Dark Calling

by Cheryl McIntyre

Bryon wears the look of a deer caught in headlights. “We’re here,” he says, pulling her car beside a curb.

  “Coward.”

  “You say coward. I say smart.”

  “O.k. How about liar? Fake? Phony?” She shoves her door open and heads for the large apartment building. Doesn’t know where she’s going. Stops. Crosses her arms in front of her chest.

  “Keely? It’s this one,” Bryon calls.

  Keely turns to see him pointing across the street. Stomps after him. Nick pulls his old blue Chevelle behind her Honda. Joins them and they all walk through the yard and down the concrete steps to his apartment.

  Nick unlocks the door. Steps aside in order for Keely to go first. She looks around the one room and dials her mom’s cell. Puts it on speaker. It rings four times before going to voice mail. “Mom, it’s me. Where are you? Please call me.” She ends the call. Dials her dad, again on speaker. Has the same result. Leaves a similar message. Tries them both once more.

  “Well, I’ve been delivered. You can go now,” she announces coldly to Bryon. A knock at the door stops Bryon from replying.

  Nick pulls something from his belt and stands to the side of the door. “Yeah, who is it?”

  “It’s me bird brain.”

  Nick’s body relaxes. He slides the dagger back into his pants and opens the door. Keely thinks it’s a stupid place for a knife.

  “You told me to come over,” Lila says annoyed.

  Keely shakes her head. Narrows her eyes. “So, she one of the ‘none of us?’”

  Bryon’s facial expression is completely neutral, showing no emotion, but he nods in acknowledgement.

  “Unfreakingbelievable,” Keely squeaks.

  “Uh, what’s going on Icky?” Lila asks. Her eyes dart over Keely, a quick check for injuries. She notices the bags by the door. One is spilling over with clothing. She raises an eyebrow and gazes at her brother.

  Nick is at a loss. He doesn’t know where to begin. Keely laughs. Not like it’s funny—although to her, it kind of is—but a quiet, slightly hysterical laugh. They all stare at her.

  “Is she all right?” Lila whispers.

  Keely stops abruptly. “Am I all right? Really?” She begins to pace. “There is something seriously wrong with you people. Of course I’m not all right!” She is shouting now. Tears sting her eyes. She does not want to cry. “My parents may be dead. Someone wants me dead. But nobody is willing to tell me why. And I am stuck here, in this crappy little apartment with people I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t trust. And believe me, if I were in any better of a position, I so would not be here. I’d be calling the cops on you fricking people.” She flops down on the futon. “Oh, and let’s not forget that I was sick all day and then nearly attacked on my first day of school. This has been the day from hell.”

  “She’s a little cranky, isn’t she?” Lila flips her pink-blond hair over her shoulder. Keely’s eyes bulge. Cranky?

  Bryon scratches his head uncomfortably. “True story.”

  “Come on. You need to soak in a hot bath. Then we’ll get you settled so you can rest.”

  Keely is so taken aback by Lila’s oblivious reaction to her manic rant that she allows her to pull her to her feet. Willingly follows her into the bathroom. Watches quietly as she runs the hot water into the surprisingly clean bathtub. Lila hands her a towel and wash cloth. Keely takes it. Nick is there, giving Lila Keely’s back pack. Lila passes it to Keely before backing out of the room and pulling the door shut behind her.

  What the hell? Although she’s pretty sure she was just Jedi mind tricked, Keely decides she wants the bath. Despite the heat, she is frozen. Chilled through her skin, straight to her bones. And the muscles in between ache.

  She locks the door. Kicks off her shoes, she doesn’t even remember putting them on. Undresses and submerges herself in the hot water. The scrapes on her hands sting. She slides down so that only the small oval of her face is above the steaming water. Stares at the ceiling. Does this for a very long time. Her eyes trace the shape of the exhaust. Follow the circle of the heating vent. Trail the fine lines of the cracks in the ceiling.

  There is a soft knock at the door. A muffled voice. She pushes herself up. Notices the water has turned cold and gray. Hair dye. It will fade away in a few more washings. She really wishes her mom would let her use permanent dye.

