Chapter Twenty-Two
I barricaded my bedroom door closed before I lay down and focussed to make it into Jimmy’s dreams. Lucy wasn’t home but I’ve lost track of where she’s supposed to be right now. I have more important things to consider. Time wasn’t on my side.
I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. It was seriously fucked up.
I walked into Jimmy’s dream and my heart sank instantly. The night club was so familiar, so comfortable. Finding him wasn’t hard. He was in the backroom, in our secret place, with a rose-tinted version of me in his arms.
It’s weird as hell finding out how other people see you. My hair seemed darker and thicker and my skin flawless and a little tanned. The dress he had me wearing was shorter than anything I’d ever worn and he was peeling the sleeves down from my shoulders while he kissed my neck.
I closed my eyes and took a breath. This felt wrong, but I didn’t have a lot of options. It was this, or I did nothing and wound up with three demon afflicted men causing havoc around town while I waited for them to sleep to exorcise them. That was more than I could handle. I needed to get this done now, before Selena could screw things up any more than she already had.
I summoned the demon, and I felt it’s presence within moments, every hair on the back of my neck standing on end as he moved around me, morphing into a somehow more suave and perfect version of Jimmy right in front of my eyes.
The tint of purple light around him the only thing that betrayed his illusion. He moved in close and pinned me against the wall by placing an arm close to my head and forcing me to press against the surface to just barely avoid physical contact.
“Well, here we are again,” he told me, channelling Jimmy’s confidence and stealing his smile.
“You’re not him, so don’t pretend to be,” I told the demon, waiting impatiently for my weapon to materialise.
He grinned at me. “No, I’m not him. I’m better than him.”
Ugh. His ego was even bigger than Jimmy’s.
“You’re a demon.”
His gaze smouldered as he leaned in close. “Demons and dream walkers can be friends, Tina.”
The heat radiating from him was difficult to ignore, but I was determined. If he touched me, I was screwed. Probably quite literally, considering the type of demon he is. He’d play on my attraction to Jimmy and I’d forget everything for the chance to be with my ex-fling one last time.
I stared him down. “Why aren’t you angry?”
“Angry?” He smiled. “I think you’re confusing your demon types.”
“I mean with Selena,” I told him, flexing my fingers and willing my weapon to appear.
He laughed. “Your sister and I have an understanding.”
“And what is that understanding, exactly?”
He just smiled indulgently. “Why don’t you let me touch you, and you’ll find out.”
“No thanks,” I told him, attempting to move away.
“Don’t deny your feelings,” he told me. “Let me slip you into something more comfortable.”
He shook his head and I stumbled as the air around us shifted. Suddenly I was wearing heels and a dress. He was manipulating my form, which pissed me off until I realised it meant he was turning this into a dreamscape. I smiled as I realised my weapon just arrived.
It might have felt like I was wearing a hideously tight dress with no underwear now, but I was also wearing dangerously spiked heels that could send this arsehole back to hell. I smiled as I melted back against the wall, raising one leg behind me.
“That’s more like it,” he told me, obviously arrogant enough to think he could talk me into touching him, instead of touching me to gain control more quickly.
“I like this dress,” I told him, taking my heel in one hand and letting my foot move back down to the ground, on the tips of my toes to match the high of the other heel. His gaze remarkably stayed fixed entirely on my face. My lips, to be precise. It was so Jimmy that it made my chest hurt. Please let me take this creep out before he gets a chance to work on the guy.
“You do?” he sounded pleased.
I nodded as I got ready with the shoe behind my back. “It goes so well with these sexy heels.”
He looked down as I stabbed the heel of the stiletto into his neck. Anger filled his eyes as he dropped to the ground, groping at the shoe. He didn’t quite reach it, and then he was gone. One exorcised demon, down. Hell only knew how many more there were to go.
