A Night of Flame and Blood Page 4

  “Yes.” He said, still not looking away from the wall. “Those eyes of yours miss nothing, there like hawk eyes only scarier.”

  “What?” I asked startled. That was the first time he had referred to my eyes as scary. And even though it was only Robert, something about it did not feel right.

  “Hmm?”

  “What about my eyes?”

  “Oh nothing, it’s just that your eyes get really scary sometimes. I feel like you could see right through me. I feel naked, like you’ve stripped me of all my secrets.” He sounded far away. I knew he was more concentrated on the thought of the demon than on the question he answered, but it still made me shiver.

  “So, you are just using me for my naked stripping eye.” I tried to joke.

  “In lack of better words yes.” Robert agreed. I scowled at him he gave me a small shrug.

  “Fine, let me have at it.” I did not know until several hours later how much I would regret saying those words.

  Chapter 4

  I spent hours, wasting valuable homework time reading through the demon section, the underworld section, I even skimmed through the witch section in my desperation but nothing.

  I did not know why I was trying so hard. There was just something in Robert’s eager face that made me want to find this for him. Especially after all the times he tried to cheer me up when I was down; I felt like I owed it to him to do something back.

  My eyes were so blurry by the time I reread the page about roots to kill the evil in your soul, that I nearly collapsed. My face was already an inch from the book, and I was about a second away from falling asleep on it.

  “Bri, it’s only nine o clock, how are you sleepy.” Robert asked wide awake. I should have known Robert would be as fresh as a wipy. He was a night owl, choosing to stay awake most of the night. I always thought he was an idiot for doing so, but he did have a point. His parents would not catch him doing the riskier things, like contacting the dead, when they were sleeping.

  “Fine, I’m going home then.” I stood up to leave when a sudden thought hit me. “Robert, mind if I take the book with me.”

  “What?” His eyes widened. The look of shock was almost comical on his face. I could not blame him. Since when did I want to take home a book to read? I was shocked myself at my request, but I guess sleepy me was a masochist if she would willingly give up sleep to read a book that just about fried her brain.

  “You heard me, give me the book.”

  “Fine.” He said, his voice was a bit wary from my odd request, but otherwise had no problem with it.

  “Here.” He passed me the book like if it was a precious baby and looked me straight in the eye. “If anything happens to her, I am holding you accountable.” He reprimanded.

  “Her, what the hell, is it a person now. What happened to the good old days when books were only objects? All of a sudden they’re your new friend.”

  He shrugged. “Books are nicer than actual people. They don’t talk shit about you like people do, so why not make them your friend.”

  I had to admit, he did have a point.

  “Ok fine, whatever you say, Robert. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I waved as I grabbed the oversized book and made my way out of his room. I was almost out when something on his dresser caught my eye. There was about a million cloths stacked on top of it, but if I craned my neck, I was able to make out what it was. It was a book that looked almost identical to the one I was holding, but the title was different. The book on Robert’s dresser was worn out; you could barely make out what it said. But I was sure the title said The Seer’s Handbook.

  I quietly tiptoed down the stairs. Robert followed. He was adamant that he should walk me home because it was night time. I quietly told him that it was fine, but I was distracted enough with Robert that I did not see the person at the bottom of the stairs until it was too late. I collided against a hard chest. Two arms reached out reflexively to steady me. Their hands felt rough against my skin; their fingers butchered with thousands of paper cuts.

  I looked up into my perpetual savior’s eyes and saw the same dark eyes that Robert had, the only difference was the message they were sending. His kind face was a stark contradiction to the fear bulging out of the rim of his eyes.

  “Sorry.” I rushed out. “I didn’t mean too.”

  “It’s ok Brianna.” He said. I did not miss the fact that he turned his face away from me.

  “I was just going.” I nodded to the door, but Robert decided that it was the perfect time to ask his dad to give me a ride home.

  “Honestly you don’t need to bother yourself. I only live four blocks away.” I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

  “Its fine Brianna, I could give you a ride.” Mr. Kensington said slowly.

  “See Brianna, my dad could take you home, and I’ll come with you guys. Besides, you walking alone at night is like an open invitation for rapists.”

  Robert left me no chance to protest, and once he mentioned rapists I did not want to. He pushed me to the garage and made me go into his father’s minivan with him. I climbed into the back seat, Robert took shot gun, and buckled myself in. The car smelled like the strawberry car freshener that was hanging from the mirror. The smell always made me dizzy. I cracked the window open to let in some air and to get the god awful car freshener scent out before I barfed.

  The ride home was quiet but not uncomfortable. My head drooped against my seat, nearly falling asleep, until Robert tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up annoyed and noticed we were outside my house.

  I quickly jumped out and thanked Robert and his dad, watching them drive off before I went into the house.

  Inside, it was dark. The only light came from my sister’s room; her lights shined from underneath her bedroom door. My parents were asleep already; they always slept at promptly nine o clock.

