Dealing with Demons

by Melissa Haag

  “Maybe,” I whispered back, closing my eyes. “I don’t know.”

  They left me alone through dinner. I stayed next to Aunt Danielle, not wanting to eat. Restlessness grew. My mom noticed and suggested I go for a quick walk around the block before dark. I tugged on my jacket and slipped out the door, pretending not to notice her tears or Gran’s consoling embrace.

  My feet decided on a long walk and carried me to Morik’s house. I stood outside and stared at the dark windows, remembering the fun we’d had inside.

  “I didn’t look up that night,” Brian said behind me, startling me.

  I whirled to face him. He stood a few steps away, his hands empty and at his sides. He didn’t look at me but watched the house. He looked clean and amazingly composed. The sallow complexion and weight loss remained unchanged, though.

  “What night?” I asked, eyeing his bulky jacket. Did he have the gun hidden? I blinked against the sting in my eyes.

  “The night of that party. When they take over, you can’t see them.”

  I remained quiet as I understood what he said. He’d meant to shoot Ahgred.

  “He still controls me, or tries to. I figured out how to keep him out.” His tone was pleased, but his flat, lifeless gaze didn’t look it.

  Shivering, I struggled to maintain eye contact.

  “It’s you,” he whispered. “He can’t control me when I think of you or watch you.”

  My deal with Morik had protected Brian, but not the way I’d intended.

  “I’m so sorry, Brian.”

  He nodded absently and went back to watching the house. “Will that one come back?”

  I turned away so he wouldn’t see the grief in my eyes. “I don’t think so.”

  “I watched you with him,” he admitted. “The night before I shot him. You danced with him. Why?”

  A slight rustle of material indicated he moved. I glanced back at him, worried, but he had only placed his hands in his pockets.

  “He’s different than the other one,” I said cautiously. The vibrant colors of the sun cut through the evening clouds, reminding me of the time. “I have to start walking back, Brian.”

  He nodded but didn’t move out of my way. “Not safe for you after dark, is it?”

  The way he said it froze my insides with fear.

  “Brian?”

  “Tell me why, Tessa,” he said. “Why did you dance with him?”

  Something within me let go. It didn’t matter anymore. This fear and uncertainty. I’d already determined my family would be fine without me. Sad, yes, but they would survive losing me.

  So I gave Brian the answer he wanted. The truth.

  “I love him.”

  Fire ignited on the surface of my skin, connecting the base of my skull to the end of my mark in an instant. Instead of fading, the burn intensified, sinking deeper into the tissue. I gasped in pain.

  Brian watched me dispassionately as he pulled something from his pocket.

  “That’s what I thought.” He nodded to himself and pushed me toward Morik’s house.

  I stumbled along and struggled to focus. Morik’s link. Completed. If he were dead, that shouldn’t be possible, should it? Excitement and hope bloomed.

  Brian reached around me and indicated the door with his gun, killing my hope.

  “Open it,” he directed. “Sun’s almost down. We’re safe in there.”

  Numbly, I twisted the knob. The door swung open. The foul smell of rancid garbage permeated the air. Dirty dishes mounded in the sink. I frowned at the sight.

  “Ahgred can’t reach us in here. It’s the only place I’ve been able to sleep in weeks.”

  Brian’s cleaned-up state made more sense. I stepped inside and heard him enter behind me.

  “Now what?” I asked, without turning.

  “We wait just a minute. It won’t take long.” Moving around me, he positioned himself so I stood between him and the door.

  We watched each other as the bold pink highlighting the sky faded to a dusky blue. A sound like a distant train caught my attention. Before me, Brian quivered, and his skin took on a grey hue. His gaze didn’t waver from what he watched just behind me.

  I faced the door, fearing the dark more than Brian’s gun. No lights flickered to life outside the house as the sun completely fell behind the horizon. Darkness consumed everything through the open doorway.

  Two green lights blinked into existence in the street. Behind me, Brian made a small, frightened noise.

  Ahgred.

