“How did you…” I started and trailed off because I didn’t even know where to begin.
“A little bird told me where you were,” he said, smiling wanly at me. “Actually, she was more like a little old lady. Woke me up to tell me you were in trouble.”
I felt chills go down my spine. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Another demon?”
“Looks like it.”
Chapter Four
I used Mason’s laptop to look up the story once he got the old lady’s name out of her. Two houses burned down alongside hers, because of faulty wiring that was patched badly by someone who didn’t know, or care, what they were doing. It broke my heart to read about it. She’d been in her nineties and had no-one. Home helps went in daily to cook and clean for her, supposedly.
There was no way someone other than the sloth possessed woman was ‘cleaning’ that house. Anyone else would have taken the rubbish outside to the bin. Anyone else would have reported the problem with the wiring to someone higher up. It made me angrier the longer I spent reading it. I closed the laptop when Mason put a plate in front of me.
He was a much better cook than me. Hardly ever burnt a thing. I supposed looking after his younger brother for the last few years had a hand in those skills being developed. Fergus was thirteen now, and far more prone to sarcasm than the cute kid I’d known while I was still friends with Mason. I noticed Mason only put down two plates and I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Where’s Fergus?”
He pulled up a chair and shrugged. “He buggered off when I came out to get you. Probably at Sam’s across the street. He’ll be back when he’s hungry.” He checked his phone before he started to eat. “So, why’d you go out anyway?”
“Just trying to bring back breakfast,” I said, forcing myself to eat. The dreamscape encounter had been draining. I wasn’t even hungry now, but I didn’t want Mason’s efforts to go to waste.
“Where’d you run into the demon? I mean the host.”
“Café around the corner. Don’t eat there again.”
He raised an eyebrow as he chewed.
“Seriously. I won’t tell you why, but just don’t. Okay?”
He swallowed. “Okay, I won’t.” He hesitated before he added, “The old woman said she didn’t do it on purpose.”
Hearing that the host’s victim didn’t blame her just made me even madder, but I shook it off. I pushed my food around the plate for a while before I’d calmed down enough to explain why she was right. “She didn’t. It was negligence. Sloth Demon. Kind of how it goes with them.”
“Oh,” he said, his eyes seeming to light up for a second. I hadn’t filled him in on the different demon types, so he wasn’t going to just know these things. He frowned a second later. “So, what do you do about that then?”
I shrugged. “I killed the demon in the dreamscape. That should be the end of it.”
Should being the operative word. It made me queasy to think about it, but I suspected this woman was not going to be someone who learnt to be a better person now that she’s been freed of her demon. The thought of following her around makes me groan.
“You don’t really think it’s the end of it?”
He could just read me like a book.
“That woman is still out there, Mason.” It wasn’t like the last one, which is kind of a relief and a worry all at once. The Wrath Demon and his host were both burned alive at the Starlight. I didn’t need to think about him anymore. He was dead and gone. This was something else entirely.
“So, exorcising her demon won’t help her?” He raised an eyebrow at me. I knew he was just trying to understand. We’d talked about what had happened at the Starlight, but that had been different.
“It might, but she was pretty far gone.” She hadn’t looked completely connected to reality. Some of that was the demon. The rest? I didn’t know, but I doubted she’d suddenly start brushing her hair and maintaining a regular bathing schedule again now. “Some hosts are just demon magnets. They re-tread the same path over and over. I’ve seen it. It’s hard to understand, but I suppose it’s harder to see it when you’re the one walking it.”
“So, do you have to keep an eye on her or something then?” He cut up the last of his sausage as he talked, and I blinked, wondering how he ate everything so quickly.
“Pretty much.” The thought of stalking the woman made me weary. I didn’t know how to help her beyond taking on any demons that attached themselves. I told myself some people were just harder to save. The truth was probably darker. Some can’t be saved, no matter what you do. Yeah, that sounded more like it.
“What do you do then?” He put down his cutlery on his cleaned plate.
“Depends,” I said with a sigh. “If there’s something I can have her arrested for, I’ll try that. Call the cops from a safe distance. Fingers crossed it helps straighten her out. If there’s not…”
I couldn’t finish, because the truth made me feel hollowed out. If there’s not, there’s nothing else I can do. My job is done once the demon is gone.
“What makes someone a demon magnet?” It sounded like he was speaking to himself more than asking me. The question made me wonder.
“What are you thinking?”
He smiled slowly. “I’m thinking maybe we should find out more about the host.”
I watched him carefully. “Did a little bird just tell you something?”
“I do get some good ideas on my own.” He sounded insulted, but I wasn’t convinced.
I watched him cover my plate with tinfoil and place it in the oven. I couldn’t see spirits unless I went astral. He could have a dozen of them following him around and I’d be none the wiser. I used to be able to tell when he was listening to one. He’d realised he was being too obvious and grew more of a poker face about it. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing in general. I just liked being able to tell when he had a ghost whispering in his ear.
“Is the old lady still hanging around?”
He took his plate to the sink and turned to me as he put on the tap. “I don’t think so. She left once she told me where you were.”
