Bitter Demons (2 page)

"Your curfew will be seven o'clock on
weeknights," she said. "Eleven on the weekends unless you're
participating in an approved activity."

Seven o'clock? Was this woman serious? I was
sixteen years old! That barely gave me enough time to get home from
cheerleading practice some days. Plus, I'd never have time to hang
out with Jackson.

"What else?" I crossed my arms over my chest
and swallowed hard.

"As you already know, the tattoo on your back
is a link to the Order," she said. "With it, we'll be closely
monitoring your location. You shouldn't have any reason to be
anywhere besides school and Shadowford Plantation."

"Yeah, thanks for telling me before I got the
damn thing," I mumbled.

"What was that?" she snapped.

"Nothing," I said, teeth clenched.

"We'll be looking for behavior like reckless
use of magic and hanging out with the wrong kind of crowd," she
said. "You need to be on your best behavior, especially since we
have a game coming up on Friday night with a fellow demon gate
community."

The playoff game Friday night was with
Cypress, Georgia, a slightly larger town north of here. For the
past week, it was all anyone could talk about.

"I think we both know you're old enough to
know right from wrong." Her voice took on a demeaning tone, like
she was talking to a five-year-old who'd been caught with her hand
in the cookie jar. "Follow the rules and we won't have any more
problems. Do I make myself clear?"

I was sick of being treated like a child. I
was tired of all the secrets. Instead of just telling me the truth
about my family's history and my role in this whole thing, they
continued to lie to me. How did they ever expect me to trust
them?

At that moment, something inside me snapped.
Call it anger or call it rage. Or maybe it was just plain,
old-fashioned fed-up. I'd had enough.

"How long are we going to play this game?" I
said. My body was still posed in a casual, could-care-less
position, but inside, I was revved up like an engine.

"Excuse me?" she said. Clearly, she'd heard
me, but didn't believe her ears.

"How long are you going to pretend that I'm
just like all the other girls on the squad?" I asked.

I saw bodies shift all over the room. A woman
across from me broke out in a coughing fit. My heart raced inside
my chest, but speaking out was exhilarating. It made me feel free
for the first time all night. Not just some pawn in their game, but
a real person with real feelings.

"I don't know what you mean," she said. She
walked over to her chair and sat down. She picked up the glass of
water on the side table, and I saw her hand tremble slightly.

"Oh come on," I said, slapping my hands down
on my thighs and sitting up. "Everyone in this room knows what I
mean."

The room was dead silent. No one moved. I
stood and walked over to the coffee table where an array of snacks
was laid out. I grabbed a grape and popped it into my mouth. As I
chewed, no one dared even breathe. I hoped they couldn't see how
badly my hands were shaking.

"You guys are all so anxious for me to trust
you," I said, meeting each person's eyes as I looked around the
room. I certainly had their undivided attention. "But how can I do
that when you obviously don't trust me?"

"You haven't earned that trust," the elderly
woman said.

"You haven't either," I said. Someone behind
me sucked in a quick breath. "Ever since I got to this town, you've
all been lying to me. Why should I obey your orders and follow your
rules when you refuse to tell me why you really want me to stay
safe? You act like you care about me as a person, but all you
really care about is yourself."

"Wait a second," Mrs. Ashworth said, standing
again. "You're completely out of line here. I won't allow you-"

"I know who I am," I said, cutting her off.
"I know I'm the Prima. I've known for a while now." I looked over
at Mayor Chen. "And don't worry. It wasn't Lark or any of the other
girls on the squad who told me."

"Jackson," someone whispered.

"Traitor."

The room broke out in murmurs.

"It wasn't Jackson either," I said.

"Then who?" Sheriff Hollingsworth asked.

"Morgyn Baker."

"Impossible," the elderly woman hissed.

"Before she died," I said. "She told me about
how the Order's been using Shadowford as a way to look for me. You
find girls with magical abilities who are in the system because
their mothers are dead or they're too much to handle. Then, you
bring them here, drug them, and test them to see if they are your
beloved, long-lost Prima."

