Demons in My Driveway

by R. L. Naquin

  Sara let out a war cry and her demon horde flowed over the crowd of business-zombies, shoving them away. The vampires and were-hippies fought to push the crowd too.

  Darius stood at the portal, grabbing businessmen and women as they emerged and tossing them through to their own world before they could turn.

  But for all our numbers, we couldn’t keep at it forever. The zombies still poured out, initially normal, then disoriented. Then hungry.

  The zombies barely fought back, which was a mercy. But they had numbers on their side, numbers that kept increasing. The only weapons they had were their teeth, which didn’t seem too bad until the virus or magic that made them zombies kicked in and started taking down my people.

  The front lines were mostly Tahlia’s demons and Papa Dino’s vampires. Behind them Breezy and Mac’s werefolk fought.

  Not all demons were big, scary and dangerous. A delicate demon that looked more like an antelope than a human was the first to fall. Several more followed. Vamps and weres followed within seconds.

  The earth shook when a transmonstrified Stacy fell to the ground. I choked on a scream of protest and Riley put his arms around me.

  She didn’t get back up.

  My skin felt like ice. Everything had happened so quickly. Riley spun me to face him. “I need to get you back in the house. We can hide you in the attic.”

  I shook my head. “No. I’m staying right here.”

  Tears formed in his beautiful gray eyes. “I have to save you. It’s my job.”

  I kissed him softly and held my palms against his face. “It’s my job to save everyone.” In the end, it always was. And now I’d figured out how.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the window. Mom was gone from her lookout post. The door opened, and she descended the steps, dragging the rod from my living room curtains. Her face was rigid with determination.

  I kissed Riley again. “I love you. No matter what happens, you need to know that.”

  He smiled, though the expression was sad—as if we were saying goodbye. “I love you more than you can ever know, Zoey Donovan.”

  I closed my eyes and went inside myself. My mental barriers were strong and sturdy, keeping me from the overwhelming emotions of the world around me. I tore down the carefully built walls, brick by metaphysical brick, exposing me to everyone fighting in my yard.

  Fear.

  Anger.

  Exhilaration.

  Sorrow.

  I pushed past the people fighting on our side and reached for the endless line of zombies staggering toward us with single-minded determination.

  Hunger.

  Hunger.

  Hunger.

  That was all there was. It consumed them with a pain so deep they couldn’t think any clear thoughts or function in any way other than to stumble forward trying to sate the hunger driving them.

  The most basic of my abilities was to feel what others were feeling. I’d found it was possible to project my emotions onto someone else, though I hated doing it.

  What I needed was to go one step further than I’d ever tried to go before. And I had to do it without practice and to an unfathomable number of people.

  I inhaled deeply, my eyes closed so tightly I saw stars. I reached for the gut-wrenching, soul-eclipsing hunger and took it into myself. I didn’t merely feel what they were feeling, I took it away from them and absorbed it as my own.

  I moaned and dropped to my knees. My stomach hurt, and I felt lightheaded. Riley knelt next to me and tried to brush my hair from my face. I snapped at him like an animal, my teeth nearly connecting with his hand.

  “Get back.” My voice was husky. “You smell so good.” Another pang hit me like lightning shooting through my gut. I panted through it. “Please. Get them out of here. I can’t do this for long.” At the center of all that hunger, a tiny spark of myself sat quietly waiting. I focused as much as I could on that small bit of Zoey-ness, reaching for it with everything I had to keep from losing myself entirely. It seemed so far away.

  I seemed so far away.

  All around us, zombies stopped. Their eyes cleared, and they cast about as if lost. Their skin condition didn’t improve, but without the hunger, they were regular people, confused and trying to figure out what was going on.

  Our guys stopped fighting, weapons still held ready.

  I screamed as pain and hunger racked my body. I forced it down into an imaginary well, deep inside of me, but the ache remained. “Please, Riley,” I whispered. I curled into a ball and wrapped my arms around my legs.

