~ * ~
When I saw Angie at my locker, my worry for her and Becky came flooding back. How do you tell your best friends they’re dating half-demons? You can’t. I just hoped Job and Joshua were a little bit like Nathanael and if not, Angie and Becky would see what jerks they were.
“I hear Nathanael’s home,” she said sweetly.
Just hearing his name me smile. “Yeah.”
She playfully punched me in the arm. “He looks good.”
Peering at her, I asked, “When did you see him?”
“Saturday night at the fire.”
My stomach heaved and I gulped. “The fire?”
“Yeah, Mr. Braxton invited us exclusively, and we stayed up all night drinking. It was fun. I would have invited you, but you’d already made plans with Norma. Besides, Mr. Braxton swore us to secrecy. He said he wanted to get to know us better on a more quaint basis.”
The memory of seeing Nathanael with blood red eyes jammed a shiver up my spine—my stomach tightened.
No! Please no!
“Who was...all there?” I had to concentrate to get the words out without screeching.
She wrapped her arm through mine as we walked to Social. “Mr. Braxton, Nathanael, Job, Joshua, me, Becky, Segra, Mattie, Jocelyn, Jason, Jimmy and Danny.”
Swallowing hard, I said, “Why were Segra and them there?” The battle to stay sane was fading along with my ability to present my normal persona.
Flapping one hand in the air, she stated, “Oh! I have no idea. They weren’t any fun at all.”
My breakfast was threatening to come up. “Why didn’t you call me...?”
She just told you why, idiot, change your story, quickly!
“...um...to tell me Nathanael was home?”
“I figured it would be a surprise.” It came out so casually.
All my friends were part of it. They helped to hurt Nathanael, and she was telling me like it was no big deal, that it was just a regular party. The anger flared almost to the point she was going to get hurt. “I’ve got to go!” I hurried to the bathroom, shoved open one the stall doors and fell on my knees...My breakfast looked like I felt.
~ * ~
As the day progressed, I avoided them as much as possible. It made me mad every time I saw them. Why would they do that and act so nonchalant about it, like it was no big deal?
Toward the end of the day, they called me on it.
“What’s your problem?” Becky shoved me.
Lunging forward, I steadied myself by throwing my hand on the locker. “What are you talking about?” I twisted to confront her.
“You’ve been avoiding us all day.” Angie threw daggers at me with her eyes.
There wasn’t much I could say to them. I went back to what I was doing prior. “I have to go!”
It wasn’t fair to Norma; she didn’t do anything. But, unfortunately, she was always with them. “Why are you acting like that?” she asked.
“Acting like what?” Playing dumb seemed reasonable.
“Like that. What did we do?” Norma was almost crying.
Slamming my locker door, I walked away. “Leave me alone!”
They followed me out the door and once outside, one of them shoved me hard. I stumbled and barely was able to catch myself. We’d had fights before, but they never got physical. It shocked me how quickly it had.
“What are you doing?” I yelled.
“What’s wrong, Saydi? Is it the fact we were with your boyfriend on Saturday night and you weren’t included?” Becky antagonized.
“No, that’s not it at all!” In a way it was, but only because what they were doing to him.
Angie smirked, “Yeah, you were right, Becky, it is about Saturday night and she’s pissed about it.” Her eyes grew dark and her mouth twisted into a sinister grin, giving me a chill. “You weren’t invited, Saydi, because it was a private...party, all for Nathanael.” She threw her head back, laughing, and so did Becky. Norma simply stood there and darted her eyes from me to them.
There was an insinuation in the way Angie said it that had me flinch. “Why are you doing this? Why are you being so horrible?” I turned and ran.
The questions flew through my mind at lightning speed. How could they turn on me so fast? I knew I wasn’t being nice, but to get so physical and mean... Maybe Angie wasn’t insinuating? Maybe it was just my own fear? Could something like that be part of the ritual he chose? No one had told me what was involved with it—the tears burned down my face.
A car rolled up beside me. Not wanting them to taunt me anymore—my heart couldn’t take it—I took off faster and my feet felt light as air as they sped down the street. The wind moved all around but didn’t touch me, and my tears fell as I left the car in the dust.
“Whoa, slow down,” Nathanael said, swinging me around by the arm. “What’s going on? You scared me!” he exclaimed, pulling me into his chest.
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I looked behind him. His car was parked two blocks away and we were already two doors from my house. I looked from his car to the house, then back to the car.
He chuckled. “The car couldn’t go that fast. I had to park it to catch up to you.”
“I ran that?” I asked, incredulous, again looking to the car, then the house.
“Yes, you’re almost as fast as me, but not quite. What happened? You were completely panicked a few minutes ago.”
“The girls...” I shot a look off to the side, almost, but not quite, down to the ground.
He lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “I like seeing your eyes. What happened?”
“What’s involved in that ritual thing?”
“Why? It’s not really something you need to know, nor do I want you to know.”
“Does it involve you having...?” I couldn’t say it.
“Me having...?” He looked at me sideways with big eyes.
“The girls insinuated that you may have done stuff...even with Segra.”
Not denying it, he licked his lips and sighed.
“Nathanael!” I choked out.
There was such a beautiful look on his face when he bundled me up in his arms and fixed his eyes on mine. “No...‘things’ are not part of the ritual. They’re lying to you.”
“Why? It was creepy how mean they got so fast.”
He took a deep breath. “The rituals don’t only affect the person it’s happening to, it affects the deliverers as well.”
“I thought it was supposed to be pure demons only?”
You could tell the way he darted his glance around he didn’t want to talk about, but did, reluctantly. “They were there, you just couldn’t see them. How else would the humans be able to do what they did with the fire? They can’t without help.”
