Counterpart (Succubi & Incubi Assn.)

  He rolled his eyes, nodding with a smile. Like, he actually smiled. “Yeah yeah, I can care can't I? But you honestly shouldn't have to take his shit. Just drain him and get it over and done with.”

  I arched a brow. “What about the rules?”

  He lifted his shoulders in a meaningless shrug. “There are always exceptions. Anyway, I have to go do some things, are you sure you're going to be alright?”

  I probably wasn't, but I nodded anyway. As much as it sounded stupid, but I just wanted to stay out here, get rid of this headache and soon enough, I'll go back inside.

  “Alright, I'll be back later.” With one look around the area, he vanished into thin air, a cloud of smoke being the only remnants of him. He's really lucky that no one is around, and that it's dark. Maybe he just doesn't care if he got caught... I highly doubt it.

  I hissed when I felt a pound against the base of my skull and instinctively my hand went up to press against it. It felt like someone was holding something against my head, pushing down and moving the object all the way to my forehead, where it expanded. “Fuck.” I rubbed as hard as I could against the skin, trying to at least calm it down.

  Then it was like I had been thrown into an oven. The heat that surrounded me instantly took over my senses and all I could feel and smell was heat. Sweat started to form under my arms and in my palms. My breathing was shortening with each intake.

  My back slid down my car until I was sitting on the cold concrete, and it shocked me how cold it was, yet I was almost at the point of heat exhaustion.

  My hands clamped around my head when another wave of pain shot through me. It was like someone was knocking rocks against my skull. Everything was so sudden, and the heat was taking over every single pore of my body. I wanted to get into an ice bath, do anything to get rid of what the hell was going on.

  I clawed at the ground. I tried to find my strength to pull myself up but it wasn't working. Controlling my breath was hard and I was panting. It felt like my throat had closed up, and every breath I was attempting to take only made my chest cave in.

  My body was trembling. My skin felt like it was stretching. It hit me like a round of bricks. The headache caused me to hug my knees to my chest. I was trying so hard to control my breathing, but everything wasn't helping, and when I moved my head up, I froze.

  “Oh my God.” I stared horridly at my hand. The clear tanned skin that used to be there wasn't. Instead, it was replaced with burns. There were burns everywhere. Blood gushed out the new wounds and trickled down my wrist. Where had they come from?

  Before I could even think about the new addition to my skin, the swarm of rocks started pounding violently against my head again.

  This time it was harder. This time it was stronger.

  And this time, it actually knocked me out.

  Twenty – Blank Space

  Everything was dark and dull. I could hear myself breathe, but other than that it was silent. I don't even think I could feel a breeze. I couldn't say that I was uncomfortable, hell I couldn't even feel my body but something about being in this endless darkness seemed familiar, like I was safe here.

  Crazy, I know.

  “Maya.” My head snapped up at the sound and I found myself trying to find the source of it. Everywhere my head turned, I found black. Then again, I couldn't really tell if my head was moving or not, all I knew is that I was sure I was trying to move it.

  My mind flickered back to how I got here in the first place. I remembered being at the arena, Ethan had just left after an encounter with Ryan and then... my head started pounding. Everything after that was a blur.

  I distinctively remembered seeing something on my hand before my vision went black and when I went go look down at it, my body refused to move. I wasn't even sure I had a hand right now.

  “Maya,” the voice went off again. This time it was feminine, and almost familiar. It was confusing because I knew I hadn't heard this voice before, but yet I felt like I should know who owns it.

  “Maya.” It was closer, but so far out of my grasp that it was almost becoming annoying.

  “Who are you?” I called out.

  The sound of a spark came from behind me, and this time I actually felt my body turn in response. A small flame flickered in the air not more than two feet away from me. It grabbed my attention instantly, considering it was the only thing I could actually see. I was preparing for it to jump at me, and I wanted to step back out of its range but even I didn't know how far that was, and my body wasn't exactly liking me at this moment. Half of me didn't seem to have a problem with what was going on. It was interested in the singular flame.

  I felt like a moth when it sees a light bulb.

  As I looked closer, I noticed a small shadow under the flame. My body moved forward, my eyes trying to concentrate on what the shadow was. After a small step, I managed to decipher the object.

  A thin hand rested carelessly under the fire, the cream skin not burning a single bit when the flames licked over the tips of the fingers. My eyes followed the path down to the wrist, and I was glad I could still see when they moved up and met with a vibrant green. Then my body stilled when I noticed they were in the shape of eyes.

  The green eyes narrowed in my direction. Goosebumps crawled up my spine.

  The light then grew deeper, and I noticed a long green dress flow down a feminine body in multiple layers. When I moved back to her eyes, I realized that they weren't narrowed like in an 'I'm glaring at you' kind of way, but they were narrowed because she was smiling. Like, she was actually smiling at me.

  “Maya.” My name sounded like a formal greeting as it came off her tongue. “It's nice to finally meet you face to face.”

  I was semi-disturbed that she knew my name, and I was starting to feel nervous just at the fact that she did. “Who are you?” I asked again.

  “Really?” A thin brow arched. “You don't recognize me at all? Not even the tiniest bit?”

