Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  “Hey, Kassie.” The man knelt beside her, reaching around her to pick her up. “Your playdate’s here. Do you think you can play nice with him?”

  The girl, Kassie, who was no older than three or four, shrugged her small shoulders, like she couldn’t make any promises.

  The man, who must’ve been her father, smiled, and for some weird reason, I couldn’t help but smile, too.

  Kassie. Did I know this girl?

  “She affects you, even now,” the other me hissed, clearly unhappy with my smiling face. “Come. There is more.” He turns and walks through the door Kassie and her father left out of, and I spin to do the same.

  The other me didn’t like Kassie. I started to say something, but was stopped by the area around us. A field of grass, a house’s backyard. A boy and girl, around ten, sparring as two older men looked on from the porch. She was taller than the boy, smug as she kept pinning him to the ground. Throughout it all, the boy’s face was obscured to me.

  The boy laughed and motioned to his chest, pretending to cup two breasts. He said something to the girl, which infuriated her instantly. She tackled him, and together they rolled and wrestled, even after she started laughing at his actions in spite of herself.

  “I hate you,” the girl said, once they were untangled, laying side by side in the rough, dried-out grass. Though she voiced her hatred, it was evident—beyond evident—that she did not actually hate him.

  “Like I said,” the boy mused, resting his hands under his head as they gazed up at the sky, “just wait until we’re older. I’m going to be bigger than you, and I’m going to kick your butt.”

  “Nope. I’ll always be better than you.” She shot him a toothy grin. “Bet you I can make it to the house faster than you, too.” And then, without warning, she took off running to where the two men sat.

  “Hey, no fair!” the boy called out, struggling to stand and race after her.

  Both kids were laughing by the time they jumped up the wooden stairs.

  I turned to the other me, seeing that, once again, he wore a look of disdain. “Touching. So very touching it makes my insides curdle. Seeing an interaction like that makes me want to vomit and then die.”

  “That seems just a tad extreme,” I told him. I didn’t see what was so awful about it. A boy and a girl were friends. At their age, that was special, wasn’t it? Weren’t boys and girls too scared to touch each other because of cooties or something?

  His head gestured behind us, and when we turned, I saw a graveyard, at night, shimmering in some kind of portal. I let him go through it first before following him. I was getting tired of this, I had to say. What was the point of showing me all this? Why did it matter?

  We heard sounds of a fight, and as we walked through the rows of headstones, the grunting grew louder. We came upon a mausoleum with its door ajar, and within the next second, Kassie hauled herself out of there, clinging to the same boy she was fighting with in the previous space. They were older now, teenagers, though both still had some chub to their faces. The boy’s face was hazy, and tried as I might to recognize him, I couldn’t.

  And they were both beaten to a pulp. The boy was unconscious, hanging limply from her shoulder, his feet dragging on the dewy grass. Her skin was broken in half a dozen places, her breathing labored. She looked horrible, and I felt a pang of something. I didn’t like seeing her hurt.

  After a while of standing there in utter silence, another presence from the mausoleum caused me to turn, tear my gaze from the two tiny teenagers on the horizon. A man stood, leaning on the doorway, a wooden spike in his chest. His eyes were blood red, and my blood boiled at the mere sight of him. He smirked as he yanked the stake out. He was unharmed, despite the big hole in his chest.

  His fiery eyes stared at the bloodied stake, and then glanced up, at the direction of the kids. “Interesting,” he said, vanishing with a gust of wind.

  “I don’t like him,” I muttered, feeling the strange urge to beat the crap out of the red-eyed man. Although, if he could act like nothing was wrong when his heart was impaled with a spike, maybe getting into a fight with him wasn’t such a good idea.

  The other me chuckled. “Most don’t.”

  Then he took me on a roller coaster of a ride.

  We saw the red-eyed man beating Kassie again and again. We saw a dark-haired boy bite into her neck with vicious intent. And, lastly, a shirtless man in a church, straddling her, extending his teeth.

  My fists clenched. I went to stop him, for I’d had enough, but the other me held out a hand in front of my chest.

