A Demon in Stilettos (8 page)

Coy ran to keep up. “Where are we going?” she asked, her voice quavering.

“We’re clocking out and going home.”

“No.” Coy pulled back against her. “I’ve got work to do.”

“You’re going home, right now, and I’m going with you.”

“Why so serious?” She tried to loosen Erin’s grip. “Can’t this wait?”

“No, no. This is a matter of life and death.” She slid Coy’s badge across the scanner and then clocked herself out.

Erin pushed Coy toward her car, causing her to stumble. “We’re going to talk.”

* * * *

Seated at their favorite restaurant, Erin told Coy all about her alter ego. Being a vindictive sort, she explained in great detail. “Girl, your lab coat was over your head. Johns was pumping you across his desk like a wild animal.”

Unable to stop crying, Coy removed her glasses. She sat numb, tugging at her earlobes. “How could this happen?” she sniveled, “This is totally unreal.”

“I know, right.” Erin smirked. “But, girl, you’ve been having the best sex ever. Seems, you can’t get enough. You tore into Johns like a seasoned porn star. Your breasts were flying everywhere. Nearly tore his Johnson from the root. Didn’t seem to care who saw you.”

“But I do care!” she blubbered. “Don’t tell me anymore.” With both feet perched in the booth, Coy covered her ears with trembling fingers.

“Girl, please. Around the center, the scent of sex is always in the air. With your moans and groans, everybody stays horny. Some employees are starting to steal sex during break. It’s a damn epidemic! And, you started it.”

With her mouth agape, Coy looked on in horror. Shaking her head, tears continued to swell in her eyes. “You’re talking about an entirely different person. I don’t—know—that—person.” Riddled with anguish, she rested her head against the coolness of the leather booth.

“Well,” Erin took another sip of her coffee. “Because I love you, I didn’t tell you the entire story.”

Coy threw up her hand. “Don’t you understand? I don’t want to hear anymore,” she cried. “I’m much too embarrassed.” She wiped her tears on her damp napkin. With reddened eyes she whimpered. “What is Johns going to think of me? I love him. Now, he’ll never know. What will everyone think of me?”

Erin placed her finger on her cheek. “We can fix this problem. We’ll just tell them, you were on meds. They’ll believe it; after all, they are chemists.”

“Think it’ll work?” she sobbed.

Erin smiled and patted her arm. “Beyond a doubt.”

“First we need to find out what triggers, the change. Let’s go to your house and check your make-up.”

“Thank you so much.” Coy lifted her cup and drank the last of her coffee. “I like the new and improved Erin. You’ve been a true friend.”

Erin gave her a sidelong glance. “Coy. It was time for a change. You’ve always been kind to me.”

Chapter Nine

By noon, Coy’s apartment was in shambles. Erin plopped down on Coy’s sofa and finished a bag of chips. “We’ve checked every possible lead and come up empty handed. There is only one thing we can do, now. You’ve got to go through the entire process of getting dressed.” She pounded her fist in her hands. “We’ve got to find the missing link.”

Removing her glasses, Coy sat down on her bed. She thought for a moment, then she went to her dressing table to apply make-up. Finally, satisfied with the results, she waited for the magic—nothing happened. She curled her hair with a curling iron, and nothing happened. She reached into the closet and stepped into a new dress. Still, nothing happened. Reaching for a band, she twisted her locks into a ponytail behind her head. Then she turned toward Erin. “This is not working.”

Erin watched patiently. “Get completely dressed and put on the lab coat, too.”

Coy reached for the stilettos and stuck her feet inside. Immediately, her head started to spin. “Oh my God. It’s the shoes.” Quickly, she removed her feet. “It’s the shoes! I felt it this time. It’s the damn shoes!”

Erin sighed. “And so it is. Finally!”

“Oh my. I got these shoes at the church bazaar a few weeks ago.”

“And that’s when your troubles started.”

“Yes!” In retaliation, she kicked the shoes aside. “I have a card with an address.”

“Really? Get those shoes. Let’s find this woman, and get your dignity back.”

After Coy changed her clothing, the two women drove to the address on the card. However, when they knocked on the door, an intoxicated man answered. “You wanna see who?”

