The Lesser Demon clearly didn’t know what to do, not at all.
“I, would return to my duties I think. Things here seem precarious and I fear that the death of one I am to guard would lead to punishment, were I off to play when it took place.”
Keeley nearly denied that, but instead managed a sharp nod.
“Good thinking. Very well, please be about that now. I don’t know what Darla wishes to do and secrets might be involved. Probably not, but that’s not my business, or the arrangement we have together.”
Balthias just stood a little straighter and turned to his right, vanishing without the same flash that Darla always had. Then he wasn’t real, was he? It probably made a difference. Most people wouldn’t have seen anything, even had the creature been visible to them, their minds refusing to see someone disappear like that. If they could see a giant horror movie demon at all.
Most just couldn’t accept the idea.
It worked for now. Keeley didn’t need the Lesser Demon to be freaking people out left and right, did she?
Keeley noticed the car pulling up into the driveway, a small hatch back of some kind, brown and a little boring looking. The guy that got out looked to be fit, maybe her own age, and had dark hair that was slightly wet. Probably coming home from the gym. A light workout prior to game day being traditional from what she’d noticed. Keeley memorized the license plate, because if the boy lived through the night, she might need to frame him the next day.
Darla didn’t wait for Eve to move, she just pulled up behind the kid, blocking him in, and hopped out of the car rapidly.
“Excuse me.” Her voice wasn’t overly warm, just normal. Happy, but a little shy sounding for her. Like a real girl talking to a fairly decent looking guy she didn’t know well.
“Are you on the Wilson High football team?”
The boy was halfway to the front door already, which was only about ten feet away from the driveway. He didn’t pull into the garage, though the place did have one. It probably just didn’t have room for two cars. The kid stared at Darla and then smiled.
Keeley was ready for most guys to think Darla was hot. Heck, she’d designed her whole appearance to have that affect on people, so of course, it did. What she wasn’t ready for was the pure lust that came into his eyes. It was beyond creepy or even just like he felt entitled to all the cute girls. It was predatory.
“Yes, I am. Want my autograph?” He chuckled at least, a superior sounding tone. “Just kidding, can I do something for you?”
If the next words he would have said, if he’d kept talking instead of making an artful pause, didn’t involve throwing Darla down and raping her, Keeley didn’t know anything about people at all. This guy wasn’t normal.
He was wrong.
Evil.
The real kind of evil that had to be bad for business, if you were a Demon just trying to get by in the word. A true sicko that did things that her kind got blamed for, people not able to think of any reason why such things would happen.
Darla seemed to be ignoring that part pretty well, smiling at him as if basking in his glory.
“Oh, good. There’s a party tomorrow night, in Hendrick’s park, after the Homecoming Dance? It’s going to be a really big thing, I mean music, bonfires, food, the works. The police have even signed off on it even, so they won’t be hassling people. Do you think you could tell all your friends though? It’s a big event, going to be in the papers and everything.” She acted casual about it, but the boy started nodding along anyway.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Are you and your friend going to be there?”
Keeley took that as her clue to get out of the car and walk over, so that he could see her in the light. She looked decent enough. Pretty even. The guy seemed torn between her and Darla for a minute, which shocked her. She wasn’t even trying to be in Darla’s league at the moment. He wasn’t just being polite about it either, he seemed to have something specific in mind.
Wonderful.
Given the vibe coming off of his every action she really figured that to be a gang rape. That didn’t sound like how she wanted to spend her first time having sex, but she shrugged.
“For a while at least. It’s going to be wild though, free condoms being given out by hot chicks, if you know what I mean. Even to the ugly guys.” Which was the plan after all. True she was suggesting a lot more than just free prophylactics, but that was mainly to keep this freak focused on them, not on the cute and slightly obvious girl under the bushes. With some people, sex sold things pretty well. Or distracted people from reality.
Very well in fact. It was a good idea, if they could do it right.
Darla smiled and looked off toward the house.
