A Demon's Kiss (Young Adult Romance) (21 page)

CHAPTER 32

“Gage, I can’t stay,” I said urgently.

“Why? What is it?” He followed me to the door. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

What could I tell him?
I can’t talk to you because the forces that killed Justin will kill you too?
No way.

Instead I bit my lip, wondering if there was any part of this predicament I could tell him that didn’t seem so terrifying. Something that didn’t involve demons.

“Bad things are happening…”

That was all I managed to choke out. I couldn’t explain this mess. I would die if Gage was suddenly afraid of me.

“Yeah.” Gage stared. “It’s really horrible...what happened to Justin.”

I could feel my face growing hot. The way he said that, the way he was staring, it was as though he knew something—or at least suspected it. I wasn’t sure though, it could have just been my imagination. Since enduring Davenport I was always terrified people would find out, terrified they’d call me a witch.

But there was a reason for me to be so frightened, there was. Before I moved here I didn’t have any friends. Everyone was afraid of me. They spent a lot of time talking about me, but never
to
me. I was just a kid and I had no one to play with. I never had a friend until I moved here and met Gage. He was the first friend I ever had.

I glanced up at Gage, meeting his gaze. “Yeah. Poor Justin.”

Gage nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. “But he was kind of a creep. The way he treated your sister, I mean.”

“Yeah.” I fidgeted with the zipper of my jacket, feeling uneasy. What was he getting at? “He didn’t treat Summer very nice.”

“And he was kind of obsessed with you,” Gage said. “I used to see him staring at you all the time.”

Surprised, I looked up at him. I didn’t know what to say.

Gage only continued staring. “The guy was a creep.”

I nodded, not exactly sure why he kept saying that. Is it because he knew Justin’s death was my fault? He wanted to make me feel better?

“Yeah, I agree. Justin was a creep. But he didn’t deserve to die.” I made a move toward the door. “I need to go.”

Gage blocked my way. “Michaela, please, lets just talk—not about Justin. If you don’t want to talk about Justin, that’s fine.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Just let me say what I have to say and then you can leave if you want.”

I knew I should go, run far away from Gage. To protect him. But his eyes were pleading. “Okay,” I said, with an uneasy feeling, not just because I was afraid for him, I was afraid of what he had to say. “But Gage please, make it quick.”

“Yeah, okay.” Gage looked unsure where to begin. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately—all the time. And Addison’s being jealous—I guess she has a reason. I mean, I know we’re just friends—I know that—but lately...well, the way I’m thinking about you, it’s not like a friend.”

My heart danced, took off flying. I grinned. “So, what are you saying?”

“What am I saying?” he muttered. “Good question.” He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. “I guess what I’m saying is, it’s true what everyone has always said—I like you more than just as a friend. I mean, I’ve tried really hard not to, but it’s not working anymore.”

I laughed. “You
tried
not to like me? Why’d you do that?”

“Why? Because we’re friends. I didn’t want to mess that up.” He leaned against the door. “Michaela, you’re my best friend. I mean that. My
best
friend. Whenever I have a problem, it’s you I turn to. I need you.” He looked into my eyes, letting his words sink in. Then he went on hesitantly, “And if we got together—if I messed up, that would kill me. I wouldn’t only be losing a girlfriend, I’d lose my best friend.”

I tilted my head. “You’re planning on messing up with me?”

“No. Of course not. But let’s face it, I’ve blown it with a lot of women. I don’t want to blow it with you.” He looked into my eyes, making my heart melt. “But the thing is, I can’t just be friends with you anymore—I can’t.”

I practically jumped with joy. I’d never heard anything so romantic in my entire life—except maybe that he wrote me a song.

“So, what I’m falling all over myself about,” Gage said, “Is this: I want to take a chance on us—together, a couple. I mean, if you do.” He eyed me guardedly. “Do you?”

My heart was beating out of control. If I were to die at this moment—if the Caldronon sent a lightning bolt and struck me dead—I would die the happiest person in the world.

I nodded.

Gage grinned, pulling me into his arms. “So, do you still have to go—or can you stay?”

I hesitated. The thing was, though Gage had changed my spirits, sending them soaring, I knew nothing in my world had changed. I mean, I suddenly
felt
wonderful, terrific, like nothing horrible could possibly ever happen again. But I knew I had to face reality, the facts. The Caldronon was still out there and Justin was still dead.

