Bitter Demons (3 page)

I was lowered to the ground, my back against
the floor. All around me, the members of the council kneeled and
bowed their heads, as if I were their queen. I pushed myself up and
tried to stand. I felt like a new fawn, using her legs for the
first time. My body felt foreign to me. Alien.

With relief, I saw each demon still
flickering in the shadows behind their master. They had not entered
me forever, but I felt a piece of their power inside of me. I was
tied to them all now, and I knew that nothing would ever change
that.

My confirmation was complete, and I was
another step closer becoming one of them.

I left the house feeling high. My energy was
ramped up beyond normal. There was this one time in Atlanta when I
drank three mochas in one afternoon. Walking out into the mist, I
felt like that, only multiplied by ten. This was going to take some
getting used to.

The outside lights were bright, illuminating
all the fancy cars in the driveway. But there was no sign of the
Shadowford van. I grumbled and looked both ways down the
residential street. Had she seriously left me here? Was I supposed
to call her? Or try to bum a ride back home?

With all this energy, I thought I could
probably have walked home in record time.

"Need a ride?" Drake Ashworth stepped out of
the shadows beside the garage, a silver box in his hand.

It suddenly felt like this night would never
end.

"I don't know," I said. I glanced all around
again, begging for the big white Shadowford van to magically come
into view. "Did you see Ella Mae drive off? I thought she was
waiting for me."

"She was," he said. He stepped closer. "I
told her I'd make sure you got home safe and sound."

I rolled my eyes and sucked in a frustrated
breath. So he already knew I needed a ride. Why did he even ask me
in the first place?

"You didn't have to do that," I said.

"I wanted to spend some time with you," he
said. "It's been tough to get a moment alone with you lately."

The last time Drake and I were alone was when
he came to visit me in the hospital. He'd brought red roses. It was
a sweet gesture, but by that point, I was already so done with him,
no gift could salvage our relationship. After I told him how I
felt, he stuffed the roses in the garbage and slammed the door. He
also told me he never wanted to see me again. Guess he'd changed
his mind.

"I'm kind of anxious to get home," I said,
thinking about how Jackson and I had planned to meet up over an
hour ago. "It's been a rough night."

He closed the space between us with one long
stride. I wanted to step backwards, but it would have put me on the
wet grass.

"God, you look amazing," he said. His eyes
were glued to my face. "It's crazy. You look even more beautiful
than ever."

He studied me like he was trying to memorize
my face. It made me supremely uncomfortable. All I could think
about was Jackson standing in the barn, wondering why the hell I'd
ditched him. Instead, I was stuck here with the one guy in
Peachville I couldn't stand.

"So can we go?"

"I wanted to give you this," he said. He
shoved the box toward me. It was small and the silver glittered in
the bright lights.

"Thanks," I said. I stuffed the box in the
pocket of my jeans.

Drake frowned. "Aren't you even going to open
it?"

I wiped some of the light rain from my face.
It was only lightly misting, but if we stood out there much longer,
we'd be soaked.

I sighed and pulled the box from my pocket. I
didn't want a present from him at all. Besides, no matter what was
inside that box, it wasn't like I was going to suddenly change my
mind and start going out with him again. Did he really believe that
some trinket could change the way I felt?

I slipped the white ribbon from the box and
opened it. Inside, nestled on a bed of white fluff, were two
perfect diamond earrings. I gasped. "Jesus, Drake," I said. "This
had to cost you a fortune."

He smiled. "You're worth it."

I picked up one of the earrings and studied
it in the light. It was truly gorgeous. And it was probably more
expensive than everything I'd ever owned combined. Still, it didn't
change anything. I set the earring back down in the fluff and
closed the box.

"I can't accept these," I said, holding the
box out to him.

"Take it," he said. "I bought them for
you."

I wanted to set the box down on the driveway
and walk away, but that seemed childish. "This isn't going to make
me love you," I said softly.

