A Demon Made Me Do It (41 page)

Why?
It’s not like he’s good-looking, is it? Is it his wicked
scars? Is it the fact that he’s new?

That’s probably it. It’s only natural
to be curious about a new person, I suppose. Even if he is a rude
jerk-face.

The second the bell rings
signaling the end of class I dash from my seat, beating almost
everyone else to the door— no small feat considering I’m the
furthest from it. I want to get away, as
far
away from that new boy as I
possibly can. But at the same time, I’m torn by an almost
overwhelming urge to stare at him.

What the hell is going on?

Corrine gives me an uneasy glance as I
silently brush past her and head down the hall. The fleeting
temptation to stroll right off campus is quickly squashed by an
image of Tatiana’s scolding face. I’d promised her I’d finish the
year strong, and there are five months to go. Short of a major
emergency—such as my demon half making an uninvited
appearance—ditching is off the agenda. I’ll just have to control
whatever crazy neurotic crisis is plaguing me this week.

My next class is history. I open my
book and start to read, or, at least pretend to. I know every word
in the textbook by heart, but I’ve long since learned it’s best not
to let on just how smart I really am.

“
Hi, again.”

For an instant I could’ve been sitting
in a block of ice, but as quickly as the sensation appears, it
disappears. I glance up from my book to see Blond Boy standing
beside me. Again. I try to ignore him, but cannot resist the pull
his eyes have over me. Slowly I raise my head and face him as he
sits down in the empty spot next to me. Again.

“
Don’t get too comfortable
there. Someone else usually sits in that seat,” I say. I try not to
gape at the silver slash curving down his face—violent, but
beautiful at the same time. I’m drawn to it.

Like him.

“
So, is every seat next to
you already spoken for?” he asks, brushing his golden hair out of
his eyes. Soft eyes. Like a robin’s egg. Not the electrifying blue
of Kieron’s or the icy cool blue of mine and Lucky’s.

“
Pretty much.”

“
But there isn’t anyone
here now but me.” His full lips shape into a cocky smirk, and he
places his hands behind his head.

My eyes narrow. “My boyfriend usually
sits there.”

“
Oh, really. And where’s he
now?” His musical voice is laced with amusement.

I have to fight back the overwhelming
urge to reach across the desk and smack the smug look off his face.
“Away. But he’ll be back. Soon,” I add.

“
Well, until then, I’ll
just make myself comfortable. If you don’t mind.”

“
It’s a free country,” I
mutter.

“
So they say.” He reaches
into his back pocket, flips open his cell phone and taps some
buttons.

“
Where are you from?” I
blurt out, much to my surprise.

He lifts his gaze, raises his
eyebrows, and snaps his phone shut. “Uh…couple of
places…”

“
Name one.”

His shocked look fades into one of
amusement. “Well, I was born in Los Angeles, spent some time in
Europe and South America before we moved back to Boston.
Then—”

“
I don’t need your whole
life story,” I snap, then bite my lower lip. What is wrong with me?
Why am I coming across like such a hostile bitch?

“
Well….you
asked
…” He raises an
eyebrow and cracks a small grin.

“
I said name
one.
Why did you move
here? And what happened to your face? Why do you have such a huge
scar on it?”

The second the words come out I slap
my hands over my mouth, mortified. I can’t even blame Lucky for my
rudeness. Unfortunately, this is all me.

There’s an uncomfortable silence from
his seat as his jaw drops and his eyes widen. “What did you just
say?” he gasps.

I’m dying a million deaths
right now. There’s no excuse for me being so mean.
None.
I drop my head as
the heat rushes to my cheeks. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “That was
very rude. I didn’t mean it…”

He clears his throat and sits up
straight, his chiseled jaw rigid. “It’s okay,” he finally says, his
voice stiff. A moment later he lets out a small chuckle. “It’s
interesting…I’ve never had anyone come out and ask me that
before.”

I gulp hard. “Sorry. It just came out.
I wasn’t thinking…”

“
I suppose you noticed my
sister’s scars too?”

I nod, positive my face is redder than
my cherry-blossom fingernail polish.

“
We were in an accident
together.”

“
I’m sorry,” I
repeat.

He shakes his head and shrugs.
“Really, it’s fine. So, what’s your name?” he asks, leaning close
again. But just then Mrs. Jackson calls the class to order, and he
sits back. But I still feel his eyes on me. Not an entirely
unpleasant feeling.

When class is over I rush
to the door again,
convinced
now I must be coming down with something. It’s the
only explanation I have for the sickly chills I felt earlier and
for my extreme bitchiness. But I feel physically fine now, and even
when Blond Boy comes up and lightly touches my arm, I feel nothing
unusual.

“
So I never got your name,”
he says, his mouth curving into a friendly smile.

I pause beside him. “I’m
Liora.”

“
Hi, Liora. I’m Tristan St.
John. My friends call me Tris sometimes.”

“
Hey.”
Demons call me Lucky sometimes
.

“
I was wondering if you
could tell me where room 217 is. I have Trig there
next.”

I sigh.
Seriously?
But I’m determined to be
nice, if for no other reason than to make up for being such a
psycho earlier. “I’m actually headed there now myself. You can walk
with me if you like.”

Tristan flashes another easy grin and
falls into place beside me.

“
Kinda late in the year to
be starting at a new school, isn’t it?” I ask as we weave through
the throng of students. Some glance in our direction, and as usual,
they’re far more interested in the boy beside me than in
me
.

“
Yeah. My sister Cassie
wasn’t happy about it. But I don’t care much.”

“
So why’d you move
here?”

