The Mephisto Covenant (6 page)

“She hasn’t done anything except tell you to lay off of her dad. Go take your meds and shut up.” He glanced at Sasha, then looked at the pile of clothes, books, and toiletries on the floor.

His small eyes ended up at his wife. “Either treat her right, or I’ll make that call so fast, your head will spin.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Don’t kid yourself. I’ll make sure they lock you up and throw away the key.”

Looking as if she might explode, Melanie stormed out of the room, shoving Tim aside as she went.

Sasha was curious who Tim could threaten to call that would freak Melanie out enough that she would lay off and leave the room. A doctor? A hospital for psychos?

After giving her a slight nod, Tim turned and left as well.

Alone again, she closed the door and began picking up her things. When she was done putting her stuff away, she slumped into an old wooden chair in front of a small desk and stared at the ugly wallpaper. She’d known it would be hard to live with Dad’s sister, but the reality was so much worse. Intuitively, she knew it wouldn’t get better, that Melanie was never going to accept her, much less like her. The best thing to do was avoid her, as much as possible.

Reaching for her backpack, she pulled her laptop out, powered up, and signed onto the Internet. Her habit was to hit Facebook first, but she avoided it for now. Seeing everyone’s status was bound to bum her out, and she didn’t want to read about the Ravens. They were probably all anyone was talking about. She wondered if anyone was talking about her, about why she hadn’t shown up at school today.

Probably not. Her best friend, Marley, had moved to Portland almost a year ago, right after her dad had died, and after that, she hadn’t really hung out with anybody in particular. She ran with the cool kids at St. Michael’s, but always just as part of the group. After her father’s murder, it took her a while to realize she didn’t see things the same way anymore. The endless talk about music and clothes and who said what and who lost the V and who was smoking weed in the parking lot seemed really pointless after Dad was shot.

But she wasn’t a loner, so she stuck with the group of kids she’d known her whole life, mostly out of habit. Which was why, she guessed, she’d taken the risk of going to the Ravens’ meeting last night. It was ironic that they weren’t there to rat her out, but it didn’t matter because neither was she.

Shaking off thoughts of St. Michael’s, she went to Google and typed in “Anabo,” just to see what came up. There were lots of hits, but nothing related to descendants of Aurora. She typed in “Aurora” and “Eve” and hit thousands of sites, most of which were escort services and porn outlets. Then she added “biblical” and “Eden” to the search, and found a Princeton grad student’s thesis on the story of Aurora, a daughter born of Eve before she fell from grace. In his footnotes, he cited a book by a guy named Giardna, a Renaissance man who spent his life writing about biblical characters no one had ever heard of, including Aurora, the daughter of Eve. He died penniless and unknown, until someone named Bennington found his papers and published them in England in 1853. So Anabo wasn’t real, but the ide
a existed, and that must be
where Alex got it. He’d picked it up and claimed it was true, then made up the mysterious Eryx and got a bunch of wrongheaded kids to follow along, like a cult. She wondered why. Was he a twisted, sick pervert? Why did a grown man start a secret club with a bunch of high school kids?

She shuddered, remembering their rage, the hate, the violence of the stones coming at her, over and over.

Closing her laptop, she stretched out on the closest twin bed and stared up at the ceiling. She’d never felt so alone. The enormity of it all hit her hard, dissolving her numb cocoon. Turning to her side, she gave up trying not to cry.

“How’d it go? Did you find her? Was Brody right about the Shrivers?”

Jax walked into the TV room and plopped down to the leather couch. “Yeah, he was right, and yes, I found her.”

“Then why do you sound so bummed out?” Phoenix gave him a look. “Did you talk to her?”

“No, because she didn’t see me. I went to the house where she’s living with her aunt and uncle and checked it out.”

Phoenix sat up and turned toward him. “You better be real careful, Jax. If she ever finds out, she’ll hate you for being an invisible creeper who spies on her when she’s alone.”

“I won’t do it again, but I had to see if she’s all right after what happened last night.” “And?”

He looked toward the gigantic television, at the guys on Sports Center. “She cried. A lot.”

“Girls cry a lot. Get used to it.” “Did Jane cry a lot?” “More than I thought po
ssible, for random reasons, not
always because she was sad.” “I’m pretty sure Sasha crie
d because she’s sad.” The sound
of her crying made him feel very weird. “I was hanging around outside, looking for any sign of her, when Tim Shriver pulled up and there she was, in the car with him.” He told Phoenix everything, including what Melanie had said about Sasha’s mom being deported.

“That’s why she moved in such a hurry.” Phoenix turned down the volume on the TV. “No wonder she cried.”

