Love Sucks! (16 page)

W
e found Lex pulling Robbie out of the janitor's closet. His hands and feet had been bound, his mouth duct-taped, and he was groggy, like he had been drugged.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“He will be. Your girlfriend has done something to him. Drugs, probably, but I'm not sure. That would explain why he's been off center lately. And why I haven't been able to access his thoughts.”

“The demon was here,” I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust. “It's left that rancid sweet smell everywhere. Is it possible that Malia could've been somehow charmed by the Serpentines?”

“No,” Robbie said with a raspy voice. “Not drugged.”

“What, then?” Lex asked.

“Some kind of spell. I need my strength so I can figure it out.”

Ryan's cell phone rang. I helped Robbie to a chair and grabbed a cup of punch from a passing underclassman. “Here, drink this.”

As Robbie was trying to regain his strength, I scanned the crowd. I needed to find Malia and see if we could snap her out of this spell. But instead of my friend, I saw Mr. Charles skulking through the gym.

“Lex, we've got a problem. Mr. Charles is a newborn. He might be under his master's control right now, but we can't count on that.”

“Let's go put some of your training to work, sailor.”

I looked for Ryan, but he was still off on the phone. “Bridget, stay with Robbie?” She nodded as Lex grabbed my hand and rushed me into the throng of people.

As soon as Mr. Charles saw us, he ran for the back exit. But he wasn't running very fast.

“Why is he running? Why isn't he at least trying to use some of his vampire powers?” I asked.

Lex doubled over, shaking with laughter.

“Because he's not a real vampire,” Lex said between guffaws.

We caught up to him in a matter of seconds. He turned and hissed, then flashed his fangs at us.

One of the incisors fell to the floor.

“Oh. My. God. Not only are you so desperate to be a vampire that you're faking it, but you're not even faking it well!” I yelled. “And is that a kilt? Are you wearing a kilt? Morris, Morris, Morris. Kilts are for real men.”

“I am a vampire!” he insisted, his red eyes bugging out. “Look at my eyes! I'm just waiting for all my powers to come in.”

“Dude. One of your fangs just fell out,” I said.

He started to run toward the door, but I jumped and planted my kick-ass boots into his back, knocking him to the ground. His kilt came up around his waist. I was very relieved to know he was wearing boxers.

Glow-in-the-dark Halloween boxers with little vampire faces all over them.

“I've called the sheriff,” Lex said. “Dracula here will be hauled off to the funny farm tonight.”

I was still giggling when Ryan joined us, looking grave. “AJ, we have a bigger problem than this tool. Ainsley just called. She didn't go into details, but somehow she managed to let your dad into the house and he took Oz. He's kidnapped my baby brother.”

I took the crown off and removed the stone from the
center. Sure enough, on the back surface was an etched symbol.

“Work your magic and replicate the stone. Then let's go get our brother.”

 

I knew exactly where my dad had taken Oz: the abandoned farmhouse at O'Reily's.

We left Lex to take care of Mr. Charles and instructed Bridget and Grady to take Robbie to the house and make sure Aunt D knew exactly what was going on.

Then Ryan and I took off for O'Reily's.

“We need a plan,” I said. “We can't just expect to trade the stone for Oz, and we can't let them have all three runes, so what are we going to do?”

“You know I've been doing loads of research, right?”

I nodded.

“I have a plan. I know it will work, but I need you to trust me. Do you promise you'll do whatever I say, no questions asked?”

“Yes. Anything.”

“Okay, let's go kick some ass. And I have to tell you: I really hope I get a chance to punch your dad. What a prick.”

“As long as I get my licks in, too.”

The ten-minute drive seemed to take forever. Ryan drove to the back entrance of the farm and parked.

“Are you ready?” he asked, removing his cloak.

I unsnapped my ass cape, leaned in, and kissed him. “Let's do it.”

We followed the path into the woods, and I used my super senses to detect any possible lurking danger. But nothing jumped out at us. I honed my senses, searching for my dad, but was unable to find any trace of him in the woods.

