Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  Deciding to be a fish and bite the hook Raphael threw me, I asked, “What is it?”

  “This—” He pointed harshly to the picture. “—is what Michael found when he researched the missing boy and the circumstances of the death of his family. The boy is ten years old, and he could very well be part of a summoning ritual that was written in this text. That boy is dead, Kass, and if we do not stop these Demons, his death will be for nothing. If these Demons get the other ingredients they need, the whole town, perhaps even the whole state, will be destroyed.” After letting his solemn words sink in, he added, “Do you know what this is?”

  My jaw was locked, and I couldn’t respond. Though, quite frankly, I didn’t think I even had a response to that besides a resounding no.

  “This is Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead.”

  “I thought their gods were made up to explain the weather and where you go after you die.” What he was saying couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be. I refused to believe it, until I had some hard facts raining down on me.

  “Not all gods were based on nature or false premises. Osiris was real, but he wasn’t revered as a god until he was slain by Set. Osiris was never a true god. He was a Demon. These Nightwalkers, probably led by a higher Demon, want to resurrect him, allow him to bring them salvation as only a true Demon of death can. If they succeed…”

  I decided to finish his sentence for him, since I already knew where this was going, though I could scarcely believe it. “The world is doomed.” For someone who’s heard it so many times, it was very overused.

  “Well, not necessarily. If we fail to stop them, the Council will probably come in and take over. Save the day and all that,” Raphael spoke with traces of animosity. Either he didn’t enjoy the thought of us failing, or he hated the Council.

  And to that I thought, get in the back of the line, buddy.

  My mouth dropped open. “Why can’t they take over now?”

  Raphael pinched the top of his nose, which may or may not have been an indication that he grew angry with me. “Do you know how often the safety of the world is threatened by Demons? Quite often, as it turns out. Every single day. They are very busy and important people.”

  Somehow his answer didn’t bring me comfort. It was strange knowing that the world came to almost destruction every day.

  “Of course, if things got bad enough, they would have to drop what they’re doing and fix our mistakes. I’d rather that not happen, and I’m sure you feel the same.” Raphael took the tome from me and began walking away.

  “I’m the bait. I got that. But, before I go, I want to know something.” I decided to follow him to the back of the church, watching as he set the book down. “How are Nightwalkers doing this? They’re mindless, wanting one thing: food. How can Nightwalkers be responsible for all this?”

  Raphael was silent for far longer than he should have been. “I…do not have an answer to that, Kassandra.”

  “Okay,” I stated, boldness growing as I placed my hands on my hips. “Then tell me this: what else do they need to resurrect this thing?”

  It was a question he answered hastily, “This ritual was cooked up by some ancient Egyptian Demons, and the Nightwalkers already have the marrow of an innocent. According to this tome, the Demons need four more things.” Raphael paused to meet my inquisitive stare. “The blood of Ta-Bitjet, a cat’s head, a falcon’s claw, and…a virgin. Three of which are not that difficult to get.”

  After hearing that list, I swallowed hard. The first three were kind of weird. What did the blood of Ta-Bitjet mean? And a cat’s head? Gross. Same went for the falcon’s claw.

  Out of the pack, the last one was the item that really got me.

  I was supposed to be the bait for the group of Nightwalkers who needed a virgin.

  And I was a virgin. A virgin in both the never-seen-a-boy-naked before and a virgin in the my-blood-had-never-been-used-in-a-spell before sense.

  Not exactly a good combination, considering everything.

  The line was ridiculously long. I might have been the twentieth person standing and waiting to get in. I wore a hideous outfit of yellow and black, my makeup done up to reflect the colors, too. School spirit. Yay.

  I was still a little freaked about this whole thing. Being the bait, acting helpless? Not what I was good at.

  “Just one ticket?”

  I snapped back into reality and saw that I was at the ticket booth. “Yes.” I handed her five dollars and received a ticket stub. It was utterly outrageous that it cost five dollars to get in. A few more dollars and I could have gone to see a movie, something I’d much rather do.

