by Jasmine Walt
“Maybe I should get attacked more often,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Not funny,” I said, shaking my head as I shivered. I stuck my arms through my fleece jacket and zipped it up. Using the dagger, I cut my shirt into strips and tied one around his gushing arm. The teal material quickly became stained with blood. I let out a ragged breath and frantically wrapped more around his arm.
“Stop fussing,” he said, shrugging me off.
“You might bleed to death!” I wiped my blood-covered hands on my jeans.
He looked at his arm. “Nah, not from this.”
I sheathed the dagger and took hold of his right hand. The walk back to the barn was the longest walk of my life. Every time the wind blew and every rustle of the dry leaves and dead branches made us jump, thinking the third bird-demon was behind us.
I was exhausted by the time we finally made it through the back pasture. Music and laughter drifted from the barn. Crap, this was a busy time. It was going to be a challenge to sneak to the car unnoticed. We were about to round the corner into the parking lot when Laney and Abra emerged from the barn.
“Finally! Leslie said you two went for a walk, like, hours ago. Don’t think I don’t know what you guys were do—” Her voice cut off, taking in the blood that stained our clothes. Her eyes widened in alarm. “Oh my God.” Abra’s reins slipped from her hand.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Ethan said with a weak smile.
She covered her mouth with her hands. “What happened?”
“I’ll explain later, Laney, I promise.” I looked from her to Ethan. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood. I needed to get him to the hospital. Now. Laney moved her head up and down, but nothing was sinking in. “Promise me you won’t go on the trails, okay?” I told her.
Again she nodded. “What’s out there, Annie?”
“I’ll tell you later. Just promise me,” I pleaded. Laney’s eyes were full of fear. She inhaled and snapped out of her shock. “Hold Abra. I’ll go get your car. Where are your keys?”
Ethan fished them out of his jacket pocket. I was surprised he hadn’t lost them in the scuffle. Laney pulled the Jeep behind the barn.
“Thanks so much. Please, don’t go out back. I’ll call you tonight,” I promised and opened the passenger door for Ethan.
Laney nodded again, at a loss for words. Ethan sank heavily into the seat. I hurried around and got in, starting the Jeep. I turned left out of the barn drive.
“Where are you going?” Ethan asked.
“The hospital, of course.”
“Why?”
I looked at him in disbelief. “You need stitches.”
“And what are we going to tell them?”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Mountain lion?”
“Are there even any around here?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No. How about a bar fight?”
“It’s only four o’clock. And what if your mom finds out?”
“I don’t care, Ethan.”
“Take me home. Julia can patch me up. She’s done it before.”
I bit my lip and let off the gas. “Are you sure?”
“Annie.” Ethan turned to me. “You’re not going to like hearing this, but getting hurt comes with the job. Julia can handle this. I know my limits, I promise. And this,” he said, looking at his arm, “isn’t that bad. I need a few stitches, and I will be fine.”
I nodded and turned around. What the hell had I gotten into?
“Sit,” Julia told Ethan, pointing to a kitchen chair.
An extensive first aid kit was laid out on the table. I helped Ethan take off his jacket, and I pulled his t-shirt over his head. The three claw marks on his chest had stopped bleeding, and a sticky scab was starting to form. Julia was going to no doubt have to scrub them open to clean. I was sure hand hygiene wasn’t at the top of the demon’s priorities.
She set a bottle of whiskey on the table and stuck her hands in latex gloves. Ethan unscrewed the lid from the alcohol. He put it to his lips, closed his eyes, and gulped a mouthful down. With a sigh, he set the bottle back on the table and nodded to Julia.
She took hold of his arm and washed away the dirt and the blood. Ethan didn’t so much as flinch. He took another swig of whiskey as she threaded a needle to sew the wound closed. Literally, it was a sewing needle and thread. Though I was not a queasy person by any means, seeing the needle repeatedly go in and out of Ethan’s skin made me feel dizzy.
