A Girl's Guide to Demon Hunting (26 page)

Chapter 52
Tip 957: The greatest weapon you will ever have is your brain. Use it.

    “Allie, come on, get up. We’re going to be late.”
    Groaning, I rolled over and pulled the warm blanket over my head. Why mom insisted on leaving at the buttcrack of dawn I have no idea.
    “Allie... your chocolate muffin is getting cold.”
    Throwing my blanket off, I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Mom was obviously playing dirty this morning if she was bringing out the chocolate muffins. It was usually fruit and cereal; in fact she never let me have chocolate before lunch.
    Getting out of bed I had the feeling that something wasn’t right and found myself inspecting the small bedroom: white whicker furniture, pale yellow walls, my suitcases packed and waiting by the door. Nope, all was well. Everything was just as I’d left it last night.
    Pushing the feeling away I grabbed the pile of clothes I set out last night and went into the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and changing into white jean shorts and a light pink T-shirt, I slipped my feet into a pair of white flip-flops. I admired my bubble-gum pink toenails for a moment and then grabbed my hairbrush.
     Running the brush through my long light brown hair, I had a fleeting thought that I should think of dying it...maybe something a little more daring. Blue? Putting my hair in a ponytail, I swiped on some bright pink gloss and packed everything in my flowered makeup bag. Going back into my bedroom I put the make-up bag in my suitcase and lugged both of them down the stairs and set them by the front door.
    The smell of warm chocolate drifted in the air. My stomach growled and I prepared the giant thank you speech I was going to deliver to mom as I walked through the living room and into the kitchen. I sat down at the old wooden kitchen table in front of a giant chocolate muffin that was sitting on a little purple plate. A big glass of chocolate milk was placed next to the plate and I looked up to see mom, a cup of coffee in her hand, sit across from me.
     I gave her a suspicious look as she took a sip of coffee. She didn’t look any different: her shoulder length black hair was held away from her face with a thin blue headband. She was dressed like me in a peach polo shirt and jeans; I’d bet money that her feet were clad in her favorite brown leather flip-flops.
    “Eat up.” She said, putting the coffee cup down on the table and giving me a small smile.
    “What’s with the chocolate before noon?” I asked, not quite sure why I wasn’t already digging in.
    “I don’t know, just thought it would be nice for you to get what you wanted for a change.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders.
    Giving her a bright smile I grabbed the still warm muffin. My mouth watering, I took a big bite. My stomach rolled as the muffin tasted of strong copper in my mouth. Unable to help myself, I spit it out and saw blood ooze onto the plate.
    “What’s wrong?” Mom asked as I reached for the glass of milk.
    Unable to speak, afraid I’d throw up, I picked up the glass of milk. The sour smell of curdled milk reached me and I put it back on the table. This time my stomach began to dry heave and I slipped out of my chair to land on my knees. Mom jumped out of her chair and knelt next to me, her warm hand rubbing my back. 
     “Allie? Honey, what’s wrong?”
     Through watering eyes I looked into her beautiful face and I knew exactly what was wrong.
    “You always called me Alise.” I whispered to her.

Chapter 53
"Love is never taken, it's can be only freely given."

             
             
             
             
             
             
             
                                  
