Living at Muriel’s house was like living in a madhouse. Monday morning there were four adults, two teenaged girls, and a seven-year-old boy trying to get ready for work and school… with only two bathrooms. I wasn’t much of a girly-girl, but even I needed the occasional mirror.
By the time we made it to school, Muriel and I had missed first period. We walked into second period AP calculus together. I stopped at the teacher’s desk to give him a note from the office that excused me from homework due to an unforeseen family emergency.
“Is everything okay, Ms. Jackson?”
I looked at my teacher and smiled. “Yes, thank you.”
“If I can do anything…”
“Sure.” I kept my voice neutral. I remembered what Chay told me when Azazel was hunting me.
“We don’t know who works for Azazel. Do you understand that? It could be anyone in this school— from the principal to the janitor,” he’d warned.
He’d been talking about demi-demons. In the demi-angel world, it wasn’t simple like in movies or on television. The good guys didn’t wear white and the bad guys black. Angels didn’t all have wings, and the demons didn’t all have horns. Most of the time, they looked human. Demi-angels didn’t know who their enemies were until they decided to show themselves, and that was why I was going to be especially careful what I said to people about the fire. I didn’t have a reason to suspect my teacher of working for Azazel or Abaddon, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down around him or anyone else. As far as I was concerned, the fire was caused by a damaged electrical outlet like the fire investigator wrote in his official report. Nothing more.
I turned and walked toward the table where I sat with Muriel. As I walked by Chay, his gaze caught mine. I gave him a small smile.
“You look good today,” he said. “But I’m going to miss seeing you in your faded, worn-out jeans and favorite U of M sweatshirt.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Too bad it wasn’t your writing hand that got burned, huh? Then you’d have a few days off.” He smiled at me, his eyes twinkling.
“Yeah.” I laughed. “Although, I wish neither were burned.”
His smile faded. He nodded his head once, looking down at the tabletop. “I’ll bet.”
“Well, I better sit down.” I walked past him and sat next to Muriel.
“What was that?”
“Who knows?” I rolled my eyes at Muriel. “I don’t think he knows what he wants.”
“Yeah, well, you should stay away from him,” Muriel whispered.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know who you can trust. You know that.”
“I can trust Chay,” I said. Muriel sighed. “What? I can. I know him better than you do. He’s fine.” Of course, I knew he probably wasn’t. He did admit to wanting to kill me.
“Still, you should be careful.”
I wonder why she just doesn’t tell me? I heard Chay tell her about his visions. Why doesn’t she just tell me?
“I will.” At her look of skepticism, I said, “What? I will! Geez, you act like he’s a murderer or something.”
Now’s your time to tell me. Spill, Muriel. You’re supposed to be my best friend… so tell me what you know.
“Just be careful.”
Secrets, so many secrets. I wonder if I can trust you.
***
That night, I dreamed of Benjamin. Jake carried Ben’s small body like a football, holding him around the middle while his head and feet dangled. He ran toward an open pit in the middle of our front yard. I heard my mother scream. I lunged at Jake, but instead of connecting, I missed, landing hard on the ground. I watched helplessly as Jake carried Ben to the hole where gray arms were waiting for him. They reached out and grabbed him, pulling him down into the pit. I heard Ben’s screams. He called my name. I scrambled to the hole and reached out to him just as the arms disappeared, taking my brother with them.
I woke up with a jerk. My body shook and sweat covered me. I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it back from my face. My hand quivered so violently that it pulled my hair when I ran my fingers through the curls.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and put my elbows on my knees. Cradling my head in my hands, I blew out a heavy breath. Ben. He was a pain in the butt, but weren’t all little brothers? Still, I loved him and that placed a target on his back. Abaddon was playing dirty—going after the weakest. Benjamin was at the top of his hit list.
“What’s the matter?” Muriel asked, her voice gravely from sleep.
“Just a bad dream.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“No. Go back to sleep.” I climbed out of bed and slipped quietly into the hall. I stood in front of the picture window overlooking the front yard. He was there. I knew he would be. I was hoping he was gone for good, but there he stood in the shadows, staring at the house.
Still looking out the window, I saw movement on the porch. I took two large steps back.
Who’s out there?
He walked by the window, the streetlight highlighting his face just enough that I could make out his features. I opened the door and stuck my head outside.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Watching,” Chay answered.
“Why are you on the porch? You’ll freeze.”