  I would also be in the dark, so no one could see the ugly outfit I had going on. Yellow and black? I looked like a bumblebee.

  Drums echoed throughout the stadium, and the rest of the band soon followed. I hurried inside and took in the sight of my first, and hopefully last, football game.

  Hundreds of people sat in the stands on both sides, standing and screaming at the cheerleaders who just ran to the gate, near where I stood. In a flash the opposing team ran to the field, hand in hand, yelling Gators again and again.

  That was kind of weird.

  Thinking it was over, I started walking, but was instantly pushed back by a referee. I had to bite my tongue to not speak a death threat.

  Our team came out with their arms up and faces painted yellow and black. They weren’t running. It was more like sprinting. In mere seconds the whole team had already ran out on the field and broken paper the first player runs through.

  I looked around. It was so strange. The lights made it feel like it was day, though it was really dark and nighttime. Gabriel was also nowhere to be seen. Of course.

  Traitor.

  I walked, avoiding everyone. There were way too many people here. In addition to the hundreds in the stands, there were other students standing around by our goal, outside the fence, ranging from ten to twenty years old.

  Most of these people I recognized from the high school and the little kids I’d seen riding the buses, so that ruled them out. After all, Nightwalkers couldn’t walk in daylight and since I’d seen them during school, that meant they weren’t the culprits. Though, they might be something else. I’m not ruling them completely out. Some might be Demons in disguise.

  Hence the reason we were here to begin with.

  But, as always, Nightwalkers were my main priority. Why? Well, because if left alone the actual human residents in this city would be next to nil and the population of Nightwalkers would explode. They were like vermin. It was better for everyone if they were eliminated first.

  I had to live by the code of the Purifiers: Earth was for the living.

  Demons, even though some tried hard, could not be living souls. Therefore, all Demons must be purified before my job could truly be done.

  Which would be never. There was always going to be more. You beat one, but while you were beating it another one multiplied or had kids or bit three people. That’s just how it was.

  I wandered around by myself for a long while, like a loser. I had to ignore my self-pity and get the job done. My eyes slowly glanced at the scoreboard. It was halftime already. I felt something in the pit of my stomach. It hurt. And it was seriously starting to freak me out…

  I was hungry.

  Silly, silly me.

  Ignoring the urge I had to laugh at myself, I walked over to the concession stand.

  Holy crap. They had a lot of food here. I bet I could have eaten it all. For a split second, I thought I was going to be able to. But then I became aware that I had no money left.

  Awe, nuts. That sucked.

  So I got out of the line and went to lean on a tree that was far away from the crowd of people hoarding by the gate to watch the band perform. My hands were in my shorts’ pockets, my long hair waving in the gentle breeze. Away from the people, away from the noise, I felt content. But not for long.

  After a minute of alone time, when
my mind was starting to wander to that tall, dark and handsome boy, I felt something eerie. Someone’s eyes were on me, and I didn’t think that someone was human. So, I did what I had to do: I turned and headed deeper into the woods.

  Not the smartest thing to do, if I was a normal girl. Thankfully, though, I was anything but normal.

  I heard a growl. A faint one, but it was still a growl. And I knew my cue. I flipped around and asked in the most feminine voice I could muster, “Hello?” A twig snapped and I twisted in the direction of the noise. I wasn’t alone. I stood, staring at a Demon.

  A humanoid being standing a few feet from me, and perverse laughter entered my ears. “Pretty girl…” It spoke as if it were a child, just learning those two words.

  Wait a flipping moment. Nightwalkers didn’t talk. They understood speech but couldn’t reciprocate it. That meant one thing: this wasn’t a Nightwalker. But if it wasn’t a Nightwalker, what was it? The Demon leader Raphael suspected?

  It laughed again and took a step closer to me. “Need you…” Its eyes started to glow, so I shielded my own, figuring that I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that glow.