“So, you’ll let everyone know? We have to set up five of these, but the biggest party is going to have something special happen. It’s not strictly sanctioned, but you can safely tell everyone that there might be some nudity. We have to keep that hush-hush though.” She touched her chest, above her breast, as if mimicking that she might just be the one taking off her clothes.
Well, her idea, so that sounded fair.
Keeley had an idea too, just to actually try and get the numbers up a bit. Why not?
“It’s by percentage of the student body, so get everyone to come. Make a point of getting the shy kids and the nerds, and you’ll have it in the bag no problem. Most of the schools ignore those kids, and they probably wouldn’t normally even go to the game. You’re what, the team captain? Get your buddies to chat those kids up and a lot of them will come.” It was probably true. Someone asking them to show up at a party could do that, as long as the football team wasn’t made up solely of self-obsessed morons.
The guy in front of her smirked and looked overconfident. Cocky. Then, he probably was.
“Cool. I don’t suppose I could get a private show right now, just to, you know, make sure you aren’t just saying things? My reputation is on the line if I do this.”
Darla smiled a bit but didn’t move. Keeley shrugged, made herself not feel anything and started unbuttoning her blouse, slowly.
She’d only gotten three buttons undone before the front door started to open, which she took as a sign to drop her hands.
“Maybe tomorrow? If it’s earned I mean? Remember, everyone wins if the numbers are high enough.”
A woman spoke from the door.
“Daryl? Who are your friends?” The woman sounded a little nervous, then with a son like this, she had every reason to be. Especially around women.
“Um, I’d better go. Step mom. She’s cool, but might not… well, later? That sounds good. After the dance, at Hendricks park? Like, eleven or so?”
“Starting earlier if anyone just wants to skip the dance, about nine.” Keeley had already included that in the plans. That way they might get some kids that wouldn’t go to the dance itself, but wanted to do something. It had been Glen’s idea. He’d had several good ones.
“I’ll be there and try to bring some friends then. Yeah.”
He gave them another smarmy look as he headed for the door.
Keeley was just glad she hadn’t had to touch him.
Now all they had to do was get Eve and make it away without being seen.
Easy.
Because honestly she was just going to leave that part to her sister. Eve was hers after all. In the moment that meant the girl was her mess to handle, didn’t it?
Chapter six
Darla gave just the smallest wave, not to Keeley, but toward the bushes, then hissed softly.
“Eve, wait for us to drive away, we’ll meet you down the block. Five minutes.” Then she climbed in the little red car, waited for Keeley to get in and made sure her seat belt was on, then drove away as if going home for the night.
It really had that specific feel to it somehow. It was in the deliberate way she drove, defined and clear, not particular looking around other than for safety concerns. It set the mood well. It was like that was all Darla was even thinking about. She had a destination and that was all that mattered to her at the moment. Something for Keeley to do to, she tried for a minute and actually felt shocked when Darla pulled over, even if it had been the plan.
Down the street they waited blocked from view by the neighbor’s house and some low bushes. Foliage that Eve came through about six minutes later. She hopped into the back, panting.
“Drive. Drive!” Her voice was rough, angry, but also a little relieved. She probably hadn’t wanted to really become a murderer, even if she was angry.
They took off at a sedate speed, moving along like they belonged there, instead of squealing away like morons. No one said anything for several minutes, waiting for Eve to share with them, instead.
“He did it. I know he killed Rob. No one will do anything about it, so I’m going to. I was about to.” She didn’t say that she was going to shoot, but her voice sounded angry, and scared. Keeley didn’t know if she would have pointed the gun, but she was fairly certain Eve wouldn’t have pulled the trigger. Not without more evidence at least.
Darla kept looking straight forward.
“Different plan. First we need proof. Then, if our new best friend Daryl here is guilty, we need to find out who helped him. Once that’s done, we hire the work done and make sure they die in a way that won’t have you locked up for the rest of your life. I’m very disappointed in you Eve.” Darla didn’t sound it. Her tone was even and almost sweet.
