Devada (Angels & Demons Book 1)

by Tich Brewster

  The week had gone by rather fast. Work had been busy which occupied her mind, keeping it from strange creepy men. Josh or Raum was always somewhere close by during her shifts which made her feel safe.

  Teachers didn’t give out much homework that week either due to the Halloween dance that Wednesday night. The whole school was excited about their annual Fall Festival and high school dance.

  Hannah stood in front of her mirror. She looked fabulous. The fairy dress hugged her body just right and the pixie cut was right at mid-thigh. The wings fanned out around her frame, sparkling when the light hit them.

  “Hannah, honey,” Sally called from the bottom of the steps. “Chris is here.”

  “Be right down.” Hannah twirled once more, watching the skirt of the dress lift slightly and whirl around with her.

  This was the first dance that Hannah had ever gone to. There had been other high school dances but she never cared enough to attend. Tonight was different. This was her last year in high school and Halloween was her favorite time of the year. Not to mention, she had the perfect costume thanks to Raum.

  The parking lot was packed full of cars so Chris drove across the street and parked in the restaurant’s parking. The loud thumping music could be heard and felt long before they arrived at the gym doors.

  Before entering Hannah smoothed out the wrinkles in the end of Chris’ Dracula cape and in return he straightened her wings. She inhaled deeply to calm her nerves. Inside, strings of pumpkin lights had been strung throughout the room, skeletons and witches covering the walls.

  Bodies crowded the entire gymnasium, boys and girls dancing to the beat of the music. There was a large variety of costumes here. She saw cute fluffy animal costumes, movie character costumes, grotesque costumes, you name it and it was there.

  A smile formed on her lips. Not only had Raum chosen a stunning outfit but he had found a unique one, she hadn’t seen anyone around with anything close to what she was wearing. Sure there were a few fairies there but none of their costumes were as exquisite as hers.

  “Be back in a while,” Chris shouted over the loud music. “I’m gonna see if Katie wants to dance.”

  “Okay.” Waving at him she turned toward the corner table. She’d just pour a drink and wait until she found the courage to ask someone to dance.

  A tap landed on her shoulder as she reached for a cup. Josh stood behind her wearing a black outfit with swords strapped to his back. “Hey, Hannah, you look great.”

  “Thanks.” She studied his costume, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to be. “What,” she gestured at the swords, “are you?”

  “Um,” he looked himself over, “a demon slayer.”

  “A demon slayer?” He nodded. “Wow, that’s original. I haven’t ever heard that before.”

  “Oh yeah,” Josh said, “Demon slayers are da bomb.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh, he sounded so ridiculous. He laughed along with her. It was such a pleasant sound, he had a nice laugh.

  The song changed and Hannah swayed her hips in time with the song — Firework, she was so glad the DJ had decided to play it. “I love this song. Would you dance with me?”

  He held his arm out. Linking her arm with his, they walked onto the very crowded dance floor. There were some whistles and cheers as they made their way to the center of the floor.

  She wasn’t sure how long they’d been dancing but her feet were beginning to ache right in her arch. Though she wasn’t about to tell him that, she was having too much fun.

  A moment later an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her free from Josh’s arms. As she turned around Hannah came toe to toe with Raum, his icy blue stare piercing through to her soul. “I knew that costume would be perfect on you.”

  She blushed at his complement. What was it about this guy that could cause her heart to both skip a beat and practically pound out of her chest at the same time? He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

  Stepping back, she looked him over. She didn’t think he had been wearing a costume until she noticed the knives that were holstered to his thighs and the sword at his hip. “And you’re a what, a demon slayer?”

  “Nah, I’m just a rebel.” He pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Seconds later a beautiful slow song filled the room.

  As they danced she asked the one question that had bugged her since the day she met him. “Why does your jacket say Aunlyn, what does it mean?”

  He squeezed her tight against him, his lips only a hair space from her forehead. “Would you believe me if I said it meant powerful killer?”

  Pulling back to stare into his eyes she replied, “Um, no.” His smile lit up his face but he didn’t say another word about his jacket. Oh well, she figured it was the name of some biker gang he rode with.

  They danced to several more songs. If her feet were achy before, they flat out hurt now. Raum lifted her off her feet with one arm and used his free hand to take off her heels. Lowering her feet to the top of his, he hooked the heels of her Madonna Englin pumps in his holster and continued dancing.

  She wouldn’t admit this to anyone yet, but Raum was starting to rub off on her. She could see herself easily falling in love with him.

  It was Friday and Hannah couldn’t be happier. Now that Halloween was over the weather had changed, like the flip of a switch. One day it was a nice sixty-four degrees outside then the next day she was breaking out the heavy winter coats.

  She ran down the stairs two at a time. Knock, knock. As always Chris picked her up for school. “See ya later, mom,” she yelled as she opened the front door. “Hey Chris.”

  “Hey.” He held out his hand. “Here I’ll carry your books.”

  Handing them over she said, “Thanks.”

  It had rained during the night and the street was full of puddles. She sure felt sorry for anyone that had to walk in that mess. Things like that made her thankful for her loyal friend and his willingness to drive her to and from school.

