Denounce

by Alex Dafney

I close my eyes, lifting one leg over the side. I slowly slide myself down, dropping to my feet and keeping my back against the wall firmly. I hear her walking toward the stairs, but I can’t make myself move or open my eyes. “What the hell are you doing? Let’s go!” I know time is of the essence, but, dammit!

  I feel her hand touch mine and I gingerly open my eyes, looking into her light green ones. “We’ve got to go. Now.” She laces her fingers through mine, tugging my hand. With a deep breath I push off the wall, squeezing her hand like a lifeline as we hurry down the stairs side by side.

  When we reach the ground in the alleyway, I have the urge to throw myself to the pavement. Heights are not my thing. We run toward the back of the alleyway. Just as we reach the exit a car slides to a stop in front of us, both of us sliding to a stop. “What the fuck, Eri?!” Ori screams from the driver’s side window. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now. I’ll call you from a burner later.” She turns, pulling my hand to do the same. “Get in the car!”

  She glances at him with a questioning stare. “Get in!” She pulls us both toward the car, opening the backseat and sliding in as I follow behind her. My head snaps back as Ori hits the gas. He turns the car out onto the main street, not bothering to look either way. Horns honk and brakes squeal as he accelerates.

  “You have lost your fucking mind, Eridanus!” He yells from the front seat as he weaves around cars at a high speed. “I have not. You’re not listening to me. Ashely is not a demon.” I see him lift his eyes, locking on hers in the rear-view mirror. “You just locked Master Circinus and his right-hand man in your apartment. The least of your worries is a fucking demon.” His eyes snap over to my own, his brows drawing together.

  His eyes move back to the road as he speeds toward the interstate. “What’s your plan, Eri? I hope like hell it’s a good one.” She sinks back into the seat next to me, letting out a low sigh. “I’m going to visit Eldora. The witches and the Demons have always commingled. I’m hoping one of the elders of her coven has some insight to our little halfbreed here.”

  She glances at me out of the corner of her eye, a smile tugging at her lip. I bump her shoulder with my own as she giggles, leaning in and whispering to her. “I’m not a little anything.” I arch an eyebrow at her as her cheeks tint with a blush. “Stop flirting with my sister before I kill you myself.” I look up to Ori scowling at me in the rear-view mirror.

  He shifts his eyes back to the road ahead. “I figured that was your plan. I’m taking you to the airport, then I’ll go back and let the Division leaders out of your apartment. Code still the same?” She nods at him. “How did you know I was going to take him through the escape?” He glances back to the mirror. “Just a hunch. I made an excuse to get something to open the door with before you locked the apartment down. Hopefully, I was believable, and they don’t suspect me of helping you. Otherwise we’re all fucked.” I look over to Eri who has a worried look on her face. “Where are we going?”

  “Canada.” My eyes widen. “I can’t go to Canada! I start my new position at work tomorrow morning!” I hear Ori scoff from the front seat. “If that’s what you want to do, I’ll gladly turn the car around.” I look back to Eri as she places her hand on my knee gently. “Call and tell them you have the flu or something. It will buy us at least a week.” I shake my head at her quickly. No way in hell am I going to lose my promotion over this.

  She sighs heavily, dropping her head back on the seat as her eyes close. “The Division and the Red Eyes are after you. You don’t stand a chance against them both.” I lean my head back against the seat as well, letting out a sigh because I know she’s right. I place my hand on hers that rests on my knee, curling my fingers around hers. I’m being an ass thinking about my promotion when she just dropped her entire life to help me.

  We pull up to the airport moments later. I glance out the window as we skip the usual flow of traffic to the main entrance, instead driving around the large building. Ori pulls the car to a stop as a man holds open a gate leading to the taxiway. “My pilot’s waiting for you.” Eri leans forward, snaking her arms around her brother from behind. “I’ll call you when I get a phone.”

  I place my hand on the door, pushing it open and stepping out. “I hope he’s worth it.” Ori mumbles as Eri steps out behind me. Holding both the bags in my hands I follow behind her through the gate. She turns to me, looking up at me with a sad smile. “Call your employer.” Shifting the bags to one hand I pull my cell phone from my pocket, quickly texting my boss to let him know I won’t be at the office this week.

