The Devil's Prey (The Demon Within) (6 page)

‘I am sorry
…I thought…you were…I just…people can’t do that to me!”’ Everyone had a serious look of concern plastered on their faces, and I just wanted to crawl under the bed and disappear.

‘W
ell, I just came to tell you that we lost power- but it is back on again, so never mind.’ He looked at me, cringed, and left the room.

‘Summer
, are you ok?’ Ethan placed his hand on my shoulder, and I felt my body light up like a light bulb. Outside, the rain hammered hard on the roof.

‘D
epends on your definition of ok.’ I turned to face Lauren, who seemed to be looking outside with a hint of interest and amusement.

‘Summer
, may I ask- when did the clouds appear in the sky?’ Her gaze did not leave the window as she spoke to me.

‘W
hen I started to argue with Ethan. What does that have to do with anything?’ I looked outside to see it was no longer raining. The sun was trying to peek its way through the clouds.

‘Lauren
, do you think that is the reason?’ I could sense that Ethan wanted to pull me into his arms and keep me close, but he was too scared of how fragile I was. It was starting to annoy me.

‘W
hat are you leaving me out on?’ My gaze turned to Lauren, who still was watching the sky, waiting for something to happen.

‘Ethan
, I want you to kiss Summer,’ she said.

M
y mouth dropped open and I heard Ethan gasp.  Why would she ask such a thing? Before I had time to think about it, Ethan leaned so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. He planted a light kiss on my cheek. I could tell this was awkward
for him too, because his cheeks were bright red, almost the same colour as Amanda’s hair.

‘Ethan
, come on. A proper kiss. You can do better,’ Lauren teased. I could see her amusement, as she knew this was a very awkward thing to ask.

‘
Do you know how awkward this is?’ He sighed and looked pointedly at Lauren.

‘O
h, come on, Ethan. I know how badly you want to kiss her, and Summer, you are no different.’ Amanda! Why couldn’t she just stay out of my head?  She laughed at my inner comment, and I scowled at her. I looked at Ethan, who had a smile on his face. He took my hand in his, and I felt warmth spiraling through my body.

I wished then that I hadn’t put him through all this trouble over the last two days.
I missed him. So much. I missed how warm he was, how he laughed at every lame joke I made. I missed being close to him. I leaned forward and kissed him. He was surprised at first, but the shock wore off fast, and I soon felt him responding to my kiss. I no longer cared if the whole world was watching. It was just me and Ethan. I felt my body explode into a million pieces, and my heart raced so fast that I felt like it was about to leap out of my chest.

I heard someone clear their
throat, reminding us that they were still here in my room. I pulled away and Ethan cupped my face in his hands. I looked into his stunning green eyes, the same eyes that made my heart melt every time.

‘I love you
,’ he whispered, soft enough that only I could hear. I was about to say the same when Amanda butted in.

‘O
k, you two love birds. As much as I know you would like to clear the air between you two, I think Lauren has made a discovery!’

I turned to Lauren
, who was still gazing at the sky. It was so bright now that the sun itself might have been in danger of getting skin cancer.

‘T
his weather is so strange. It’s not normal.’ I gazed into the clear blue sky, wondering at the sudden change from cold and rainy to sunny.

‘Amanda
, what does Lauren think?’
I kept my gaze fixed on the blue sky, waiting for her to reply.

‘
She thinks you are controlling the weather. At the moment it is emotions. When you are upset or angry, you create a thunderstorm, and when you are happy it is sunny blue skies. I wonder what would cause snow?’
I turned to Ethan, who had a huge grin on his face- and not because of what Amanda just told me in my mind.

‘Y
ou think my emotions are controlling the weather?’ I asked Lauren.

She
looked aghast by the fact that I knew. ‘How did you know? Only Amanda and I knew, because Amanda…is Amanda. There is no way you would reach that kind of conclusion on your own. How did you do it?’

I looked at Amanda
, who was saying
‘Don’t tell,’
but something told me to tell Lauren.

‘Amanda told me
,’ I said simply, not wanting to explain.

‘B
ut you haven’t said a word.’ Lauren had a curious look on her face. I was a mystery to be solved.

‘S
he told me in my head. I asked her, and she answered. I seem to have telepathy, but I can only talk to Amanda, and I cannot hear other people’s thoughts,’ I stated, trying to sound nonchalant.

  ‘W
hen did you discover this? And why am I only hearing of this now? Ethan, did you know?’

Ethan shook his head
, looking a little disappointed. I knew he was upset that I hadn’t told him.

‘T
he first day of school. I did not know I was doing it until Amanda pointed it out, and we talk like that a lot when other people are around.’ I looked over at Amanda, who had a very good poker face on.

‘H
ave you experimented with it yet?’ I knew what Lauren was getting at- more training for me.

‘You should tell her
,’
Amanda said, still with her poker face on.

‘No! I will get in so much trouble if she knew!’
I glanced at Amanda who was no longer facing me ‘
Bitch!’
I could see her smile, and I rolled my eyes.

‘Something you two would like to share?’  Lauren suggested
, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘No!’
I said quickly.

‘Yes!’ 
Amanda spoke at the same time, and Lauren’s face was amused.

‘Summer would like to tell you something
.’ Amanda smiled. I knew what she was doing. She was going to put all the blame on me.

‘Ok
, maybe we did experiment with how far we could talk.’ I turned my head and cringed. Lauren was clearly about to blow after finding out what we had been keeping from her.

‘And how far were you?’

I shifted in my seat, knowing that once I told her, she was going to explode like a rocket.