  So much hunger. I couldn’t think straight.

  I had to eat.

  I felt Riley leave more than saw him go. An eternity passed while I focused on staying conscious and holding all that hunger inside me. If I fainted, the hunger would likely return to the people I’d taken it from. I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, reaching, always reaching inside for that small spark of me buried beneath the all-consuming pangs of starvation.

  Little by little, the hunger dwindled until I could open my eyes and stop trying to hold myself together with my arms. Riley had returned, and he’d brought a man in what was once a nice business suit.

  The man held his hand out to me. “Let me help you.” His voice was deep and kind.

  I took his slimy hand and climbed to my feet. The hunger remained, but it was small and far away. The business-zombies had left except for a few who knelt over the bodies of our fallen. I couldn’t see what they were doing, but they didn’t seem to be doing further harm.

  “Are they gone?” I brushed grass from my pants with shaking hands.

  The man smiled. “I sent them home.”

  I frowned. “You? Who are you?”

  “I’m President Steele. I run the world of what you call zombies.”

  “What do you call yourselves?” Looking at him was difficult. Calm and de-zombified or not, he still had drippy, oozy flesh that, presumably, would go back to normal when he went home.

  He shrugged. “People. We call ourselves people. But the air in your world re-activates a virus in our systems. That’s why we remain separate.”

  “Oh.” I watched as a woman bent over a still form in striped tights and an orange tutu. “We lost a lot of people.” My heart squeezed in my chest and I tried not to choke on the words. “People I love.” I swallowed the unspoken accusation. The zombie people weren’t to blame. This was all Rick’s fault—Rick and his mysterious god-thing.

  As I watched, those crazy striped legs stirred, then Stacy sat upright. The woman helped her to her feet. Stacy turned and looked at me for a long moment. She tipped her head toward Maurice as he helped Sara gather weapons from the grass. Stacy’s lips quivered in a small, sweet smile, and she lifted her hand to wave at me. I waved back, my heart swelling with sadness. She walked toward the zombie portal and stepped through.

  I made a sound of protest, and Riley slipped his arm around me. “She has to go, baby. She’s infected now. She needed a fresh start anyway.”

  I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes. “No!” I swallowed, my voice quiet. “She didn’t even say goodbye.”

  The centaur followed after Stacy. A handful of demons. Several vampires. A cluster of werefolk.

  I shivered in the cool morning air, unbearable sadness settling over me as I watched all the people forced into new lives.

  “Thank you for stopping this from going any farther,” President Steele said. “I’m so sorry it came to this.”

  I rubbed the goose bumps on my arms. “I was too late. I didn’t stop it in time.”

  Riley slipped behind me and pulled me against his chest. “The end of the world didn’t happen, Zo. That’s as in time as anybody could ask.”

  The crazy thing to all of it was that no one died. Not really. Sure, a lot of people were infected and it looked like they’d died. But they didn’t. And in the zombie world, they’d be perfectly normal. The zombies who fell were fine too. Their parts knit
back together and they walked home through the portal.

  We had a few small injuries—Sara had accidentally elbowed Maurice in the head at some point, and he needed a cold compress. Darius, of all people, had stepped on a rake lying in the grass. The whack to the face did more to his ego than it did to his face, but his foot had a cut that needed dressing.

  There were others with minor scrapes and bruises, but nothing major.

  For the most part, we’d come away fairly unscathed, but minus one under-the-bed monster who seemed to have embraced her new circumstances with grace. I was sad to see her go and would miss her terribly. But I had to admit, she’d had a rough time lately, especially in matters of love. I hoped with all my heart she’d find something better where she’d gone. I so wanted her to be happy.

  With each straggling zombie who stepped through the portal, the hunger I’d consumed lessened. When only President Steele remained, I kind of felt like a sandwich would’ve been enough to squelch it. Of course, that was only because I’d locked the hunger away to a deep, far away place inside of me. I wasn’t feeling the full force that they felt. The hunger had only been so awful because of the large numbers of hungry zombies I’d tried to free from it.

