by Jamie Loeak
“Kate, I want you to listen to me,” she said. “I don’t want you to interrupt me or ask questions; I just want you to listen. Do you understand?”
Kate nodded, a question rising in her throat already. What was going on?
“When I say that you are the first person I’ve had a connection with, I’m not lying. Rico, Donovan and I are not people.” Adriana paused to give Kate a moment to process the information that she was offering. “Rico, Donovan, and I are demons.”
Kate stumbled backward and slammed into her dresser. She kept shaking her head back and forth, almost as if she couldn’t hear what Adriana was saying, almost as if she could shake her new knowledge right out of her memory. Kate wanted to talk, to ask a million questions, but she kept her mouth shut out of respect for Adriana’s wishes.
Adriana stood up, moving towards Kate. Kate kept backing away. She wasn’t exactly afraid of Adriana; Adriana and Rico had each had the opportunity to take her soul if they had wanted to. There was no reason for Kate to think that they would start trying now. But there was something different about Adriana now. Kate could almost see her unearthly beauty, the grace that accompanied each lithe movement. She extended her thinking and realized that she could see these same characteristics in both Rico and Donovan.
“Kate, I won’t hurt you,” Adriana said. She stopped where she stood, no longer aiming to comfort her friend.
Kate stared at her, the feeling of shock rushing through her veins.
“We might be demons, but we still feel pain.” Adriana whispered. Was she insinuating that Kate was hurting her feelings? It was Kate’s feelings that were crushed. She had been tricked this whole time, thinking that her friends were just like her, fragile and helpless when it came down to it. Now she realized that they were opposites.
Adriana moved on. “Rico, Donovan, and I are immortal. We have been alive since the beginning of time. We have seen every raging war, we have seen people possessed, and we have seen other demons murdered during exorcism.
In the beginning, I was alone. I fought alongside my brothers and sisters, destroying our planet, relishing in the destruction. I was a monster.” Adriana looked at Kate, her eyes growing sad.
“When Darkness put us here on Earth, I knew we didn’t belong here. I saw my brothers and sisters taking human souls, killing humans so that they could truly feel love. I wondered how demons could truly feel that love if it was stolen from someone. You can’t truly have something that you take by force; it will never be yours.” Adriana sighed and moved back to sit on the bed. Kate noticed that Adriana chose the spot that was furthest from her; it was as if Adriana knew that Kate didn’t want to be near her. Kate’s heart beat guiltily.
“I have never taken or tried to take a human soul,” Adriana said.
“Hundreds of years after inhabiting this planet I found Donovan. You were right, Kate, he’s not my father; he’s my husband. I thought that you and I could connect over the desire to spend time with our parents, so I pretended that Donovan was my father. I truly am sorry for lying to you about myself, about Rico and Donovan. We never planned on letting you know, but you took us by surprise, Kate. Before you came along, it was always just a job. We never actually cared about any of the people that we protected.”
Kate detached herself from the dresser. She moved slowly, cautiously toward the other end of the bed. She could see Adriana’s dark eyes lighten some, hope burning there. Kate sat down across from her friend, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin there. She waited patiently for Adriana to continue her story.
“I found Rico later, in India. I had been searching for Kern for quite a while. You see, I lost his trail about fifty years before; Rico helped me find him again. We’ve been working together for about two hundred years now, but we haven’t been able to stop Kern from possessing the humans that he lays his eyes on. I think you’re different, though, Kate. I think you’re strong enough to resist him. You’re the first person I’ve met that truly doesn’t need another person to make her happy, to make her feel alive. You symbolize hope to me,” she admitted.
Adriana stared out the window for a moment before turning to Kate again.
Kate watched her, but couldn’t make herself say anything.
“I’m finished now, Kate. Do you have any questions for me? You can ask me whatever you want; I promise to tell you the truth.”
“How was Rico when you found him?” Kate asked, finally finding her voice.
“Rico needs to tell you his own story, Kate. The same goes for Donovan. I only have the power to tell you mine.”
“Do you think they will tell me?”
“After Rico and Donovan get over being angry at me they might tell you. I think you’ll have more luck with Donovan, though.”
“Why Donovan? I don’t know him as well as I do Rico,” Kate mentioned.
“Donovan is very proud of who he is. He would love to share his story with someone new, someone that doesn’t already know him. For Rico, well, I’m the only one that knows his entire story.”
Kate pondered this new knowledge. Did that mean that Rico was ashamed of his past? Did that mean that Donovan wasn’t? Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
“Can you tell me about Lilith? What was it like over there? Do you remember?”
“I remember everything, Kate. Demons don’t forget their pasts like humans. We have excellent and extensive memories.”
Adriana didn’t get to tell Kate about Lilith. A crash from the hall stopped Adriana from talking further. She rushed to the door, quick as lightning and stood there listening for signs of movement. When Adriana thought the coast was clear she opened the door slowly and peeked into the hall. One moment Adriana was leaning over to get a better look around the corner, the next she was pressed against the wall, Donovan’s hands pressed on her throat.
