Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  “Again. Again. Again!”

  I came at Raphael one, two, three times. My arms were tired and this sword was heavy. Why’d Michael go and buy a million-pound sword? After three hours of practicing with it, it seemed to multiply in heaviness.

  Raphael blocked every single blow like he was fending off a one-legged dog. Hey, I even think that one-legged dog could have done a better job fighting him than me. “You are good, but I’m better.”

  “And if just one of your opponents is better than you—”

  “It’s the end for me, I know,” I interrupted him, mostly because I knew he hated it.

  Raphael set his sword vertical and leaned on it. “Do you think this is a game, Kassandra?”

  “No,” I answered slowly, for that was the truth.

  “Well then, I suggest that you begin to take my lessons seriously. I am only preparing you for the worst. And if you can’t handle the worst, then get out of here.”

  I narrowed my gaze at him. “I can handle the worst.”

  “Can you?” Raphael took a couple steps closer to me, repeating, “Can you handle the worst?”

  “Yes, I can,” I told him, believing it. Of course I could handle the worst. I had only been trained for it since I could remember. Raphael hadn’t been my first teacher.

  “You know, I personally do not know if you can. Do you know why?”

  “No, but I’m betting you’re going to tell me.” I tried not to be a smart Alek, but sometimes it was difficult, especially when I was talking to someone who thought they knew everything, like Raphael.

  “You take almost nothing seriously, you—” Raphael’s phone rang. Finding it, he flipped it open. “Yes. Is that…okay. We’ll be there.” Raphael shot a glance at me. “We need to get you home. Now.”

  “Now? What—why?” The look on his face was making me worried.

  “Michael and I need to search the area for—”

  I held up a hand. I knew what he was going to say, and I didn’t want to hear it. “They have it, don’t they? What did it end up being?”

  Without delay, Raphael replied, “Ta-Bitjet was never a real person, therefore we assumed they needed the blood of scorpions. And it just so happens that Michael read in the paper all the scorpions in this city’s pet stores have been stolen. An odd crime too strange not to be plastered in the local news.”

  Oh, great.

  Things the Nightwalkers already had for the Osiris Ritual

  (a checklist by, yours truly, me)

  1. Blood of Ta-Bitjet/blood of scorpions (Check)

  2. Cat’s head (Check)

  3. Falcon’s claw (Check)

  4. Virgin (?)

  Michael switched his glance from me to Gabriel. “No, you cannot come.”

  Gabriel crossed his arms, and being the stubborn person he was, said, “No. You mistook my statement for a question. I am coming.”

  The Englishman stamped his foot down, as if issuing a royal decree. “No. You are not.”

  Gabriel immediately got in his face. “If you come across trouble down there, you and Raphael might not be able to handle it. I’m coming.”

  “I bloody said no!”

  “I think you’re worried about the wrong person here,” Gabriel stated, throwing a glance at me.

  While I stood aside, silent, Raphael quipped, surprisingly on the blonde’s side, “Gabriel is right, Michael. Kassandra is the one that was marked by the Hyena Demon. Without her, they cannot complete the ritual.” His light eyes flicked to me. “And as long as you remain in the house, protected by our incantation, nothing soulless will be able to enter tonight.”

  Gabriel muttered, “That means don’t leave this house, Kass.”

  “I know what it means,” I hissed, annoyed. Even if I went, I was sure I could take care of myself. We’ve faced death before, why not a sacrificing ritual? “And just so you all know, I hate this. I’m not helpless. I could go and—”

  “Out of the question,” Michael stated simply, folding his arms. “You are capable of quite a lot, but this is something completely separate from the creatures you and Gabriel face on a nightly basis.”

  “So because that Demon marked me, I have to stay here, by myself, and twiddle my thumbs until you guys get back and hope that you found their nest?”

  Raphael nodded, glancing out at the early morning sunrise. “We will have enough time to search all the city’s crypts before sundown. We will return when the mission is complete. You will be safe here.”

