Fever (17 page)

‘Luke!’ she heard Jess cry from the basement. ‘Oh God, Luke!’

‘That was one huge mistake!’ she yelled at Amunnic as the demon lunged for her, arms outstretched. ‘No one treats my friends that way.’ She thrust out her hands, aiming at Amunnic’s belly. Lightning bolts flew out of her fingers, one after the other – so fast and hot they smoked and sparked.

But Amunnic crouched down like a line backer, ducking the bolts. He twisted his body, and rammed himself into Eve, shoulder first. She flew backwards, smashing against the wall behind her. Some of her bolts had hit him – she could smell the stench of burning hair, and a smoking bald spot had appeared on the side of Amunnic’s head. But most of the dozens and dozens of bolts had missed the mark. They’d sped over Amunnic’s head and crashed into the window at the far end of the hall, smashing it to sparkling bits of glass.

The demon prepared to ram her again. If he hit her while her back was still pressed against the wall, that was it. Her spine would snap. At least Amunnic was clumsy in his human form, clumsy and not nearly as fast as Eve.

She twisted her body to the side an instant before he rammed her, and he ended up hurling himself into the wall instead. The plaster cracked as his body hit.

Eve sprang a few steps away, raised her hands, and fired. The demon dropped to his knees, a move that was awkward, but effective. One of his shirt sleeves began to smoulder, but most of her bolts had missed again.

She let more zaps free as Amunnic shoved himself to his feet.
He’s so strong
, she thought as he kept advancing on her even as her power struck him in the same shoulder again, then the chest and the belly.

Amunnic snatched one of her outstretched hands while she was still blasting and used it to jerk her to him. The bolts from her free hand went wild, hitting the lockers with a metallic sizzling and the scent of melting paint. He pinned both arms to her sides.

In this position, she couldn’t use her power against him. She was facing the wrong way.
OK, OK. Master Justin went over this, remember?
she thought. He’d used the last twenty minutes of class to demonstrate a few self-defence moves.

She raised her elbow up, twisted towards Amunnic, and brought it down on his arms. She wrapped her fist around her hand, then used the force of both arms to jerk her elbow up into the demon’s chin.
And tiger claw
, she thought, raking her nails across Amunnic’s face, straight across the eyes.

It worked! She’d broken free! She owed Master Justin a muffin basket. Or some fancy nunchucks.

The demon recovered quickly, so quickly she only had the chance to fire a few bolts. He lurched at her and gave her a one-armed shove that sent her back through the doorway leading to the stairs. She had a sickening moment when she knew she was going to fall, but couldn’t stop it.

She pinwheeled her arms, trying to catch her balance. Too late. She was falling, her head and back bouncing on the hard steps as she hurtled down.

The demon started down the stairs after her.

‘It’s Amunnic!’ Eve yelled, and before the demon could reach her, Jess launched herself at him with a screech of outrage.

‘Jess, no!’ Peter shouted. But Jess didn’t hesitate. She leaped over her friend towards Amunnic, sweeping out with one leg. Her leg smashed into one of the demon’s knees – the same knee Eve had managed to hit twice.

Eve’s head was spinning too badly for her to stand up. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t zap. She tried to position her hands to let more of her bolts fly, but she couldn’t find a way where she’d be sure she wouldn’t accidentally hit Jess.

‘Get away from him!’ Peter yelled.

‘He’s stronger when he drinks, and it hasn’t been that long. He’s going to kill you!’ Dave screamed. Elisha began to wail hysterically.

‘You drank my brother’s blood,’ Jess screamed at the demon. ‘I’m the one who’ll be doing the killing.’ She spun round and sent her elbow flying into the demon’s gut, then she slammed one of her feet down on Amunnic’s instep.

Eve could hear Jess’s laboured pants. She could see the sweat gluing her shirt to her body. ‘Jess, please, just get out of the way,’ she cried. She could tell her friend had almost no strength left.

Jess ignored Eve, aiming another elbow blow at Amunnic. The demon gave a low, impatient growl and backhanded Jess. It was a small motion, but it sent Jess hurtling towards the wall. She hit it with a horrifying crunch, slithered into a heap on the floor, and lay still. Peter gave a howl of outrage.

‘Nooo!’ Eve slammed her power at the demon, using all her fury over what Amunnic had done to Jess, and to Luke, and to Peter, and to Leo and Cathy, to Briony, and Rose, and Dave and Elisha and to the whole town. Her bolt hit him full in the face.

