Dance For The Devil (8 page)

“You belong to us now, and that makes you
more
than mortal. Human laws no longer apply. Feel the freedom to do
as
you wish,
whenever
you wish, with
whomever
you wish. Your only allegiance is with Seth, and to him you must remain true or suffer the consequences. Do you agree?”

Mesmerized, Amy found herself nodding.
Pretty potent piss,
she thought idly.

Goat-man flashed a razor blade, and with snake-like precision, deftly carved a star into her arm. No, not a star, exactly. Looked like a star, only different. She felt no pain a
nd watched in amazement as thin streaks of blood beaded up. Goat-man let her go abruptly, turning his attention to the other two, performing the same star-like incision. Only then did he dismiss them. The meeting was apparently over, and everyone rushed forward, clapping them on their backs. Jason was there, pushing her away from the others, and when they had made enough distance from the throng, he swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply. Then he withdrew a small pocket knife from under his robe and deftly sliced an incision on the underside of his wrist. Although the wound was shallow, the blood ran freely. Jason took Amy’s arm and pressed his cut against hers, allowing their blood to mix. “Now you’re one of us, Amy, and a part of me. See? We’re joined by blood.” He kissed her again. “I’m so happy now you’re truly mine. Oh, Amy, I love you so much.”

**

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, Skeet. How’s it going, buddy?”

“Carmen made some chocolate chip cookies. Want some?”

“Yeah, buddy, I do. Thanks.”

“How come you’re home so early? Are you sick?”

“No, not exactly, S
on.”

“Oh. Fight with your boss?”

Jake squinted at his son. It always amazed him how perceptive kids were. “Sort of.”

“Did you punch him in the nose?”

“No. Grownups try to resolve problems without resorting to physical violence.”

“Oh.” They munched cookies for a few moments in silence.

“I’ll tell you a secret. I
felt
like punching him.”

Skeeter smiled. “It’s
tough being an adult, isn’t it?”

Jake sighed. “Yeah,
Son, it is.”

“Feel like talking about it? Sometimes that helps me.”

“Oh, and when did you get so wise?”

“I learned it from this old guy I know. You.”

“Ha ha, smarty pants. Well, it’s like this. I made a new game and my boss changed it, behind my back. He thinks his version is better.”

“Is it?”

“Maybe. It’ll probably sell better. But I think he ruined it.”

“What did he do?”

“He added a bunch of fighting stuff to it, and I was trying to make it different from all the other fighting games. I was trying to make it special. Plus, it makes me angry that he did it on the sly. I think he should have been more up front.”

Skeeter thought for a moment. “Keep your next idea secret. Don’t let him
see until it’s finished.”

“Hmmm.” Jake reached for another cookie. “Not a bad idea. But he’s the boss – he’s supposed to see my work.”

“Keep part secret and show him the other stuff.”

“Think so?”

“Yeah. Dad? Are you going to quit?”

“No, probably not. Quitting’s no way to solve a problem. Speaking of problems, I think I heard your sister come in.”

“Yeah, sounds like her slam.”

“I need to talk to her for a bit – alone. Could you ask Amy to come in here? Thanks, oh... and here, take the cookies with you.”

“Sure, Dad.”

“Thanks, Skeet, for the advice, you’ve been a big help.”

Skeeter turned around and smiled broadly. “No problem. If it doesn’t work,
then
try punching him in the nose.” Jake smiled as he watched Skeeter stuff another cookie in his mouth.

“Uh, Dad? Skeeter said you wanted to see me.”

She had the grace to look bashful, Jake noticed. Definitely guilty-looking. Yet, undeniably pale. Maybe she really
was
sick.

“How come you’re home this early? You’re
never
home this early.”

Trust Amy to put the blame on him right off the bat. That’s his girl – come out shooting. He tapped his fingers against his desk, studying her. “Let’s talk about you. Where were you this afternoon?”

“Ummm... I had cramps so I skipped gym class. I got permission from the teacher.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“No. Not really. I feel better now.”

Several derisive quips sprung to mind, but he bit them down. “You
also
told your gym teacher you were coming home. Which you didn’t. Mind telling me where you spent your afternoon?”

“Ummm. The library? I have a big geography report due on Friday, so I thought I’d get some work done.”

“I see. Care to show me?”

Her face fell. “No.”

Jake uttered an explosive sigh. “Don’t lie to me, Amy. I’m not stupid, and I can easily phone the library to verify your story. We’ve established you weren’t at school, you weren’t at the library, and you obviously weren’t home, so where the hell were you?”

She began to cry. “With some friends, okay?”

“Who?”

She remained tight-lipped, silent.

He reached forward and grabbed her arm, intending to shake her, but stopped when he saw the flash of pain across her face. She pulled away, holding her hand protectively over her forearm. “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Let me see.”

“No, I’m okay, really
, Daddy.”

He reached over quickly and grabbed her hand, pushing up her sleeve. “My God, Amy! What is this? Who did this to you?”

“It’s nothing. We were just joking around. All the kids are doing it. It’s a fad right now.”

He looked at her incredulously. “It’s a fad to carve your arm with a razor blade?”

She nodded, her face blanching.

“That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard! It’s dangerous, Amy. Haven’t you heard of hepatitis or AIDS? You shouldn’t let people monkey around with your blood! Did you use a clean blade, at least? Christ, Amy! Tell me you used a clean blade.”

She was sobbing freely now, tears falling with amazing speed. Jake was too incensed to care. He continued to grip her wrist firmly. “What is it? A star? No, a pentagram? My God, Amy, it’s a pentagram! That’s the symbol of the Devil. What
kind
of people are you hanging out with?”

“I...w-w-want Mommm!”

