Devada (Angels & Demons Book 1)

by Tich Brewster

  She jerked the bowl from his grip. “Hey this is mine.” She pointed to the empty bowl still lying on the couch. “You had that ginormous bowl over there.”

  “I’m hungry, what can I say?” He held his hand out, palm up, with a please share look in his eye. She hugged the bowl to her and he stuck his bottom lip out in a fake pout.

  How could she say no to him when he wore that cute puppy dog face? “Fine, but if you hog my popcorn I’ll shave your beautiful blonde hair.” She moved the bowl between them.

  He grinned. “You like my hair huh?” He twirled one of her blonde locks around his finger. “I like yours too.”

  Hannah swallowed — hard. How could a guy that irritated her with his cockiness cause the butterflies in her belly to dance to an insane beat?

  They watched the movie in silence. Raum’s hand moved closer and closer toward hers. Could he be trying to hold her hand? She sure hoped so. Having a boyfriend was never on her agenda but with Raum there was nothing she wanted more.

  She watched his hand out of the corner of her eye. Every few seconds his would inch just a little closer. Their hands were so close now that if he moved his finger at all it would be touching hers.

  It was almost more than she could bear, her insides quaked with nervousness. She closed her eyes hoping that if he didn’t see her watching he would make a go for it. Time ticked by and she swore that her heart beat could be heard for miles the way it pounded in her chest.

  When the credits rolled and Raum stood she tried her best to hide the disappoint she felt. “Would you like another Coke?” He motioned to her empty glass.

  “That’d be great. Thanks.”

  He gathered both of their glasses and the empty bowls. While he was in the kitchen Hannah heard a chorus of frogs. She looked around, knowing that there weren’t any frogs in the house.

  Raum’s cell phone sat on the coffee table. The screen was lit up, it must be ringing. Not knowing whether or not she should answer his phone, she just stared at it.

  A moment later it chimed and a text appeared on the screen. Curiosity got the better of her. She picked up his cell and slid her finger across the screen to unlock it. She knew that she shouldn’t read his private messages but she just couldn’t help herself.

  The caller ID read Teresa. Hannah looked around nervously. Would he be angry if he caught her snooping in his phone? Probably.

  She opened the text. Are you still coming tomorrow?

  Okay, well he apparently had a girlfriend. She carefully put the phone back on the table. The thought of him with someone else hit her in the gut. She had no idea why it hurt so much, it’s not like she knew him very well anyway.

  It never failed, just as soon as she started to like a guy he was already taken or liked someone else. That’s why she never sought out a boyfriend, disappointment hurt. She slumped back on the couch, slightly defeated.

  So many emotions ran through her at that moment. Emotions which she didn’t have a clue how to deal with. Why did life have to be so stinking hard? The couch cushion next to her sunk down and she knew that Raum was sitting there.

  If she looked at him now he would know that she had read his text, and that would mortify her. Her feelings for him would also show in her moist eyes. The phone’s blinking light was an indicator that he had a notification.

  As he reached for his phone she held her breath. Will he know? It rang again and he answered the call.

  Raum held the phone to his ear never saying a word, just staring at her. She wondered what the call was about. The more intense his stare became, the more she worried it was about her.

  Right before he hung up she heard the voice on the other end of the line, the same voice that haunted her nightmares. The man from the theater. “You can’t protect her forever,” the man growled.

  Hannah pulled her beat up Cavalier next to her parent’s minivan. Hearing that creep’s voice on the other end of Ruam’s phone call had scared her. Not for herself, no she was scared for her parents.

  It took her a few minutes to get herself under control. Assuming that everything was fine and her parents were okay she would have to convince her parents into moving across town or better yet they could move to Durant, surely that was far enough away.

  As she crossed the yard, she noticed that the front door had been busted in and was hanging by a single hinge. “Mom. Dad.” No one answered her screams. Slowly, very slowly, she approached the door.

  In a horror movie this would be the scene where she’d tell the girl to run back to her car and drive away. But to her amazement, she did exactly what she knew could be the most fatal mistake of her life. She walked up the porch steps to the front door.

  Just as she was about to push the door out of her way Josh’s Mustang screeched to halt in her driveway. Raum was the first to jump out, pulling a blade out of a thigh holster and a gun from the back of his jeans. He ran full sprint and shoved her behind his back in a protective move.

  Before she could protest, Josh grabbed her around the waist and backed up a few steps. “Let him scope the place out first. The last thing we want is for you to get hurt.”

  Raum disappeared inside. In reality he was only gone for just a few minutes but to her it felt like an eternity. “It’s clear,” he yelled as he exited the front door.

  “How bad is it?” Josh asked, easing his grip on Hannah.

  “Gruesome.” He turned apologetically to Hannah. “I’m sorry, they’ve been murdered.”

  “You’re wrong,” she screamed. He had to be wrong. He just had to be. There was no way that her parents were gone. They were all that she had. Both of her parents grew up in an orphanage, no one knew of any living relatives. If they were dead who would be there for her? Who would take care of her?

  “I can’t let you go in there.” Josh urged her to walk toward his Mustang.