“This went down into the muscle. It would be smart to go see a doctor,” she said as she wrapped a bandage around his arm. “You need to make sure to change this bandage tonight, okay?”
Ethan grumbled in response. Julia turned to me and raised her eyebrows. I nodded, letting her know I’d take care of it.
“These aren’t too bad,” she said as she cleaned the cuts on his chest. Thankfully, she didn’t have to do any more stitches.
“Thanks, Jules.” Ethan stood and yawned.
“You sure you’re okay, Anora?” she asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah. Physically, I’m completely fine.”
“Good.” She seemed surprised, and curiosity narrowed her eyes. “Go upstairs and rest,” she told us. “Then I want to hear the details.”
We slowly walked up to Ethan’s room. Ethan lazily took off his jeans and went to the bathroom to do his best to wash the rest of the blood from his body without getting his stitches wet. I stripped out of my mud- and blood-covered clothes and looked around the room for something to put on. I felt a little invasive going through Ethan’s dresser drawers. There was no order or organization to anything; random items of clothing filled each drawer to the point that they were hard to close. I put on a pair of black boxers and a white t-shirt and lay down in his bed. Every creak in the floor below made me jump. I got up and paced around the room, straightening things and folding laundry.
A light bulb turned on in my head, and I hurried over to my blood-stained jeans. I got the old photograph, unfolding it as I laid it on the desk. I typed “Ryan and murder” into Google.
Okay...that was way too broad. I added “Syracuse” into the search, but there were still too many results. I looked at the truck and guessed a date. Still, nothing shed any light. I bit my lip as I thought.
“Maybe it wasn’t murder,” I whispered out loud.
This time, I typed in “Ryan, Syracuse, and suicide.” I was right. I nervously bounced my leg up and down as I read the article. Ryan’s dad found him in the woods after he had been missing for three days. The boy had always been a bit of an outcast, the article said, as if it was trying to make reason with someone so young taking their own life.
Now I knew the truth, and my heart broke for Ryan. But I still had no idea what he wanted from me.
24
“Tell me again what happened.”
David looked me in the eye so intently that I couldn’t help but squirm under his gaze. We were sitting in the living room. David and Sam rushed home soon after we arrived.
“We went for a walk. I had a feeling to go towards the barn. We found the photos and then discovered the root cellar. I got a really strong feeling of panic, so we left the cellar, and then we were attacked.” It was the third time I’d summed it up.
“And these things, the bird-demons, they just appeared?” David asked.
I shook my head, causing my hair to fall in my face. “No, it was like they came from the roof of the barn.”
He was silent for a minute. “And when you stabbed it, with this,” he held up the dagger, his brown eyes focusing on Ethan, “nothing happened.”
Ethan nodded. “Right. It barely reacted to the pain. But as soon as Annie touched the hilt, the demon burst into flames.”
David set the dagger down on the coffee table and was silent for a few minutes. “I guess we were wrong. For years, this dagger had been believed to kill any demon with a single stab.” He looked at me, discontent in his eyes. “It’s only a medium, a way to direct t
he power.”
“What do you mean?” I had to ask.
“You are the power that kills the demons. It makes sense now why the dagger has stayed in the hands of the Coven. Only those of the Coven can power the dagger. After all, they did make it.”
“That sucks,” Sam said in a snotty voice from across the room.
“It does,” I agreed. I knew how much easier it would have been for everyone if we could have shared such a powerful weapon. I tugged at my pendant.
“Don’t feel guilty.” Ethan nudged me.
I pushed my eyebrows together. “How did you know?”
He ran his hand down my thigh. “As complicated as you are, I’m starting to figure you out.”
I locked my eyes with his and smiled. He held my gaze for a few seconds before I looked away, realizing that it was sort of an intimate thing to do in front of his family.
“The third demon,” I said to break the silence. “It ran away. Why?”
“Probably to save its ass,” Ethan suggested.
