Dark Calling

by McIntyre, Cheryl

  Nick passes through the door and Asmoday steps in front of Keely. He stretches his arm across her path, resting his hand on the doorframe. “It looks like he got what he deserved,” he says quietly enough for only Keely to hear.

  Twenty-Two:

  Keely stares at the closed door trying to summon the courage to open it. She knows she should go in there and get this over with, fast, like a band-aid. Knowing and doing are two totally different things. So she just stands there.

  Nick reaches around her and opens the door. She shoots him an irritated look. She isn’t ready yet. “If you need me, I’ll be in the waiting room with Lila.” He kisses her forehead and gives her a nudge into the hospital room. Kimberly looks up, relieved.

  “How is he?” Keely asks quietly. Her dad’s eyes open and he gives her a tired smile.

  “Better now.” He opens his arms and Keely moves into them. It’s been a very long time since she’s hugged her dad.

  “Daddy,” she feels a wave of nausea swim through her stomach as the word leaves her mouth. She sits beside him on the bed and looks at the IV in his hand. “Please tell me that you are just you. Just a normal, fully human dad. That you’re my dad.”

  Placing his hand on hers, Kevin says, “I have always been your dad. And I always will be.” He glances at his wife, notes the pain in her eyes.

  Keely nods her head as she fights the tears stinging her eyes. “What did the doctor say?”

  Kevin smiles at her subject change. “I have a concussion. Scan came back clean. No internal bleeding.”

  “He can come home tomorrow,” Kimberly adds in a forced chipper voice.

  “Did they find the boy they were looking for?” Kevin asks just remembering.

  Keely pushes her hair back and nods. “He’s downstairs in the emergency room. He’s in pretty bad shape. What they did to him… It was awful.” She sniffles and wipes at her eyes. She doesn’t care what Asmoday thinks, Dustin didn’t deserve that. Nobody does.

  “Keels,” her dad starts. He shakes his head, not knowing how to make it all better for her. Wasn’t this his job? To make his baby girl feel better? To solve all her problems? That’s what fathers do. “I’m so sorry, Honey. You’ve been through a lot. I wish I could have been there for you.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. None of that matters now anyway. You’re here now. You’re going to be all right. Everything’s fine.” Second lie today. She is on a roll. Down a rocky mountain.

  “Which one do you like?”

  Confused, Keely stares at her dad. A smile parts his dry and chapped lips. “Which what?” she asks.

  He laughs. It turns into a cough. Sucking air through his teeth, he puts his palm to his forehead. Kevin shoos Kimberly as she reaches for the call button to the nurse. “It’s fine. Just hurts when I cough.” He sips some water and finds his composure. “Which boy do you like? Your mom said there’s a boy.” He smiles again, a teasing glint in his eye.

  Unable to contain it, she returns the smile. “His name is Nick. He’s the one that helped you. Do you remember?”

  Kevin looks regretful. “It’s all a little fuzzy.”

  “He’s my Guardian,” she explains, assuming that will clear up his confusion.

  “Your what?” Her dad looks from Keely to her mom.

  “I haven’t explained everything yet,” Kimberly says abashed.

  Keely’s face turns red and hot with anger. He didn’t know. Her mother kept it from her dad too. How could she do this? What type of person does that? “You never told him?” She shoots off the bed and paces the room. “I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised. You never told me either. Does he know who you-” Keely stops herself from going any farther. He’s been through enough already. This can wait. She walks back to her dad and leans down to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to go. I’m a mess. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be safe with Nick. He’s my body guard. Get some rest.” She turns on her heel to leave.

  “Keels?” She pauses and glances back at her dad. He looks so sad. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Daddy. See you tomorrow.”

  Keely doesn’t go to the emergency department’s waiting room. Instead she goes outside for some fresh air to clear her head. It doesn’t help. The air is hot and thick with humidity. All it seems to do is weigh her down. She sits on the curb and stares up at the first hint of sun rising. She’s never seen a sun rise. It’s a shame she can’t enjoy it.

