Milayna

by Michelle K. Pickett

“You don’t know anything,” I bluffed, cringing when I heard the slight tremor in my voice.

  “You’re wrong, you’re wrong,” Friendly chanted. “It was fun, fun, fun.” The red imp twirled around, tossing colorful fall leaves into the air.

  “We know you saved that woman from the bullet Azazel meant for her. We know the window exploded over you and that’s what cut up your hands. We even know you’ve spent the last few hours at the police station,” Scarface said, ticking off each item on his stubby, sausage looking fingers.

  “How do you know?”

  “I told you, we did it. Wasn’t it fun?” This from Friendly again. I was beginning to think he was a little dense. He twirled a red-and-orange leaf between his fingers before holding it out to me.

  I batted his hand away. “No.” My insides shook. I wasn’t sure if it was fear or rage. Another innocent victim. Azazel tried to kill another innocent human. The trembling inside my body spread until my entire body trembled, inside and out. A mix of emotions tumbled in my head like a cement mixer churning them over and over.

  “She didn’t like our game.” Friendly’s eyes turned black and his face distorted. “We planned that especially for you. You should be polite.”

  “Azazel is irritated. He wants an answer. You either give it up or die. That bullet could have fired a second sooner and we’d be having this conversation in the afterlife, you know.” Scarface made a show of picking something furry and bloody out of his teeth. He’d probably found a squirrel for dinner, or a neighbor’s cat. My stomach turned over, and my dinner splashed around. I was afraid I would hurl it on the little demon’s feet.

  “Tell Azazel that this is the last time I’m going to answer him. It’s becoming redundant. No.” My body started to heat from the inside. A tingling heat fingered its way through my veins and muscles. I shifted on the deck, letting my legs fall and dangle off the side. I didn’t recognize this sensation. It was new, and I felt off-balance. My breathing started to quicken and was shallow. The earth started to slow, and I felt sluggish.

  I remembered the woman and the store clerk. Both could have died today. Muriel, too. Flashes of the glass showering over us, of the man running from the scene, of the EMTs pulling glass from the woman’s and my cuts, ran through my mind, and my vision clouded. Blood pounded behind my ears. Rage raced through every molecule.

  Scarface’s demeanor changed from the moody hobgoblin to a demonic irritation from Hell. “He won’t like that answer.” He stood in front of me with his feet planted apart and his hands on his hips. When he leaned his head toward me, his butt stuck out in the back. He looked hilarious. Any other time, I would have laughed at the sight. But not then. Then, I wanted to pick him up and snap his neck. I couldn’t get to Azazel, so the goblins would have to do.

  “You know what, guys? I really don’t care,” I whispered through clenched teeth. Jumping off the deck, I grabbed for Scarface. He jumped out of reach of my hand—but not my power.

  The tingling in my fingers increased to an uncomfortable level. Lifting my hand, Scarface rose off the ground. I squeezed. His eyes widened, and he gasped for breath. I waved my hand toward me and Scarface followed, floating in the air. I pulled him eye to eye with me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body and smell the rot and singed flesh. With every pant, I got a whiff of his halitosis.

  “I’m tired. I’m cranky. I’m downright bitchy. So go to hell, and make sure you tell Azazel to screw himself.”

  Pulling back my arm, I swung. I watched the red body fly across the backyard until it disappeared with a pop. One by one, little pops sounded until there was nothing left but seven little puffs of smoke and the fading smell of sulfur.

  Chay looked at me. His mouth was open and his eyebrows were raised. “Um, that was interesting. When did you learn that trick?”

  I shrugged and shook my head, rubbing my chest with the palm of my hand. “I don’t know. It just… it just came to me.”

  “Well, now things are going to get really interesting,” Chay said.

  One week, three days until my birthday.

  The dream was back. Well, the nightmare. I’d been having it since the night of the football game. The night I first saw the demon. The night I first saw the glowing embers of Hell, Azazel’s home.

  I crawled out of bed and walked into my bathroom. Sweat snaked down my back, and an icy, cold lump formed in the pit of my stomach, weighing me down.

