Love Sucks! (2 page)

W
e piled into the minivan. Ryan was driving, and I managed to fight off Rayden for shotgun.

The boys played their Game Boys in the back of the van as Ainsley sat quietly in the middle. She was trying to reestablish a connection with Ana, but I could tell by her facial expression she was failing. It wasn't long before Ryan was driving down the dirt road that led to the farm.

And to the memories of the incident that started the madness of my current life.

Okay, maybe that's exaggerating a little, but whatever.

“You gonna be okay going to the farm?” Ryan asked.
He always was really good at reading me.

“Yeah, I guess. I need to face my not-so-distant past eventually, right? Sometimes I wish I could have a do-over for that night. If I hadn't been so angry at you, if I hadn't gone into the woods with Noah for some revenge snogging, he'd probably still be alive.”

“AJ, he might still be alive, but they would've changed someone else.”

When Ryan was like this, it made it hard to remember we were no longer a couple. He always knew what to say to ease my anxiety. Longing bubbled to the surface, and I fought not to drown in it. I had worked so hard to move on. For months I had put up a good front. After everything that had happened in the fall, Ryan and Lindsey decided to give dating a real shot. So, shedding the role of girlfriend and taking on that of supportive sister, I smiled when I saw them holding hands at school and even forced myself to stop eavesdropping. Okay, I
tried
to stop eavesdropping. What's the point of having super skills if you can't use them sometimes?

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but a few weeks ago I realized I was no longer faking it. It was bizarre. I walked in on Ryan kissing Lindsey good night. As usual, I mentally braced myself for the normal eruption of ugly
green flames to consume me—and nothing happened. No lump in my throat, no revved-up heart rate, no curdled stomach, and no poisonous anger.

Nothing but a twinge of sadness that I imagine won't go away for a long time.

What a relief it was to realize that I finally was moving on. Now, if I could just find a date for the prom. Oh well, a girl must tackle one teenage emotional crisis at a time, I guess.

Even though the trees lining the gravel road were showing their first signs of spring, I didn't feel that blooming sense of hope that usually comes with the season. Instead, my stomach knotted when the farm came into sight. Smoke plumed from the chimney of the main house, hovering above the green rooftop in the distance, while cows grazed in the pasture between the house and the woods.

But even the postcardlike scenery didn't warm me up to the idea of returning to the farm.

“Any luck?” I asked Ainsley.

“She just got to the cabin, but she couldn't go in because someone was already there.”

The “cabin” was the original farmhouse located in the back of the O'Reily property. It had been abandoned for
years and was known by the kids as the Love Shack. Even though O'Reily's farm was private property, kids often snuck out to the dilapidated building to do dirty deeds. Like make out. Or get drunk. Or get high. Or all of the above.

“Wow. Seems a little early for a party,” Ryan said.

“Shit,” Ainsley said, her tone pitching up an octave. “AJ, it's not a party. It's Mr. Charles! He's at the cabin!”

Ryan put the pedal to the metal, spitting gravel as he tore off down the road. We weren't far from the farm, but it would take a little bit to get to the Love Shack because we had to walk to it.

My phone rang.

“What's wrong?” Auntie Tave asked.

“Tave, this is getting old,” I said, unable to hide my frustration. “I know you mean well, but can't I keep one emotion to myself?”

“Sorry, hon. Your mood changed so suddenly, it made my heart stop. What happened?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” I lied. “Ana didn't make the squad, and she's off pouting at O'Reily's. Rick sent us after her so Mom could rest after today's shower.”

“Tell her,” Ryan said. “She needs to know. She'll know
something's up anyway if you come in contact with him, so tell her.”

I sighed. He was right. “Tave? Ana saw Mr. Charles at O'Reily's farm.”

“I'm on my way.”

Ryan slammed the van into park as we pulled up to the double gate at the far end of the farm. The property was lined by a white wooden fence, and from here the main house looked tiny. We all climbed the gate and landed with a loud clunk on the metal cattle guard.

“Stick together,” Ryan said. “We don't wanna give that psycho a chance to grab one of us again. Strength in numbers.”

