by Jamie Loeak
until I settle in somewhere else,” he replied. “After that I may rent it out or sell it.”
“Are you going to live in it while you fix it up?” Kate asked, curious.
The man looked back at the house before answering Kate’s question. “I think I’ll be all right. I’m pretty sturdy, and as long as the house holds up, I’ll hold up too.” He smiled then and winked.
Kate matched his smile with her own and waved goodbye to the man. Whistling, she trudged along, prepared to see her friends.
Adriana’s house was as grand as Kate remembered it. As she walked to the front door she realized that another car sat out front, this one a silver Mercedes SLS AMG. Kate assumed that this was Donovan’s vehicle and marveled at the family’s expensive taste.
Kate reached the door and was about to knock when it opened; Adriana was standing there, holding her father’s hand. She dropped it immediately but Kate had seen everything she needed to see.
“Bye, Dad,” Adriana said, kissing Donovan’s cheek.
Donovan walked by and waved at Kate before getting into the Mercedes. Kate stayed outside until the Mercedes disappeared around the corner. When she stepped inside the foyer she turned on Adriana.
“What was that?” she asked.
“What was what, Kate? You might not be close to either of your parents but I’m at least close to my only one when he’s around.”
“Adriana, you were holding your father’s hand. That’s not normal. It’s also not normal that he looks like he’s twenty-five.”
“Kate, your mother doesn’t look very old. In all honesty, she looks like she could be your big sister. Also, the way your parents act, like they’ve still got butterflies, doesn’t help your case. My dad’s young at heart too.”
Kate stared at Adriana. She decided in that moment that she would not ask her any questions. Kate might have been keeping stuff from Adriana but she had never lied to her about something so trivial. She turned and moved into the living room, leaving Adriana standing there, trying to prove her point.
“Don’t walk away from me, Kate,” Adriana shouted after her. Kate could hear her footsteps in the hall.
“I don’t want to hear your lies Adriana. I know for a fact that man isn’t your father. First, he looks nothing like you. Second, you didn’t hold hands like father and daughter; your fingers were laced together. I may not have ever been in love, Adriana, but I’ve seen enough movies to know that you lace your fingers with the person you’re dating; you don’t do that with your dad or your mom.”
“You don’t know anything,” Adriana spat. “You think that you’re doing yourself a favor by keeping things hidden from us. You think that you’re protecting yourself by keeping those things. What makes you think that we don’t do the same thing? You can’t be hypocritical about things like that.”
Kate looked at Adriana, seeing the truth in her statement. “I understand,” she said honestly, truthfully.
“It’s okay.” Adriana moved into the room, walking slowly toward Kate. She pulled Kate into a quick, fierce hug.
Just like that, the argument between Kate and Adriana was finished. Kate wondered, briefly, if that was how arguments always ended between friends. Was it really as easy as apologizing or agreeing? Could she have ended the arguments with Rico in this manner? Kate’s anger dissolved with her thoughts, and she could see Adriana’s frustration fade as well.
Adriana sat on the couch then and prompted Kate to do the same. Today she was wearing black slacks that stopped right above her ankle; they were fitted all the way down her legs, but not so tight as to appear inappropriate. Her dark blouse was tucked into the pants; a flower adorned the collar and stood out against Adriana’s creamy skin. She wore her hair in a simple braid that cascaded over one shoulder.
“How’ve you been?” she asked Kate.
“Not bad,” Kate answered.
“Have you been able to sleep much, if at all? I’m sorry that we haven’t had any more sleepovers. Rico and I have been pretty busy solving some stuff concerning you and your soul.”
“I’ve been able to sleep some,” Kate admitted. She lowered her eyes, conscious of the huge amounts of makeup she caked on this morning to hide the dark circles that were forming.
“Aren’t you going to ask about what we’ve found, Kate? You’re usually so eager to find out more information. Are you sure you’re all right, babe?”
Kate looked into Adriana’s black eyes. “I’m fine,” she said, trying to convince both of them at the same time.
Adriana stared at Kate. She stood up suddenly and disappeared into the kitchen. She returned five minutes later with two steaming cups of peppermint tea.