I was on a cloud sailing in euphoria, but I knew I needed to get off, quick.

“I can’t,” I said, wishing this happened last week—back when my life was vaguely normal. “It’s hard to explain, but I need to go.”

Gage bit his lip, looking disappointed.

“Gage, I’m sorry. Please, just...know I’m yours, okay? This is what I’ve always wanted—always—us getting together.”

He raised his eyebrows, smiling. “It is? You did?”

“Of course! Always.”

He grinned, looking amazed. “Man, why didn’t you ever say anything? This could have happened a lot sooner.”

“What was I supposed to say?” I fluttered my eyelashes mockingly, throwing myself at him. “‘Gage, sweetie-pie, I looove you.’ ”

He grinned. “That would have worked.”

I laughed, wishing this moment could go on forever. It wasn’t fair that the most wonderful thing in my life was happening now that my world was falling apart.

Gage played with a lock of my hair. “You really have to leave?”

I nodded.

“Okay...but there’s just this one thing I want to do before you go.” Playfully, he backed me against the wall, his body enveloping mine.

My heart was beating wild and so out of control. I closed my eyes, feeling a tingle of excitement as his soft, pink lips pressed against mine.

For a moment I was able to forget the horrors of the Caldronon or the fact that Justin was dead. All I could think of was Gage, Gage, Gage. How thrilling it was to be in his arms, be in his life—his girlfriend.

But reality struck with a hard, loud THUNK.

Startled, I peered up at Gage. He jumped at the same moment I heard the noise. Now he was rubbing the side of his head, looking bewildered.

“Something hit me,” Gage said, glancing around the room. “It felt like a tennis ball—but with bones.”

We spotted the thing at the same time. It was lying in a hump, dead at Gage’s feet. “What the—?”

It looked similar to a fuzzy mouse, only ghoulish and black with monster-like wings. “What is it?”

“A bat,” Gage muttered. “It rammed right into my head.”

He stared at the lifeless body, like he was trying to make sense of it. Looking baffled, he gazed around the room. “How’d it get in?”

I was scared I knew the answer. “Gage, I need to go.”

He looked up from the bat kind of dazed. “Yeah. Okay. Let me get my jacket.”

I watched him put it on, feeling shaky. I wondered if I shouldn’t just run away—leave him before something worse happened. But I didn’t do anything. I was kind of in shock, staring at the bat.

Gage put his arms around me. “You okay?” He pulled slightly away, looking at me, his eyes full of concern. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m okay.”

For a moment I simply let him hold me. It felt so wonderful in his arms, I didn’t want to let go. I felt safe, protected. But suddenly I heard the noise again.

THUMP!

Gage was thrown back.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Suddenly bats were coming from everywhere. They were shooting through the walls, slamming straight into Gage.

CHAPTER 33

Bats were everywhere. They darted past me, around me, flying fast and vicious, covering Gage from head to foot. They were attacking him. Frantically, I used my powers, trying to fight them off, but I was only able to stop them one at a time. They were storming in by droves. It was useless.

Finally, I started yanking at the them, trying to pull them from Gage, but they were biting and scratching and ripping me to shreds. I wasn’t making progress and Gage was screaming in agony. His screams—I couldn’t take it.
That
was ripping me to shreds.

I kept yelling for Logan, sometimes out loud, sometimes in my head.

“Help me,” I shouted, finally knowing what I had to do, the deal I had to make. “Help me and I’m yours. I’ll willingly give it to you, Logan—my life for Gage’s.

There was a quick flash in the room, like lightening, only it wasn’t, and then the bats stopped screaming. They fell to the floor, dead. There was a moment of complete silence, though my ears still echoed with Gage’s screams.

The room was still. Then the bats faded away, vanished.

Crying out of control, I grabbed on to Gage, holding his mangled body in my arms.
He’s unconscious, not dead
. I pleaded over and over as rocked his lifeless body.
He’s unconscious
.
Not dead Not dead Not dead.

Around me, the room was transforming, all remnants of the assault fading away. My stinging wounds, a moment earlier deep and throbbing, were no longer visible, no longer hurt. With wide astounded eyes, I watched as they disappeared, fading away, then gone.

