I tried to read the instructor’s mind just in case I was telepathic, since I couldn’t seem to make telekinesis work. No luck..
***
I didn’t get a chance to talk to Muriel again until lunch. I had another vision. The poor freshman girl I’d saved from certain embarrassment last week was back on the bullies’ to-embarrass-and-harass list. They just wouldn’t leave her alone.
This time, I just stood in front of their table with my hands planted on my hips until she passed by.
As the vision receded, I saw Chay walk toward me. I shot him a glare. I didn’t need his help. Nothing the oafs said about me, or to me, mattered. I was focused on the poor target of their amusement. She didn’t deserve it. I remembered how hard it was being a freshman. She didn’t need any additional heartache.
When the girl—I’d learned her name was Susie—walked safely by and sat with her friends at the other end of the cafeteria, I gripped the edge of the bullies’ table and leaned forward, showing them just enough cleavage to grab their attention.
“Listen up. Find someone your own size and low IQ to pick on, but leave that freshman alone,” I said quietly.
“Or what?” the biggest idiot asked.
“I’ll hurt you.”
The hulking teenager stood to his full height. He was a good head taller than I was and twice as wide. My first instinct was to apologize, beg forgiveness, and run away. But I stood my ground.
“Oh, sit down before you embarrass yourself,” I snapped, thankful my voice didn’t quiver. “I’ve got a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, and I’ve studied Krav Maga. Your dumb ass doesn’t scare me.” Smirking, I walked away. I had to remind myself to walk, not run, to where Muriel sat.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Oh, they have this thing for little Susie Freshman over there. I keep having visions of them doing embarrassing things to her, and I’m sick of them. The visions make me feel weird and tire me out, and the boys make my skin crawl. So I just told them to back off.” I shrugged a shoulder, unwrapped my chicken salad sandwich, and pulled the sides of the bread apart to inspect it before taking a bite.
“That wasn’t very smart.” I knew the voice instantly. I didn’t have to look up to know I’d see the oddest eyes looking at me. Not quite blue and not quite green. Chay.
“I had to do something—”
“You only have to do what needs to be done to right the wrong and make the vision go away.”
“I’ve had the same vision about them hurting that girl before. I’m tired of spending my lunch finding new ways to step in without being obvious.”
“Oh, and threatening them wasn’t obvious?” He flung his arm toward their table.
“You threatened them?” Muriel’s eyes grew wide. “They’re huge!”
“I didn’t threaten them. I just warned them away. Maybe now the girl will have some peace.”
“And maybe you just angered a demon,” Chay said through clenched teeth. “They’re hard enough to deal with. We don’t need you going around making more trouble for us. We don’t know who works for Azazel. Do you understand that? It could be anyone in this school—from the principal to the janitor, even your pet freshman over there. So do me a favor and don’t antagonize anyone else. Your job is to step in and protect humans. My job is to protect you until your birthday, and I don’t need you making my job any harder than it already is.” He pushed away from the table and stalked out of the cafeteria.
Geez, even angry, he’s a hella-hottie. Wait. No, that’s Jake. “Well.” I cleared my throat. “That got him talking.”
Muriel laughed, but her eyes looked worried. “He’s right, Milayna. We don’t know who we can trust.”
“Okay. I’ll keep a leash on my temper from now on. I promise.” I looked down at the fake wooden tabletop. I ran my finger along the words “Charlie loves Anna” written in black marker. I didn’t really see the words. I saw the faces of people I knew with horns and fangs. I saw Jonathan, my supervisor at the bakery, turning into a demon, and the little old lady who lived two doors down in the cute, yellow house growing fangs. My parents always warned me not to talk to strangers when I was little, but now I couldn’t trust anyone. A shiver ran up my spine. “I promise. I’ll be more careful.” I glanced up at Muriel. She gave me a quick smile. “What do you know about him?”
“Who? Mr. Dark and Brooding?” I nodded, not looking at her. “Uh, nothing you don’t already know. He’s smart, at least judging by his AP classes. His dad’s the “A”. He’s eighteen, and he has an unusual gift none of us have, but no one knows why.”
