“It’s a fight. He lost, I won,” he snapped.
“That isn’t what happened out there,” I stated, my voice growing harder. “According to Zeke, you came really close to illegal fighting. What is going on?”
He got to his feet, slammed open his locker and jerked his gear bag out. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, you need to, because you went ape shit on that guy, you’re not hanging out with us, and you're pissed as hell lately,” I told him, keeping my voice down. “What is wrong?”
His shoulders became taut with tension as he dropped his bag.
“Isaac, talk to me,” I pleaded.
He shoved his feet into his shoes. “Back off.” His voice was deeper than usual. It sent a shiver down my spine.
“Isaac, I’m your friend—"
“Some fucking friend. You blew me off yesterday,” he bit out. "Whenever you fucking need something, I'm there. But I need you and you're fucking off with my brother or the guys! I'm so sick of this crap. You're never around! You even fucking kept Sophie a secret! Who fucking does that? So don't give me that ‘I'm your friend' bullshit!" He got to his feet, grabbed his bag and headed for the emergency exit.
I’d had enough. I grabbed his arm to turn him. “Cookie Monster—”
Isaac dropped his bag and turned.
My heart leaped into my throat. That wasn’t Isaac. His face was thickly shadowed, his irises flashed a burning red. He bared his teeth at me. “Why would I want a cunt like you around?” he snarled, his voice dark and deep. It sent cold fingers of fear down my spine. I knew that voice… His hands shot out. I fell backwards into the lockers, hard, the sound echoing through the locker room. I slid to the floor. Stunned, I gaped up at him. The red glow disappeared from his eyes, the shadow pulled back from his face. He stared down at his shaking hands as if they had betrayed him. It was only a second before running footsteps came towards us. Isaac grabbed his bag, and ran out the emergency door.
Jordan and the other guys came around the corner.
“What was that?” Jordan spotted me and scowled. “Did he just fucking push you?”
I nodded, still staring after Isaac. A door opened and closed somewhere.
The dark-haired older man squatted next to me, his eyes concerned. “Did he only push you?”
I nodded. “That’s… he’s never…” I was struggling to wrap my head around this.
“Well, steroids will do that to you,” he said. “He needs some help. Come on, let’s get you off the floor. It’s gross in here.”
He held his hands out to me. I took them. He helped me to the bench.
“Did a redhead come through here?” Ethan asked cheerfully.
Jordan turned toward the front of the locker room. “Lexie’s down here. And if you don’t beat the shit out of Isaac, I will.”
Footsteps hurried down the aisle. I was still staring at the emergency door when Zeke and Miles came around the corner. The others went back to getting ready as Hades pulled on his leash.
Miles squatted down to turn my chin with his good hand. “Lexie, what happened?”
I met his eyes. “He told me we weren’t friends. He called me a cunt. Then he pushed me into the lockers.” I still couldn’t quite believe it myself. Ethan and Asher joined us. Hades began straining toward the exit.
Zeke’s face grew murderous. “Where is he?
“He ran.” I looked up them. “I think something is wrong with him.”
Zeke’s massive frame turned and strode towards the emergency door. “Yeah, he’s about to die,” he announced in his deep, gravelly voice.
“Zeke,” I called.
He turned back at the door.
“You don’t understand,” I tried again. “Something is really wrong. Like…”
It finally clicked.
Holy. Fucking. Shit. Something… was in Isaac. Oh fuck, oh fuck. Don’t panic, Lexie. Breathe.
I got to my feet and headed for the emergency exit. Sweat started to bead on my skin as I led them further away from the door so we couldn’t be heard. I turned and looked up at them. “I think Isaac is possessed or something.”
Zeke scowled at me. Asher’s eyebrows were sky high. Ethan’s face grew pale. And Miles’ face? Well, he had his thinking face on.
“Why do you say that?” Miles asked, tapping his fingers on his thigh.
“I saw a black shadow covering his face.” I swallowed hard. “I saw it during the fight too. I just thought it was from the lights or something.” I shook my head. “His eyes turned red and the voice he used…” I looked up at them. “That wasn’t Isaac. It was deeper than Zeke’s voice.”
“What?” Ethan breathed, his face growing even paler.
Miles stopped tapping. “Are you sure?”
I looked at him. “I… I don’t fucking know.”
“Okay, well, before we go tell him he’s possessed, let’s check with someone who would know,” Asher suggested.
“Serena,” I stated, pulling out my phone. Serena and I didn’t have the best of relationships, well, with her threatening to kill me and me wanting to live and all. Serena’s phone went straight to voicemail. That was it. I had been leaving this bitch messages all fucking week!
“Serena! I need you to pick up your fucking phone! I think a friend of mine is possessed. CALL ME!” I hung up. My chest grew tight as panic set in. Hades moved away from Zeke and sat on my foot, only to lean against my leg.
“Okay, okay. What do I know?” I asked myself out loud as I moved away from Hades to pace, trying to stay calm. “I know a bunch of theoretical shit!” I covered my face and took a deep breath.
Miles stepped closer and pulled one of my hands from my face. “We need someone with experience with this, right?”
I nodded, my heart hammering away in my throat.
His thumbs stroked the back of my knuckles. My panic pulled back a bit. “Alright. You think it’s the demon from Cara and Mia’s house?”
I nodded.
“Then, maybe we should go to the Catholic church and talk to a priest,” Miles suggested.
A priest? Priest! “Shit!” I pulled my hand from his and grabbed my phone. “Serena gave me the name of a priest months ago.” I unlocked my phone with trembling fingers. I found the number and hit the call button. I started chewing on the bottom corner of my lip as it rang. Finally, someone picked up.
“Hello, Saint Joseph’s church,” a young man’s voice answered.
“I’m looking for Father Francis.” I skipped the pleasantries.
“One moment, he just came into the office. Let me transfer you,” the man said. I got an earful of elevator music. I started pacing, my hand balling in the hair of my ponytail. Come on!
“This is Father Francis. How can I help you?” An older man’s voice came on the line.
“Do you know a woman named Serena?” I asked immediately.
There was silence. “I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong number.”
Fuck it. I didn’t have time for subtle. “Look, here’s the deal. I’m a Necromancer, I’m seventeen years old, and a witch named Serena gave me this number if there was anything I couldn’t handle. Right now, I’m pretty sure one of my best friends is possessed by a demon. Hence the phone call. She’s not picking up. Now, can you help me or not?”
There was dead silence on the phone. I held my breath. Don’t tell me I just fucked up any hope of helping Isaac. Me and my big—
“Yes, I knew a Serena years ago,” he stated. “Why do you think your friend is possessed?”
I quickly summed up Cara and Mia’s house, Isaac not sleeping, the way he’d been acting, and then, oh yeah, the big shadow and red eyes. I barely managed to keep the sarcasm from being too much.
“If that is indeed what is happening, it sounds like your friend is in the advanced stages of possession. It has manifested extraordinarily fast,” he said, his voice clinical. “You’ll have to get him here to the church in Boulder, Colorado. Then we’ll determine if it’s possession or not.”
I moved the phone from my mouth to turn to Miles. “We need to get him to Boulder.”
Miles pulled out his phone and was calling before I finished my sentence. “I’ll have the jet prepped.”