I held on to tight, tight, tight to Gage, sobbing into his wounded chest, overcome with relief. He seemed to be healing as well. Before my eyes, his gouged, bloody flesh was rejuvenating, becoming beautiful and perfect and Gage once again.

With a whimper of release, I sobbed as Gage opened his eyes, finally able to catch my breath, to actually breathe. For a long moment he simply gazed up at me, his warm brown eyes tender but confused.

“What’s the matter?” He reached up, wiping a tear from my cheek. “Why are you crying?”

Too overcome to speak, I didn’t even try to answer.

It seemed as though he didn’t remember.
Maybe he’s in shock
, I thought.
Or maybe Logan put a spell on him, like at the fire, making him forget.
I hoped that was what happened. I didn’t want him to remember.

For a moment, I was confident, believing it would be the same as after he drowned. When he woke then, he didn’t remember anything that had happened, drowning or me saving him or anything.

But all too quickly Gage’s thoughts seemed to clear. His eyes grew big, and round. “Oh, yeah...the bats.”

The way he said it, so matter of fact, it was as though he could be saying: “Oh yeah, I fell down.” Or, “Oh yeah, I got knocked in the head with a baseball.” Even though I was still kind of crying, it made me laugh.

“Yeah, the bats.”

“What happened?” He sat up. “Where’d they come from?”

I didn’t know what to say. How could I explain all of this without making him afraid of me? It didn’t seem possible.

Gage was staring at me, seeming to understand my hesitation. He coaxed, “It has something to do with you, right? The bats, and Justin’s bike burning up—you have some sort of powers, huh?”

I could feel my face growing hot. He didn’t sound accusing or frightened, simply curious, but hearing him guess my secrets made me ache inside. I didn’t want him to think of me like that. I couldn’t bear for him to be afraid of me.

“I didn’t do those things.”

“No, of course not. Not on purpose—”

“Not at all!” I felt sick.
He’s not going to believe me. I’m a demon; therefore, evil. Anything bad that ever happens again, he’s going to think is me.
“I would never do that!”

“No. Michaela, I know that. Come on, give me some credit. I know you. I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Then why did you say that?”

He ran his hands through his hair. “Say what? I wasn’t accusing you of anything. I just thought maybe...I don’t know. Things happen when you’re around. You get mad and Addison spills her drink. My team is having a lousy game, and I suddenly score the winning goal. Things like that. Ever since we were kids.”

I felt flushed and hot. I didn’t want to talk about this. “So what are you saying?”

He stared at me a moment, then shook his head. “I’m not saying anything. I just want you to know you can talk about whatever’s going on if you want to—if you don’t, that’s okay too. I just want you to know I’m here for you.”

I bit my thumbnail, feeling agitated, but kind of pleased. It was strange to find out he knew. But comforting too. And what was incredible was, he didn’t seem frightened. It seemed as though he accepted it.

So, I ended up spilling my guts out, telling him everything.

Wide eyed, he listened, letting me hurriedly explain without interrupting. His only comments were a few “Wows” and “Mans” in the really scary parts.

When I was finished he sat looking at me in silence. Finally he shook his head. “I need a sucker.”

He fished around in his drawer, bringing out a bag full. He had them from when he quit smoking. For a while he’d switched from one addition to the other—from cigarettes to suckers. Finally, he had quit both. Until now. “Want one?”

 
“Sure.”

I took a red one and twirled it around in my mouth. I was grateful it was the suckers he reached for. At the moment I would have accepted anything.

“So, this Caldronon—they killed your sister?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

“Why do they want you? I mean, what makes you so important to them?”

“I’m not sure I am important to them. I’m just sort of linked to the group. It seems like the only time they really even notice I exist is when I use my powers. Then they sort of haunt me, like they’re letting me know that they exist too.” Remembering the shadows taking over my room, I inwardly shuddered. “I don’t think I matter to them though. I just think they’re mad at me for not being with the group.”

“But why now? I mean what happened to make them pay more attention to you now than their usual hauntings?” He studied me, looking perplexed. “Why after all this time bother to send a guy to get you?”

