by Monica Davis
His eyes … Nessa couldn’t see him like this! He felt ashamed enough that she had witnessed him in this state. He kept his eyes tightly closed, just blinking quickly now and then until the sun no longer blinded him.
Marla stomped around them, eyes blazing. She seemed to be seriously offended. “Who is she, Silvan? You can kiss this human wench good-bye. She’s not for you — you’re one of us!”
But he pushed Marla out of his head; what Vanessa was doing felt so wonderful. A warm feeling spread through him. What was she doing with her hands? he asked himself. It felt so damn good!
Daniel held his breath as she stroked his chest, the pleasant sensation washing over him, all the way down to his groin. If she kept this up, it could get embarrassing for him! What was happening to him all of a sudden? This was no brotherly affection that he was feeling for Vanessa! Before the situation could get out of hand, he stood up.
Marla was hopping around him like a woodland sprite. “You have to learn to master your emotions, Silvan. Demons don’t love with their hearts, do you hear me?”
But I’m only half demon, that’s what you said, he thought at Marla. Daniel felt her scorn quite clearly as she disappeared into thin air.
“Hey, Silvan, I asked you something!” Marla’s voice pulled him back to the present. “Is this scrawny thing your girlfriend now, or what?”
My name isn’t Silvan! Daniel thought at her, enraged. And Vanessa isn’t scrawny! Get out of my head!
“Oh, your name most definitely is Silvan! That’s the name your real mother gave you,” Marla responded. “Accept it already! You’re a demon, and you have to stay away,” she said, pointing to Vanessa with an elegant finger, the nail painted jet black, “from creatures like that!”
Daniel tried not to listen to what Marla was telling him.
“You’re destined for much greater things. You’re going to be quite a powerful demon, the prophecy says.”
What prophecy?
“The Oracle of Memnost.”
What’s that? Daniel searched his memory. Never heard of it.
“You will, as soon as you finally decide to come with me.”
If you’re a demon, why don’t you just kidnap me? he scoffed.
“You have to come willingly. But first you have to accept who you really are.”
Daniel made a concerted effort to stop reacting to her nonsense.
You’re not real — you’re just a product of my imagination! His heart was pounding in his chest. Why was he being plagued by his delusions now, just when things were going so well with Vanessa?
“I can’t believe it. After all this, you’re still thinking about her? Well, watch this!” Marla, who had been walking backward in front of the pair, stopped in the middle of the path and purposefully tripped Vanessa.
Before Daniel had fully realized what had happened, he moved toward Vanessa at lightning speed.
Vanessa cried out as she fell, but she never touched the ground — Daniel had caught her in his arms. He snatched her up and pressed her against his chest.
Oh, God, she was trying to hurt Nessa! His heart was hammering like crazy. Vanessa’s face lay in the crook of his neck, and he could feel the warmth of her body, which was nestled perfectly into his own. She embraced him and snuggled closer to him. Through the cape, he could feel her clutching his back; her breasts were pressing against his chest.
“What happened?” she whispered. Her voice shook, and her body was trembling in his arms. “How did you react so quickly?”
Daniel had no answer for her. He just wanted to hold her forever, to never let her go. He pressed his nose into her freshly washed hair and inhaled the flowery scent. If something had happened to her, I’d never have forgiven myself. He looked for Marla out of the corner of his eye, but couldn’t see her anywhere. Just wait, demon — you’ll pay for this! “Damn it all,” Daniel muttered. Vanessa must have thought he was referring to her clumsiness, because she pushed herself away from him.
“I’m so sorry, Danny. I don’t know what happened; I just stumbled. I must have caught my shoe on something.”
“Are you okay? Did you hurt anything?” He looked her over, still keeping an arm around her shoulders. He couldn’t help looking around them.
“It must be embarrassing to be seen with such a klutz.” Vanessa hung her head in shame.
“What?!” She had no way of knowing that he was looking around for a demon that had evidently been swallowed up by the earth. “No, I was just looking back to see what it was you tripped on,” Daniel fibbed. “The path is so bumpy here.” He badly wanted to tell her the truth, but first he had to figure out what had just happened. What was it that Marla said about my mom? In his excitement, he had already forgotten.
