“The devil doesn’t make bargains without a price, Kayla,” he said. The fact that he consistently used Sebastian’s nickname wasn’t lost on me. He’d alluded to things I hadn’t had time to consider. Sebastian was a demon through and through. If what he said was true, Sebastian’s purpose in meeting me was purposeful and not for good.
“What does that have to do with me?” I said.
“You should rest first. Our night will be a long one,” he said.
“No, I want answers,” I said.
He sighed. “McKayla, if you’d just listened to me before and done what I’d asked, your mother would not be in danger. Your weak mind was uncommonly strong when it came to those boys. So now I had to come get you in person. Somehow I don’t think you be able to resist now.”
Dusk had already fallen, so did he mean the next day. I hadn’t looked at the clock in the car before I’d gotten out. What time was it? What day was it? Could I be sure it was only the day after my birthday. I’d slept and I didn’t know for how long.
“I’m not going to hurt anyone,” I said firmly.
He made a hissing sound. “Oh, I think you will do whatever I asked. But for now you need to get rest,” he said.
“I’m not tired,” I protested like a child nearly stomping my feet. Where had that behavior come from?
But he stepped to me and put a single cool finger to my head. I felt a burst of heat then blackness.
All light was gone when I woke again. I sat up and looked around trying to get my bearings. Moonlight shone through the window, but other than that, I saw nothing. Waiting, I remained quiet until my eyes adjusted to the night. As the room came into focus, I could ascertain I was in a bedroom. I search for a clock and found none.
Sweeping my legs over the side of the bed I laid on, I stood. My feet were bare. I hadn’t realized that until now. The floor was cool and without light I couldn’t be certain but I assumed the floors were hard wood. It meant I would need to be carefully with my steps. I could only hope the floors wouldn’t creak. Slowly, I walked over to the window around the white canopy bed illuminated by the moonlight. Though the pane of the glass I had a view of the mountain. It had been the backdrop of the farm house scene we’d drove up to. That was if I was in the same house.
Sometimes life can be inconvenient. I needed a bathroom. Bodily functions wait for no man. My bare feet padded across the floor. Thankfully the wood had yet to squeak. I looked around briefly and didn’t find my shoes. I wasn’t sure I had time to search for them. I needed to find a way out after I took care of my immediate need.
There wasn’t a bathroom attached to this room. Funny how in two weeks, I’d become accustom to my own private bath. For my seventeen years prior, I’d been used to walking down the hall to the bathroom. So I did. I opened all the doors as quietly as possible on my way down the hall, until finally I’d come across the bathroom. I flicked the light and nothing. Great, no power or the bulb was out. Thankfully the bathroom had a tiny window, so I closed the door and took care of business quickly by moonlight.
After I washed my hands, I shook them because I couldn’t find a towel. Toilet tissue isn’t good for drying your hands. I opened the door and peered down the hall. Still there was no movement. I opened the rest of the doors upstairs. There were only two more and I discovered that every room was empty of life except mine.
I lightly stepped downstairs. This house must have been built in the last few years because I had yet to find a weak spot that would alert my presence. I needn’t have worried. Once I peeked out the front window in the living room, I realized I was alone. The car which had been dark in color maybe a Buick wasn’t there. So I made a quick searched the few rooms on this level. I didn’t bother with noise, but I did move quickly not knowing when he might return. The living room, dining room, and kitchen held nothing unusual.
Opening the last door, I found the stairs which led to a dark basement. Flicking the switch inside the door didn’t turn on any lights down there. I doubled back to the kitchen and searched the drawers; I came up with a big fat nothing for a flashlight. What I did find was a pack of old fashion matches. They were made from wood. Little sticks slightly thicker than a toothpick about two inches in length and would have to do for light. The box was full, so surely I wouldn’t run out.
At the top of the stairs, I flicked the first match striking it against the rough end of the box. Igniting, it burned bright but didn’t provide much light farther from my hand. I held the first match and took two steps before the flame nearly burnt my fingers. I shook my wrist a few times before I blew out. I stopped and lit another. It turned out to be a long process just to descend the stairs. I would need to move faster as I had no idea when he would be back.
Finally at the bottom, I lit a new match and circled around. Before I knew it, the flame had descended again to the nubs of my fingers. I should have looked for a candle. This was useless. With the next match illuminating my face, I heard a voice coming from a corner deep into the room.
“Mercy,” the raspy voice said.
First I jumped from the sound that broke the silence. Automatically, my free hand covered my mouth to squelch a scream. Then clutching at my chest feeling my racing heart, I froze. I couldn’t help but be afraid. The voice knew my name and sounded female, but the dark can make anyone scared. Swallowing, I shoved my fear aside. I had to assume that this was one of its victims. “Keeping talking so I can find you,” I said, still breathing hard from my initial fear.
A tiny bit of light broke the impenetrable darkness. I blew out my match moving with certainty to the tiny light. My foot kicked something and I nearly tripped. It had been stupid for me to blow out my light. But then I was being stupid right now following the unknown voice further into the darkness. My gut however, warring with my brain, won this particular battle. I reached the light and it went out. I kneeled on the floor. I struck the match holding it up and gazed into the eyes of Bernadette. She looked haunted and weak.
