Body and Soul (Body and Soul Trilogy) (9 page)

“I would live with Kern inside me? Trying to take control of my body?” Kate’s voice was barely a whisper, her words coming out in gasps as she took all of this new information and processed it.
She couldn’t live with another being inside of her body. She couldn’t live the remainder of her short, yet seemingly long life sharing it with an evil and crazy demon. Kate wasn’t strong enough.

Rico stood up and moved so that he was squatting in front of her. “Look at me, Kate. Look at me,” he said.

Kate looked up at him and fresh tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t help it this time. She couldn’t pretend to be strong, knowing that they had failed each time before. She should have known, though. Rico had told her that a demon died if he failed to possess a human. The knowledge that Kern was still alive should have clued her in on his past.

“You need him to possess me,” she said as she looked into Rico’s eyes. You want him to possess me because you need to expel him. She knew she was right; she didn’t need Rico’s confirmation but she wanted it.

“Yes,” he said, unable to hold back the truth from her any longer.

Fresh tears tumbled down her cheeks, racing to touch the warm sand. Kate’s breathing came in gasps now, and she feared she would hyperventilate. Her hands gripped the armrests, her knuckles white.

Rico put his hands on Kate’s, gripping hers, willing her to come back to him. He watched as Kate stared through him, her heartbeat increasing wildly. He moved his hands to her face, trying to get her eyes to focus on him. That didn’t work. He tried talking to her, whispering words meant to soothe, but that didn’t work either. Rico tried gently shaking her shoulders. That failed too. He sat back for a moment, not knowing what to do to comfort Kate, upset that he couldn’t save her from this. A spark of an idea flashed through his mind and he wrapped his arms around Kate, picking her up. He ran towards the ocean, her sweaty palms clinging to his neck. When he reached the water Adriana rushed toward them.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I had to tell her about the others, Adriana. You started to tell her, and like always, she had to know the entire story.” He shot Adriana a look that sent her stepping backward.

“Look, Rico. You can’t hold her for much longer. You need to put her
down.” Adriana reached out, pulled Rico’s fingers loose and took Kate from him. She sat down in the water with Kate on her lap, and moved quickly so that Kate was sitting in the sand next to her, but not quite touching her. She pushed Kate’s damp curls from her face and splashed her gently with water until Kate came back.

Kate finally blinked and focused on Adriana. She turned to face Rico who was still standing. He was breathing
heavily, not looking at her on purpose. Kate bit her lip, afraid that she would begin crying again.

“Honey, he’s upset that he caused this,” Adriana purred. Kate watche
d as Adriana glanced up at Rico; a look of utter contempt crossed her features. Kate wondered why Adriana was mad at Rico when she, herself, was about to tell Kate the truth.

Rico ignored Adriana and began walking back up to the chairs. He stopped halfway and turned toward Adriana’s house. He broke out into a
jog, and Kate watched as his figure grew smaller with each step.

Kate turned and faced Adriana once more. “Why me?” she asked.

Adriana sighed. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out, honey. That’s why we’re here,” she said. “We want to know just as much as you do.”

Chapter 12

Kate woke at dawn the next day, surprised that she was able to fall asleep for a few hours. She stepped outside and sat on the porch while she ate a bowl of cereal. After hanging out with Rico and Adriana for the past couple days, finding out stressful news and getting attacked by strange demons, Kate was happy to be alone.

She spent the first part of the morning laying the pieces out on the table. She grabbed a notebook and scribbled down the things that she wanted to figure out, the things that she wanted to put together. First, why did the elder demon want her soul? Second, was she willing to sacrifice her soul to kill him like Rico and Adriana wanted? Kate had no idea what Kern wanted with her, but she had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t just because she was a young, healthy human. When she began to think about whether she wanted to sacrifice her body and soul, her heart stopped. She knew deep down that she wasn’t brave enough to do that; she knew that if Rico and Adriana were relying on her that they would have to hold her down.

Kate shuddered at the thought, remembering a time that she was held down at the doctor’s when receiving a shot. The feeling of being completely and utterly helpless had been one of the worst experiences of her short life.

Next on the list of things Kate needed to figure out: Who was that random demon that had come to
attack her? Why did he want her? Was it for the same reason that Kern wanted her? And was she really that important? Kate didn’t think she was that important, but the idea that another demon was after her made her think twice about it. She knew that she needed to talk to the gardener. She needed to find out what he knew about the second demon, and she needed to find this out before she asked herself any more questions.

Kate rose from her spot and walked inside to grab the phone. She found it resting on the counter
in the kitchen, near the refrigerator. Kate picked it up and noticed a small slip of paper attached to the side of the fridge with a magnet. It was the number for the gardener, with his name handwritten below it. How convenient. Kate dialed the number. It rang twice before a woman’s voice picked up.