  Sure, I said that her voice sounded familiar and that this place felt safe, but the way she was standing in front of me, calm and completely oblivious to the flame in her hand made me hesitant.

  No cell in my brain had a name to her though. “Who are you?” I said again, choosing to just stick to those words until I get an answer.

  She let a defeated sigh and I was sure I saw her shoulders slump. The next thing that happened not only freaked me out, but it made me annoyed that I still couldn't step back. She moved away from the flame and the hand that was holding it dropped to her side. I was mesmerized as the flame lingered in the air, not even moving a single inch when she moved. It did however move in time with this her steps as she came closer.

  A grin came on her face and her hand was suddenly out-stretched. “I'm Bethany.”

  All thoughts about the fire in front of me and the fact that I was in some dark valley, vanished. My mind completely emptied when I heard her words.

  Did she just call herself Bethany? Am I hearing things? I must be.

  “I'm sorry.” I tried to laugh it off but it was the most awkward thing ever, and it didn't last very long. “What did you just say?”

  Now she was narrowing her eyes, but still not glaring. It was curiosity. “I'm Bethany,” she said slower, sounding out each syllable with a calm and collected voice. “You know your demon.”

  Her words repeated in my head, still processing that what I was thinking was the same thing she was saying. I even tried to find some sort of 'You're being Punk'd' look in her eyes, but I wasn't getting anything but a serious facade.

  It couldn't be... could it? She can't be standing right here, right now, looking like she was just a few years older than me. “That can't be...” My voice faded off. “How...”

  She was waiting for me to finish—whenever that was going to be. I was even starting to turn into a stutter box. “You're... demon... um... I'm so confused... how are you even...” My mouth ended up acting like a fish's, opening and closing while nothing was coming out. I knew w
hat I wanted to say but I couldn't say it. I wanted to know how the fuck she was standing right here, and I wanted to know where the fuck here was. Then I wanted to know if I had gone completely insane and I've ended up drinking myself into a coma.

  “Ha.” I stiffened when I heard her start to laugh. She shook her head. “You're not going insane.” She took a small step towards me again. “And if anything, the sex will put you into a coma before drinking.”

  OMG, she can read my mind.

  “Well, duh. We are in your head. Of course I know what's going on in here.”

  I was mentally freaking out. Something was stopping me from even attempting to say anything. I was shocked, that was obvious but no one prepared me for this. My chest started to hurt at the sudden acceleration of my heart. I was sure I was hitting the point of a panic attack.

  “I have a feeling you might need a minute.” Bethany pursed her lips. “Do you need a minute to get everything together?”

  Is she seriously asking me that? Is this some sort of joke?

  I couldn't even tell if she was genuinely worried or if she was just finding this all humorous. All I knew right now was that my demon—the one that is supposed to be inside of me— is standing right in front of me.

  “Are you okay? You're going a bit pale.”

  Ignoring the fact that I was sure I was having trouble controlling my breathing, I finally got my mouth to open. The words started to crawl up my throat with every short breath. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Okay.” Bethany's palms came up. “I know this is a lot for you to handle—”

  “No kidding.”

  “But, you're here for a reason.” This time I could actually tell what she was thinking. Her face had changed quickly, and now she held an emotion on her face that seemed achingly all too familiar. It was the same expression that I had seen on Tristan quite a few times. One I hated for causing.

  Pain.

  “What's going on?” I was scared to hear what she had to say, and secretly—deep down in the pit of my stomach—I knew I wasn't going to like it.

  A long look my way almost made me annoyed that she was taking forever, but when she finally said it. I swear I died a little inside. “Tristan's in trouble.” She was cautious with the way she was saying her words, and even by the low whisper, I knew she wasn't finished. “Maya, he's dying.”

  It literally felt like someone grabbed a knife, lodged it into my chest and left. That's all I could feel. That sudden stabbing. It was gnawing at my ribs, lungs, moving slowly down to my stomach and then finding its way back up. Numbness is what overtook me then. Tristan was... dying? “Please tell me you're joking.”

  I wanted her to tell me she was shit stirring. I wanted her to say that I was a part of some fucked up new reality TV show that liked to give people heart attacks, but the way her face didn't change a single inch only made the knife inside me dig deeper.

  “I wish I was.” Bethany moved forward and now she was standing right in front of me. “Maya, that's why I brought you here, you need to find him before Penelope finishes the job.”

  Confused, I asked, “who?”

  She paused for a few seconds and then something passed over her face. “Oh right, you don't know.” What don't I know? “Penelope is Tori.”

  Penelope is Tori. The words traveled through my head, up to the processing station and a few seconds later, I got it. “Penelope is the demon?”

  “Not exactly,” she paused briefly, “it's more like Penelope is Tori.”

  I felt my brows push up and I was momentarily happy that part of me could move. “You mean Tori is just Penelope disguised?”

  “Correct.” Perfect. That's just perfect. “And right now she has Tristan. That's why you were feeling the pain, the heat, and passing out—it was all because Penelope is doing this.”