“Tell me if she comes back.” Maybe it was nothing, but if she was still hanging around, I’d be more worried about the host attracting another demon. This was different from the last demon. I knew that, but I couldn’t fight the feeling that it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
Chapter Five
We stopped into the Starlight when I remembered Lucy had asked if she could borrow my car for the night. She was supposed to be dropping her parents off at a wedding reception out of town, and Dawson’s car had broken down. I was nice enough to put a tenner’s worth of petrol in it first. She’d kill me if it ran out of gas on the way to get some.
“Ugh, I can’t believe we’re back to work tomorrow.”
“Says the guy who just had a month off sick.”
He shrugged. “Anyone who doesn’t complain about having to go to work has been replaced by a pod person.”
I snorted as we got out of the car and walked towards the hotel. It was kind of crazy that we still worked there after everything that happened. It was weird how comfortable I was in this place. Kind of like a home away from home. I supposed it helped that my best friend and boyfriend worked with me.
“Well, this is the first job I’ve held onto for more than a week so I’m not going to say anything that might jinx that.”
The front door was wedged open. We went inside, and I glanced around for Lucy. The girl behind the desk looked new. The hotel had a high turnover of staff so I wasn’t that surprised.
“She said she’d meet us at reception,” I told him.
He glanced around, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “She’s always late.”
I took my phone out. The girl at the front desk was giving us strange looks. Probably wondering why we weren’t approaching her. I sent Lucy a quick ‘we’re here’ message and put my phone back into my pocket. The car keys wer
e still in my hand.
I glanced around and the door to the stairwell opened. Lucy stepped into the lobby and came straight towards us.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she exclaimed as I gave her the keys.
“Just remember, it takes a few tries to get started.” I’d warned her before and she’d seen my warm up method first hand.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Is Dawson going with you tonight?” I’d feel better if he was. She was going to be driving lonely roads to get to the venue for the reception and back. It wouldn’t be so bad on the way there. Summer nights were long. It would be dark when she picked them up after midnight though.
She shook her head. “His brother needs help plastering a wall. They’ll probably go for a pint after.”
Damn. Now I felt guilty about leaving her alone for the night. She’d go stir-crazy sitting in the flat on her own. I was about to open my mouth when Mason cut me off.
“Well, have fun. We’ll see you in the morning!” He put his hand in mine and I felt my mouth drop open as he gave my arm a tug.
“I guess we’re leaving.” I managed to laugh, but she shook her head at us.
“Thanks for the loan.” She smiled and waved as we left.
I smacked Mason in the arm once we were outside and safely out of view. “That was so rude.”
He rolled his eyes. “I was just pulling you out of the line of fire before she started dropping bombs.”
“You just want me to yourself tonight.”
“Well, yeah. Saving you from Lucy’s BS was just a side-effect.”
“She’s my friend, Mason. She’s yours too.”
He snorted. “I think you need to get a dictionary and look up the definition of the word friend.”
“Are you trying to wind me up?” He was going the right way about it if he was.
He blew out a breath. “Sorry.”
I waited, but apparently that was it. Goddamn it. I was too irritated to even talk. I pulled my hand out of his and stalked on ahead.
“Tina,” he called out. “Come on. I said I was sorry.”
My anger was spiking, and I didn’t want to say something I’d regret. Having a boyfriend who knew how to take control of any given situation was one thing. Having one try to bully me into ditching my best friend because he didn’t like her was something much uglier. I didn’t want to even look at him right now. I quickened my pace and headed to my flat, not Mason’s house. I was almost sprinting for the last half mile. When I turned around, I couldn’t see him anymore.
Good. I didn’t want to. It felt too much like suffocating to see him act the way he had. I caught my breath as I unlocked the door to the flat. I locked the door and checked out the peephole before I moved away. He’d taken the hint. I didn’t properly relax until I collapsed onto my unmade bed and kicked off my trainers.
I just wanted to sleep. I was so damned tired. I pulled the covers over myself, still fully dressed in jeans and one of Mason’s T-shirts.
Chapter Six
The dreamscape was a swirling yellow hell. I cursed as I found myself in that hallway with the peeling wallpaper and the threadbare carpet. How could a demon have found her again so quickly? Wait a minute. I didn’t see a second demon. I hadn’t followed the woman around yet. What did that mean?
I started to get chills as I realised the demon I’d exorcised must have possessed her a second time. I’d never heard of that happening. Being murky on what exactly happens to the demon; there are two schools of thought amongst dream walkers on this, that the demonic spirit is sent back to hell where it came from, or that it is destroyed entirely when a walker kills it in the dreamscape.
I’d always suspected the latter, considering there was no evidence that a dream walker had ever battled the same demon twice, but maybe that was naive. I walked down the corridor, looking for the woman. The crackling noises from the closed cupboard made me shiver as I passed.
Something weird was going on. I couldn’t find the host, I checked every door I passed. There were too many. This couldn’t be just one house. This dreamscape was warped. I had to find the exit.
Panic filled me as I rushed back to the spot where the dreamscape had materialised around me. I looked around carefully, but there was no obvious exit. It had to be inside one of the rooms. I went to the kitchen, but it was dark and thick with the rotten smell I didn’t want to breathe in. No exit there. I turned to leave, and my body stiffened as a shadow moved in the corridor. Shit! Someone was out there.
