His bookend buddies, Kyle and Mikey, present as usual. She had trouble telling them apart, with their identical brown hair, their barking laughter, their football builds that would one day be unhealthy girth on middle-aged men. For now, they were in their prime.
“What’s the plan?” Cara murmured as they got out of the car.
“I don’t know.” Aerie shrugged and reached down the front of her pants, tugging the stone charm free and held it out to Cara. “I’m sure the demon will figure something out. Hold this.”
She cleared her throat and tapped the amulet like it was a microphone. “Uh, mother? Hello? That guy over there is the meanest kid I’ve ever known. I’ve suffered more at his hands than everyone else’s put together. Think I should go and say hi?”
Fringes of flame dripped from her forearms and a rumble went through her. A voice from inside her head made her wince with a stab of headache. “Are you baiting me?”
“Nope. Just wondering what kind of relationship we have. You weren’t around when I was six and he cut the spokes on my bicycle. I can show you the scars on my knees but it’s kind of secondhand news.”
“A schoolboy’s pranks are not enough to incite me.”
“Pranks? Okay. Want to hear about when we were fourteen? And he pulled me into a closet? And when I said no he didn’t listen? Or…this?”
She didn’t say a word, just allowed a flash of images from her memory, a quick dip into the stream that perpetually despaired her. She never spoke of it, never said the words out loud, but silence never gave her any distance from it. Her face burned remembering, but it was the burn of buried shame, not demonic possession.
“Really, is this so?” The fury inside amped up like she’d thrown gas on a campfire. “Well, then. Won’t you introduce me to your friend?”
Cara flattened herself to the wall. “I don’t know about this, Aer. You are really burning up. Someone might see.”
“Worry not. No one sees what I don’t want them to see.” The voice that came out of Aerie’s mouth wasn’t just hers. It had layers. A chorus of voices ranging from grave-deep to ear-stabbing screech. It was the voice of a demon.
Aerie turned the corner in time to see Jels tug Perky onto his lap while she giggled and protested ever so weakly. The group looked up as one.
“Hey, Jels,” Aerie said. “When you called and said you wanted to fool around, I thought it was an invitation to participate, not to watch.”
Jels groaned. “Not you again. Can’t you stay away from me?”
“Who’s that, Jels?” The barista jumped up from his lap, flicked her hair at the girls, and jammed her hands on her hips.
“Nobody, Cher. I didn’t call her.”
“Oh no?” Aerie’s voice slid deeper. “What’s this?”
She flipped out her phone, tapped the screen, and held it out.
“You have one saved message. First message: Hey, Aerie, baby.” It was Jel’s voice. “I can’t keep away from you. I gotta taste that sweet stuff of yours again. You just knock me out. Meet me at Space Java at three and bring those lips. I’ll show ya how to use them.”
Cara’s eyes widened in exaggerated disbelief. “You pig. You leave that message and then make time with someone else?”
“I didn’t leave that message!”
“Oh, my mistake.” Aerie made wide eyes and turned to look at her phone. “Your number isn’t 570-555-6452?”
The blond punched him. “That’s the number you just gave me! Well, forget it.” She stomped back inside.
Aerie grinned, watching the pony tail bounce out of sight. “Break’s over, I guess.”
Jels’ jaw dropped. “You bitch. I’ve been working on her all summer. How can you do that?”
“Easy.” Aerie dipped her chin a moment before raising her gaze. Her eyes glowed sullen red. “You bring out the worst in me.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, it better be worse than mine.” He reached into his front jeans pocket and pulled out a set of brass knuckles. He pushed them onto his right hand, leaving one of the rings open. His casting circle. Always had to be the biggest and the baddest when all he needed was to be the best. “BARRIER!”
A shimmering octagon pen flashed into place around them.
Aerie yawned and inspected her nails. “Don’t want anyone to watch what happens to you?”
He smiled. Anyone who didn’t know him would see a pleasant smile and think, what a nice boy. Aerie knew better. He’d smiled at her like that more times than she cared to remember and most of those times had left her with a new scar. “I just don’t want witnesses.”
