Authors: Michelle A. Valentine
My brow furrows. “They were? Why didn’t I hear about it? Not that I would’ve scored an invite or anything.”
“I think you were a little too busy hating me to notice much else.”
“You’re probably right. I was pretty mad at you.”
Rick grins. “
Were
? As in not anymore?”
I smile. “Don’t push your luck, but yeah. I mean, you’ve put a lot of effort into helping me break our contract, so I don’t totally hate you.”
He nods and smiles at me. “Come on then,
friend
. Let’s go try to have some fun.”
I pop my door open and the club thumping bass from the party wafts inside the car. Rick strides around the car and closes the door behind me. We walk inside, shoulder to shoulder, our feet moving in step on the concrete.
His warm fingers take my hand. “Is this okay?”
I should recoil from his touch, but today he’s been so nice to me, I don’t mind his closeness. “Sure.”
Once inside, the overpowering stench of cigarettes and spilled beer assaults my nose. Immediately heads whip in our direction. My defenses shoot up as the stares continue. I pull my hair down around my face, making an instant shield.
“Um, Rick? Why are people looking at us like that?” I whisper in his ear.
He faces me. “Probably because of what happened last time we went to a party.”
My eyebrows furrow. “But that was forever ago. Why would that draw attention now?”
He grimaces. “Maybe because this is Trevor Humphrey’s house?”
A lump instantaneously forms in my throat as my eyes grow wide. “
Why
would you bring us
here
?”
I turn to bolt from the house—no way do I need to deal with this right now—but Rick refuses to let go of my hand. “Because the soul is here.”
The soul? This is bad. My stomach clenches. This means the soul is somewhere in this mass of my peers. Up until now, I’ve been pretty cool with stealing the souls of wicked strangers, but this next deal will present a problem. “I can’t…”
Rick tugs my hand. “You have too.”
He leads me over to the keg, fills a red plastic cup for me, and then hands it to me. Sipping my bitter beer, my eyes scan the crowd, wondering what terrible thing will happen here that’s brought a death demon.
Rick takes a drink. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”
I take a step away from him. “What’s upstairs?”
His eyes scan the ceiling. “Our assignment.”
Knowing this is Trevor Humphrey’s house makes my skin crawl with the sensation of a thousand bugs as we snake our way through the crowed staircase. People stare at us we walk past them, their eyes excited with the possibility of another fight in the air.
We make it to the top of the stairs and Rick thrusts his beer cup in my hands. “Are you ready for this?”
I didn’t see anything crazy go down. He has to be kidding. “You mean right now?”
With a quick clap of his hands, he answers my question.
The party goes still and this place suddenly looks like a bad teen movie on pause. There’s a girl to my left frozen in the process of spilling her beer all over the plush tan carpet below our feet, To my right there’s a couple stuck in a permanent make-out pose.
Rick takes off in the direction of a bedroom door, but stops before entering and waits for me to catch up. He balls his hand into a fist and knocks two quick raps.
“Who the fuck is it?” I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It’s Trevor Humphreys.
Shocked, I rub my face. “
He’s
our next deal? I can’t do this, Rick. There’s no way I can’t help kill someone I know.”
“Yes, you can, Nat. You have too. Do you even need to see what his sins are?”
I shake my head. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”
My mind flips back to all the encounters I’ve had with Trevor and my nerves bounce around under my skin.
“He’s going to die tonight, Nat. He’s drank enough liquor to poison an elephant, so either we make the deal or another demon will. Besides, do you really want to give up the opportunity? You can have your soul back after this.”
Trevor Humphreys is by no means a friend. He is, however, Stew’s friend, and he has a family that loves him. He needs to be punished for what he did to me, but it doesn’t exactly warrant death, does it?
Rick throws open the door, revealing a pathetic Trevor laying on the floor in his own puke in the fetal position. The room permeates with the smell of vomit and urine. I plug my nose and breathe through my mouth. Trevor lifts his head and remnants of his supper drips from his chin. His bloodshot eyes appear glassy, and his head wobbles around while he tries to hold himself steady.
“What do you assholes want?” he snarls. “And why are you in my house? I didn’t invite you. I hate you two.”
