Earth Angel (Falling Angels Saga) (11 page)

“He’s a tool all right.”

I laughed for the first time all day. Maudrina was quite an amazing friend, always there when I needed her, always having my back.

“Wow,” I said with a dejected sigh. “I fooled myself into thinking I needed to convince Principal Lockhart she was acting on false information. But she doesn’t care. I admitted I was there. She’s going to squeeze me until I tell her what she wants to know, or she’s going to expel me.”

I was right back where I started.

“I still think we need to check out the Satanist angle. I’m going to run her name past Aunt Jaz, and see if it turns up anything.”

“Great,” I grumbled.

“Don’t sound like that. We’ve already beaten the devil. Lockhart is just a high school principal. She’s no match for us.”

I found myself smiling at Maudrina’s gumption. But Maudrina wasn’t the one who was about to get expelled, I was. I hoped she was right.

I asked her to collect my AP assignments for the week so that I wouldn’t fall behind.

#

It was six p.m. when Suze finally summoned me downstairs. She was standing in the entryway to the living room next to the grandfather clock we’d recently picked up at a garage sale. The clock didn’t work, which is why we got it so cheaply. Once it was cleaned up, though, it looked great in our entryway. That was all that mattered.

Suze appeared tired as I came down the stairs. She seemed older. It was as if realizing I wasn’t the girl she thought I was had added years to her life in a few short hours.

No teenager is exactly who their parents think they are. I don’t care how open and honest the relationship is. Being a teenager is like being a member of a secret society. Only members of the club can know what really goes on.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
But I was one of the good ones. I’m one of the girls a parent doesn’t need to wonder about. Still, this tiny glimpse into my secret world had rattled her.

“Come. Sit,” she said ushering me into the living room, gesturing towards the sofa as if I was a stranger. I sat.

She paced back and forth as she laid out the new rules, never quite looking me in the eye. The rules were simple. For the rest of the week I was to stay in the house all day, like a prisoner. Contact with Guy, of course, was forbidden. No boyfriends, not until I turned sixteen in June. I was certain when I was finally allowed to have a boyfriend, Guy would not be on the list.

I was to get someone to email me my assignments from school. I’d work on them during the day. When she got home in the evening, she’d check my work.

“You mean like how you used to do when I was in grade school?” There was a hint of annoyance in my voice.

“If that’s how you want to look at it, yes. I prefer to see it as you are being treated like someone who cannot be trusted.”

Ouch!

“For your information, I’ve already asked Maudrina to collect my AP assignments. You may not realize it, but I
like
school.”I knew my tone was snarky and I didn’t care.

Her expression hardened. “When?”

“She called little while ago, while I was upstairs waiting for you. I asked her to get my assignments.”

Her hand darted out in demanding fashion. “I’m going to need your phone.”

I stared at her.

“You’re going to be in the house all day. You won’t need it. Until this is over,
no
phone!”

“Fine!” I groused. “It’s upstairs. Want me to get it now?”

“In a minute.” She took a deep breath. “Before you go to bed, you will sit down and make a list of everyone you know who attended the ditch party.” For the first time she looked me in the eye. Hers were dead serious.

“Are you asking me to be a snitch?”

“What choice do I have? We cannot afford private school, Megan. I cannot afford for you to get expelled!” Her voice rose with emotion.

“I’m not going to get expelled!”

“Oh? Did Principal Lockhart call while you were upstairs as well?”

“Mom, I’m sorry you don’t trust me. I’m sorry I’m not your little girl anymore. But part of growing up is doing things your parents may not agree with—which is why you don’t tell them!”

“Are you suggesting your sneaking around behind my back is
justified
?”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “I’m not going to write the list. That would be social suicide, and I’d still like to have a social life after this is over.” I rose from the sofa and lowered my voice. “I’m also not going to get expelled. You’re just going to have to trust me on this. Give me a few days and I will fix it,” I added, my eyes appealing.

