Inner Demons
Authors: Sarra Cannon
By Sarra Cannon
Dead River Books
For Mom
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by Dead River Books
Copyright © 2010 by Sarra Cannon Bittmann
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Cover design by Ken Vahn, [email protected].
Find Sarra Cannon on the web!
www.sarracannon.com
www.twitter.com/sarramaria
Beautiful Demons
Inner Demons
Table of Contents
The Magic Doesn't Come From the Words
Are We Ready For a Great Pep-Rally?
Because She Knows How Much I Like You
We're Talking About Things Way Past My Experience Level
What Did I Really Know About Jackson Hunt?
I'm Really Not Allowed to Talk About It
Maybe You're Just Drawn to Bad Guys
I Won't Have You Associating With Those Girls
Why Does It Always Have to Be About Her?
I Might Have Seen Something Important
Something startled me from my sleep. I sat straight up in bed and rubbed my eyes. The house was quiet and dark. I listened.
A small rock rebounded off the window. I crawled out of bed and tiptoed across the cold wood floor. Who the hell was throwing rocks at my room at two in the morning on a school night?
Down below, I saw the silhouettes of three girls. I laughed softly and shook my head. Of course. I lifted the window and whispered down to them. “What are you doing here? Are you guys insane?”
Giggles below, then a loud, “Shhhh!”
“Get your booty down here,” Lark said.
“It's two in the morning,” I protested.
“Don't argue,” Brooke called up to me. She adjusted the large black bag on her shoulder. “It's what we always do before the first practice, so get some clothes on and get your butt down here.”
I rolled my eyes and closed the window. Ten minutes later, I was outside, bundled up in a sweatsuit. “Okay, here I am. What's this all about anyway? It better be worth showing up at school tomorrow with circles under my eyes,” I said. I wasn't really upset, though. It was kind of fun to sneak out in the middle of the night for some super-secret tradition.
“About time you got down here.” Allison hooked her arm around mine and pulled me toward the overgrown garden. “Did you have any trouble getting out of the house?”
“Nope, I wasn't locked in tonight,” I said, then bit my lip. I realized it probably wasn't a good idea to advertise the fact that the bedroom doors at Shadowford had locks on the outside.
“Locked in?” Lark raised her eyebrows.
“Well, not literally,” I said. Attempting to laugh it off. “I just meant that no one was up keeping watch.”
“Oh,” Lark said. “That's good. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. Most of the parents know about the ritual so they don't usually care, but then again, we're used to doing this in the middle of the summer before school starts.”
“And it usually involves a whole class of rookies,” Brooke said. She led us through the garden, past Ella Mae and Jackson's house, and out into the darkness beyond. I'd never even been this far back behind the house before.
“So what are we doing anyway?”
“You'll see,” Allison said in a sing-song voice.
“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Brooke asked.
I shrugged. “Not really.”
“Good,” Lark said. “There's nothing to be nervous about anyway. You'll catch on quick.”
“I'm more nervous about my first game coming up in a couple of weeks.”
“At least your first game will be an away game. My first game was at home, and it was completely nerve-wracking. The whole town was there.” Allison stepped over a fallen branch and held my hand to guide me over. “Your first game will be a piece of cake. Andrew County is what? Over an hour away? There won't be nearly as many people there from Peachville, so there won't be much pressure on you.”
“I love away games,” Brooke said. “The bus rides are always fun.”
“You just like to scout out the cute boys from the other towns,” Lark teased.
“I don't know, she's been getting pretty friendly with Foster lately,” Allison said.
Even in the dark, I could tell Brooke was blushing. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. I bit my lip and kept my mouth closed. Why did no one else seem to think it was strange that Brooke was crushing on Tori's boyfriend only a month after her death? It nagged at me. When she was alive, she was their best friend, and now it was as if no one even remembered her.
“Homecoming is coming up in just a month. Has Drake asked you yet?” Lark asked.
“To the game?” I said.
“No, to the dance, silly.”
“What kind of dance?” In my mind, I was picturing a bowl of punch, some streamers, and a bunch of kids sitting on the bleachers looking bored.
“Kind of like prom, I guess,” Allison said, “but slightly less formal.”
My stomach tightened. Where was I going to get the money to buy a fancy dress? “When is it?”
“Four weeks,” Brooke said. “The game is on Friday night and the dance is Saturday night.”
“Do you think Foster is going to ask you?”
“I don't know, but he better ask me soon or I'll have to find someone else. I'm on the Senior Court this year and there's no way I'm going without a date.”
Lark punched Brooke in the arm teasingly. “You could probably have any guy you wanted.”
“Except for Drake,” Brooke said, flashing a smile my way.