  “Keely? Are you all right?” Nick sounds slightly panicked. Keely figures she better respond before he kicks the door in. She rolls her eyes.

  “Yeah. Fine.” Her voice is as icy as the water has become. She reaches over to her back pack. Pulls her shampoo out and begins washing her hair.

  Keely’s head is fully lathered with the sweet smelling shampoo when she hears whispering. Her hands freeze. Ears strain to listen. Someone is whispering at the door.

  “What? I can’t hear you,” she calls. The whispering cuts off. Begins again. She leans over the side of the tub trying to hear better. Why is he whispering? Just say it already.

  Suddenly the whispering is in her ear. In both ears. All around her. Keely doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. She is much too scared to do anything.

  “In three plus a day.”

  “You’ll be his.”

  “Find your way.”

  “To where your mother is.”

  “Trade her for you.”

  “If she you want to save.”

  “If your love is true.”

  “You must be brave.”

  The whispers die down once again. As they start for the third time, Keely slowly looks around the room. She is alone. She scrambles out of the tub. Wraps the towel around her and escapes the bathroom leaving the voices behind.

  Nick is sitting on the futon when Keely bursts from the bathroom. Shampoo is dripping down her face threatening to trickle into her eyes. She swipes her hand at the soapiness on her forehead.

  Nick is on his feet and in front of her immediately. “What’s the matter?”

  “In there,” Keely says, nodding toward the bathroom. Nick pushes past her. Looks inside the room. “What was it?” He peers over his shoulder at her.

  “Voices. Whispering. Rhyming.” She shivers.

  Nick comes back to stand beside her. “Sussurro Demons. They’re gone now. Don’t worry, they’re harmless. They aren’t strong enough to do anything more than insinuate.” Nick frowns at her. “What did they say?”

  “That I should trade myself for my mom if I’m brave enough.” Keely wraps her arms around her elbows. “Where is everyone?”

  Nick seems distracted. “They left.”

  Obviously. “I’m going to rinse my hair in the kitchen sink. I am not going back in there.”

  “They’re gone. I promise. They gave you the message, that’s all they can do.” Nick begins to pace. “What I find amazing is that they knew you were here. That they found you this quickly.”

  Keely can barely hear him. She has her head under the faucet, but she decides when she’s finished, she is going to get some answers from Nick Wallace.

  Her Guardian.

  “Hey, do you have a towel?” Keely asks loudly. Nick quickly hands her a kitchen towel and she wraps what she can of her hair. She turns around and he is very close. “Uh, thanks,” she says quietly. “I need to get dressed.”

  “Keely, they’re gone. You can go in there.”

  She shakes her head. “I really don’t want to.”

  He sighs. “What are you going to do when you have to use the bathroom? I mean really need to go? Besides, they can do that anywhere. It has nothing to do with the room. That’s just where you were when they came.”

  Now Keely sighs. “Are you positive?”

  “I wouldn’t lie to you,” Nick replies seriously.

  Keely laughs without humor.

  “I have never lied to you, Keely. Don’t forget, until today, I’ve never spoken to you.”

  This is true now that she thinks about it, but does it mean she can trust him? As if hearing her thoughts, Nick says, “
You can trust me, Keely. My only intention is to keep you safe. I promise you, those things are gone. And if they were to come back, I promise they cannot hurt you. And I am here if anything else comes.”

  Right here would be the perfect time to delve into her hundreds of questions, but she’s naked. Well, under the towel anyway. So she pulls clothes from her bag and goes back to the bathroom. She doesn’t close the door all the way, just in case. She looks around before dropping the towel and dressing. Exchanges the kitchen towel for the big bath towel that can actually hold her mass of hair and goes to sit by Nick on the futon.

  “O.k. I’m ready.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “The part where you tell me everything.”

  “Everything?” He says the word as if it burns him. As if it was harmful to him in some way.

  “Everything,” Keely confirms. “Or I walk,” she adds firmly. Nick smiles, finding her amusing. And o.k., she’s totally bluffing. Like she’d go anywhere after the crazy whispering poets. She narrows her gaze and crosses her arms. Nick becomes serious again.