  The last thing President Steele did before he left was take back a little of his hunger. I gave him a gradual dose, enough for him to welcome Rick into the fold.

  “This won’t stop it from happening,” Rick said. “His coming was foretold long before you were born. When he chooses a name, he’ll come for you.”

  “I’ll be ready,” I said. “Sorry that you’ll be missing it, though.”

  I was not ashamed of how much joy I took in seeing Rick blubber and beg for his life before the president bit him.

  Rick dropped to the grass, a wicked bite mark on his arm. President Steele didn’t wait for him to wake up. Riley helped get the unconscious man to his feet and over to the portal. Hands emerged to assist, and Rick the mailman disappeared into the zombie world to face trial. President Steele had assured me there would be no appeals.

  The zombie apocalypse was over, and we had survived.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I sat on my front porch, one step below Riley with his arms wrapped around me. We watched the last of the demons, weres and vamps travel back to their respective homes before their portals popped out of existence.

  Papa Dino looked solemn, but not unhappy as he waved goodbye. Breezy and Mac—nearly unrecognizable without any animal parts—left us with promises to return and help with Maurice’s composting project.

  Sara swaggered over and took a seat next to me.

  “Nice outfit.” I plucked at the slit leather skirt that matched her tummy-baring halter.

  She stretched her golden legs and crossed them at the ankles. “Talia gave it to me. I think it matches my new look a little better. Not perfect yet, but I’ll get there.”

  I leaned back against Riley, soaking in his warmth. “You looked pretty amazing out there.”

  She held her arm out and turned it in the sun. “I sparkle.” Her tone was dry, unimpressed.

  I tried to be positive. “It’s pretty.”

  She grunted. “It’s also permanent.”

  “Oh.” There wasn’t much I could say to that. “I’m sorry.”

  Sara shrugged and sat up straighter. “Worrying about it won’t change it. You know I don’t believe in regrets.” The heavy sigh she let out told another story.

  I bumped my shoulder against hers. “Go talk to Maurice.”

  She dropped her hands in her lap. “He’s busy helping Andrew and Daniel doctor people up.”

  I shoved a little harder. “Then go help him, you dufus.”

  Her silver eyebrows shot up. “Dufus?”

  “Yeah. Dufus. Go.” I made a shooing motion, and she finally hauled herself up and went inside.

  Kam passed by with Dahlia, the two in animated conversation. To my surprise, Howard and Milo popped out from underneath the house and ran off together into the grass.

  I twisted my neck to look at Riley. “Did they have ribbons around their necks?”

  “Howard didn’t look too happy about it.” Riley bent and kissed the top of my head. “At least we know the gnomes under there haven’t died.”

  The door opened behind us and Mom settled in next to me. Darius stood behind her like a watchful tree.

  “Well.” Mom pushed her curls away from her face. “We didn’t die. So, there’s that.”

  “I’d say that’s quite a lot,” I said. “All things considered.”

  “Think it’s safe to go to the grocery store? I’m beginning to hate this place.”

  I had to agree with that. “I think we’re as safe as we were before an offshoot of the Church of Hidden Wisdom decided to kill us. Which is to say, we’re not totally safe, but after the zombie apocalypse, what’s one nameless dude who hasn’t even shown up yet?”

  After everything we’d been through, I didn’t care who this guy was. I was going into town to get my hair done. Buy some new shoes. Get a latte. Anything.

  Bring it, you bastard. I’m getting a manicure first.

  Riley tightened his arms around me. “So, what do we do now?”

  I sighed. I didn’t want to think about what came next. “We figure out who’s been behind all of this—this grand and glorious he they kept talking about. And more importantly, we need to go back to researching the Covenant and the Curator. We find out what that’s all about and who sent us giant feathers and obscure clues, we solve the whole thing.”

  A short, pudgy figure blocked the sun. Aggie stood beside us, a little out of breath. “That won’t be necessary, my darlings.”

