“Why, then?”
He cleared his throat and lifted his hand toward my hair. And my insides went nutso. I wasn’t sure what the heck they were doing. I just knew, in that second, on my driveway with spilled garbage around our feet, I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, held my breath, and willed his hand to keep moving.
“Hey,” Muriel called, jogging up the driveway.
Chay dropped his hand and turned away. “Where’s everyone else?”
Great timing, Muriel. Just perfect.
“Right behind me.”
“Good. Lily is almost here.” He ran his hand across the back of his neck. Sulfur. Screaming. Fighting.
I put my hand over my ears. “I can’t have one now!”
Chay pulled my hands away. “Listen to me, Milayna. This is one vision you have to fight—”
“But I can’t fight them.” I started to panic.
“You have to try. The hobgoblins and Lily are coming to force you into a vision. They know if you’re having a vision, you’re at your weakest. They also know you’re our strongest member of the group.”
“But I’ve never—”
“Listen to me! No one is going to get hurt here tonight. There is no reason for the vision. You can fight it.” Chay still held my hands. He gave them a small squeeze before letting go.
“He’s right, honey,” my dad said, walking outside and standing next to me. “This isn’t a vision for you to help a human. They are forcing you into your vision state by creating a false sense of danger. There’s nothing they can do to us.”
“Okay. Okay, I’ll try.”
“Good girl.” My dad gave me a quick kiss on the forehead just as the other members of our group walked up the driveway.
Sulfur. Lily walking toward us.
“Argh, it won’t go away,” I said, cursing violently—things I’d never said in front of my dad, and I felt my face burn with a blush. He didn’t seem to notice, or he didn’t care. My heart raced and sweat pooled at the base of my back.
“What do you see?” Chay asked.
“She’s coming. She’s just a few houses away. She’s alone.”
Why is she alone? Where are the others?
“Yeah, the hobgoblins are in the backyard,” my dad said.
My head jerked up. Only Chay and dad stood in the driveway with me. The rest of the group was in the backyard. I could hear the high-pitched voices of the hobgoblins followed by the muted voices of the others.
Chay. Gray face. Sulfur. So hot.
“Chay,” I whispered. I didn’t know I’d said it out loud until he turned his head and peered into my eyes.
“What?”
“You’re going to get hurt if you stay out here.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. “Go inside.”
“Bumps and bruises, that’s all. We’ll all get knocked around a little.”
“No.” A searing pain burned the back of my eyes. I squeezed them shut, tears springing to life behind my eyelids. I pressed my fingers to them, shaking my head. “No, no, the vision is for you. They’re here for you.”
“The hobgoblins—”
“It’s not them,” I yelled. “It’s something else. Go in the house. You can’t be out here.”
Sulfur. The smell of burning meat. Ash floating in the breeze. Chay.
I heard his name. Just a whisper. I ignored what my dad and Chay told me. I focused on the vision instead of fighting it. Something was wrong. They thought it was Lily coming to convince me to join Azazel. But she was just a diversion. They were really after Chay. Until I turned eighteen, Chay was the highest-ranking DA in the group. He was the strongest, and he gave the members of our group a unique advantage, an advantage Azazel wanted to dispose of. Getting rid of Chay would weaken the group and make it easier for Azazel to pick us off one by one until we were all dead or converted.
I dropped my fingers from my eyes, the tears rolling down my cheeks. “Please trust me. You can’t be here.”
My dad clamped a hand on Chay’s shoulder. “It’s all right, son. We have to protect each other. If Milayna is sure you’re in danger, you need to listen.”
Chay walked in the house, slamming the door behind him. I heard him slide down the door and sit on the kitchen floor, a string of profanities spewing from his mouth. As soon as he was safely inside, the vision dissolved.
“Stubborn, isn’t he?” Dad asked with a chuckle.
“You have no idea.” I looked up and saw Dad’s face set in hard lines.
I tensed and turned in time to see Lily walk around the evergreen tree and start up the driveway. “Hi, Milayna.”
I took a step toward her. “You’re not welcome here, Lily. Leave.”
“I’m not welcome? This isn’t like in the movies where you can keep the vampires away by not inviting them inside.” She laughed. The sound was garish and ugly. I stared at her. “Where’s Chay?”
“He’s not here.”
“You know, Azazel and his demons can tell when you’re lying.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Good for Azazel. Color me impressed. My answer is still the same. Chay’s not here.”
“Too bad. I was hoping he’d come out and play.”