The room erupted in protests and
questions.

"I thought you had this under control," one
woman in a pink dress said to Mrs. Ashworth. "We should have told
her right from the start."

"What are we going to do now?"

"This girl is out of control."

My ears couldn't latch on to every outburst,
but one in comment particular caught my attention.

"She's just like her mother."

I turned to see which of the women had said
it, but I couldn't tell. A thick lump formed in my throat and I
swallowed it down hard. The way the woman said it, you would have
thought being like my mother was the worst possible thing in the
world.

The comment cut deeper than any ritual knife
ever could.

"Enough!"

The room around me fell silent. Mrs. Ashworth
held one hand in the air. Her cheeks were flushed and her normally
perfect hair was sticking up on one side. Her eyes scanned the
room, as if looking for an answer to the sudden chaos.

I wanted to keep going. To push them to
answer all of my questions. But I suddenly didn't trust my own
voice.

Mayor Chen stood up. "If I may speak?"

"Go ahead," Mrs. Ashworth said, stepping
aside.

"I, for one, am happy Harper knows about her
heritage." She looked to me. "Not everyone in this room agreed that
we should keep this a secret from you, but you have to understand
that all of our lives are at stake here."

I nodded. I did understand that.

"This hasn't been an easy time for any of
us," she continued, addressing the room. "We've all been on edge
since Harper came home to us. Now that it's out in the open, maybe
we'll be able to relax a little bit and work together to make
Peachville the town it once was."

I had to give the woman credit. She was an
excellent public speaker. Guess it went with the territory since
she was a politician, but her soothing voice calmed me. No wonder
Lark was so cool. She'd gotten to have a mom like this her whole
life.

"What I want to know is why she willingly
risked her life trying to save that filthy demon when she clearly
knew the consequences," the elderly lady said. "If you ask me, her
knowing makes the whole thing much worse."

I shifted my weight from one foot to the
other. I wanted to shout that if the Order was better at keeping
track of their ritual daggers, I never would have been in danger in
the first place. That if they'd been open and honest with me since
the beginning, maybe I would have handled this whole situation
differently. But nothing I said now could change the fact that I
had gone into that hospital thinking about Jackson and caring more
about whether he lived or died than anything else, including my own
safety.

"You can't expect the girl to be loyal when
she doesn't even know for sure who the members of the Order are,"
Mrs. King said.

"I expect her to be loyal to you," Mrs.
Ashworth said.

I hated the arguing. I wanted to sneak out
and tell Ella Mae to take me home, but who knew what kind of hell
would break loose if I bailed.

The room broke out in multiple conversations
again, everyone shouting their own opinions. I wondered what my
mother would do in a situation like this. Had she ever been in
charge of this group? Would they even tell me if I asked?

Mrs. Ashworth picked up her glass and clanged
a spoon against its edge. Slowly, the room settled into silence.
She smiled and set the glass down. "In light of this new
information, perhaps we should have another discussion about her
confirmation."

I swallowed nervously. Confirmation? I hoped
that wasn't what they called the ceremony where they put a demon
inside of me.

The members of the council whispered in small
groups. My outburst hadn't taught them anything. They were still
keeping their secrets and shutting me out. Part of me wanted to
know the truth about all of it, and part of me wanted to run as far
away from this town as I could and never look back.

"I think it's a good solution," Sheriff
Hollingsworth said. "Some of the members have brought up trust
issues. I think that if Harper is willing to go through the
confirmation, it will be a big step forward for her and for all of
us."

I backed toward Mrs. King and sat down again
in the high-backed chair.

"What's the confirmation?" I asked in a
whisper.

She leaned toward me. "A ritual where you
accept your role in the Order. Your tattoo was the first step
toward becoming the Prima. The confirmation is the second
step."

Out of how many? I bit my bottom lip.

"Will it hurt?"