Yes, Drake and I had been pretty exclusive the past few weeks. Ever since the whole Agnes thing, he'd been glued to my side like a private bodyguard. In some ways, I loved the attention.On the other hand, sometimes I wondered if Drake really liked me or if he just felt that he should be dating a cheerleader. All he ever talked about was himself and football. So far, it wasn't the most thrilling relationship of my life.
“I take it he hasn't mentioned the dance to you yet?” Allison asked.
“Not yet,” I said.
“Don't worry. He'll ask. It's still early yet.”
I didn't say anything, but I kind of hoped he wouldn't ask. There was no way I could afford a dress at this point. Not without a job, and where in the world would I find the time for that? As of tomorrow, I'd have cheerleading practice every single day after school.
“Maybe next Saturday we can all go dress shopping.”
I stumbled over a tree stump. Crap.
“You in, Harper?” Allison asked.
Before I had a chance to answer, Brooke stopped and held up her hand for us to be quiet.
The night air was crisp and wind blew my hair back from my face. We had come to the edge of the property. In front of us, thick woods spread out as far as I could see, dark and mysterious. I shivered. Where exactly were they taking me?
“Come on, unless you're too scared,” Brooke said.
To be honest, I was a little scared. I glanced at my watch. Two-twenty in the morning. I glanced longingly back toward Shadowford. I wanted to be back in my warm bed. But wasn't this what I'd always wanted? To be a part of something special? What was wrong with me?
I drew in a sharp, cold breath.
“Lead the way.”
The dense forest was dark.I hesitated.
“It's just a little farther,” Lark said, tugging on my arm.
I pulled back, not wanting her to drag me into the darkness. “Did anyone bring a flashlight?”
I tried to sound casual, but instead my voice came out slightly panicked.
“We don't need a flashlight,” Brooke said. “Illuminate.”
An amber spark formed just above Brooke's hand. My mouth dropped. The spark slowly grew into a perfectly shaped orb the color of the sunrise. I wanted to reach out and touch it, to put my hand on it and see if it was real.
“How did you do that?”
Brooke turned, her face bathed in the light of the conjured sun. “There is so much you are about to learn,” she said. “Come on, let's go to the clearing.”
We walked into the darkness of the dense forest. Everyone stayed close to Brooke, who was holding the orb of light in the palm of her hand. About five minutes later we reached a small circular clearing. Not a single leaf or stray pine cone littered the ground. The wind rustled in the canopy of trees above us. No one spoke, and I knew we had come upon a place of great power.
I gasped as I noticed a stone statue at the far edge of the clearing. It looked like a sister statue to the one in front of the school. Not exactly the same, but very close.
“What is this place?” I whispered.
“The clearing has been here for over a hundred years. Not a single tree will grow in this spot,” Lark said. She looked around in awe as she spoke.
How could nothing have grown here in over a hundred years? It felt as if I had stumbled upon a forgotten battleground. “What happened here?”
“Can you feel the power?” Allison asked, coming to stand at my side. She took my hand and pulled me into the circle. “It's amazing, isn't it?”
As my feet stepped into the clearing, I felt the hum of the earth under me. It vibrated in my bones and from my knees all the way up to my teeth. I felt suddenly wide awake with anticipation.“Do you remember that night at the slumber party when you thought you saw a tattoo on my back?” Lark said.
“I remember,” I said.
Brooke set the black bag on the ground and we all sat down around it. As more of my body touched the ground, I felt even more of the power begin to flow through me.
Lark leaned forward and lifted up the back of her shirt. I gasped. A small butterfly flapped its wings across her back. Its wings were bright blue and black. I shook my head and shut my eyes tight, then reopened them. The butterfly was still moving.
“Touch it,” she said. “It's okay.”
I hesitated, then reached out to run my hand across the small of her back. Her skin was warm. I don't know what I was expecting. A tattoo, I guess. Flat and lifeless, but enchanted perhaps? Instead, the butterfly was slightly upraised, and I could feel it moving across her skin. I pulled my hand away. It felt alive.
Lark laughed and pulled her shirt back down. “Cool, huh?”
I didn't know whether it was cool or freaky.
“We all have them.”
I looked at each of them in the dim light. “All of you?”
Allison lifted up the back of her shirt and revealed a small yellow and white daisy. Its petals fell off one at a time, then reset only to fall again. I looked to Brooke. She laughed and turned around. Her tattoo was of a chestnut brown horse that galloped from one side of her back to the other.
“What do they mean?”
Brooke sat next to me. “It's a sort of initiation ritual for the team. Before your first practice. All of the cheerleaders have them.”
“But how are they moving?” I already knew it was some kind of magic, but I didn't completely understand the how or why of it. “They seem so...alive.”
The girls all exchanged glances, then Brooke spoke again. “It's a spell,” she said.“Like the orb. The tattoo acknowledges you as a new recruit. It's like a hazing ritual, only this is painless and beautiful.”
