by Dora Blume
“Well, that was easy,” he said.
“Dammit Erik, you’re not supposed to say that. You’ll jinx us.” Jessie shook her head.
“What? We’ll be fine. As long as I have you, nothing will go wrong.” He bent to kiss her.
“What the fuck? Seriously, you are trying to get us killed? You did it twice. Plant the damn bugs before the cavalry comes rushing through the door after your stupidity.” Jessie stepped away from him.
Erik followed and grabbed her belt loops and kissed the crook of her neck. “How about we have a little fun while we’re here.” He whispered in her ear. He nibbled her earlobe and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Are you crazy? First, you jinx us. Now, you want to spend more time here than we need to.” She took a step forward, but Erik went with her. He cupped her breasts in his hands, massaging each nipple through her shirt. She moaned and leaned into him when his tongue dipped into her ear, and his fingers pinched each nipple. “Dammit, Erik. We don’t have time for this.” Her breathing became ragged.
“Come on, Jess. I will hear if anyone is coming. Haven’t you always dreamt of doing it in the headmaster’s office?” He continued to work his way down her neck, toying with her nipple in the process.
She turned and captured his lips. Raising both hands to his face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her. She kissed him passionately, winding her fingers in his hair. He responded instantly, his jeans tightening.
He moved his hands to cup her butt and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to the desk, depositing her on top of it. His lips still locked with hers. He lowered his hands to lift her shirt, cupping her bare breast beneath. “Mmm,” she moaned against his mouth as he toyed with her peaked nipples. “Erik,” she breathed. He raised her shirt above her head. She reached her hand behind her to take the gun out of her waistband and set it on the desk. He moved his mouth to suck and nibble her breast. She clutched his hair in her hand, moaning. Her head fell back as he continued to make her writhe beneath his mouth. He reached his hands to the button of her jeans.
He moved back to her mouth to capture her lips. One hand continued to pinch and rub her nipple; he lowered her down to the desk. He moved back to unzip her jeans. He slid the denim over her waist and froze. “Shit,” he whispered and bolted upright. He leaned forward holding his hand out to Jess. “There’s someone up here.” He took her hand and pulled her down behind the desk.
“Erik, what are we doing?” She reached her hand up to pull her gun down off the desk. Erik popped up to straighten the few things they’d disturbed in their passion. He bent back behind the desk.
“It’s not a demon, but if they open the door, it’s better if they don’t think anyone is here,” Erik whispered.
“I told you that you jinxed us. What the hell were we thinking?” Jessie’s eyes widened.
“We were thinking about having a little fun.” He moved and nipped her lip quickly. “Now, shush, before he hears you.” He put his finger to his mouth. Jessie bit her lip and looked toward the door.
Erik moved his hand to her face and cupped her cheek. He didn’t like that they’d been interrupted. He looked down at Jessie’s taut nipples. Shit, where’s her shirt? He thought. He turned and peeked around the desk. Her shirt was on the floor next to the desk. He reached his hand out and grabbed it. He held it out to her. “Not that I don’t mind your current attire, but here.” He winked at her.
She slipped her shirt over her head. “Thanks,” she mouthed.
“Have I told you, yet how happy I am you chose not to wear a bra today? Because I am, really, really, happy.” He looked down at the two beads which were sticking out through her thin cotton shirt. He raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head, hitting his arm playfully and rolled her eyes at him.
“I think the coast is clear. So, where were we.” He moved to kiss Jessie. She put her finger up on his lips before he could reach her mouth.
“Oh no, you don’t. We are planting those bugs and getting back to the car. There’s no way we’re getting caught in here when the demons show up.” She tucked the gun back in her waistband and pulled her shirt down. Erik looked down to his too tight pants and backed up to meet Jessie’s eyes.
“Not even a quickie under the desk?” he smiled and stuck his lip out in a pout.
“No, it’s your fault we’re even here. Now, let’s get this done and go back to the car. We have work to do.” Jessie stood up and walked away from the desk.
