Angel Magic (6 page)

 
Her breath hitched in panic. She needed to get Amber out of here, even if Amber didn’t really believe her. Kaphawn knew where Amber lived.

 
“Hurry.” Kari grabbed Amber’s hand and all but pulled her to the closet, and found Amber’s suitcase. “We need to get away. The thing that killed Lisbet knows about you.”

 
“I don’t understand. What about the police?”

 
“Amber, the thing that killed them is the same thing that made me thin. The police can’t stop it. It’s magic.”

 
Amber stared at her for a moment and Kari knew she was thinking about it. Then Amber nodded, and Kari wasted no time throwing together clean clothes and toiletries.

 
Kari rushed her out to the car. Amber got in but didn’t shut her door. “Where are we going?” Amber was still in a daze.

 
“I don’t know. I need to pick up something to wear. I don’t even have any underwear. Then we need to go somewhere I’ve never been, so the demon won’t be able to find us.”

 
“Kari, I don’t understand. Everyone is dead and you look completely different. And you’re talking about demons.”

 
“I know it’s hard to believe. But the demon that made me thin killed everybody.

 
And when the sun sets, he’ll kill more people. He learns about things from the people he kills, so he might kill you if you are in your apartment where he can find you. He learned about the Dieter’s Delight from me. So he knows about you, too.”

 
“Wait a minute. How come you’re still alive?”

 
Kari took a deep breath. She really didn’t want to explain about Rahmiel right now.

 
“I was rescued. It’s a really long story, and just as hard to believe as the demon making me thin. I have Mom’s credit card. We’ll drive out of town somewhere safe and get a motel room then I’ll explain everything. Okay?”

 
Amber shut her car door and buckled her seat belt.
“All right.
The more I hear you talk, the more I know you’re Kari. Even if what you’re telling me is crazy.”

 
“I promise I’ll explain everything after we’re somewhere safe.” She drove away from Amber’s apartment and felt a load lighten.

 
“This whole hiding thing is freaking me out,” Amber said as they drove to Wal-Mart. “How long do we need to hide? I can get some time off work, but I have classes starting soon.”

 
Despite all the trauma that had happened in the past hours, and the grief she felt at Lisbet and the other Dieter’s deaths, buying clothes for her new body was still fun. It felt normal. She and Amber had shopped together many times, and always helped each other find flattering clothes. For a little while the demon and death seemed far away, in the bright, crowded store.

 
She wore a size four now, not the easiest size to find at Wal-Mart. Still, she was able to buy several pairs of shorts and jeans, tank tops, knit tops, new bras and panties, socks, shoes and sandals. She also bought a modest pajama set made of soft mint knit.

 
Amber joined her in the spending frenzy and bought some summer clothes for herself. “Well. I sure haven’t lost any weight,” she grumbled in the
three way
mirror, but Kari assured her she looked adorable in the lilac capris with a white tank top and lilac checked camp shirt.

 
“That color is perfect for you. And you’re so pretty. Guys don’t even care that you’re a little chubby.”

 
Amber wrinkled her nose at that, but smiled at her reflection.

 
It was true. With her wavy black hair, creamy skin, huge brown eyes and dimpled smile, Amber always had guys around. She was just so shy she tended to run off and hide instead of getting to know any of them. Kari had given her dozens of pep talks over the years, but Amber remained shy.

 
“Remember my Aunt Tressa?”

 
“Sure. How is she doing?” A car accident had tragically claimed the life of Tressa’s husband about a year earlier. Tressa was only about seven years older than she and Amber, so it had been really sad. They hadn’t even gotten around to starting a family yet.

 
“Well, she got all the money from the life insurance and stuff. Then my great Aunt Mary had to go into a nursing home, because she had like three strokes, you know? So Tressa decided to buy Aunt Mary’s place. It’s in a little town in Kansas. Why don’t I call her and we go there? I’m sure she would like the company. She always emails me, and sounds lonely.”

 
“That would be great. I was worried about putting a lot of money on Mom’s credit card. Especially since I’m between jobs.”

 
“Yeah. Let me call her.”

 
Tressa was thrilled with the idea of having company for a few days, Amber announced a few minutes later. They added bottled water, diet cola, a cheap cooler plus some fat free snacks to their cart, along with a few toiletries for Kari.

 
They headed out of town and the conversation returned to the demon.

 
“Tell me more now. I’m ready to hear all the freaky stuff,” Amber said as they set out down the highway.

 
Kari nodded. “Well, it is a five-hour drive. We aren’t going to get there until about two in the morning. I guess now is a good time. But, you’re going to be even more freaked out when I tell you what happened. It’s all my fault, the Dieter’s Delight.” Kari rubbed a tear off her cheek and took a shaky breath. “I found this book at a second hand store. It had a spell in it—a spell for getting thin. I know it sounds crazy, but I thought

 
—
why
not try it? It had to be better than that cabbage soup diet, right?”

 
“Well, you’ve got a point, there. And you look great,” Amber said. “Not flabby or saggy. Though your eyes look a little puffy from crying.”

 
“Yeah.” Kari began to tear up again and blinked hard.

