Demon Derby (26 page)

So I bit my nails, waiting for the end. I was ready just in case he wasn’t the victor. Or just in case what came out wasn’t my Michael but a demon. I didn’t know whether this kind of fight broke the rules or not. Fighting shadows wasn’t exactly something I had experience with. And that worried me,
because if he turned demon, it would be up to me. I began searching the rooftop for something I could make a Relic out of, but everything was bolted down.

Before I found a suitable weapon, the fight was over. Michael had won. When he walked toward me with little sparks of white light jumping off him like grease from a hot pan, I looked at him carefully.

“Is that you? Like, really you?”

He grinned. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

I kept my distance, even though I wanted to run up and fling myself into his arms. Because really, that sparking thing was hot.

“I don’t know.” I eyed him warily. “It seems too easy. Ruthanasia and I just took out a pair of demons in the bathroom. The two of them put together weren’t half as tough as 693. It doesn’t make sense. I feel like maybe we’re missing something. Like maybe these attacks were meant to distract us? And if so, from what?”

His smile faltered and then disappeared completely. “Yeah, maybe so. We should get inside, where it’s safer. The second half starts in a few minutes anyway.”

I followed, although I have to admit that the bout didn’t seem quite as important as it had earlier. I couldn’t believe I’d picked a fight with Ruthanasia over it and then let her watch my back during a demon attack. Apparently I didn’t need brains to be a demon hunter. Or self-control either.

The Apocalypsies won the bout by two points. I scored five grand slams. Derby girls stopped by my spot in the locker room to give me a congratulatory pat on the arm as I put on my pants; fans intercepted me on the way out to the car to drop off my gear to ask for pictures and autographs. I should have been ecstatic.

Except I wasn’t. I couldn’t stop wondering what was going on. People didn’t just walk off unmarked after facing down demons, especially when the demons had to have known what you were capable of after you’d taken out some of their soldiers. Why would they have ambushed me with so few fighters? The single demon dog made sense—that had probably been a spur-of-the-moment attempt to get to me before I was able to develop my abilities. But the demonic-hair
brothers didn’t compute at all. From what I’d gathered, demon lords had a lot of resources at their disposal, and they were smart. Why would the Lord of the Flies waste two demons when he could have sent five? No way could I have survived against five at once. The whole thing really bothered me.

So I smiled and nodded as I pushed my way through the crowd, but I didn’t register half of what people were saying to me. I was more than a little surprised when I looked up to see that I was in the process of autographing Kyle’s program.

“Dude, did you take a blow to the cranium or something?” he roared. “Because you are not all here.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head like that was going to magically clear it. “I’m sorry. I’m obsessing a little.”

“You should!” He threw his arms around me and squeezed, hard and fast. I squeaked as he pushed all the air out of me. “You’re going to be the best freaking jammer in the history of the world! Seriously, Case, I had no idea how tough this sport was. I thought it was fake, like wrestling. I already signed up to referee, and I’m hoping to get into managing a team. You’ll have to help me come up with a name.”

When I didn’t immediately respond, he let go and searched my face. He knew something was up. If I didn’t convince him otherwise, he’d follow me around in a misguided effort to protect me, which was the last thing I needed. I had to chill. And his newfound derby fandom was something to be thankful for. I’d get to see more of him, provided the demons didn’t eat my soul first.

“We’ll come up with something good,” I said, forcing a smile. “Hey, check this out.”

I twisted so he could see the bruise already surfacing on my hip. I’d taken that hit from Ruthanasia, or maybe I’d gotten it during the fight in the bathroom. I wasn’t sure. The bruise was about the size of a dinner plate, and a dark crosshatch pattern ran over the top, like my fishnets had been implanted into my skin. In a way, I guess they had.

“Dude,” he said admiringly. “That’s awesome.”

For once, I didn’t worry about the size of the bruise or the potential ramifications for my health. I just soaked up the compliment. My face relaxed into a grin. No matter what happened next, I had this to be proud of.

Michael pushed his way through the crowd toward us. “Casey? We need to talk,” he demanded, not even saying hello.

“Oh, hey.” I snagged his sleeve and pulled him closer. “This is my best friend, Kyle. Kyle, this is Michael.”

“Nice to meet you,” Michael said automatically. Then he leaned down to whisper into my ear. “Listen, I’ve thought of something important—”

“So you want to go out for pizza, Casey?” Kyle asked. “I want to grill you about this derby thing. I’ll need to get cracking on the rules.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Michael cut me off. “We’ve got to watch the second bout and go to the after-party,” he said. “It’s mandatory.”

“Yes, thank you.” I folded my arms, pulling away from him. “I can carry on my own conversation all by myself, you know.”

The muscles in his jaw twitched. “Sorry.”

I turned back to Kyle. “I do have to stay, but what are you up to tomorrow? I could come over and hang out.”

Kyle perked right up. “That would be awesome. You might like this new game I got.
Gangland
? The minute I saw the flapper with a tommy gun, I knew she was meant for you.”

“It’s a deal,” I said. “Call me when you get up.”

“All right. I should run.” He eyed Michael cautiously. “Nice to meet you, man.”

“Likewise.”

As soon as we made it back into the convention center, I frowned at Michael. “Dude, you’ve got to chill. I’ve got guy friends. If you can’t deal with that, we’ve got a problem.”