  “You cannot stop them. This has already happened.”

  “You’re showing me the past?” I asked, confused. Why?

  “Knowing the past is necessary to understand the present.”

  We walked into a house, finding a bloody scene. A man, dead, in the kitchen. A man I recognized as Kassie’s father, though older. His throat was torn and his eyes were glassy and open. It was a horrible thing to see. Even worse to witness Kassie’s trembling hand reaching for him as she sat on her knees in the blood. The red-eyed Demon sat at the table, smiling at his handiwork.

  Okay, now I really wanted to beat him up.

  “Odd, isn’t it?” The other me remarked, “How much chaos he’s brought her, and yet…”

  I glared at him, at me. “And yet, what?” Did I even want to know?

  He made a face similar to that of the Demon sitting at the table. “It’s better if you see for yourself.”

  The house around us was no more, as was the body. We were in a nightclub, music pounding loudly around us. The club’s attendants, mostly women, danced with each other and laughed as they ordered drinks. I glanced all around, not sure what I was supposed to be focusing on.

  That was when I felt him touch my arm, and he pointed toward the dance floor. And then my heart stopped. Kassie and the red-eyed Demon, dancing together. Close. Too close. So close that there was no space between them. His hands on her waist, touching her in ways he shouldn’t. The look on his face told of his thoughts, of his intentions, and the look on hers said she was enjoying it, too.

  I felt hurt. I didn’t know why I felt so close to Kassie, but I did, and seeing her with him, after seeing everything he’d done, was the worst kind of sight.

  I was pulled away from the dance floor, through the club’s side door. We emerged in a house, in a bedroom. Kassie had her arms crossed, her expression unimpressed. Her gaze lingered on—of course—the red-eyed Demon. He stood before her, shirtless, his body glistening water as he rubbed a towel on his hair.

  They looked chummy. They looked close.

  I hated it.

  I hated him, the red-eyed Demon, and, for a moment, I hated her. How could she get so close to such a monster?

  Suddenly we were in an attic, and the Demon had her pinned against a beam. Frozen like that, paused in that position. My skin felt hot, my anger rose. I did not like seeing this. This was awful.

  At first, I felt the urge to protect Kassie, to keep her safe, but it was clear that she enjoyed putting herself in danger, that she liked being with him, with the red-eyed Demon, even after everything he did to her.

  The other me studied my reaction intently, egging me on, “Does it make you sick, seeing them together? Does it make you angry?”

  Was I walking into a trap? Was this what the other me wanted? Did I play exactly into his hand?

  Still, I couldn’t lie. I said a low, “Yes.”

  He smiled. “Good. Are you ready for the future?”

  My jaw set, and I said it again: “Yes.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Kass

  I must have fallen asleep sometime during the sitcom-watching extravaganza, because the next thing I knew, I was woken up by an energetic and excited Max. My head felt like a million pounds as I lifted it from the pillow it rested on, glancing all around the darkened living room. Liz and Michael must’ve went to bed. I glanced at the clock on the mantle. Fifteen after ten. Max was out la
te.

  Not late for a Purifier, but late for a first date.

  Or maybe he wasn’t. I wouldn’t know. I never really went on dates. All my romances seemed to be cursed. But that’s neither here nor there.

  Max sat on the edge of the couch, just where my legs ended. If he had been Gabriel, he would’ve lifted my legs and sat under them. But he wasn’t. He was the awkward, nerdy yet loveable Max. His expression practically begged me to speak first.

  “How was your date?” I questioned, almost immediately feeling a swelling headache rise in the back of my skull. I put a hand to my head, trying to overcome it with sheer mental force.

  “It was fantastic,” he said all too quickly, his voice sounding louder than it should’ve in my ears.

  I was about to ask what they did and where they went, but the headache only intensified, and I struggled to get out of the blanket to stand. “Sorry, Max—tell me about it tomorrow. I’m…really tired.”

  “Oh, okay,” Max spoke slowly, watching me as I meandered to the stairs and made my way up to my room.