The realization of what we were doing out here in the clearing came to me. “So you brought me all the way out here in the middle of the night to give me a tattoo?”
Lark laughed. “Yep. You in?”
“Do I really have a choice?” I was joking in a way, but I also wondered if I did have a choice or not. It didn't really feel like something I could turn down if everyone on the squad had one. The thought of something living inside of me like that gave me the creeps. Would I feel it constantly moving along my back?
“Of course you do, silly,” Brooke said. “But it's fun. Plus we all have them. No big deal.”
I heard her words, but the meaning behind them felt the opposite. This was something I needed to do in order to belong. And what was the hesitation anyway? I wanted to belong, didn't I? “Yeah,” I said. “I'm in.”
The girls cheered and hugged me. Lark reached into the bag and pulled out a dark blue column candle and set it on the ground. It hovered slightly above the grass. Next, she brought out a black velvet bag. She rolled it out across the grass and inside, there were shiny silver instruments. A long knife with blue stones embedded in the hilt. A syringe. A scalpel. A slight twinge of fear coursed through me.
““What are those things for?”
“Don't worry,” Lark said. “It only hurts for a second.”
“Great, that makes me feel much better,” I mumbled.
Brooke put her hand on my arm. “It's really not bad,” she said.
“What will it be?” I asked. “Do I get to choose what I want a tattoo of?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “It's more like your tattoo chooses you. It picks something deep inside your heart and brings it to the surface.”
“Let's hope it doesn't come out to be a tattoo of Drake's face,” Lark teased.
I punched her in the shoulder. “Like he's already gotten deep inside my heart.”
“He hasn't even gotten deep inside her pants yet,” Allison said.
“Oh God, you're disgusting,” I said. I'd already been feeling enough pressure from Drake in that department. I certainly didn't need it from my friends too.
“Haha, very funny,” Brooke said. She looked at her watch. “We need to begin. It's almost three.”
“Is it really going to hurt?”
“Not much,” Lark said, patting my shoulder. “It just feels a little weird for a while, until you get used to it.”
“And it lasts forever?”
“Well, it's not exactly the rest of your life or anything,” Allison said.
“So how long?”
“Until your final ritual of acceptance into the Order of Shadows,” Lark said.
Brooke picked up the syringe and held it toward the light. It was filled with a shimmery liquid.
“What's the Order of Shadows?”
The three girls exchanged looks again. I was getting tired of their secretive glances. At least tonight marked the beginning of being finally welcomed into the group.
“The coven we're all being recruited to join,” Allison said.
“How many witches are there in Peachville?”
Brooke lifted her hand into the air to quiet us. “I know you've got a ton of questions, but this has to be done at exactly three a.m. And right now it's two-fifty-eight.”
“Don't worry,” Lark said. “Tomorrow you'll start your training and all of your questions will be answered.”
“Okay,” I said. “What do you need me to do?” I was little nervous with those strange silver instruments glinting in the fake sunlight.
“Lay down over here,” Brooke said. “On your stomach,”
I laid across the dense green grass and felt the prickle of the tough blades along the front of my body.
Brooke lifted my shirt up in the back and I felt the cold rush of air against my warm skin. I trembled slightly, both from nerves and from the cold.
Laying flat against the ground, I could feel the energetic hum of the earth ten-fold. Its energy flowed through me like an electrical current, and I felt my body pass into a kind of trance. Around me, the other girls began to chant. It felt like a lullaby. I closed my eyes and sank deeper into the grass.
I heard the clash of metal, but it seemed distant. I felt like I was falling into the earth, becoming one with the ground. My body hummed along with it, pulsing to the sound of their chanting voices.
Someone's hands touched my back, then a sharp prick pierced my skin. I wanted to cry out, but I was too deep, too far away. The spot where they pierced me burned for a while, then slowly began to pulse, as if it had a heartbeat of its own. The chanting grew louder and I felt dizzy. Behind my lids, the darkness seemed to twirl and sway.
A searing heat burned my flesh, and my hand gripped the grass in desperate fistfuls. I needed to get up, to stop whatever was happening to me, but I was helpless. My mouth was sealed shut like the door of an ancient tomb, silent and dark. Visions pulsed in and out of my mind's eye like photographs. The woman in white, her dress splattered with blood. A baby crying. A young girl with long brown hair and the deepest blue eyes. My mother, Claire, in a black dress, her eyes somber and red-ringed.
I struggled against it. I wanted them to stop the tattoo. They had lied to me. I knew it now. This was a very big deal. Something was searching my memories.
Something. Or someone. But I was powerless to stop it.
The visions went dark and graciously, the burning subsided into a dull ache in the small of my back. My body was rigid and tense, every muscle on edge. Something slithered through my insides, then crawled to the surface of the skin on my back. I felt it push through like a newborn entering the world for the first time.
Somewhere behind me, I heard a gasp. Then, everything went dark.