A flickering light glowed from inside the dilapidated building, and I saw my father standing in the window. Watching. Waiting.

Even though it was pitch-black in the woods, he saw us coming. His arrogant smile all but glowed in the dark.

“Here we go,” Ryan said. “I need you to follow my lead.”

We stepped into the clearing together, holding hands. He was still carrying the walking stick, and it suddenly dawned on me that it was much more than a costume prop.

He tapped the stick to the ground three times, then drew a ring around us while chanting a spell in Gaelic.

I know this was the wrong time to think it, but, damn, it was sexy.

He pulled out a small glass bottle that contained a white powder and herbs and sprinkled it along the circle and repeated the chant. Or maybe it was a new chant. I had no idea, because it all sounded the same.

“Isn't your brother cute. Or would that be boyfriend? I'm so confused,” my dad said as he walked out, carrying Oz by the scruff of his neck. Oz's brown eyes were wide with fright, and his lips were set in a pale, thin line.

Ryan paid him no attention, just continued chanting and sprinkling.

“That's not going to do you any good, you know. It may keep you safe, but it won't do anything for your brother here since he's not in the circle.”

“Dad, just let him go. You don't need him. I have the rune. If you'll let him go, it's yours.”

“How can I trust you'll keep your word?” he asked, throwing my words back at me.

“I'm nothing like you, that's how.”

“Touché. But if it's all the same to you, I'll keep my little insurance policy. Besides, I'm a little thirsty, and I haven't tasted preteen blood in forever. It's a delicacy.”

I thought that would at least make Ryan pause, but
it didn't. He just continued to do whatever it was he was doing.

“Oz,” he finally said. “Do you remember Rayden's favorite trick?” he asked.

Clive laughed. “I love sibling double-talk.”

Oz nodded, his brown eyes growing wider.

“Now!”

Oz stamped, clapped, and spoke something unintelligible.

And nothing happened.

It took a moment for the nothingness to register with Clive, but when it did, he nearly choked himself laughing.

Tears rolled down his face as he loosened his grip on Oz and doubled over with laughter.

And Oz ran.

When Dad finally regained some control over himself, he wiped his face and looked up to realize that Oz had taken advantage of the moment and was now standing in the circle of protection.

“Sometimes the best tricks have nothing to do with magic, asshole,” Ryan said.

I was starting to enjoy our little victory, but the demon's smell slammed into me like a mallet. I looked
around to see if I could detect it, and that's when I saw Malia coming from the woods and dragging Ainsley by the ponytail.

“Yeah, and sometimes the best plans are the backup plans,” she said. “Hand over the rune, AJ, or I make your sister a midnight snack.”

I
'm sorry, AJ,” Ainsley said. “I didn't know. I didn't know Dad was bad. He was so nice to me. Nobody was talking to me while Mom was in the hospital. I was so lonely. And he was there. I didn't know.”

Crap. This was a complication we didn't need.

“Ainsley, it's okay, honey. This isn't your fault.”

“It's
all
my fault. I invited him in the house and he took Oz. And then Malia came over saying she had just escaped from Mr. Charles and needed to use the phone. So I invited her in, too.” Her voice was cracking. “It's all my fault.”

“No, baby. It's not. Just hang tight. We will get you out of this.”

I looked at Ryan. I had no idea what his plan was, but I had to trust him. Trust that he would fix this. That we would fix it together.

“Dad?” Ainsley said. “Daddy, you said you were sorry.”

A flicker of regret passed across his face, but he didn't respond. “Malia, this was not the plan.”

“No, it was the backup plan—you just weren't in the loop.”

His eyes flashed with anger. “Who planned this?”

“Who do you think? Your father. Your life is not your own, Clive. It never has been. From the moment you left that half-blooded Serpentine whore of yours and went back to the clan, he has owned you. He made sure we had it covered in case you screwed up. He's always said living with humans rubbed off on you. So far you've failed to prove him wrong.”