“I would have hoped you’d realize that this wasn’t just being left alone. In case you didn’t hear, we just set up an event that should have the entire student body of Wilson High attending, at least those most likely to know who might have harmed out friend. If we play this correctly we should be able to learn a lot. Don’t you think Keeley?”
Keeley nodded. She really did think.
“The other schools too. Telling the boys that naked girls will be there should get a few of them to bother coming. Even if it’s just hinted at. We’ll just get Darla to go topless and it won’t even be a lie.” She grinned when she said it, but Darla just nodded.
Right. Four hundred plus year old Demon. Probably didn’t care a lot if people saw her naked.
For that matter Keeley really didn’t care right now either. She’d left her emotions shut down. That would take a lot of the embarrassment out of the idea, if she had to do it too.
“Oh? It looked to me like Keels here was about to throw down the goods on that freaks front porch.” Eve chuckled. “What would you have done if his mother hadn’t come out?”
“To get my friend free of a bad situation? A lot. Though it would have been a pain getting my bra off quickly. How do you do that anyway, flash with a bra on? Just, I don’t know, lift it up?” That should work, in case it ever came up again.
Darla smiled, but it wasn’t an overly happy thing.
“That works. We’ll have to dress more appropriately for the party however. You too Eve. We’ll grab Hally and make a circuit of all the parks. Keeley’s in charge of it, so she has to anyway, and really, as her friends we’d help out, right?”
Eve grunted.
“Seriously? I was just going to shoot that guy, innocent little Keeley was ready to strip on his doorstep to distract him, so I could get away… and we’re all just going to ignore all that? I have a gun on me, and really… just nothing from you two on the topic? If I didn’t know better I’d think you really were planning to have those guys killed and weren’t just saying that to placate me.” The girl, wiped her forehead, short, sporty looking black hair being brushed aside. She didn’t have dark skin, but was clearly part Hispanic. It was a good look, Keeley decided.
Probably enough to get her into a good school, if her grades were high enough. Or, well, if they could be faked to look that way. They’d have to make sure she sent a picture along with her applications. People might like to pretend looks didn’t matter, but that was a lie. They mattered a lot.
Luckily that was something that could be controlled for though.
Wear the right clothes, hold your body correctly, smooth out skin tone with make-up. Yeah, a five could be a nine, no problem. Two weeks before Keeley had never thought about it, but having watched her new sister over that time, it was starting to sink in how it could be done. How it really was done, most of the time. Reassuring in a way.
Even if you weren’t born with the looks, you could get them anyway. If you were willing to do the work and could see what was needed. It was her plan for the next day, she decided. Especially the early part. When she had to get to all the other schools and drum up interest.
That and illegally plant booze in some cars.
“Hey, Darla, do you know how to break into locked cars?”
Eve sat up, almost eagerly for some reason.
“Ohh. I get it, we’re going to steal their things? Dump them in the river? I’m sure they’re big enough punks that they deserve it, even if they aren’t responsible for Rob. That guy though, Daryl, he’s just… wrong. I heard that he kind of raped a girl at a party. She got drunk and passed out, and he said that she wasn’t when they started, but still. He has to be in on it. He’s… gross.” The girl struggled, trying to articulate what Keeley had noticed too. It was hard for her, attuned as she was to watch for potential predators, the girl didn’t have the words for actual evil.
Eve had been abused as a child, Keeley knew. It was worse than that, a lot of it was flat out rape, by anyone’s definition. A string of guys that gave her mom drugs, then did things to her while she was off getting high.
Why her father had never done anything about it Keeley hadn’t found out yet. She was curious, but it probably wasn’t her business, so she decided to let it go. For a while.
Now if she found the men that had done that to her friend, they’d die. The worst one already had. Balthias had done it. She should take him some cake or something. Did Lesser Demons even eat? She should find out. It could be a real point.