"I know," he said, his shoulders sagging.
"But maybe it will make you think about taking me back?" He said it
as a question.

"Can you take me home please?"

"Harper-"

"Drake, please," I said. "It's been a really
long day. The last thing I want to do is stand out here in the
rain."

He opened his mouth to speak, then must have
seen the exasperated look on my face. He pulled his keys out of his
pocket and unlocked the doors to his Camaro. "Alright," he said.
"I'll take you home."

I got into the car, and he backed onto the
quiet street. The silver box sat in my lap. What the heck was I
going to do with diamond earrings? I couldn't wear them, because
that would only give Drake reason to hope that I still cared about
him in that way. Selling them seemed kind of mean. And it didn't
seem right to just let them gather dust in my jewelry box.

"What were you doing at Mom's meeting,
anyway?" he asked.

The rain was coming down harder and inside
the car it was dark and cold.

"They wanted to talk to me about the game
Friday night," I lied. "Something about being an ambassador for the
team."

He made a face and glanced toward me. I
wasn't sure he was buying my story, but he didn't ask anything else
about it. We sat in silence for a minute, then he asked how I was
feeling since I'd gotten home from the hospital.

"Much better," I said. "My shoulder still
hurts sometimes, but it's getting better."

More silence. The whole ride was awkward and
tense.

When we pulled down the driveway to
Shadowford, he cleared his throat. "There's this mixer after the
game Friday," he said. "At Lark's family's lake house. You heard
about it?"

Everyone knew about the mixer. "Yeah."

"Will you go with me?" he said. "It doesn't
have to be an official date or anything."

I looked out the window and wondered when
this guy was going to get a clue. I didn't even know if I would be
allowed to go to the party with this new curfew, but I certainly
wasn't going with him. "I don't think so, Drake. And listen." I set
the silver box on the dashboard. "I really can't accept these.
Thanks for the thought and all, but it's over. I still want to be
your friend, but that's it, okay?"

His eyes wandered over to the box, then down
to his hands. "See you tomorrow at school?"

"Sure," I said. I got out of the car and ran
up to the front porch, not even looking back as he drove away. I
had a sinking feeling it wasn't anywhere close to over with Drake
Ashworth.

Once Drake pulled away, I ran back down the
front steps and made my way around to the back of the house. I knew
there was a slim chance Jackson was still in the barn an hour
later, but it was worth a shot. I'd been dying to talk to him all
day. Plus, I wanted to see what he knew about the confirmation
ritual I'd just gone through. How close did that put me to being
Prima? I knew the council couldn't be trusted to tell me the
truth.

The barn door was stuck tight. I yanked it as
hard as I could and finally slipped inside. The darkness inside
consumed my vision. I couldn't so much as see the hand in front of
my face. Rain water trickled down my back, and I shivered.

“Jackson?”

No response.

I lifted my palm and summoned an orb of dim
light. Usually, the orb of light took a decent amount of energy,
but tonight, I only had to think it and the orb appeared. It
happened so fast, it hardly took any effort at all. I laughed. If
this is what it felt like to be one step closer to Prima, I
wondered what it would feel like to actually combine with
Peachville's demon. I shook the thought from my head. I would never
allow that to happen. No matter how much fun that kind of power
might be, it wasn't worth it.

I held the orb up and looked around.
Disappointed, I was just about to turn and walk out when a piece of
paper caught my eye. It was stuck to the wall near the door.
Jackson's scratchy handwriting brought a smile to my face.

“Missed you,” the note read. “Meet me in the
parking lot tomorrow after practice. I have a surprise for
you.”

I held my hand to my heart. My whole body
smiled. Jackson had a surprise for me.

Today was my first day back at school, and I
woke up excited to get back into my routine. It had been almost an
entire week since I'd seen most of my friends. Unfortunately, I was
also way behind on my assignments. I hoped the teachers would go
easy on me.