  She stiffened her body. She wouldn’t go anywhere until she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her mom and dad were dead. “I have to see for myself.” She whirled around to face him. “If I don’t see them for myself, I will never believe that they’re really gone.”

  “Fine, give me your hand.” He threaded his fingers with hers and led the way inside.

  The instant she walked through the front door, she wished she hadn’t. Her parents hadn’t just been murdered, they were slaughtered. The popcorn and Coke she had eaten earlier threatened to come back up. She’d seen enough, they were gone and she’d never see them again.

  Burying her face in the crook of Josh’s neck, Hannah let the tears fall. Her heart cracked in two, sinking to the depths of her stomach. How could a human being be so cold hearted?

  “Come on, I’m taking you to my house.” Josh all but carried her out as her body went into shock.

  Once the fresh air hit her face the popcorn, Coke, and bile emerged and hit the grass. She couldn’t stop the retching. Her whole body shook, her skin turned snow white. Stars sparkled before her eyes and she wished that she’d been here when that man killed them. Maybe he would have put her out of her misery by killing her right along with them.

  A blanket draped around her shoulders, surrounding her in warmth. Josh held her tightly while the last of the bile left her body.

  Hannah’s head hurt. The pounding in her head was about to split open her skull. On top of that, she was freezing to death. In the distance she heard the sound of metal being sharpened.

  All of the events from the past hour, or however long she had been unconscious, came crashing back into her mind. Her parents, just the thought of them made her heart shatter all over again. Then the metal sharpening sound finally registered.

  She bolted up out of the back seat. This was Josh’s car, she recognized the dice and the letter J hanging from the rearview mirror. She peered out the window. Nothing about the surroundings was familiar.

  Looking out the back window she saw nothing but pasture. In front of her there was a huge silo. Where in blazes was she? If she stepped out of the car there w
ould be nowhere to hide. She slid down into the floorboard of the car hoping she could hide in the shadows.

  Footsteps sounded in the distance. She prayed that it wasn’t that creepy man, her only weapon was her shoes. The footsteps were getting closer to the car. She held her breath and closed her eyes.

  The driver’s side door opened. “Hannah?”

  She let out her breath and nearly cried in relief. “Josh, oh thank heavens.” She hopped out of the car and ran to him, nearly knocking him over. “Where are we?”

  He wrapped his arms around her shivering body. “This is our place.”

  Hannah looked around. “You live in a field?” Glancing behind her she asked, “Or do you sleep in that big silo?”

  Josh laughed so loud, it echoed throughout the open pasture. “This land is ours.” He pointed up ahead and to the right. “Our house is on the other side of that hill.”

  “Oh.” She kicked at the dirt with her toe. “Are we still in Morris or are we somewhere else?”

  “Yes, we’re still in Morris.” He pointed in the direction of his house. “Our house sits on the property to the east of the cemetery.”

  This was nuts. First, crazy psycho people are after her and now she was with the two people that happen to live right beside the cemetery. Thanks to that bit of information she’d be jumpy all night thinking that zombies were roaming around waiting to eat her brains.

  “Good, you’re up.”

  Hannah jumped and just about swallowed her tongue at the sound of Raum’s voice. Her heart beat so fast that it thundered in her ears. She clapped a hand over her heart. “You scared me to death.”

  Raum put the sword that he held into a holster that was attached to his back. He picked up her hand and held it palm up while placing two fingers on her inner wrist. “No you’re still alive.” He dropped her hand and looked at Josh. “We need to talk. I’m not sure we have time to wait for her to complete this change.”

  “Have you called Teresa?” Josh asked. “It would be great to have some backup since this assignment isn’t going as quickly as normal.”

  Raum nodded. “She just called. There was an emergency in Michigan.”

  She listened while the two of them talked in code. Their cryptic conversation was starting to scare her. What were they talking about? The only assignments that teenagers ever discussed were school related. To add to that weirdness, here she stood in an open field with zero houses around and two guys that were carrying weapons.

  Apparently the silo was nothing more than a storage house for all of their weapons. Half of them she had never seen before. The inside reminded her of a military base. For Hannah that was scary stuff.

  Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She had forgotten to turn the ringer back on after work. She pulled it free and slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.

  Chris spoke before she could say hello. “Don’t speak, just listen.” His voice shook with each word he spoke. “You need to sneak away from Josh and Raum and meet me back at my house. There’s something going on with those two. I think they’re responsible for what happened to your parents.”

  Hannah looked around the huge machine that she stood behind. Josh and Raum were deep in conversation at the other end of the silo. She whispered into the speaker, “Omigod, and I’m standing in their weapon storage house with them as we speak.”

  “Hurry, Hannah, I’m afraid you’re next on their list.” Chris hung up without even saying goodbye.

  She looked around the machine once more. The brothers were still deep in conversation. They probably wouldn’t even hear her if she walked right past them and out of the silo.

  She tiptoed, weaving around weapons and buckets until she stood only two feet away from the exit. Could she make it out without them hearing or seeing her? If she moved slowly and kept to the shadows she probably could.