“What about your baboon friends?”
“They won’t tell on me.” He raised his fist, staring at her through the empty ring of his casting circle just for a moment before he slashed at her.
A long gash opened on her cheek. The blood that streaked down her jaw was very real.
Cara rushed him, thumped her fists into his chest and pushed him back. “Knock it off, Jels! That’s going too far.”
“Cara, it’s okay. Jels wants to teach me a lesson.” Aerie turned her head so only Cara could see. With a wink, she dragged a finger over the wound.
The skin closed.
“Aerie?” Cara’s voice trembled as she backed up a step. “What did you do?”
“I’m bulletproof,” she whispered, wearing a smile that was not her own. Turning back to Jels, she raised her blood-stained fingers.
“Jels.” Her voice cracked as if she’d break into tears. “How could you?”
“Easy,” he said. “You have no idea how mad I am.”
“Let me finish, jackass.” She wiped her cheek with her sleeve, revealing the smooth intact skin. “How could you be so stupid?”
She flamed, the spread of blue flames gushing out over her body. The rush of heat made the boys get back.
“You’re a bully.” The demon’s voice was a roar. “A no-good, no-account bully. You don’t have friends. You have toadies. Bullies pick on anyone who looks weaker because deep down, bullies are threatened by them. Well, you picked the right girl. I look weaker. And I am a threat.”
The ground around her feet began to burn and creeping trails of demon-fire seeped toward Jels. The ground cracked and split beneath the encroaching flames. Mikey jumped onto the table to get away from it, and Kyle backed off as far as the barrier would let him.
Fury swelled inside Aerie like a windstorm. “You want to pick on girls? You want to torment them? Pick on me now.”
He swung at her, his fist whooshing overhead as she ducked. Darting closer, she landed a solid punch on the side of his ribs, knocking him off balance. If she’d been holding a knife, he would have been dead. Stupid jackass always left his vulnerable spots wide open.
He spun, too late. She had already stepped back out of reach, taunting him with a cocky smile.
“Your parents should be ashamed.” The demon screamed in a dozen voices at once. “You should be ashamed. All that potential will go to waste because no one wants to associate with a pathetic, insecure bully like you.”
His face twisted in rage, he rushed her again. She side-stepped and twisted, slapping his clumsy attack aside, adding a shove of her own that sent him sprawling into a table. Jels always thought he was stronger and tougher because he was bigger. Couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his size and mass were his worst enemy.
He pulled himself to his feet, a look of sensible worry finally hitting his expression. “What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m going to put you out of your misery.” The smile that Aerie wore was not at home on her face. It was a grotesque mask of everything she’d never, ever show. “And hers.”
The flames arced around her and her eyes erupted into balls of flame, her mouth dragged open by a dark howl of bottomless rage. She reached for the door inside her brain, her mental hand guided by another’s. All she had to do was open it and become one with this massive force. So close—
“Well, well.” The door o
f the shop swung open behind her and a familiar voice called out. “Just the girl I was looking for.”
Demon-sight told her this was the guy from Green Ridge. She hissed and drew a ragged breath. “Leave, kid. This doesn’t concern you.”
Cara slid between them, barring him from coming closer. “Who are you?”
He tried to side-step her but she mirrored him, fluidly. “Just someone who wants his amulet back.”
“Amulet?” Emboldened, Jels laughed. “I should have known. You never had this kind of power.”
“Known what?” Green Ridge kid edged around Aerie so he could face Jels. “That she’s possessed? You’re still in trouble, dude. I’d keep quiet. Now, Aerie, let me have it. It’ll come to me.”
“Back off, Finn. I’m dealing with someone.”
“You can’t fight those battles for her.”
“He cut her!” She roared, a cacophony of voices, distorted and discordant.
Ignoring the blue flames licking across her back, Finn pulled Aerie’s shoulder, turning her to face him, his eyes narrowing when he saw the smear of blood. He gaped at Jels, who had the decency to look abashed. “You cut her? My God. What kind of asshole are you?”