  “All right. Where do you want me to start?”

  “The beginning.”

  “Of time? Because that could take all night and it is getting late.”

  “You’re stalling.”

  “You’re perceptive.” He chuckles.

  “This is my life. My parents lives. And you’re laughing.” She stares at him. His features morph. Become solemn.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He turns sideways on the couch facing her and crosses his legs. “You have a choice, no matter what. That is the first thing you need to understand. It is ultimately your decision what happens.” He gazes at Keely. She can feel the intensity of his words.

  “Your mom and dad tried for years to have children. Tests confirmed that your father was sterile. Having her own child was important to your mom. She decided she wanted to be artificially inseminated. Your dad, feeling badly that he couldn’t give her a child, agreed.” Nick looks Keely in the eyes. Makes sure she understands the implication. Her shocked expression confirms she does.

  “There were many donors to choose from. Your mother chose a man that was good looking. An artist.” He pauses. Allows that to sink in. “He was also an accomplished musician. Talented in many ways. Superficial ways.

  “She could have chosen a scientist, or a doctor, a lawyer. Instead, she chose beauty. Your father is the same as Asmoday’s father. The king of Demons. Just as Asmoday is a prince, you are a princess.

  “Several women were inseminated by the Demon King. All of their daughters were beautiful. All blond.” He inclines his head toward her. “Several are dead. Possibly all of them. Except you.

  “The man that attacked you, Keely, that man was also your brother. Also a Prince of Demons. We aren’t sure why he tried to kill you, or why he killed all the other girls. All we do know is it has something to do with your eighteenth birthday. That’s when whatever power you possess will bloom. Apophis is one of the oldest and most dangerous Demons we know of.”

  “Apophis. He’s the one. The one that tried…”

  Nick nods.

  “I always thought of him as a monster. I didn’t realize he really was.” She shivers as the memory stirs.

  “Can you tell me what happened that night? It may help us figure out why they want you dead.”

  Keely nods. Pulls the blanket off the back of the futon. Covers herself with it though she isn’t really cold. She feels protected; it gives her enough security to say the words that may help Nick solve the puzzle.

  “I was at practice—I was a cheerleader. He watched me from the bleachers every day for weeks. I thought he was cute.” She shakes her head. It seems so weird to think of him that way because for so long she has thought of him as such an ugly being.

  “He would approach me after. We flirted, but I wasn’t really serious about him. He was older and I had a boyfriend. And there was something about him. I had a weird feeling. That limp and those cigars… He made me uncomfortable. He asked me out over and over. Finally, on that day, I told him I just wasn’t interested. I told him he had to go. And he left. He could have killed me right then, but he didn’t.” Keely grips the blanket tightly. Her hands in fists.

  “I thought that was it. I thought he graciously accepted my rejection. But I found out that night how wrong I was.

  “He followed me to my friend’s house. She was having a Halloween party that night. I went as this girl from my school. We were always making fun of her for the way she dressed. Always in black. Black make-up. Black hair. I thought it was a big joke.” Tears of shame fill Keely’s eyes. She doesn’t move to wipe them as they spill over.

  “So I went to the party and he showed up dressed in this suit and wearing a masquerade mask, but I knew it was him. I also knew it was weird that he was there, but I had been drinking and I ignored all those warning feelings. He was cute and seemed to like me. So when he asked me to dance, I danced. The way he touched me, it was exciting. New and scary, like I was living dangerously. And when he asked me to leave with him, I went.” She shrugs. “Part of me knew it was stupid, but a bigger part of me wanted so badly to make him happy. He had the prettiest eyes, and it was like they were hypnotic.”

  “They were,” Nick says in a low voice. It’s the first sound he’s made since she began.

  “I believe it. I left with him, but I wouldn’t get in his car. I had enough restraint for that. So we walked. He held my hand and guided me several blocks away to the warehouses. He told me how much he enjoyed spending time with me. Told me he was so glad to have met me. He started talking about the night. About how beautiful the night sky was and how he didn’t often get to see it. He was looking at it so admiringly so I looked up too. And it was beautiful. It was cloudless that night and I swear I could see every star.