-Father Henry
    I woke to find someone smacking me across the face.
    “Okay…I’m awake.” I said, or at least I hoped I was ‘cause that was the worst dream ever.
    A girl sat right in front of me and despite the dirty snarled hair and bruises I recognized her immediately. And why not? I’d been searching for her for days.
    “Julie.” I said with a smile. “You’re okay.”
    “Hardly.” She said, giving me an exasperated look before asking, “What kind of whammy did Mateo put on you?”
    “What?” I asked, confused.
    The last thing I remembered was the gala, the fight, Camilla killing Peaches. Then Julie with the halos. Then…I was here.
    “I must have gotten knocked out at the gala.”
    “No, you were wide awake when Mateo brought you in. You’ve been here for hours just staring off into space and drooling. Which you really should clean up by the way.”
    Wiping the back of my hand across my chin, I found she was right. While I tried to collect my thoughts I looked around the room: the walls, floor and ceiling looked to be made of concrete. Across from us was a metal sink and toilet attached to the wall. A small cot was to my left.
    “I’m Allie.” I mumbled as Julie moved to sit next to me.
    “Under normal circumstance I'd say nice to meet you, but since you're
here
, I'll refrain. Plus the Psycho-Beauty Queen and Mateo were all smiles when you were dumped here, which I figure is extra bad. I’m thinking they’re having some nasty celebratory sex right now.” She said.
    “Huh?” I asked, way too confused. Again.
    “From what I gather she’s been looking for you. You must be important.”
    “Trust me I’m not. Who exactly is this Psycho-Beauty Queen?”
    “Yeah, well that’s what I call her since she didn’t introduce herself. Tall, dark hair, freaky pretty?” My stomach sank at her description.
    “Does she wear a charm bracelet?” I asked.
    “A gold one with a red poppy and half a friendship heart.” She answered.
    “Her name’s Camilla.”
    “Really? Cause Psycho Beauty Queen is way better. I’ve started just thinking of her as PBQ.”
    I felt a smile pull at my lips as I stretched my legs out in front of me, crossing them at the ankles. My legs and arms were covered in small scratches and bruises. I was distantly aware that I should be feeling more pain than I was but really a little numbness seemed the least of my problems.
    “You said Mateo did the whammy...what did you mean?” I asked turning to look at her.
    At my question her face paled and she turned to examine her nails.
    In a small voice she said, “He did it to me, when I first got here. It was like I was living a dream; a really awesome dream where I had a perfect life. It was like everything I’d ever wanted had finally came true. I’m not as strong as you, it was a full day before I was able to pull myself out.”
    He’d done it, somehow Mateo had found out what I wanted more than anything and used his power to give it to me. I replayed the dream again in my mind and I realized Julie was right, I’d known something was wrong almost from the beginning. This provided little comfort as Mateo now knew what I wanted more than anything in the world. At least now I knew he knew and I also knew I could spot the fake if I had to. I just had to be strong enough to look for it.
    “How did he know what you wanted?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. I’m thinking it was PBQ.”   
    “Was anyone else brought in with me?” I asked, thinking of the others.
    “No, I heard Mateo tell her the rest got away.” I smiled at that.
    “So I’m guessing this whole get captured thing wasn’t part of the plan?” Julie asked.
    I pushed away the worry over my dream and remembered why I was really here.
    “Let’s just call it Plan B.” I told her with a smile. “Oh…I have something for you.” I dug into my bra for her wedding ring.
    “Um…here.” I said, holding it out in my palm.
