by Apryl Baker
“Don’t threaten me,” I whisper. “I don’t do threats.”
Before I can blink, he’s standing in front of me and I can’t move, totally frozen just like the first time I’d ever met him in that dream. “Sweet girl, I do admire the bravado, but listen and listen well. I don’t do threats, either. I was simply stating facts. Now, I have no intention of causing you physical pain unless you make me. For the present, I am content to help because I like you. Start giving me reasons not to like you and I guarantee you won’t appreciate the results.”
His voice is whisper-soft, but each syllable feels like the blade of a knife slashing me. I despise knives. They are one of the few things in this world that scare me and right now, I’m trapped, unable to defend myself against them. Silas obviously knows this and that’s more frightening than the knives.
“There, that’s better,” he says in a soothing tone and the slashing feeling stops. “Do we understand each other, Emma Rose?”
I nod.
“Very good, my darling girl. Now, let me show you something.” He flips through my sketchpad until he comes across a drawing I’d done of a daisy that had wilted. It’s one I’d done during my darker stages when I had been all about death. Drove any foster home I was in nuts. “Let me see your hand.”
“Why?” I ask suspiciously.
“Emma Rose, don’t argue.” He sighs wearily. I hold out my hand, prepared for the worst. He pricks my index finger with one of his fingernails, which I only now realize are sharpened like claws. A few drops of my blood hit the flower and…I gasp. The image of the plant straightens and blooms before my eyes. The once-dead daisy bursts off the page in full vibrant color. I have this insane urge to reach out and touch it.
“Your art is a reflection of you, of your soul, my little Emma Rose,” he says quietly. “Your blood gives your work life, makes it breathe, pulse, and grow. You must be careful of this gift, though. It is not something to be taken lightly. There are many, including your father, who would kill to possess it, to possess you. Do not, under any circumstances, let him know you can do this. Do you understand?”
I stare blankly.
He shakes me hard. “This is important. Never let Crane know you can do this. Tell me you understand, Emma!”
“I understand,” I whisper. Why is it so important that my father not know?
Silas visibly relaxes. “Good girl.” He kisses my forehead. “You do please me, Emma Rose. You please me very much and so I will grant you another boon.”
“A what?” I ask shakily.
He chuckles. “I forget how easily the language changes. In the words of your teenage dictionary, a freebie. I will give you a free favor, no charge.”
“Why?” And should I accept it?
“I give because I can.” He shrugs. “Come now, what do you want?”
“I don’t want anything from you,” I tell him in a voice stronger than I feel.
He sighs. “Your one freebie stands, child. Call me when you need to use it. Just say my name and I shall come. I may not pop in exactly when you call, but I will show up. After all, I might be having tea with a client.”
I cringe, thinking of some poor fellow signing his soul away for whatever reason. “I won’t need to use it,” I say with a half-hearted conviction. Would Silas buy it? I wouldn’t.
“Have a care, Mattie Hathaway,” Silas whispers. “You may be my Emma Rose, but even I can lose patience.” He snaps his fingers and I fall down, free from whatever hold he has on me. “Oh, one more thing before I depart. Those ghosts that are haunting you?”
“Yeah?” I ask cautiously.
“You’re right about Lake Norman. If I were you, I’d spend time in the sun and look around. Never know what you might find.”
With that he’s gone, simply popped out of my room like he’d never been there. I let out a shaky breath and attempt to stand. Not working. My legs are too wobbly. Instead, I crawl to the bed and drag myself up.
First ghosts invade the privacy of my room and now demons. I have got to find a way to put a stop to this. No way am I ever gonna sleep again, knowing Silas can just pop in and out whenever he wants to. I pick up my phone and call Dan. It goes straight to voicemail. I leave him a message to call as soon as he can. I know he’s busy with his mom. Hopefully, he’ll slip out and call. I need to hear his calm, steady voice. He makes me feel safe and I’m so far from that right now.