I looked for the exit and found it. One problem down, but there’s another to deal with before I can call this a day.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Piper’s pacing around started to drive me insane around the time I got done checking Jimmy’s pulse and assuring her he was nowhere close to dead.
“He isn’t even snoring,” she said, as if that should be a prerequisite to his being passed out.
I looked at her questioningly.
She shrugged. “He stays over sometimes when he’s out in town. When he passes out, he snores.”
“I think he’s okay,” I told her, getting up from the carpet. “He’s just asleep.”
I left out the part where he’s dreaming about me, and not just because Piper has no idea about what I am. Seeing how worried she is, I start to wonder how deep her feelings run for this guy. I’d feel horrible if it turned out she’s been into him this whole time while he’s been obsessed over me.
“So you have an evil twin,” she said, changing the conversation quickly.
“Basically, yeah,” I confirmed, wondering what Selena might be doing right now. I probably didn’t really want to know. I told myself she must have some normal hobbies alongside the evil ones, but it didn’t make me feel better. She’s a problem, and I didn’t know how I was going to deal with her.
“Jimmy has no idea,” she said with a sigh.
She moved to the kitchen area and took a seat on one of the breakfast bar stools. I followed suit, because I didn’t have anywhere else to be.
“He thought that was you,” she continued, pouring a drink. “So this is going to screw him up big time, when he finds out.”
“I don’t know why she’s doing this,” I told her.
She poured us both a drink, a heavy measure. “I can’t believe you actually have a twin.”
“I can’t believe it either,” I admitted, smelling the alcohol before I even got the glass close to my lips. Probably a horrible idea to get drunk right now. I acknowledged that fact before I made the decision to sink the Jack and Coke in a few thirsty gulps.
“How does that even happen?” she asked, lighting up a cigarette and murmuring around her words.
I shrugged. “My mother left when I was a baby. She must have taken Selena with her.”
“Selena? I like it,” she said, blowing out smoke. “That’s definitely an evil twin name.”
My grandmother never told me. Not once. There must have been a reason for that, but right now I can’t think of one that makes sense.
“She’s definitely an evil twin,” I said, watching Piper fill my glass once more.
“Well, I mean, she’s messed with Jimmy and your hot ginger bloke so she’s really getting busy,” Piper said, flicking ash into a saucer.
I think about Mason and my chest tightens. I can’t stand how things are between us, but I don’t know how to fix it. If it even can be fixed. I don’t tell Piper. I just down the next drink she pours.
“Mason knew she wasn’t me,” I said, hearing the words before I realised I spoke them. Drinking was a really bad idea. Usually is when I mix it with my other issues. Considering I can’t just switch dream walking off, that means being intoxicated any time is a bad time.
“He really loves you then,” she told me, smiling sadly. “Most guys...”
She didn’t finish, just sighed and propped her head on her hand as she finished smoking her cigarette. I held my third drink in my hand, trying to tell myself I didn’t need it. That it would be a horrible idea to
drink it. I might have done what Selena asked, but I knew she wasn’t going to be happy that I’d sent her demon back to hell. I needed to stay sharp.
I took a drink and set the glass down, staring at the remainder.
“One more?” Piper asked. “Or do you need to get back to that man of yours?”
I shouldn’t. I have to work tomorrow and I have an evil twin to deal with. My plate is full enough without adding in a hangover and potentially pissing off Lucy.
Piper watched me expectantly, poising the bottle over the glass. She raised an eyebrow at me.
“One more,” I agreed. What could it hurt?
Chapter Twenty-Four
I didn’t go home that night. I passed out on Piper’s couch, and I went astral when I thought I was awake the next morning. It’s weird enough when the room spins after a heavy night. That morning, I was walking on air and struggling to find my balance.
“It took you long enough to wake up,” the unfamiliar voice whispered close to my ear.
I concentrated enough to steady myself before I turned. I saw the old woman from the sloth host’s dreamscape and I felt a sharp stab of sadness over what happened to her. She was a helpless victim of neglect. She didn’t deserve what happened.