  I went to my room in a hurry. I was exhausted, my eyes became heavy until I could not keep them open anymore and they gave up on me. I had to feel my way the rest of the way to my room. My fingers brushed along the prickly walls. The chipped paint came off easily when my nails scratched against it, and I felt it. Heat blew on my face, making it water down my neck and pour into my chest. Dust made its way down my throat and filled my lungs. I managed to crack open an eye and that is when I saw him, the shadowed man. He was in my house, come to get me at last.

  I wanted to scream for my mom, my dad, hell I’d even scream for Rebecca, but my mouth was pressed against something. I struggled to sit up right, I was sprawled on my stomach, my mouth pressed against the cement floor I was nearly licking the dirt off it. I tried to keep my eyes on the shadow. He was with Michelle again, but she was already dead. Her eyes were glassy and lifeless. You could see right through them. Her pale blue eyes were no longer vibrant, and the cream color of her skin was already paling.

  I watched in disgust as he placed his hands in her blood and proceeded to smear it on the floor. It was almost like he was finger painting. My nostrils flared, I had to do something. I could not move, could not speak. The only thing I was capable of was blinking. Maybe he shot me with a tranquilizer, that would explain why I was so numb. I managed to peek at the drawing and saw an intricate crest with two blades going through it. And above it there was something like a word, if only I could move my head a little, I’d be able to see it.

  I managed to move my hands, though it still caused me to go out of breath from the exertion, my hand accidentally touched one of the candles, and I recoiled in pain when my fingertips brushed the flame. The movement caused a candle to be knocked over. It was like slow motion I saw it tumble slowly to the floor, and then, impossibly so, the small thud it made on the floor caused the shadow to freeze. I felt fear pump in every one of my veins as I saw him slowly turn around, and just when I was about to see his face a loud noise blasted close to my ear. It was screeching, horrible, a sound straight from hell. I turned towards the noise and opened my eyes to see my alarm clock ringing the ungodly sound. I sat up quickl
y rumpling my sheets and hit the alarm clock with my fist to shut it up.

  I could not take this; I didn’t know what was reality and what was dream anymore. I thought for sure I was there. I did not even remember falling asleep.

  Did I even go to Robert’s house yesterday? I looked around my room for something to prove what happened yesterday actually happened. That it wasn’t some dream, when my eyes landed on it. The book, it was placed on top of my desk. I knew I had to get ready for school, but when I untangled myself from the covers, I did not go to my closet. I went to my desk and opened up the book again. I did not know what I was looking for; I had practically memorized the whole entire book, but there was something there that did not feel right to me. I flipped through the book like a possessed woman and saw the page I was looking for.

  In my exhaustion last night, I had barely registered it, but now my fingers were itching to find it. You would never know the difference, hell I didn’t even see anything wrong until the hundredth time of going through it.

  It was the last page of the demon section right before the witch craft section but something seemed wrong, like it was unfinished.

  I scanned through the last paragraph again reading the words I knew so well.

  They are an evil so tightly bound only mortal blood could sustain it in its depth. It lurks in the fiery pits of the other world doomed to live eternity enslaved to their heathen lord. But their shadow rises and brings them forth to our world where they too will enslave our souls.

  It was the shadow part that got me. It was the first time they ever mentioned anything about a shadow, but they did not explain it any further. I nearly scratched my brains out in frustration until I noticed it. There was a microscopic fold in the corner of the page. It was nearly invisible. I tried to fold back the page and noticed it was stuck. The two pages were stuck; there was another page underneath.

  I could not believe it; how could I miss that? I opened up my desk drawers and looked for something to pry open the pages without ripping them. I ended up finding my bitten and chewed on lucky pencil from elementary. I slid it under the fold and popped it up like a cork. I was kind of surprised at how easy it came up.

  I smoothed out the page and read it in a hurry—my clock was still ticking and although I wished it would stand still for a moment, it would not budge. I did not know why I was so excited to read it; I just knew that I had too. But that initial excitement faded quickly when I got to the last paragraph.

  I didn’t want to believe it. Whatever the reason, fate was laughing at me now because this could not be right. This had to be some freaky coincidence. I needed to talk to Robert, now.

  Chapter 5

  I was a bigger mess than usual; my hair was an untamable dark beast, and the bags under my eyes were deep purple, making it seem like I hadn’t slept at all, which was odd, considering I had more than eight hours of sleep.

  I waited for Robert beside the big red wall that held us in prison. I had called him right at seven with the news. Remembering it now, he didn’t seem like he got much of what I was saying. He was still about ninety percent asleep. I had grabbed my silver cell and went to the only person on my contact list that wasn’t my mom or Rebecca.

  “What?” Robert mumbled into the phone when he answered. He sounded like he was still dreaming, which was odd considering we had to be in school in half an hour.

  “Robert, it’s me Brianna, I have to tell you about—“

  “Of course, it’s you.” Robert interrupted his voice rough from sleep. “Who else calls me but you?”

  “Yeah, I know, but now is not the time; I have to show you something about the book. I think I found something.”

  “Really,” Robert said. His voice was wide awake now.

  “Meet me in the side of the school. Please get there before the bell rings, I don’t want to be late.”

  “You got it.” His voice held the excitement I knew he was feeling.

