Hotblood (22 page)

“
Hi there.” His smile killed any remaining buzz I had from seeing Lewis.

“
Excuse me.” I took a step to the side, but he blocked me. This stupid football player was actually going to try and stop me. I took a deep breath and could smell his blood and see the pulse where it danced at his throat. I took a step towards him and shoved him back against the locker. He stared at me with a kind of fascinated/terrified gaze that I didn’t really notice as I leaned closer to that pulse.

“
Dariana?” I froze and blinked at the voice. I folded my arms across my chest and took a step away from him. “Harris?” Snowy’s tone was disbelieving as she came up to us.

“
Yeah, I’d better get to practice,” Harris muttered retreating while I closed my eyes and tried to disappear. It was crazy. I hadn’t even thought I had a fury, but one second I’m in control; the next, I’m this close to ripping out Harris’ throat.

“
Dari, if it had been anyone else, I would have said that you were leaning up against Harris,” Snowy said.

I turned towards the front doors. “Good thing I’m not anyone else.”

“
Seriously, what was that? Out of all the guys in this school you could pick, I’d think Harris would come dead last. He’s spent a lot of time in the city over the summer with some of his cousins who are not exactly good influences on someone like him.”

“
What does that mean? You don’t like his relatives? No one can help who they’re related to.” I didn’t have the slightest idea why I was defending Harris; after all, I thought he was creepy. The problem was, however creepy he was, he would never come close to me, who had almost committed murder in the day-lit halls of my high school. I’d gotten too close to him because I’d been distracted by Lewis. I shook my head trying to clear it. “I was angry with him. He’s been kind of hanging around me all day. I’m surprised you didn’t hear me telling him what I thought about that.”

Snowy’s face was outraged. “You’re kidding. Did he touch you?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I ran into him earlier. Osmond told him to leave me alone. I don’t want Osmond to tell him. I should be able to speak for myself.”

She looked concerned. “Dariana, this isn’t the same world it used to be. You have to let me know when something’s going on with you, Ok? We’re going to take care of this, Dari. Don’t worry. Harris won’t be around any more to bother you.”

I laughed, wanting to strangle her. She was not hearing me. “Snowy, you don’t have to take care of me. I’m not helpless like I was before. I’m fine. I’m just not used to being so close to people. Things will settle down.” I tried so hard to stay calm, to not smell Snowy’s blood beneath the perfume she wore. I had to get out of there.

Snowy shook her head. “This wouldn’t happen if…” she bit her lip, as I edged towards the door.

“
It’s fine. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

She looked more than a little doubtful. “I’m going to tell Lewis.”

“
What?” I froze and forced myself to stay frozen instead of doing something violent. “No you aren’t.” My voice sounded so loud it echoed off the stone. “If you tell Lewis I will kill you.”

I didn’t mean it. I was pretty sure I didn’t mean it, but the emotion, the fury, the humiliation were so strong, I wasn’t entirely sure.

Snowy walked up to me, and I forced myself to stay frozen while she cocked her head and studied me thoughtfully. “Mmm hmmm. That’s what I thought. So much for platonic.” She turned and kept walking while I watched her go. I bolted out of there then took the steps outside two at a time. It was a relief to see Satan in his monster car waiting for me.

8 It’s a Monster Eat Monster World

“
Well, darlin’, how’d it go?” Satan growled cheerfully.

I slammed the door behind me, leaned back, and shut my eyes. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

“
No, but there’s always tomorrow.”

“
Do you really think that’s funny?” I barely kept a grip on the fury. I could hear the pulse beating in Satan, the smell of his blood stronger than Harris’s had been. I turned to look out the window, forcing myself to concentrate on the smell of stale cigar and leather, but I could still hear the pounding of his heart.

He pulled over the car, and put it in park. “This is where you tell me if there’s a pile of bodies somewhere that I have to clean up.” I couldn’t help gaping at him. He grinned widely before he sighed. “Seriously, Dari, you have to tell me what happened.”

“
Nothing happened, it’s what almost happened. It’s always what almost happens.”