I should have been afraid of the demon who not too long ago tried to kill me. “Are you ok?” I said.
She swallowed dryly. I wasn’t sure a demon needed water. Should I be running to get her some? This had been the girl who nearly killed me. But I was better than my enemy. “I’ll go get you some water,” I said.
Her hand still warmed by the flame she produced cupped my wrist. The match I held burned my fingers. I had to blow it out leaving us in darkness. “Let me light another match,” I said.
She let go of my arm. When I struck the match she spoke, “He’s stealing our power. I don’t have much left. He’ll kill me if he takes anymore.”
So that is what he’d been up to. I had to wonder if all the women he’d taken had not been human. But first I needed to find a way to get her out of here. Her words had exposed more. “Who are we?” I said. Could Miss Gibson be down here?
Bernadette had been propped up half leaning against the wall. She raised an arm and pointed. I followed the line of her finger through the thin light of the latest match. When I spotted the lump of figure on the far wall with my eyes which had adjusted to the low light, I started to move. Her hand was suddenly on me in a vice grip.
“Don’t,” she said. Her voice was a bit stronger, so I listened. Not fighting I brought the light back to her face. “Werewolf, she’s in bad shape. She’ll kill you,” she said.
I remembered the girl missing from Chris’s pack. “What about you?” I ask.
“I’m not human, don’t smell good,” she struggled to say. “I’ve been saving a bit of fire in hopes of stunning the reanimated demon.”
Is that what he was? It was an interested choice of words. I had to give them credibility. She herself was demon and would know better than most what it was. I didn’t know what to do. “Is there anyone else down here?” I asked blowing out the current match and lighting another.
“No,” she said. She sounded like she was on the edge of death. I had to wonder if she had any more injuries. But
in the dark I was unable to tell. I was about to tell her to save her breath when she spoke again. “Where’s angel boy?”
I paled. It had used that term as well. When referring to my captor when had I gone back from him to it? But I needed answers so I pressed ahead. “Who are you talking about?” Maybe it wasn’t the time but I had to know.
“Your boyfriend, the one with the angel light in the woods,” she said her voice fading with each word.
I didn’t feel the burn of the fire right away. My mind had drifted back to the lake and Bernadette chasing us. There had been a bright light that I had relegated believing it the headlights of a car. That light had preceded Bernadette’s departure and preceded Luke’s entrance in the woods. Thinking back, we hadn’t come across a close road when we’d made our way back to the house. I hadn’t given it a second thought. There was also the light at the party when Sebastian tried to warn me. That light came at us when Luke was headed our way. Luke had been afraid he’d hurt me.
“Luke’s no angel,” I said more to myself but I’d said it out loud. That was just ridiculous.
“No, he’s nephilim. Teenage angels don’t exist because they aren’t born. But powerful like angels he is.”
“What’s nephilim?” I asked. But I remembered the book at Luke’s house in the Hamptons. They were the offspring of an angel and a human woman. My mind was racing when she answered not knowing I’d already figured it out.
“Half breed like you,” she said.
My match below out as a light movement in the air blew it out. I was stuck with instant fear. Should I risk lighting another match to see what caused the breeze in a closed basement?
“Kayla,” a voice said. Iridescent eyes looked back at me
I recognized that voice. “Sebastian,” I said. My father or dang it whatever it was, was right. I struck a new match. I took the flash of the light to get a good look at him. When his handsome face came into view my heart stopped for a moment.
“Your father’s coming. We need to go,” he said.
He confirmed what I hadn’t wanted to swallow. The monster was my dad.
“We can’t. You need to take Bernadette and the werewolf girl,” I said with my arm extended in the direction of where I thought the girl was. I wasn’t sure he could even see my arm in the darkness. His eyes followed my hand which held the lit match pointing. I looked that way too. I couldn’t see her. Furthermore, I hated I didn’t know the girl’s name.
“Kayla, that will take a lot of power and I won’t be able to get back to you until I recharge,” he said sounding almost panicked.
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t let them die for me. I was certain that I would survive for a while at least. My demon dad didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to kill me. He hadn’t bothered to secure me. “I’ll be fine,” I said, sounding more sure than I felt.
The next words out of his mouth couldn’t have stuck me more speechless than a sledgehammer. “Bernadette kiss Kayla,” he said.
We both turned to him in the dying match light. I couldn’t see her clearly, but I was certain her facial expression matched mine. “What!” we said in unison. Our combined voices held the same edge of complete confusion by his request.
“It’s not what you think. Based on Bernadette condition, I guess that you dad is taking her power,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said back, like that really a suitable reason for his request. I wanted to see his eyes but my match went out again. I lit another.
“So he must be able to absorb power. If he bargained for revenge, then he’s been given the same gifts as the instrument of his revenge. This to even the odds,” he said. Bernadette didn’t speak. She must have realized where he was going with this. I on the other hand still need more convincing.
“What does that mean?” I asked. I held the dying light as close to his face as I dared.