The demon’s eyes flashed red, losing the hazel colour of Reverend Thompson’s. The skin on his face began to ripple, and dark patches of necrosis appeared. His nose almost disappeared into his head, and his lips curled back, revealing a double row of teeth. Amunnic’s body stretched out and out, his arms and legs extending until they were impossibly long, and impossibly thin, his torso narrowing too.

One of the victims screamed, a long, high sound that a human shouldn’t have been able to produce. Terror jolted through Eve. Instinctively she opened herself to the power around her. The lights dimmed as she sucked the electrical current into her, just as she had in the power plant.

Amunnic calmly stepped towards her, and Eve realized that with the power rushing into her body, she was momentarily unable to move. The demon raised one foot, and used it to grind Eve’s right hand into the floor. He kept his weight there, pinning her, then used his free foot to kick her in the head. For a moment red squiggles filled her field of vision. Then everything went dark.

Eve felt something cold and rough under her cheek. She opened her eyes, and saw the cement floor of the school basement. Her head felt like it was throbbing in sync with her heartbeat as a memory rush reminded her what had happened. Amunnic had kicked her in the temple, and she’d passed out.

She tried to scramble up – but a wave of nausea had her sitting back down.

‘He got us all,’ she heard someone say.

Luke! Eve turned towards his voice and saw him tied to a chair along with the others. Joy and fear battled inside her: joy that he was alive, right there in front of her, fear that she wouldn’t be able to save him – any of them. ‘Where is he?’ Eve cried.

‘He left as soon as he got Peter set up again,’ Luke answered. ‘I heard the door lock behind us.’

Eve whipped her head towards Peter, taking in the fact that his bandage and tourniquet were gone and his blood was again flowing into the ceramic bowl. ‘Don’t worry, Peter. It’s OK. I’m getting you out of here.’

Peter’s eyes didn’t move from the door. ‘Its eyes were red. Red.’
He’s in deeper shock than before
, Eve realized. They all were. Leo’s face was completely blank. Cathy had her eyes squeezed shut and was repeating ‘not real’ over and over. Elisha’s whimpers had turned to small animal-like squeaks of pure fear. Rose – Rose was still slumped on the floor. Jess too. The demon hadn’t bothered to tie her up.

‘Not much time before he’s back, I don’t think,’ Luke said.

His voice – his beautiful Luke-is-alive voice – spurred Eve into action. The fire fizzing through her veins reminded her that she had recharged. That moment when she’d been absorbing the energy had given him the chance to knock her out, but it had also filled her with new strength and power. She felt like a nuclear weapon.

Eve crawled over to Jess and gently, so, so gently, shook her by the shoulder. Jess gave a little moan, and her eyelids fluttered briefly, but didn’t open all the way. Eve could feel that heat coming off her. She had a fever. She had it … the plague. That’s probably why Amunnic hadn’t bothered to tie her up. He probably had no interest in her since the plague had made her blood undrinkable.

An image of her friend’s beautiful face ravaged by necrosis filled Eve’s mind.
You’re killing the demon
, she reminded herself.
No demon, no need for the plague warning, no harm to Jess. She’d get better – she had to
.

‘Was lightning coming out of your hands?’ Peter asked, in almost the same tone as he’d asked where he was.

‘I don’t think so,’ Eve told him.

‘The lighting came from the other thing,’ Dave said. ‘What the hell was it? It … it morphed. Its skin …’ His words trailed off.

‘We can talk about all of this when we’re out of here,’ Eve said. She figured she could probably zap the door lock hard enough to break it. But first she had to get everyone untied. She started with Luke.

‘I can’t believe I fell for that call,’ he said as she worked on the knots around his wrists. ‘How stupid was that? I’d barely walked out the front door when Amunnic grabbed me and smashed me over the head with something. Rock, maybe. Next thing I know, I’m tied up down here. I should never have gone.’

‘It wasn’t stupid. It was your dad. You thought it was your dad,’ Eve answered. ‘Of course you went.’

‘Is Jess OK?’ Peter asked, as if he’d just realized his sister was on the floor.

It was like his voice suddenly pulled Jess back to consciousness. ‘Peter?’ She slowly sat up. Her brow furrowed. ‘You OK?’

Peter looked down at the bowl filling with his blood, and in a complete Peter move he actually grinned. ‘I’m good,’ he told his sister. ‘That was one impressive combo you threw at that thing.’ Eve could tell it took him a huge amount of effort to put on the show for Jess.