  Keeping her head down, she pretended to text. She walked carefully while peeking up at them from the corner of her eye. They had their backs mostly to her and they were speaking in code again.

  She slipped out of the door and waited a few seconds. They hadn’t come out to check on her nor had they called her name. She had done it. She’d sneaked right past them undetected. She took off in a dead run for the Mustang, she remembered seeing the keys hanging in the ignition when she was in there earlier. She hoped they were still there.

  She carefully opened the car door and peered inside, the keys were still dangling from the ignition. She started the engine and reached for the gearshift. Great, it just had to be a stick shift and she had never driven one before. Well, no time like the present to learn how to drive one. She put it in first and heard a horrible noise as she pressed on the gas. If they didn’t hear the car start then they definitely heard that.

  She looked in the rearview mirror and saw both of them running out of the silo, chasing after the mustang. Josh waved both of his hands above his head, up in the air. There was no way she was going to stop for these two clowns. She shifted gears, very badly, and kept driving.

  Every few minutes she looked in the rearview mirror for any sign of Josh or Raum. So far so good, no one followed her. All that met her gaze was the darkened sky. By the time she pulled into Chris’ driveway she had gotten the hang of shifting gears. Her friend met her on the porch steps. “Get in.” He looked up and down the street in search of the brothers.

  Hannah nervously looked up and down the street as well. “I’m pretty sure they won’t be here for a few minutes. I left them stranded in their field. It’ll take them a bit to run to their house for the Harley.

  “Good. Come in.” He urged her toward the door.

  Stepping over the threshold, she watched Chris lock the door behind her. “What in the world is going on around here?”

  Offering her a cup of coffee, Chris leaned his hip against the entertainment center. “When you left my house those two rushed out right behind you. I wanted to know what was going on so I followed them. They never saw me. In fact they didn’t even see me standing to the side of your house tonight as you discovered that your parents had been killed.”

  “You were there?” she asked in shock.

  He nodded. “Yes. While you were puking your guts out I overheard them talking about how sweet it was to carve your parents like a Thanksgiving turkey. They were pleased that you were so clueless to the fact that they were the killers. Raum even said that you were next.”

  “What?” She couldn’t believe her ears. They had killed her mom and dad? She couldn’t believe that she had wanted Raum to hold her hand earlier. They had pretended to care. They even went out of their way to protect her. This new information made her wonder if they were secretly working with that psycho?

  She downed the last of her coffee, ignoring the burn as it traveled down her throat. She had so many questions but as the questions formed they slowly dissolved, leaving her slightly confused. All of a sudden her brain felt like mush, she couldn’t form a coherent thought.

  This had to be exhaustion, her busy day finally catching up to her. Work, movies, the horror of finding her parents dead, it had all completely drained her energy. She looked at the clock. It was just after two in the morning. She guessed this was her body’s way of saying goodnight.

  Chris pointed to the couch. “Why don’t you lie down for a bit, you look tired?”

  Her legs almost gave out before she made it to the sofa. It was a miracle that she got there without falling flat on her face. She stretched out on the cushions and sighed at the relief her body felt.

  Chris crossed the room and stood above her with a wicked smile on his face.

  “Chris…?” She blinked several times in an attempt to keep her eyes open and fight sleep.

  “Shhh little Devada.” He stroked her hair from her face, licking his lips at the sight of her. “Everything is quite alright.”

  “But I…” Hannah was finding it hard to catch her breath. It felt like her lungs were being squeezed by an unseen force.


  Chris smiled and the look on his face chilled her to the bone. Something was wrong but her brain wouldn’t function properly. As if reading her mind he answered smugly, “It’s my energy that you feel. I’m slowing sucking the life out of you.”

  She shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Surely she misheard what he said. This was Chris, her best friend, not some life-draining creature of hell.

  A loud crash drew their attention toward the door. Standing in the doorway was Raum. He had kicked the door in and it hung awkwardly on the frame. Reaching over his shoulder, he pulled a sword out of the holster attached to his back.

  Hannah opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her mouth was as dry as cotton and her lungs were still empty of oxygen.

  Raum charged at Chris, sword high in the air. The moment Chris moved away from her she gasped for air and her lungs burned from the intrusion. It must have been adrenaline pushing her as energy course through her once again and her mind cleared.

  Chris had been right — these two idiots were as loony as they come. She still couldn’t believe that Raum would barge into Chris’ house ready to kill. To her surprise Chris fought back — really fought back. Since when did he learn to fight like that?

  Josh appeared in the doorway next, carrying a handgun. It was aimed in the direction of Chris. She prayed her legs would cooperate because she had to help her friend. Standing slowly and without thinking about her own safety, she ran at Josh kicking the gun out of his hand. When he wrapped his arms around her, holding her still, she panicked.

  He had her arms pinned against her body. His grip on her was so tight there was no hope of escaping. “Settle down, Hannah,” Josh whispered against her ear. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  “Is that what you said to my parents?” she spit out.

  “You think I killed them?” When she didn’t say anything he turned her body around to face him without releasing his tight hold on her arms. “There is more going on here than you know. There is so much you don’t understand yet. But no, I did not kill your parents.”