Feeling trapped, I looked away. I didn’t tell him about the day he died on the riverbank—the day I pleaded for the power to save him. As far as he knew nothing out of the ordinary happened that day. But that day I had begged for any power out there—I didn’t care where it came from.

How could I tell him that? I didn’t want him to feel responsible for this mess. I would do it a thousand times over if the alternative meant he wouldn’t be here.

I buried my face in my hands. “I don’t know.”

“It seems strange. They left you pretty much alone for all this time, but now, all of a sudden, they want you back so badly they’re killing people.”

I bit my lip. “I think it’s mostly just Logan. I mean, he’s seems to be the only one that really cares about me.”

“Logan?! Really?” Gage looked up, surprised. “You think he killed Justin? You think he sent the bats?”

“No, but ...”

I didn’t tell Gage about Logan’s threat. About him saying he would kill Gage himself if I ever went near him again. Logan was just really mad at the time. I was pretty sure he didn’t mean it. He couldn’t have meant it.

Full of despair, I buried my face in my hands. I promised Logan I would go with him, I swore—I didn’t tell Gage that either.

Disheartened, I changed the subject. “You knew I was a witch all this time?”

“No. I never knew. I just sort of suspected. And I never thought of it as you being a witch. It just seemed like you had some sort of telekinetic thing going.”

“And you never mentioned it?”

“Well, you never mentioned it. I figured if you wanted me to know you’d say something.” He twirled on his sucker, looking thoughtful. “But see, I didn’t think you really had control over it.” He gave a small laugh. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t even sure you noticed it.”

“You thought I didn’t notice it?”

He grinned kind of self-conscious like. “Well, it didn’t happen that often. Just usually when you were upset.” He paced around the room. “I figured you didn’t really have control over it—that’s why I was so mad at Justin. I figured he must have hurt you to make you use your powers against him.”

I leaned back, digesting what he was saying. He pretty much had me all figured out—except I did pretty much have control. The things I did weren’t by accident. “You thought I blew up Justin’s bike.”

He furrowed his brow. “That’s not what I thought. I was just kind of scared for you. I thought maybe you were so mad at him you thought about his bike blowing up—like, wouldn’t it be cool...and it just sort of happened.”

“But I didn’t do it—not on accident, not at all. It wasn’t me.”

“Yeah. I know. It was the Caldronon—only that is really scary.” He looked me dead on. “What are we going to do?”

I raised my eyebrows.

We? What are
we
going to do?

This whole time I’d been thinking: What am I going to do? It was continually going through my head.
What am I going to do? What am I going to do?
It was strange to suddenly hear “we” in that sentence. It was a nice sound. It made me feel not so alone. Only it also made me feel sick. I made a mistake bringing Gage in on this. It wasn’t his problem. It was mine. It was mine and I had to deal with it. By myself.

Also, I needed to get going. I was surprised Logan hadn’t started in on the hair pulling yet. But it wasn’t the hair pulling, or even the head-burning thing that I was worried about. It was what would happen to Gage if I stuck around.

Not sure if I would be able to do it, I knew what I needed to do. Concentrating, I looked deep into Gage’s beautiful eyes, willing him to forget. He stared back, looking confused.

“What are you doing?”

I almost couldn’t go through with it. He seemed so vulnerable. He was so open and sweet, I hated manipulating him like this. But even as I began to waver, he closed his eyes, falling asleep.

I stared at him a moment, surprised how easy that was. Only, I wasn’t sure it really worked. Maybe he’d wake up remembering everything. Or maybe he wouldn’t just forget my story and the bats, maybe he’d forget everything, the entire night. Maybe he wouldn’t remember kissing me—or even that Justin died.

I brushed a wisp of hair off his forehead, suddenly touched by the depth of his friendship. He had known about my powers, yet said nothing. He could have taken advantage of them, asked for favors, become a rock star, but instead he chose to overlook them and simply be my friend.

I covered him with a blanket, and for a moment watched him sleep. He was so beautiful, so heart wrenchingly perfect. Thinking of his tender kisses, something caught in my throat.

“Sweet dreams,” I murmured.

Softly I kissed him, then reluctantly rose from his bed. It was hard for me to leave. More than anything in the world I wanted to curl up beside him. I wanted to sleep in his arms. It wasn’t fair that I had to go away. Not now. Not when everything was finally turning out how I always dreamed.