“Yeah, the ability to see when one of the group is in danger. Why do you say it’s unusual? Don’t we all have powers?” I whispered, leaning my head close to Muriel’s.
“We all have the same visions you do, only you have them a lot more often and they are a lot stronger because your dad was a stronger, higher-ranking Iri. But beyond that ability, most of us don’t have other gifts.”
“My dad said that we are sometimes telekinetic, and we can feel what humans are feeling or thinking—whatever that means.”
“Yeah, everyone in our group is telekinetic, but not every demi is. A DA friend of mine in Indiana isn’t. And from what she says, no one in her group is. And none of us have been able to figure out how to use our telekinesis,” she whispered. Our heads were so close that they nearly touched. “So far, beyond the visions and the telekinesis, no one in our group has additional powers, so Chay’s ability is unusual. But it sure comes in handy, like last night.”
“Yeah. Back to this subject, I wish you guys would tell me about these things instead of just letting me come face-to-face with them,” I snapped.
“You mean the hobgoblins? I told you, we didn’t think they’d be around so soon. We’re trying to ease you into things so you don’t go all kung-fu on us like you did with the table of gigantic baboons over there.” She giggled.
“My dad was surprised they were around, too.”
“It’s usually closer to their birthday when DAs start seeing them, but I guess Azazel wants you pretty bad.” Muriel took a bite of her lunch and made a face. “Good Lord, what is this?”
“I think it’s time you guys tell me everything there is to know before I come up against something deadlier than a couple of red rugrats in my backyard.”
“We should talk to our dads, maybe go see Grandma again. There are definitely some things you should know now that the hobgoblins have made an appearance. Which ones came?” She picked up her Coke and took a drink, swishing it around in her mouth.
“I don’t know. They didn’t give me names. They both looked pretty much the same. Short, fat, and red, but one had a scar running down the length of its face.” I ran my finger down the side of my face where the scar was.
“Oh. I know those two. They aren’t too bad. They mostly just deliver messages from Azazel. Usually, the same message over and over and over again.” She waved her hand in the air in a blah, blah, blah motion. “Change sides. It’ll be wonderful. Azazel is a great guy. Blah, blah. You’re gonna get really sick of seeing them by the time this is over.”
“Great. Sounds like I just made some new friends.” I rolled my eyes. “So there are worse things than the hobgoblins?”
“Oh, hell yeah. You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.” She pushed her tray away and scrunched her nose up. “It should be illegal for them to serve this.”
“Great.” I threw down my half-eaten sandwich. My appetite had disappeared.
“Are you going to eat that?” Muriel pointed at my sandwich. I shook my head. “Good.” She snatched it up and took a big bite.
I chuckled at her, but it was just a façade. I didn’t feel like laughing or smiling, not even crying. I just wanted to sit in a quiet corner somewhere to figure things out. Maybe if I could make sense of it all, I wouldn’t be so scared.
***
After school Friday, the group met at my house for dinner. Muriel and I were
going to talk with our dads about what I should expect, but my dad thought it would be better if I heard it from the people going through it with me.
“There’s a hierarchy in the demon world,” Shayla told me. “First, hobgoblins. They’re the lowest and least deadly form of demons. They’ll cause a lot of trouble for you, though.”
“How?” I leaned toward her.
“They’ll create problems, and you’ll have to intervene. When you’re having a vision, you’re the most vulnerable. So the hobgoblins try to force you into visions by creating things for you to deal with.”
“So they intentionally put people in dangerous situations?” The concept didn’t surprise me, I supposed. What worried me was how much I’d play a part in it. Was I going to be the reason they’d create dangerous situations? And would I be strong enough to do what needed to be done? Would my visions tell me what to do? Where to go? What if I couldn’t save the people? Then it’d be my fault.