  I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Dark circles framed my green eyes, either dull from not enough sleep or too much crying. Maybe both. Who the hell knew anymore? “Pull it together, Milayna,” I whispered.

  I heard my cell phone vibrate, the metal banging against the nightstand. Running into the other room, I grabbed it, flipped it open, and clicked the button to read the message without looking to see who it was from.

  Muriel: What are you doing up?

  Me: Hey. Just another nightmare. What about you?

  Muriel: I saw your light. Why? Were you expecting someone else? Hmm? Maybe Mr. Hottie?

  Me: LOL! Nah.

  Muriel: Gonna be able to go back to sleep?

  Me: I don’t know. Probably not.

  Muriel: Wanna talk about it?

  Me: Not really.

  Muriel: Well, if you do, text me.

  Me: I will. G’night.

  Muriel: Night.

  Two seconds later, my phone rang. I cringed and snatched it up, pressing talk before my parents heard.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey,” a voice smooth as the most decadent chocolate said in my ear. “Another nightmare?”

  “Yeah.” I lay back in my pillows and closed my eyes, pretending he was next to me, not houses away.

  “You wanna talk about it?” Chay asked.

  “You know, I really don’t… Wait, yes I do.” I needed to tell someone. I couldn’t carry around what I learned in my dream alone. And I could trust Chay.

  He chuckled on the other end of the line, and I smiled at the sound. “Is that a yes or a no, Milayna?”

  “It’s a yes under one condition.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “This is you and me talking. It isn’t for anyone else’s ears. Okay?”

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “But if this is something that affects the group—”

  I sighed. “Never mind.” I couldn’t believe that my boyfriend put the group before us. I needed to talk to him, just him. But he couldn’t keep it between us. He had to involve the others. Pssh, whatever.

  “Fine. It’s just you and me.”

  “I think someone else is going to betray the group,” I blurted. “I keep having this dream, and it’s someone in the group making a deal with Azazel, but it’s different from when the others turned. They’re talking about what a big surprise it’ll be and that no one will see it coming, things like that. I’m sure someone is going to betray us.”

  “Who?”

  “Well, if I knew, it wouldn’t be a surprise betrayal.” I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I can’t see them in the dream.”

  “Is it a male or female voice?”

  “I don’t know.” I sighed, frustrated. “It’s distorted. Like it’s synthesized.”

  “You’re right. We can’t tell the group. We can’t let on that we know.”

  My blood ran cold. It felt like someone had just run an ice cube up my spine.

  ***

  I drove myself to school the next morning, Chay’s warning still ringing in my ears. I could see his yellow car behind me, and Muriel’s car was in front. I was sandwiched between the two of them. Protecting me, they’d said. Except one might work for the enemy. How was I supposed to feel protected?

  As soon as we’d parked, Chay was at my car door. He reached out and lifted the strap of my book bag off my shoulder.

  Schooling my features to show no emotion and keeping my voice neutral, I said, “Thanks, but I’ve got it,” and held the strap in place. I stepped back and rolled my shoulder o
ut of his reach. A knot formed in my chest when I looked at him.

  Chay gave me an odd look and took a step back. “It isn’t me.”

  I narrowed my eyes as him. “Isn’t that something a person would say who was trying to fool the other?”

  He laughed, bent down, kissed me. “You know it isn’t me.” His lips skimmed against mine when he spoke. He kissed me again. Reaching for my book bag, he slipped it off my shoulder. I let him. I was too mesmerized by his kiss to stop him, or even care. He lifted his head and locked his gaze on mine. “Trust your instincts, Milayna. You know it isn’t me or you wouldn’t have told me.” He gave me a little tug. “C’mon. Chemistry waits for no one.”

  We walked into the building, and Chay stopped so fast that I walked past him and had to double back to see what was wrong. “They’re here,” he said.

  My adrenaline spiked, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention. “Who?” I looked over my shoulder, expecting to see a group of demi-demons or the hounds of Hell.

  “The hobgoblins. They’re watching.”