  I lashed out, a fist emerging and hitting nothing but empty air. I opened my eyes and glanced around. The thing was not in front of me anymore. It was fast and quiet, a deadly combination.

  When I did a one-eighty, I was frozen as I stood face to face with it. A dark shadow, its golden yellow eyes illuminating the dark space around it, immobilizing me, freezing me. I was frozen, and I meant that both figuratively and literally. I was paralyzed, blinded by the unnatural flash of light. This thing had me, and my mind briefly returned to that day three years ago, the only other time a Demon had gotten the better of me.

  This definitely wasn’t good.

  Another branch cracked; leaves rustled.

  That wasn’t good either. Were more coming? Where the hell was Gabriel? Where was my backup?

  “What the hell?” It was a familiar voice, not Gabriel’s, but a welcomed one nonetheless. John ran to my side, stepping between me and the Demon protectively.

  The Demon’s golden eyes faded, and in an instant it was gone, disappearing in a gust of wind and black smoke.

  My legs buckled involuntarily. My heart beat fast, vision sluggishly returning to me.

  I sat on the leafy ground as John knelt to my level. “Who was that?”

  “I,” my voice croaked out, “don’t know…” And that, for once, was the truth.

  “Ah, so that wasn’t your Aunt Flo?” John laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

  “No.” My head hurt. My stomach hurt. And my lips hurt. I needed some sleep, a lot of food, and a ton of lip gloss. Maybe not necessarily in that order. My stomach growled and we both looked down at my belly.

  “Hungry?” John asked, smiling. “Come on, I know just the place.”

  I couldn’t exactly argue, on account of the fact that I thought I was going to upchuck all the nothing in my stomach. As he led me out of the forest and through the crowd, I couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened to me if John hadn’t showed up. Would that Demon have killed me, or worse, taken me to use in its demented ritual?

  I shuddered at the thought.

  Chapter Eight – Kass

  John’s mouth was full of fries, but that didn’t stop him from noticing me sniffing my burger and saying, “Smells good, huh?”

  “Yes,” I said. I felt like a rabid animal, unable to control my urge to devour the meal in a minute flat. I would have ordered more food, but then I would have felt bad about not having money and making John pay. I felt like I could get one of everything and eat it all.

  Thankfully, John didn’t seem to notice the animalistic way I ate the burger. Or maybe he did and was simply trying to be polite. In five minutes, my plate was empty and John was only halfway done. I wiped my hands on the napkin in my lap and remembered I needed to call Michael.

  The only thing was, I didn’t have a cell phone. So that meant one thing: I had to use John’s.

  “John, can I borrow your phone?”

  “Sure.” He pulled it out of his pocket and handed the sleek, flat smartphone to me. “Can’t find yours?”

  I laughed while sliding his phone open to the keyboard. “Don’t have one, actually.”

  “Really? Your parents won’t let you have one?”

  “Yeah, something like that. I’ll be right back.” I stood up and walked to the diner’s restrooms.

  Truth was that Gabriel and I could have a cell phone any time we wanted, except we would have to pay for it. And since we couldn’t get a normal job with actual monetary income, it would be impossible to pay the monthly bill. Also, it wasn’t like I carried around a purse with me, so the phone would go in my pocket and as a result, probably break in a matter of days.

  My life profession left no room for today’s technologies.

  After entering the women’s restroom, I peeked under the stalls to make sure no one else was there. I dialed Michael’s new house number, thinking hard, because it’d only been a few days. It rang twice before Michael picked up. “Kass, where are you? Gabriel’s back already and you should be, too.”

  “How’d you know it was me?”

  I heard a sigh on the other side of the phone. “Gabriel saw you leaving with a boy named John, and I noted that a cell phone’s number was calling, so I figured it was you borrowing his phone. I was right, undoubtedly.” Michael’s explanation came quick, and I sensed an undercurrent of annoyance.