She began wagging her head back and forth as if I was the sorriest person on the face of the earth. “I’ve spoiled you. I see that now. Well, those days are over.” She stared at me another few moments, as if she was trying to accept that the person standing in front of her was actually her daughter. “You can bring me the phone now.” She folded her arms across her chest. The meeting was over.

As I climbed the stairs I realized my relationship with my mother would never be the same. Even when this was over, she would always look at me with questioning eyes,always weigh every word I said.

That’s the problem with deceit
, I thought.
You can only get away with it for so long. Sooner or later you get snared in its web
.

At that moment, I thought of Guy.

When I walked into my room a flash of red caught my eye. The Ibwa was seated on the edge of my bed. He jumped to his feet as soon as he saw me.

“Where are you keeping the book?” he demanded with urgency. He began bouncing back and forth from one foot to the other, like a little boy who has to go to the bathroom. “The powerful one is coming. He will torture you until you show him where you are keeping it. You must give it to me to keep safe.”

The doorbell downstairs rang.

The Ibwa’s eyes darted around as if he was looking for someplace to hide. “Too late,” he whispered, his voice quaking. “He has arrived.”

Seeing the demon in my room raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”I replied. “I told you before, I don’t know anything about a book.” My mind was reeling. I knew the demon couldn’t be trusted.
But what if he’s telling the truth? What if the powerful one is about to come up here and torture me?
My eyes moved briefly to the old CPU under my desk.

“Megan!” My mother’s voice rang out from downstairs. “There’s someone here to see you.”

The Ibwa rushed to me, wrapping his arms around my legs. “Do not go!”

“Stop that!” I said, pushing him away. He tumbled onto the floor. “Coming!” I called out.

The Ibwa jumped to his feet. “He will kill her,” he croaked. “Then he will torture you, and when you give him the book—and you
will
give it to him—he will kill you, too.”

Chattering voices downstairs drifted up to me. My mother was talking with a girl. “That’s not the powerful one down there talking with my mom,” I said, the fear tumbling out of me. “It’s my friend, Maudrina.”

I stepped out into the corridor. “Don’t touch anything,” I said shooting the Ibwa a serious look.“I’ll be right back.”

“I hope that is so,” the Ibwa replied. The words quaked from his lips.

When I got downstairs, I was surprised to see Ashley Scott chatting amiably with my mother by the door. When she saw me coming toward her, she smiled. There was something off about her smile, something unnatural. Again, the hackles on the back of my neck stood at attention.

“Megan, your friend here wants to discuss your French assignments with you. It’s sweet of her to stop by.” The anger and vitriol that I had been experiencing since school this morning were all gone. On the surface, she was back to her old, sweet self.

“Yes. It is.” I said, trying to hang onto my composure. But a member of the Poplarati had just shown up at my house. There was no way I could hide my surprise. “Hi, Ashley.”

“Megan, how are you?” Her face lit up with phony cheer.

“I’m good.” I was still reeling.

“Well, I’ll let you two go over assignments,” my mother said.

“Thanks, Suze. Nice meeting you.”

The short time that Ashley had been in our home my mother had already gotten her to dispense with the Ms. Barnett thing. Tiny spires of anger wound their way through my gut as I thought of how she’d treated Guy.

“Same here. And thanks for coming,” she called back.

As soon as she moved into the kitchen, Ashley said: “Can we talk outside?” Her voice was low, urgent.

I was beginning to get an uneasy feeling. The Ibwa had said the powerful one was downstairs. Demons can take human form, or even invade a human’s body. And there was something not right about this Ashley.

“Sure,” I replied.

She opened the door and we stepped out into the night. A warm breeze drifted in from the south. Tomorrow would be a hot one. There was a dusty fragrance in the air this time of year. It was the smell of the desert coming back to life.

“I heard what happened,” Ashley said, her words dripping with fake concern. Standing in the doorway, bathed in the yellow glow of the porch light, Ashley seemed older. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I can handle it.”

“So…what are you going to do?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

“What
can
I do? I’m going to get expelled.”

“I understand Principal Lockhart gave you a choice,” she probed.

I snorted out a derisive laugh. “Some choice!”