He looked around at the hordes of people waiting in line for hot dogs and pizza and shirts with derby girls outlined in sparkles on the front.

“Come with me,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the locker rooms.

In all the time I’d known him, I’d never processed how strong he really was. You’d think I would have realized, given all the times I’d swooned over his muscles, but I guess I’d been too busy appreciating them for their decorative value. Now I was pissed, and I didn’t want to hold his hand, but there was no getting free. His fingers closed over mine like they were made of stone, and I didn’t feel any give at all when I tugged.

“Let me go,” I said. “Now.”

He didn’t respond, just pulled me past the sign designating the area for derby staff only.

“You are impinging on my free will here,” I said, anger making my voice shake. “Let me go right now, damn it.”

He released me so fast that I nearly fell over. Then he opened the door next to me and pushed me inside. We were in a small, unused dressing room; the only furniture was one of those vanities with the big lights all around it and an old couch with a popped cushion.

I didn’t like being pushed, or herded, or ordered around. My hands shoved at his chest; its hardness bruised my knuckles, but I didn’t stop. He’d never manhandled me before, and I was decidedly not cool with it.

“What is wrong with you?” I shrieked.

“Nothing.” But the word came out all strangled, and my anger quickly dissolved into fear. If he really had turned while he’d been up on the roof, and he’d been acting normal while he waited to get me alone, I’d taken the bait.

“Michael, you’re freaking me out right now,” I said. “You’re acting like a jealous ass.”

He blinked then, and his pale eyes locked onto mine. I couldn’t help searching for a flicker of red in their depths. I didn’t see it, but I didn’t know whether that meant I could relax.

“This is not about being jealous,” he said. “Or about our relationship. This is about the fact that I think Ruthanasia might be demon-tainted, and every moment we waste gossiping is another moment she goes unchecked.”

I literally felt my stomach drop. “What?” I demanded.

“Quiet.” He pressed his body against mine, like he might be able to muffle the sound waves. “It’s the only explanation
for that attack. They keep me busy on the roof while she wins your trust by standing with you against two low-level demons. Then when your back is turned, she takes you out.”

“Which is why she didn’t totally flip out?”

“Exactly.”

“But she doesn’t look like a demon. I mean, it’s usually pretty obvious that something’s going on.”

“That’s true of young low-level demons. They often have no control over their hunger. But something like that factory would require an older, more established demonic presence. The demons in charge of the warehouse wouldn’t be obvious, even to me.”

“So what do we do?” I started to shake. I knew Ruthanasia had been up to no good ever since day one, but I hadn’t imagined this. Her plan had almost worked too; I’d just told her about the demons like it was nothing. What had I been thinking?

“I don’t know.” His brows drew together in a worried furrow. “I need to report in. My brother might know what to do.”

“Call him, then.”

He shook his head. “I have to talk to him in person. We have pretty strict protocols about what we can say over the phone. It’s safer that way.”

“You’re leaving me alone?” My heart leapt into my throat. He couldn’t just leave me here alone with her. What if she tried something? Would my Relics work against a senior demon? I had the niggling feeling that I was missing some piece of information, something important, but it kept slipping out of
my grasp. “So let me get this straight. First you manhandle me because I’m not acting fast enough, and then you expect me to sit around and wait? Are you nuts?”

“It’s …” He blinked. “I didn’t mean to manhandle you. But you weren’t listening.”

“From now on, if you tell me it’s important, I’ll listen.” I fixed him with a stern look. “But if you drag me around like that ever again, that’s it.”

“I’m sorry.” He folded me into his arms. “I may have gotten a little carried away. I’ve been waiting for this a long time.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t do it again.”

He kissed the top of my head. “All right.”

“I don’t want you to go,” I said, relaxing into his arms. “I’m frightened, and no amount of meditation is going to change that.”

“Me too,” he said. “I won’t lose you, Casey.”

And then his hands tilted my head up to his. His lips met mine. I knew I should resist, but pulling away wasn’t going to change how we both felt. His body came up against me. I was pinned against the wall; my hands went into his hair. We fell onto the couch, and the damaged cushion spewed a cloud of fluff into the air. But at that point, I couldn’t have cared less.

We kissed like the world was ending. Maybe it was.

Michael seemed just fine after the make-out session. I worried he might start crying fire once the lip-lock was over, but
he just told me to be careful. After he left, I went out to the stands. Attendance at the second bout was mandatory, and if I stuck with the team, I’d be able to keep an eye on Ruthanasia. She was sitting two rows behind the rest of the team. I doubted she’d be able to do anything to me with everyone watching, but she still gave me a creepy-crawly feeling between my shoulder blades.

“There you are!” Darcy waved me over, pointing to an empty seat. “I saved you a spot.”

I kept shooting glances at Ruthanasia as I edged past my teammates, and ended up stepping on Ragnarocker, who gave me a mock growl that made me laugh despite the huge ball of nerves in my stomach.

“It’s a good thing you’re such a kicking jammer,” she said, grinning, “or I’d have to beat the crap out of you for stomping on me.”

“You’d have to try,” I shot back, and then it was her turn to laugh.

“So how’s the bout going?” I asked, sitting down next to Darcy. She didn’t even seem to have heard me. “Hey, D!” I poked her. “How’s the bout?”