“What did you do?” he spat. “How dare you tell a human what we are! Are you crazy enough to think that she cares about you enough not to go running down the streets screaming about monsters?”
Adriana struggled against his hold, trying to speak. Donovan didn’t budge.
“I can’t believe you would betray your own kind like this. You’re despicable. You’re no different than a human.”
“Stop it! You’re hurting her!” Kate screamed.
Donovan turned to look at Kate. “I would never hurt her, but someone else will. Humans are not to know about demons anymore. That was part of the agreement.”
He let go of Adriana then, and sped out of the room. Kate heard the back door close, thankful that her parents had gone out.
Kate watched as Adriana slid to the floor, her body trembling. Kate rushed over to her, trying to hug her, to comfort her somehow. Adriana pushed her away weakly.
“Don’t, Kate. It’s not your fault; it’s mine. I let this happen to myself. I’m sorry that he frightened you. I’ll make sure that Rico doesn’t do the same.”
“Rico wouldn’t do that to you,” Kate protested.
“Honey, you don’t know what Rico is capable of.” Adriana stood up then and straightened out her pants. She moved to the mirror and fixed her hair and the smudges of makeup.
“I should go,” she said. “You’ll be safe tonight. I promise you.”
With that she disappeared with her bag, leaving Kate alone for another sleepless night.
Kate was in the woods again. This time she stood in a meadow blooming with wildflowers. She turned around, gathering her surroundings. She knew that she had to find her way out of here. She had to find what it was she was searching for.
The burning world popped into her mind first. Was that what she was searching for? No. She had already found the burning world. She needed to find something else now.
She saw a small path at the edge of the meadow and followed it. There was a soft breeze that drifted in from whatever was on the other side. Kate walked along the winding trail, letting her fingers touch the rough tree bark and trail along the lush leaves. T
he dirt was dry and Kate kicked it up as she walked, the bottom of her ivory gown catching the clouds of it.
Kate began to hear a familiar sound. The smell of salt wafted up from ahead of her, and Kate instantly knew that she was on a beach somewhere. She rushed ahead, eager to feel the open wind caress her skin and comb her hair.
When Kate stepped into the fine sand she rushed forward, knowing that it was here, the thing that she was searching for. She slowed down, realizing that the sand around her wasn’t smooth like it was at home. She looked around her and searched for a pattern in the swirls that were drawn around her.
Kate’s heart stopped when she realized what she was looking at. It was the picture she had drawn in the sand the first morning at the beach. The image was drawn over and over again, covering the entirety of the beach she stood at now – a circle that was enveloped in what Kate now realized were flames. She screamed as terror claimed her heart.
Chapter 16
Kate woke up screaming. She tried to make herself stop, but ended up having to shove a pillow in her mouth to stifle the sound. She heard someone running upstairs and forced herself to stop before her mother and father thought she was crazy.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Kate’s mother burst into the room, slamming into the door before rushing toward her daughter. She picked Kate up and held her, rocking her back and forth like she did when Kate was younger.
“Kate, baby, did you have a nightmare?” she asked worriedly. She pushed Kate’s hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ears.
Kate sobbed and held on to her mother, afraid of thinking about the dream too much. The only thing she wanted after her horrendous night with Rico and Adriana was her mother.
Blaire held her daughter for a long time. She hummed a soft tune and ran her fingers through Kate’s curls, comforting her. Kate felt herself snuggling in to her mother, and let herself embrace the hope that was surging through her veins. Blaire was finally connecting with Kate, and Kate didn’t want to let the moment go. When Kate stopped crying, Blaire let her go.
“Honey,” she said. “It was only a bad dream. Go ahead and take a quick shower. I’m going to make you some blueberry pancakes. After that I think we should have a girls’ day. What about a movie and a manicure?”
Kate nodded, unable to speak.
Blaire stood up and smiled at Kate. It was warm and comforted Kate, almost erasing her worries. Blaire kissed the top of Kate’s head before she left the room. Kate could hear her humming as she descended the stairs and sat there for a minute before getting up.
The shower was just what she needed. Kate let the water fall over her, fully erasing her thoughts. Kate blocked them out, mentally placing them inside a safe that she locked. She made sure to throw away the key, knowing that she would find it when she was ready to figure the mess out. When Kate stepped into the living room twenty minutes later, she felt much better.
“Here you go, baby.” Blaire placed a stack of pancakes in front of Kate. She watched as Kate ate them, smiling the whole time.
“What?” Kate asked.
“I’m just enjoying spending this time with you,” Blaire said in response.
Kate offered a warm smile in return. She was happy to spend this time with her mother as well. In fact, it was nice to momentarily forget about anything other than her desire to spend time with her mother more often. She let that desire, and her happiness at seeing it come true, consume her thoughts during the day.
“I love the pale pink polish you chose, baby. It’s beautiful,” Blaire said to Kate as they walked toward their beach house.
“Thanks, Mom. I like yours too; I wouldn’t have thought you’d pick a dark color. I imagined you as a coral or sea foam kind of person.”
“This is the color of the ocean at night, baby. It’s when I love the water the best. That’s why I work so late.”