  I just hope that Robert honors his agreement and gets here before school starts. There is nothing more awkward than arriving to class late. Everyone’s eyes are always on you when you enter.

  I paced back and forth impatiently, looking up every once in a while hoping to see Robert’s messy black hair. I almost gave up and left six minutes later, until I saw Robert running towards me.

  “What was it?” Robert asked breathless. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath; his face was flushed red.

  “Look.” I opened the book and pointed to the page. His eyes scanned the words before looking up at me.

  “Do you know what this means Brianna?” His eyes were full of wonder and something else, recognition?

  “Well, it’s how to open a portal right?”

  “Exactly.” He grinned, showing his creamy white teeth.

  “Yes, but it’s not like we could open one. Did you see what you would have to do? Its barbaric, a ritual straight out of hell.”

  “Exactly, a ritual to open hell would have to be hellish itself.” He shrugged like if it was no big deal.

  “But its murder.”

  “It’s a sacrifice.” He argued. “Totally different than murder.”

  “Robert you’re not planning to do it, are you?” I asked warily. It took him a while to answer.

  “No.” He said finally, but his eyes held a longing that scared me.

  “Can I have the book back?” He asked impatiently. I already knew everything in the book. I didn’t need it anymore. I gave it to him.

  He left shortly after, and I used the short walk to class to ponder over what I had read. What Robert did not know was that I had seen it before. The scripture read:

  Shadows use the ancient rituals of the heathens to unleash their masters. They must light their path on a darkened night. The blood of a virgin will be spilled between the heat of the fire and her blood will open the gates to the evil underneath.

  It was too similar to my dream; my skin crawled with fresh jitters as I recalled the shadow.

  I made it to class in a daze. I was too lost in my thoughts, I did not notice the empty chair next to me until I heard Bradley’s voice behind me.

  Bradley, my desk partner, was sitting in Daston’s empty chair talking to Derik. I found it strange that he was not sitting in his usual spot. Bradley had sat next to me for half a year, and never had he and Derik talked to each other.

  I looked around the room and noticed what all the other girls were thinking. Where would Daston sit? It didn’t seem like Bradley was going to move, he had strapped his backpack to the back of the chair, and his materials were spilled on Daston’s desk.

  I knew what was going to happen; they were going to try to sit next to him. My sister made it so that all the seats were taken except for the one next to her. I could see the disappointment in the rest of the girl’s eyes, but she was the queen bee in this hive.

  The minutes ticked by, I heard the impatient taps of girl’s fingernails on the table, the grinding of a chair against the tile floor. Finally, when the tardy bell rang everything stopped. It became clear that Daston was not coming; I could hear the girl’s collective groans.

  I on the other hand could not care less. My head was already too confused with shadows and portals, I did not have time to be deciphering his weird stares. I took out my notebook and began to doodle in hopes that it would distract me. All I managed to draw was a book before the air around me stilled.

  Daston entered class late and handed our teacher a late slip. Mr. Hanna was still taking out his multiple lesson plans from his man bag when he took the slip. I had a strange suspicion that he mixed it in between his many manila folders that held our lectures.

  Daston turned to go to his seat. I could practically hear Rebecca bounce on her seat with each step he took. And then the most amazing thing happened. Daston, whose face was always stern it looked like it was permanently molded that way, smiled. His cheeks lifted and the slight dimple on his cheeks became more prominent.

  Damn if his smile
was not the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I coughed into my hands to hide the lust filled face I was surely making. He was probably smiling at Rebecca anyways. It was every guy’s dream to sit next to her, and Daston did not even have to try.

  I looked up into Daston’s smiling face and felt my face burn red. He was not smiling at just anyone, he was smiling at me. He reached my table quickly, his strides long and powerful before he sat down in the empty chair next to mine. My heart gave a nervous flip, and I could feel the daggers the rest of the girls were shooting at me. Nobody thought to take my seat, probably confident on the fact that Daston would not sit there. Especially when the seat next to Rebecca was open.

  My cheeks flooded with color and all I could do was sit there like an idiot and stare straight ahead. I felt him lean sideways, and if seeing him smile was a shock what he did next electrocuted me. He spoke, his voice was like melting chocolate and it made me quiver all over.

  “A reason you are blushing Brianna.” He asked. His face was back to being serious, but his voice held a slight playfulness to it. I was too shocked by his voice to come up with anything smart to say. Instead, I said something stupid.

  “You talk?” Idiot of course he talks, what the hell kind of question was that.

  “Brianna.” He tsked. “You know better than that.” It was unsettling how he said my name, like we were old friends.

  “Apparently I don’t.” I bit back. “Besides how would you know?” I watched his eyes rake over me before he leaned in closer and signaled with his finger for me to do the same. I didn’t know if I should obey, but my body seemed to have a mind of its own because it quickly did as it was told.

  “Brianna.” His cool minty breath washed over me like a waterfall. “What better way is there to pass the time in this dump than to observe someone.” He winked. I could not believe he was openly admitting to watching me—or that he could make something that was supposed to be creepy sexy.

  “You observe me?” I should have been freaking out, instead I felt my lips curve up into an involuntary smile.