My phone rang, startling everyone. I got up and went into the kitchen to get my purse. It was Laney.
“Are you alive?” She sounded worried.
“No, Laney, you’re talking to my ghost.”
“Shut up, Annie. With you, it could be possible,” she said, her voice edging on a whimper.
“You’re right, sorry. But, yeah, we’re alive.”
“I was worried! You said you’d call and it’s been…okay, it’s only been like two hours. But still, you scared me.”
“I promised I’d explain, and I will. Can I call you back, though?”
“Promise you will?”
“Yes. Hey, why don’t you come over later, and I’ll explain it in person? I’ll call you when I get back to my house.”
“Okay, talk to you later then.”
I put my phone back in my purse. I walked towards the living room. It sounded like Sam was arguing with someone.
“You coddle her too much, Ethan,” she sneered.
“Maybe I want to,” Ethan replied.
“She needs to learn how to deal with this as an everyday occurrence. She never will if you baby her like this. Just tell her to go home and deal with it like the rest of us.”
“Sam,” Julia scolded in a motherly “shut-up” way.
“I have to agree with Ethan on this one,” David said. “That girl is a moving target, and she doesn’t know half as much as we do about any of this. She needs all the protection she can get for the time being.”
“You are making this a bigger deal than it needs to be,” Sam said. “So what, she’s some witch? What makes her any different than anyone else we’ve helped?”
“Sam, that’s enough!” Julia yelled.
“She’s not just any witch, and you know it.” David sounded angry.
“And I care about her. A lot,” Ethan said, his voice thick with anger. “Doesn’t that matter?”
“I think she’s more trouble than she’s worth,” Sam muttered. “Ever since you met her, you’ve been a different person.”
“Yeah, I’ve been happy,” Ethan countered.
“And a sloppy hunter,” Sam retorted back. “You’ve been too distracted. And look at yourself now! You got mauled by demons because of her.”
“That’s enough,” Ethan said coldly. I saw his shadow as he got up. I turned, hurrying back to my purse.
“Anora,” Ethan said softly. “I know you heard her.”
I nodded the tiniest nod ever.
“Come here.” He opened his arms. I went over and he wrapped them around me. I embraced him too, careful to avoid the fresh wounds.
“I love you, Ethan.” I looked up into his intense brown eyes. “I’m sorry I got you hurt.”
He kissed me. “I love you too, Anora. This isn’t your fault. It’s the demon’s fault. And this cut is really nothing. It’s not like I’m in the hospital.”
I groaned. “I still feel bad.”
He kissed my forehead. “I’m gonna stay with you tonight, in case number three shows up.”
“Do you think he will?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. It would have to have tracked you somehow or be intelligent enough to figure out where you live. So I’ll say the chances are low.”
“Good. My mom would have a fit if they wore those dirty robes on her white carpet.”
“I told Laney I’d explain, but I have no idea what to say,” I confessed to Ethan.
We were back at my house, and Laney would be here any minute.
“The truth?” he suggested, leaning back against the pillows. He drummed his fingers on the mattress, enticing Romeo to jump and play attack.
“Well, of course, but how do I say it? No matter what I think of, it sounds crazy and sorta stupid.”
“It’s hard to explain, I know. It’s best to go with it; don’t plan out a speech.”
I sank down on the bed next to him. “I wish we knew what those demons are. ‘Creepy bird-demon’ lacks how scary they truly are.”
I sighed and raked my fingers through my tangled hair. “I know!” I turned to Ethan. “How about I take a shower, and you explain everything?”
“How about no?” He smiled. “She’s your best friend. She’ll want to hear it from you.”
“Fine. Make me be the one to tell her everything she knows is a lie.”
I sighed and went into the bathroom to brush my hair. I had to pull two more burrs out. Hunter jumped up and ran downstairs, barking upon hearing the front door open. A minute later, he ran back in my room, with Laney a few steps behind him. She rushed over and hugged me.