“Oh,” Kate murmured. She looked into her mother’s saddening eyes, worried that she hadn’t known this about Blaire. She wondered what else she didn’t know about her mother; she hoped that she would find out more as they watched the movie they rented, a depressing love story that didn’t consist of a happy ending.
Kate stepped into her bedroom sometime later, her freshly painted nails and the love story plot swirling through her thoughts. She almost felt ready to face her friends and her increasingly disastrous life. The times that she spent forgetting all of it helped strengthen her, so that she was ready to fight again.
Kate found Rico in her room. He sat on her bed reading a book. He closed it when she walked in and put it back on the bookshelf. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he hadn’t slept.
“Adriana told me what she told you,” he said. “She shouldn’t have told you, but now that you know I need to know how you feel about the whole thing.”
“I don’t feel any different anymore,” Kate said. “At first I felt betrayed. I was shocked but could see the signs that were right in front of me all along. Adriana mentioned falling in love like she had done it a hundred times. Donovan was too young to be her father. All three of you are perfectly beautiful, unearthly almost.” Kate stopped there, frightened of saying too much.
“You aren’t afraid of us?”
“No. I don’t have a reason to be afraid of you.”
Rico seemed to accept her answer. He nodded then stood.
Kate could sense that he wanted to leave, but she didn’t want him to leave yet. She had to know who he was, who he had been before Adriana, before Kate.
“Wait,” she begged.
Rico turned and waited for her to speak.
“Please tell me about your life. I don’t care what you have to say. I just need to hear it from you. I can’t spend the rest of my life wondering who you are, who you were. I have to hear the truth; it can’t be any worse than what I could make up in my mind.”
“It is worse, Kate, much worse.” Rico’s cobalt eyes seemed to fade. Kate could sense that he was sifting through his memories, reliving them almost.
“I don’t care,” she said. She moved closer to him. She looked into his eyes and reached out her hand until she was touching his face.
“I just need to know who you are,” she said. “Nothing you say will scare me. I don’t think anything could make me stop liking you. I just need to know what you did and who you were. I want to know what experiences led you up to this point. To me, you’re good. You will always be good.”
Rico pulled away from her touch, and Kate lowered her hand. She blushed fiercely and turned away from him.
“Kate,” he said, reaching out to grab her wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that I can’t touch you.” He released her wrist then.
She turned around slowly. “You can’t touch me?”
He shook his head in response to her question.
“Why?” she asked again.
“Have you ever noticed that my skin feels warm when it touches you?”
“Yes, it feels like you have a fever.”
“It’s because my skin is burning yours. I have no soul to keep me warm. My body temperature is below freezing, but to you it feels warm. When I touch you, when any demon touches you, your body temperature is lowered. It’s a way to disarm the humans we attempt to possess. It’s sort of like a built in weapon.”
Kate thought a moment, remembering that her mother had told her that her skin was like ice after the man had attacked her the night that they ate at The Beach House. She felt a feeling of dread. If he had held her for another moment, would she have survived? How long did it take to completely destroy a human body?
“What’s wrong?” Rico asked.
“I was thinking about the night I was attacked. The first attack from the demon that you fought below my window. My mother said that my body was freezing when I reached her. He didn’t hold me for very long, Rico. How could he have cooled my body temperature down that much?”
“It doesn’t take long, Kate. How long did he hold you? Do you kn
ow?”
“No more than thirty seconds.”
Kate watched as Rico’s eyes turned to stone. He began muttering and whispering to himself, and then stood up suddenly, his eyes determined.
“Look, I’ll be back later. I need to go talk to Adriana,” he said. He got up and walked toward the window.
“Wait,” Kate said. “I need to come with you.”
Rico nodded. “I’ll meet you outside,” he said before jumping out the open window.
Kate rushed downstairs, her lavender skirt floating around her. By the time she made it to the back door she had to rearrange her cream tank top, tucking it back in to her lace skirt.
“Honey, where are you going?” her mother called from the kitchen.
“I’m going to show Adriana my nails and tell her about the movie,” she called before walking outside.
Rico stood there waiting, his hands in his pockets. He wore dark sunglasses and a grim expression. They walked in silence all the way to Adriana’s.
Adriana was sitting on the deck out back, listening to soft indie music while flipping through magazines. She shut the magazine and turned off the music when she caught sight of Rico’s expression.
Rico dove straight into the story that Kate had just told to him. Kate watched Adriana’s eyes get bigger and bigger with every word. She wondered, absently, where Donovan was. Did he really work at the bait shop?
“This is worse than I thought,” Adriana said. “I can’t believe that this mystery demon is somehow stronger than we are. I didn’t know it was possible.”
“It gets worse,” Kate said. She looked as Adriana and Rico focused their gazes on her face. “I have a few things to tell you,” she said.
They nodded.
“When you guys went investigating last week, I did some investigating of my own. I called up Mr. Evans, the gardener, and asked him some questions about Cole. He didn’t even remember working with Cole that day, almost as if his memory was erased. He did mention that my parents rented the house from someone named Mr. Kern. It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked them.