    “Please tell me that isn’t my wedding ring.” Julie said, snatching it from my hand.  
    Holding it to the light, I saw tears gather in her eyes.
    “I-I thought you’d be happy. Please don’t cry.” I said, trying to put her at ease.
    “I’m not going to cry, damn it...I’m pissed you put my wedding ring in your bra. Who does that?”
    Dumbfounded I sat on the floor while she lapped the room, muttering to herself as she fidgeted with the ring. Julie was nothing like I expected.
    After the thirtieth lap I finally had to ask, “How exactly did you and Nick meet?”
    “Blind date. Sam set us up, it was love at first sight.”
    “Really?” I asked.
    “No! Of course not Feelings Girl. I bet you read all those crap romance novels too. I thought he was an uppity snob and he thought I had the mouth of a sailor. I was wrong, he was right.” She said, slipping her ring in the pocket of her jeans. “We went out on one date and over dinner we found out we had a few things in common. He asked me out again and I said yes and we’ve been together ever since."
    “You’ve seen him?” she asked expectantly.
    “Yeah, he’s okay other than being scared out of his mind for you.”
    “I’m going to have to talk to him about this hero stuff, he kind of sucks at it.” She said.
    “He would’ve been here but Max wouldn’t allow it. He had Nick, his parents and the rest of the Guardians drugged.” I told her.
    “That sounds like Max. He about had a stroke when I took Nick parasailing. I’m totally not looking forward to his wrath when I get out of here.” Seeing my confused look she explained. “I was supposed to meet up with Max before I drove to Nevada. We weren’t even supposed to go to Vegas. Max said he would only support us if we went to Reno. I’ll never tell him but I really should have listened.”
    I bit back the urge to tell her I wished she’d listened to Max too, instead I asked “How did they know about you and Nick, that he's part of the royal family?”
    “PBQ didn’t, at least not as far as I can tell.” She said.
    “Then why you?”
    She took a while to answer and I had the feeling she was trying to decide if she could trust me. Unlike Max and Nick, she decided she could. “Have you ever heard of the Gate Keeper?”
    “That’s nothing more than a legend...right?” I asked.
    “Really? You’re a being with super human strength and speed that is a descendant of a Fallen Angel and battles Demons and you doubt that I can open a door and move through space.”
    “Julie, Gate Keepers haven’t been seen since the first generation of Guardians."
    "Yeah, when they were slaughtered by humans. Allie we've been here all along, in every generation three of us are born. We just don't tell anyone, for this exact reason. Could you imagine if a Demon got my power? They would be able to go anywhere at anytime."
    "So why hasn't she killed you all ready and why didn't you make your magic door appear, leading you to any place on earth, why haven’t you used it to get out of here?” I said, unable to hide my sarcasm. 
    “I've no idea why she hasn't killed me yet and trust me I've tried to access my door. But I can't thanks to these, jerk-hole.” Extending her arms she pulled up the sleeves of her coat.
    I ignored her insult as I examined the cuffs on her wrists. They looked like the ones Max had used on me. If Peter had been able to get mine off easily, I should be able to do the same. I turned her hands, looking for a clasp or lock but there was nothing but solid metal. 
    Looking closer I was just barely able to make out a small engraving. I felt my heart slow as I made out the faded marking of a sun and moon. I had the creepy sense of deja vu for a second but in a flash it was gone. I wanted to stare at the symbol; maybe then I would remember where I’d seen it before but there was no time. I needed to get her out before Mateo and Camilla came back and decided which one of us they no longer needed.  