Bernadette spoke up, “He thinks that you too should be able to absorb power.”
“Ouch,” I said. The flame reached my fingers. I shook them and hesitantly blew a little air on the sting from the burn.
I could feel Sebastian move while we sat for a moment in darkness. “We don’t have a lot of time. I hear the car on the gavel road approaching ever near.”
I stuck another match. Bernadette moved closer. Apparently we were all in agreement even though I hadn’t given consent. I didn’t have time to think. When her lips were a fraction from mine, I blew out the fire. I didn’t want to see. Her lips were softer than I expected. Fire burned across them. It wasn’t sexual. Her raw power passed to me in a scorching flame. Thankfully it was over quickly. She pulled back and I was grateful.
I stuck another match. Feeling a bit awkward, I had been grateful for the darkness. In the light, I saw Sebastian look at me. “Now it’s my turn,” he said.
I didn’t have to think about this. “You need your power to save them,” I protested.
He didn’t bother to say anything. Suddenly his hands were on my arms drawing me near. The match was still lit in my hand between the three of us. His mouth found mine and he kissed me.
It wasn’t quick. His hand was in my hair pressing my face ever closer to his. I wasn’t sure we could be any closer. I felt it when it began to happen. It was different than it had been from Bernadette. It wasn’t scorching. With no other way to describe it, it was cool but with an undercurrent of heat if that was possible. My mouth parted underneath his mouth and he deepened our kiss. I found myself just as the flame died in my hand feverishly kissing him back. The power exchange reminded me of something that I had no time to process.
He pulled away abruptly. “He’s here,” he said quickly. He jumped to his feet and moved so fast across the room, the flame of the match I just struck died. When he came back, he held a lifeless girl in his hands.
“Take her back to the lake,” I instructed. I wasn’t certain but I thought he nodded. He bent down and hooked an arm around Bernadette. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he whispered.
I needed to tell him two things before he left. In the brief silence I finally heard the car come now. “Just tell my mom, Luke or somebody where I am,” I said.
“I’ll be back,” he said taking a couple steps back.
“One more thing,” I said hoping to get this answered before it was too late. I didn’t know how to use the power they gave me. “How do I use the power?”
The car came to a stop. I heard the door open. Time was up. I was on my feet. I dropped the box of matches and I was moving towards the staircase on memory. I stumbled a few times while making my way up.
“Use your mind,” Sebastian said and his voice faded and I knew he was gone. His words had been no help at all. At the top of the landing, I closed the door to the basement as quietly as I could. Then I made my way up the staircase to the second level. I’d just reached the top with the floor squeaking under my weight, when the front door opened.
Chapter Thirty Nine
iniquity (n.) wickedness or sin
I didn’t have my breathing under control when he walked through the door. I held my mouth covered by my hand not sure what to do. Looking at the ceiling, I prayed that the squeaky wooden floor hadn’t given me away.
There was some shuffling of feet that made me look down towards the door. The way the staircase was configured, I didn’t have a clear view of the door from where I was. I could just make out the lower half of the it.
“You’re up,” he spoke, closing the door.
All I could see of him from the top of the stairs was a pair of legs next to the bottom half of the front door. I was trying to bring my breathing down but I had to say something. “Are you going to let me go?” I asked.
He could hear a wry smile in his voice. “McKayla, you just got here,” he said. “Come down so we can talk.”
“I don’t yet know what you want from me, but I have school tomorrow,” I said, taking the stairs slowly back down.
He laughed a boisterous laugh. He grin faded and he looked
at me with empty eyes, “There are more important things than school, Kayla.” He tossed a bag on the sofa next to me and headed back towards the kitchen. I wasn’t sure he’d go downstairs but I had to stop him.
“Just tell me what you want, so I can get back to my life,” I said turning and holding the back of the sofa with my knees pressed firmly in the cushions.
He turned around. “What life was that?” he asked. He didn’t wait for me to respond. His arms spread wide as if to encompass the room. “You’ve created a mess of it. You don’t know how to use the power you have. Your boyfriend is the one guy you can’t have.”
The words stung so I struck back. “So what do you need me for then,” I said through gritted teeth.
“If not for bait, then I will teach you what your mother has so far neglected.”
I wanted to turn around, fold my arms and poke out my lip but I didn’t. “What did you do that my mother found so distasteful?” I asked not sure I wanted to know.
He stepped forward his eyes hungry with delight. His grin deepened and there was nothing warm about it. His eyes darkened if that’s even possible. “They call me Romeo,” he said.
My eyes must have looked like a saucer of milk with an Oreo cookie floating in the middle when my brain finally registered. The newscasters had related the deaths of recently missing young women back to a serial killer from the past. They wondered if this was a copycat crime of the killer called Romeo over seventeen years ago. Years ago one reporter dubbed the killer Romeo because it had been clear that each woman had fallen madly for their killer. He had left love letters and poetry in the victims’ homes. Evidently, he wanted to be famous because he even started signing that name in the victims’ blood. I hadn’t paid much attention to that part of the story because I was too wrapped up in my own life.
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