“The fed-up kind,” Jels said. “What’s wrong with you, Pitiful Pathering?”
“Don’t you call her that.” The demon reached its breaking point and Aerie screamed, releasing a gale of scalding wind. Her skin changed, darkening and cracking like cooling lava. She pulsed with a hellish power that threatened to consume her.
Power. Such power. It was immense. And it felt good. Aerie breathed in, deep breaths that pushed her consciousness deeper down, making room for more power.
Cara grabbed Finn’s hand. “I don’t know who you are or what you know, but you have to stop this. Now.”
Finn nodded once at Cara before springing.
9
Drawing herself in, Cara tightened her arms against her body, her chin to her chest. A shimmer rippled over her body once before she flung out her hands, face up, eyes blue, hair swimming. A dark wave spread out from the center of her body and she unleased a water wall.
And an icy-cold one, at that. The solid wave slapped into Aerie, soaking shocking her, distracting the demon-rage.
That was when Finn slammed into her.
He tackled Aerie, wrapping his arms around her as he took her down. They hit the concrete together and rolled toward the table. Jels hopped out of the way.
“Stop this.” Finn whispered, his voice strained. “You can’t give in to it. You’re not a demon. You’re not. You can’t act like one.”
Aerie struggled and fought, screaming and spitting like a pissed off cat. Every time he pinned one of her wrists, she’d get the other loose and pummel him. He ignored her blows, even the ones that were dead-on, and stayed firmly atop her even when she’d undulate her body hard enough to nearly flip him off.
“You’re so close. Don’t give into it, please. Don’t give into it.” Finn’s desperate voice slid into a chant, a language she didn’t know. It was forceful and pleading and sounded like drum beats—
And it soothed her, subdued the force inside her. The chant echoed down through her ambushed body, seeking out her true self, elevating it and helping it to regain its control.
Gradually her body relaxed, the fight going out of her. After several long moments, she lay still and mumbled into his chest.
“What?” He loosened his grip on her wrists and drew back.
“Get off me.” Aerie grimaced and pushed at him. “Road rash. Cripes.”
He leaned closer, peering intently at her eyes. “You look better. Think you can control her?”
“Wait.” Cara knelt down beside her and held up the Sacral Chakra. She tugged the front of Aerie’s jeans away and slid her fingers down inside, pushing the stone back into place. “Not a word, you.”
A second layer of insulation slid into place between her and the demon’s thrall. Aerie manage a weak grin. “Sweetie, I had no idea you liked me like that.”
“Sorry, babe, I’m taken.” Cara smirked and patted her leg before getting up.
“Are you two through?” Finn sounded like he was running out of patience. “And answer the question. Can you control her?
“Yeah, yeah.” Aerie half-closed her eyes and did a quick internal inventory. “It’s—I don’t know, gone? But not gone.”
Another long look before he nodded and got to his feet. Extending his hand, he reached down to pull her up. “What are you going to do with him?”
He jerked his head to indicate the other guys. They turned to look at Jels, who looked very nervous.
“Can I still kill him?” Aerie wiped at the blood on her face, feeling sick. She could still feel the touch of Jels’ magic on her, a creepy brush of fingers, the scald of his malicious intent. A hot shower would help.
“Too many witnesses.” Finn shook his head and planted his hands on his hips, looking around them. “His barrier work is crappy. I saw the whole thing from inside, until she stepped in.”
“We can follow him and kill him later.” Pushing a strand of wet hair out of her eyes, Aerie’s expression lifted into one of sadistic cheer, her voice bright and hopeful.
“I have a better idea.” Finn leaned and whispered into her ear. Aerie’s eyes widened above a gleeful wicked grin. “Do you want the honors?”
She nodded, smiling into her curled fingers.
Finn stepped back toward Cara and swept his hand in a grand gesture. “He’s all yours.”