“What happened to the real Malia?” I asked. I had to know.

“Oh, she's dead. I sucked her and her grandmother dry the night of the party at O'Reily's farm. And their blood has given me plenty of shifting strength. I just had to bide my time until I knew for sure you were the key holder. Weren't you even curious about me not coming
into your house the other day? You've always invited me in before—but that day in the garage, you didn't. You know, you should've listened to Bridget. That girl's got good instincts. She made this very hard for me.”

A wave of sorrow hit me like nausea.

“The night of the party?” My voice quivered. “So you were the one who turned Noah?” I asked.

“Guilty. Poor guy thought he was going to get lucky with me after
you
left him high and dry in the woods that night.”

Guilt burned my heart.

“And Robbie?” I croaked. “How did you manage to keep him in the dark?”

The demon who looked like Malia laughed. “I may not be able to cast spells, but being a demon does have some benefits. I drained his brain a little bit every time we were together. Not too much, because he needed to be easy to manipulate but still be functional.”

“Tell us what you want,
Malia
, so we can end this,” I said. Anger began to boil just below the surface. That demon would pay for what it did to my friends.

“Give me the third rune and I'll give her a head start,” she said. “Half the fun is the chase anyway.”

“No deal,” Ryan said.

“You're cute. You really think this is a negotiation? Sorry, sport. That's the deal. You give me the rune and I'll give her three whole minutes. Or I'll spare her for you, AJ.”

“If I ask, you'll spare her?”

She laughed. “No. I'll let her go if you'll come to me willingly.”

I started to step out of the circle. There was no choice for me. I would gladly give myself up for my sister, but Ryan stopped me. “No. Follow my lead.

“Ainsley,” Ryan said. “Listen. It's actually really good that you're here. I was going to have to call you anyway.”

Ainsley was weeping quietly, but she looked at Ryan.

“Listen, sweetheart. I don't know if you're aware of your special talent, but you have one. And I need your help.”

“I'm going to bite her if you keep talking to her,” the demon threatened.

“No,” my dad said. “You're not. Even my father wouldn't want you to bite his granddaughter.”

“Wouldn't I?” Malia said. Her eyes changed from the color of iced tea to the ice blue eyes I saw in my dreams. Dad couldn't seem to process what was going on.

“You're my grandfather?” I asked.

Malia shifted into her real human form. The steel blue eyes were there, the graying hair, the sinister smile. Grandpa looked like a meaner version of my dad. He laughed.

“Hello, Granddaughter. It's nice to finally meet you both. Now, why don't we go get your sister and we can all live happily ever after with your real family.”

“Not a chance, Grandpa. So are you the one they call Elder?” I sneered.

“No, that was your father. But it was a title for show only. We would never let someone so incompetent be a real clan elder.”

My dad seemed to be shell-shocked. “You've just been using me as your puppet.”

Grandpa laughed. It was the coldest sound I had ever heard. “You failed us when you couldn't find the runes all those years ago. But don't worry; you've almost redeemed yourself. Even though you couldn't manage to get rid of that newborn half-breed menace to our society, you did get us the tools we need to rectify all the wrong in our past. So you're forgiven.”

“I'm
forgiven
?” Dad said. “I gave up everything for you—including the woman and the family I loved. All I ever wanted was to make you happy. To earn your trust.”

“You're a failure, Son. But you're getting better. Maybe one day.”

Dad couldn't mask his anger

“Ainsley, I need you to concentrate,” Ryan continued. “I know you think it's only Ana that you're tapped into, but it's not. You can tap into anyone or anything if you try—you're like a human GPS, and I need your help finding the runes. Can you picture them?”

She nodded.

“Close your eyes and think about locating one of them. What do you see?” Ryan said.

“It's dark. That's all I see. Darkness.”

“C'mon, Harry Potter. What do you think you're going to do here?” Grandpa said.

Ryan maintained his composure and ignored the taunts.