He brushed a strand of hair that had come loose from Nessa’s complicated hairdo back behind her ear, marveling at how soft her hair was. “You’re no klutz — why would you think that?”
She shrugged, then grimaced as she took a step backward.
“Let me see.” Crouching down, Daniel lifted the hem of Vanessa’s long velvet dress. There was a red mark on her shin from the nails in Marla’s boot, but it would probably just leave a bruise.
That can’t be! Daniel stood up again, confused. Marla had actually tripped Vanessa! Or was it just pure coincidence? Why was it that he was the only one who could see and hear Marla? Could it somehow be that what she said was true?
Astonished by this new revelation and his superhuman reflexes, Daniel shook his head and smiled at Vanessa as reassuringly as he could. “Come on, let’s go to the party.” He put his arm around her shoulders again, and Nessa wrapped an arm around his waist.
Daniel was still confused when they arrived at Rebecca’s house. Not even the elaborate decorations and the fancy costumes of his classmates were able to distract him. As he and Nessa entered the living room, where loud music was playing and three ghosts were standing around drinking punch, Daniel removed his arm from Nessa’s shoulders. He didn’t want anyone teasing her about him; he knew very well that he wasn’t exactly popular. Vanessa, in contrast, was greeted by a number of party guests, and a blond pharaoh with bright blue eyes even gave her a kiss on the cheek. This was like a stab to the heart for Daniel, although it helped him to forget about Marla for while.
“Who was that?” he asked Vanessa nonchalantly, handing her a glass of punch once the young man had disappeared into the crowd. Daniel didn’t want to give her the impression that he was curious or maybe even jealous.
“Oh, him?” Vanessa had to yell, the music was so loud. She gratefully accepted the drink, and he poured himself a glass. “That’s Mike, my partner in my dance class.”
“You dance?” The idea of her in the arms of that handsome young man — he had to be at least three years older than her — made him a little sick. The blaring music, not at all to his taste, also bothered him, not to mention all the people! He would have liked to turn around and leave.
Daniel’s gaze drifted over the grim reapers, witches, and wizards until he caught sight of the blond man again. The would-be pharaoh was swinging his scepter and swaying his hips as he danced to the music. What was he doing here? Looking for easy prey among the high school girls? In fact, two giggling girls were already fawning over him. The young man clearly enjoyed being the center of attention and set about demonstrating various moves to the girls in turn.
Daniel concentrated on the pharaoh, wishing hard that he’d slip and fall on his ass. Mike did actually trip over his own feet, but managed to catch himself before he fell; he pretended that he had done it on purpose.
“Danny?” Vanessa touched his arm. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” he responded hastily.
“You looked like you were miles away.”
He gave her a tired smile as they pushed their way through the crowd of dancers. I don’t want her to see that pig again, he thought. “What’s he doing here?”
“Who?” Nessa frowned.
“That Mike guy,” Daniel said through clenched teeth.
“He’s Rebecca’s cousin. Mike’s only been in Little Peak for a year or so; Becky’s dad found him a job here as a bank teller,” she explained.
He earns his own money and probably drives a showy sports car. No wonder the girls swarm over him. Daniel was annoyed, especially because Nessa seemed to know Mike so well. He had always thought that he knew Vanessa like the back of his hand. How wrong he had been! There were things about Vanessa and her friends that he knew nothing about, and at the same time he wondered what had awakened his sudden interest in her. Earlier, when he was holding Vanessa in his arms after Marla’s attack, he had become aware of something: She was the only person he could allow to get close to him. It was a shame that they had grown apart in recent years. Maybe we can rekindle our friendship, he hoped, catching himself looking her over again from head to toe. “That dress really looks good on you.”
Her cheeks, already bright with rouge, turned even redder. “Thanks. I got it from my aunt — she has a costume shop.” She spun in a circle for his amusement. Another strand of hair had loosed itself from her hairpins and curled enticingly on her bare shoulder. How he’d like to wrap that silken lock around his finger!