  I felt bad for cutting him off, for not acting interested—I was interested. Gabriel and I were rooting for Claire and Max for a long time. I wanted to hear Max’s thoughts, and I wanted to hear Claire gush. But right now, all I could do was trip myself on my own feet as I fell onto my bed, face first.

  My eyes closed. I didn’t even get under the sheets. My headache soon faded away as I drifted off to sleep. A dreamless one, thankfully.

  For the first time since it all started, I didn’t think of Gabriel before dozing off.

  “Wow. You really look terrible when you sleep.”

  A feminine voice woke me from my slumber, and as I tried to open my eyes. They were like stone. I felt kind of sick. I pushed myself up, finding that I literally hadn’t moved all night. Oh, and there was a huge drool circle on my pillow, and some remnants on my face. I hastily wiped off the drool, finding that my headache was mostly gone. The pit in my stomach remained, but it wasn’t so bad. I could deal with it.

  I’d dealt with much worse.

  Claire stood beside my bed, staring down at me, incredulous. “It’s almost noon. You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Michael and Liz—”

  “They let me in before they went to visit Gabriel. Max went with him. I made him. I thought it’d be better if I talked to you alone.” Claire’s blue eyes were heavy. “About last night.” Her voice did not sound as thrilled as Max’s did.

  Uh-oh.

  I held up a hand. “Wait. Let me hop in the shower and wake up. Then you can tell me the bad news.” I grabbed new clothes out of the closet and headed for the bathroom, as Claire trailed behind me, declaring it wasn’t bad news, it was just weird news.

  Either way, I had definite morning breath and my pits stunk. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure I just went to bed last night. No shower to rid my body of that day’s sweat, and no toothbrush to make my mouth minty fresh. If it were any other day, Michael would’ve been appalled. But, still, it wasn’t another day, and his Purifier was still out cold.

  I was beginning to lose hope.

  I spent the next fifteen minutes doing my morning routine, moving slower than I normally did. If it was a school morning, I’d be done quicker, spend a little time dusting on some makeup. Soon enough, I stepped out of the bathroom, smelling fresh and somewhat ready to take on the day.

  Or the rest of the day that I didn’t sleep away.

  Claire sat on the cushioned seat near the window, pensive as she looked out into the backyard. Her muscular figure looked strange hunched as it was, but the moment she saw me, she straightened up.

  As I moved beside her, I said, “So. Lay it on me. Max is in love with you, but you’re not with him?”

  She smiled. “No, that’s not it. It was fun. Really, we had a great time. We went to a bookstore, then to dinner, and we saw a movie after. Maybe it’s my fault, for going into it with expectations.”

  My brows lifted. “What kind of expectations are we talking about here?”

  “I don’t know. I thought guys tried doing stuff in movies.”

  “Max is not that kind of boy,” I defended him without realizing it.

  “Not that kind of stuff—but like hand-holding and putting his arm around me. Max just sat there. And when I dropped him off last night, he was out of the car before I knew it.” Her shoulders went up and down once. “He didn’t even try to kiss me.”

  Ah, so there’s where the disappointment on her face comes in.

  “Claire,” I paused, trying to think of what to say. I was no good at comforting or giving advice. Not really, even if I pretended otherwise. “Max was so happy when he came home last night. He couldn’t stop smiling. He likes you a lot. He’s never been allowed to date before, so he probably didn’t know what to do or that you wanted him to kiss you.”

  “So, he’s never been on a date before?”

  I nodded.

  “I was his first?”

  I nodded again.

  “Wow. I just—with a brain like that, I’m surprised. He’s the smartest kid I know. Smarter than me by a longshot.”

  Laughing, I said, “I don’t think girls in high school care much about brain power.”

  “I do. Good looks will fade, but intelligence? That sticks around a lot longer.” She smiled to herself, eyes shifting to the window once more. “He is cute, though. I do wish he was taller, but…” She shrugged.

  I playfully hit her arm. “So you going to give Max another chance to woo you?”

  “Woo?” she echoed.