  He responds instantly, wishing me well soon. I look up from my phone to see Eri holding hers in her hand. She lifts it over her head, throwing it to the concrete below. It shatters, pieces of it flying in different directions. I pass mine to her, not having the nerve to break the expensive phone I just got paid off. I cringe as it hits the ground. “We’ll get new ones when we land.” With that she turns away from me, walking toward the small jet that waits for us.

  Chapter Seven

  We take our seats next to each other after boarding the small jet. I turn my head toward Eri who stares out the window. “So.” She looks over to me, a humorless chuckle escaping her as she rests her head against the seat back as the plane begins to move. “So.”

  She reaches over, placing her hand on my own that rests on my knee as the plane moves faster down the runway. “I hate flying.” She barely whispers. I glance over at her, noticing her breathing has accelerated and her eyes are pinched shut. The corner of my mouth pulls up slightly as I turn my hand, lacing our fingers together. “Statistically, flying is safer than traveling in an automobile.”

  She shakes her head ever so slightly as she squeezes my hand. “Not to me. When I’m in a car, I’m the one in control.” As we reach altitude and the plane levels, I expect her to release her grip on my hand, but much to my delight she keeps it firmly placed in mine. “You’re not in control though. You may be in control of your own vehicle, but not the ones that drive around you.”

  She tilts her head looking at me with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. “You’re not going to convince me to enjoy flying. Besides, how are you so calm with your fear of heights?” I shrug one shoulder. “I just don’t look out the window.” She chuckles lightly.

  We sit quietly for a few minutes, our hands still entwined sitting on my knee. “You Dad wants me dead.” I let out a laugh. “I can honestly say I’ve never had a girl’s Dad want to kill me.” She pulls her hand from mine slowly, sitting up in the seat and folding her legs under her. “He’s not my Dad.”

  I give her a questioning look. She shrugs one shoulder. “Biologically, yes, he’s my Father, but he’s not my Dad. I never had a Dad growing up.” I think about my own Dad. Playing catch, talking about books together, fishing, hunting, all the things a Father and son do. “What about you, Ashley?”

  I give her a small smile. “My Dad was amazing. My Mom too.” Her lips drop slightly at the corners. “Was?” I nod sadly. “A house fire. Right before I left for college.” I clasp my hands together, placing them in my lap. “It was the weirdest day. We had plans to pack up the car and head for the beach that morning, but when I walked into the kitchen they had strange expressions on their faces as they told me we wouldn’t be going and they needed me to leave the house for the morning.”

  I let out a huge sigh as I sit back in my seat, looking up at the ceiling of the plane. “I went to a friend’s house for a few hours and when I pulled back into our driveway the house was burnt to the ground, police officers and firefighters everywhere. Their bodies were never recovered. The fire was so hot it destroyed them.” I shake my head, the emotion of that day weighing on me. “I’m sorry, Ashley. That must’ve been so hard for you.”

  I nod in agreement. That was the worst day of my life. “Which was the Demon and which the Stalker?” I look over to Eri, giving her a slight shrug. “I have no idea. I didn’t even know this world existed until a few days ago.” Her br
ows draw together slowly. “How could you not know and live with them?” I think back to my childhood. “Mom was that mom that baked cookies for the neighborhood and shit. She volunteered at the hospital. There’s no way she was a Demon. And Dad, he was the librarian at the local high school. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

  “Hmm.” I look over to her as she looks forward, tapping one finger to her chin. “You never saw their mark?” I shake my head. “Nope. Dad always wore a watch on his wrist though. I can’t ever remember him being without it.” I let out a chuckle. “Actually, he wore it on his right wrist even though he was right handed. Kind of odd.” She pushes her arm in front of me, her wrist facing up. “All Stalker’s marks are on their right wrist. Your Dad was the Stalker.”

  I think about it for a split second. “You’re probably right, but that would make my Mom the Demon. There’s just no way.” She gives me a funny look before shaking her head and looking out the window. “It doesn’t matter. I was just curious.” I sit back in my seat, thinking about the mess my life has become and how my parents should’ve told me about all of this. At least warned me!