“
Really?” He gave me a piercing look with those dark blue eyes that were so creepily like my brother’s. He shrugged and kept driving. “Almost only counts in horse shoes and nuclear warheads… or is it something else?”

“
Honestly Satan,” I moaned, but there was a break in the tension. “It was pretty terrible.”

“
It’s high school, what did you expect?”

I just shook my head. I’d expected it to be awful, but in all sorts of different ways.

At home my mother’s nice black car was already parked in the spacious garage. I went straight to the kitchen and searched the fridge for something, anything, to eat. I found tofu salad. I only paused for a moment before I dug in.

“
Dariana,” I looked up at my mother. She stood in the doorway wearing a nice dress that looked more corporate than homey. “Would you take some tea with me in the living room?”

I held my smile on my face by sheer force of will. “Sure mother. I’ll go sit on the couch.” The living room was white and black— white carpet, black shelves, white leather chairs and couches, black branches and stuff coming out of pots. It was very chic and cold. I wanted to get to my room and clean out my closet, to get settled into this world, to try to make it fit who I wanted to be and forget what I’d almost done to Harris.

She came in holding a large glossy tray with oriental pictures on it, shades of black with red punctuations. The china was simple, white, and my mother poured the tea while I sat up straight on the couch, remembering the etiquette she’d drilled into me every day of my life. “How was school,” she asked passing me a cup.

“
It wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” I said taking the cup with an appropriate close-mouthed smile.

“
Do you think your subjects are going to be challenging enough for you?” It was so weird, the same questions as every other year on the first day of school, and yet, different answers for the first time I could remember.

“
Oh, I’m definitely going to be challenged this year. I talked to the counselor, and we worked out a new schedule for me which includes drawing, painting, sewing, and absolutely no math or science.”

The room was quiet for a while as my mother sipped her tea, keeping her gaze focused on the depths of her cup. My mother’s mind, working with terrifying rapidity would be coming to the conclusion that she’d raised a completely worthless daughter. Well, that was my problem. I sat up even straighter and matched her silence.

“
That’s a sudden decision.”

“
Yes. I seem to enjoy making sudden decisions these days. I don’t want to think about science anymore. I know it’s your life, understanding the chemical makeup of things being the most exciting thing you can think about, but it’s dead to me. I don’t know what I want to do yet, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t in the sciences.”

“
I see.” She stayed quiet, and I forced myself to stay upright and still in the uncomfortable silence. She finally gave a slight nod. “You are your father’s daughter, and you have given science a genuine try. I’m proud of you. You have an excellent mind, and I’m sure whatever you end up pursuing you will succeed at it.”

“
Is that so important? Maybe I just want to be normal.” I winced. After my first day of school normal looked permanently out of reach.

“
I’m afraid you won’t ever achieve mediocrity, however much effort you put into it. Your genetics are against you.”

I snickered, impressed with her self-importance. “Good to know I’ll only ever be completely evil.”

It was a surprise when she smiled wryly. “Complete evil takes a level of ambition that I doubt you’re capable of.” Her smile disappeared. “I’ve taught you absolutely nothing about your family.”

“
My family or your family? They aren’t quite the same thing, Mother.” I sat staring at her and couldn’t help the words that came out of my mouth. I tried, but it was so ludicrous for me to be sitting here acting out a tradition that I’d certainly outgrown. “How could you do that?” My voice was only a whisper, but she heard it all right. She raised her eyebrow questioningly, and I elaborated. “My brother, how could you stand by and let my brother, your son, take my soul? How could you do that?”

She closed her eyes and looked extremely delicate, very tired, but at the moment I didn’t feel much compassion for her. “Your brother was very persuasive.” She shook her head then sat up straight, looking directly at me. “I did it because I thought it was the best thing to do. I’d do it again.” Her voice was quiet but the words rang in the air.