“What the hell, Annie?” she exclaimed.
“Sit, and I’ll explain.”
I sat next to Ethan on the bed. Laney perched on the edge.
“Uh,” I began, nervous and jittery. “You know about the ghosts and the magic. And you have to know that people other than me can do magic.”
Laney nodded, eyes wide.
“And you also know that regular people can be really, really good.” Again, I got a nod. “And you also know that regular people can be bad, really bad. Well, the same is true for people—or things—with magic powers.” I paused, waiting to go on based on her reaction.
“What are you trying to say, Annie?”
“Remember that creepy picture I drew during the slide show?” I went over to my desk and flipped through a stack of schoolbooks and brought out the notebook. I opened it to the bird-demon and tossed it to Laney. She looked at it for a good minute before she looked back up.
“That attacked us today.”
My words hung heavy in the air, then crashed down on Laney. She opened her mouth, looked at me, then back at the picture.
“Why did it attack you?” she asked.
“I…I don’t know,” I said.
“Anora is actually a pretty powerful witch,” Ethan explained. “Those things, as well as many others, would love to see her dead.”
I couldn’t tell if Laney was going to cry or laugh. “Why do they want to kill her?” she asked quietly.
“Because she has power, and they want it. But, more than that, they don’t want her to have it. She is their enemy,” he explained.
No one spoke for a very long minute. Then, in a shaky voice, Laney said, “I don’t want you to die, Annie.”
I put my hand on hers and gave her a weak smile. “I don’t want to die either.”
Ethan’s phone rang. Seeing it was his father, he got up and went to the hall to talk to his dad without interrupting us.
“So then what happened?” Laney asked. “It attacked you, and then what?”
“I killed it.”
Laney blinked. “You killed it?”
I nodded.
“How?”
“I stabbed it.” Should I tell Laney about the dagger now too? Might as well put everything out on the table at once. Screw being overwhelmed. I got the dagger, which still had dried blood on the blade, and told her everything.
“His family has been in the demon-hunting business for a while,” I told her.
Her mouth dropped. “Well, there’s a career they never told us about in school.”
I laughed and looked out into the hall at Ethan. “Tell me about it.”
“You do love him, don’t you?” Laney asked, following my gaze.
“I really do, and he told me he loves me too,” I said and realized that I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Laney since our trip to Indiana. “Oh, and we had sex. Three times.”
“Annie!” she squealed and hit my arm. “Are you serious?”
My cheeks flushed a bit. I laughed and nodded.
“I knew it would happen when you guys were all alone. How was it?”
I gave her the cliff notes version of our first time, wanting to keep most of the details between Ethan and me. When Ethan came back into the room, Laney wiggled her eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes. That girl was so obvious.
“Everything okay?” I asked Ethan, though I knew the answer.
“Yeah. My dad’s trying to get a hold of an old friend who knows a lot about Pricolici and who might know something about these guys.” He tapped the notebook.
He looked tired. I knew his injuries weren’t close to being fatal at all, but they had to hurt. And when I was in pain, I liked to sleep.
Thinking of injuries reminded me to check his stitches. Ethan said again that he didn’t think it was necessary, but when I unwrapped the bandage, it became obvious that it was.
His skin around the gash was bruised from the needle jabbing in and out so many times, and the entire area was puffy and swollen. Laney didn’t handle gross things well, so she offered to let Hunter out.
“This looks like something you’d see on Frankenstein,” I told him as I carefully wiped away dried blood. I globbed on ointment and wrapped another bandage around his arm. Laney came back upstairs as I put the first aid supplies away.
“Hunter didn’t want to come in,” she told me as she pulled out my computer chair and sat.
“I’ll bring him in later,” I said. “Anyone else hungry?” I asked. There was still about half an hour before Mom got home and made dinner. I wasn’t sure I could last that long without eating. I grabbed my dagger, and the three of us went downstairs to look through the pantry for a snack.