“We’ve come to help you, Trevor.” Rick’s voice is calm, like he’s talking to a frightened child.
“I don’t need your help.” Trevor falls down on the floor again. “Get out and leave me alone.”
I begin to pace around in his bedroom because I can’t figure out what to do with myself. I don’t want to be here.
There are pictures of naked women all over Trevor’s walls, and I guess that’s a pretty typical thing for guys to have in their room, but some of the poses are so provocative they make me look away.
I know Trevor Humphreys is one—if not the—biggest asshole in the world, but I wonder if the whole incident with me was a one-time thing. Maybe he can be saved?
"Rick? Maybe we shouldn’t take his soul. I mean, this is Trevor, and I know what he did to me was horrible, but maybe it won’t happen again.”
Rick shakes his head. “It will. You weren’t the first.”
My hand clutches my throat. “There were others?”
“Yes,” Rick whispers. “One just a couple hours ago, but she wasn’t as lucky as you.”
I grit my teeth as I squeeze my hands tight at my sides, burrowing my nails in my skin. This needs to happen. I can’t allow him to hurt anyone else. “Do it. Before he hurts someone else.”
Trevor’s glazed eyes shift between me and Rick. “Do what?”
Rick smiles at Trevor. “Help you, of course.”
“Okay,” Trevor slurs as he closes his eyes.
Rick kneels down in front of Trevor and holds out his hand. “Shake my hand, and tell me yes you want my help.”
“Yes. Help me.” Trevor’s hand barely moves from his body, but it’s enough motion to cue Rick to grasp it.
The shock of their agreement courses through my hands. I know what comes next, and for the first time, I dread it. Even though random thoughts of inflicting pain on Trevor have crossed my mind, I never dreamt I’d be the one to actually kill him.
Rick stands over Trevor glares down at him. “Trevor, this is for what you did to Natalie.”
Before Trevor can say another word, Rick raises his hands and a strong wind blasts throughout the room, causing the only window in the bedroom to fling open. Rick’s eyes narrow as he sets his sights back onto his victim. A steady breeze zips all around me and the curtains strain violently against the rod bolted into the wall. Every loose piece of paper close swirls in the air and it reminds me of all the times Rick would make an appearance in his child form.
My hair whips around my face as I glare down at Trevor. His eyes close and he remains oblivious to what’s about to happen to him. With an outstretched hand, Rick levitates Trevor’s limp body into an upright position and sends him sailing towards the open window.
Trevor’s hands hang limply at his sides. His chin presses against his chest and the lashes of his closed eyes rest against his skin.
“Go on, Nat. Give him a push,” Rick says while concentrating on holding him in the air.
I walk over to Trevor, and grab the back collar of his shirt in my fists, but get no reaction from him. He practically looks dead already.
My stomach churns, but I can’t bring myself to push him out the window. I can’t kill him. I don’t have it in me. Sure my nightmare with Rick would be over, but I’d have to live with the knowledge that I killed Trevor Humphreys.
Trevor’s face looks pale and distant. He no longer appears overpowering, but weak beneath my grasp. I shake him, begging him to fight back, that would make this a lot easier to not feel guilty about if he would at least attack me or something.
Suddenly, I feel like the monster.
Sucking in a breath, and pushing my hair out of my face, I know we can’t take Trevor. We’ll just have to find another soul. “Rick—”
“We have to do it, Nat.” Rick doesn’t give me a chance to say that I don’t want to do this. “The deal’s already been made.”
Rick storms over and spins Trevor’s body around to face me. He yanks my hand up and slaps it against Trevor’s chest
I shake my head. “No. I can’t”
Rick gives me a sad smile and then turns and shoves Trevor with my hand from the second story window.
No sound comes from Trevor. No screams, no shouts, no cursing. Nothing. Not a peep. He never even fought it. A couple seconds later a loud crack sounds from the ground below and my gut tightens.
I thrust my head outside to get a look of Trevor’s fate. My mouth hangs open and my stomach lurches.
The empty pool below us is spotted with crimson from where his body landed head first. Trevor is unrecognizable. His face mangled beyond repair. Tears fill my eyes and I cringe.
“What have we done?” I whisper.