He was also drawn to her narrow waist. He wanted to wrap his arms around it and press her body to his. Don’t be stupid, he told himself; he had no chance with Nessa. She was only being nice to him because they had known each other forever. What would she want with a loser like him?
Sighing, he focused on the red liquid in his glass. Vanessa was greeted by a mummy — to Daniel’s relief, a female mummy. He moved a few steps away, feeling like an interloper. Suddenly, he felt uncomfortable among all these people. Maybe he should have just stayed home; he felt totally out of place here.
The spacious living room had been decorated with dark streamers, and wherever he looked he saw fake pumpkins lit up with electric lights and curls of perfumed smoke drifting upward from sticks of incense. The smell almost nauseated him. The drumbeat signaling one of his headaches was returning, so he called over to Vanessa, “I’m going out to the patio to get a breath of fresh air.”
She parted from the mummy with a radiant smile and came over to him. “Already? We just got here.”
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I can see that you’re having a good time.” Daniel tried not to let on how hurt he was by the evident intimacy between Nessa and Mike.
She smiled at him so sweetly that he felt a little dizzy. “I’ll be right there, I just have to powder my nose.”
“Already? We just got here,” he teased. They both laughed, and his jealousy was forgotten.
While Vanessa made her way to the bathroom, Daniel spotted the glass doors leading out to the patio and started to cut through the crowd. He looked around him constantly, expecting to find Marla among his dancing classmates. His head was throbbing unpleasantly, and Daniel was sure that she was somewhere nearby.
He strode out onto the paved patio and closed the door behind him to trap the noise and stink of incense inside the house, then let himself drop onto a deck chair. His reprieve was brief.
“Well, look here, if it isn’t Daniel Taylor!” Rebecca gave him a saccharine smile and sat down next to him on the chair. Apparently she had just gone out to the shed to get a few extra chairs.
The dark-haired girl was dressed as Cleopatra, and the costume suited her — but Daniel had never really liked Becky. She radiated an aura that reminded him of the snake that had tricked Adam and Eve. She’d make a good match for Pharaoh Mike, he thought, presenting his heavily made-up hostess with a cool smile.
Rebecca leaned toward him to straighten the collar of his ruffled shirt. “I had no idea that you were on the guest list.”
“I came with Vanessa.” He again felt the urge to get out of there, now more than ever. He found Becky’s blatant overtures very unpleasant.
“I see, with our little nerd,” she taunted him, moving slightly closer.
Vanessa had noticed that Danny was uncomfortable at the party. Bringing him here hadn’t been a very good idea. Emerging from the bathroom, she made a beeline for the patio door; she didn’t want to leave him alone for long. Looking through the glass door, she saw him talking with Rebecca, seemingly dazzled by her, and she hesitated. She didn’t like the way Becky kept touching him, not at all. “She’s basically flinging her arms around his neck,” she muttered. Nessa had to admit that Danny looked amazing in his costume — just stunning.
Becky pointed in the direction of the shed. Daniel nodded, and the two of them stood up. Vanessa’s stomach sank as the pair disappeared inside the shed, but she was relieved to see them reappearing a few seconds later.
Daniel was helping Rebecca carry some chairs out of the shed and set them up outside.
Naturally, it was typical for Becky to get other people to do her work — or did the two of them have other ideas in mind? When they went back inside the shed, Nessa pushed open the door and walked out onto the patio in their direction. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, really she didn’t, but it was just too tempting.
“Are you and Vanessa together — I mean, are you a couple?” she heard Becky ask.
Vanessa cautiously peered into the shed and caught sight of Danny, who was staring at Becky. “What?” His mouth had fallen open in amazement.
Although Daniel’s face was covered in white powder, she could have sworn that it had just reddened. “What would I be doing with Nessa? We’re just friends, that’s all.”