  “We need to close the door,” I gasped, rushing forward. Brian caught me from behind.

  “No,” he shrieked. “He’s been waiting for you. It’s time to end this.”

  I struggled, but Brian held me tight. Outside, Ahgred approached the house, his dark smoky form invisible until he reached the pool of light that illuminated the area just before the front step.

  Brian pushed me hard out the door. The threshold tripped me, and I fell to my knees on the stoop. Ahgred hesitated just a few feet away. He didn’t look at me but, instead, focused on Brian.

  I risked a backward glance and saw that Brian had the gun leveled at me. My heart thumped heavily.

  “If you’re gone,” Brian whispered, “they have no reason to come back.”

  A light flared at the end of the gun.

  An invisible hand knocked me off balance, and heat flared where it had hit me. The boom of the gun echoed around us.

  Ahgred gave an inhuman cry and sprang toward Brian. I watched the terror on Brian’s face grow as Ahgred stepped through the door. Locked in fear, Brian didn’t try to run. Ahgred sank into Brian.

  I fell back onto my butt, struggling to breathe. Whatever had hit me had knocked the wind out of me.

  Ahgred, in possession of Brian’s body, lifted the gun to fire it once more. Brian crumpled to the floor, sightlessly staring at the ceiling.

  Ahgred had killed Brian, and I understood why as I collapsed onto the cement. Brian had shot me.

  A fine tremor started in my hands and worked its way through my limbs.

  “Morik is fortunate to have you,” Ahgred said nearby.

  I blinked at the stars that shone above me.

  “He feels your pain and struggles to return. I can ease your discomfort, for a touch,” Ahgred offered.

  I laughed, a dry sound that brought a wave of pain.

  “No deals. Never again. What will be will be.”

  Dizzy and suddenly too tired to keep my eyes open, I floated in a pain-filled void until the pain, too, began to fade.

  Somewhere in the darkness, Ahgred roared.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Tessa.”

  The voice echoed softly in the darkness, barely a whisper of sound against my consciousness. It comforted me at first. But each gentle wave grew in volume, amplifying the sound of my name to a roar. With it, my pain swelled back into awareness, robbing me of breath.

  I fought to crawl back into the void, away from it all.

  “Tessa,” the familiar voice called again.

  Something gently brushed my cheek.

  “Forgive me.”

  The physical pain radiating from my shoulder was nothing compared to the emotional torture that consumed me at the echoing of that familiar, soft rumble.

  Morik. He was calling to me. No, not calling to me. He was touching me.

  I forced my eyes open, not believing what I heard. Yet, I didn’t doubt what I saw.

  Morik leaned over me, looking wan and worried. Yellow dominated his eyes.

  “You died,” I said weakly.

  “Not quite. Lurel took me before I bled out. I’m sorry I was gone for so long.”

  In the background, I heard sirens. “You need to leave.”

  He shook his head.

  “Never again.”

  I wanted to argue more, but the cut-off wail of the siren distracted me. Instead, I whispered the words I should have said weeks ago.

  “I love you.”

>   A pained smile crossed his face as he clasped my hand.

  Closing my eyes, I listened to the voices that approached. Morik released my hand. Someone started to tug at my shirt and talk to me. I answered until they pushed on the source of my agony. Then, I cried.

  Mom came rushing into my hospital room with a huge smile and tears in her eyes. She didn’t wail about my condition or ask how I felt. She knew the bullet wound wouldn’t kill me. And that was all that mattered.

  “Morik is in the waiting room,” she said, kissing my forehead.

  “Can you talk to the doctor and see if he can stay here with me tonight?” I asked weakly.

  She nodded and touched my hand.

  “Everything’s good now, right?” she asked quietly.

  A nurse came into the room before I could answer. She and Mom started to discuss when I would be discharged.

  Brian, in his fear, hadn’t taken time to aim. Or maybe he’d aimed, but his shaking hand messed it up. Either way, he missed anything vital. I’d have a nasty scar just below my clavicle and would need to be careful for a while because the stitches pulled every time I moved it.