“You’re not gonna believe this, but her aunt and one of the cousins are lost souls.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He leaned his head back and studied the Greek key design carved into the crown molding. “After I left Sasha, I went all over Telluride, looking for more. I found two at the coffeehouse, both kids.” He closed his eyes. “I hit pay dirt in the bookshop.”

“You found the Skia?” “He’s a teacher at the high school.”

“Damn.” Phoenix leaned back again, quiet and thoughtful for a while before he said, “Right in our own backyard. How’d we miss it?”

“I asked Key to check dates, and he found out the Skia has been here since the start of the school year, but he got his first pledge, which was Melanie Shriver, about two weeks ago. His second was Sasha’s cousin, Brett. The kid’s not a good student, so his chances of getting into any college are zilch. After he pledged, he was accepted at Colorado in Boulder.” He glanced at Phoenix. “He also won a sweepstakes and used the money to buy a Hummer.”

“He pledged his soul for college and a freakin’ car?”

“M says he resisted, but Eryx wanted him to be first because he’s the most popular kid at Telluride. The Skia went for his mother, and after she pledged, she talked the kid into it.”

“So much for maternal love.” Phoenix sighed. “What about the others?”

“Right now, there are two, a guy who’s friends with the Shriver kid, and his girlfriend. From what I could see at the coffeehouse, these aren’t outsider nerdy kids like the cell we found in San Francisco.”

“Eryx learned a lesson from that. To entice others, he needs the most popular kids to pledge first.”

“I guess this is his newest strategy, suckering young people into following him.”

“I’m only surprised he didn’t do it sooner.”

Jax wished he could focus on something else, but the sound of Sasha’s crying was stuck in his head, all mixed up with the horrible things her aunt had said to her. Not that he was surprised. Melanie Shriver couldn’t help being a bitch. Lost souls took a long time to learn how to manage their resentment toward people who still had control of their lives—their souls. They acted out, were mean and hateful, and frequently became violent. If they managed to avoid capture by the Mephisto and stayed out of Hell on Earth long enough, they eventually figured out they could win a lot more souls for Eryx if they weren’t total assholes. But in the first year or so of a lost soul’s new reality of belonging to Eryx, they were generally horrible people.

“Don’t sweat it too much, Jax. We’ll start first thing in the morning on reconnaissance, and I’ll have a plan to take them down within a couple of days. Once her aunt and cousin are out of the picture, Sasha won’t be so unhappy.”

“That’ll help, but I can’t lie, Phoenix. I have no idea how to do this or what to say to her.”

“Well, there’s the direct approach, but you run the risk of her tellin
g you to leave her alone. Hard
to get a girl to like you if you can’t come near her. I think you should hang out where she does and try to act like a normal guy. Get to know her on her own terms, and maybe tell her bits and pieces as you go, sort of ease into it.”

“She’s curious, at least. She was Googling Anabo before she started crying.”

“Did she find Bennington’s book?”

“No, but I did and left it on her computer. She’ll see it when she wakes up.” He rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t slept at all last night. “I guess what’s freaking me out most is that I have one shot. If it doesn’t work, if she decides she can’t stand me, that’s it. Game over.”

“Just go slow, and try to be patient.”

“Hard to be patient when she’s living with two lost souls. I’m scared shitless they’ll find out she’s Anabo and tell the Skia, who’ll take her to Eryx immediately.”

“We’ll work as fast as we can to get rid of them. In the meantime, no matter how hard it is to resist, don’t sleep with her. Don’t mark her before she’s all in and f— it up like I did.”

It had been over one hundred years since Phoenix had found Jane, only to lose her when Eryx kidnapped her, then waited until they arrived to rescue her and killed her while they watched. Phoenix went crazy, eaten up with grief and guilt. They didn’t know exactly how things worked with the Anabo, because they’d never found one before, so it was a huge surprise when they all suddenly sensed Jane, just as they sensed one another. Even if the six of them were thousands of miles apart, they knew exactly where the other Mephisto were located. Phoenix told them he’d slept with Jane, which was how they figured out the correlation between sex with an Anabo and the sensing mark.

Unfortunately, they also shared that same sense with Eryx, so by the time they realized that if they could feel it, so could Eryx,
it was too late. He came to London to see why he sensed someone other than his younger brothers, and found Jane. He couldn’t allow her to stay with Phoenix and eventually become Mephisto, or give birth to children who would grow up to be Mephisto, so he killed her. Phoenix still grieved and lived with constant guilt.