“This isn’t exactly awake,” I heard myself whisper back.
“You need to get back home,” the old woman told me, beginning to steer me out of the room.
“Wait,” I told her. “This isn’t my body.”
“You need to see some things,” she said, continuing to manoeuvre me.
She must have woken me like this somehow. I could barely remember crashing on the sofa last night, but I knew I wouldn’t just randomly attempt to go astral, no matter how drunk I was. It’s not totally safe and I’m not that experienced at it.
“How did you wake me up?” I asked.
“Shush,” she told me, moving me along faster.
We rushed through people and walls on the way to Mason’s house. She had some kind of super-speed thing going and we got there insanely fast.
We stopped outside his neighbour’s house and the old woman went inside. I was half-glad she wasn’t rushing me to Mason’s place, and half-disappointed. If there was some insight that would help make things right between us, I would have liked to see it. On the other hand, I still had a job to do. If that’s what she was reminding me of, I could deal with that.
I went inside and followed her. She stopped outside the room with the woman who’d caused her death, shaking her head for a second before moving on.
The room she led me to contained my evil twin. She was dressed and laying on top of the covers, smirking as she typed something into her phone. I rushed to see the message but she hit send before I could read it. I only saw where she sent it. Dawson.
“Shit,” I whispered, looking at the old woman.
She shook her head and motioned to me to go closer.
I moved in, knowing Selena couldn’t see me, but feeling weird about how vulnerable I’d be if she had any demons lurking around nearby.
“She keeps them on a short leash,” the old woman told me, reading my mind apparently.
Mason had told me before ghosts seem more tuned in than the living. He wasn’t certain if they could actually read the thoughts of the living or if they just understood more and could guess well. It was one question they didn’t seem to want to answer.
“Watch what she’s doing.”
I did as told, and saw Selena flick back and forth between checking previous messages exchanged with Dawson and scrolling down her inbox. My heart stopped when I saw Mason’s little brother’s name.
“Why does she have Fergus in her phone?”
“Watch.”
So I did. I watched while she smirked at the disgusting messages she’d been exchanging with Dawson, before going into her messages from Fergus and starting to type out a new one.
My blood ran cold as she goaded him about an online game he played with his friends. He was calling her Sophie. She was a girl he’d been chatting with for months. I felt like throwing up.
She’d been cyber-bullying him and making it look like flirting. If I wasn’t astral right now, I’d kill her.
Then she asked him about the sweeties. Had he tried them yet? Didn’t he want to? She couldn’t meet him if he wasn’t into them.
“Where’s Mason?” I asked the old woman.
She grabbed my arm and we flew through the air. I was disorientated when we landed in Mason’s house, but grateful that it was quick. I rushed to Mason’s room and saw him sleeping in bed, crashed out with his mouth open.
“Mason!” I yelled, as loudly as I could. To me it sounded like I was barely talking, but he moved a little. Muttered and moaned as if I was nudging him to get up before he was ready. “Mason! Mason, wake up!”
He sucked in a breath and moved a little more before he rubbed at his eyes and groaned louder. Then he sat up quickly, his eyes wild. “Tina? Oh my God, please don’t tell me you’re dead.”
“I’m astral. One of your ghosts came to get me. Fergus is in trouble. You need to get up right now and take his phone off him.”
He frowned at me, clearly still half-asleep. “What?”
“Selena’s been texting him for months. She’s been calling herself Sophie.”
“Shit,” he said, getting up and shoving on a pair of boxers. He moved quickly to his brother’s room and found the door locked. “Fergus, open this door right now.”
I walked through it and saw Fergus sitting on the edge of the bed in his school uniform, two small white tablets in his hand, his phone on the bed next to him.
“Fergus, don’t,” I said, seeing him raise his head a little and squint.