  I shifted to offer her my seat, but Darius was already beside her with a chair. He took her by the elbow and helped her sit facing us. “Comfortable?”

  She patted his enormous hand. “I’m fine. Thank you, dear.”

  “I’ll get you a drink.” He moved toward the door.

  “No, please.” She shook her head, and the silver-blue curls didn’t bob the way they usually did. In fact, all of her looked tired. “I don’t have much time, and I wanted all four of you here.”

  My throat tightened. I hoped with all my heart she meant she didn’t have much time because there was a pie in the oven to get back to, but I didn’t think that was what she was telling us.

  Her face was gray and tired. Even her rings had lost some of their sparkle.

  She leaned forward. “I am not what I thought I was.”

  I frowned. “You’re not a forest hag?”

  She smiled. “Yes and no. My clocks—you know how much I love them—my clocks all stopped a little while ago. The silence woke me up, and I remembered why I’m here.”

  Riley reached for my hand and wove our fingers together. “You’re the Curator.”

  Her smile brightened. “Yes! Very good.” She eyed our hands and winked at me. “I’m glad that’s sorted out.”

  I smiled back at her. “You always knew it would be.”

  She looked from me to my mother, pride swelling her chest. “I’ve been here for my girls, just in case. Every Aegis always has a Curator around. In case.”

  Mom’s voice trembled. “In case of what, Aggie?”

  “In case you’re the last. And now, you are.”

  I shook my head. “There’s two of us.”

  “Yes, sweetheart, but I’m the only Curator for the last two Aegises. All the other Curators lost their Aegises and have moved on. So, it’s time for me to do my final job.”

  Tears clouded my eyes, and Riley squeezed my hand to keep me steady. “No, Aggie. Everyone’s safe. We just have to figure out what the terms of the Covenant are so we can fix it and send whoever it is back where he came from.”

  She was leaving us. I knew it. I felt it. And I didn’t know how to stop it.

  Mom must have felt it, too. Her hands fluttered in her lap, frantic and helpless.

  “Girls, I am the Covenant.” She tapped her breast
bone. “Or rather, the Curators each kept it safe inside themselves.”

  “Curator ablaze,” Mom said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Aggie nodded. “Curators are offspring of the Great Simurgh, first of all Hidden. And now, the last Hidden is emerging from the ether of story. He has chosen a name. Unless you have the Covenant and stop him, he will break it and leave this world forever. All the Hidden will have to go with him.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. “He can’t do that.”

  Aggie’s head drooped. She looked so weary. “I’m afraid he can, dear. But the Covenant will help you.”

  Smoke curled from her pink sneakers and drifted up her legs.

  I felt my head shaking frantically back and forth in denial, but I wasn’t conscious of doing it. “No, Aggie. Please. We’ll find another way.”

  Aggie’s smile was peaceful and filled with affection. “I love you both. You’ve made me so proud, each in your own way.”

  Mom let out a short sob and covered her mouth with her hands.

  Flames licked at Aggie’s knees, then engulfed her so quickly we didn’t have time to react. Her expression never faltered. At the last, she lifted her head and arms to the sky and cooed. Her figure hardened, then crumbled away.

  The fire went out as if someone had flipped a switch.

  We sat silent, unbelieving. A moment before, Aggie had been sitting in the chair in front of us. Now, there was nothing but a pile of ash in her place.

  The ash shifted and caved in. A beak poked through, then the rest of a stubby, bald bird wobbled free. I gasped as the bird grew long, crimson feathers, stretched its wings, then flew away.

  “She was a phoenix,” I said. My voice sounded hoarse. “Like the card I drew.”

  “Where’s the Covenant?” Riley slid his legs from around me so he could get a closer look. “It has to be there.”

  He tried to be gentle and respectful as he prodded the ashes, but I had to look away, all the same. Maybe Aggie was the bird that flew away. But to me, those ashes were her too.