“Excuse me,
my name is Kaitlin Warren. I’m located at 403 Driftwood Avenue. I have a question about a plant that is located in my front yard, and wanted to know if I could speak with Mr. Alan Evans, please.”

Kate was put on hold, and waited patiently, drumming her fingers against the dark granite countertop. Vivaldi’s
Summe
r played on the line as she waited, and she wondered if they changed the song with the season.

“Hello, this is Alan Evans,” the older man said in his southern drawl.

“Hi, Mr. Evans. How are you today?” Kate thought it would be best to start a casual conversation first.

“I’m doing fine today,
Miss. Thank you for asking. My wife, here, tells me that you have a question about a plant a yours. I’m not far from where you are. Do you mind if I stop by and take care of the plant you’re wondering about? I’d rather not let my customers take care of their own plants; they tend to kill them if I let them. You know what I mean?” he chuckled.

Kate made herself laugh with him, then said, “I don’t mind if you come over Mr. Evans. In fact, I think that would be best. I don’t think I could figure it out on my own anyway.”

After the conversation ended, Kate hung up and waited.

Mr. Evans arrived ten minutes later, and shuffled around the back where Kate was seated.
Kate had it all figured out. She would offer the man a cool glass of sweet tea and a few cookies. Once she got him relaxed and comfortable, she would begin asking him questions.

“Miss, I checked the plants in the front and this side of the house. Does it happen to be on the other side over there?” he asked, pointing somewhere behind Kate.

“Yes,” Kate said guiltily. She watched as he began to shuffle past her. He wore navy slacks today, and paired them with a white button down. He moved more slowly today, almost as if he was exhausted. His hair stuck up in different directions, although Kate could tell that he had attempted to make it presentable.

“Excuse me,” she called, and watched as Mr. Evans stopped to turn to
ward her. He stood at the bottom of the stairs now. “Since you came all this way I grabbed some sweet tea and cookies. I’m sorry for inconveniencing you, so I thought it would be nice to share a snack.”

Mr. Evans looked at her for a moment, slightly confused. “I thought you wanted me to take care of the plant then get out of your hair. I hate bothering you when you’ve
got your boyfriend over. I remember young love,” he said, winking.

K
ate blushed. “He’s not here right now, and like I said before, I feel terrible about having to call you out here when you don’t have to be here. I would love it if you shared some of these cookies with me.” Kate batted her eyelashes and bit into one of the soft cookies.

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Mr. Evans said. He placed a gnarled hand on the banister and pulled himself up the staircase. His movements were slow and deliberate, almost as if he was afraid of making a misstep.

“You can sit here next to me,” Kate said. She gestured to a wooden rocking chair positioned on the other side of a small table.

The ma
n shuffled over and sat in the chair. He rocked back and forth and hummed a quiet tune. Kate poured him a glass of sweet tea and they sat in companionable silence.

“You know, this has always been my favorite house to garden. The range of exotic flowers in this garden is exquisite. I love the arrangement with the Birds of Paradise, Lilacs, and Lilies of the Valley. The color scheme is unique.”

“I love the flowers here too,” Kate said kindly.

“How long will you be staying in Mr. Kern’s house?”

Kate spat her sweet tea across the deck. She spent the next five minutes coughing and hyperventilating, the old man stooping over her, patting her back. When Kate was calmer, Mr. Evans sat back down, and gulped a large amount of tea. He watched her as she reached for more as well, nervous that she would have another fit.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said weakly. “It must have gone down the wrong tube. I apologize for scaring you.”

“That’s alright, Miss. I’m just glad you’re okay. Besides, you must have scared yourself more than you scared me, what with all that hyperventilating and stuff.” He looked at her closely. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked her.

Kate nodded. “I’m fine. You’re right, I just scared myself.”

Mr. Evans nodded, took a cookie, and bit into the crunchy outside. The middle of the cookie was soft and the chocolate chips were still warm. His eyebrows raised in delight as he chewed.

“So, you aren’t from around here, are you?” he asked, trying to strike up another conversation.

“No, my mom’s a marine biologist. She studies a lot so we move around a lot. We probably won’t be here much longer.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. Mr. Kern likes to have long term residents.”

I’m sure he does
, Kate thought.

“You know, today is a beautiful day. You should be out there learning how to surf,” he said conversationally.

“Where’s the man that you brought over here the last time? Does he always help you with your houses?” Kate decided it was time to get some answers. This man was familiar with Kern, and she wanted to know if he knew what was going on.

“What man?” he asked. “I always work alone.”

“You brought a man over here last time. He was tall with big muscles and a shaved head. He helped you with the inside and did most of the outside plants when you were here.”

Mr. Evans scratched his head in thought. “No, I don’t remember bringing anyone over here last time. You must be thinking of something else, miss.”