  “While I was staring at the stars, he said I couldn’t take this away from him. Said he couldn’t allow me to take the night away. That I would ruin everything. That I would ruin him. But he wouldn’t allow it. He had to stop me. His voice was different, like he was speaking to someone that did something horribly wrong to him. Like I hurt him in some way. Then he pulled a knife, like a small machete from out of nowhere and came at me.

  “It took me a second to understand he was serious. I thought he was joking at first. I had never done anything to this guy. I had no plans on taking anything from him. It had to be a prank. But then I saw his eyes. They were filled with hate. Hate for me. It was like, all of a sudden, it was a different person standing in front of me. A cruel, sadistic imposter. I put my arm up just in time to block as he slashed the knife at me.

  “I ran. I ran as fast as I could. I must have tripped a dozen times. I was sure he was going to catch me, but every time I looked back, he was walking. Taking his time with this insane smile on his lips. It was like I was living in a scary movie. And he liked it. It was just a game to him. I found a warehouse with an open door and I hid. I hid and I prayed that he would turn around and leave me alone. But he didn’t. He found me. Toyed with me to prolong his game. Let me feel hope and then snatched it away. He started touching me. Strangling me. I couldn’t breathe and I was so scared. When I thought I couldn’t take another second, he kissed me. Called me his Keely. His beautiful. Told me he loved me. He said I was his favorite.” She shakes her head. “His favorite.” Keely sits forward. Her knuckles are white on the blanket.

  “And then he slit my throat like it was nothing to him. Like I was nothing. I see his face nearly every time I sleep. Every time I look in the mirror.” Her hands release the blanket. Fingers find the scar at her throat. “I relive it every single day.”

  Keely blinks, coming back to the room. Takes a long, deep breath. “Later, the police told me he was a serial killer. That all of the girls were young blonds. That I was the only survivor. After my therapy, when I was better and knew I had to go back to school, I started dying my hair. In all the ways he was light and bright, I made mys
elf different. Dark. I was so afraid he was going to come back for me. That he would come back to finish the job. Now I know he will.”

  Nick moves his hand wanting to place it on hers. He hesitates, then lightly touches the tips of his fingers to her knuckles. “I’m so sorry Keely. I promise I will do everything in my power to keep him from hurting you again.” He pulls his fingers away quickly.

  She wipes the tears off of her cheeks. “I can’t believe my dad isn’t really my dad. I can’t believe those other girls were actually my sisters. I mean, why donate your sperm if you don’t want someone to have your children?”

  “That’s a really good question.”

  Seven:

  “Who found you after?” Nick asks as an afterthought.

  “A night security guard at the warehouse. He stumbled upon me during his rounds. I guess he performed CPR and called 911. He saved my life. If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve died like the other girls.”

  “But you did die, right?”

  Keely nods. “Twice they say.”

  “Do you remember anything from the moments when you were dead?”

  “No. One minute, I’m on the cold floor in the warehouse, certain I will never see my friends or family again, the next, I’m in a hospital bed with a tube down my throat.” Keely’s eyes squint with the memory. A chill passes down her back. She shivers. “That’s all I remember,” she says through a yawn.

  Nick looks at her thoughtfully. She seems so young, so innocent at this moment. The way her eyes close and her nose scrunches, her mouth forming into an O. He finds himself lost in a trance, staring at her. This isn’t the first time. It happens quite often. This is, however, the first time she catches him.

  Keely shifts uncomfortably. Wonders why Nick is looking at her this way. It sends a rush of nervous butterflies twirling through her stomach.

  “It’s getting late. You should get some sleep.”

  “Where do I sleep?”

  Nick raises his eyebrows. “Right where you are.”

  “Oh. Well, where do you sleep?”

  Nick stands up, points to the floor. “Right here. I’m a light sleeper so you don’t have to worry about anything. And just kick me if I snore.” He takes several blankets and pillows from a small closet. Tosses Keely a pillow. Makes himself a spot on the floor.