I stood up. “Then we have nothing to talk about.” I turned and left, making sure not to slam the door once I got to my room upstairs. I threw myself into cleaning. I made an enormous pile of black clothes in the hall outside my room, leaving my closet immaculate and empty. I got the vacuum from the hall closet and went over my closet again and again. It was clean, but I wasn’t satisfied. I started on my room, sticking the rug and blankets in my empty closet so I could go over the beige carpet. I shoved the bed against the wall and spent a long time focused on the ridges and dents the posts had made in the carpet. There was a knock and I looked up at Satan who stood in the doorway. I ignored him and focused on my task, vacuuming until I was satisfied. I pulled the bed back into place, handling my furniture like it wasn’t made out of solid wood. I used my muscles, glad to work out some of the fury.

After I went over the corners of the ceiling one last time, I turned off the vacuum, straightened, and faced Satan. “Can I help you?”

He grinned at me. “Do you know something? I’m getting the part where your dad says we need a home gym. You’ve got to have an outlet for that fury, don’t you?”

“
Oh, I don’t know. I could find some way to work out the extra energy, something involving my mother…” I clamped my jaws shut while he shook with laughter. “Look, I’m not really in the mood right now, so if it’s all the same to you....”

“
You’re mad? You want an outlet? Come with me.”

I sighed and followed him to the living room. There was no sign of my mother or her tea service. In the backyard I stood on the patio glaring at Satan, my arms across my chest just wanting to punch something. He walked around studying the landscape. The landscape consisted of meticulously trimmed shrubs. This matched the house; it was very formal. He walked behind a row of the shrubs and I followed him, irritated.

“
This is good,” he said and proceeded to take off his old coat and unbutton his shirt. I stared in awe at the massive body that was covered, absolutely covered, in tattoos twisting around on his skin like live snakes. If there was a pattern, I couldn’t make it out. His arms were massive, but the muscles were covered by the tattoos. The last thing to go was the hat. I stared at the bald, tattooed head in awe. He certainly made an impression as he stood there with the cigar in his mouth. I stared at him, distracted for a moment by the uncanny resemblance he had to the mythical prince of darkness. He exhaled and crouched, gesturing towards me. “Come on, darlin’. I want you to do your best.”

“
You want me to touch you?” I looked at him, and shook my head. “No offense uncle, but I’d rather not.”

He looked down at his body and gave me a hurt look. “This is a specimen of manhood you aren’t going to see every day.”

“
Yeah, it’s too manly for me. Anyway, I don’t get the point …”

Satan didn’t wait for me but ran at me and sent me flying. I hit the ground and couldn’t breathe. I stared at him while my vision got hazy. I heard someone screaming, but it couldn’t be me. I still wasn’t able to breathe. Finally, I took a painful gasp and recognized the voice as my mother’s.

“
What do you think you’re doing? Get away from her. She hasn’t got tattoos, you’re going to kill her!”

I stared at my mother and her impossibly perfect beauty and took another breath. All the anger, fury, and frustration I’d been fighting flew into me in a rush. She had let me die without dying, watched me every morning, and never shed a tear for me while she wept like a baby over Devlin’s grave. I shoved against Satan, flipping him across the area into a bush. I stood slowly, watching my mother while red specks filled my vision. No, I wanted to remember this. I ran at her, but Satan was in front of me again. I shoved against him, but he held onto me, twisting and pulling me back onto the ground. I don’t know how long I fought, but every time I got free and charged my mother he was there again. Time and again he wrestled me to the ground where I hit and mauled him, until suddenly, I felt something crack inside of me. Instead of pushing Satan away, I sank my teeth into his shoulder and felt the rush of satisfaction as I broke through the skin and tasted blood. It was only a second before he threw me across the clearing into a tree, and I crumpled at its base unconscious.

When I opened my eyes, I took a deep breath and wished I hadn’t. I hurt in all sorts of places when I breathed with too much enthusiasm. I looked up at the light that hung over my head. That meant that I was lying on the kitchen island. If you were deserted on a desert island, what three things… I turned my head and winced at the pain that throbbed around my cheekbone and jaw. Something was definitely wrong with my head. Well, no kidding, Dari, Satan threw you into a tree. That’s not fair, I answered the voice. Fair? You want to talk about fair? I blocked the voice out after that. It was getting whiny. I braced myself and sat up. My mother and Satan sat in the breakfast nook, watching me.