“Shhh. Did you hear that?” I asked. I closed my eyes and concentrated, sharpening my super hearing.

And that's when a bloodcurdling scream pierced my ears.

“Ana!” I yelled. “Where are you? We're coming!”

We all took off in a panic for the woods. We ran about fifty feet before we heard another scream. But this one wasn't Ana—it was more like the roar of a wild animal, and it stopped us dead in our tracks. The sound was high-pitched and eerie. It vibrated into my bones and made me want to curl up into a fetal position and cry out
for Mommy. For the first time, I truly understood the definition of
bloodcurdling
.

“What the hell was that?” Ryan asked.

“It's some kind of demon,” Ainsley squeaked. “And it's chasing Ana. She's gone invisible and has jumped up in a tree. It's lost track of her but is starting to sniff up the trees to find her. We've got to help.”

“We need to wait on Auntie Tave,” Ryan said. “She'll know what to do.”

“That's my sister, Ryan! We don't have time to wait!” I yelled, taking off for the trees.

What's happening?
Tave's voice rang in my head.
Are you okay?

The only way for me to respond to Tave was with my emotions. She couldn't hear my thoughts, but she could feel what I was feeling. Normally I would try to calm down so as not to worry her, but there was so much adrenaline and anxiety pumping through me right now that there was no way I could chill. Besides, something told me I might need some adult supervision.

Ever since Mr. Charles kidnapped me in the fall, I'd kinda sorta been fantasizing about fanging him into oblivion.

Probably not a good idea, but damn if it didn't sound fun.

“Ana!” I called again once I entered the woods. “Where are you?”

I slowed down to listen for her and to look for Mr. C. A couple of tree branches cracked above, startling me. I looked up, and that's when I saw what had Ana on the run.

Ainsley was right—it was a demon. And by the looks of its fangs, it wasn't just any old demon—it was a vampire demon.

Ana was obviously still invisible, but I could hear her panting. And if I could hear her, I'm sure the demon could, too. It was only a matter of time before it found her.

And then what?

“Hey! You!” I yelled. The demon stopped climbing the tree and glanced at me. Its eyes sparked red for a brief moment, and I'm pretty sure it licked its lips.

“Damn, you're a big bucket of ugly. Why don't you pick on someone your own size?” My voice was strong and I sounded tough, but I was shaking on my inside parts. It wasn't easy trying to bully a bully. Especially one as big, ugly, and supernatural as this one.

I saw another tree shake and knew I had bought enough time for Ana to put more distance between her and Mr. Hyde up there.

The demon thing roared again and dove from the tree toward me, a cloud of gray smoke following in its wake. From the ground, it looked only as big as a tall adult, but as it was plummeting toward me I realized it was huge and as wide as a Mack truck. It looked part gorilla, part human, with long arms and a giant head. It was kinda like a furless Sasquatch with fangs.

Fangs that were bigger than any I had ever seen.

My feet seemed glued to the ground. I needed to move, levitate, run, jump—something, but all I was able to do was stand still while panic burned my throat.

The demon landed just a few feet away from me. Its eyes were the color of caramel, but they glowed bright like lights.

“Now that you're here, I don't need your sister. You're the one that we want,” it said in a gravelly voice, like Kathleen Turner after too many cigarettes. Its breath was hot and strangely sweet, like bubblegum, and I was overwhelmed with a sudden need to vomit.

The air turned to static and began to crackle. The demon bared its fangs as it wrapped its meaty fingers around my wrist and pulled me into its chest.

“We need to have a serious discussion about your manners and your lack of dental hygiene,” I said.

The monster yanked my arm harder, nearly popping it out of the socket, and that's when a big blue electric ball flew over my head and hit the demon in the shoulder. It howled in pain, giving me the time I needed to escape. Ryan stood a few feet away, blue sparks shooting from his fingertips. The kids stood behind him, both boys primed to cast their own spell, with Ainsley baring her fangs.

“Run!” I screamed.

Ainsley and the boys turned to run, but they didn't get very far. Mr. Charles appeared from behind a tree and grabbed Oz by the scruff of his neck.

“How about you stay put,” he said with a sneer. “AJ, we won't hurt the kids if you'll just come with us.”