"No," she said, putting her hand on my arm
again and giving it a squeeze. "It should actually feel really
good."

I looked at her to make sure she was telling
the truth. Her expression looked genuine and sympathetic at the
same time.

"Plus," she said with a sly smile, "it will
make you more powerful."

The council voted unanimously to perform my
confirmation ceremony right then and there. All that was left was
for me to accept. I had a feeling that if they hadn't needed my
acceptance, they would have already drugged me and gone ahead with
this ritual a long time ago.

"Harper?" Mrs. Ashworth said. "Are you
willing to take the next step toward becoming the Prima?"

"I thought I already was the Prima," I said,
confused.

She smiled. "You are Prima Futura, future
Prima. There's still so much you'll need to learn before you take
on the role of Prima."

My heart was beating so fast, I could feel it
at the base of my tongue. My entire mouth went dry. If I said no,
what would they do to me? But if I said yes, would I be taking one
step too far down this road toward becoming a member of the Order?
How far could I go before it was too late to ever turn back?

More power did sound nice, though. I thought
back to the hospital and touched my fingers to my mother's
necklace. If it hadn't been for the demon who came to my rescue, I
might not have been able to defeat the Others.

"Yes," I said, closing my fist around the
pendant. "I'm ready."

The ritual was performed right there in the
living room of the Ashworth mansion. No ritual room required.
Unfortunately, it did involve a ritual knife, and quite frankly,
I'd had my fill of those stupid things.

A silver robe was placed around my shoulders
while the others in the room changed into the black and blue robes
I'd seen the night of Brooke's initiation. I noticed more than a
few women in the room with tears in their eyes. For them, this was
a sacred ceremony. A dedication and commitment to the power of the
Order.

For me, it was a survival tactic.

The lights dimmed and five candles were lit.
Mrs. Ashworth stepped forward in her blue robe and placed her hand
on my forehead.

"Harper Madison Brighton." Her voice was
clear and commanding. It was the first time anyone had ever called
me by my true family name, and my skin broke out in goosebumps. "We
lift you up as Prima Futura."

Outside, a wind chime jingled. I felt a
breath of cold air rush into me and fill my chest. My skin tingled
as if it were made of glitter, and I closed my eyes.

"Prima Futura, do you confirm your devotion
to the Order of Shadows?"

"Yes," I said, my voice barely more than the
lightest of whispers.

"Prima Futura, do you confirm your
loyalty?"

"I do," I said, my voice almost feeling as if
it weren't my own anymore. Mrs. Ashworth lifted her palm into the
air and my body rose slightly from the ground. The long silver robe
dangled down to the floor below me.

The room began to chant in unison. "We
proclaim you our Prima Futura. May the shadows enter you and fill
you with their power."

Every muscle in my body tensed as I looked
around the room. Each woman's shadow flickered behind her in the
candlelight. The shadows took different shapes. A blooming rose. A
tiger. A butterfly. A cat. Unique to the woman whose body contained
the demon. Mrs. Ashworth rotated her palm slightly and my body fell
backwards. I struggled against it, but I had no control.

Fear gripped my being.
I should never have
agreed to this!
My hands shook by my side as I came to rest
horizontal to the floor, suspended several feet in the air. Above
me, the shadows flickered across the ceiling. The women in the room
began to chant.

"Prima Futura, convenire partis
potestatis."

The tattoo on my back burned. Shadows swirled
all around my body, faster and faster. I was terrified my mouth
would open and the demons would rush inside and take over. I
clamped my mouth shut as tight as I could, but I couldn't close my
eyes. I had to see what they were going to do to me.

"Introitus com studium."

The shadows gathered together near the
ceiling. They became one large swirling mass above my chest. At
Mrs. Ashworth's command, they swooped down on top of me, passing
through my body like ghosts. I felt the shocking power of their
energy down to the core of my soul. It was invigorating and
terrifying at the same time. My body buzzed with their power and a
warmth enveloped me, taking away the cold breath locked in my
chest.