It made no sense. “Why even involve my friends? Why wouldn’t the demons just do it themselves?”
He proceeded with caution. “Because...if they get caught, the humans will be blamed.”
“Then how do you know you didn’t do something with them? Weren’t you being possessed, too?”
The warmth of his lips found mine. “I was in a trance, not possessed, and I was totally aware of everything. If I weren’t, how would I know to summon a deer to get you out of there? I assure you, nothing happened.” And to lighten the mood, he did an elaborate shiver, shaking his whole body. “Eww, Segra. Brrr.”
Even with my smile, it didn’t lighten my mood enough to stop my earlier anger turning to fear when I realized how easily my friends could be influenced. It boiled over. “Nathanael, why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded, thrusting my finger down the block toward the swimming hole.
“Whoa! Where did that come from?”
My face scrunched up, mean-like. “Answer me!”
There was an amused expression on his face as he pointed right at me. “Because, I didn’t know Father had recruited them until that night, and also because you wouldn’t have been able to act normal in front of them.”
“Do they know what you are?” I asked, tromping fast to the house.
He trotted behind. “No, and they didn’t know what they were doing.”
Once inside, I turned on him. “How can they not know the stuff they did to you? Nathanael, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” I blasted, then marched toward the kitchen.
In silence, he closed the front door and followed, staying calm. “Saydi, the power of suggestion... They’re being brainwashed in a way, and after it’s all said and done, a suggestion is given to minimize what they remember. To them it was a private party, with lots of drinking.”
It was obvious my friends could be played like puppets. My anger percolated, not toward them, but toward Nathanael—he knew how it worked and what his dad was capable of. It exploded out of me with a scream. “Why didn’t you stop them? Why? Why did you let them do that?”
The green/blue converted to almost pure black, his face twisted in a grimace and his voice rumbled deep from his throat. “Saydi! If you haven’t noticed...I didn’t have much to say about it, since it was me they were trying to beat down!”
I leaned back against the counter, crossing my arms. “You could have done something!”
He placed one hand on top of the fridge and the other on his hip. Baring down, he talked through his teeth. “You’re not making sense! Think about what you’re saying! How the hell could I do anything?”
There was truth and logic to what he was saying, leaving my mind tripping over itself, struggling desperately to justify my reaction. “You...you...demon!”
Pushing past him, he stumbled back and I marched toward my room.
Nathanael stood in my doorway, blocking me. “You can’t run away from an argument, especially with me.”
“Oh yeah? Watch me!” I grabbed the collar of his shirt and heaved, yanking him behind me, then shoved my door closed. It slammed shut.
He was in the middle of my room with a Cheshire cat grin on his face. “No, you can’t.”
I shook my finger at him. “Stop doing that! You should’ve stopped them!” I lashed out.
Gritting his teeth, he held the bridge of his nose as if I were giving him a headache. “I couldn’t! Be reasonable, will you?”
“Eww...you’re really pissing me off!”
Shooting a look my way, he replied, “And you me!”
“Get out!”
He stood tall and smirked. “Not until you apologize.”
“Apologize? For what?”
“For punching me, pushing me, and blaming me for your friends,” he said, smugly.
I wrinkled my nose. “You sound like a girl—if anyone owes anyone an apology, you do to me!”
“Whoa, ho, ho...Not in your lifetime!”
“Get out!” I spat, mind you, my words didn’t have as much punch to them.
“Is that all you can say?” Something impish flashed across his eyes. “Let’s make this interesting.”
Narrowing mine, I replied, “What?”
“Let’s have your father create a challenge of his choosing, and whoever loses has to apologize and kiss the other person’s feet.”
I was absolutely appalled at the concept. “Eww! I’m not kissing your feet!”
Throwing his finger in my face. “Ah ha! You know you can’t win!”
The idea of the challenge was revolting. I loved him...but kissing his feet made my stomach turn. “Yes, I can win, and I will!!” The second the words were out, I knew there was going to be some feet kissing on my part...sad day for me!
“Then, what’s it going to be? I stay here all night, or the challenge?”
Well, maybe it might turn in my favor. He wasn’t really all that cunning, now was he?
I giggled. “You’re not very smart... I`ll choose you stay here all night.”
He burst out laughing. “I guess that wasn’t the best threat, was it?”
Shaking my head, I giggled again.
“Well, then, it’s the challenge, because as much as I would love to stay here all night...” He tucked me into him and nuzzled into my neck. “Mm. Yes, it would be nice to stay here all night with you...” he cooed. “But we’re not married, so you’ll have to settle for the challenge.”
There was no fire power left in me at all—his yumminess was way too close. “Are you trying to really piss me off?” I uttered quietly.
With his hands around my waist, his breath drifted along my ear. “That, apparently, is what I set out to do today. Yes, it was my ultimate task.” With that, my hand was snatched up and I was being dragged through the kitchen and out to the backyard, where Mom and Dad were so conveniently waiting.
“Okay, we need a challenge, Mr. Gardiner,” Nathanael proclaimed. “I have a dispute to settle with your daughter.”
“Is the lover’s spat over now?” Mom giggled.
Nathanael glanced down at me and smiled. “Not yet, since the little miss here seems to think I owe her an apology, when in reality, it’s she that owes me one,” he tattled all proud, puffing up his chest.
“Don’t do that too hard, you might pull something,” I bugged.
Dad and Mom glanced at each with goofy grins on their faces. Dad rubbed his chin, looking off into the distance. “Well, let’s see... I got it!” he bellowed, making me jump. “Sorry, honey.”
“What do you have for us, sir?” Nathanael was having way too much fun.
“Come this way.” Dad motioned with his index finger for us to follow. “The one who can create the highest wave will win.”