It’s not just me taking care of myself anymore. I have Mary and her mom to think about. What’s to stop Silas from maneuvering either of them into making some kind of deal? Or possibly using them to hurt me or force me to do something I don’t want to do? Can I keep him out of the house or away from Mary and her mother? I can’t let them be hurt because they made the mistake of caring about me.
Twenty minutes later, I check my phone for the gazillionth time. Why hasn’t Dan called? I need to talk to him in a bad way. I’m flipping out! Silas all but said I’m some kind of demon. That can’t be right, can it? I mean, how can I be a demon? I’m a Reaper. He’s just messing with my head, isn’t he? God, I hope he’s messing with my head.
God. There is a God. If I’m a demon, there’s no way God would let me into a church and I’ve been in and out of them my whole life. Granted, I only ever went to church regularly when I was a kid, but it stuck with me and sometimes I sneak in churches just to feel safe. They make me feel as safe as Dan does, honestly. If I was a demon, churches and I would be a no-go. Maybe.
Dang it, Dan, call me!
Buzz, buzz goes my phone.
Finally! I don’t even bother checking to see who it is, just burst out, “What took you so long? I’m in full freak-out mode over here!”
“Well, hello to you, too, Hilda,” Eli’s voice purrs in my ear.
The nerve, but Eli’s calling me Hilda only because he’s safely on the other end of a phone. “How did you get this number? I didn’t give it to you!”
“While you were unconscious, I put my number in your phone then called myself so I’d have it.’
“That sounds so very stalker-ish, Eli.”
“I suppose,” he says. “Why are you in full freak-out mode, sweetheart?”
The endearment causes me to smile for a second, but only for a second. “Tell me there is a way to keep demons out of my house.”
“Demons? WHY?” he barks, sounding more wigged-out than me. “What happened?”
“Silas was here,” I tell him and shudder. “I don’t want him popping in and out of my bedroom, Eli, whenever he wants. He could hurt Mary or her mom.”
“Silas just visits you whenever, wherever?” He pauses. “Hang on. Why was Silas in your bedroom?”
“Like I would invite him. How should I know? It’s not like he called first and said, ‘Hey, Mattie, do you wanna hang out for a while?’ He just showed up, so don’t yell at me!”
“Calm down, okay? Or at least try. Hilda, you attract all kinds of trouble—this one’s a doozy.” Eli sighs. “Let me grab Caleb and we’ll be right over. There are things we can do to keep demons away from your house.”
“Thanks a bunch,” I say a bit belligerently.
“See ya in a few.” Click.
I stare at the phone and shake my head. That boy is so gonna get hurt. With a long suffering sigh, I drag myself off the bed and into the bathroom. As much as I want to hurt him, I also want to look nice when he gets here. My curly hair is a fly-away mess right now.
The bathroom Mary and I share is accented with purple. Mary really needs to get over the purple. She’s even got little purple butterflies stenciled on the walls in here. Other than that, I really love this bathroom. The double sinks ensure I have enough space for my stuff and the big, deep tub is sheer pleasure to the eyes. A shower takes up one corner. Mary and I both share a love for a good bathroom. It’s the only reason I can forgive her for the purple explosion in here.
I turn on the tap in the sink and splash my face with cold water. It wakes me up just a bit. I’ve felt fuzzy
since Silas pricked my finger. I wonder if there’s some kind of sedative in his claws? The bath beckons me. It’s what I’d started to come in here for, anyway. I turn the water on and let the tub fill up. If Eli shows up, he can wait. I go back into my room and grab a comfy pair of pajama shorts and a tee-shirt before going back to see if the tub has finished filling up.
“Tick tock…”
I still, aware that I’m not alone anymore. Why didn’t I realize the room had gotten colder? Silas must have really thrown me. The mirror is starting to frost over and I shiver as the cold seeps into me. Can’t I even have something as simple as a bath without a bleedin’ ghost barging in?
The bathroom door slams shut. Okay, so maybe the ghost can barge in if he or she wants to. The room is freezing and the steam coming off the water in the tub starts to thicken, swirling in the enclosed space. I can barely see more than a few inches in front of me. The sound of dripping water becomes louder than the sound of the water pouring out of the tub’s spout. I hear it everywhere. It’s like a beating drum in my head, causing pain to throb behind my eyes.