They watched football for a while, until Phoenix said in a dead voice, “You have to protect her from something she doesn’t know exists, and at the same time convince her to love you. You’re going to get to a point when you believe having sex with her will seal the deal, but it won’t, Jax. She won’t look at it like you do, and all you’ll be left with is a marked woman who has no choice but to come here, the only place she can be safe from Eryx. Never forget, even if she’s forced to live here on the mountain so Eryx can’t find her, she doesn’t have to become Mephisto. She doesn’t have to accept you, even if she carries your mark. She could become a Lumina and marry one of them. Think about that more than you think about getting her naked.”

“Thanks for the advice, bro, but you’re way ahead of me. First, I have to figure out how to meet her.”

three

her cell phone woke her up. tim was calling from
downstairs, she guessed because it was hard for him to climb the stairs.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.” What time was it? She sat up and looked across the room. Hadn’t she closed her laptop?

“Come on down for supper. Mel’s cooking steaks.”

Her stomach growled, and her mouth watered. She decided she might as well get it over with now. It wasn’t like she could completely avoid Melanie, living in the same house. “I’ll be right there.”

Ending the call, she got up and went to the computer, rubbing sleep from her eyes while squinting at the screen. She hadn’t pulled up this Web site. It was a pdf file, pages from a book. The one compiled by Bennington.

Staring at the screen, wigging out because she had no idea how the pdf file had gotten there, a few of the lines popped out at her. Aurora left Eden, God sent her a mate of pure spirit, and a line of descendants began, the Anabo, people of light, and theirs was perfect and harmonious, a nation as God intended. She paged down and read more. Lucifer sent his minion, Mephistopheles, to insinuate evil into the hearts of the Anabo, as he had done in Eden. The mightiest escaped his influence and scattered across the Earth to bear the fruit of their light. And so it followed, they would be known by the mark of Aurora, a sunburst of the Alpha, the beginning as God planned when he created the world and man in his own image.

Stepping back, she rubbed the rest of the sleep from her eyes and wondered all over again how that file had come to be on her screen. Maybe it was somehow attached to the Princeton guy’s thesis paper and had opened automatically. That had to be it. How else could it be there?

All the way down the stairs, she thought about her birthmark, an elaborate, swirly A, very tiny, with a sunburst around it . . . the mark of Aurora, a sunburst of the Alpha.

For the first time, she wondered if Anabo was real.

She took her place at the table, an oak oval in the kitchen, and noticed everything was clean. No dirty dishes, no M&M’s on the floor. Melanie didn’t speak, never looked at her as she

scurried around, setting a bowl of English peas and a basket of rolls next to Tim’s plate. He reached for one, buttered it sloppily, then shoved half of it into his mouth.

Melanie finally landed, eyes averted, looking into the family room toward the stairs. “I hope they come soon. Brett doesn’t like his food to be cold.”

Amazing. She was worried Brett would be unhappy with cold food, even though it was his own fault if he didn’t come when it was ready. Sasha stared at her aunt, trying to make some connection between her father and this psycho woman. How could siblings be so from each other?

The doorbell rang, and Melanie popped up to get it. Moments later, she reappeared, a dark-haired man just behind her. Hands clasped in front of her, cheeks pink, eyes bright and lively, she was like a different woman.

Sasha stared, wondering what was up. “Tim, look who’s come to join us for dinner!” Tim glanced up, barely nodded, then reached for another roll. Melanie waved the man towa
rd the chair next to Sasha, but
he hesitated. His dark eyes narrowed slightly, like he was checking her out. She shivered and looked away.

“Sasha,” Melanie said breathlessly, smiling like she would if Santa Claus had come for supper, “this is Emil Bruno, Brett’s history teacher.”

Mr. Bruno moved closer, skirting the table to walk behind her, coming to stand just to her right. He was scary. Not violent scary—something darker, more sinister. Like Alex.

Her whole body was covered in goose bumps.

He took the chair and sat down, entirely too close for comfort. Out of nowhere, completely unbidden, the Lord’s Prayer began in her head. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. It freaked her out almost as much as this dark man sitting next to her. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven.

She startled when he said in a smooth, silky voice, laced with the underpinning of an accent, “It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Sasha. What a delightful name. I once knew a Sasha. She was almost as beautiful as you, but dark-haired, and older.”

A flatterer, just like Alex. He was always telling her she was beautiful, bright, and talented. He’d look at her sketches, because Mom showed them to him, and go on about how brilliant she was. She knew it was all fake. She never understood why her mom couldn’t see through his BS. Evidently, it wasn’t until he started pressuring her to hand over the stuff in the lockbox that she told him to get lost.