  The police had pieced together the story they’d needed. Brian, a bully from my past and the reason behind my switch to a new school and my family’s relocation, had tracked me down to finish what he’d started. I’d asked about Clavin during the interview and had expressed my concern over his well-being. They hadn’t told me much but had promised to check in on him. I hoped that he would recover from Morik’s uninvited influence in his life.

  During the interview, I cried for Brian. What would have happened if I’d chosen him last fall instead of shunning his attention? I would have most likely saved his life. Well, extended it, anyway. In the process, I would have condemned our daughter to the same life I’d led up until Morik.

  Even though I regretted what happened to Brian, I couldn’t regret my decisions. My stomach did a crazy flip just thinking of Morik.

  “Morik, Mom?” I said, reminding her.

  She and the nurse disagreed on what was best for me and left the room, still debating Morik’s presence overnight. A few minutes later, he walked through the door, wearing his ball cap and yellow glasses.

  My bottom lip quivered at the sight of him.

  He bent and kissed me softly, bumping a few of the cords connected to me.

  “Don’t cry,” he begged.

  “It’s a good cry. I can’t believe you’re here,” I said.

  The nurse strode into the room and started to lay out the rules to Morik. No messing with my cords. She’d apparently witnessed the kiss. No giving me anything to eat or drink. If I asked for anything, he should get a nurse. No trying to sleep in the bed with me. I almost rolled my eyes at that one.

  He listened to everything with a serious focus and promised the nurse he would cause me no duress. I already knew that.

  With Morik and Mom by her side, the nurse wheeled me through the hospital doors a few days later. The colors of another setting sun decorated the sky.

  Morik helped me into the car while Mom put all my stuff in the front seat. Despite his gentle care, his eyes swirled yellow and ochre behind his glasses by the time I was settled. He’d witnessed a few of my flinches even though I’d tried to hide them.

  “I’m fine,” I whispered.

  He made a non-committal noise, closed the door, and waved to the nurse before going to the other side to get in back with me. Mom met my gaze in the rearview mirror and smiled.

  “We’ll be home soon.”

  Morik wrapped one arm around my shoulders as she pulled forward. I rested my head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. How I’d missed that sound.

  Once we cleared the parking lot, Mom said, “All right. Get her home.”

  In a blink, I lay in my twin bed with Morik stretched out next to me.

  “Finally,” I sighed, relaxing.

  Morik chuckled softly and kissed my temple.

  Alone for the first time in days, I slipped a hand under his shirt and ran my fingers lightly over his scar.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  He stayed quiet for a moment as he tangled his fingers in my hair.

  “I felt you put pressure on my chest and knew it wouldn’t be enough. As you moved away, I called for Lurel. She took me back to the cavern and fought to keep me alive for days. Even after I started to heal, I was too weak to return to you. She stayed with me. When I felt you—” He sighed. “Nothing could have kept me away.” He kissed the side of my head again. “Sleep. Your mom will be home in an hour with dinner and Stephen.”

  I wrinkled my nose. Stephen had removed himself, unwillingly, from our lives after Brian shot Morik. Now that Morik had returned, everyone was putting their lives back in order, which meant wedding talk had resumed. And, everyone agreed I’d have no problem walking down the aisle in a few weeks.

  After sleeping so much for the past several days, I couldn’t do more than doze next to Morik. When I grew uncomfortable, I shifted slightly. Morik immediately lifted me and moved me so I didn’t strain the stitches. I sighed when he settled me more firmly on his chest.

  Someone tapped on the door, and he rumbled permission to enter. His easy presence here made me smile.

  “She awake?” Mom asked.

  “Mostly.”

  “Can you bring her out?”

  I felt him nod. In an instant, he stood with me in his arms. The abrupt shift from horizontal to vertical left me dizzy.

  Opening my eyes, I looked up at him. He watched me, his silver eyes swirling with yellow. That color had been present to some degree since he’d returned.