Erik stood, trying to think of anything other than Jessie sprawled over the desk a few minutes ago. If he hadn’t heard the guy outside, he’d be enjoying himself. He cursed his power and planted a bug under the desk. He’d already put one under the lamp when they’d come in.
“Last chance to finish what we started.” Erik raised his eyebrows toward Jessie.
“No, let’s go before we have any more trouble. They should be coming into the office soon.”
“Ugh, fine.” He crossed his arms over his chest. Jessie laughed her sweet laugh, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re cute when your pouting. Don’t worry we’re not done, just done for right now.” She winked and opened the door. No one was in the hall, and they took the same route back to the car. They had made it in and out without being noticed, and they had ears in Mr. Hall’s office. They would be able to hear what was going on back at Caroline’s house. Erik was happy with what they’d gotten done that morning.
✭✭✭
Sloane leaned back in the cozy loveseat at Cariboo. The fire was lit in front of them, and both she and Mike clutched cups of coffee in their hands.
“I thought she was supposed to meet you at eight?” Mike asked. He moved his arm behind Sloane and rested it around her shoulders.
“She said eight, sharp. It’s only five after. I’m sure she’ll be here any minute. I should’ve asked her what she drinks. I could’ve gotten her a drink while we’re waiting.” Sloane snuggled closer into Mike, taking another drink from her cup.
The chime on the door rang, and Sloane looked up expectantly. Chloe strode in with another girl behind her. She saw Sloane, and they both sat in the chairs next to them.
“Hello, Chloe, nice to finally meet you,” Sloane said, taking a sip from her coffee. “Can we get you something?” she asked.
“Uh, sure,” she looked to Katie. “You want something?”
“Yeah, I’ll get it.” She stood.
“Cool, you want to get me the light roast, black.” Katie nodded. She walked to the counter.
Sloane elbowed Mike, “Go with her.”
“Fine,” he stood and followed Katie to the counter. After she ordered, Mike extended his card to the cashier. “I got it,” he said. Katie smiled and went to fill their mugs with coffee.
“Okay, Chloe, what did you have in mind for the school?” Sloane sat forward, setting her mug on the table in front of her and rested her elbows on her knees.
“Okay, so there are over thirty students that know about the possessions. We know at this rate it won’t be long until they have all of us possessed. We have been watching helplessly because the teachers aren’t teaching what they should be. All the books with the dispossession information have been removed from the school. We’ve been searching for ways to dispossess our friends but haven’t had much luck. I had a vision of you coming to help, so I reached out to you. If we have a way to dispossess our friends we can start when we have them separated.” Chloe took her cup from Katie and took a careful sip of coffee.
“Okay, we need to move a little faster. We are going in today. How fast can you spread the incantation to the students who aren’t possessed?” Sloane asked.
“Ah,” she looked over to Katie. “We can send out a mass text. We have to make sure it doesn’t go out to any of the possessed students, but we can get it to them in minutes. As soon as we all have it, we can start dispossessing them. As long as we do it quickly, we should be a
ble to start without anyone catching on. When are you guys going into the school? You know they know you’re coming, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, we think we have a way to get in without anyone knowing we’re there until it’s too late. I don’t want to give you all the details, just yet,” she said.
“You don’t trust me?” Chloe questioned. “Of course, you don’t. You just met me. Okay, well what’s the incantation. I’ll send out a text. Maybe that will sway you into trusting us. If we can dispossess the students, you’ll have a better shot at winning the fight. You guys don’t want to go up against the students at the school. Some of us have some serious juice.” She looked over to Katie, and she was nodding.
“Okay, hand me your phone,” Sloane said. Sloane typed in what she needed and handed it back. “I put in my cell phone. You’ll find it’s an easier way to contact me.” She smirked.