There was no demon in his gaze. I let relief in at that mercy. He hadn’t crossed a line yet, hadn’t done something awful enough to attract hell spawn. He also didn’t seem to have his brother’s ability to see spirits. Maybe he sensed something, but he didn’t see me in front of him.
He frowned at the door, stuffed the pills into his bedside drawer before he picked up his bag and went to the door. He opened it and snapped, “What? I’m up. I’m not late.”
Mason held out his hand. “Phone.”
Fergus was quick to slip the phone into his backpack. I could just imagine the look he was giving his brother right now. “No way.”
Mason snatched his bag from him and took the phone. He couldn’t unlock it, and he sighed softly at the realisation. “You changed the code.”
“Too right I did,” Fergus said. “You’ve no right to look at it.”
Mason raised his gaze to me before he cleared his throat. “Okay. Get moving. I’ll be downstairs to walk you to school in five minutes.”
Fergus didn’t move. “My phone.”
“You can have it back later.” Mason backed up enough to let him pass.
He watched until his brother went down the stairs. I heard him stomping all the way down, muttering curse words under his breath. Then Mason turned back to me. He cleared his throat again, but he didn’t seem to know what to say.
“That drawer,” I told him, pointing. “She was asking if he took them yet. I don’t know how he got them, but she was trying to push him into taking drugs.”
Mason took a few steps closer and opened the drawer, wincing at what he found inside. He pulled out a bag with a dozen tablets inside. “Shit.”
“I’m sorry, Mason.”
He looked at me, as if not really seeing me. I guess he wasn’t. What we just found out was crazy. He couldn’t take it in. It was all kinds of awful.
“I can’t right now, Tina,” he told me, shaking his head.
I leave before he can ask me to go. I have an evil twin to deal with, and I’m pretty sure my hangover isn’t going to be pleasant either.
Chapter Twenty-Five
My head was pounding, and the world felt a little too fast, but thankfully I wasn’t hung over enough to be physically sick, so there was that. Unfortunately,
I needed to get home and change and haul my weary ass to work. I could only hope that Mason wasn’t working. He had enough to deal with this morning.
I somehow managed to clean myself up and get to work, and I allowed myself to feel good about that, at least until I realised Lucy was avoiding me. She barely glanced my way when I got in and ditched my bag in the staff room. A muttered hello was all the welcome I got.
Then I caught her staring at me when I went for my lunch break. She looked away when I tried to wave her over, so I just sat down and ate my slightly burnt chips and grease-filled toastie.
Mason hadn’t been in, but someone else came in to cover his shift so I guessed he was off sick.
My only real smile came when Piper text messaged me that she was hung over as hell too. She asked if I wanted to come over again and I considered it before I said no. My twenty-four hour deadline was going to be up soon and I’m pretty sure Selena was not going to be happy that I sent one of her pets back to where it came from. So I asked Piper for a rain-check.
I got a call from Jimmy on the way home and I wasn’t sure about answering it until I reminded myself that Mason wasn’t speaking to me right now anyway.
“Hey, Jimmy. What’s up?”
“Man, you sound sober,” he told me.
“Well, you sound rough,” I told him.
“Do you really seriously have a twin sister?” Asked as if he couldn’t quite believe the conversation we had last night when he finally pulled himself up from the floor.
“Yeah, as much as I’d like to say I don’t, she exists.”
“Damn,” he said. “At least I can say I’ve had twins.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“You think she’ll go out with me again if I ask?”
“Get over me already,” I told him, feeling a little harsh for the not-quite-joke, but wanting to keep him away from her. “She’s bad news, Jimmy. She doesn’t give a shit about you. She’s just trying to mess up my life.”
There was a pause before he spoke again, and I couldn’t help wincing.
“If you ever leave your boyfriend you know where I am.” He hung up, and I was left standing there in the Starlight’s parking lot, feeling like shit.
Quicksand Nightmares (Seven Deadly Demons Book 2) Page 7