  Chris had picked her up five minutes early which meant that there would be some parking spaces available by the front door. As predicted there were three open spaces right in front of the glass doors. He parked in the spot closest to the door.

  She bent over to grab her purse and heard a loud familiar motorcycle park in the space next to her. Looking up she saw Raum hop off of his Harley, splashing muddy water with his thick boots.

  He looked right at her and winked. A week ago she would have rolled her eyes and wish he’d get lost. Now, well, she thought he was kind of cute even if he was on the cocky side. The guy is built like a Greek god and he knows it. He probably answers his phone with “This is Raum, the guardian of all masculinity.”

  Opening her car door, she said a quick hello to Raum before Chris walked over to him, giving him a knuckle bump. She would never understand the purpose of that. A handshake or a high-five she could understand but this was just too odd for her taste.

  Right on cue Josh’s Mustang pulled in next to Raum’s Harley. He waved at Hannah before putting the car in park. Staying on the sidewalk to avoid the mud, she waited for him. He gave her a brief hug. “Mind if I walk you to class?”

  “Not at all.” She looked down at Josh’s outstretched hands. Not sure about his meaning, she raised a brow.

  He did a give me motion with his hands. “Hand me the bag, I’ll carry it.”

  “Oh, okay.” She handed him her book bag and he slung it over his shoulder. Hey if he wanted to carry that fifty pound bag, she’d let him. She turned back and waved her hands above her head until Chris noticed her. “I’m heading to class with Josh.”

  Chris nodded and turned back to his conversation with Raum. Raum cocked his head to the side and smiled that devilish smile at her. His smile caused her to bite her lip which made his smile wider. He popped a handful of jelly beans into his mouth then waved a two fingered wave at her. Or maybe he was waving at Josh and not her, she couldn’t be sure.

  “So Rau
m and I are having a movie marathon at Chris’ this evening, will you be there?” Josh asked as he held their classroom door open for her.

  Hannah smiled and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Movie marathon?” She raised an eyebrow. “I hope there will be at least one chick flick,” she said with emphases on the word one.

  That caused Josh to chuckle. “I will personally see to it.” He set her book bag down on her desk, the one that Raum so rudely stole from her on his first day. “Are you working tonight?”

  “Yes. Just a couple of hours though.” She smiled when Raum walked through the door and gave her that how dare you steal my seat look.

  “This is my seat,” Raum joked.

  She lifted her books, examining the desktop. “Sorry but I don’t see a name here.” She threw his words from that first day back at him.

  “Touché.” He sat at the desk behind her. “Are you coming over tonight?” She raised a brow his question. “To Chris’, are you coming over to his house tonight?”

  “I don’t know, maybe if you rent some really romantic movies with lots of love and kissing.” She was rewarded with a loud groan.

  She chuckled when he made a gagging face. “Come on, if you want me there then you’ll have to sit and watch a romance with me.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he said, pulling his text book out of his bag.

  The school day went by rather swiftly. Nothing new, just the same classes with the same teachers, and the same boring lessons. At least today she didn’t have any homework.

  Now she stood in front of her bathroom mirror, fresh from her shower. The back of her shoulder began to burn, right where her birthmark was. She shifted so that she could see it in her reflection.

  The area around her birthmark glowed bright red. The faint triangle outline that was her birthmark darkened. She stared in horror as it grew and an overlapping upside-down triangle appeared.

  She rubbed at the markings with a wet cloth, rubbed until her skin hurt. Surely she was hallucinating. Birthmarks do not change color and they definitely do not add to themselves.

  She blinked and when she looked back in the mirror, her birthmark had a new pattern in it. The burning in her shoulder was almost unbearable now. She wet the cloth in cold water and placed it on her burning skin. It did very little to relieve the sting.

  Pulling her shirt on, she hoped and prayed that the pain would end before she started her shift at the Dollar Store.

  Her phone beeped. A message from Chris popped up on the screen. Hannah-Banana, movie night at my place.

  She typed her reply. As long as you promise to get The Lucky One, I’m dying to see it.

  Hannah had finished getting dressed for work and fixed her hair before Chris texted her back. Fine. She smirked at the thought of him standing there with his arms crossed and a pout on his face.

  By the time Hannah arrived at the Dollar Store the pain in her shoulder died away, all that was left was a tingling sensation. After clocking in to begin her shift, she ran straight to the restroom to look at her birthmark. It had grown double in size and was as black as a tattoo. Great, her mother would never believe that it wasn’t an actual tattoo.

  She grabbed her smock and headed to her station. The building was empty, just her and her boss. With no customers in the store there wasn’t anything for her to do except to dust, sweep, and rearrange the shelves.

  Work was slow. Hannah only had three customers during her shift. She was glad she only had to work two hours a day during the week because she would have lost her ever-loving mind if she had to endure a full shift in an empty building.

  Putting the mop away, she grabbed her purse and called out a goodbye to her boss. He looked up from his desk, a smile on his face. “Bye Hannah.” Her boss waved to her as she exited the building. She waved back as she crawled into her car and backed out of the parking space.