“Well, as long as you think so…Baffo!” Aerie flicked her circle at Jels. “Enjoy.”
Jels clapped his hand over his mouth, eyes practically bulging.
“Come on, swamp witch.” Aerie linked arms with Cara and tugged her away. “Let’s go.”
Cara strained to look over their shoulders at Jels, who rubbed his mouth, protesting. “What did you do to him?”
“Something befitting a knuckle-dragger like him.” She paused and turned back. Jels was complaining in a comically panicked way, tugging at the strands of a rapidly growing mustache that flowed down over his chin, his chest. Mikey produced a pocket knife and started sawing at it.
She laughed and resumed tugging Cara along without another glance back.
Finn followed them to the car. “That was a hairy situation.”
Aerie winked at Cara. “It is now.”
“Am I missing something?” Cara’s voice was plaintiff.
“Nope.” Aerie cupped her hand around her mouth and yelled back toward the patio. “See you around, ya big ape.”
Giving up on getting a straight answer from her friend, Cara turned to Finn. “What did she do?”
“How should I know?” The kid shrugged. “I don’t speak Italian.”
“You don’t?” Aerie groaned. “Crap. I should have tried that before German. I suck at German.”
“Wait. That’s how you know him?” Cara dragged to a stop and jerked a thumb toward him. “This is the guy from Scranton?”
“That’s me.” He stuck out a hand. “Finn Meehan. I’m guessing my reputation preceded me?”
Aerie got between them. “Quiet, you. Thanks for your help, but I have to go and you need to scram.”
“Not so fast.” Finn crossed his arms. “I want the amulet.”
“Sorry to disappoint yet another person.” She dodged him and walked toward Cara’s car. “It won’t come off.”
“What do you mean?” He scooted around and blocked her from opening the passenger side door.
She narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin in a look of contemptuous challenge and unbuttoned her polo shirt, tugging the collar down enough to reveal the amulet, welded to the flesh above her sternum.
“You shouldn’t be wearing that.” His brows dipped so low they almost touched.
“Trust me.” She rolled her eyes. “I know.”
“Do you?” He dared a glance at the opening of her shirt. “Do you have any idea what that is?”
&n
bsp; “Yeah, it’s a demon-infested piece of junk that possessed me and wants to kill my father.”
“It’s not a demon,” he snapped.
“It sure acts like one.”
“Acts? What do you mean? We’ve had it for quite some time and it never acted like anything.”
“Do angelic amulets stick to a person and refuse to come off?”
He blew out a tight breath. “It bonded to you? Not good. You need to separate it from yourself, and fast. A direct connection just exposes you to the power that feeds it.”
“And what if it doesn’t come off?” Cara tossed her purse into the back seat through the open window. “The last time they tried, she stopped breathing.”
“Really?” Finn looked back and forth between the girls. At Aerie’s nod, he sighed. “This is worse than I thought.”
“You bet it is.” Aerie didn’t add the fact it was her mother’s spirit inside. That was a family matter, and he wasn’t family.
“I guess I have no choice, then.” He pulled open the rear door and got into the backseat.
The girls exchanged WTH glances over the top of the car.
“Ugh. You’re not going to bespell me, are you?” Aerie said, getting in. “Because honestly, I’m tired of outside forces messing with me.”
“No. I’m just going to be honest with you.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled down the vanity mirror, wincing at the welt on her cheek, the smear of dried blood. Angling the mirror, she positioned it so she could see him without turning around. “Oh, is that all?”
“Trust me. Honesty is more than enough, and probably more than you’re ready to handle.”
She laughed a soft, sardonic laugh, muttering dirty words under her breath. If there was one thing she couldn’t turn down, it was a dare.
It was like he knew just which button to push. Just great. One more outside force that wanted to make her do something she didn’t want.
10
“My dad and I are Naturals,” Finn said. “He works in forensics. Funny how things work out, sometimes. Anyway. Several years ago, this amulet came across his radar. Unlike a normal loaded amulet, the spirit in this one wasn’t voluntary.”
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 214