‘But you forgot the “Hi-yah!”’ Luke commented, gently teasing.

‘I did!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘Crucial part.’ She raised her hand to brush her hair away from her face, and froze. ‘Look,’ she finally said, turning her palm towards Eve. A dark, greasy spot of necrosis had bloomed near the centre of her hand. Tears flooded Jess’s eyes.

‘No, no, it’s a good thing,’ Eve told her. ‘He’ll leave you alone now.’

Jess nodded.

‘So how long was I knocked out? How much time until we think he comes back?’ Eve asked.

‘You were only out maybe five minutes, I think,’ Dave said.

‘It won’t be long until it’s back,’ Cathy put in. ‘It never is. You’ve got to get us out of here!’

‘On it!’ Eve freed Luke’s hands, and he immediately began working on the rope that held his feet to the chair. Jess had managed to slide over in front of Peter and was working on his ties, even though her hands were shaking almost uncontrollably.

Eve moved over next to her to help. ‘Dave, do you think you’re strong enough to carry Rose when everyone’s untied?’ she asked. ‘There’s no way she can walk.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I can do that,’ Dave answered.

‘He’s going to come back before you have us all free,’ Leo predicted. He didn’t sound concerned. That’s how deep his shock and fright went. He was completely numbed out.

‘I can help Jess,’ Luke said. ‘Can the others make it on their own?’

‘Doubtful. At least not Leo and Cathy. Have you guys even had any food or water?’ Eve asked Dave.

‘He has this bucket he lets us drink out of, and Cathy told me he brings food once a day,’ Dave answered.

‘So it might take two trips to get everyone out once I blow the lock on the door,’ Eve answered, trying to sound calm. ‘Since we have a lot of people who need help.’

‘Too late,’ Leo said. ‘I hear him.’

Eve listened for a moment, and heard a shuffling, scraping sound coming from the direction of the door.

‘Maybe I can be a decoy,’ Luke said, fast and low, as he finished untying himself. ‘As soon as the door opens, I can make a run for it. Maybe Amunnic will chase me, and the rest of you could escape while I keep him busy.’ Of course Luke would come up with a plan that put him in the most danger. Eve felt a rush of respect for him.

‘Amunnic. You know that thing’s name?’ Peter sounded very confused.

‘Long story,’ Jess said.

‘Back to the plan. If anyone’s going to act like a decoy, it’s going to be me,’ Eve declared. She was the Deepdene Witch. A demon in her town was ultimately her responsibility.

‘I should be the decoy,’ Jess insisted. ‘I’m faster than either of you. I’m in cheerleader-slash-kung-fu-student shape.’

‘On a usual day, yes, yes you are,’ Eve told her. ‘But today—’

The sound of a creaky door swinging open interrupted her. Eve let herself fall back to the ground. It would give her an advantage if Amunnic thought she was still out. Jess followed her lead, lying back down too.

Luke had decided to act like he was still tied up. Through slitted eyes, Eve had seen him get back in the chair and lightly wrap the rope around his wrists.

Amunnic moved closer to Peter, and Peter let out a yip of panic. The demon ignored him. He slid the bowl from below Peter’s arm to a spot underneath Luke’s. Eve saw a long, wickedly sharp claw slide out of one of the demon’s thin fingers.

Not going to happen
, Eve thought. She quietly sprang to her feet. Amunnic must have caught the motion in his peripheral vision. He whirled to face her, red eyes glistening.

Eve flung out her hands, and her bolts flew out of her fingers as fast as arrows. Amunnic quickly bent his long, thin, rubbery body into a backbend, the top of his head brushing the floor behind him, allowing Eve’s lightning to zing over him.

Almost as fast as one of her bolts, Amunnic straightened up. He whipped out one of his impossibly long arms and caught her by the throat. Eve jammed her hands into his stomach and shoved her power directly into him.

The demon howled and tightened his grip. Eve began to choke, but kept hurling her volcanic power into him. The scent of burning flesh filled the room.

Amunnic squeezed harder. She could feel that hideous claw of his pierce her skin, and a moment later, blood began to run down her neck. It felt as if her power was flowing out with it.

Eve ground her teeth together, willing volt after volt into Amunnic. Suddenly his grip loosened. His eyes rolled up in his head, and he began to morph, his face and body bulging and contracting as they took on new appearances. For a fraction of a second, he looked like Jess’s mother, then Luke’s father. His body contorted again, and grey-and-white fur sprouted over his face.