Demon Derby (14 page)

I blinked, trying to sort out all the words and figure out which ones I was supposed to answer. I settled for, “I’m okay. Congratulations. I take it you made the team?”

“Yeah.” She grinned. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Do you have my skates?”

“Yeah. Are you skating today? Yay!” She clapped her hands, bouncing on her toes. “I’ll go get your stuff!”

Off she dashed, so fast that she actually tripped over her own foot before righting herself and heading out the doors. I wouldn’t have believed it possible, but she was even more manic now that she’d made the team.

I sat down on a bench and began taking off my Chucks, because I wasn’t going to sit around feeling sorry for myself
again
. I was going to train my butt off so that when the next tryout came, I’d make the team. Sure, I was still afraid of what would happen if I failed. But I was even more frightened of what would happen to me if I stopped trying. I’d fought through chemo; it was just a matter of figuring out how to fight this. I had to.

“What are you doing?” Michael ambled over and sat down next to me.

“Well,” I said, “these are shoes, and when you pull these long stringy things, they come loose so you can take them off. You probably don’t know this stuff, since you’re not human and all.”

“Quiet!” he hissed, putting a finger to my lips. “Someone might hear.”

“Yeah, and they’d think I was teasing you. You’ve got to lighten up.”

He took a long breath and let it out slowly. “I know. I’m just neurotic as all hell right now. I’ve never outed myself before.”

“Now it’s my turn to hush you,” I said. “Or people really
will
get the wrong idea.”

That earned me a grin. “Maybe I should reword that. Anyway, you’re the first person I’ve told ever since I got this body.”

“Why?” I frowned. The door opened, and I was sure Darcy was about to dash in and cut the conversation short, but it was Ragnarocker. She flashed me an approving thumbs-up before grabbing her knapsack and heading back out. At least two people were happy to see me, because everyone else was looking awfully worried that I might try to crash the practice and faint all over everything. “Give me something to tide me over, because the curiosity is killing me.”

He leaned closer, and the door opened again. In flew Darcy with my backpack slung over one shoulder. I was hoping she’d trip again to buy us a few seconds, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.

“I train demon hunters,” he said quickly. “And you faced a demon and lived.”

“The guy who cried fire?” I asked, and Michael nodded. I didn’t have any problems thinking of that guy as a demon. In fact, it felt good to have a name to put to him. It meant I wasn’t crazy, for starters.

“How did you know?” I hissed.

Just as Darcy returned, he shot a significant look at the silver katana still hanging around my neck. “That necklace of yours zaps demons,” he murmured in my ear.

She walked up with an unusually subdued expression. “Here, Casey.” Then she took a furtive glance at Michael and
plopped down on the bench opposite us. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Are you on the team, then?” She looked hopeful.

“Nope.” I shook my head sadly. “I’m going to find a corner and practice on my own. I promise to stay out of the way.”

“You don’t give up, do you?” Michael said.

I thought of all the times I’d been tempted to quit, all the times I’d pushed people away, all the times I’d second-guessed myself or joked to avoid the uncomfortable truth. Near-death experiences give you way too much self-awareness, and I didn’t always like what I’d learned about myself. But I’d made stubbornness into an art form. Maybe I hadn’t made the team, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t a derby girl. I wasn’t dead
yet
.

“Nope,” I said.

I unzipped the bag and pulled out my skates. The wait was annoying, but I’d get my answers. I still wasn’t sure what to believe, but if demons were real, I’d need all the physical conditioning I could get. I had gotten over my fears of the robbery by preparing with ninjutsu. Now it was time to get over the demon thing. I had more reason than ever to rediscover my inner ass kicker. Because if someone was going to take that lava guy down, I had dibs.

The team worked on jammer and pack drills before the scrimmage, and I wanted to jump in so badly, even though I knew I couldn’t. My legs shook after just a few hockey stops in my isolated corner. I’d earned those shakes fair and square after pushing so hard at tryouts, but I still wanted to beat my thighs with my fists and tell them to get with the program already. But it wouldn’t do me any good to drive myself into unconsciousness again. I forced myself to work on quality, not quantity; at least my technique was good.

Ruthanasia scowled every time she happened to look in my direction, but I didn’t care. The skeptical looks the rest of the team kept shooting me really bothered me, though. “Do people hate me for being here?” I asked during one water break, when Ragnarocker rolled past.

She frowned thoughtfully, wiping sweat from her forehead. “What makes you say that?”

“I’m getting a lot of glares from the masses.”

“Ah.” She shrugged. “Some of the girls think you’re getting special treatment because of whatever you’ve got going with Michael.”

I swallowed the irate retort that rose immediately to my lips. Everyone else’s opinions weren’t her fault. “And you? What do you think?”

She grinned. “I think someone with the balls to keep showing up like you do deserves some respect. Besides, I figure if I butter you up enough, you might eventually teach me those aerial tricks of yours.”

I had to smile back. She was my kind of person; what you saw was exactly what you got. “Keep buttering. I’ll teach you eventually.”

“A girl can dream,” she said. “But for now, this girl is going to get a drink.” And she skated away.

In the scrimmage, Ruthanasia scored a double grand slam while I tried to focus on learning strategy and not on trying to make her spontaneously combust with the power of my mind. After it was over, I asked Michael if he wanted help with all the cones. Darcy and Ruthanasia both looked dismayed when he said yes. I felt bad about Darcy.

“I’ll give you a call later, Darce,” I said. “Maybe we can get together after school tomorrow.”

“All right,” she replied reluctantly. “See you later.”

She trudged out the doors, looking more dejected than
she had reason to. Although, maybe she’d been disappointed by more than my failure to hang out with her; she’d been stuck blocking the whole time, and I knew how much she wanted to jam. I felt like a pretty crappy friend after I realized that. I’d been so wrapped up in my own drama that I hadn’t thought about anyone but myself. I’d definitely have to make it up to her.

