Demons Read online

  The right side of my face had some light cuts, which I tried to cover with my foundation. They were constant reminders of a fight I'd been in about a week ago. Because even though I had normal problems with normal sisters, my life wasn't exactly normal.

  I was a Seer—a human caught between two worlds, the regular world and a supernatural one, where immortal beings, called Guardians, fought to protect the human race from the evil influences of Demons. It was all a little confusing because I hadn't been immersed in it for long. Sometimes I wondered if I'd ever understand it all.

  I'd been seeing auras since my parents died a few months ago, but still tried to live a normal life, despite seeing people's emotions. And then I started seeing invisible people, with no mood auras—just a thread of silver outlining them. These invisible people eventually became my Guardians, helping to protect me when a group of Demons began haunting me. A dangerous couple of weeks followed, bringing me to a final climactic moment when my sisters had been kidnapped by their Demon teacher. Luckily they'd been drugged, so they had no memory of the terrifying experience. The Demons had wanted me, though I still wasn't sure why they'd wanted me so badly. The leader, Quin Romero, had mentioned it was the Demon Lord who was interested in me. I knew that revelation bothered my Guardians. Sheesh, it bothered me! And of course I was freaked out because I didn't understand why. I was a new Seer, and though Demons depended on Seers to help protect them from Guardians, it seemed pretty far-fetched that the Demon Lord himself would want me. But he must. According to Romero, the Demon Lord wanted me so badly he'd sent his personal Guardian/Seer hunter after me—the mysterious Fear Dearg, or Far Darrig. That thought still kept me up at night.

  It had been a week since I'd narrowly escaped Romero's people—primarily the beautiful and evil Demon Selena Avalos. Honestly, I think I had more nightmares about her than anything else. She absolutely terrified me.

  But here it was, a sunny Monday morning—seven days since I'd last seen her. I shouldn't still be so shaken by my encounter with her, but I was. I don't think people got over someone like Selena very easily.

  I finished brushing on my makeup, grabbed my backpack, and moved for the stairs. I glanced back down the hall to see Jenna had finally managed to get into the bathroom, and she was brushing her hair into a messy ponytail.

  My own ponytail swished from side to side as I moved quickly down the stairs, heading for the kitchen. I'd already had breakfast, but I hoped to talk to my grandpa for a moment before school. He was one of the only people who knew what was really going on in my life—at least the Demon-stalkers part. That was mostly because he was a Seer himself, though he considered himself retired at this point. I'd learned this just a week ago, though I still wasn't quite used to the fact. I mean, how is anyone supposed to react when they find out their grandfather used to battle Demons alongside immortal Guardians? Except, even though it was hard to visualize, at least I had someone to talk to. Aside from my Guardians, the only other person that knew a fraction of the truth was my best friend, Lee—and she only thought I was psychic or something, and able to see auras. I hadn't exactly taken the time to update her on the whole Seer and Demon thing.

  I entered the kitchen and Grandpa Bennett looked up from the morning paper, lowering it slightly. “Good morning,” he greeted me, sounding distracted.

  “Hey.” I moved to sit in the chair next to him, running my eyes quickly over the paper. “Any more news on the Death Train?”

  He shook his head. “No more accidents attributed to it so far. But Far Darrig is still out there—I'm sure of it.”

  The mysterious and seemingly accidental deaths had begun in Santa Fe weeks ago. Recently I'd learned it was the Demon Far Darrig, making a trail that would eventually lead to his target—me. Understandably, I was trying to keep tabs on his movements. Admittedly, for a week now, there had been nothing. I knew the tension was wearing on my grandpa, and my Guardians weren't exactly relaxing either. Personally, I tried not to think about it too much. I had a big algebra test coming up, which was enough of a scare for me.

  Grandpa sighed and lowered the paper to the table, rubbing a hand across his eyes, forcing his reading glasses up as he did so. “I don't know, Kate. This silence can't be good.”

  “Maybe it is,” I offered slowly. “I mean, maybe the Demon Lord's decided I'm not worth it? Maybe Patrick and Toni were more of a force than he imagined they'd be.”