“I put a little bit of sugar in yours,” she said when she put it down on the table in front of Kate. “I hope you like it. It’ll make you feel better too.”
Kate took a sip of the hot liquid and shivered. Adriana arched an eyebrow but said nothing to her. They sat in companionable silence while they drank.
Adriana set her cup down when she finished and straightened out the slight wrinkles in her slacks. She sat there, waiting patiently for Kate to ask her questions about what happened over the four days they hadn’t spoken.
“So what did you learn?” Kate asked after putting her cup down. Adriana had been right about the tea. Kate felt much better.
“Well,” Adriana said, leaning forward and twisting her braid in her fingers. “Rico and I have been busy finding answers to some of the questions that we’ve been asking. First, we’ve found out some information about the man that attacked you the other day. His name is Cole, and he was working separately from Kern. However, he found out that Kern wanted your soul, so he sort of wanted to go get it first. You see, Cole and Kern are apparently angry at each other. Our source said that Cole used to work for Kern but was betrayed. We don’t know what Kern did or why he did it, but we do know that Cole will probably come back for you. He’s seeking revenge and thinks that this is the best way to pay Kern back.”
Kate blinked, trying to grasp this information. Well, at least Cole and Kern weren’t fighting over Kate’s soul because of some unknown reason. Maybe coming over to Adriana’s was a good thing after all; Kate already answered one question on her growing list.
“Is Cole an elder demon too?” Kate asked.
Adriana smiled. “He’s not,” she said, a bigger smile spreading across her beautiful face. “That was the second piece of information we found, and believe me, it’s big news.”
“I guess,” Kate said, shivering.
“What, honey?” Adriana pressed.
“It’s just that it was so easy for him to pull me into the alternate reality. Won’t it be easy for him to do that again?”
Once again, Adriana smiled. This time she shook her head. “I’ve spoken to people who know a lot about alternate realities. I know how you can fight Cole if he gets to you again. Rico went out to look for him; I went around asking the questions. Rico just came back this morning, and he’s been sleeping ever since. If I know Rico, Cole won’t be coming back for a long time.”
“Well, what do I do to fight Cole if he does come back?” Kate asked, intrigued.
“What you need to do, Kate, is find something that ties you to this world. What is it that you live for? What is your center of gravity? After you find what it is that will hold you to this planet, you must take a piece of it and keep it with you at all times. As long as the piece is with you, you are safe from Cole or any other demon that tries to disarm you by taking you to an alternate universe.”
“That doesn’t seem so bad,” Kate said.
“It’s not as easy as you think,” Adriana said slowly. “A lot of people aren’t honest with themselves. They don’t know what it is that holds them to this world. The man I talked to said that most people think that they have the right talisman, but find out that they were wrong after they are successfully taken to an alternate reality.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure that I really think about
it. I’ve got to get it right, though. If not, I’m afraid that Cole will take my soul before we find out what Kern wants with it.”
“Rico won’t let that happen,” Adriana said with a grin.
Adriana and Kate spent the rest of the afternoon bonding over nail polish and comedy movies. Kate’s fingernails were coral with turquoise stripes; Adriana’s were fire engine red with cream tribal print. Kate noticed that Adriana’s nails were her outlet for color, and she liked knowing that little quirk about her friend.
As the evening light began to fade, Rico stumbled down the stairs. His hair was messy and stuck up in some places. He wore low slung jeans and a thin white t-shirt that showed the very bottom of his stomach when he stretched. Kate watched him push his hair out of his eyes, not realizing until now how big of a crush she had on him.
“Hey, Sleepyhead,” Adriana called.
Rico looked up, noticing the girls for the first time. He ruffled his hair and pulled his shirt down, aware of his appearance.
“Good morning, Adriana, Kate,” he said before collapsing onto the couch.
“I went ahead and told Kate what I wasn’t able to tell you this morning because you looked like a zombie,” Adriana claimed. She went ahead and let Rico in on the good news. “All she has to do now is find a talisman.”
“Do you know what you need to look for?” Rico asked, turning to Kate.
“Not really. I’m going to start thinking about it tomorrow. Adriana said that you did