Chapter 54

Tip 21:  Never ever give up.

    “You’re sure this will work?” Julie asked, taking her coat off, she tore the lining out, handing me both.
    I ripped a small strip of cloth from the lining and tied it around my wrist.
    “Not even a little sure. It’s worth a try and there’s still Plan B.” I said, wrapping the coat around my hand.
    “Plan B?”
    “If things go bad and a Demon named Peter shows up, trust him. He’ll get you to some friends of mine.”
    “A Guardian telling me to trust a Demon. This can’t get any stranger.”
    “You haven’t even begun to see strange.”
    It took three tries with my padded hand but the mirror finally shattered. I handed her coat back and carefully pried two of the larger shards out, putting one on the edge of the sink and handing her the other one, which she slipped into the back pocket of her jeans.
    “Remember, get your door open and keep running. I’ll be right behind you.” I said.
Julie stood against the wall closest to the door. “Just don’t let me die; I had big plans for my wedding night.”
    “Yeah, ‘cause that’s what I’m worried about...you getting your freak on.” I said. Walking to the middle of the room, I stood in front of her. 
    “How are you going to even get these off?” she asked.
    “You’ll see. Just keep your shield tight and don’t freak out.” Who was I kidding? I had no idea if it was going to work. “Whatever happens, just get your door open.”
    I had serious doubts that Mateo and Camilla wouldn’t feel me using my power, especially the amount it was going to take to get these off her. Julie worried her bottom lip; I could see her bravado slipping and fear creep over her.
    “I don’t like this, I think we should wait for the cavalry. What if it doesn’t work and they hurt you? This feels wrong.”
    In that moment I saw the real Julie and I felt a little bit of hope for the future of the Guardians. The fear wasn’t for herself but for me. There weren’t many on this earth like that. The chances of me making it out of here alive were close to zero but it’d be worth it if she did. She’d make a good Queen, someone who would put the needs of the Guardians above her own. I knew why Nick liked her so much, I only hoped she’d like me once she saw what I could do.
    “Julie?” I said, “I
am
the cavalry. Besides, someone is coming for me.” I told her, thinking of Peter.
    All he’d find was my bloody body but at least I wouldn’t be left here to rot.
    Pulling hard on my power, I felt a rush as it flooded me. I quickly wrapped my hands around the cuffs and directed my power into them. Julie tried to jerk away but at my glare she stood still. I pushed the image of her fear from my mind and began to squeeze the cuffs.
    Sweat dripped down my back when I felt the first cracks in the metal. With a few more pulses of my power the cracks grew until I was able to pull them off her.
    I stumbled back as exhaustion rolled through me. How did Peter make it look so effortless? Julie, her eyes wide with fear, hadn’t moved.
    “Your door! Now!” I yelled, knowing our window was already closing. Getting no response, I took a step towards her. The sound of running footsteps came from the other side of the door and I turned my back on her to face the incoming threat.
    The door was thrown open and Mateo came running in, straight for me. I caught sight of Camilla hesitating in the doorway before I was knocked to the ground. All my attention was turned to Mateo as he pinned me to the ground, a nasty smile spreading across his face as his power began to roll off him in waves. I began to struggle as his power leached into my skin, a thick black oil infecting me as it came. I concentrated on the feel of his hands squeezing my wrists, the cold hard floor on my back, the musky scent of his cologne as he leaned close to me.
    Pulling hard on my power I pushed against his hold and was able to get a hand free. With little room to move, I did the best I could with what was available; I grabbed his ear and yanked as hard as I could. He reared back to escape the pain, releasing my other wrist in the process. Letting go of him I scrambled to my feet.
    Free of him and his power, I pulled hard on mine and went on the attack. He dodged my first punch and lashed out with a kick that sent me flying across the room. In the last second, I raised my arms to protect my head and slammed hard into the sink. My arms took most of the impact but it still hurt like a bitch. The sharp burning pain of broken ribs filled me (really? My ribs again??) as I landed on my back on the floor. Taking short shallow breaths, I used the edge of the sink to pull myself to my feet and at the same time wrapped my hand around the shard of broken mirror.
    Turning to face Mateo, I saw that he’d shed his human form. Grey skin, black teeth, his eyes burning red, his wings curled around his shoulders like a cape. Really, would they never learn? Pushing away from the sink, I managed to take a few unsteady steps until I fell to my knees.
    Bracing my fall with my hands, I lowered my head and tried not to puke as the pain in my side shot throughout my whole body. I looked towards Julie who, just like we’d planned, had stayed in the corner of the room. She had her back to us and I could just make out the twitch of her hand as she concentrated on pulling her power.
    I turned my attention back to the plan. I hunched over further, shielding my quick movements from Mateo and used the shard of mirror to cut the cloth off my wrist. Holding it and the mirror in the same hand I gritted my teeth against the pain as I made a deep cut in my other palm. Curling it into a fist, I held it close to my side as I slowly got to my feet and walked across the room to Mateo.
    “You can’t possibly think you’re going to live?” he asked.
    “Not really.” I said honestly. “But really does it matter? When this is so much more fun?” I asked and directed my power into my hand.
    “Fun?” he asked, giving me a confused look.
    “Yeah, I kinda think winning is fun.” I said as I felt the burn of the cloth catching fire.
    With a smile I opened my hand and let the burning cloth drop into the puddle of blood I’d created. Instantly flames leapt between us, making him jump back. There was a loud whoosh as the fire traveled the length of the room, creating a wall between Julie and the rest of us.
    “You moron, you’re on the wrong side!” Julie shouted to me.
    Standing up I looked at her through the growing flames and giving her a bright smile I turned my back on her to face Camilla.
    She was still in the doorway, a cold look on that beautiful face. Dressed in a white suit, her dark hair hung in loose curls down her back. Nice she found time for a costume change after the gala.
    “Well, aren’t you just the little hero.” She said. “Not that it’ll make a difference, I don’t need her now that I’ve got you.”
    “You know, maybe we should change your name to Stupid Psycho-Beauty Queen,” I said, “‘cause really, what are you going to do, take some of my darkness? That’s all I’ve got to offer lady.”
    "I’m not interested in your power dear; I want something else. Something much more valuable. But I made a promise to let Mateo have his fun first.” She said with a small shrug.
    Oh crap. I’d somehow totally forgotten about Mateo.  Spinning around I found him standing right behind me, a manic evil grin on his face. In one smooth motion he punched me hard in the stomach.
    I hit my knees hard as I bent at the waist, trying to drag air into my lungs. Before I could even get a breath, he grabbed my hair and wrenched my head back.
    “I can make it go away Allie. Why don’t you let me?” he said, his voice filled with fake concern.
   
