Milayna (37 page)

“You want to have something cold to drink and sit on the back deck? Or do you want to come over to my place? I just stocked my refrigerator with all your favorites.” He grinned.

“Our parents aren’t home. They aren’t going to like—”

“I don’t care.” At the argument he saw forming on my lips, he said, “I don’t care. I’m not leaving you alone. Besides, once your dad finds out what happened, he won’t be mad.”

“You can’t tell my dad.” I grabbed Chay’s arm, my eyes wide. If it got out that we thought Muriel was a traitor, true or not, it would put a wedge the size of China between our families. I couldn’t let that happen.

“We have to tell him.”

“No,” I shook my head.

“Why the hell not?” Chay’s voice rose, and I flinched.

“Because if he thinks Muriel is involved, he’ll go to Uncle Rory. If Muriel isn’t involved, it will cause a lot of anger in my family. Maybe something that can’t be repaired. If Muriel is involved, we don’t want her to know that we know. So you can’t tell my dad.”

Chay licked his lips and looked at the sky before he nodded once. “Fine. We’ll tell him you had a vision, but I’m not leaving you alone, Milayna.”

I smiled. “I don’t want you to.”

“I’ll meet you out back.” He walked down the drive. I heard the gate to the backyard creak open before he closed and latched it.

I dropped my things on the foyer floor on my way to the kitchen to grab some cold Cokes and a bag of chips. I jumped when I saw Chay watching me through the patio door.

I opened the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s go to my house.” He filled the doorway, blocking my view outside. But I smelled the sulfur.

“Why?” He didn’t answer me. “Chay? Why?” When he didn’t answer, I grabbed the pops and chips. I elbowed him in the ribs so he’d move from the door and I walked outside, laying the snacks on the patio table.

“This is so messed up! Like, mondo bizzarro.” I watched as the six hobgoblins ran through my yard, cackling and spraying each other with the water hose. I dropped down in a deck chair and leaned back into the cushions. “This is so not how I imagined my senior year.”

Chay laughed and sat down next to me. “They’ll get tired sooner or later and leave.”

“Yeah, I know. Wanna make out while we’re waiting?” I asked with a smile.

“Stupid question.” He moved closer to me and lowered his head to mine.

“Chay! Kissing Milayna? Naughty, naughty,” the friendly goblin squealed. The other five stopped and looked at us. Scarface scowled.

“Get your kisses in now, boy. The day is almost here. Her birthday. No need to get her anything. She won’t be around long enough to enjoy it,” Scarface growled.

Three days until my birthday.

Jake loved the gym. He confronted me the first time in the gym. I supposed it was a logical choice. It was Saturday, so the gym was empty.

We’d finished another swim practice to get ready for a meet we had the next week. Muriel and I were on our way to the locker room, but we made a detour to the vending machines. The back way to the locker room was closest, but we had to cut through the gym. Big mistake.

We were talking about practice. Who did well, who sucked. Who was dating whom, who was cheating… all the good juice. We were halfway across the room when Jake and his friends appeared.

“Nice job at practice today.” Jake smiled. The face I used to find so beautiful now disgusted me.

Neither Muriel nor I answered. We were sizing up the group, calculating our chances of getting out of the gym—through the doors. I wasn’t in favor of taking a detour through Hell.

“Not speaking to me?” Jake raised an eyebrow at me and folded his arms across his chest. My stomach dropped when his biceps flexed, and not in the gooey-swoony way they would have a couple of months before. No, more like the how-the-hell-are-we-gonna-get-outta-this way.

I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and tasted sour.

Fear, Milayna, that’s what it tastes like. Oh, shut up! I should be giving myself a pep talk, not telling myself I’m scared shitless.

I looked from side to side and bounced slightly on the balls of my feet. Closing my eyes for the count of three, I visualized somewhere calming to steady my racing heart. I didn’t trust Jake, so I didn’t dare keep my eyes closed long.

There were four of them. If Chay sensed trouble and came, we’d be fine. We could take them. If not, well, Muriel and I would be visiting a warmer climate, and it wouldn’t be the Caribbean.

When I dropped my bag from my shoulder, it hit the floor with a loud thud. I kept the strap wrapped around my hand, tensing my fingers. Inhaling a deep breath through my nose, I blew it out slowly before inhaling another.