  Grandpa shook his head. “No. That's not how the Demon Lord operates. A couple of Guardians won't stop him.”

  I reached over to grab his hand lying helpless on the table. “Grandpa, it's okay. Everything's going to be fine. Toni and Patrick are working on it.”

  “Maybe I should get more involved in the search,” he muttered, practically to himself.

  “Absolutely not,” I insisted. “You're happily retired, remember?”

  “I don't want to go back to the life of a Seer. At least, not permanently. But I want to be there for you.”

  “You're doing enough, really.” I released his hand and changed the subject. “Where's Grandma?”

  “The store. She's worried about dinner tonight.”

  Though I knew the answer, I asked the question anyway. “Why?”

  He sighed, one old hand scratching the side of his head. “I don't understand exactly why she's still so upset about your breakup with Aaron, but she is. The thought of having another boy over scares her. Aaron was a great kid—she doesn't want to be disappointed.”

  Grandma hadn't actually met my new boyfriend, though everyone else in my family had. Patrick O'Donnell was my Guardian, and we'd been officially together for a week now. It had been a really weird but wonderful week. I'd hardly talked to Aaron, and though I regretted that, I wasn't sure how to change things. He'd been a part of my life for so long; it was strange not having him around now. True, things hadn't been great between us since the accident, but he'd been the best boyfriend a girl could wish for. A great friend.

  In the end, it just couldn't work between us. It wasn't him; it was me. And though I regretted breaking up with him, it had been the right thing to do. In all honesty, I should have had that conversation with him a long time ago.

  Still, school got a little awkward sometimes. But despite the uneasiness of the past week, the wonderful stuff outweighed the bad.

  Patrick was everything I'd ever wanted, and he was everything I needed. When I'd finally realized that I was falling in love with him, I broke up with Aaron and went to see Patrick the same night. We'd kissed and talked until late into the night and early morning. Our relationship was beautiful, albeit unique. He was two hundred and thirty, and I was eighteen. He was immortal, and I wasn't. He'd been born in the greenest spot on Earth, and I lived in a desert. But we fit together perfectly, despite our differences. True, I knew we'd run into problems—it was inevitable, considering everything. But for now, things were great. We didn't think too far into the future, which was fine by me. I was content to just enjoy the blissful moments we had together.

  “You like him, don't you?” I asked my grandpa suddenly.

  He glanced up at me, taken aback by the question. “He's a Guardian,” he finally stated. “There must be something good about him.”

  I frowned, sensing the deeper meaning in his words. “That's not an answer at all.”

  He straightened in his chair, pushing the paper down against the table. He was uneasy, and it made me all the more curious to know what he was thinking. “He cares about you deeply,” he hedged. “Anyone can see that. It's just that…”

  “What?”

  “I would have chosen differently for you.”

  I stared at him, unsure I'd heard him right. “We are talking about the same person, right?”

  His expression turned wary. “Patrick O'Donnell is a fine man and a great Guardian. I trust him with your safety, which is a hard thing for a grandpa to admit. But as far as him being your boyfriend…” He sighed, and then it was his turn to take my hand. “Kat
e, you're going to get sick of this life. Trust me. No matter how thrilling it is at first, you won't want this forever. I did it for fourteen years, and that's longer than most manage to hold out. And when you finally decide to cut yourself off from them—once your safety is assured and the Demons have moved on to someone else—you will want out. And where will that leave you and Patrick? I just don't want you to get hurt. And I don't want Patrick to get hurt either.”

  I continued to look at him, barely believing he was saying these things—thinking these things. “I love him,” I said, saying the words out loud for the first time.

  Grandpa's lips pressed tightly together, and I could see in his aura he was going to stop pressing me—for now. Nevertheless, his green uneasiness remained; a thick tendril of emotion surrounded his body. “It's your life. I understand that. And I'm not going to get all preachy and difficult. I just wanted to give you a dose of reality. As harsh as it may seem, it's only because I love you.”

  I heard someone coming down the stairs, and I knew this conversation needed to end. “Thanks, Grandpa. But don't worry—I know what I'm doing.”