  “Can you hand Tessa my glasses, please?” he asked my mom while watching me.

  She moved around us and grabbed the glasses from my desk. She handed them to me with a smile and left the room. I carefully fitted them on his face, using my good arm. As soon as they sat on his nose, he strode out toward the living room.

  I could smell the sulfur of a freshly struck match.

  “Surprise!” Beatriz and a few other familiar voices yelled when we emerged from the hallway.

  A cake lit with seventeen candles glowed in the center of the table. My family, Beatriz, Tommy, Brad, Stephen, and Mona stood around the table. They all started singing to me, and I smiled as I tried to count back the days in the hospital. Had that much time really passed?

  Morik set me on the couch and claimed the space next to me. Beatriz handed me several gifts while Mona and Gran cut the cake. I took my time opening the presents.

  Beatriz gave me a gift card to her favorite store in the mall. A trap if I ever saw one. Gran, Mom, and Aunt Grace gave me a quilt for a larger bed, handmade following our tradition. Knowing they meant it for our bed, I blushed when Morik held it up for my inspection.

  Brad and Tommy each gave me a card. Tommy’s thanked me for including him on the double-date. I could feel Morik’s eyes scan the card and blushed. He and I had a few things to talk about. Brad’s card simply stated, “I’m glad it’s no longer a count down. Get well soon and happy seventeen.”

  I smiled and thanked everyone. No one stayed long. While the rest of my family quietly cleaned up, Morik carried me back to my room.

  After he set me on the bed, he produced a small, brightly wrapped gift.

  “Happy birthday, Tessa.”

  Nestled in a soft bed of silk, a thin chain held a sparkling stone teardrop, clear and beautiful.

  “Just having you back is enough,” I said, closing the lid on the box.

  His lips twitched, and he set the box with the necklace still inside on the desk before lying on the bed with me.

  “I know,” he said softly, touching his lips to my hair. “I felt the moment you chose me. Then, I felt your pain. Again.”

  His eyes blazed bright red at the memory. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, accidentally—on purpose—touching his sensitive ears. Black obliterated any color.

&
nbsp; “That’s what I wanted to see again,” I whispered, stretching to kiss him.

  Our lips touched lightly, and I sighed. The kiss warmed me. Playfully, I nipped his lower lip. He pulled back and shook his head at me.

  “Everything’s the way it should be. Stop dwelling on the past,” I said.

  He smiled at me and nodded. “It’s finally time to start thinking of a future.”

  Thank you for reading Dealing with Demons! While this is a stand alone story, I have plenty of other titles to pull you in. If you’re not yet ready to let go of Morik and Tessa, check out Morik’s short origin story.

  Morik’s eye colors

  Throughout the book, Tessa keeps noticing the shifting colors in Morik’s eyes and begins to associate them with what he’s feeling for her. To take the guesswork out of it, I’ve created a quick little cheat list.

  Green-Satisfied/Content

  Violet-Curiosity

  Brown-Happy

  Black-Desire

  Red-Anger

  Orange-Jealousy

  Ochre-Frustration

  Yellow-Concern

  Author’s Note

  I just want to hug Morik and Tessa! They went through so much together. If you’re like the majority of my readers, you’re desperate to know if there will be more from these two. I sincerely hope so. I love how cute they are as a couple and see so much opportunity for a sequel. I’m just not sure when I’ll be able to get to it, though, because there are so many more stories crowding my head.

  The original version of this book was first published in 2013 as Touch. Finishing it sparked a change in career, though I didn’t know it at the time because I was still working in the IT department for a company I’d been at almost 15 years.

  I’d gotten into writing when my third child was born. Before my second child, I’d read a lot. We’re talking a two books a day kind of obsession. Once the family grew and I pulled back on my work hours (because daycare is freaking expensive!), there wasn’t any fun money left for books. Oh, I know…there’s the library, right? Yeah, I’d gone through our small town library selection already. Remember, two books a day! ;)