“That’s what evil does every day. It doesn’t matter how many demi-angels fight to protect innocent humans, there’ll always be evil to fight back. Sometimes, we’ll win,” Drew shook his head and looked down, “and sometimes, we won’t.”
Shayla cleared her throat and continued, “Then there are the Evils. They are demi-angels that have flipped sides. They started out demi-angels like us, but Azazel was able to convince them to join forces with him. Their sole purpose is to get you to join Azazel. They aren’t able to do much more than help the other demons. Azazel absorbs most of their power.” Shayla popped a French fry into her mouth.
“After the Evils are the demi-demons,” Jen said, her hands fisting. “They’re half human like us, but their other parent is a fallen angel—a demon angel. An Irin. Their angel parent chose to give up immortality and live on earth, but instead of serving good, they serve Azazel. They have the same powers we do. This level starts getting dangerous. They are able to fight us on an even playing field. Whatever we can do, they can match. If you are caught alone with a group of demi-demons, it’s very likely they could drag you straight to Azazel.” Jen shuddered. “You definitely need to watch your ass around them.”
I watched Jen as she explained the demi-demons to me. When she’d finished, I asked, “How will I know who they are, the Evils and demi-demons? Do they wear some kind of mark, a rune or tattoo?”
“You won’t,” Chay said quietly from the corner of the room where he sat watching the rest of the group. “They look like any other person, just like we do. Now are you finally starting to get it through your thick skull why you have to be more careful?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I think I’m starting to get it,” I said quietly.
It isn’t simple like in movies or on television. The good guys don’t wear white and the bad guys black. We don’t know who our enemies are until they decide to show themselves, and that’s kinda scaring the hell out of me… or into me, whatever.
“After the demi-demons are your standard-issue demons. They’re strong, ugly, and can inflict more damage than any other demon, except Azazel himself,” Jake said around a mouth full of burger. “You do not want to meet one of those bad boys alone.”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to meet any of them,” I said.
“Yeah, none of us do,” Drew murmured, “but unfortunately, we have. Well, all except Azazel. None of us have seen him.” Drew was a nice guy, soft-spoken and very polite. With his wavy, brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes, he was good-looking, too, and judging by how often he stared at her, he had a thing for Muriel. I wondered if she knew and made a mental note to tell her after everyone went home.
“You’ve seen them before?” My eyes swung to Muriel. I couldn’t believe she’d been doing something so dangerous, and I had no idea.
Muriel put her hand up, palm facing me. “Just a few times. Another group of demis lost a lot of their group to Azazel. He converted too many, and they needed extra help. They’d sent for help when our group was small and needed it. So we went.”
I puffed out my checks and blew out a breath to calm myself. Licking my lips, I looked around at everyone’s faces. “Okay, now I know about the demons. What else is there?” I pushed my plate away from me. I’d only taken one bite of my burger and ate few fries. My stomach was churning thinking of all the dangers we faced.
This seems like we’re fighting a losing battle. There’s so many of them and just ten of us… not the best odds.
“Hello?” Jake waved his hand in front of my face. “Earth calling Milayna. Are you gonna eat your burger?” I shook my head, and he grabbed my plate, digging into the burger like he hadn’t just eaten two.
“Are you okay? You kinda zoned out there for a minute.” Muriel looked at me. The skin between her eyebrows wrinkled.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just tryin’ to let everything soak in, that’s all.” I tried to smile, but I wasn’t sure I pulled it off.
“Basically, it boils down to this,” Steven said, spinning his Coke can in circles on the table. “Azazel wants you to become one of his Evils, and he’s gonna do anything and use anybody to get to you. You equal power for him. A lot of power. And he wants it.”
“And if he doesn’t get it?” Every muscle in my body tensed, waiting for the answer. I was like a rubber band that was pulled back and ready to be shot across the room.
“He’ll kill you,” Chay said, tossing his half-eaten burger on his plate.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m really not amenable with that option.