“Who’s there?” I whisper, my hands cupping the sides of my head. The lights flicker and I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn in that direction, but see nothing.
“Goes the clock…”
It sounds like a girl, but I can’t be sure. The moisture in the steam surrounding me makes me colder and my teeth start to chatter. “Hello?”
“The clock ran out and Mattie fell down…”
Okay, officially freaked out here. I hate ghosts. “This isn’t funny anymore!” I shout.
“Who knows, maybe she’ll drown…”
One of the lights above the mirror goes out with a loud pop, then another, until only one lonely light remains, the night light that comes on in the absence of light. The room is plunged into semi-darkness, the steam causing it to feel sinister.
“Tick tock, goes the clock. The clock ran out and Mattie fell down. This time she will drown!”
Someone grabs me by the hair and yanks me backwards. My head bounces off the back of the tub and then I’m submerged. I open my mouth to scream, but water floods it. I cough and then remember to close my mouth and stop breathing. My eyes burn and I blink. A figure stands above me. It’s a girl, her mutilated face bloated and full of rage. She’s holding me down and I can’t get up. This must be another one of the girls who blame me for their deaths.
Dear God, she’s really going to drown me.
Chapter Nine
The water disappears and I’m standing in front of a mirror, only I’m not looking at myself. A young girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, is brushing her mahogany mane of hair. Her green eyes twinkle at me out of the mirror. She’s trying to decide how to wear it. Will he prefer it up or down? Curly or straight? Nervousness claws at her stomach. All she wants to do is impress him. The imp in her wants to make him mad with the need to kiss her, but she’s not sure if she should be so forward or not.
Her sister always tells her that she shouldn’t show all her cards up front, but she wears her emotions on her sleeve. She can’t help it, she’s too outgoing. I’m too outgoing…no, no, no, I try to tell myself, but like before I’m sucked into the memory and it becomes mine.
With a wicked grin on my face, I slide into my favorite pair of skinny jeans and a dark green tee shirt that makes my eyes a vivid green. I look good, better than I have all year with my new tan. Mom yells from downstairs. Lacey, my best friend is finally here. We’re going to be late to Amber’s party. I hope to see him there. He’s been flirting with me for a couple days now. Since he’s only in town visiting, I plan on hooking up with him before he leaves. I’ve never met anyone before that can make my heart beat so fast with just a look.
We’re going to the lake, where Amber’s dad lives. Since he’s out of town for the weekend…party time! Plus, they live farther out than some of the other properties on the lake, so the cops probably won’t get called until at least midnight. Excitement blooms within me. Lacey hasn’t noticed. She’s too busy going on and on about Robbie, her latest crush. With enough luck, she and Robbie will get buzzed early on and I can find him without worrying about Lacey finding me. I’ve kept him a secret since Lacey says he’s not the kind of guy to go after, he’s a bad boy as she calls him, but I don’t care. I like bad boys.
The party already feels a little out of control. Some of the guys want to start a bonfire along the shore. If it’s far enough away from the trees, nothing should catch fire. But, it takes only one nosy lakefront owners to see the fire and call the cops. So what? I don’t care one way or the other. Where is he? God, I feel like a balloon that’s just been deflated when I don’t see him.
Time for a drink. I find the coolers and grab a beer. I normally don’t drink, but tonight I’m in a mood. I’m not getting plastered because I already know Lacey will, and I’ll have to drive us both home. As usual. Not that I mind normally, I mean she’s my best friend and I love her, but I want to see him! I’d told him several times about the party. Did he go home already?
A whoop goes up and I see the bonfire being lit. Kids swarm it and the music cranks up. Laughing, I shake my head and am tempted to join in the drunk dancing. Jordan is already dancing and he’s cute enough. He’s been crushing on me since before winter break. Might as well go dance and have a bit of fun with Jordan since my bad boy hasn’t bothered to show.