  Though she tries to sort through her many problems and think of ways to fix them, her thoughts keep flipping back to Asmoday. The way he looked when he brought them back. He seemed drained and worried. Every time she’s seen him, he always looked pristine. Never anything but confident and healthy. She wonders if transporting everyone back and forth took some kind of toll on him. She also wonders if he was worried about snapping their cord again. She was. Still is. But nothing has happened since he walked away after leaving them behind the hospital. The cord is tight again, but it’s still there. Part of her wishes it weren’t, but another part never again wants to feel the way she did earlier. She isn’t a stupid person; she knows she needs to tell Nick so he can help her. But she can’t do it yet. Dustin isn’t in the clear yet. Nick needs to be there for Lila right now.

  “Whatchya doin out here, Kiem?”

  Keely looks up at Bryon and squints. “You look like you were in a fight with a bunch of Demons.”

  Bryon sits down next to her and bumps his arm into her shoulder. “I was in a fight with a bunch of Demons.”

  “What was the final score?”

  He smiles. “Six—two. I won. Your mom got one too. That was pretty sweet.”

  “I don’t feel like talking about my mom right now.”

  “O.k.” After a long pause, he says, “They said Dustin’s going to pull through. They had to take his left eye. He may have some damage to the other, but they don’t know yet.”

  Keely puts her hand over her mouth. “That’s so sad.”

  Bryon nods. “He’s alive though. That’s what really matters.”

  “How’s Lila?”

  “You know, we could go in there and you could see for yourself.”

  Keely shifts uncomfortably. “I feel too trapped in there.”

  Bryon nods again. This is what Keely has always loved about him. He doesn’t push her. Ironically, the opposite is what she loves about Nick. But sometimes you need to just not make sense and know someone is all right with it.

  “Lila’s a trooper. She’s on cloud nine now that she knows he’s going to be o.k. She was talking about making him an eye patch, but I don’t think he has the face for it.” He bumps her shoulder again and she pushes him back and laughs.

  “That’s o.k. I’m sure you’ve already started planning your one eye jokes.”

  He grins at her. “I have this one, it involves One Eyed Willy from The Goonies. Classic. But I think I need to wait a while before I can bust that one out. Tact and all.”

  “You’ve always been very diplomatic.”

  “I think so too. Would you believe there are people out there that would actually disagree?”

  Keely shakes her head in mock horror. “I couldn’t imagine.”

  “True story.”

  They sit in silence as sun light fills the sky. Keely realizes Bryon saved her first sun rise. “All right. I think I’m ready to go back in now.”

  He stands up and offers her his hand.

  ***

  Nick and Keely take turns showering before they dress each other’s wounds. Nick’s aren’t that bad, but they are all on his face which makes Keely’s heart hurt every time she looks at him. When they’re done with the minor first-aid and a dose of Ibuprofen, Nick pulls the book out that Asmoday gave him. Apparently he found it in the same area they found Dustin. Keely hadn’t stayed long. Her stomach couldn’t take it.

  “
That’s the same book from History,” Keely exclaims.

  “The Demon Grimoire. There should be a lot of useful information in here.”

  “I thought it was a book of spells?”

  “It is, but there are also prophecies and legends. Sometimes there are even accounts of how incantations were used in the past and who used them.”

  “Well, open it.”

  Nick rubs his eyes like he does when he’s irritated about something. “The thing is, I can’t. It’s a Demon Grimoire. A Demon has to open it.”

  “What would happen if you did open it? Would you turn into a Demon or something?”

  “No. It would probably just kill me.”

  Trying really hard to not let her mouth pop open, Keely snatches the book out of Nick’s hand. Demons are absolutely, by far, the most evil, conniving, appalling creatures ever. Who has secrets that important to take someone’s life to protect them? Oh, yeah. Demons. “I can’t believe Asmoday gave us a book we can’t even open.”