Rick puts his hand on my shoulder. “We had to, Nat. It’s our job.”
I shrug away from his touch. “It’s not my job.”
He walks over and takes my hand to examine my lifeline. “You’re right. It’s not your job anymore. I’ll give you back your soul.”
We enter the hallway and Rick pulls me back to the exact spot we were standing in at the top of the stairs.
“First things first.” He raises his hands and claps them, bringing time back to its current state.
The girl beside me squeals as her drink lands on her shoe, and the couple on the other side continue to make out like crazy.
“Take my hand.” I interlace our fingers, and he gives his hand a little squeeze starts up the energy flow between us.
Rick leads me down the stairs when we hear a shrill screams erupt through the house. They must’ve found Trevor’s body. People scramble, pushing and shoving each other to get out of the door, and soon the house clears out like it’s on fire.
I step out and see a crowd gathered around the empty pool. My body shakes violently and my legs wobble. I drop to my knees onto the concrete sidewalk.
I don’t know if I’m cracking from all the shit I’ve been through or if this pain is actually real that’s coursing through me.
With shaky fingers, I turn my hands over and as they throb with pain. My hands feel like I’ve stuck them straight into a campfire, and the heats spreading up my arms.
I gasp and stare at my palms. “My hands.”
Rick scoops me into his arms and hugs me tight to his chest. “We need to get out of here.”
The pain spreads down to the tips of my toes and then all the way up to my face. It’s overwhelming, and the tears I’ve been fighting can no longer be hidden. They streak down my cheeks, creating tiny wet puddles on Rick’s shirt as I sob into his chest.
“Rick?” I rasp.
He slides me into the passenger seat of his car. “Shhhhhhhh. I’ll take you home. Just hang in there.”
Once inside his car, Rick grabs my hand and bright light admits from his eyes. Heat sears my palm and I squeeze my eyes shut.
A scream rips up from my throat, just as Rick pulls his hand away and the pain stops. “It’s done. You’re you again.”
Breathing hard, I stare down at my hand with wide eyes. My life line is so long now it wraps all the way around my hand. “It’s over?”
Rick nods and touches my cheek. “You’re free.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rick’s hand steadies me with his hand on my lower back as he walks me to my front door. “I’m not leaving until I’m sure you’re okay, you know.”
Flattered that he cares for my now completely human wellbeing, I smile at him. “Thank you.”
Light from the evening sun pours into the foyer as Rick and I step inside. “Mom?”
She doesn’t answer and all of my following calls go without answer as well. I make my way to the kitchen and open the door to the garage. Mom’s car is there, but still no sign of her. She should be here.
This is so unlike her and it sets panic off through me.
I shoulder past Rick and run upstairs to Mom and Dad’s room. I knock hard on the door before shoving my way in.
Mom’s on her massive sleigh bed crying with Dr. Fletcher standing over her grinning like an evil bitch.
I freeze in my tracks. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Tears flow down Mom’s cheeks as she stares up at the demon before her and almost like she’s in a daze she swings her gaze slowly to me. Her eyes are dark, like raccoon eyes and she looks hallow. Four empty prescription pill bottles haphazardly spread around the bed and my heart sinks instantly as the thought crosses my mind that she’s attempted to end her pain.
“Mom?” I take a slow and steady step toward her. “What have you done?”
She sniffs and wipes her eyes with a tissue and then closes them. “Oh, Natalie, my beautiful girl. I’m so sorry.”
“What are you doing here Lilim?” Rick’s voice seethes with anger behind me.
Lilim steps away from Mom and casually takes a seat in and oversized chair to the right of the bed. “Nice to see you too, Rick. I’ve missed you.”
Rick takes a step forward. “Leave Natalie and her mother alone. They have nothing to do with what happened between us.”
Lilim laughs—a scathing one, full of malice. “Oh, no? I think she”—Dr. Fletcher points to me—“has everything to do with why you left me.”
Rick shakes his head. “I don’t love you, Lilian. I’ve told you that from the beginning.”
Lilim stands and her bottom lip pokes out. “You never even gave us a chance.”
Rick steps toward me. “There was never an us. You knew I was looking for Natalie from the first day we made the deal for my soul. Can’t you just get that through your head and move on?”