Ashley clapped me on the shoulder. Her hand was ice cold. “Remember, you have lots of friends at G.U. now.”

“Megan, are you out there?” My mother called from inside the house.

“Yes. We’re just going over assignments,” I called back.

It was then I noticed alarm in Ashley’s eyes. In the same instant, I saw someone coming up the walk—Harrison, anger flashing across his beautiful face.

The alarm bells in my mind came on full blast.

Through the noise in my head I heard Ashley say something about “the book!” and knew this was not Ashley Scott standing before me. This was the powerful one the Ibwa had warned me of.

I let the small vial of holy water I had been concealing up my sleeve slide down. Once the vial was in my hand I uncorked it.

Ashley reached into her purse for some sort of demon weapon. I flung the holy water into her face.

“Take that demon!” I cried.

The water splashed into her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. The Ashley thing looked up at me, alarm and anger spreading across her face. Her mascara began dripping down from the corners of her eyes, revealing the monster beneath the mask.

“What are you doing?” she squawked.

I could see Harrison now slowly slinking back into the shadows. All of a sudden I was starting to think that maybe I had made a mistake.

“Ashley?” I inquired. My voice was small.

“Are you a crazy person?”she raged at me. Her eyes were livid. Her hand came out of her purse holding her French book.

“I’m… I’m so sorry. I thought… like maybe you had a… gun.” It was a ridiculous lie, but I couldn’t tell her I thought she was a demon about to assault me with a demon weapon.

“I was getting out my French book so your mother would think we were going over assignments,” she squawked, water, makeup and mascara dripping from her chin.

“That’s a good idea.” My voice was even smaller.

“Listen to me, you idiot, crazy person,” she snarled. “If you put any of our names on that list the Principal asked you to write, you are doomed at G.U. We can be your friends, Megan, or we can be your enemies. Do I make myself clear?”

I nodded. It was all I could do. Ashley’s face was still melting away. The girl wore a ton of makeup. Who knew? “Can I… get you a tissue?”

She didn’t reply. Instead she glowered at me a full thirty seconds before turning stiffly and stomping up the walk. She brushed past Harrison who seemed to be enjoying my embarrassment. I should have known she wasn’t a demon. His angel wings weren’t showing.

“When the priest sprinkles holy water he usually says
bless you my child
,” said Harrison with a laugh.

“Very funny.”

“Not to yer mate,” he said, continuing to chortle.

“What are you doing here?” I looked past him, hoping to see Guy trailing him up the walk.

His eyes became guarded. “I tracked the Ibwa back here again this evening. I believe he’s lurkin’ nearby.”

I continued looking up the walk. In the past, if Guy had sensed I was in danger, he would come to protect me.

“The demon is in my room,” I replied, as it dawned on me Guy was not coming to my rescue this time, or ever again.

Alarm showed on Harrison’s face. “Yer kiddin’, right?”

“Nope. He’s up there.”

“Yer some kind of fool, you know that, girl? The Ibwa has tricked you into leaving him all alone up there. I’m sure you even pointed out where you were keeping the book.”

“I did no such thing. I’m not an idiot.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he snapped.

“Where’s Guy?” I demanded. I’d had enough of Harrison’s funky attitude.

“I have no idea. But we’ve got more important things to attend to right now. The demon’s up there tearing yer room apart looking for the book 
you
have been pretending ya don’t know anything about. You had better hope I am not too late.”

He reached around me to open the front door.

“You can’t go in,” I screeched, yanking his hand off the door knob.

“I most certainly can. I’ve got a demon to dispose of.”

“But my mother—”

Just then the front door opened and my mother peered out.

“Megan?” Her eyes bounced between the two of us, trying to make sense of the long haired man in red jeans standing on her doorstep. “Where’s Ashley? Who’s this?” she demanded, her expression darkening.

“Umm… Uhh…”

“Good evening, Mrs. I’m from the gas company. There’s been a leak reported in yer area, and we traced it to yer house,” Harrison said. His voice was even, his gaze intense.