  Josie entered the kitchen, her wet hair pulled back into one huge braid. She moved for the toaster, grabbing the nearby loaf of bread. She pulled out two slices and plopped them into the waiting slots, then pressed the button.

  “Still upset about those cookies, huh?”

  Though Josie was obviously avoiding me, she turned around after hearing Grandpa's question.

  “The last one was supposed to be mine,” she said loudly, resolutely keeping her eyes away from me, though I was sitting right next to him. “Some people don't understand how calling things works.”

  I wasn't going to fight with her, but Jenna had just come in. “Only because some people are dumb enough to call the last cookie. I mean, how is that fair? You ate like half of them.”

  “Did not.”

  “Did too.”

  “I did not!”

  “Yes you did! And Grandma said me and Kate could finish them, so there! It's not my fault you were at a stupid soccer game.”

  “Now, now,” Grandpa said loudly, his deep voice cutting through their high-pitched arguing. “You girls need to stop this. The cookies are gone, Josie, so there's no point crying.”

  “I am not crying!” Josie snapped heatedly.

  “And Jenna,” Grandpa said, ignoring Josie's protest. “Didn't you call the last cinnamon roll when Grandma made them last week?”

  “Yes,” she muttered, sounding angry.

  “And didn't Josie honor that call?”

  “Yes I did!” Josie grunted.

  “Jenna?” Grandpa pressed.

  Jenna sighed. “Yeah. But Kate helped eat the cookies too—why isn't anyone yelling at her?”

  Grandpa Bennett sighed. “You two fight more than anyone else I know. And no one's yelling at Kate because she's not carrying on about this.”

  “But she's as guilty as me, and that's not—”

  Jenna's haughty words were cut off by Josie, who insisted it was time to go now that her toast had popped. She was infamous for always having the last word. While she hurried to butter the toast and then cover it with an unhealthy mix of cinnamon and sugar, Jenna grumbled and dug in the pantry for the Pop-Tarts.

  Once the twins had gathered something resembling a meal, I hugged my grandpa and slipped my bag onto my shoulder, leading the way out of the house. My sisters trailed behind me, still not speaking to each other as we walked. I opened the front door, stepped off the porch, and followed the short sidewalk around to the driveway, where my maroon Hyundai Elantra waited. I climbed into the driver's seat, hoisting my backpack into the backseat in the familiar routine. While I got my iPod plugged in, the twins pushed into the backseat and put on their seat belts. They were still too upset to speak to me, so I didn't bother to ask their opinion on the music. I started a Disney playlist, and seconds later we were on the street, leaving our house behind.

  As I made the way toward my best friend's house, I could hear scattered muttering in the backseat. But since it wasn't directed toward me, I ignored it. I let them eat their breakfast, and I let myself wonder what the day would bring.

  I never could be sure what would happen, now that I was a Seer. The days had been relatively quiet ever since Selena Avalos had disappeared, but I knew it wouldn't last. Still, even the brief reprieve from danger had been great. It had given me a chance to readjust to my new life and some time to explore my new relationship with Patrick.

  I pulled up to Lee's house without thought. It was like the car knew where to take me each morning out of pure habit. I looked out the window, knowing that Lee would open her front door any second. She'd never kept me waiting.

  She'd been my best friend since I'd first moved here, back in grade school. She was the funniest person I knew, and she had more spunk than most girls dared take with them to high school. Though she was probably the most secure-in-her-own-skin girl in the country, if not the entire world, she had this hilarious habit of completely changing her style every couple of months or so. Most recently she'd been strictly gothic. I'd grown so used to seeing her in black that I hardly recognized her when she opened her front door and stepped out onto her porch.

  Gone was the black hair and attire I'd come to expect. Lee—if indeed it was her—was a walking Popsicle.

  She was orange. And I mean, orange. From the flat shoes she walked in, to the orange, spiky ’do that was her hair, my best friend was orange. Orange shorts, orange shirt, orange bracelet, orange necklace, orange backpack. And as she crossed her yard and moved closer, I was able to make out the orange lipstick and eye color. Even her mascara was orange.