I moved to the door quickly and peered out into the corridor. No-one’s there, but the creak of the door across the hall drew my attention. The living room. I darted over, my heart starting to pound.
I didn’t feel my weapon. I wasn’t sure who was in there. I didn’t know what the hell was going on.
I stepped forward into the room. Empty. The old lady wasn’t watching TV. The TV was on, but showing static. I moved further in and the door closed behind me with a bang.
The woman standing there in the oversized T-shirt with her hand on the door was my doppelganger. She smiled at me slyly, but she didn’t say a word. I stood there, staring at her as she held out her hands, showing me the crackling electrical charges, bolts of blue energy that were contained just above the surface of her skin. I blinked as she moved towards me.
I looked down at my own hands. She had my weapon. I was defenceless and trapped without an exit. I tried to fight the rising hysteria. There had to be something I could do, besides curling into a ball and squeezing my eyes shut until the world melted away… Wait! That actually was my last resort. According to Gran, my source of knowledge for all things dream walker, sometimes a dream could be broken by choosing to sleep inside it.
I stumbled away from my advancing double, trying to find a place where I could lie down for a few seconds without her touching me with those deadly looking hands. I couldn’t risk letting her touch me. I didn’t want to find out which theory about where demons went when exorcised was right from experiencing it first-hand. Hell didn’t sound like a place I wanted to visit, and if it came down to hell or death there wasn’t a good option.
I pushed the couch in front of scary Tina and she rolled her eyes at me.
“That all you got?” she teased.
“Who are you?” She might look like me, but she’s acting as if I was some stereotypical villain from an action movie.
“I’m you, stupid.”
“You’re not me.”
She laughed. “Close enough, Tina.”
The crackling of the electricity got closer and I shivered as I pushed the couch again to stop her from getting within touching distance.
I was not going to get any answers out of her. Maybe there weren’t any to be had. Think about it, Tina. There isn’t a host, there isn’t a exit, and you aren’t being given a weapon.
“This isn’t a dreamscape.”
She smirked. “Took you long enough.”
The electricity leapt from her fingers to slam into my chest. I fell backwards, thrown across the room by the impact. My body was aching and tingly as I hauled myself up. Whatever this was, the rules were officially out the window. I raised my hands, willing the electricity to pulse to life. It took a second, but it came. This is just a normal fucking dream. I can’t believe it.
“Get ready to say goodnight, Tina.” My double sent another bolt my way. I dodged it and threw one at her. She laughed as she deflected it back at me. I tripped, and pain burst through me as she came to stand over me. Her eyes seemed darker than mine as she locked gazes. She crouched down and shook her head as her gaze drifted downwards. “What a mess.”
I looked down. My hands and Mason’s shirt were covered in thick crimson liquid. I gasped. None of the blood was mine, but I didn’t know where it had come from. My stomach churned.
“Someone’s been a bad girl.”
Her words echoed through my thoughts as I snapped awake. I sucked in breath and sat up in bed. It was late. After t
en. My phone was vibrating under the covers. Had to have fallen out of my pocket. I switched on the bedside lamp and searched for the mobile. I caught it as it stopped ringing.
Five missed calls. I didn’t need to look to know who they were from. Ugh. I was going to have to face Mason at work tomorrow. I might as well call him back.
I kept my phone in my hand as I went to the kitchen to get a glass of cola. My throat was dry. I needed to wake up before I called him. I still felt half asleep.
I realised as I was pouring my drink that I couldn’t hear Lucy in the flat. Seemed weird considering Dawson wasn’t with her tonight. Unless, maybe, he changed his mind.
I checked my phone. Four calls from Mason. One from Jimmy. Wait. What?
There were messages too, voicemails rather than texts. My stomach was churning as I waited to listen to them. Mason’s were typical. Oddly vague yet heartfelt apologies with some under his sexy breath cursing as he hung up. I knew the second I listened that I was still mad at him, but I’d get over it.
It was Jimmy’s message that was making me feel weird. We’d been texting for a few weeks now, nothing more than friendly banter. I kept thinking I should stop. Wasn’t it wrong to keep in touch with a guy you’ve slept with when you’re with someone else? I mean, we weren’t even flirting, but still. It was kind of fucked up. I made the decision then and there to stop. And then Jimmy’s message played, and my heart skipped a few beats.
“Tina, hey.” He cleared his throat. “I hope last night meant as much to you as it did to me. Can we meet up again tonight? Call me back.”
I listened to it again, and again, but I wasn’t hearing things. What the hell? He thinks we hooked up last night? I was tempted to call him back and ask him what he’d been smoking. Then it hit me. He’s trying to get me to call him. That’s why he left that freaky message. It’s a trick, or a joke, or whatever the hell you’d call a mini mind-fuck like that. My heart rate finally slowed down to normal. “Arsehole.”
I was definitely done with the just-friends messages now. He was still into me. What was I thinking staying in touch anyway? Stupid, Tina.
Quicksand Nightmares (Seven Deadly Demons Book 2) Page 2