  I glance over to find Eri’s eyes closed, her head nodding against the window. Reaching around her I pull her to my chest, my arm wrapped around her shoulders. She places her hand on my chest, pulling her legs up beside her on the seat. “I’m just going to rest my eyes.” I chuckle lightly as I run my hand through her long, blonde hair.

  My eyes spring open as I feel Eri moving away from me. I sit up, noticing the worried look on her face as the plane begins to descend. She crosses her legs under her, pinching her eyes shut and leaning her head back. “I hate landing worse than flying.” I grip her hand in my own, lacing our fingers together, trying to comfort her.

  “Statistically, landing in a plane is safer than landing in a car.” Her lips tug at a smile as she reaches over with her free hand, smacking me in the arm playfully. “You’re not cute.” I laugh as her smirk widens. “You know I’m cute.” She opens one eye, raising her eyebrow at me with a soft smile. “You’re not cute. Handsome, yes. Cute, no.”

  We stare at each other as the plane lands. Both of our smiles gone as something else takes over. She closes her eyes as the wheels hit the ground, not opening them until we are completely stopped. We exit the plane to a small airport in what seems to be the middle of nowhere.

  “Uh, how are we going to get wherever we’re going?” She looks over to me with a smirk. “A car.” I scoff, rolling my eyes as we walk toward the building. Expecting to go inside I keep moving forward, noticing her veering over to the right. “Where are you going?” I look over to her, seeing she’s a few feet away from me.

  I step over to her, falling in step with her as we walk toward the mostly empty parking lot. She pulls a set of keys from the bag she’s carrying, hitting the button on the remote. A black sports car comes to life in front of us. She walks over, opening the driver’s side door as I step over to the passenger.

  We get in the car, my legs pushed toward me in the tiny space. I begin letting the seat back as she laughs. “We’ll have to stay in a hotel tonight. It’s too long a drive to Eldora’s place for us to arrive at a decent time. Especially since we’re showing up unannounced.” She puts the car in gear, peeling out of the parking area.

  We pull up in front of a small hotel. The vacancy sign blinking as we both exit the car. “Let me do the talking.” I roll my eyes at her as I hold the door open, letting her walk in before me. She walks up to the counter where an elderly man sits behind watching a small television on the counter. “What can I do for you?” He asks without looking up.

  “We need a room for the evening.” He nods slowly, pulling his eyes away from the screen to look at us. “I’ll need an ID and it’ll be a hundred a night.” She pulls a stack of bills from the bag she carries, placing a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. “It’s seems in our haste of leaving, we both forgot our ID’s.” She places another hundred on the counter.

  “We’re just needing a room for the night.” Another hundred on the counter. “And to be checked in as Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Another hundred. “Do you have any rooms available?” Another hundred. The man looks from the money on the counter to her. “You said Smith?” He reaches forward, sliding the money toward him as Eri nods.

  He reaches under the counter, producing a key that he places on top, sliding it toward her. “All I’ve got is a queen bed. Room G.” She gives him a cursory nod as she grips the key in her hand, turning from the counter. “I don’t have to worry about the police coming after you two, do I?” I hold the door open as she looks at him over her shoulder. “Police? No, not at all. There may be a demon or two knocking though.” She gives him an exaggerated wink as he chuckles, turning his attention back to the small TV.

  “Really? Aren’t you supposed to stay quiet about that shit?” She giggles lightly as we walk toward our room. We stop at the door with a large G on the wall next to it. Eri placing the key in the handle and turning. The door opens and we both take in the small room with wood panel walls. The TV is one of those big box types that no one has seen in the last two decades.

  “Well, it’s better than sleeping in the car.” She says as she steps in the room, placing her bag on the desk that sits against the wall. I swing the bag full of weapons from my shoulder, placing it next to hers. She sits on the edge of the bed, reaching over and turning the TV on. Pushing buttons but all that comes out is static.