I stared at Jake, trying really hard not to look away, even though I wanted to watch the others. I had to trust Muriel for that and trusting her was something I was having trouble doing, especially since it was her idea to take the back way to the locker room.

“Maybe we can outrun them,” Muriel whispered so low that I had to strain to hear her over the blood galloping behind my ears.

As if on cue, one of the Evils walked around and stood behind us. We’d have to plow through him to get out of the door. That would give Jake and his Azazel-loving homies time to catch us, and I’d rather fight Jake head on than have him gain the upper hand by grabbing me from behind.

“Doubtful.” I shook my head slightly.

Jake stood directly in front of us, blocking our way to the locker room. His flunkies had circled us, one on the left and one on the right. The guy in the back blocked our way into the hall. There was nowhere to run.

Chay, come on. Please.

Jake rushed Muriel. The guy behind us ran to me. So did the guy on my left. I tightened my grip on the strap of my book bag. When they were close enough, I swung it around. It hit the first guy hard on the side of the head, knocking him backward. But it lost momentum and the second guy knocked it away.

He wasn’t very large, no more than a couple inches taller than I was. But he was strong, and his skills were nearly equal to mine. The only good thing on my side was that the other guy was still holding the side of his head. He stumbled backward, hit the bleachers, and fell and hit his head a second time on the side of the seat. Guy number one was so sufficiently dazed that I didn’t have to worry about him—yet.

The second guy jabbed me in the gut. The air whooshed from my lungs. While I was trying to recover from the hit, he hit me hard across the injured side of my face. Stars lit up in front of my eyes. I stumbled backward. My legs wobbled. My entire body hurt from the constant fighting and for a second, a tiny part of my mind wanted to give up. Just let what would happen… happen.

Get it together. Stop being a freakin’ baby. Fight!

And I did. I jabbed him in the side and gave a quick uppercut to the chin. Grabbing his arms, I tried to knee him in the crotch, but he recovered in time and threw me off him, punching me in the rib cage. I was sure I heard a crunch. The pain was blinding, and I couldn’t stifle the scream that ripped from my mouth.

I heard one of the gym doors bang against the wall. Chay ran into the gym. I heard him tackle one of Azazel’s homies. I didn’t have time to look and see which one. My new bestie was advancing on me.

I watched him move around me. Protecting my side with one arm, I held the other ready for the block.

Expecting a blow to the face, his hands were raised to protect it. I punched his crotch several times in quick succession as hard as I could. He bent over, howling in pain. I locked my foot around the back of his leg and pushed him hard against the chest. He fell to the ground, his head bouncing off the gym floor once, like a deflated basketball.

I looked across the room at Jake. He pulled a small dagger from the waistband of his jeans. He watched Muriel while he turned the knife over and over in his hand. He tilted his head to the side, his expression thoughtful. The sunlight streaming through the windows glinted off the metallic blade.

“Muriel!” I screamed, but she was busy fighting a short, fat guy. He looked innocent enough, with his mop of curly, blond hair and deep dimples, but he was strong and faster than he looked. Muriel was struggling to keep up with his constant attacks.

Jake’s gaze flicked to mine when I screamed Muriel’s name. He bounced the dagger in his palm a few times and smirked at me before returning his gaze to Muriel. This time, his expression had purpose. He was focused.

I was too far away to get to Jake before he rushed Muriel. If I didn’t do something, I knew he was going to hurt her. Jake had lost all his morals. He was the personification of evil. It was hard to believe he was the same person who fought alongside us just days before.

He moved toward Muriel. A sneer marred his face. His denim-blue eyes that I’d always loved were clouded with hate. Evil. He was going to stab Muriel. I had no doubt, and I was too far away to do anything to help her. Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I swallowed it down. It burned a trail to my stomach. Panic bubbled inside me and glued me in place. For several precious seconds I stood watching, doing nothing, my head void of any thought as I watched the events unfold in front of me. My heart banged against my chest so hard and fast that I couldn’t breathe. Muriel was going to die, and I had a front-row seat. My hands started to shake. Sweat slithered down my spine and pooled at the base of my back.

I can’t breathe… I can’t breathe… Oh my… Muriel…

A strong wind blew through the gym and hit me. I stumbled. It knocked the panic out of me and forced me to move. My eyes darted around the gym, and my head bounced ideas around like someone was dribbling a basketball inside my skull. I searched for a way to help Muriel. Turning in a circle, I looked for anything I could use as a weapon.

