A Demon Made Me Do It (2 page)

But despite everything I’m feeling at
this moment, it’s the helplessness that bothers me the most. Not
having control over my own life. Always being at the mercy of
others with powers greater than mine.

I am so freaking
over it.

“
Hi there, Miss…excuse me?”
I don’t even notice the lanky guy leaning against the side of a
shiny black pickup truck until he calls to me. I want to ignore him
and keep moving, but I can’t. His voice is like an invisible lasso
pulling me back.

“
Yes?” I turn around
slowly, wary of the stranger witnessing my mad escape. If he’s one
of the school’s security guards, I’m sunk.

He slowly jogs toward me,
and I roll my eyes in annoyance. This whole idea of lame, wanna-be-
rent-a-cops actually providing us with any sort of ‘security’
is
such
a joke.
All they do is bust students who don’t follow the rules. They’ll
never be able to protect anyone from the
real
dangers lurking right under
their noses.

But as he gets closer, I’m relieved to
see he’s just a boy. My age. He shouldn’t care that I was ditching.
I give a furtive glance around the parking lot. We’re all
alone.

“
Hi,” he says.

I don’t know who he is, but
he’s not from around here, of that I’m certain. His shiny leather
boots appear to be new and expensive and his cable-knit sweater
straight off a Ralph Lauren model. But it’s the jeans that give him
away. All the guys around here wear Levi’s like they’re an assigned
uniform. This boy has on designer jeans. He seems out of place at a
backwoods high school deep in rural Virginia. He
should
be strolling
around a majestic estate in the English countryside or on a yacht
in some ritzy ditzy marina on the coast.

“
Hi,” I say, even warier
now.

He grins, and his dark blue eyes catch
the early morning sunlight. He’s much taller now that he’s standing
right in front of me. I tilt my head to meet his amused expression.
“Are you a student here?” he asks.

I shrug. “Technically, I
guess.”
Bring it on, Mr. Fashion
Police
Wanna-Be.

He chuckles, and brushes his ebony
hair away from his face. “Well, then, maybe you can help me. I’m a
little turned around. I’m supposed to go to the registration office
to enroll for classes, but I’m not sure where it is.”

“
You’re gonna start going
to school here?” My pulse inexplicably speeds up at my
question.

He nods. “Yup. Senior. Sucks having to
start over now. Oh well.” He smiles, and I can’t help but think he
could have been in a toothpaste commercial with those perfectly
straight, white teeth. Definitely not from around here.

“
Why would you come
here
?” Oh, yeah. That was
smooth. I should’ve signed up to be the town greeter.

He laughs again.
“Sorry?...this
is
Dove Creek High School, isn’t it? Home of the Fighting
Spartans?” His eyes move to the large blue and white sign behind
me, but never lose any of their affability.

“
Well, yeah…I mean…did you
just move to town or something? Like, on
purpose?
” Wow, am I really one of
those girls who turns into a total idiot when talking to a cute
guy?

“
Yeah, a few weeks ago. I
came to live with my uncle. He works out at the Flintridge mines.
You seem so surprised. Don’t new people ever move here?”

I actually have to think about this
for a moment. “Maybe, I guess. Most people just can’t wait to get
out, is all. Small town. Smaller people. Not a lot going on, no
reason to be here if you don’t have to be…”

Okay, I
am
officially one of those idiot
girls. Whatever happened to ‘Hi, welcome to Dove Creek! We’re so
happy you’re here. My name is Liora Greyson and I’ll be your
friendly guide…’?

“
I’m sure I’ll find
something to keep me occupied,” he says, the twinkle back in his
eyes. I like his eyes. Not just because of their cobalt color, but
because they aren’t afraid of mine. “Besides, I like small towns.
I’ve lived in big cities my whole life. It’s nice out here.
Peaceful…quiet. You can hear yourself think.”

I scrunch my face. Why does
he say that like it’s a
good
thing? I’d do anything not to hear the thoughts
that roam through
my
head. Especially lately, with Her being so psychotically
obsessed with suicidal vengeance.

Instead of giving him a
reply that will
really
convince him I’m a complete freak job, I take a deep breath
and point to the scene of my earlier crime. “The administration
office is over there, under the archway by the flowerbeds. Go down
that little path and it’s the first door on your right. Don’t pay
any attention to the secretary. She’s a nasty troll with a stick up
her butt.”

“
Got it, thanks.” He
squints as he surveys the unique architecture. “That sure is a
strange looking building. It doesn’t even look like a
school.”

Oh, I got this one. Only heard the
story a million and a half times. “That’s because it used to be a
Jesuit Monastery. It’s almost two hundred years old. Believe it or
not, those are the original stained-glass windows.” I indicate the
rotunda where broken colors catch the sun’s rays. “It was used as a
hospital during the civil war, and afterwards they converted it
into a school.”

Surprise colors his face. “You mean to
tell me you go to a school that used to be a church?” he asks in
disbelief.

“
I don’t think a monastery
is
exactly
the
same thing as a church. Besides, it’s not like it’s a religious
school now or anything…”

“
Still…”

His reaction is confusing so I shrug
again, my default response when I don’t know what to say or do. The
history of Dove Creek High is a source of pride for the town-folk;
I’ve never seen anyone bothered by it before. And that was my only
small-talk ace up my sleeve. Great.

“
Is there a place of
worship in there? An altar or a prayer room?”

And now he’s freaked. Good going,
Liora.

“
Um…well, the building with
all the stained glass windows used to be a chapel. But now we just
use it as the auditorium. No one actually
prays
there.” Maybe’s he’s some sort
of religious nut? Figures. All hot guys have a major flaw
somewhere.