  She was a walking explosion.

  Before Lee reached the idling car, I heard Jenna mutter in wonder, “Nothing scares her, does it?”

  Lee opened the passenger door and lowered herself into the car. She gave me a happy smile, and I said the first thing that came to my mind.

  “You cut your hair.”

  “Locks of Love,” she assured me.

  “Was that before or after you dyed it?”

  “Before. But only just. You like it?”

  “Where's the radiation spill?”

  She punched my arm good-naturedly. “I was going for happy, not post-apocalyptic.”

  “That's a fine line you've chosen to walk.” I squinted closer, catching sight of her nose when she pulled her door closed and reached for her seat belt. “You kept the piercing?”

  “Yeah—it killed to get it, so I may as well get some more use out of it. It's a cute orange jewel, isn't it? My mom says it's too much, but she hated it in the first place, so I didn't dare trust her opinion.”

  I settled back into my seat, watching as she clicked her buckle into place. “You know, Lee, not many people can pull off orange. What's the occasion?”

  “Rainbow Days,” she answered matter-of-factly. “It's a seven-week holiday I invented! I lived without color for so long, I decided to celebrate the rainbow. So each week I will honor a different color.” She extended her painted fingernails for me to inspect. “The shade isn't quite right, but does it work with the shirt?”

  “Surprisingly, yes.” I shook my head at her. “You've done so many weird things; this actually seems perfectly normal.”

  Josie spoke up from the backseat. “At least you won't get lost if you go on a hike. A satellite could pick you up, no problem.” She gestured with her hand, laying it in one place and then emphasizing the next. “The Great Wall of China, The Pyramids, Lee…”

  Jenna giggled, and I shifted the car into first gear. Lee just grinned at the compliment, and we headed toward the elementary school. It was a typical morning.

  Once we were clear of the subdivision and had merged onto the main road, Lee suddenly turned down the volume. I glanced over at her, noting her more serious expression. “Did you hear the news this morning?” she asked me. Her voice was quiet, but my sisters just leaned closer so they wouldn't m
iss a word.

  “No—what?”

  Lee bit her bottom lip, then spoke quickly. “Some park ranger found a body late yesterday. It was Ms. Rhodes.”

  I felt my body grow cold, despite the warm morning heat. I tried to keep my face impassive, but all I could think about was Selena Avalos, and my fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel. I knew Toni had been searching for the old elementary school teacher, and though I knew in a remote part of my mind she was most likely dead, the thought that Demons would kill someone harmless like Ms. Rhodes made me sick. She'd died because the Demon Lord had wanted me.

  Jenna spoke up from the backseat, sounding scared. “Her body? She's dead?”

  “Why do you sound so surprised? You're the one who told us all she was probably murdered,” Josie reminded, but her voice was pretty small, revealing her own shock at the news.

  Lee was still watching me, waiting for my response. I cleared my throat, grateful I had driving for an excuse to stall. “What happened? Did they say?”

  “It looked like it was an accident. She was hiking and must have fallen off this cliff or something.”

  Josie's tone was confused, more than regretful. “Ms. Rhodes? Hiking? How stupid could the police be? She could barely walk from the cafeteria to the classroom.”

  “Yeah,” Jenna agreed, her voice thoughtful. “She was too old to be out in the mountains alone.”

  Lee shrugged. “I'm just sharing what I heard, no matter how weird it sounds.”

  Jenna sighed. “Our class is cursed. First Ms. Rhodes went missing, then Miss Avalos… I pity our next replacement.”

  “Who's teaching you now?” Lee asked.

  Josie answered. “Some cranky old woman. She wears more makeup than a roomful of models—only she can't pull it off.”

  “Her name is Ms. Pierce,” Jenna cut in. “She's ornery, but at least she's better than the other sub we had. Mr. Burke smelled like old chili.”

  “True that,” Josie agreed fervently, wrinkling her nose at the memory.

  I pulled into the parking lot of the elementary school and the twins scooted promptly out the door, gone without a wave. I shook my head a little as I pulled away from the sidewalk and followed the sluggish line of cars back out to the street.