  “Yes. Don’t worry, I’m coming in fifteen minutes,” I reassured Michael, who went on a tirade about how I needed to get home. “But after I hang up, I need you to do something. Get Raphael.”

  There was a long pause before he inquired, “Why? Was there a problem tonight? Kassandra, are you alright?”

  “Yeah,” I shook his questions off. “I’m fine. Just…get him over there. We need to get into full research mode. Just get him there, okay?”

  “Alright. I will. Hurry home.” And after saying that, he hung up.

  Michael hung up on me. Without prying any further for an explanation. That was so unlike him.

  I made my way back to find John sitting at a clean table. The empty plates must’ve been taken by the waitress. He greeted me and stood up. “Everything okay?”

  I wasn’t sure if he was genuinely concerned or simply trying to be nice. His facial features made it out like he was sincerely worried. But then again, he could be a really good liar.

  “Yeah. Just had to call home. Thanks.” I smiled, handing him his phone back.

  “No problem.” John returned the smile. We walked to the door and he motioned to his car. “Come on, let me drive you home.”

  I thought about declining for a few reasons: John did not need to know where I lived, I could have made it home faster by running and cutting through lawns, and I did not want to be in a car with a stranger. I mean, I knew John, but I didn’t know know him.

  But did I decline?

  Not exactly.

  Chapter Nine – Kass

  On the ride to my house, I debated on telling him to stop a few houses down from mine. Would there be repercussions for a lie like that? I pondered the answer to that for a few seconds as we began heading down my street.

  But then I stopped.

  Gabriel stood at the base of the driveway, looking directly at us. His blonde spiky hair was messy, his strong arms crossed and tensed in a way that revealed he wasn’t thrilled seeing John with me.

  John noticed my steely gaze and glanced around. Spotting Gabriel and his stance, he commented, “I didn’t know Gabriel lives on the same street you do.”

  “Yeah,” I said slowly. John didn’t know the half of it. Well, he didn’t know any of it, really.

  “He seems upset. Should we see if he needs help?” Before I could say no, John pulled the car over and rolled down the window. He yelled “Hey Gabriel” while I covered my face.

  Gabriel strolled—really, he
strolled to the window and leaned on it, looking directly at me. “John. Kass. Have fun on your date?” His words were slick with venom. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the date part or the John part.

  Anyway, date? John and I weren’t on a date. Were we? No, no. We weren’t…were we?

  I was about to voice my opinion on the matter, but John answered first, “Yeah. We had lots of fun. Jealous, Gabriel?” John winked at me.

  Though I was still covering my face, I saw that wink. No doubt Gabriel saw it as well. Fantastic.

  The blonde’s dour expression morphed into one of mischievousness. He looked like the cat that swallowed the canary, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Take her out all you want, if it’ll get her out of the house more.”

  Oh, no. This was not happening.

  “Wait…” John glanced from Gabriel to me. “What?”

  My hand slid off my face as I stared at Gabriel. I gave him my famous death glare, but he didn’t seem to notice at all. “Oh, yeah.” He smiled a toothy grin, ignoring me completely as he added, “Kass lives here, too.”

  John looked at me for a moment, then back to Gabriel.

  Gabriel didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, you mean she didn’t tell you? Yeah, she lives here with two men that she’s not even related to. One being a highly born Englishman and the other me. Jealous, John?” He mimicked John’s question perfectly.

  “Wow. Yes. I’ll admit. I’m jealous,” John had a kidding tone in his voice, like he was taking this whole conversation with a grain of salt. But I could tell his tone was strained. He was trying to be cool in front of the girl he liked.

  Me, weirdly enough.

  “Good.” Gabriel grinned at me after opening the door. “Raphael’s here, just like you wanted.” His attention went back to John for a second, “You know, another man. One of those tall and handsome ones. With sparkling green eyes. And muscles. Lots and lots of muscles. Not as many of me, of course.”