He considers this for a moment.
“Fascinating,” he finally murmurs. When he catches my quizzical
glance he quickly adds, “I just didn’t expect such a small town to
have such an interesting landmark is all.”

Shrug number five. “It’s about the
only interesting thing about this place. It’s all downhill from
here.” Yup. I’m nothing if not consistent.

He turns his attention back to me and
gives a small smile. “Somehow, I doubt that,” he says under his
breath.

I blink. “Huh?”

“
If you don’t mind me
asking, why are you ditching?” he continues without missing a
beat.

“
Um…what makes you think I
am?” My gaze darts around the parking lot again. How long have we
been standing here? It feels like less than a second and forever at
the same time.

“
Well, because school is
that way,” he says pointing back toward the brick buildings, “but
you were headed
that
way.” He points to the line of trees on the other side of the
road, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement.

“
Oh, right. Yeah, um…I’m
not feeling very well. I was just going to go home and get some
rest.” I hope the lie doesn’t show in my voice. Tatiana always says
I’m a terrible liar. Of course, she’s not exactly the most unbiased
source.

He leans against a rusty blue pick-up
truck. “Sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon. It’d be
nice to have at least one familiar person here. It’s not easy being
the new guy and not knowing anybody.”

I nod sympathetically while
thinking how
not
at all
sorry for him I feel. This is
one boy who won’t be lonely for long. Even if the other guys in the
class have a hard time accepting this big-city newcomer, the girls
will swarm to him like horny bees to a very sexy honey pot. I
realize this thought disturbs me.

“
I’m sure you’ll do just
fine,” I mumble, my mouth suddenly dry.

His eyes lock on mine, and for a split
second he sees right through me; his focused attention makes me
feel as if I’m standing alone on a stage under a dozen bright
spotlights, vulnerable and exposed. I gulp and my heart beats
faster.

“
Would you like a ride
home, or do you have your own car?” His voice is soft, and I’m
taken aback at his question—by the
way
he asks it. Almost intimately, as
if we’re already old friends. Many people I’ve known for
years
don’t talk to me
with the effortless ease this strange boy does.

“
No…thanks. I mean, yeah, I
have a car, but it’s at home. I prefer to walk. The fresh air does
me good. But thanks anyways.”

“
All right, then. That way,
you say?” He motions back toward the buildings. “First door on the
right and beware of nasty trolls?”

“
Yeah…and if you could do
me a favor and not mention that you saw me, that’d be great.” I
grimace as I think of the trouble waiting for me tomorrow, let
alone what’s waiting for me at home later today.

He arches a dark eyebrow,
and his eyes twinkle again. “Don’t worry; your secret is safe with
me. Besides, I wouldn’t even know
who
it was I was ratting out,” he
adds pointedly.

“
Oh, sorry…My name is
Liora. Liora Greyson.” Yes. Manners. I knew I had some
somewhere.

“
It’s nice to meet you,
Liora. I’m Kieron Ambrose.” He holds out his hand and I
automatically take it; his large, warm palm makes mine seem cold
and tiny. He gives it a gentle squeeze and every cell in my body
wakes up on fire. I quickly pull away, not wanting to disturb
the
real
fire
inside me.

“
Nice to meet you, too.
Welcome to Dove Creek…I hope you like it here.” I finally remember
my welcome pitch and wish I hadn’t. It sounds even cheesier out
loud than in my mind.

“
I’m definitely liking it
so far,” he says. His eyes never leave mine.

There’s a rolling jostle in
my stomach, but I’m not afraid. This strange fluttering isn’t being
caused by
Her
.
Nervously, I tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ears and smile at
my new friend.

“
Good luck in there…I’ll
see you tomorrow.”

“
Tomorrow.”

******

“
Hello, Liora. I was
wondering when you’d decide to come home.” Tatiana is hunched over
the stove fixing dinner as I walk in. When she turns to face me,
I’m relieved to see there’s no sign of anger in her face or
disapproval in her milky-white eyes.

I’d spent the rest of the day in the
forest, reading by my favorite tree and thinking of Kieron. I knew
it was stupid to get all excited over some guy I didn’t even know,
but I couldn’t help it. There was something different about him.
And the way he spoke to me and looked at me…as if I was normal…as
if he actually liked me…as a person…

It had felt nice. Really nice. A girl
could get used to it, that’s for sure.

Any girl but
me
, that is.

“
Hi, Tatiana. Sorry, I lost
track of the time.” I brace myself for her scolding. She easily
senses my presence within a one hundred mile radius and
knows
exactly
where I’ve been all day. But she says nothing. Instead, she
continues with the food prep and hums softly to herself.

I take a seat at the table and watch
her curiously. Although she’s completely blind, Tatiana moves
around with the confident agility of someone with twenty-twenty
vision. She perceives objects around her with an inhuman clarity,
her ‘inner eyes’ as she calls it. But that’s not why I’m
mystified.

“
Do not apologize to me.
The sun is nearly set. It is you who must hurry if you do not wish
to feel ill tomorrow,” she says as she carries over two plates of
steaming food.

I quickly scarf down some of the beef
and potato stew, and try to figure out a way to tell her about what
happened. I need answers, even if she’ll be irritated with
me.

“
How was your day today?”
she asks right on cue.

I swallow and try to read her face.
She could have been a professional poker player.

“
Truthfully, not great. She
showed up again today and got me in trouble in class.”

Tatiana nods. “Was it a full
transformation?”

I shake my head. “No, it
wasn’t like what happens at night. This was more like…an
out-of-body-experience, but while I was still in it. I was aware of
everything She said and did…She made me say things…I think her
powers worked too, judging from how the people acted. Why is she
doing that? How is she even
able
to? Can you make her stop?”