  Nick grunts. “He probably hoped I would be dumb enough to try.”

  Keely puts her hands out, palms up. “So what’s the point?”

  Nick rubs his eyes with his first finger and thumb. “As the Demon Princess, you should be able to open it. Asmoday says you can at least. He then offered to come over and open it for us if we didn’t want to take the chance. I don’t know if I should trust him.”

  “Asmoday doesn’t want to kill me. Apophis does. It makes sense that I can open it. Besides, do you really want to call Asmoday up and invite him into your home every time you want to read it?”

  “No. But we still may need his help with translating though.”

  Keely stares at the book. She runs her finger tips over the gray cover. It doesn’t freak her out like it did before. “I’m opening it,” she says as she flips the cover. Nick tries to protest, but it’s done before a single syllable leaves his lips. And she is alive. Asmoday was telling the truth, just as Keely suspected.

  “It’s blank,” Nick grumbles as Keely turns page after page.

  She laughs. “It’s not blank. What are you talking about?” She looks from the book to Nick. She looks back down to make sure she wasn’t imagining anything. Nope. Still there. “You can’t see this?” She holds the book open in front of him. There is clearly writing on the page, drawings too. In fact, it’s inked in what looks suspiciously like blood.

  “There’s nothing there.”

  “What do you see?”

  “I see an empty page. That’s all. What does it look like to you?”

  She stares at the page. “Creepy.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “O.k. O.k. There’s seriously messed up pictures here.” She runs her finger along the side of one page. “And there is a spell here.” She points to the center. “Here there are what I think are names.” She trails her finger down the other side. “Can I read this aloud to you? I won’t cast some kind of Demonic spell, will I?”

  “This is a first for me, believe it or not. Maybe you should read it to yourself then give me the summary.”

  The page seems to call to her as she reads it several times, trying to understand it’s meaning. Images flash through her mind vividly like memories. A flash of a shallow silver bowl, old and dented as if it had been dropped many times. Another flash, an elegant gold dagger with ruby incrusted handle. And yet another flash, three teeth dropping into the bowl, followed by a drop of blood.

  “It’s a spell for mind control. It’s so weird. It doesn’t say mind control. It doesn’t tell you that you need the person’s teeth you’re trying to control or a drop of your own blood. All it says is the words you chant while casting, but I saw it. As I read it, it gave me the instructions in my thoughts. This thing is like triple protected.” Keely shivers. She isn’t comfortable that a book can enter her head like that. That anything can make her envision things. And she doesn’t like that Demon’s are able to control the minds of humans. She supposes it isn’t much different than possessing a body though. However, this is how Demons gain control over the strong minded. Always the cheaters.

  “Is that it?” Nick asks.

  “For this one.”

  “Read more. I’ll go make us something to eat.”

  “I feel like I’m going to pass out. Can I just sleep for a couple of hours first?”

  He runs his hand through his hair and looks at the clock. “Sorry. Yeah, I could use some sleep too.”

  “Nick?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you lay with me? I just need the closeness.” It sounds so strange coming from her mouth, but it’s true. What she really needs more than anything right now is for Nick to hold her so she can feel safe and secure, even if she isn’t. A girl can dream, right?

  Nick lies down beside her and pulls her back against his chest, wrapping his arms snuggly around her. He tucks his nose into her hair. Keely sighs.

  “I lost my cell phone,” she says through a yawn.

  “I know. We’ll take care of it later. Sleep.” And she does.

  Keely nearly starts crying when she rolls over and feels the silky softness of the nightgown against her body. The next thing she feels is the cord. It drums in her chest happily.

  “Good morning.” His voice is like velvet and she hates that she doesn’t hate it. “I know you are exhausted and do not want to be here, but he wants to speak to you.”

  “A really good brother would tell him to leave me alone and let me get some much needed sleep.” She stretches, trying to find the energy to sit up. “Are you my big brother or little brother?”