    “Go to Hell.” I gasped through the pain.
    “Been there, done that.” He said in a sing song voice and with a hand around my throat, picked me up so I was eye level with him.
    “But you haven’t, have you? I could give you a taste.”
    His power swirled around us like a thick wall of smoke, blocking us from the rest of the room. I struggled against his hold, pulling at his hand on my throat. A blackened smile stretched across his hideous face a second before he spun me around until he was standing behind me, one arm wrapped around my arms, pinning them to my sides and the other still around my throat.
    Facing the dark smoke of his power, I heard a low whimper come from my throat as shadows moved within the smoke. I stood frozen in fear as the dark smoke parted like a curtain and mom stood there. She looked thinner, her face pale and drawn.
    “Allie, I’m so scared. So alone. Don’t you want to be with me? With your father? He misses you.” She pleaded.
    “You’re not real.” I said, my voice thick with unshed tears.
    At my words she folded in on herself as if I’d hit her. Silent tears began to fall, making wet tracks down her face as she came to stand directly in front of me.
    “Just three little words.” He growled next to my ear and his power grew thicker around us.
    At the same time I smelled the familiar scent of mom’s apple blossom perfume and the warmth of her lips as she placed a single kiss on my forehead. My resolve crumbled at her touch and my power fell quiet.
    “Say it.” He whispered. 
    I opened my mouth to say the words when a power unlike anything I’d ever felt charged the air around us. It was so strong sparks of white light broke through the darkness of Mateo’s power and the image of my mom faded.
Julie
I thought and snapping my mouth closed I pulled hard on my power. No way was I giving up now.
    I kicked my legs back, jamming the heels directly into his knees. He let go of me out of reflex and I dropped to the ground. Without pausing I braced both hands on the ground and used the same move on him again, kicking out with both feet, this time feeling his knees snap completely backwards.
    Pivoting on my hands and spinning around to my feet, I faced Mateo as his power faded and struck him hard with both palms, watching as he fell back hard. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Julie’s door shutting as she closed it behind her. I turned back to Mateo.
    “Three little words, Mateo.” I said, rolling him onto his stomach and placing my feet on either side, “Go to Hell.”
    I grabbed the base of his right wing and yanked as hard as I could. His high pitched screams filled the room as I ripped the wing from his back. Stumbling back, I dropped his wing to the ground as his blood surrounded him in a quickly growing puddle.
    I figured I had about a five minutes before he bled out and his power was mine for the taking. 
    “She’s gone you know.” Came Camilla’s voice, “The girl. She’s just left you to die.”
    I raised my head to find her standing right next to me. The irony over her lack of caring that Mateo was dying not three feet from her wasn’t lost on me.
    “Yup, well that was the plan.” I said.
    Turning to her I calmly asked. “So what do we do now, fight Thunderdome style?”
    “No, not really my thing.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
    I felt my jaw go slack and was sure I was gaping at her like a fish. Not her style? She nearly ripped Peaches’ head off, all while wearing stilettos. I doubted she was going to let me just walk out of here; especially since I had something she wanted.
    “I don’t suppose you’d just let me leave?” I asked.
    “Hardly. I did that once and look where it got me. Working with half-wits like this one.” She said, waving towards Mateo. “Although it wasn’t a complete loss; he was able to tell me about you working with the Demons. My how the righteous have fallen.”
    “Not as far as you.” I said and lunged towards her, wrapping my hands in her beautiful hair.
    I dropped my weight and she let out a loud scream as I ripped out two handfuls of her hair. She lashed out with a slap that sent me through the flames and slammed me against the wall. I hit the ground hard. Rolling to my side, I watched as she stood on the other side of the fire and waved her hands. Like it’d been doused with water, the fire went out, leaving nothing but a charred line on the ground.
    Taking dainty steps so she wouldn’t get her pure white heels dirty, she stepped over the charred line. I pushed myself into a crouch and smiled as I saw two bloody bald patches on either side of her head.
    My happiness didn’t last long as I was picked up by an invisible force and pinned back against the wall. I pulled hard on my power and struggled to fight against what I was sure was Camilla’s power.
    “I was going to make this painless but now I’m not feeling so generous.” Camilla said as a short black dagger materialized in her hand.
    Paralyzed, I could only watch as she came to stand directly in front of me. Giving me a slow smile, she pointed the dagger in the middle of my chest and began to push. I tried to scream as the sharp blade broke through my skin but found I couldn't. Locked in complete silence, I could only watch as she stopped pushing, leaving the tip of the blade inside me.  
    Horror waged war with the pain as I realized she was going to take her sweet-ass time. As my panic increased so did my breathing, causing the wound to burn even more. I’ve never really wanted to die as much as in that moment. Unable to blink, my eyes began to water and like it was some sick joke, she reached out and closed them. I take back my last statement,
now
I wanted to die.
  
    My fear reached epic proportions as I was thrust into the dark. I felt the slightest bit of pressure right before sharp pain again radiated through me as she slowly drove the blade in further. I heard her indrawn breath and all at once Camilla lost her control over me. I crashed to the ground and opened my eyes to find the air bursting with white sparks. I wasted no time in pulling the knife from my chest. As much as I wanted to throw it as far away from me as possible, I kept hold of it. My skin prickled as the air around me began to swirl and a thick charge formed a sort of barrier between us.