Chloe took the phone and messaged Sloane. “Now you have my number. Will you call me with a plan? I’ll go back to the school now and see what we can do before you get there. The more students we can change the better. Then you’ll only have the teachers left to deal with. Oh yeah, and Mr. Hall. That guy such a phony. He acts all nice like he’s saving the school, but in reality, he’s the one getting all the students possessed.” She shook her head.
“Alright, we need to go meet up with our friends to continue planning before we go into the school. Oh yeah, Chloe, can you find a girl named Nicole and try to dispossess her? She’s the daughter of my friend, and we’d like not to have to go against her. Could you try to find her for me?” Sloane asked.
“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.” Chloe got up and nodded toward Sloane.
“Thanks, until we meet again.” Sloane waved her hand in the air. They left and walked to the car.
Mike got into the car, “Well, that was a quick meeting. Do you think they’ll be able to dispossess students without being caught in the process?”
“I don’t know. I hope they can. Chloe seems smart, but I don’t know anything about her. She jumped right in, so I hope she knows what she’s doing. If not, we’ll end up fighting the students. I’d like to avoid that if at all possible.” Sloane took Mike’s hand.
“I couldn’t agree more, love.” Mike looked into Sloane’s eyes. Sloane noticed his mouth was tight with worry. She couldn’t blame him. She was worried, too. They were only kids, fighting against demons.
“Okay, now we’ve handled the meeting. Are we going back to Caroline’s? Erik and Jessie will be there shortly.” Sloane tried to calm her nerves. Felling Mike’s hand in hers helped.
“Yeah, we need to go back and talk with the others. Let them know about Chloe and see what they found out.” Mike took the last turn and pulled into Caroline’s driveway. “Shouldn’t there be other people here by now?” Mike asked.
“I thought so. Maybe they just aren’t here, yet. Our meeting was pretty quick.” Sloane shrugged and got out of the car.
‘Yeah, maybe.” Mike said and followed Sloane into the house.
Chapter 21
Caroline was sitting in the kitchen, clutching a cup of coffee. “Hey, I thought there’d be more people here by now. It’s almost ten.” Sloane said as she moved to sit next to Caroline.
“They’re coming. Some are just further away than others.” Caroline shrugged.
“Did you get any sleep?” Sloane asked.
“No, I can’t sleep with my daughter out there, possessed. I’ll sleep when she’s home safe.” Caroline looked hollow. Dark circles rimmed her lower lashes.
“Aren’t you worried you won’t be able to fight if you’re too tired?” She asked.
“No, I’m not.” She lowered her head and took another drink of her coffee. “You’ll understand when you’re a mother.” She muttered.
“O...kay, so, did you get the text from Erik?” she asked.
“Yes, Nick is finding out about Carlos. Magnus already got a truck for us to use. Jessie and Erik are picking it up now. They’ll be parking it at a nearby dock. I called a friend. When we’re ready, we can load up in the back at the dock. I wanted to make sure it was ready to go nearby.” Caroline glanced at her watch. “They should be back here any minute. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on Nick. Hopefully, he found this Carlos to help us.” She rose and trudged back to her office.
Sloane was concerned about her. She figured she’d be the same in her situation. She looked up, and Mike strode into the kitchen. “Hey, I think I just saw Erik and Jessie pull up. I thought they were bringing the truck?” Mike asked.
“They parked it at a loading dock nearby per Caroline. They couldn’t exactly drive a semi down a residential street. Especially one so close to the mountains.” Mike stood behind Sloane and began rubbing her shoulders. “You’re too tense, love.” He continued rubbing. Sloane closed her eyes as he worked to relax her.
Jessie and Erik came into the room. “Hey, so we parked the truck.” Erik said, “How was the meeting?”
“Good, Chloe has the incantation to dispossess the students. She sent a mass text. They said they’d try to dispossess as many students as they could before we got there. I told her I would let her know when we were going in. I also sent her to try to find Nicole. She mentioned some of the students there have some serious powers that we don’t want to go against. I’m hoping she focuses on dispossessing them, first. I can’t imagine having to go against our own. Especially students.” Sloane shook her head.