  Her car rattled and stuttered all the way to Chris’ house. She parked her 1992 Cavalier next to the Silverado. Normally she wouldn’t be nervous about hanging out with him and his friends but for some reason, tonight she was so nervous she had to dab the moister from her forehead.

  The closer she came to the front door, the more nervous she felt. She took a deep breath, wiped her forehead one more time, and lifted her hand to knock on the front door.

  Chris didn’t live with his parents, he was eighteen and on his own. When there was no answer, she walked right in. Normally she wouldn’t just walk into someone’s home but she spent so much time here it felt like home and he was used to her walking in unannounced.

  As she stepped through the door, the first person she saw was Raum. He gave her a half smile before popping a handful of jelly beans into his mouth. “Jeez, what is it with you and those bloomin’ things?”

  He looked down at the bag in his hand. “What? These?” She nodded. “They’re fruit of the gods,” he said with a grin on his face.

  She rolled her eyes. “Fruit of the gods? You’re such a DarDar, you know that?”

  “DarDar? What kind of language is that?” He shook another handful of jelly beans into his hand and held it out to her. She raised an eyebrow. Those were definitely not her choice in candy. He used his index finger to sift through the jelly beans he held in his palm.

  A second later he uncovered a black one. He held it out to her and she curled her lip in disgust. Shrugging, he smelled it and then moaned. Moaned, he actually moaned over a piece of candy. “Oh-Mylanta, you are so weird.”

  He put the black jelly bean on the tip of his lips, slowly sucking it into his mouth. “Oh yeah, now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” he said after chewing the candy bean. “Ah, I get it.” He scratched the top of his head as if thinking really hard. “DarDar must be short for devastatingly, devilishly handsome.”

  Before she could respond to Raum’s conceited comment, an arm appeared by the side of her head. She squealed, nearly jumping out of her skin.

  Chris stood behind her, trying his best to hold back a laugh. “Just bringing you a Coke, Hannah-Banana.”

  Giving his chest a good smack she said, “Next time make your presence known first.”

  Josh rounded the corner. His eyes lit up upon seeing her. “Hey, I’m glad you came.” He stepped around Chris to envelop her in a hug. Pulling back a fraction he looked at her with a look she couldn’t quite figure out, worry or maybe it was concern.

  When Josh hugged Hannah, he felt the change in her energy. Sometime between when he saw her this morning and tonight her body had gone through a change. He looked at Raum over her shoulder and raised both eyebrows.

  Raum gave him the thumbs up. They thought these developments would never come. Usually these changes happened immediately following their arrival. Now that her changes have started everything should fall into place rather quickly.

  “How was work?” Josh asked. “No stalkers I hope.”

  “No. It was a very boring two hour shift. I mostly twiddled my thumbs.”

  “Good.” He picked up the large bowl of popcorn that he had set on the end table before hugging her. “I was worried about you tonight.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “You mean to tell me that you three didn’t drive by every ten minutes or so during my shift?”

  “Busted,” Josh handed her the bowl. “We couldn’t help it, we had to be sure that you were safe.”

  She was extremely grateful for all of their concern. They constantly went out of their way to ensure that she was not in danger. It really touched her to know that she had true friends that would be there for her and have her back.

  “Well now that we have some female companionship let’s get this party started.” Raum patted the cushion next to him.

  Grabbing her Coke from Chris, she sat next to Raum. Josh sat on the other side of her and draped his arm on the back of the couch behind her. The heat from his arm warmed the back of her neck.

  Butterflies danced in her belly. She wasn’t sure if it was because Josh had his arm pract
ically draped around her neck or if it was because Raum had scooted so close to her that his thigh rested against hers.

  As promised, Josh made sure that she had her chick flicks. Either Chris remembered to rent The Lucky One or Josh had picked it up for her, she didn’t know, all she knew was that it would be the first movie they watched tonight.

  As expected Chris argued with her about what to watch first. He thought the night should start off with Silent House. Thanks but no thanks she was in the mood for some romance.

  Sometime during the movie Hannah stretched out on the floor with her bowl of popcorn. Chris was not at all interested in watching The Lucky One so he spent his time texting or gaming on his phone.

  When he could no longer stand being in the same room as the chick flick, he asked Josh to join him in the den for a game of pool. Hannah could have cared less, at least now she wouldn’t have Chris’ gaming to interrupt her movie.

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the woman on the screen talk about her brother and his passing away at war. Hannah knew better than to sit down and watch a movie like this without a box of tissues. Pulling her shirt sleeves down over her hands she wiped at the tears streaming down her face.

  She heard Raum move off of the couch and figured he had gotten tired of her movie as well. That’s okay she could watch this one alone. It wouldn’t bother her one bit.

  Disinterest in the movie was not the case for Raum. He appeared beside her on the floor, gently wiping away the remaining tears from her face with a tissue. “These darn movies are so emotional. I don’t get why you girls want to watch them.”

  “It’s the emotions that make it good.” She leaned back against the couch.

  A few more minutes into the movie he slowly leaned toward her, like a predator sneaking in on its prey. His eyes were glued to the television, pretending to watch. As soon as she took her eyes off of him he snatched her bowl of popcorn from her hands. Leaning back against the couch he started tossing kernels up in the air, catching them with his mouth.