 
“Well, I started the spell last night at sunset. But it was a trick spell. Instead of making me thin, it summoned this skeleton monster. A demon that causes famines, I learned later. It was huge, and it shoved its hand right through my body.” Kari lifted her shirt and pulled down the leggings to show the small scratches on her belly. “It was horrible. And it hurt so bad I started to pass out. But then there was someone fighting it.

 
I passed out and woke up thin. No wounds, either.
Just these little scratches.
I figured it was just a bad dream and went to the bathroom to weigh myself, but this Angel came into the bathroom. He’d chased the demon away and told me it was a famine demon that could kill thousands, and he was here to stop it.”

 
“And you weren’t dreaming?” Amber’s warm brown eyes were huge.

 
“No. He—Rahmiel is his name—is a real Angel. Anyway, he said the demon needed food to get strong after all these years. He would use my knowledge to find the easiest prey. So I thought of people I knew who were overweight, and I knew it was the Dieter’s Delight meeting night. The demon found the Dieter’s Delight group and killed them all. Rahmiel and I
got
to the meeting right after it happened. It was so awful. They were like skin-covered skeletons.”

 
“I heard something about that from Lisbet’s roommate Joanie,” Amber said softly.

 
“She mentioned something about Lisbet being so thin…it was weird. But it backs up your story.”

 
“Yeah.”

 
“What happened next?” Amber asked after awhile.

 
“I had sex with the Angel.” Kari was glad the sun was down, so Amber couldn’t see her face turn red.

 
Amber stared at her wide-eyed. “You did what?”

 
Kari put her head back against the
head rest
. “He was really good looking and he seemed so nice. I felt…I don’t know…close to him, because he saved me. And did I mention that he is really good looking? Like you’d expect an Angel to be, I guess. He said he could do this binding to keep me safe, but it would require sex.”

 
“That sounds like a line.” Amber wrinkled her short nose.

 
“I know. But last night it didn’t.
Plus, a tropical island.
Did I mention he took me to a tropical island, with stars shining on the ocean?
So we had sex, and he did the binding thingy, which I don’t remember very well.
But then I woke up this morning. I was so sore—I still am. He said he would be gentle, but he wasn’t. I didn’t mind last night, though. I think he did some type of magic on me. It didn’t really hurt until I woke up today.”

 
“So it wasn’t good? Having sex with him?”

 
Kari’s face turned hot. “Yes, it was good. But this morning was awful. All these Angels showed up, and I was so tired and they all fought.”

 
“They showed up at your house?” Amber cried.

 
“No, at the island. We slept on the sand.” Kari sighed. “His wings are like pure down.”

 
“Why did the Angels fight?”

 
“I’m not sure. They put Rahmiel in some Angel prison, but he got out to fight that demon. Somehow, doing the binding sex thing on me makes it so they can’t send him back to prison. Then, when I woke up at my house, he was gone.”

 
“Creep.”

 
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. I finally give it away and it’s to a user loser.” She sniffed.

 
Amber reached across the car and gave her a hug. “Well, it’s a bizarre story, but I have to believe you because I saw you just a week ago and you were lots heavier. I’ll bet you’re like a hundred pounds now. But last weekend, you were much heavier. Like a size eighteen.”

 
“I am 103 pounds.” Kari turned in the seat to stare at Amber. “But I didn’t tell you the worst part. Somehow, when I was on the demon’s hand, it learned all about my life.

 
My friends, places I go… That’s why it went to the Dieter’s Delight meeting. Rahmiel said it was looking for easy kills to regain its strength. I think it would come after you, because it knows where you live.”

 
“Yeah, because I’m fat. Don’t run very fast. Easy to kill.” Amber wrinkled her nose.

 
They were both talked out and had shed more than a few tears by the time they pulled up in front of the tidy two-story house Tressa called home.

 
Kari climbed out into the night air, miles from the nearest town. The sky was clear and star-filled, and the sound of crickets chirping reminded Kari of her childhood summers at Grandma’s country home. “This is nice, so quiet. I think it will be just what I need to get over Rahmiel and all this crazy stuff.”

 
Tressa came bounding through the front door. She was just a little over thirty years old, a pretty woman with curly dark hair like Amber’s, but with bright blue eyes. She had the thin wiry build of a dancer or runner and moved with a graceful quickness that made Kari think of a fairy.

 
Tressa hurried them inside like a mother hen watching over her young. She pointed them to two small bedrooms, both with full size beds covered in bright floral comforters.

 
“You girls get some sleep and don’t worry about getting up early. Sleep in. I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee whenever you surface.”

 
Kari crawled into the sweet smelling sheets with a sigh. She felt safe here, so far from home. It had been good to tell Amber all the details of her relationship with Rahmiel. Amber had assured her that any girl would fall for a guy like that, especially after
all the
trauma.

 
“He completely took advantage of you,” Amber told her. “You were confused and traumatized from being attacked by that demon, and seeing all those people dead. Then he takes you to some tropical paradise and seduced you.”

 
“Yeah. I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

 
“Well, he sounds heroic enough but he sure manipulated you.”

 
“And he got what he wanted.” Kari wrinkled her nose, remembering how easily she’d met his passion.
Twenty-two years of hanging on to her virginity, all gone in a night.