  “Time is different for me, but in human years, I am older.”

  “By how much,” she asks propping herself up on an elbow.

  Asmoday’s eyes rake over her. He brushes the hair off her shoulder and raises the thin strap that has slipped down on her arm. “Two years and some months.”

  Keely nods. “So you’re twenty.” She works herself into a sitting position but doesn’t get out of the bed. “Is your mother human? Or another angel? No, you’re part Demon, right?”

  He pulls her up, his hands very gentle on hers. “You shouldn’t keep the old man waiting.”

  Keely laughs. “How old is he?”

  “Old,” he says as he opens the door.

  Her father is sitting in his usual spot, eyes probing as they examine her injuries. “You do well in battle, my child. Please, sit.” He gestures to the chair across from him. Keely knows it’s better not to refuse him. She sits quietly. Asmoday takes a seat beside their father, the picture of ease. However, she has a sixth sense the jittery nervous feeling in her stomach doesn’t belong entirely to her. “Are you healing well?”

  “Yes,” she says.

  “And your accolades, they are improving?”

  The room is warm, making it hard for her to keep her eyes open. The chair is really comfortable too, though you can’t tell by looking at it with its high back and wooden arms that curl like claws. “Improving?”

  “You are growing accustomed to them? Learning how to use them?”

  She waves her hand sleepily. “I guess so. I glowed last night. That was weird, but we needed the light.” As she says it, in this place, with her father, it all clicks. Suddenly, she is a little more awake. “You glow too,” she realizes aloud.

  He bows his head in what she assumes is a nod. “And your heightened senses, those are not bothersome?”

  “No, I got used to those pretty quick. It came in handy with Dana too.”

  “Dana, she is from Apophis’ Guard?”

  “She’s not now. Coach—oh, crap. I forgot about coach.”

  “Has she struck her head?” Her father gazes at her, slightly put off.

  “I do not believe so. I think it is a lack of sleep,” Asmoday explains. His lips twitch as if he would like
to smile, but he doesn’t.

  “Perhaps we shall have this conversation after you’ve rested. I have very little tolerance for insolence. One last question before you take your leave. Do you have any idea of Apophis’ whereabouts?”

  Keely yawns and slaps her hand over her mouth. He just called her insolent and she’s pretty sure that means rude. “I’m sorry. I’m very tired.” He doesn’t look amused or forgiving. “No, I have no idea where he went. Sorry.”

  Keely knows she is back at Nick’s, though she can’t manage to open her eyes. She feels his warm embrace, smells his Nick scent. Content, she falls back into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  Twenty-Three:

  The car feels congested with Keely’s many emotions. She is excited to go home to be with her dad, but reluctant to deal with her mom.

  Nick skims the back of his fingers across her cheek. “It’ll be fine. If you want, I’ll go in with you.”

  A piece of shadow lifts itself from Keely’s mood. “I do. Thank you.” She opens her door and drags her book bag out. It’s heavier than it’s ever been before, her shoulders not willing to carry the extra weight. She sighs. Why is she acting like one of those girls? The kind that’s always gotten on her nerves. The kind she can’t stand. Needy and so dependent on a boy. As if she is incapable of anything if she doesn’t have a strong hero of a boy to save her. This isn’t Keely. She doesn’t even like boys. In general, anyway. She does not want to have that weak of a character. She tugs the overflowing duffel bag from Nick’s hand a bit too aggressively. “You know what? I think I need to do this myself.” She tugs again when Nick doesn’t release the bag to her.

  Raising his eyebrows, Nick mildly asks, “Can I at least take this to the door for you?”

  “No.” She takes a deep breath, organizing her thoughts. “It’s better if I go alone.” She blows the hair out of her face deciding to reword her premise. “If you come to the door, then it will be that much harder for me. I mean, you come to the door, then what’s one more step inside? You come inside, what’s a few more feet to the living room. You come to the living room-”