Sacrifice (Gryphon Series) (15 page)

I stumbled
to my feet and stretched up on my toes with arms arched up over my head as I tried to release sleep’s heavy hold on me. Maybe it was the awful dreams about being eaten alive but I didn’t feel rested in the least. Not that I could admit to that. Today was Spa Day and any lack of enthusiasm on my part would
not
be well received. As obsessive as Kendall had been about planning this, if I didn’t strap on my best fake smile she might have me voted out of the family.

I pulled off my
jammie top and exchanged it for the one my sister insisted I wear. I slid it over my head then found myself lost in rows of strappy black fabric. With my arms still in the air and a mess of material clinging to me, I struggled to find arm or head holes. The correlations between this and the spider web dream that was still fresh in my mind had me teetering on the edge of a hissy fit.

“Kendall!” My voice came out high and
frantic. “What the crap is wrong with this shirt? Fix it or I’m gonna rip it to shreds to get it off!”

Keni heaved an annoyed sigh
at the burden she suffered of  having a fashion illiterate sister. She turned me toward the full-length mirror on the back of our closet door. With a pull here and a tug there the shirt fell right into place. Okay, “shirt” seems a somewhat liberal description for what now covered my torso. Suspended from each of my shoulders was a thick strap of black fabric. From those straps hung a mesh of thinner straps that covered my arms, chest, and stomach. The material covered what needed covering, but a whole lot of skin still showed through. A fact I was not at all comfortable with.

“Uh, Keni? Exactly what kind of spa is this?”

“It’s midnight, Cee. We’re not going to the spa. I’ve got other plans for us.” Kendall’s eyes glittered mischievously beneath a thick layer of eyeliner.

My forehead creased
when I finally noticed what my sister was wearing; a one-sleeved black tank top covered in sequins, short pink mini-skirt, fishnet stockings, and knee high black boots. Her hair had been twisted, pinned, and sprayed to stick up off her head in a purposefully messy ‘do. A pink scarf was knotted around her upper arm.

“And these plans involve dressing like we’re in a
Ke$ha
video?”

She crossed to my dresser, yanked out a pair of jeans
, and threw them at me. “The spa day just sounded, like, totally dull. So I canceled it. Instead we’re gonna have some
real
fun.”

“It sounded
dull
?” I kicked off the guys boxers I’d wore to bed and wiggled into my jeans. “
You
planned it! You’ve been rambling on about it since Gabe put that stupid rock on Alaina’s finger!”

She raised her eyebrows and gave me that
“chill out, you freak” look all teenage girls perfect. “So I changed my mind. It happens. Get over it.
Geesh
.”

If
this was some lingering after effect from her break-up with Keith, I sincerely hoped she got over it quick. I could only bite my tongue for so long before I’d run out of nice. For now, I decided to let her ‘tude slide—especially since I wasn’t crazy about a spa day anyway. I zipped up my jeans and shook the legs straight. “So what are we doing instead?”

She
hooked her arm around mine and steered me over to our desk. Placing her hands on my shoulders, she shoved me down in the chair. The sight of her tackle box full of makeup and hair accessories opened and at the ready scared me almost as much as my nightmare.

“Oh, you’ll see
… ” she smirked.




“I’m just saying, if my eyelids are heavy from the glitter there may in fact be
too
much glitter.” My hair had been parted down the middle and pulled up in two pigtail knots. Add that to the mountain of makeup Kendall had slapped on me and the result was me looking like a clown hooker. I sincerely hoped whatever plans Keni made didn’t involve other visually capable human beings. I held fast to the handrail and struggled to maneuver the stairs in heels a good three inches higher than my comfort zone.

Kendall shoved past me and nearly
sent me tumbling. “There’s no such thing as too much glitter, now hurry up.”

I
cursed under my breath and shuffled my way to the bottom of the stairs. Across the foyer I teetered my way to the coat rack. In spite of the warm night, I wanted the cover my hoodie offered before I stepped foot out of the house.

“Oh, you don’t need that!” Grams
proclaimed as she bee lined it from the kitchen to the living room with a tray in her hands. She had donned her short, black party dress and leopard print pumps for our mystery occasion. I suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. Curiosity led me to the living room.

“Uh
… where’s all the furniture?” I gaped.

Everything had been emptied
out of the room except for the coffee table that was pushed up against the back wall where Grams now set her tray. In the place of the rest of Grams’ modern décor sat five folding chairs. Alaina waited in one, her legs crossed at the ankle and hands folded demurely in her lap.

Judging by her blush pink dress with its conservative neckline and pretty embroidered flowers she
hadn’t received the skank wear memo. “Gabe and the football team moved it all into the den at Grams request, right before they headed out to that owl themed restaurant.”

“Owl themed?”

Her auburn locks danced when she nodded. “Yes, they have owls on all their signs and the waitress’ shirts. While I’ve never been inside I assume men like the wilderness type atmosphere offered.”