“Dude, not all blondes are dumb.”

Mr. Charles looked the same, with mossy green eyes and short dark hair. I used to think he was sex on a stick, but I was no longer hot for teacher.

“You know, if you had just cooperated last time, none of this would be happening. And I would be a vampire.”

I rolled my eyes as the demon regained its composure and started to circle me. Where the hell was Auntie Tave? Mr. C. we could handle, but this monster thing? I was clueless.

“If you believe they're ever going to make you a
vampire, you're dumber than you look.”

The demon was still circling me, but it was eyeing Ryan like he would be tasty on a Triscuit. I had no idea where Ana was, but for the time being it seemed she was out of harm's way.

“What do you want with me?” I asked, trying to distract it from eating one of my siblings as a Scooby snack.

“You're the key holder, which means without you, the runes can't be found,” the demon growled in a raspy voice. “Besides, you're one of us, AJ. You can deny your history all you want, but that doesn't change that you're Serpentine. You'll embrace it one day. You'll see.” Its scratchy voice hurt my ears like squeaky Styrofoam.

Ryan quickly nodded at me, telling me to keep the demon talking. He closed his eyes and his lips began to move.

“I'm not full-blooded Serpentine. My blood is dirty, remember?”

“Yes, well, we've seen . . . the error in our ways. It never occurred to us that the key holder wouldn't be full-blooded. But you and your sisters will be welcomed home with open arms.”

“Thanks for the offer, but we'll pass.”

“Your sisters have that choice. You don't.”

The overly sweet smell of the demon's breath was beginning to make me sick. The creature circled to my left and I slid to the right. Oz stood stoic in Mr. Charles's grip, and Ainsley had moved next to Ryan. By the deep look of concentration on her face, I could tell she was still in contact with Ana.

I glanced at Ryan. He opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows. Whatever he had planned, he was ready.

“I found out last year there's always a choice,” I said to the demon.

“Yes, but you must live with the consequences. For instance, if you come with me willingly, then we won't hurt that half-breed baby or your mother. If you don't come with me, then you leave us no choice.”

Its words startled me, and I stopped moving just long enough for it to pounce. It wrapped its arm around my waist and began climbing the pine tree like it was a monkey.

I bared my fangs with every intention of sucking the beast dry—when another blue globe hit the demon in the back. It yelped like a wounded animal as its body stiffened.

In its paralyzed state, it lost its hold on me. I tried to focus quickly, hoping I could pull off a quick levitation,
but no luck. I landed with a snap at the base of the tree. Pain radiated through my hips and into my back.

Mr. Charles took off running, dragging Oz behind him. But Oz was a clever little thing and managed a quick spell. He clapped his hands together, then touched Mr. C's arm. Mr. Charles squealed like a little girl as giant green boils began popping up on his arm, quickly moving to his neck, then his face.

Oz couldn't stifle a giggle as he broke free and ran toward the cow pasture.

“Can you run?” Ryan asked me.

“No. Landed on my hip. It cracked and hasn't started healing yet. You go, get the kids out of here. I'll figure something out.”

“Yeah, right.” He leaned over and scooped me up like I was a feather pillow. “We've only got a few minutes. That was a half-assed paralyzer spell, but I didn't know what else to do.”

Ryan tore through the woods. I was in awe of how easily he maneuvered through the branches and over protruding roots as he carried me.

As we reached pasture, I was relieved to see Auntie Tave and Aunt Doreen. But that relief was short-lived as that sickly sweet smell hit me again. I looked over Ryan's
shoulder to see the demon just a few yards away.

“Ryan, it's back!”

It roared and dove right for us, knocking Ryan to the ground. He didn't let go of me as he twisted his body to absorb the shock of the fall. The demon reared back and swiped at my face with a meaty claw. I threw my good leg up, kicking its arm away and saving my face from a nasty gash.

I did not, however, save my leg.

The claws tore through my jeans like they were paper; the wound burned like a blue flame. I rolled out of Ryan's arms as he began to mutter, but the demon was too quick. It swooped down and picked Ryan up by the legs, flinging him into the air toward a tree.