Everyone else trickled out slowly, like they had no idea I was waiting to get the scoop on demonkind and might explode from the pressure if the delay went on much longer. Finally the doors closed behind Ragnarocker, who called out “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” just as they swung shut.

“I’m not sure there’s anything she wouldn’t do.” I grinned.

“I don’t know firsthand, but I suspect you’re right,” Michael said, walking out to the perimeter of the rink and picking up a cone.

“So.” I glanced around one last time to make sure we were alone. The only person left in the place was the guy behind the snack bar counter, and he was watching bowling on TV. I got bored just thinking about it. “How does one hunt demons, and what do you do with them when you catch them? Besides throwing demon-zapping necklaces at them, I mean.”

He straightened up with another cone in hand and a somewhat dumbfounded expression on his face. “That’s it? Aren’t you going to question my sanity?”

“I’ve had some time to think about this, and I saw what I saw. I can’t deny the physical evidence. That thing burned
me. So I’m not saying I totally believe you, but it’s the best explanation I’ve heard so far.”

“Wow.” He sat down right in the middle of the rink. “Okay.”

“Talk.” I dropped down next to him and started taking off my gear. It felt so good to get the pads off my knees, which sported some nice greenish bruises from all the burpees. It was hard to believe that it had been only a day ago; so much had changed since then.

“Well, a Sentinel’s an avatar of balance. Normally we live in the Between—that’s the space between the physical and nonphysical planes. Our job is to preserve the balance between the two. If the universe goes too far out of balance, everything goes kablooie. Seriously. All existence, total annihilation.”

“That’s bad.”

“No kidding.” He flashed a grin at me. “So we keep an eye on things. Like, if one of the Elder Gods emerges from deep space and tries to devour a planet, we intervene, because that would screw up the balance. That’s my job. Occasionally one of the Sentinels gets a little too involved in the physical world. And that throws him out of whack.”

I nodded, stretching out my aching legs. It was too late to avoid muscle pain; I was definitely feeling yesterday’s burpees, but at least I could keep it from getting worse. “Go on.”

“The rules help us to stay in balance while we’re here. I’m still new—only apprentice level—so I’m assigned to an older Sentinel who helps me get used to things like having a body.
Which is so weird. Anyway, once a Sentinel gets off-kilter, he starts consuming energy like mad, trying to get back into balance. But that usually just makes it worse. He wants more and more, and he becomes a creature no longer dedicated to protecting the universe but to eating it. A creature of total hunger.”

“A demon.”

He nodded, his face pinched and sad-looking.

“Can you fix them?” I asked.

“Not once they’ve crossed the line. The only thing we can do is take them out. But that comes with its own set of problems.” At my inquiring glance, he said, “I like to fight. I like to move. Having a body, it’s … intoxicating, and I’ve got a lot of power at my fingertips. If I decided to indulge, there wouldn’t be much that could stop me. And demons try to manipulate everyone around them. If they used my desires against me, there’s a decent chance I could end up just like them. If I let them jerk my chain, my balance goes haywire, and
poof
.”

“Instant demon.” I let out a long breath, toying with my skate. “That sucks.”

“But someone like you, someone who can reach through to the nonphysical, you could do it.” Excitement was clear on his face and in his voice. “I mean, if you wanted to. I could teach you. That’s why I’m here, to find people like you who can reach across the Between.”

“And train us to fight the forces of darkness?”

“Bingo.”

“Well …” I spoke slowly, considering my words. “No offense
meant, but I’m not entirely sure I believe all this. It’s a lot to swallow. But I’m still listening.”

“That’s fair.” He held out a hand. “Then I guess I should show you something.”

“You’re going to burn somebody else’s house down, aren’t you?” My hand went to the front of my shirt. I could feel the healing scabs underneath. The burns had gone deep, and it seemed like my body didn’t heal as fast as it used to.

Old Casey would have signed up to fight demons in a heartbeat. Now I knew how fragile life really was. I knew how much I had to lose, and I’d come way too close to losing it already. Either I was wiser now or I was a total coward, but signing up to fight the lava crier didn’t seem like something I should just jump into without thinking it over first.

“Relax. I won’t burn anything. And it’s safe to touch me. I’ll make sure not to …” He waved his hands around vaguely. “Pop you out again.”

“I’m not convinced,” I replied, but I put my hand in his. The contact was tentative at first, but my hair didn’t light on fire and I didn’t get thrust out of my body like I had the last time we’d touched. So I folded my fingers over his and held on tight. He pulled me up to my feet.

“I should put some shoes on. Unless this mysterious sight is in the locker room?”

He snorted. “No.”

We got back on the bike, and he drove past my street, away from the university. It wasn’t a direction I normally went; in fact, I made a point not to go down Washington at all. After
about two blocks, the neighborhood quickly disintegrated into Slumville. The last time I’d been down this way was almost two years ago, and I’d stepped on a used syringe and a homeless guy in a cardboard box. Neither were experiences I wanted to repeat. So when Michael pulled into a gas station and turned off the bike, I was less than thrilled. I followed him onto the sidewalk, but I wasn’t happy about it.

“You look nervous,” Michael said, watching my expression but somehow managing to not run into anything while he walked, despite the random bits of trash dotting the sidewalk.

“I don’t come downtown,” I said, barely resisting the urge to hunch over like a frightened little girl. That kind of behavior practically begged for a mugging. “My friend Kyle got robbed near here once. It was a long time ago, but I think the neighborhood has only gotten worse since then.”

“Ah.” He considered this. “Didn’t you say you’ve got a black belt?”