“Gee,” he said sarcastically. “How unusual. Every time you get in trouble, you start crying and asking for her. Well it’s not going to work this time, Amy. This time it’s just me and you, and this time I’m not caving in because I feel guilty about your Mom running off. She’s gone. She’s not coming back. It was her decision, not yours and not mine. The sooner we deal with it, the sooner we start being a family again. Okay?”

No response, but then, he didn’t expect one. Jake took a deep breath, striving for calmness. “You’re grounded, Amy, for three weeks. One week for skipping school, another for lying about
it, the third for carving that hideous thing into your arm. No leaving this house except for school and family events. No television, no video games, no telephone calls. Three weeks, got it?”

She turned away haughtily, and Jake struggled to keep his voice level. “Amy, you are going to have to start behaving and start being a viable member of this family or I’m going to send you away to an all-g
irls school.” He rummaged in his desk. “See this brochure? It’s for a school called The Elizabethan House. It’s an excellent school and they specialize in difficult teenage girls. I don’t want to send you there, Amy, but if you continue to do crazy things like skipping school and lying and carving things in your arm, then I have no choice.”

“I hate you,” she screamed, contempt dripping from her narrowed eyes. “I hate your guts. Got that?” Then she ran from the room, slamming the door behind her. He could hear the pounding footsteps through the house, ending with the slamming of her bedroom door. He knew from experience he wouldn’t be seeing her again that day, not even for dinner. He crumpled the brochure and tossed it in t
he garbage. It had been a bluff. Gil had given him the brochure weeks ago, saying he tried this strategy on Jason with brilliant results. Jake had sworn he wouldn’t resort to something so deceitful, yet he’d hung onto the brochure and, in desperation, used it. Such a school didn’t even exist – Elizabethan House was a retirement home. But it looked appropriately spooky.

He sighed and raked his
fingers through his hair. He had acted as immature as Amy, and he regretted it. For the millionth time he wondered why being a parent was so goddamned hard.

**

Gil greeted him as though nothing untoward had happened. Jake tossed his briefcase on his desk, loosened his tie, and sat back in his chair, eyeing his boss. After his battle with Amy last night, this should be a piece of cake.

He prepared his attack. “About those changes...”

“Oh, yeah,” Gil said, “I wanted to talk to you about that. I’ve been doing some thinking, and you are absolutely right. The new changes make the game too violent.”

Jake’s eyebrows shot up. Gil continued, “The nuclear explosion was a bit much. Nuclear’s dead, anyway. The Cold War is over; kids today don’t care about atom bombs. Also, I checked with legal and the graphi
cs would earn us a Restricted rating, which cuts our market potential in half. Too much gore, so we’re eliminating some of that.”

“Some?”

“We’ll keep some of the changes, of course. Here’s a revised version. Harris Bentall stayed up all night modifying the alterations. Tell me what you think.”

It was
a bone, albeit a small one. This was Gil’s effort at reconciliation, however meager. Jake weighed his options quickly, then nodded abruptly, his face remaining impassive. Gil flashed a charismatic, handsome smile, turning to leave. “Oh, one other thing,” he mentioned. “We’re throwing a shindig on Halloween at the homestead. No costumes, thank God. Same old crowd, but I invited some potential buyers from Hong Kong. Kids can come, of course, the Asians
love
families. Say, around seven-ish?”

“I’m not sure I can make it.”

“Come on, Jake, don’t play sour grapes. It’s unbecoming.”

“Thanks for the tip, but it’s not that.”

“Then what? Come on, buddy, getting info out of you is like pulling teeth.”

Jake hesitated. He was still furious with Gil and he didn’t feel like sharing tidbits of his personal life.

“Is it Amy?” Gil questioned. “Come on, tell Uncle Gilly what she’s done.”

“She’s being... difficult. I grounded her.”

“Oh, is that all? Hellish being a father isn’t it? What did she do? Get caught stealing? Smoking dope?”

“No, of course not. She... she skipped school yesterday, lied about it and came home with a pentagram carved in her arm.”

“Oh, that,” Gil said, waving his arm dismissively. “That’s nothing, all the kids are doing it right now. It’s a teen thing, you know, peer pressure, they do it to be cool. Jason’s done it himself a few times. As for the other...” Gil shrugged. “Kids have been cutting school ever since it began. I’ll wager you missed a few classes yourself, right? Then fibbed a bit to cover your tracks?”

Jake frowned. Gil’s words rang uncomfortably true.

“Don’t come down on her too hard, buddy. She’s just being a kid.”

“Maybe.”

“Righty-o. See you on Halloween. Oh, and Jake, the guys need you down in development. Dick Lendall has a new idea he wants to pitch to you. Hear him out, it sounds pretty good. But, of course, the ball is in your court.”

Yeah, sure,
Jake thought.
As long as I bounce it in the direction you want.

**

“Hey, babe! How’s it going?” Jason greeted Amy with a kiss that sent a wave of envious giggles along the school corridor.

“Not so good,” she said breathlessly. “I got busted big time. My dad flipped out yesterday and I’m grounded for three weeks.”

“Shit. How severe is it?”

“Maximum. I can’t do anything, no TV, no phone. I’m not even allowed to walk to school alone – guess he’s scared I’ll skip again. The only time I’ll be able to see you is in school. He even said he might send me to a private school.”

“Shit. My dad used that line on me, too, last year. It’s just a threat, they never mean it.” He kissed her again. “What about Halloween? You’ve got to come, it’s the best time of the year. I know a great club, really awesome. It’ll be wild.”

Amy bit her lip. “I don’t know, Jason. Yesterday...”

“Yeah, bizarre, huh? Totally out of control. Don’t worry, that kind of stuff
never
happens. It gave me bad dreams all night.”