“Yeah, can you imagine being Caroline, right now.” Erik sat across from Sloane.
“Ah, no and I’m worried about her. She doesn’t look so good.”
“She’s not going to rest until we have Nicole. Can you blame her?” Jessie sat at the table next to Erik and reached for his hand. He gave it to her and squeezed.
“No, I just needed to say that. When she was in here, she looked worn. She hasn’t slept any. I hope she makes it through the battle. It can be even worse when your sleep deprived to make quick, accurate decisions. I’m just worried about her.” Sloane clasped her hands together.
“Sloane, you live your life sleep deprived.” Erik cocked his head to the side, giving her a knowing look. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“I know, I know.” She shook her head.
“Okay, so what’s next? We have the truck. Nick is working on Carlos. What should we be doing? I’m surprised no one is here, yet.” Jessie looked around the kitchen.
“I said the same thing when I came in here to talk to Caroline. She said some were coming from further away, and they would be here soon. I thought they started calling last night? I’m surprised no one has arrived.” Sloane shrugged. “I guess, I can try to get a vision while we’re waiting.” She slouched further. She didn’t like the idea because her visions were often draining, but she needed to try.
“Okay, we have bugs planted in Mr. Hall’s office. We’ll listen in on what’s going on to find the best time to go in. Magnus is working on stalling the actual food delivery truck until later. I think our timing is going to be around two to three this afternoon, but I’ll let you know if anything changes.” Erik stood.
“I’m going to make a few calls. See if I can get any more people here. I’ll be up to join you shortly.” Mike bent to kiss Sloane before walking out of the room.
Sloane walked to the fridge, to make herself and Mike a sandwich. She went up to her room to focus. Sitting at the desk, she looked at her phone. It’d been a long time since she’d checked on anything from her other life. Even the thought of opening Facebook gave her a knot in her stomach, but she wanted to know. She needed to at least see that everyone was okay. She was trying to distance herself from the life she couldn’t go back to, but there was still a twinge of guilt for disappearing so abruptly. Amy knew what was going on, but she’d been calling. Sloane hadn’t answered a single call. She wasn’t ready to explain anything to her. She sighed and turned her phone upside down on the desk and took a bite of her sandwich. She needed to keep her he
ad in the game.
She took a few steps over to the bed and slid to the middle. She cleared her mind of all thoughts. She focused on herself, her power. She focused on the future. After a few moments, Sloane huffed. She was sick of how temperamental her power was. She needed to be able to get visions when she needed them. Not whenever the universe felt like it. Mike opened the door and popped his head in.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“Of course not. I made you a sandwich.” Sloane pointed to the sandwich on the desk.
“Oh, thanks.” He walked over to the desk and took a bite of the sandwich. “So, any luck?”
“No, I never get a vision when I want one.” She clasped her hands in front of her. Mike set down his sandwich and slid in front of her on the bed. He took her hands in his.
“Love, you need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You’ll get a vision when you need one. You know your power doesn’t work on command. You’ve gotten lucky so far. Have you messaged Chloe about when we’ll be there?” he asked.
“Oh, no. I probably should.” She went to the desk to grab her phone. She grabbed their sandwiches and handed Mike his plate. She sent Chloe a message saying they’d be arriving at three. She didn’t want to give her the details as to how they planned to arrive. She figured giving her the time would be good enough.
Her phone lit up a moment later. Okay, we’ve dispossessed about fifteen students. No Nicole yet though. I don’t know where she is or what she looks like. Can you send a pic?
“I need to find a picture of Nicole.” Sloane looked to Mike.
“There’s a few in picture frames when you walk up the steps. I think they’re her school pictures. The closest to the bottom is her most recent, I think.” Mike explained.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She hurried to take the picture and sent it off to Chloe.
She came back, and Mike was brushing crumbs off the bed and setting his empty plate on the desk. He walked back to the bed and slid against the headboard. He patted the space in front of him. “Come here, love. I’ll try to help you relax.”