“He wants your power or he wants you dead. What he doesn’t want is you completing your transformation on your birthday,” Muriel added. “Now that the hobgoblins have been around, the next demon you can expect to see is an Evil. One of us turned bad. You won’t know who it is, and you won’t know when you’ll see them. That’s why our parents want us to stay in pairs, or larger, at all times. Azazel wants you bad, Milayna. You’re a big target. It wouldn’t surprise me if he skipped over the Evils and went straight for the demi-demons.”
I stood up and started clearing the table of the empty burger wrappers and fry boxes. Shoving them into the garbage can, I grabbed the sanitizing wipes to scrub the ketchup that had oozed onto the table. My hands shook and my insides felt like Jell-O, wobbling all out of place. I was scared, confused, and overwhelmed. I didn’t want to hear anymore, so I played Molly Maid to distract myself. I’d just have to learn on the fly, because the more they talked, the more I panicked. I was polishing the water faucet when Muriel ushered everyone out of the kitchen.
The other group members went into the living room and sprawled out on the floor, playing video games and joking around to blow off steam. I sat at the dining table and watched, drumming my fingers on the table. It felt like my fear was pressing down on me. I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t talk, all I did was sit and think—something I didn’t want to do. Seeing I was upset, my dad shooed the group out of the house about an hour later. I stood at the door, saying goodbye as they left.
“See ya, boss lady.” Lily gave me a tight smile and brushed by me. She hadn’t said anything to me all night. She sat in the corner with her arms folded over her chest and listened, never saying anything. But her tone told me she was ticked about something.
“‘Bye,” I answered quietly and watched her walk to her car.
Chay was the last to leave. He stood at the door, his eyes boring into mine. “So now that you know the types of demons you’ll be dealing with, do you feel better?”
“No.” I shook my head and wondered why standing so close to him seemed to steal the breath from my lungs.
“Good. As soon as you start feeling comfortable, that’s when you’ll find yourself in a situation that will send you straight to Hell or get you killed.” He nodded once, slipped into his U of M hoodie, and walked out of the door without another word.
He sure has a way with words.
They’re chasing me. I’m alone. It’s dark outside. None of the houses on the block have their l
ights on. I run home. The door is locked. I reach for my key, but it isn’t in my pocket.
I run across the street to Muriel’s. Pounding on the door, I scream for her to let me in. No one answers.
I dart around a group of demons and through my backyard. Chay. I don’t know which house is his. I find the only one in the neighborhood with lights on and pound on the door with both fists.
“Help me,” I scream.
The demons advance. I can smell the sulfur and see their gray skin as they enter the pool of light created by a street lamp just a few feet away.
The door opens. I fall inside and hit the floor with a grunt. Scrambling away from the door, I kick it closed.
“Thank you.” My breath comes out in pants, my chest heaving so hard it hurts. Like someone is squeezing the air out of me.
“I told you not to get too comfortable.” I look up and see his blue-green eyes. He stares back at me. It’s cold, hard. Chay opens the door and the demons walk inside, grotesque smiles pulled across their yellow, dagger-like teeth.
I bolted upright with a scream, my breathing heavy and heart racing. Pushing my sweaty hair off my face, I took two deep breaths to calm myself, kicked to free my legs of the sheets twisted around them, and crawled out of bed.
Standing at the bathroom sink, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was soaked with sweat; the red waves hung limp around my face. My green eyes were dull and had dark smudges under them. They were swollen and bloodshot from crying in my sleep.
“Milayna,” my mother called. “Are you okay?”
I jumped when I heard her voice and then rolled my eyes.
Stop being so jumpy. It’s just Mom. Big baby.
Sticking my head out of the bathroom door, I answered, “Just a nightmare, Mom.”
“Evils. Demi-demons. Chay said I wouldn’t know who they were. Why does my subconscious mind think it’s him?” I whispered in the empty room.
***
Five weeks, one day until my birthday.
I rolled out of bed an hour before my alarm went off. It didn’t really matter. After the nightmare, I hadn’t gone back to sleep. And when the one thing you didn’t want to do was think, lying in bed in a dark room all alone was not the best place to be.