Vanessa froze in place. It was as though Danny had just cut her heart out of her chest with a blunt knife; that was how badly his sneering words hurt her. Yes, what would he be doing with me, anyway? she thought sarcastically, feeling her eyes begin to burn. Oh, no, she was definitely not going to cry! She took a deep breath and walked into the shed.
“So you’re still available, you handsome vampire?” Just as Daniel was about to answer, Rebecca saw her. “Oh, hey, Vanessa!”
“Hello, Becky. Thanks for the invitation; it’s a great party,” Nessa choked out. She would have liked nothing better than to run away crying. And to shoot Danny into outer space! She’d been so wrong about him — she had really believed that he might be interested in her. How stupid she was, how naïve!
Rebecca was still beaming at Daniel. “Oh, it’s nothing yet. I just have to make an announcement, and then the real fun will start!”
Vanessa furrowed her brow; she didn’t understand what Rebecca meant. She didn’t care to find out, either. She just wanted to get out of here — screw Halloween, and screw this stupid party! After what Danny had said, she had lost all interest in celebrating.
“Come on, you two, I can set up the chairs later. Everyone will be glued to the windows for a while, anyway.” Becky vigorously pushed them both out of the shed; they had no choice but to stumble out before her. When they returned to the crowded living room, Rebecca turned down the stereo and began her speech. “Hello! Listen up, I have an announcement to make!”
Vanessa was curious despite herself and decided to stay just a little while longer. She crossed her arms and positioned herself next to Danny, who looked just as unhappy as she did.
“This year, there will be no silly spin-the-bottle games. No, this year, I’ve come up with something really exciting.” Rebecca paused briefly to see whether everyone was giving her their full attention, but that wasn’t even an issue. The guests had gathered around her and were staring at her as if spellbound.
“This game will be the highlight of the evening,” she went on dramatically, climbing onto a chair so that everyone could see and hear her better. “As you know, Edna Adams lives next door. She’s probably the creepiest person in Little Peak, and tonight we’ll find out whether there’s any truth to all the rumors. People say that she murdered her husband — no one has seen old Joe for years now. And whenever anyone asks Edna how her husband is doing, she just says, ‘My dear Joe is resting. He can’t get out
of the house anymore.’ Yes, and as luck would have it — or should we say, fate …” — like a magician, Becky pulled a key out of the deep neckline of her Cleopatra costume — “ … good old Edna is spending Halloween with her sister and asked my mother to take care of her cats for her.”
Several “oooh”s and “aaah”s could be heard, which visibly delighted the hostess. “On Halloween, the veil between the worlds is especially thin, such that ghosts and other magical creatures can cross over into our world. If old Joe really was murdered, perhaps his ghost is haunting Edna’s house right now!”
Silence had fallen over the room. As the music spun on quietly in the background, everyone stared at the key, mesmerized. “Maybe that’s why Edna went out of town?” a voice in the crowd murmured.
“That’s so spooky,” another party guest whispered.
“That brings us to our game,” Becky continued. “Whoever dares to sneak into the haunted house and bring me back a red flower as proof — I’ll give them my brand-new MP3 player.”
“Bah,” escaped Daniel’s lips. All eyes turned toward him immediately.
Danny’s probably thinking the same thing I am, Nessa thought. What a bunch of silly kids! And Rebecca, tossing her money around like always. Vanessa had been saving up for an MP3 player for a long time.
“Thank you, Daniel, I was just about to ask for a volunteer, but you seem to be just the right man for the job.” Grinning diabolically, she hopped off of the chair and pressed the key into Daniel’s hand.
“What?!” Danny’s mouth fell open, and the blood rushed to Vanessa’s cheeks. Did Becky really think that Danny would play along with her idiotic game? Nessa cursed herself for dragging him here. He’s going to kill me!
The others had begun to cheer him on. “Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!”
Vanessa felt Daniel shrinking back from their chants. If he had felt uncomfortable before, now he must be on the verge of a breakdown.
His fist clenched around the key. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Nessa hadn’t expected this at all. “This isn’t one of your computer games,” she whispered, but he ignored her. He strode quickly over to the patio door. Then she realized: He just wanted to get away from the party, as fast as possible!