  Woo. That was a word Gabriel would say.

  And just like that, my somewhat okay mood went down the toilet.

  But she paid me no mind, continuing, “Yes. Even though I was in my head half the night, I did have fun. The most fun I’ve had in years, probably.” Her voice lowered when she added, “I hope Max sticks around.”

  “Why wouldn’t he?”

  “Last night, he mentioned that, before Gabriel’s coma, Liz was searching for a new Guardian for him. He said he might have to leave.”

  Of course, I should’ve known this. Deep down, I guessed I did.

  “Principal Elsin wasn’t his first Guardian,” Claire whispered. “He told me about what happened to the other one, Rogan was his name. Died, not because of a Demon, but because of another human. He said he had a history with you, though.”

  How much did Max know about Koath and I? I wondered, drawing my gaze to the dresser, where the two wedding bands sat. “He did. He was my dad.”

  Sympathy flashed in her eyes as she leaned toward me, whispering, “He was? Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” I said, even though it wasn’t. “I didn’t even know he was my dad until after.” I coughed. “Not to change the subject, but I did find out what’s going on in the school.” I didn’t even wait for her before I stated, “It’s a Skinwalker.”

  “A Skinwalker?” She blinked. “That sounds disgusting.”

  “It is. When they jump into a body, they start devouring it from the inside until there’s nothing left. They take on the memories and mannerisms of the person, and the voice. It’s nearly impossible to tell based on appearance alone.”

  She swore under her breath. “So how do we figure out who it is?”

  “You don’t do anything. You stay safe, and if you see anything suspicious go to the office and alert the principal. He’ll handle it.” I felt stupid, saying that she couldn’t do anything. She’d risked her life for me before, but this felt different. This felt worse, somehow. “That’s what Liz told me to do.”

  “That’s reasonable, but it doesn’t make me feel any safer.” Claire sighed loudly, banging her head on the wall behind her. “I know I’m a Morpher, so I should’ve known other things existed, but I never really knew how many other species were out there. I can’t imagine being trained to fight them all.”

  Mostly Nightwalkers—the bane of human existence. Everyt
hing else, we did our best.

  We sat there for a while, talked and laughed. But soon enough, when I wasted enough time, I got up and said, “I have to go, Claire.” I slid on my tennis shoes, unaware that Claire was eyeing me dubiously.

  “Where do you disappear to? You say you’re going for a run, and everyone believes you, but there’s no way you’re running for hours on end.”

  “Sure, it’s called a marathon.”

  “No, it’s called lying.”

  As she stood and moved next to me, I looked into her eyes, their color reminiscent of Gabriel’s. Hers were a deeper blue, with flecks of brown around the iris. Gabriel’s blue was like the sky on a clear day. “You don’t want to know where I’m going.”

  “What does that mean, Kass?”

  I didn’t hesitate: “It means that if you knew where I was going, you’d get mad. If Michael knew where I was going, he’d forbid me from leaving the house. If Max knew, he’d be pissed, too.” I left my room, taking two stairs at a time. “I’m going somewhere I know I shouldn’t.”

  Claire was behind me, not leaving my side. “Then why are you going?” Before I could reach the front door, she moved in between its handle and my hand. “I did a lot of stupid stuff after the accident. Please tell me you’re not doing anything stupid that could hurt you or anyone else.”

  We stared at each other for a bit, because I knew that it would hurt almost everyone if they knew I was going to meet Crixis, that I was training with him, that he had taken up residence in a house across the street and I didn’t tell them. Crixis’s crimes went on and on, especially against me and my friends. He attacked Claire, used her as a bargaining chip. He killed Koath, my father. He tried killing me on multiple occasions, sending Demon after Demon my way while watching on the sidelines.

  It was ridiculously stupid. I knew it, and I got it. I understood that I was doing something bad, something stupid.

  But I also didn’t care.

  “No,” I finally said, lying. “It’s nothing that’ll hurt me or anyone else. I swear. I just need to have something else to focus on, and sitting in this house, I’m going crazy.”