  Grumbling, I spoke, “I’m not afraid of danger, Raphael.” I stopped as Gabriel set a hand on me, motioning for the two men to go on out and give us time to talk alone. I could only imagine what the boy wanted to say.

  He waited until Michael and Raphael had gone, after the front door clicked closed, he sighed. “I know you’re not happy about this.”

  “Really? What on earth would give you that idea?”

  His blue eyes rose to meet my gaze, his emotions splayed across his face evenly. “You’re not the subtlest person in the world.”

  I tugged on the ends of my shorts. “What do you want? You’re holding up the mission that’s too dangerous for me.” I was afraid that if I looked at him, I’d punch him.

  Gabriel interrupted, shaking his head, “Don’t do that, Kass. Don’t. We both know this is a lot worse than patrolling a cemetery and staking a Nightwalker every now and then. This is…it has the possibility of turning into another situation—a situation like three years ago. Last time, you saved my ass.” He went for his dragon blade, resting against the wall near the giant front door. Lifting it between us as he admired the point, he added, “Let me be the hero this time.” Swinging it aside, his hand went to the back of my neck as he brought me closer to him. Planting a kiss on the top of my head, he quietly finished, “Let me save you.”

  Jaw locking, I watched in silence as he exited and joined Michael and Raphael on the steps. I wanted to pound the wall with my fists. I wanted to grab my rose blade and run to catch up to them. I wanted to be in the thick of the fight, adrenaline coursing through my veins, one with my soul.

  Save me.

  I was a different person than I was three years ago, just as Gabriel was. I was stronger. I did what had to be done and avoided stupid mistakes. I was certain I could’ve helped them.

  But I couldn’t, so I stayed in that blasted house, didn’t go to school, and watched all the reruns of Gilmore Girls I could handle. As dusk began to settle on the area, an uneasy feeling crept inside me. I snuggled under a blanket on the couch, praying that sleep would take me.

  And it did, unfortunately.

  I shook myself awake in what felt like minutes. But I wasn’t on the couch anymore. I was in the forest, the one behind the house. It was dark; the middle of the night. The silver moon hung high, illuminating the landscape in an unsettling glow. I noticed that my hand clutched something.

  My sword.

  Why did I hold my sword?

  And why…was it dripping blood?

  I struggled to stand, my heart beating rapidly as I glanced around me, feeling someone’s presence. I couldn’t recall getting up and wandering out here on my own. Did I sleepwalk, or did the Hyena’s mark do something to me I couldn’t control?

  A voice croaked, deep and menacing, scratchy and low, “Kass.”

  “Who’s there?” I gripped my bloodied sword tighter.

  A hyena’s laugh penetrated my ears. Oh, no.

  “Kass…” the voice said yet again. Another laugh, but the laugh came from a totally different direction.

  There were two things in the forest.

  I wanted to stay and fight, but I couldn’t properly access the situation. I had no idea who or what the Hyena Demon had with it, and I didn’t want to make a mistake that would cost me my life just to find out.

  I turned and ran towards the house, and it took me a good three minutes to realize the house wasn’t coming any closer. If anything, it grew farther away. That wasn’t right.


  Flipping, I started to run the other way, figuring maybe that would get me somewhere. Alas, I was wrong. I was trapped in this forest with the Hyena Demon and something else that knew my name.

  This wasn’t good.

  “Need you…” the Hyena’s voice rung through my head, creating a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

  Still grasping my sword, I held my hands up to my ears, hoping that it would stop the ringing. If anything, it made it worse. As a sharp headache tore through my brain, I took my hands away, feeling something warm and sticky on my fingers.

  Blood. Whether it was blood from my ears or blood from another part of me, I had no idea.

  A gross laugh entered my head, but instead of sounding like sick laughter, it came across more like a shriek. A blood-curdling, spine-tingling, bone-chilling scream.

  It sounded like my scream…but that wasn’t possible, because I didn’t scream, did I?