  I chuckled and started walking toward class. “I know. They’ve been here every day this week. They hide behind the ceiling tiles.”

  He turned and glared at me. “You didn’t tell me?”

  “What difference does it make? Besides, I thought you already knew. Why? What do you think it means?”

  “Nothing good. They’re watching someone. I’d say it’s you, but considering what you told me last night, it could be any one of us.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him.

  A chill ran through me. If Chay was right and they weren’t watching me, then my dream could be a premonition. We had a snitch in our group. That was worse than someone changing outright. Now we’d be suspicious of each other. It could break the group apart.

  That afternoon when I got home from school, the two hobgoblins, Scarface and Friendly, were waiting for me in my backyard. I sat on the swing on the back deck, watching them run around the yard, singing. Considering they were minions from Hell, I wasn’t sure what they had to sing about. But they were.

  I saw Chay jump the back fence and smiled. The red imps ran over to him, asking their usual question.

  “Play with us?”

  “Nope.” He kept walking with barely a glance at the short, red goblins. He jogged up the deck steps and sat next to me on the swing. We swayed softly, waiting for the goblins to run out of energy. It could be minutes or hours, but eventually, they’d grow tired of the game and tell us why they were there.

  “I figured I’d be seeing you,” I said and scooted next to him.

  He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “I’ve been watching them. Have they talked yet?”

  “Nah, they’ve been singing.”

  He laughed. “Singing? About what?”

  “I have no idea. It’s in a different language.” I shrugged. “Don’t really want to know, either.”

  “Probably not.” Chay moved his fingertips in circles over my shoulder, sending shots of white-hot electricity through my arms and straight to my lungs, which were quickly becoming incapable of taking a normal breath.

  “Milayna,” one hobgoblin sang in its shrill voice. “Did you have fun at school today?”

  “Not particularly. Did you?”

  “Yes.” It swung its arms back and forth like a kid. It was so cute just then. It looked like a stuffed animal—like one of those Troll dolls. I wanted to rip its head off, it made me so mad.

  “Good.”

  “Don’t you want to know why we were there?” Scarface asked with a wicked smile.

  “I know why. You like to watch.” I picked at an invisible piece of lint on my jeans.

  His smile widened, his fat lips thinning across his face. “But you don’t know who.”

  I tilted my head to the side and looked at him. “Yes I do,” I said as if it should be obvious.

  “It’s coming for you tonight, tonight, tonight,” Friendly chanted.

  “Really? What is it? Tell me what the big occasion is so I know what to wear.” My heart sunk like an albatross was attached to it. What next? They’d proven they could cause mischief, life-or-death situations. What did they consider a big occasion if shooting at a woman at a convenience store is just a game? I knew I certainly didn’t want to be around to see it.

  “We’ll never tell,” he said with a self-satisfied smile before they disappeared with a pop and plume of white smoke.

  ***

  At nine o’clock, I heard glass shatter. I walked to the front door and flipped on the porch light. Nothing. I flipped the switch again. Nothing. And I knew the demi-demons were there.

  At five after nine, Chay jumped the fence and let himself into the house.

  “What took you so long?” I looked at him with a hand on my hip.

  He leaned down and kissed me. “I was putting on my lip balm and brushing my teeth.”

  “You always do that just before a fight?” I teased.

  “No, I always do that just before I do this,” he murmured before kissing me again.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I said.

  “I hate this part,” Jen and Muriel said at the same time, walking into the room from the kitchen.

  Me too.

  I walked out of the front door with more boldness than I felt. My insides were shaking and sweat was pooling at the base of my back. I hoped they weren’t like dogs or bees and could smell fear, because I was stinkin’ of it.

  I saw Lily and Shayla first. No biggie. I could take either one of them. Then I saw Jake and next to him was Steven. My heart dropped. Both were football players. I wasn’t sure I could take either one of them. I didn’t particularly want to try. Even though my training taught me how to use an attacker’s weight and strength against him, I wasn’t ready to test it out on Jake.