“Yeah,
that’s
what the draw of that place is,” I lied and snagged Keni from her task of running an extension cord from a side outlet to the center of the room. “The furniture is gone, there are red lights in the ceiling fixtures, and Grams just pulled a stack of singles out of her bra. Kendall,
please
tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.”

Kendall tried
, and failed, to adopt an expression of mock innocence. “Why, Celeste, whatever do you think I did?”

“
What is the matter with you
? Our mother is here!” I hissed through clenched teeth. “You are sixteen! What do you think she’s gonna say when … ”

“Oh, Celeste! There you are!” Mom sauntered up behind me and gave my arm a squeeze
. “Isn’t this exciting? Kendall arranged some sort of performance for us! I can’t wait to see what it is! I love live theater!”

I waited until Mom
sat in a chair by Alaina before I spun back on Kendall. “You know she’s gonna kill
me
for this, right? You being young and impressionable, and all. ”

“Probably.
” She nodded as if she had considered the likelihood of that very thing, but failed to see how it involved her. “So you might as well enjoy the show.” The doorbell chimed and her face brightened. “I wonder who that could be? Alaina, why don’t you go get the door?”

Alaina rose
with a smile to do just that. I rushed to corner Grams. “You know this is going to end badly, right?”

“Yep, but it’ll be fun!
”

It seemed there was no stopping the inevitable.
Since I sure as heck couldn’t beat them—though I’d like to—I decided I might as well join them. I glanced down at the little glasses of green
Jell-O
Grams unloaded from her tray and decided that would be as good a place to start as any.

“
Mmm … desserts.” I scooped one up and slurped it down.

“Celeste, no!”
Grams said about five second too late.

“What
is
that, turpentine?” I cringed as it burned its way down my gullet.

Grams cast a guilty glance at my mom and muttered under her breath
. “
Jell-O
shots. Don’t have any more and don’t tell your mother about that one.”

I was
still trying to shake off the grimace caused by
Jell-O
a’ la Grams when a flustered-looking Alaina appeared in the doorway and waved her arm frantically to get my attention.

And so it begins
. I stifled a groan and made my way over to her.

“The local law enforcement is here, an Officer
Python?”

“Oh, that’s classy,
” I snorted.

She talked right over me. Her voice shook with nerves.
“He asked where he should set up. I’m not familiar with this tradition. What’s happening?”

I
made eye contact with Kendall and jerked my head toward the foyer, then laid a comforting hand on Alaina’s shoulder. “This is a somewhat new tradition in which the friends and loved ones of the bride-to-be go out of their way to mortify her.”

Alaina’s milky white skin went ashen
.

“But don’t worry, I’ll be right there with you to help you through it, okay?” I hoped she didn’t notice that the
sour apple battery acid Grams allowed me to drink was already causing my words to come out slightly slurred.

“Everyone take your seats!” Kendall ordered. “It’s
showtime!”

As soon as we were seated the music was cued up.
At the first few strums of
Black Betty
Alaina shot me a nervous glance. I gave her my best reassuring smile and a big thumbs up. Around the arched doorframe swung Officer Python. His fake cop shirt barely contained the rippling muscles beneath. A pair of mirrored glasses hid his eyes. His hat sat low on his forehead. It shielded his face and gave him an air of mystery normally hard to accomplish by someone wearing tear away pants.

Keni
woohoo
ed. Grams let out a loud catcall. Mom finally figured out what was happening, groaned and averted her eyes.

As the open
ing cords of the music thumped Officer Python—
geesh
—sashayed straight for Alaina. He wrapped his bulging arms around her, grabbed the sides of her chair, and dragged her to the center of the room. Alaina squealed and white knuckled her seat. My mom tossed back a
Jell-O
shot and glared at me. I ricocheted that same look to Kendall. She ignored me and carried on clapping her hands over her head.

Right in the blushing bride’s face
the “officer” wiggled his hips in time to the music. Alaina glanced awkwardly around the room, trying to figure out a safe place to look as the good officer tore open his shirt.

“Officer! Your shirt!” Alaina squeaked. “I don’t believe this is protocol!”

Unfortunately for her
he wasn’t listening. He was too busy running his hands over his greased up abs and moving his hips to the rhythm. Grams leapt out of her chair and waved her wad of dollar bills. In one fluid motion, our gyrating “law enforcement” grabbed a fistful of material from his black slacks in each hand and ripped those babies clear off.

“Seems Velcro pants would be incredibly inconvenient when pursuing a suspe
ct,” Alaina’s voice rose an octave with each word. She hid her face behind her hands and peeked through her fingers.

Clad in a
snakeskin Speedo, Officer Python shimmied for all he was worth right in Alaina’s face.