  That’s when I saw a body lying on the wet forest floor. A girl’s body. Moving closer to study the corpse, my brows came together as I saw that it was me laying on the ground. I was dead.

  But…no. That couldn’t be right, because I was right here. I was okay. I was alive, maybe bleeding through my ears, but I wasn’t dead. I was very much alive.

  As I thought these frantic thoughts, the body rose mechanically, gripping the same sword I held. It turned to face me, revealing my same eyes, my same unwavering expression and death glare.

  It was me. How could that be?

  A vicious laugh echoed throughout my ears, circling my head like a swarm of mosquitoes on a hot summer’s day. It was the Hyena Demon’s laugh, and it got closer with every second.

  My peripheral vision picked up another dark figure running swiftly towards me—to the other me.

  Without even a side glance, the other me swung her rose blade cleanly through the air, so fast it must have severed the air itself, and cut the other figure down. There was a low laugh before the other me stuck the sword into the thing’s head.

  Its ragged robes, its short, childlike body frame. Its yellow eyes dimmed, ultimately flickering out. The laughter was gone. The Hyena Demon was no more. Just like that.

  I watched in disgust as she brought the sword up to her face and licked it. Licked the blood. That was so sickening, I felt like barfing up right there.

  The other me frenetically looked around, but she seemed to stare right through me, as if I wasn’t really there. But I was here, and out of the two of us, I was certain I was the more real one, too.

  “Hey,” I called to her, but she didn’t hear me.

  In a flash of black, she was gone.

  I swallowed. This wasn’t good at all.

  A stick snapped in half behind me. I whirled around, expecting for the other me to be there. But it wasn’t me. It was the same figure I had seen somewhere else—in the bathroom, haunting me. Just as before, I could make out the shoes, the pants, the shirt, everything but the face.

  The blurry face was a nuisance, one I wanted to get rid of.

  I knelt on the ground and set my sword down. Holding my hands together, I prayed. It wasn’t something I did often, which was odd, given my profession. I felt a whoosh of wind hit my face. A new vision was granted to me, and I knew I was about to discover something I never wanted to.

  I opened my eyes to finally make out the face of the thing standing in front of me. And as much as it broke my heart to, I did.

  It was John.

  I wanted to scream when I realized I woke up from the dream. I wanted to find out more, like what was wrong with the other me and why John turned out to be the figure that was in my dreams.

  What did John have to do with anything? I wondered, sitting up and tossing the blanket off me.

  My eyes widened as a very real possibility came into my head. Was John a part of this? Could he just be getting close to me because of this ritual? Was that his job?

  I didn’t want to believe it, but it would make sense, seeing as how a guy like him would never notice a girl like me. However, it hurt to even think that he might be involved with this Demonic ritual.

  I glanced at the clock. It was three-thirty PM of the next day. The guys hadn’t returned, meaning one thing: they ran into trouble. Trouble I could’ve helped them avoid.

  As I sat there, I listened. The house was abnormally silent, my gut telling me that something wasn’t right.

  What did John have to gain by giving me to the Hyena Demon? My mind wandered, thinking of all the possible reasons. The only one that kind of made sense was that the Hyena had promised him eternal life. And, usually, eternal life was what most people wanted.

  So why would John be any different? He could watch during the day, when I wasn’t out stalking the cemeteries. He could keep tabs on me when the Hyena Demon couldn’t.

  He was a good actor, if that was the case. He played me like a fiddle. John knew exactly what to say to get me to fall for him, and I willingly stepped into his web, oblivious to any ulterior motives he might have had.

  Anger bubbled inside of me, rising until steam came out of my ears. I didn’t enjoy being played. John, regardless of my feelings for him, was going to die.

  I was going to kill him.

  I wiped my face on my purple towel, savoring the steam and warmness in the bathroom. I wished that showering could have rid me of all my worries, but all it did was further enrage me. It was a blur of time as I blow-dried my hair and got dressed. I was going to find John and kill him.

  Had to look good while doing it, of course, make him regret toying with me like a stupid girl.