“No, I’m certain I’m thinking of the right thing. You honestly don’t remember?”

“I remember being here, all right, but I wasn’t here with anyone helping me. I would remember if somebody came with me because I always do the gardens by myself.”

Kate growled in aggravation.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you out,
Miss. It seems to me that your boyfriend would hang out with a person of that proportion. I only hang out with people my own age.”

“That’s okay,” Kate said at last. She knew that if she continued from this angle she would lose any chance she had of gaining any knowledge.

“So, tell me about Mr. Kern,” she said instead. “I’ve never met him.”

“I’ve never met him either,” Mr. Evans said honestly. “I just know that his residents stay for quite a while. Usually about five years or so.”

“When did the person before us move out?”

“The day before you arrived,
Miss.”

Kate nodded, her suspicions confirmed. Kern had ensured that someone was ready to move into the house when he was finished with the last body. Now Kate just had to figure out whether she was the lucky duck or whether she and her family were chosen to live here.

Suddenly finished with Mr. Evans, Kate gulped down the rest of her sweet tea. She stood up and stretched, faking a yawn. She didn’t want to seem rude.

“Man, I’m tired. I think I’m going to go take a catnap. It was nice talking to you Mr. Evans. I hope to see you around sometime.”

Kate dashed down the stairs before Mr. Evans could say anything and ran to the side of the house. “I’ll show you where the plant is before I go inside,” she called, before she disappeared around the corner. Kate hurriedly trampled one of the plants, apologizing to it before she did so, feeling guilty once again. Gosh, this detective stuff was hard work.

Mr. Evans shuffled around the side of the house just as she finished planting the evidence. There was a deep intake of breath as Mr. Evans saw the pathetic plant. It hung over, almost appearing as if it was clutching its stomach in pain. Mr. Evans gently picked the plant up and looked at Kate.

“When did you find this?” he asked her.

“I found it like this right before I called you,” she answered. “I don’t know how long it was like that, though. It could have been like that all day, or even longer than that.”

“Mhmm. That’s surprising,” he said.

“How so?” she retorted.

“Well, this is the only plant that was damaged. No child on a bicycle drove through here. The other plants would have been damaged as well. No, someone targeted this plant. You can tell because it was stepped on.” He lifted the plant up then pushed it back to the ground. “Someone stomped on it quite a bit, probably in a fit of rage.” He looked at Kate then and crossed his arms. Then he looked down at her bare feet.

Kate’s eyes followed his. A petal from the flower was attached to the bottom of her left foot, along with part of the stem that had been torn off. She looked up at the gardener.

“Why did you do this?” he accused.

“I didn’t do this! I found it like this. I swear.” She knew that she was just digging herself deeper but she didn’t know what else to say.

“Sweetheart, I know that your parents aren’t here as often as you like, but there’s no reason to lash out at innocent plants. If you were lonely and wanted to have a nice chat and a cup of tea, all you had to do was ask.” He bent low over the plant, inspecting it further. He stood up a moment later and rubbed his hands across his navy pants.

“I’m going to have to find another one, honey. The poor thing’s going to die soon.” He turned away from her then, shuffling back the way they had come. She stood there for a while, first listening to his vehicle start up, and then furiously trying to get the plant to stand up on its own. She stopped after about two minutes of this, giving up.

Kate stomped back onto the deck and grabbed her notebook, jotting down her additional question: Was she brought here on purpose or was it random?

Kate allowed her thoughts to roam over her past experiences, bringing them together, searching for connections. One connection stood out in her mind. She dreamt about the burning world, and then saw it again in her alternate reality. She sat up suddenly as two thoughts clicked together, bringing with them yet another question: If Kate got the things she wanted most, would the world burn?

Kate woke up from a nap later that evening. The shadows crawled across her bedroom; she had slept for quite a while. She had gone upstairs to lie down after her last circle of questions gave her a headache. Miserably, she lay there for an hour, trying unsuccessfully to stop thinking about Kern and what he wanted with her. More than once Kate thought that she should tell Adriana and Rico, that they would be able to answer her questions. She dismissed that thought quickly, though, determined to be the one to answer their burning questions. After tossing and turning, Kate had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, her mind at ease for once since her new knowledge of Kern.

Now that Kate had woken back up, a hundred questions burned her thoughts.
How did Adriana and Rico know so much about demons? Was Adriana’s mother possessed by one? And what about Rico? What was his story? Kate thought that Rico didn’t have parents. She also thought that he lived at Adriana’s house. The room that he had been in the night that Kate attacked him must have been his bedroom. He had been undressing, and he and Adriana denied a relationship, so he must be living there with Adriana and Donovan. They wouldn’t have known each other as well as they did if he didn’t.