Telekinesis.

“How?” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ve never made it happen on my own.”

I have the power. Telekinesis. I can do it. I’ve done it, but I don’t know how I did it! Information that would come in handy right about now. I need to kiss Chay to make it work!

I focused on the dagger, envisioning it flying from Jake’s hand to mine. I tried to empty my mind—no small feat, considering that we were being attacked. Concentrating as hard as I could, I visualized the knife flying out of Jake’s hand. I watched him run toward Muriel.

A strong jolt ran through my body, the kind you got when you stuck your tongue on the end of a nine-volt battery times ten. I shuddered, my hands started to tremble, and adrenaline-filled blood pulsed through my veins at an incredible rate. I could feel it run against the sides of my veins, throbbing as it pushed its way through my body.

I focused all my energy on the dagger. He raised it above Muriel, and my gaze locked on it. I watched as he lowered it toward Muriel’s back. Reaching out my hand, I focused harder. The knife vibrated in his hand. I concentrated even harder. The vibration got stronger. Just as the tip pricked Muriel’s back, it flew backward. I caught it as it whizzed by my head. Obviously, judging by the close proximity of the knife to my face, my aim needed some work.

Jake roared in anger. Realizing their defeat when they lost the dagger and giving me a way to protect myself from Hell’s demons, the Evils ran out of the gym. Jake glared at me, his face contorted in an ugly sneer. “This isn’t over, Milayna,” he said through clenched teeth.

“I’m counting on it.” My eyes locked on his. We stared at each other for what seemed like minutes, but was more likely a few seconds. He looked away first, the first sign of weakness he’d shown since the battles began. I was getting stronger. And we both knew it.

***

“You did it?” my dad asked with a huge smile when Chay brought me home.

“Yeah.” I was still amazed it’d worked.

“How?” Drew asked.

The news of the attack spread quickly throughout the group, and everyone had congregated in my small kitchen.

“I don’t know. I just imagined the knife flying from his hand to mine. I concentrated on the image… and it just did.”

“You know what this is, right? I mean, everybody realizes what she’s done.” Chay looked at me, his eyes soft. He reached out and trailed a finger down the side of my face.

“I just got us a kickass, demon-killing dagger is what I’ve done.” I laughed when Chay chuckled.

“Keep it with you at all times, Milayna. Keep it on you. Not in your book bag, not in your purse. Keep it on you. We’ll get you a sheath to carry it in. Maybe one that fits around your ankle where it won’t be noticeable. I want you to have it whenever and wherever you are,” my dad said. He turned the knife over and over in his hand.

“It sure is pretty for a dagger made from the coals of Hell.” Muriel watched my dad roll it in his hand.

The dagger had a medium-length blade. A person would have to be close to their attacker to use it. The blade was engraved with a beautifully intricate design. But as pretty as the blade was, the handle was extraordinary. It was gold and embedded with small gemstones. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds glistened in the light and created rainbows on the ceiling and walls.

I didn’t think something so beautiful could come from the bowels of a place as wretched as Hell.

***

Two days until my birthday.

Chay came over Sunday for a study date. It turned out to be more date than studying, which was fine with both of us. We sat on the back deck with our books covering the patio table. Charts and lab notes were everywhere. Pens and pencils lay unused next to them while we talked about everything except Azazel.

“What are you going to do after graduation?” I asked him. The thought that after high school our paths might lead us in different directions stole my breath, like someone was physically sucking it out of my lungs and I couldn’t fill them again.

It was then, I knew. I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself, or anyone else, but I knew. Chay was the air I breathed. The reason my world turned. Why I got out of bed early on the weekends, even after I repeatedly told him weekends were for sleeping in. The reason the stars twinkled in the night sky and the sun woke up every morning. The reason I wanted to beat Azazel. Because Chay was my reason—I could tackle anything.

“College.”

I wasn’t sure I liked that answer. Of course I wanted him to go to college; I just didn’t want him to leave.

“Where?” I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

He looked at the sky, and I watched the colors in his eyes change from blue to green. “Here for starters. I’ll do my first two years of standard courses here, and then I’ll decide where to transfer, if I transfer at all. And you?” He looked down at our hands, our fingers threaded together. He gently rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand.

I let out the breath I was holding. That was my plan too, and I smiled. We’d go to the same college, at least for two years. “The same.”