‘U
mm… I was at Amy’s house, and Amanda was at school.’ I sat and waited for Lauren to explode in three…two…one…

‘You knew where Summer was?’

We all cringed at her raised voice. Amanda tried to talk, but Lauren cut her off.

‘I had everyone looking for you
, Summer, and you were at Amy’s place! A human’s home. And you, Amanda- you had been in contact with her and didn’t tell anyone!’

We all sa
t there like little kids as we got a scowling from Lauren.

She continued,
‘I expected better from all of you, and you, Summer…’

I knew I was about to get it when I remembered something that
I figured might amuse her. ‘Lauren, before you bite my head off, there is something else. The other day, I made my alarm clock turn off without touching it, and I think that has something do with the fact that I was able to move Ethan.’ I waited and could see Lauren’s face turn from furious to curious.

‘S
o you’re telling me you think you have telekinesis as well as telepathy- and are able to control the weather?’ She ran her eyes over me, but it wasn’t quite positive. I felt as though she were assessing me like a bit of gum under her shoe.

‘W
ell, the last part is what you think…and I didn’t come up with any of these conclusions.’ I could tell she didn’t appreciate my sarcasm, which had been coming out a lot since…well, since
that night.
Sarcasm must be a pure fairy trait.

‘W
e will have to finish this later. I need to cook dinner.’ She left the room in a flash of light, which left the rest of us waiting.

‘U
mm …I think…I have to go find someone… yeah. See you later.’ Amanda left the room, knowing that Ethan and I both wanted to talk to each other. We sat still, staring at each other, before I found my voice to talk because truth be told, I didn’t know what to say.

‘Ethan
, I am sorry for everything. I never meant to say what I did. I never should have left. I just, well-’ I never got to finish my speech that I had been thinking of all day, because Ethan interrupted it with a kiss. It was warm and soft, like always. I wrapped my hands around his neck. When he pulled away, his forehead leaning against mine, I could still taste him on my lips.

‘A
pology accepted, and I am sorry I got mad at you. You were right. I have no clue what it felt like, and I never will, but I will always keep you safe.’

I never made it to dinne
r that night. I was so tired that I fell asleep before dinner was even finished. I heard people coming in and out the room, but I had no clue who they were or what they wanted. I heard Amanda came into the room much later. I stirred in my bed when she closed the door, and realized drowsily that someone else was with her

‘
Do you think she can handle all this?’ Amanda was whispering, but I could still hear her.

‘I hope so
, but only time will tell.’ Nothing more was said after that, and I fell into a very deep sleep.

I have no idea how long I slept before
someone came bursting into our room. ‘Come on, ladies! Up you get!’

I moaned
. ‘Get lost, will you? I want to sleep.’ I pulled my covers over my head, hoping I could hide.

‘N
ope, up you get!’  My covers were pulled off me, and I was cold.

‘Ethan
, please. Not this again,’ Amanda grunted.

‘N
ope, it’s time for school!’ I lay in bed, ignoring him, but then he opened the blinds and sunlight streamed into the room.

‘A
hhh! Ethan! I don’t want to go to school.’ I wanted those blinds shut- and with that, they shut all by themselves, and I smiled to myself.

‘Summer
,’ he murmured in my ear. He kissed my neck, and that sent a thrill through my body, which got me up.

‘Ethan
, that is not fair.’ I stretched my arms over my head, cracking my back in the process.

‘Fair is my middle name
. Now come on, Amanda . Wakey wakey!’ Once Amanda got past all her colorful words for Ethan, she finally got up.

‘Y
ou girls are going to be my doom, waking you up every morning,’ Ethan said. He left the room, leaving us alone to get ready for school.

‘H
ow is your arm?’ Amanda gazed over at me, and I undid the bandages to see a light scar.

‘B
etter, I think.’ But the moment the words left my lips, I felt a stinging pain on my upper thigh. ‘Ouch!’ I yelped. I pulled my boxers a little higher to see a trickle of blood running down my leg.

A betrayal will be made

I looked up at Amanda, who looked horrified. ‘Summer, you ok?’

I
gave her a look that said,
Do I look ok to you?

‘S
ure. As happy as a daisy.’ I wiped away the blood from the message. ‘First my arm, now my leg. What’s next, my forehead?’

Amanda gave me a wary look
. ‘Don’t jinx it.’ She was trying to make a joke out of it, but it really didn’t help.

‘W
ell, I guess I am wearing jeans for the next few days. Again,’ I sighed. I really wanted to wear shorts. When we were dressed and ready, Ethan was waiting outside for us.

‘G
ood. I am glad to see you, otherwise I would have been coming back in to wake you up.’ He gave us a cheeky smile and wandered ahead of us.

‘I swear, Amanda, as much as I love him, I am going to kill him one day.’

I saw Amanda smile
and nod her head. ‘
If he wakes me up one more time, I am going to threaten him by reading his deepest thoughts.’
Both Amanda and I laughed, and Ethan stopped and turned around.

‘W
hat’s so funny?’

‘N
othing,’ we said in unison.

‘Y
ou are talking to each other, aren’t you?’  Ethan was looking between us both, and I just shrugged my shoulders. ‘Care to let me in?’ He raised one eyebrow, indicating that he wanted to know what we found so amusing.

‘N
ope, its girl stuff.’ Amanda smiled, flashing all her perfect white teeth.

‘Girl
stuff, you say!’ He took a step closer to me, and I know what he was going to do. ‘Does this change your mind?’ He kissed me, and I kissed him back.