  The thought of Penelope being Tori vanished from my list of cares, and all I heard was that she had Tristan. That she was the cause of all of this. It was like the final snap of the cord against my concentration and suddenly, I didn't care about anything or anyone. “I have to get him.” My head flashed around—FINALLY—trying to find any form of exit. A sign. A door. I don't know what I was expecting, but I needed it right now. “How do I get out of here?”

  “Maya, wait—”

  “Do not tell me to wait right now.” I was surprised by my own actions but I was so pissed that I couldn't care that she was my demon, and she had no right to tell me to wait.

  “Maya, there's more.”

  I wasn't listening. My own feet started moving around the darkness and my hands tried to feel for a wall. I wanted out of this darkness. I tried every direction I could possibly reach for, but I came up with nothing. Not a door, nor a hatch, or even a magical transporting machine, just an empty space of black. The complete equivalent to how I was feeling.

  “The only way you can get out of here is if you listen to me,” Bethany said, not that I was listening fully to what she said.

  Why the hell isn't there a door?

  Giving up, I turned. “Okay.” I took a calming breath, mentally preparing myself for more bad news. “What is it?”

  “You can't trust that it's real,” she said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Everything you see, everything you feel, it isn't.” The abrupt pause of her words made me impatient, but after a quick second, I noticed that Bethany's mouth was still moving yet nothing was coming out. It was like someone turned down the volume of her voice and left her on mute.

  Silence settled then.

  Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.

  Was that a heartbeat? I turned my head to where I thought I heard the sound, but as always, I was greeted with nothing.

  Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump. The sound played in my ear continuously, like I could hear my own pulse beating. And for all I knew, that's probably what it was. We are in my mind, so I guess I should be able to hear my heart, right?

  “Maya.” It was like a sudden change and Bethany's voice was back to being clear and loud. She stood there with a wrinkle in the middle of her perfectly shaped brows. It almost seemed unnatural. “Did you hear me?”

  “Huh?”

  She didn't answer my question, instead she just stood there staring as if I was the one who invaded her mind and brought her here. “You didn't hear what I said?”

  I shook my head slowly. Then it was like a repeat of what just happened and her mouth opened, only for nothing to come out.

  And the beating heart started again.

  Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump. This time the sound felt closer, like right next to me. My head snapped to the side as if I would miss it. I ended up with nothing, again.

  “Can you hear that?” I turned my head back to where Bethany was and my body stiffened. Right where I thought—no, I knew—Bethany was stood nothing but the empty space I'd been receiving ever since I got here. The flame was still lingering in the air though, just proving that I wasn't seeing things.

  But no Bethany stood under that flame. No hand received the flames that flickered in mid-air.

  My body suddenly felt cold and I was sure it dropped like fifty degrees. In attempt to warm myself up, I wrapped my arms around my mid-section, running my hands up and down my arms. If it wasn't for the flame in front of me I'd probably be on the floor, cowering away from the coldness.

  And just as it read my mind, the flame was gone. Like a light switch the glow disappeared, and all that was left was me... and black.

  “Bethany...” The fear rising through me showed in my whisper. I didn't know why I was speaking so quietly, I guess being in the dark does that to you. I called her name several times, only to receive nothing in reply. I was too scared to move. I was scared that if I took one step, I'd end up falling. I didn't even know what I was standing on, but it was starting to feel like ice. My fingers started to ache at the sudden temperature change, my head started to pound at a slow pace.

  And the disturbing sound of a
heart beat played again.

  Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump. It was repetitive. Even cradling my head wasn't getting rid of it. The sound slowly disappeared and for a few seconds I was sure I could hear someone breathing in my ear—like heavily inhaling and exhaling right into my earlobe.

  It was both scary and annoying.

  I can't believe Bethany just left me here. I was trapped in my own mind. She was my only way of escaping.

  Never thought I'd see the day where I wanted to desperately get out of my own head.

  A spark sounded behind me and I turned. The small flame was in the air, just like how it was when Bethany soon arrived. Relieved, I felt hope rise into me. “Bethany, what's going on?”

  I saw her hand under the flame and it was back to licking the fingers that cupped around it. I moved my gaze up to her green eyes, but I was greeted with something completely different. They were blue. An ice blue.

  My mind instantly caught onto who held these. And as much as I loved blue eyes, I hated these ones, so much. “Tori.”

  I heard a cynical laugh and soon enough the light from the flame grew, exposing the blonde extensions and the large amounts of make-up thrown on her face.

  Now, if this was happening at campus, and we weren't in some fucked up world that was my mind, I'd be glaring. But even I could feel my walls tumbling down when she directed that sardonic smirk towards me. “You should hurry, Maya” I watched as she pulled her eyes from me, gleaming at the flame like it was her little pet. Her hand moved up and she examined the fire as it engulfed her hand, brushing it against her fair cheek. “He doesn't have much time.”

  I couldn't even find it in myself to reply but just at the thought of Tristan being in her disgusting hands sent a wave of anger through me. I could tell by the way I was breathing that I wasn't just scared anymore, if anything, I was starting to get frustrated that I didn't get rid of this bitch before.

  Why the fuck did I have to tell Tristan to stay with her? Seriously.