  I picked up the necklace Gabriel gave to me, spinning it in the light, watching the diamonds reflect and sparkle. It was a beautiful necklace, one I was still shocked Gabriel had given me. But as I went to clip it, I noticed John’s reflection staring at me in the mirror, causing me to nearly drop the necklace down the drain.

  “Kass…” he whispered, his voice dark and mysterious.

  “No, not today John,” I growled, running to attack him, but the floor was wet with something. I slipped and fell, knocking my head hard. With a hand on my pounding head, I saw that the floor was wet with blood. I looked to John’s feet; he still hadn’t moved.

  “Screw you, John,” I muttered, recalling the first time I saw those shoes in this very bathroom. The first full day of this town…the first time I took a shower in this house. I saw this. I could feel its evil, only I couldn’t see its face. And that it turned out to be John.

  Did that mean the Nightwalkers had already turned him?

  “Kass…” John reached for my throat.

  “No!” I leapt into a kick, but my foot landed in the cupboard beneath the sink, breaking the wood easily. John was gone, as was the blood; everything was gone. I laid on the normal bathroom tile.

  Something was seriously wrong with me.

  This whole time it was John. I couldn’t believe it. John. John. The guy who smelled so good, looked so good, and was so funny. I fell into his trap easily, laughing at his jokes in spite of myself. I spent too time with him—I had wholly believed that we could give a relationship a try. I wanted to date him. I wanted to be his girlfriend.

  Now the thought made me want to vomit.

  After putting the necklace on, I grabbed my sword and skipped down the stairs. I was seconds from leaving when I heard the phone ring. It was an unfamiliar number, and I presumed it was Michael or Raphael calling to tell me why they hadn’t come back. But it wasn’t either of them.

  It was John.

  Chapter Fifteen – John

  I sat there in my kitchen, biting my thumb nail and debating on what I should do. I glanced at the piece of paper that rested on the table a few inches from me. It was her number. Her house number. I got it from the internet. The wonders the internet could do. The internet could do anything, anything except tell me what I should do.

  She wasn’t at school. I knew that people missed school all the time, for various reasons. But she seemed fine
Sunday. She seemed normal Saturday. She seemed like she liked me.

  Kass was oblivious. She had no idea of what I’d done.

  I was anxious, agitated, worried. I was angry at myself for letting it get to this point. It was utterly unnecessary in the long run. It never would’ve worked out between us anyway. I was fooling myself as much as I was fooling her.

  Alyssa was in the shower. She had no idea of any of this. Kirk was in the living room. He was trapped in his own world of self-pity. No one had any idea what I felt, of what I had done.

  God. What was wrong with me? Why did I decide to do this?

  Without realizing what I was doing, I picked up my cell phone and dialed her number. I listened to the dial tone. Within a few rings, a voice picked up. “Hello?” It was her voice, soft and feminine. Eager and innocent.

  “Kass?” I spoke her name, not knowing what else to say.

  A short pause came about before she asked, “How did you get this number?”

  I didn’t have an answer for her, because I knew that telling her I researched her house on the internet was too weird. I was a lot of things, but not a stalker. I kept quiet, my mind blanking on what I should tell her.

  This needed to be taken care of. Now. I couldn’t let this go on farther, I needed to let her go.

  There was silence before she said, “John, I know what you are, what you did. I’m coming for you.” Then it was quiet once more as she hung up.

  I brought the phone from my ear, staring at it, mouth dropping in shock.

  She knew. How did she know? I hadn’t done anything to her—I hadn’t let it show. As far I knew, I’d been the perfect man.

  I swore to myself. I didn’t want this time to come. But it had, and I needed to deal with it, whether I wanted to or not. And I really, really didn’t want to. But, unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice.

  It was all over…for the both of us.

  Chapter Sixteen – Kass

  “Hello?” I asked hurriedly, expecting to hear Michael’s English tone or Raphael’s demeaning one. What I definitely didn’t except to hear was John’s voice.