Seeing the drunken condition of the man, Coy stood fidgeting. “Her name is Shela Neves. Are you sure she doesn’t live here?”

Immediately, the man slammed the door in their faces, leaving them standing on the small porch. Erin folded her arms and turned to walk away. “So much for that.”

Walking toward the car Coy remembered. “She asked me if I could possess the shoes, or would the shoes possess me.”

Erin scratched her head. “Really. That’s interesting. What else did she say?”

Coy paused. “Then, she said I could return the shoes on the seventh day, of the seventh month, at seven o’clock, and seven seconds.”

Erin frowned, and raised her eyes toward the sun. “What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I don’t know.” Coy shuddered. “That’s what Shela said.” She opened Erin’s door and sat down on the hot vinyl seat. “Let’s go to the church where they held the bazaar. It has a large congregation. Someone is bound to be there.”

* * * *

Waiting in the church’s foyer, Coy wore her flats while holding the black stilettos in her arms. Through the office window, she saw that the church secretary was busy. Leaning across her desk, she gave a tissue to a crying woman.

Erin lowered her shoulders. “Someone is in her office. We’d better sit down.” Her voice echoed loudly in the empty vestibule. “We can see inside her office from here. This might take a while.”

Coy sat down on a small padded pew positioned in the wide hall and Erin joined her. Suddenly, Coy leaped to her feet. “I’ve got to find a ladies room. That coffee is running right through me.”

With her chin propped on her palm, Erin sighed, “Go ahead. I’ll wait here…no telling when she’s coming out of that office, anyway.”

Before Coy walked away, she placed the shoes on the pew. “I’ll be right back.”

Coy strutted slowly down the darkly tiled hallway, keeping an eye on Erin. As suspected, curiosity was eating her friend alive. After finding the ladies’ room, Coy hid herself behind a nook. She watched Erin pick up the shoes.

As if searching for someone, Erin stared around the spacious area then removed her shoes. Unable to see Coy in hiding, she placed the shoes on the tiled floor.

Expecting the worst, Coy gasped, and placed her hand across her mouth.

Erin stuck her feet into the strange shoes. She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists.

Cringing, Coy was shocked that nothing happened.

Erin clicked her heels three times, then paused.Admiring her feet, she swept her blonde hair behind her ear, and pivoted her toes in the shoes. “Well, at least they’re cute.” After removing the shoes, she placed them back on the pew.

When Coy returned, she folded her arms and confronted her friend. “You put the shoes on, didn’t you?”

“Coy.” Erin reached up and grasped Coy’s arm. Her brows knitted a frown. “Surely, you can remember the fantastic sex you were having.”

Coy blanched. “Only in flashes. I see body parts, I hear talking, but I can’t put the entire scene together.”

“Come on, Coy,” she coaxed. “Don’t get upset. It’s been a while for me.” She lowered her voice. “Everyone wants great sex every now and then.”

Coy placed her fingers across her lips. “Shh, we’re in church.”

“Oh.” Erin grimaced. Lifting her eyes, she sawthe cross mounted on the wall before her. “Sorry.”

Out of the blue Erin grinned. “I have a brilliant idea. Come with me.” As they walked toward the parking lot, Erin explained her plan. “Now that you know what happens when you wear the shoes, can you control them?”

“I…I don’t know,” she stammered, clenching the shoes in her arms. “I’m scared to wear them.”

“Just put them on,” Erin encouraged. “If you start acting strange,” she teased, “I’ll hit you in the head and remove them, right away.”

Coy’s expression was one of pain and embarrassment. With widened eyes, she paced the floor. “I know you’re kidding, but you promise you’ve got my back?”

“I promise.” Erin crossed her heart.

They continued toward the parking lot. In moments, they reached the warm concrete pavement. Erin backed up to give Coy extra space.Coy placed the shoes on the pavement and stared at them, then she removed her flats.

“Okay.” She inhaled deeply. “Here goes, nothing.” Then, she stuck her feet inside the black stilettos. Immediately, a radiant, smoky mist crept upwards from the shoes. Within seconds, it encompassed her feet and ankles. As if she had stepped into a pile of burning ashes, the smoky mist crept upward and inward, entering through her feminine passage. Finally, the mist consumed her entire body, inside and out.