That was her
breaking point. “Celeste!” she shrieked. “I’m scared! Am I under attack?!
Do I slap it?!
”

“
Alrighty, that’s enough.” I rose from my chair, took a moment to let the world stop spinning, and went to my future sister-in-law’s aid. I walked up behind our hardworking entertainer and rested an arm on each greased up bicep. “You’re doing a great job. Really. Top notch.” I shuffled him a few steps over and turned him in Grams direction. “But maybe you could just point that … here.”

He
never missed a beat, as he switched to a much more receptive audience. Behind Grams I saw Mom clap her a hand over Kendall’s eyes. Served her right. She lost her mind when she got the bright idea to plan this. Now she didn’t even get to watch.
Ha-ha
.

Stripper fiasco behind us, I offered a hand to Alaina.
Without a word exchanged we headed straight for the coffee table where we both helped ourselves to a serving of j-e-l-l-o. She was over three hundred, well within legal age. I’m the Chosen One and warrior of the world so I earned one, too. Of course, I turned my back to my mommy in case she disagreed.

Bernard
just
had
to pick that moment to poof in by the door. “Conduit!”

My mother’s blue eyes bulged and she nearly fell off her chair
. “What the heck is in that
Jell-O
? I’m seeing talking lawn ornaments!”

“Well that’s just offensive.
” Bernard crossed his arms and huffed.

I jerked my head in the direction of the other room. Bernard got the message and scurried his little legs out as quick
ly as they could carry him. Duty bound and more than a little tipsy, I followed.

I didn’t realize
Alaina trailed me until Bernard scowled in her direction. “There’s no need for her to be here. She’s no longer a Guide.”

Alaina flinched as if Bernard had slapped her. Despite how thrilled she was for her upcoming wedding I knew she still missed her
supernatural role and the powers that went along with them. She took a step back in retreat, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back by my side.

“But she
is
family.” I peered down at Bernard and blinked hard. For a second there I saw three of him; which was a terrifying image. “Plus, if she goes back in there she’ll be traumatized further by a snake-skinned banana-hammock and I can’t subject her to that.”

Bernard’s eyes narrowed.
He waved his cane and floated up to my eye level. He leaned in close and sniffed my breath. His face instantly set in a frown of disapproval. “You’re drunk!”

“I am not!”
Bad time for a hiccup-burp that reeked of alcohol.

Bernard
wrinkled his nose and waved the smell away with one stubby little hand. He floated back down and stamped his cane against the hardwood floor. “You are the Chosen One! You have to be ready to fight at a moment’s notice! This is unacceptable. I thought your cavalier attitude toward your calling had improved, but clearly I was mistaken.”

“It was a
one-time accidental thing!” I slurred, and then leaned one hand up against the wall. The room suddenly seemed slanted.
Weird
. “And it’s not like I planned this. I was in bed dreaming of terrifying giant bugs and Kendall forced me out of bed to watch a half-naked man wiggle.”

That mental image prompted a
teehee
from Alaina. Her reaction made me laugh and snort in a most un-feminine way, which sent us both into an uncontrollable giggling fit.

Bernard jabbed his cane in my direction.
My laughter died a sudden death. I knew all too well what that stupid little stick could do. “Look at you! You’re a mess! You couldn’t spot a demon right now if it walked right up and ripped your nose off.”

I held up one finger and tried my best to look indignant
as I swayed side to side. “Okay A) I would
totally
notice that. 2) You have no room to talk, you and your little satchel of berries.” Bernard’s mouth fell open in haughty shock.
Jell-O
nerves encouraged me to press on. “That’s right, I know about that! And D) I’m the Conduit.” I spread my arms out wide, as if that provided explanation enough. My argument became less convincing when I had to latch onto Alaina to stop myself from toppling over. “It’s in my blood to find and kill demons. No matter what kind of state I’m in I’m still a lean, mean, demon locating machine!”

“Celeste!”
Kendall screamed. “The stripper’s a demon!
Stripper’s a demon!
”

Bernard folded his arms
. He said nothing, but gave me an easy to decipher told ya so look.

“I had my suspicions,
” I lied. “Nobody’s abs are
that
perfect.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Alaina and I leaned back and peeked into the living room. Everything appeared normal. Music blared and Mom was dancing with the stripper under obnoxious red lights while Kendall and Grams watched. Okay … maybe
normal
isn’t the right word. Disturbing, yet on par for the evening, seems more fitting.

Alaina
cocked her head to the side. “Uh, Celeste? What’s wrong with your mother’s face?”

I squin
ted and tried to focus through my
Jell-O
goggles. My mother’s peaches and cream complexion had been drained chalk white, a bluish hue encircled her formerly rosy lips.

“Why
’s she staring at the stripper like that?” I vocalized the ponderings of my inner monologue.

“If I had to guess,” Bernard
leaned against his cane and rested one hand on top of the other, “I’d say it’s because without the hindrance of his mirrored glasses your exotic dancing demon has the ability to hypnotize his prey and suck the life out of them using nothing more than the power of his stare.”