“Okay, now focus. Pretend you're right next to the rune and that you're using your night vision. What do you see?”

“Fingers. I see fingers.”

“That's all I needed,” Ryan said. “You did good.”

Ryan said something else in Gaelic, lifted his hands, and sparks flew from his fingertips.

“Ow!” my dad yelled, pulling his hand out of his pocket.

“And now we have two stones,” Ryan said with a smirk, holding up the sand-colored rune. “Wanna go for three?”

My dad stood there, speechless, completely in shock.

But Grandpa flew into a rage and took on his demon form. Gray smoke and the smell of pineapple cotton candy surrounded us.

“Run to the circle, Ainsley!” I yelled when the transformation began.

Ainsley was like a deer in the headlights, staring, unmoving, as the demon took form.

“Ainsley! Run!”

But she didn't.

The demon picked her up like she was a rag doll. “You or the girl,” it said to me in a monster's voice.

I stepped out of the circle, and the demon laughed as it brought Ainsley's neck closer to its mouth. “I lied.”

It was drooling as it lowered its mouth toward her neck. My body tensed, priming itself to jump to her defense, but I didn't have a chance.

Dad beat me to it.

“I gave up everything for you!” he yelled as he shot like a bullet toward the demon. “But I will not sacrifice my daughters. Not anymore.”

When Dad hit the demon, it dropped Ainsley. I flew to her, scooped her up, and brought her to the circle.

Ryan touched my shoulder.

“I have all three stones,” he said. “I took a chance that your dad had one in each pocket, and while he was distracted, I snagged the last one.”

“What do we do now?”

“We fight.”

He gave the runes to Oz and told him not to leave the circle for any reason. Oz nodded, and he and Ainsley huddled together like they were trying to ward off frostbite.

The demon and my father continued to fight, but it was clear the demon was stronger. I had to wonder if a week of depleting his blood supply hadn't played a part in Dad's weakened state.

Dad picked up a large rock and bashed the demon in the head. While it stumbled backward a few steps, Dad ran over to the circle, slamming into the invisible wall of protection.

“We're not opening the circle for you,” Ryan said.

“I'm not asking you to. AJ, can you forgive me?” he asked. The demon crouched, ready to attack again. “I was weak and wrong. You are stronger than I have ever been. And even if you can't forgive me, I need you to know I'm proud of you.”

Those were his last words.

The demon pounced, crushing Dad beneath its weight. Dad bared his fangs and bit into the demon's flesh, but the beast was too strong and too fast.

With a quick flick of its hands, the demon snapped Dad's neck.

Dad didn't turn to dust like Noah did. But I watched as the life slowly faded from his clear blue eyes.

Tears burned my cheeks as my heart opened and forgiveness filled it.

How could I not forgive him? He gave his life to save my sister. To save my family.

 

“So touching,” Grandpa said, his voice sounding as monstrous as he looked. “Daddy died for his daughters. I love a sacrificial lamb.”

“You killed your own son,” I said. “What on earth is worth sacrificing your own child?”

“The greater good,” he said. “One life for the lives of many.”

Ryan took my hands in his. “Remember, you do what I tell you, when I tell you, no questions.”

“I trust you.”

“Is Harry Potter going to work up some special magic?
This should be fun,” the demon said.

Ryan began his chant, and the demon continued to pace around the circle.

“No matter what he does, you'll never be strong enough to defeat me. And I'll never go away. The protection will eventually wear out, or you'll eventually give up. Either way, I'll win.”

Ryan's chanting never stopped. The air turned electric around us. Our hair stood on end, goose bumps popped up, and my heart began to race as adrenaline surged.

The demon grew agitated as it paced, roaring occasionally and trying to break through the circle.

The air began to sizzle and crackle with little bolts of lightning. Ryan's hands were above his head as he chanted, and his eyes were completely dilated.

Suddenly he looked at me, completely focused, completely at ease, and as he pulled me to his neck, he uttered two words that shocked me to my core.

“Bite me.”