Melanie said in a hushed voice, “Sasha’s mother was deported back to Russia, and Sasha wasn’t allowed to go with her, so we’re stuck with her until—”

“That’s enough,” Tim said. “It’s no one’s business why Sasha is with us, and we’re not stuck with her. She’s our guest. Family. Back off.”

Melanie smiled at Mr. Bruno. “As I was saying, that’s why Sasha is staying with us. She has no other family.”

“Family is all around,” Mr. Bruno said. “The world is our family. Friends are our family. Don’t you feel friends are one of life’s most important elements, Sasha?”

“Yes,” she murmured, trying desperately not to look at him, not to meet his eyes.

Tim said, “We’re out of rolls,” and Melanie hopped up to fetch more. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Brett and Chris were on their way.

Incredibly, Sasha was glad. Anything to take Mr. Bruno’s focus off of her. Every muscle in her body was tensed, ready to catapult her out of her chair, away from this scary man. “Hey, Mr. Bruno!” Brett was clearly glad to see his teacher.

Chris was less vocal. “Hey,” he said, jerking his chin up before he focused on the table. Sitting down, he reached for a baked potato.

Tim ate another roll.

Sasha watched Melanie deliver a fat, juicy steak to Brett’s plate. He cut into it and scowled. “It’s too done, Mom. You know I hate my meat too done.” He speared it with his fork and tossed it to the floor.

Staring, Sasha was shocked.

Melanie went to the stove and clucked while she set about preparing another steak, occasionally mumbling apologies. Un-freaking-believable! After Brett’s second steak went under scary—something darker, more sinister. Like Alex.

Her whole body was covered in goose bumps.

He took the chair and sat down, entirely too close for comfort. Out of nowhere, completely unbidden, the Lord’s Prayer began in her head. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. It freaked her out almost as much as this dark man sitting next to her. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven.

She startled when he said in a smooth, silky voice, laced with the underpinning of an accent, “It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Sasha. What a delightful name. I once knew a Sasha. She was almost as beautiful as you, but dark-haired, and older.”

A flatterer, just like Alex. He was always telling her she was beautiful, bright, and talented. He’d look at her sketches, because Mom showed them to him, and go on about how brilliant she was. She knew it was all fake. She never understood why her mom couldn’t see through his BS. Evidently, it wasn’t until he started pressuring her to hand over the stuff in the lockbox that she told him to get lost.

Melanie said in a hushed voice, “Sasha’s mother was deported back to Russia, and Sasha wasn’t allowed to go with her, so we’re stuck with her until—”

“That’s enough,” Tim said. “It’s no one’s business why Sasha is with us, and we’re not stuck with her. She’s our guest. Family. Back off.”

Melanie smiled at Mr. Bruno. “As I was saying, that’s why Sasha is staying with us. She has no other family.”

“Family is all around,” Mr. Bruno said. “The world is our family. Friends are our family. Don’t you feel friends are one of life’s most important elements, Sasha?”

“Yes,” she murmured, trying desperately not to look at him, not to meet his eyes.

Tim said, “We’re out of rolls,” and Melanie hopped up to fetch more. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Brett and Chris were on their way.

Incredibly, Sasha was glad. Anything to take Mr. Bruno’s focus off of her. Every muscle in her body was tensed, ready to catapult her out of her chair, away from this scary man. “Hey, Mr. Bruno!” Brett was clearly glad to see his teacher.

Chris was less vocal. “Hey,” he said, jerking his chin up before he focused on the table. Sitting down, he reached for a baked potato.

Tim ate another roll.

Sasha watched Melanie deliver a fat, juicy steak to Brett’s plate. He cut into it and scowled. “It’s too done, Mom. You know I hate my meat too done.” He speared it with his fork and tossed it to the floor.

Staring, Sasha was shocked.

Melanie went to the stove and clucked while she set about preparing another steak, occasionally mumbling apologies. Un-freaking-believable! After Brett’s second steak went under Mr. Bruno appeared unaffected by the tension and ugly words, continuing to eat as if nothing was wrong. Brett devoured his dinner, also oblivious. Chris didn’t eat all of his food before he shoved back from the table, got up, and left.

Sasha hurriedly finished the rest of her peas, then scooted her chair back and excused herself.

“Melanie,” Mr. Bruno said, “surely you can find something more for her to eat? We can’t have our new student fainting from hunger, can we?”

“Would you like some flaxseed cereal?” Melanie offered, halfheartedly.

Yeah, and maybe a side of dirt to go with it. “No, thank you.”

“It was a great pleasure to meet you, Sasha, and I look forward to getting to know you better. I take special pride in my friendships with my students. It’s the whole reason I organized the Ravens.”

. . . but deliver us from evil.