  She lets out a sigh as she lays back on the bed. “TV doesn’t work.” I look around the room again. “Well, what are we going to do?” She sits up, placing her hands at her side. “We could drive through town. See if there’s anywhere to get some clothes since neither of us had a chance to pack. And I could use something to eat.”

  I lean over the desk, grabbing her car keys before opening the door. “Sounds like a plan.” She gives me a smile as we walk out of the room together.

  After driving for about twenty minutes we spot a small store with the lights on. She’s pulls into a parking spot, peering out the windshield at the store. “Let’s hope they have what we need. I don’t think we’re going to find anything else tonight.” The door to the small store opens as she walks toward it. We both stop just inside the door, looking around.

  It appears to be a general store of sorts. “I’ll go this way, meet you in the middle.” I nod as she starts off toward the right. Turning I begin walking down the aisles, grabbing a few things as I go. I stop at a rack of T-shirt’s, lifting one up I laugh. The shirt reads Canada across the front. The most touristy thing someone can buy. I grab one in my size and another in a smaller size for Eri.

  “Did you find anything?” I turn at the sound of her voice, my mouth instantly lifting with a smile. I gesture to the T-shirt’s. “I found us a shirt for tomorrow.” She laughs lightly while shaking her head as she steps forward, pulling one of the shirts out. “The Smith’s are going to be styling tomorrow.” I chuckle as I tilt my head toward her arm that she has a few items tucked in. “What’d you find?”

  She glances down. “Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant.” She gives a small shrug. “I did find a pack of playing cards too.” I smile at her. God, she has to be the most breathtaking woman on this planet. Her cheeks tint slightly as she tears her eyes from mine. “Are we done?” I step over next to her as we walk down the aisle toward the register.

  The woman behind the counter peppers us with questions as she rings up our items. “What brings you here?” Eri snakes her arm through mine. “Oh, we just needed a getaway.” The woman smiles kindly across the counter before gesturing her hand behind her. “Will you be needing anything behind the counter?” My cheeks burn as I take in the items behind the counter. Condoms, condoms, and more condoms.

  I clear my throat, running my hand along the back of my neck nervously. If this woman or Eri knew how badly I do want to buy them and put them to use. Eri gives the woman a warm smile, leaning toward the counter with her hand cup
ped next to her mouth. “Unfortunately, we don’t. He’s impotent.”

  My mouth drops open in shock as the woman behind the counter gives me a sad smile. “That’s too bad.” I stare at Eri with a scowl as the cashier rattles off the total and she hands her cash. We step out of the store and Eri instantly bursts into a fit of giggles. “Seriously? I had to be impotent. Why couldn’t you just be celibate?” This makes her laugh harder, clutching her side as she bends at the waist trying to catch her breath.

  I can’t even be mad any longer as I watch her giggling so hard. She looks up to me with tears in her eyes from laughing so. I step over to her, wrapping my arm around her waist as she tries to stop laughing. Leading us toward the car, I drop my head, whispering to her. “You’re going to pay for that one.”

  After finding a small diner to grab a bite to eat we’re both sitting on the bed facing each other, playing cards in hand. “Go fish.” I reach for the stack of cards between us, picking one up. “Got any three’s?” I sigh as I hand over the two cards in my hand. She smiles brightly as she lays the book down in front of her. “Fives?”

  She shakes her head. I reach for the stack between us again, pausing as my fingers touch the deck. “Do you really think I’m a Demon?” I glance up, noticing the devious smirk on her face. “I mean, have you looked in the mirror?” I give her a devious grin of my own before tossing the cards in my hand over my shoulder and lunging at her, pinning her back against the bed.

  I move my hand to her ribs, tickling her without mercy as she writhes under me. “Stop! Oh my, I could, oh!” She laughs wildly as I continue to tickle her. “I’ll kill you, dammit!” She yells at me between laughter. I grip her wrists in my hands, holding them above her head as she smiles up at me.

  Something shifts in the room. The smile on my face slowly fades as hers does the same. I lean forward, crashing my lips against hers as I release her wrists. Her hands instantly tangle in my hair, pulling me closer. A moan escapes her as I slip my tongue in her mouth.