Throwing her hands before her face, Erin scowled and her knees buckled. She leaned against a parked car “Oh, my God, Coy. Look at your eyes. They’re all smoky—exotic. How do you feel?”Erin reached out to touch Coy’s transforming body.

“Strange, flushed, but horny.”

“Can you control the shoes?” she asked, supporting Coy’s shoulder.

Coy staggered, “I don’t know,” she puffed, reeling on the heels. “It’s hard to control them. I need to make love, and the sooner, the better.”

“What! Pull them off!” Erin shouted. “Pull them off, right now!” She reached for the shoes.

“No!” Coy insisted, shoving her away. Standing upright, she pulled the band from her hair. Her raven curls fell free, blowing on a gentle wind. Then, her breasts plumped forward, filling up the neckline of her shirt. “Finally!” She inhaled and stood erect. A strange white aura hovered over her. Infiltrating her nostrils, it gently escaped through her ears.

“Oh no.” Erin backed up then waved her hand before Coy’s glazed eyes. “Hello. Can you hear me?”

Coy caught her waving hand in mid-air, and crushed it painfully. “Of course, I hear you.”

Wincing in agony, Erin snatched her hand away. “You’ve hurt me.” She shook the pain away. “Can you control the shoes?” she asked innocently.

“Of course, I can control them. They’re mine, aren’t they?”

Throwing up her hands, Erin blocked Coy’s step. “No—no! You’re not the real Coy. Don’t do this,” she begged. “You promised you’d take them off.”

Looking down on Erin, Coy admitted coolly, “I don’t want to take them off. I want a piece of Lincoln Johns.”

Erin cringed, looked at the shoes then pushed against Coy’s shoulder. “No. Please! Don’t do this!”

Raising her arm, Coy’s flattened palm met Erin’s firm chest. Under her impact, Erin’s feet cleared the ground. The forceful blow sent her hurling against her parked car. Smashing into the vehicle, Erin’s body lurched forward, then bent clumsily as it collided with the side of the automobile. Yielding to brute force, Erin’s body slid off the side of the car, then landed roughly on the hard pavement. As a final insult, she struck her head loudly against the door.

While Erin lay in a heap, Coy inhaled and elevated her chest. A strong wind whipped upon her raven hair. “You’re standing in my way, Duchess,” she growled. “Never stand between me, and sex.”

Rubbing her injured leg, Erin slowly pulled herself upright, then holding the side of her car, she hobbled to her feet. Stroking the back of her head, she leaned against the car. Erin called out once more, this time, more weakly. “Coy. Con…trol th…the damn sho…shoes.”

Rushing toward the passenger’s side of Erin’s car, Coy shouted, “Take me home!”

“No,” Erin squealed, limping badly, “Not until you remove the damn shoes!”

Annoyed by Erin’s insubordination, Coy made a fist and struck the hood of Erin’s car, leaving a deep indention. Glowering beneath her brow, her eyes flashed with fire. Standing with legs wide apart, she stiffened her stance in the high heels. “Damn you, I’ll walk!”

Erin raised her hands in surrender. “Okay! I give up.” she yelled. “Okay. Fighting you is not worth this pain. Keep the damn shoes. You’re beating my ride to pieces.”

The wind subsided and Coy’s demeanor returned. “That’s more like it, Duchess.” She snatched on the car’s door handle almost jerking it from the hinges. “I’ve important things to do.”

Dragging her left leg, Erin hobbled toward the driver side of the car. After opening the door, she sat on the seat. Groaning and panting loudly, she then pulled her injured leg inside the car. Slowly, she positioned her body under the wheel.

Chapter Ten

Frowning, Erin reeled on the seat. As if in pain, she moaned loudly. Periodically, she winced holding her ribs with her right hand. After stroking her leg, she pulled strands of scattered hair from her face. Glancing at Coy she gnashed her teeth. “You’ve hurt me. I don’t think I can drive.”

Sitting quietly, Coy turned her face from Erin. “You’d better.”