Why not? I toss down my empty beer bottle and stand. Time to join Jordan’s version of some weird dance. Just watching him makes me laugh. He’s so drunk. I’m about halfway there when I stop. He is here—just in the light of the fire. My mouth goes dry. He’s not wearing a shirt. I’m subjected to the absolute perfection of his ripped abs. His toned and tanned body glistens in the firelight. I close my mouth and hope I’m not drooling. How embarrassing would that be?
He sees me and smiles. It’s the smile that makes you know he has naughty things on his mind and you melt. He’s the kind of guy that makes a girl want to do naughty things in the dark. I’m just lit enough from the beer to obey when he motions with his head for me to follow.
I head for the tree line, set back a ways from the shore. There aren’t many people this far from the main party, only couples looking for privacy. I giggle while stepping over a girl who laughs when her boyfriend snags her bra. When I reach the tree line, I look around, but don’t see him. He whispers my name…there he is. I walk into the trees. It’s darker here, the tree limbs make a canopy and block out the moon. I stumble, but before I fall, he catches me and helps me up. I laugh and follow when he takes my hand and leads me further into the woods. Soon, the sounds of the party dim and fade altogether. We are utterly and completely alone.
When we stop, I turn and he pushes me against one of the trees. Those lips are on mine in a heartbeat. My hands find his bare flesh and wander over him like a water-starved fiend. His kisses feel like a volcano, overwhelming me. I’m lost to the silk of his lips, the hard, demanding touch of his fingers as they glide up and down my back. Yes, this is what I have wanted since the moment I saw him.
He’s whispering things in my ear and I’m too lost to the sensations running through me to pay attention. I feel on fire, like I could burn if I get much closer to the sun that is him. He’s my world in this moment.
“Mattie, Mattie, Mattie…” he whispers. “That’s it, Mattie, just let go. You like that, don’t you?”
“Mattie?” I gasp when I can pull my lips away. “Who’s Mattie?” Nothing like hearing another girl’s name to throw a bucket of ice water on the mood. “My name’s…”
His hand grabs a fist full of my hair and slams my head into the tree trunk. Pain erupts and I try to scream, but his other hand is over my mouth. His body has mine trapped against the tree and I can’t move, can’t scream for help. All I can do is struggle as he slams my head once more into the tree.
“Shut up,” he hisses and smashes his lips against mine, his tongue invading my mouth. I try to move, but I
can’t. I beat at his chest, but he only grabs my hands and holds them in one of his. Fear spirals through me. How could I be stupid enough to follow a guy I barely know into the woods? Tears track down my face as he flips me so I’m face first against the tree. His belt binds my hands together behind my back. “Scream and you’re dead,” he whispers against my ear.
He pushes me farther into the woods, but I can hear the gentle lapping of the water. If I can make it to the water, I might be able to get help. There were several boats out in the water when we arrived. A couple still have to be out. If I stay here, I’ll be raped or killed. Or both. No way. I yank my arm and he’s startled enough to loosen his grip. I pull free and run towards the sound of the water. I hear him cursing behind me and it only makes me run faster. I can see the water through the break in the trees ahead and push myself faster, glad I’m in running shoes.
I scream when his hand latches onto my hair and hauls me backwards, causing me to fall. Pains lances across my face. I see the glint of steel in the moonlight creeping in. He’s cut me. My eyes water as pain splinters when he slashes my face again. He’s still muttering that Mattie girl’s name. What did she do to him? Why is he taking it out on me? I want to cry, to beg him to stop, but the rage on his face is too much. He won’t listen. I kick him just like my brother showed me to do and he grunts, letting go of me. I don’t think, I force myself to get up and run. I make it as far as the water’s edge before he catches me again. I can see the boats in the distance and shout.
He hauls me against him and we tumble down, my head sinking into the water. He pushes me down, holding me under. I fight, kicking and splashing. I manage to break free of the water several times, but he sits on me and then forces my head under until my lungs burn with the need to take a breath. I open my mouth and lake water fills it. I gasp as the water travels downward into my lungs and I can’t breathe. The entire time he’s asking me, “How do you like that, Mattie Hathaway?”