I showered and stood wet in front of the
mirror. With the corner of my towel, I wiped away the steamed part
of the mirror and studied my reflection. The scar on my left
shoulder was pink and tender. It was healing slower than I thought
it would. There would probably always be a mark where the ritual
dagger sunk into my skin, but it was a small price to pay for
Jackson's life. And my own.

I leaned in close to the mirror and paused.
Was my face clearer today? I could have sworn I had a pimple on my
jawline yesterday, but today it was completely clear and smooth. I
ran my hand across my skin and thought it felt awfully soft. I
shrugged and wrapped the towel close around my body.

The closet was where I spent the next twenty
minutes. I had absolutely nothing cute to wear for an afternoon
with Jackson. All I had were my typical jeans and tank tops or
t-shirts. I shuffled through the hangers. One black skirt with lace
which I thought was super cute, but Brooke didn't like. She'd told
me it was too “emo” and didn't “fit in” with the cheerleading
squad's idea of good fashion. I had the dress I'd worn to
homecoming, which was definitely not school-appropriate.

It was too bad I couldn't keep a glamour
going for hours. I could have any wardrobe I wanted if I could
create it from my mind every morning. I wouldn't even have to spend
a dime to look like a celebrity in the latest fashions.

I glanced at the magazine on my bedside
table. What if I did have the energy to create my own look for an
entire day?

The orb last night had been extremely easy to
conjure. I bet it took only a tenth of the energy it normally took.
Maybe a glamour would be the same way. Of course, running out of
juice in the middle of class and reverting suddenly back to jeans
and a t-shirt would be a little embarrassing, but it was almost
worth the risk just to look good for Jackson after school. If I had
to be home by seven, I wanted to make the most of it.

I opened the magazine and flipped through the
pages. I needed to find something cute but not too expensive.
Showing up in Gucci boots would be hard to explain. Sure, Lark and
Brooke were from families that could afford those kinds of things.
A girl with no parents and no job, however, might have a tough time
explaining herself.

The perfect outfit jumped out at me as I
turned to a page near the middle. My stomach fluttered. Could I
really pull this off?

Skinny jeans. A black tunic top that fell
slightly off the shoulder. Black boots that came up over the jeans
at the bottom. And just for a touch of style – a pair of giant gold
hoops. Not too expensive or flamboyant, but definitely sexy and
definitely my style.

I quickly dressed in my basic jeans and a
long sleeve black t-shirt with my scuffed black boots. Then, I sat
down on the floor of my room and placed my hands palm up on my
knees. I closed my eyes and invited the energy into my body.
Immediately, I could feel the flow of power begin to course through
me like a river. It was strong and pulsing. I tapped into that
power, like drinking from a fountain.

In my mind's eye, I imagined myself wearing
the outfit from the magazine. I pictured my blonde hair dry and
falling in soft curls down my back. For makeup, I pictured just a
touch of black eyeliner and soft, glossy lips.

The change took place quickly and without any
real effort. I didn't even need to look in the mirror to know it
was perfect. Of course, I looked anyway, just to admire the work
and make sure nothing looked strange or out of place. I could feel
that I was still tapped into some power river deep in my soul, but
it ran in the background of my thoughts and didn't take much
concentration to continue.

I looked like myself, but better.

Hopefully I can keep this up all day and into
the afternoon.

If I felt myself about to change back or
noticed any imperfection, I could excuse myself to the bathroom and
give some excuse about spilling ketchup on my outfit. But something
told me I wouldn't need any kind of excuse. Whatever power the
council's demons had given me, it was strong and constant.

The Shadowford van honked out front. With one
last look in the mirror, I grabbed my backpack and headed to
school.

"Wow, you look fantastic today," Lark said as
I walked toward our meeting place near the demon statue.

"Cute boots," Allison said. "Did you go
shopping last weekend?"

"There's definitely something different,"
Lark said. "New conditioner?"