He shrugs, his gaze sweeping the
hallway “My family had some obligations in the area. We don’t know
how long we’ll be here, though…”

I find his answer interesting. What
possible ‘obligations’ could one have in Dove Creek, Virginia? The
obligation to die of boredom, or, if you’re really lucky, be
attacked by demons, vampires, shape shifters, or other freaky
things that roam around here at night?

“
Here we are,” I mutter as
we reach the classroom door. This time, however, the only empty
seat is on the other side of the room. I take my place in the far
corner and stare at the back of Tristan’s head, wishing he was
still sitting beside me.

Chapter 3. Lucky

My eyes scan the forest.
“Bones….Bones!”

Where is he?

I dismount Diablo and approach the
River of Kings, pulling my cloak over my head. Bones told me he was
on patrol tonight, so he should be here. But it’s quiet, and
there’s no sign of him anywhere.

Automatically, I reach for
my dagger and cast a wary eye across the surrounding grounds. I
know I’m just being paranoid, but one can never be too careful,
especially these days. The bridge is supposed to never be left
unguarded, especially since that incident several weeks ago when
Cody and Ivy were attacked and killed. Even though only Bones,
Kieron and I know what
really
happened that night, the rest of our tribe is
still on edge. It was nothing short of a miracle we were able to
diffuse the situation and stop an all-out war. Fortunately, Bones
can be a pretty good liar when he needs to be.

I cross the river of dancing flames
and head to the enormous grey boulder resting against the hillside.
Only after I press the secret lever to enter Demon Bar do I dare
put my dagger away. Daisy, Ivy’s replacement, greets me warmly as I
reach the bottom of the steps. I smile back, but a flash of anger
rips through me as I remember how I’d discovered Ivy’s beaten,
broken body…and how it was I who’d put the final nail in her
coffin, ending her suffering with my own deadly bursts of fire. Not
one of my happier memories.

Daisy twirls her pink hair around a
finger and loudly smacks her gum.

“’
Sup, crazy Daze?” I lean
forward, air-kissing both her cheeks. No contact here. One
controlled touch from her can turn any demon or demion into ash,
stone or fire, depending on what she feels like at the moment.
We’re friends, but one can never be too careful. “Bones
here?”

She rolls her eyes and loudly pops a
bubble. “Yeah, he and Catalina are in the back drinking. They might
as well get a room or something.”

My eyes narrow. What does
she mean by that? I’d noticed Bones and Catalina have been spending
more time together than usual, as they were both very close with
Ivy and Cody. Still, as pure demons, they can’t
still
be sad and needing to
commiserate. Surely they’ve long since shut off their upsetting
feelings the way only demons can. The way I wish
I
could.

So what are they doing
together?

I sashay across the room, barely
glancing at the other patrons. My eyes fixate on the couple in the
back, obviously enjoying each other’s company. A little too much
for my liking.

“
Hi, Lucky,” the stunning
redhead greets me as I pull up a chair and plop myself next to
them. I have to give Catalina credit. If there’s a demon in here
who is close to being as beautiful as me, she
might
be it.

I turn to Bones and give
him a wide smile, but he glances away. My chest tightens. “Hi, Cat.
Hi, Bones. What’s up? Why you guys sitting way back here?” I ask,
hoping I sound casual. But inside I’m seething. It’s one thing for
Bones to go off and seduce his Sapie women…he
has
to do that or he’ll die. But it’s
quite another to see him making time with another demon, one he
has
no business
being interested in.

Catalina fluffs her long, wavy crimson
hair and leans forward to reach for her glass, her ample cleavage
catching Bones’ approving eye. “Oh, we just wanted somewhere we
could talk quietly while we had our drinks. Sometimes it gets so
crazy in here, I can’t even hear myself think!” She gives a high,
tinkling laugh. Bones smirks and leans back, one muscular arm
cocked behind his head, the other casually draped over Catalina’s
chair.

My insides smolder as I
glance back and forth between the two of them.
What the hell is going on here?

“
You missing something?”
Now a mischievous twinkle lights up Bones’ eyes.

“
Obviously, I
am.
” I narrow mine, and
he smirks again. I hate this cocky look he gets…the one that says
how he knows he’s the sexiest creature alive and no woman can
resist him. I hate it because he’s right. But demons are supposed
to be immune to his incubus charms. Yet here Catalina sits, looking
like she’s just dying to jump in his lap. Bitch.

“
You don’t have a drink.”
He stands up and removes his black leather coat, revealing a
muscular torso beneath his form-fitting sweater.
God, he’s beautiful
.
“What’ll it be?”

I wave my hand. “Whatever.”
He steps over to the bar and I catch the lustful look in Catalina’s
eyes. I know
this
look well, too…the one that says I’ll do anything to be yours.
It’s the same expression that must’ve been plastered on my face
every time I looked at him. That is, until I met Kieron.

Kieron…
Damn him
…Where the hell is
he?

If Kieron was here, I wouldn’t be
having all these mixed up feelings over Bones. I wouldn’t care if
he was making time with some trampy demon with slutty red hair. I
wouldn’t care that he was looking at her the same way he used to
look at me.

“
So, Lucky, when is Kieron
supposed to be returning?”

It’s all I can do not to slap
Catalina’s perfect, pouty lips right off her face. “Dunno. Soon, I
guess.” I smile and shrug.

“
Must be hard on you, him
being away for so long—”

“
Here ya go, Lucky Lady.
Jack on the rocks with an extra shot of Source Energy. You look
like you could use it.” Bones returns and sets the drink down on
the table in front of me.

I shoot him another
glare.
What the hell does that
mean?
I look amazing, as always. Better, in
fact, as I’m wearing a brand new, low-cut, sparkly red and black
outfit specially made for me by the fire-witches of Rome. Top of
the line and devastatingly sexy.