  There were eight Evils and six of us. That wasn’t too bad. When a demi-angel switched sides, they lost some of their strength. Six of us could take on eight of them and do fine. It was the demi-demons that stood behind them that posed a problem. Their powers were fairly matched with ours. Taking on eight Evils and four demi-demons would be difficult. Very difficult.

  I was relieved when I saw my Uncle Rory walk across the street. My dad came out of the house, followed closely by Chay’s dad, who, like his son, jumped the back fence. With the three of them, our odds were a little better. Not great, but better.

  “Let’s see.” Jake tapped his bottom lip with his finger. “We ask you to surrender. You say?”

  “No.” I tried to sound bored.

  “We ask you to join with Azazel, and you say?”

  “No.”

  “So that only leaves one thing,” Jake threw the first punch. Chay deflected it.

  This is so stupid. What good does it do?

  One of the female demi-demons charged me. I braced myself for what I suspected was going to be a hard hit. And, damn, I hated it when I was right. She lunged at my midsection, knocking us both to the ground. I hit my head hard on the cement front step. Stars floated in front of my eyes.

  She took advantage of my daze and landed a hard punch to the side of my face. I could feel her ring dig into my skin and the warm blood trickle down my cheek. I felt a second blow to my chin. My teeth clacked together, and pain ricocheted through my head like a metal ball in a pinball machine. It bounced from bumper to bumper, burning into my skull with each hit.

  “Milayna, get up!” Jen yelled. She had pulled the demi-demon off me and was holding her in a bear hug from behind.

  Slowly, I managed to pull myself from the ground, looked at the hulking girl, and landed an uppercut to her chin followed by a jab just under the rib cage.

  “No fair, two against one.” Jake smiled at me.

  I followed him as he circled me. My mind raced. The best I could hope for was that Jake wouldn’t hit a girl. When he threw his first punch, I knew that wasn’t the case. I easily deflected his second a
nd third jabs. His arms were longer, but I was quicker and missing a hit was more tiring than landing one. If I could keep him entertained long enough, maybe my dad or Chay would be able to help.

  It happened so fast. First, I was on my feet holding my own against the much larger and stronger Jake, and then he feigned a jab to the right. When I moved to avoid contact, he kicked my feet out from under me. For the second time that night, I was lying on my back with stars dancing in front of my eyes. I didn’t recover as quickly from his blow, however. My head pounded and my sight blurred.

  Jake’s blurry face leaned close to mine and smiled. “Say goodbye, Milayna,” he murmured. Picking up my ankle, he dragged me from the front porch to the side yard. My head bounced against the cement walk and then the ruts and stones in the grass.

  He pulled me along the side yard and into the back. Blinking to clear my vision, I saw the stumpy legs of the hobgoblins running around and smelled their ever-present odor of sulfur. It wasn’t until I saw the glowing hole and smelled rotting, charred meat that I realized what was happening.

  I kicked at his hand with my free foot, trying to sit up and claw at his arm. He pushed me back. Jake was big. He was built, solid, packed muscle. But I fought him. I kicked. I scratched and clawed at his hand. I grabbed at anything I could reach and hung on. If he was going to drag me to hell, he was damn well working to do it.

  “No, no, no,” I screamed.

  “Yes. You had your chance. Now Azazel will take what’s his, with or without your consent.”

  He pulled me closer to the hole. I could feel the heat radiate from it and smell burnt flesh and sulfur. Bile rose in my throat, and I gagged.

  The groans and shrieks of the damned channeled upward from the hole like a sharp wind and smacked me in the face. I did not want to meet the same fate, and I twisted and clawed at the ground for something to hold on to. My nails dug into the grass, leaving gouges as Jake pulled me across it.

  I screamed. When no one came, I screamed again. I wasn’t sure if I screamed a name, or a word, or if it was just a piercing sound. I just remember screaming and knowing if someone didn’t help me, I would be doomed to that pit with the rest of the damned.

  I arched my back, taking in another breath to scream when I saw two feet. “Help me!” I screamed at the person.

  I strained my head to see who was watching Jake drag me closer and closer to Hell. When they didn’t help, I was sure it was another Evil or a demi-demon.