered something I couldn’t hear in the screaming wind.
“What?” I demanded. I could feel the demons behind me, but neither they nor the darkness were in my line of vision.
“It looks like frostbite, or something. You have holes. Like skewers or claws, maybe. I’ve never seen… What did this?”
“Demon,” I said, and the running demon appeared at my side as if summoned. I shrieked.
“What?”
It was close, only a few inches away. Its eyes seared into mine, and I had to force myself to keep my attention on the road. The demon reached for me. My muscles contracted.
“On your left! Kick it!”
Reed Taylor didn’t need to be told twice. He kicked spastically, connecting with the demon once or twice.
“Holy crap, I felt something!” His voice was full of wonder.
“It’s the demon. Keep kicking!”
He did. The demon was getting clobbered by a size 13 steel-toed boot, and by the sound of it, it wasn’t enjoying it at all.
“A little higher. More to the right.”
Reed Taylor kicked a mighty kick, and the demon grabbed at its face and fell to the ground. I cheered, but that was cut short when the demon’s Tracing on my back seared into my soul. It was excruciating.
“Hey, you’re losing control of the bike. Pull yourself together!”
I tried, but the pain was too much. I coughed and something warm and wet bubbled out of my throat and ran over my lips. The air grew heavy, and I felt my eyes start to roll up.
“Pull over. Pull over.”
I did exactly as Reed Taylor said. He took one look at me and pushed me forcefully to the back of the bike.
“My turn. You need to go to a hospital.”
“No. Home.”
“Dude, you totally look like…”
“Take me home, Reed Taylor!” I commanded, and he shook his head bitterly. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my cheek against his back.
“So, uh, are they still after us?” he asked. I met his beautiful eyes briefly in the rearview mirror before I looked away.
“No. I mean, yes, but not like they were before. You hurt the main one when you slammed it in the head. It was almost fully formed, and they’re pretty vulnerable when they’re like that. Strong, too, though.” I was really tired.
“I didn’t think you could feel a demon.”
“Usually you can’t.”
“Sounds like a long story. Up for telling me later?”
“Mmm,” I said. It was the best I could do.
“Hold on, Luna. I’ll get you home. I think I can help with that wound, too. ”
I didn’t answer. A while later, he said something else.
“Hmm?”
“I said, no wonder you always wear a helmet when you ride. You’re a freakin’ maniac.”
He sounded pleased. I nearly smiled.
Chapter Nine
Reed Taylor parked the bike haphazardly in our driveway, grabbed me off it, and ran me up the steps and into the house. In his haste, he slammed my head against the doorframe. So much for grace. Thank goodness I was still wearing the helmet.
“Well, it’s good to see you’re—what happened?” Seth demanded. He set Lydia on the floor and raced over to us.
“Luna! Can you hear me?” Seth demanded, and yanked the helmet off of my head. He ran his fingers over the dried blood on my lips. The look he shot Reed Taylor even chilled me. “What have you done to her?”
“I didn’t do a thing, man, it was this… I don’t even know how to explain it. It was wild.” Reed Taylor laid me down on the couch and knelt down beside me.
“Luna?” he asked quietly. I could feel my eyes rolling in my head, but somehow I couldn’t make them stop.
“Hurts,” I managed, and Seth shot to my side.
“What hurts? Where?”
Reed rolled me onto my side and pulled my shirt up to show the demon’s Mark between my shoulder blades.
“See how it’s white around the edges? It looks like claw marks. And put your hand here. It’s cold.”
Lydia babbled and gibbered and crawled over to the couch. She pulled herself up to look at me.
“Don’t touch, baby,” Seth said, and scooped her against his chest. She struggled, wanting to see her Mama Luna.
“What did you bring her here for? She needs a doctor,” Seth said grimly and crossed the room to the telephone.
“No,” I said from the couch.
“She didn’t want a doctor, she wanted to come home,” Reed Taylor said. He ran his fingers lightly over the bloodless wounds. His fingers felt scalding hot.
“Luna, you’re nuts,” Seth said to me. “Seriously, that’s a really nasty wound. What did you do?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but heard myself groan instead.
“She said…a demon did it,” Reed Taylor said, and Seth stiffened. Reed Taylor was watching him closely. “She just went kind of ballistic in the restaurant, said a demon almost possessed some boy she knew. Owen something-or-other.”
Seth glanced up at Reed Taylor. “She drag you to that fish and chips place? The one with the nets on the table? That has to be so unsanitary.”
Reed Taylor’s lips turned up a bit, but Seth had already grabbed his car keys. Lydia snatched at them. “Seriously, she’s sick and she’s weak. And there are two of us, and we’re bigger. We can totally stuff her into the back of the Pinto—”
“You own a Pinto?” Reed Taylor scoffed.
“—and get her to the hospital with l
ittle mishap. What do you think?”
I shook my head, barely. “Not safe,” I whispered. Here I was protected, at least a little. Sending me out into the Big Outside World with the demon’s Mark was akin to sending me out to sea in a tiny little ship. And setting it on fire.
Reed had my back. “Of course it isn’t safe! Don’t you know Pintos have the reputation of being ‘the barbecue that seats four’?”
My breath rasped out of my body in such a way that both of them turned to look at me.
“Shut. Up,” I managed.
Reed Taylor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, they blazed brilliantly.
“I can do it. I can heal her.”
Seth blinked in confusion. “What, you’re a doctor now?”
Reed Taylor’s smile was beautiful. “Nah, I’m not a doctor. In fact, it isn’t even me. But it’s what she needs, and it’ll be better than any doctor can do. Especially on something as ghastly as that. I know how it sounds, but I’m pretty sure it will work.”
Seth was struggling with himself. I could feel it.
“Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi,” Lydia chirped suddenly, waving. The invisible presence was back.
“Get lost,” I told it, annoyed. I didn’t have the patience just now.
“I…I’m not sure what’s going on,” Seth said. He breathed in the smell of Lydia’s brown hair. He always did that when he was nervous.
“It’ll be okay,” Reed Taylor told him, and then he kissed my ear. “You’re going to be good, my crazy girl. It’ll just take a minute.”
His eyes flicked up, bored into my brother.
“You,” he said, “are really, really going to hate this.”
Chapter Ten
Before Seth even had time to respond, Reed Taylor was murmuring softly. He was so quiet that I couldn’t make out the words, but his tone sounded like he was politely asking for something. It was lovely.
I felt the presence step closer. I started to shake my head.
Nameless: The Darkness Comes Page 4
