Daniel Taylor Between Two Worlds (2 page)

Vanessa was so happy to see Danny in the schoolyard that she ran straight over to him. He was standing apart from the others, hidden behind a tree, and he looked just as good as he had the day before: tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular chest whose contours could be seen through his tight black T-shirt.
He hasn’t grown horns, thank God!
thought Vanessa. Although Daniel was wearing his mirrored sunglasses, she knew that he had seen her. She could feel his gaze on her body. Vanessa’s heart pounded wildly.
I love him so much!

“Danny!” She threw his arms around his neck effusively. “I’m so glad that you’re back!” He had only missed a few classes — but for Nessa, the previous night and this morning had been the longest hours of her life. “I thought you’d never return.”

“Oh, sweetheart …” Danny’s kisses were tempestuous and passionate. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around in a circle. Vanessa didn’t care if the others saw them. At the moment, they were the only two people in the world.

“The hermit and my best friend, I knew it!” She heard an amused voice behind her, and the couple immediately broke off their embrace.

“Colleen!” Vanessa was happy to see her again after the weekend, and greeted her with a broad smile. They hadn’t had any classes together this morning so far, and Nessa was bursting to share her news, but first she wanted to talk with Daniel. She also had to ask him how much she could tell her friend.

“I just wanted to say ‘hi.’ I won’t detain you — lovers should be left alone.” Colleen was grinning from ear to ear. “Enjoy the break; see you in art class!”

After Colleen had disappeared from sight, Vanessa said, “Tell me, what’s it like in the underworld?”

“Shhh, not so loud!” They moved deeper into the shadows and sat down on a bench. Daniel took Vanessa’s hand and squeezed it lightly. “If the others find out that I’m half demon, I’ll really be in the spotlight,” he explained, a wry smile on his lips. “And you know how much I hate bright light.”

Vanessa laughed. She was so happy to have her Daniel back. “Oh, that reminds me. Mike came to see me this morning.”

“Mike?” Daniel’s face immediately darkened.

Aw, that’s sweet, he’s jealous!
she thought, pleased, and went on. “The news about Mike and the message from Joe has spread like wildfire. Marla really did a great job. You wouldn’t believe all the people who have asked me about you today. Everyone wants to hear you tell the story about Joe again.” Vanessa cleared her throat. “Mike is utterly convinced that you broke into his apartment and left the note there yourself.”

“What nonsense!”

“No worries, I told him that you have a watertight alibi. First you were in the hospital, and then with me in the treehouse. Naturally, I didn’t tell him that you disappeared for a while in between, but that’s not important. You didn’t even do it.”

Daniel gently ran his thumb over Vanessa’s forehead. She had tried to cover the bump she got in Edna’s house with makeup. “What do the police think? Did he tell them his suspicions?”

“No, he didn’t,” Vanessa said, and Daniel sighed in relief. “He didn’t want them to think he was crazy.”

Daniel didn’t like the fact that Nessa had spoken with that pretty boy.
Had she ever gone out with him?
He was too much of a coward to ask.
I don’t want to know.
“So, did they find Joe’s body?” he asked instead.

“The police went to Edna’s house yesterday, and of course half the town was there to watch. When they carried Joe out, Edna was running alongside, crying. She told the authorities that she found him lying next to her in bed one morning, stiff and cold.”

“Well, then, Old Joe must have been exaggerating when he told me that Edna had drowned him in the bathtub.” Danny grinned, but the expression on Nessa’s face remained serious.

“Edna put him in the freezer because she loved him so much and couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from him. And so that she could keep cashing his pension checks. Without that money, she’s in a real fix.” Vanessa sighed. “I feel bad about this, Danny. What if the old lady can’t make ends meet anymore? And she’s in a heap of trouble, all because of us. The fraud will be reported, and she’ll have to pay all the money back. I just hope that she won’t have to go to jail!”

“Hey sweetheart, don’t blame yourself.” Daniel pulled her into his arms and placed his chin on top of her head.

“Can you read
my
mind, too?” she asked. “I’m not a demon, that’s for sure!”

Daniel couldn’t help smiling. “No, you’re certainly not.”
And I’m glad for that.
“But sometimes I get the feeling that I can sense something from you. A few days ago, when you were whispering the answer to me in class, it seemed like you were yelling it in my ear, and when we were kissing in the treehouse, I could pick up on what you were feeling. My senses are much sharper than before.”

“And at the lake, I thought you were calling for help!” Vanessa’s eyes widened. “That’s weird. Maybe you can sometimes read human minds because you’re a human with demonic powers.”

“Could be.”

“Now, don’t keep me in suspense any longer — tell me everything!”

“How should I begin?”
With the fact that I almost pissed my pants in fear?
he pondered.
Nah, not cool.
“It was a little anticlimactic. When I walked through Marla’s portal, it seemed like I was just stepping through a door. No change in pressure or anything. Very strange. We walked down a seemingly endless corridor until we came to a large hall made entirely out of black marble, pillars and all. At first, I thought I had ended up in some sort of museum. We were definitely underground; at least, the room had no windows, just a domed roof and oil lamps burning all over, and torches and candles.”

“So there’s no electricity down there?” Nessa asked.

“I don’t know for sure, but there were no electric lights in that room.”

Vanessa was clutching his hand so tightly that it was almost painful. He could feel how her heart ached for him.
I was scared shitless, but at the same time curious
, he thought, and continued his story. “There was kind of a platform in the room, and the high lords were seated there. In the middle was Xandros on his black Overlord throne; next to him were three members of the High Council, their heads all completely shaven. Xandros — who seemed clearly in charge — was dressed entirely in black, in a sort of hooded gown. I couldn’t see his face. He reminded me of the Emperor from
Star Wars
.”

“Yikes, I think I would have died of fright.”

My thoughts exactly
. An image of the scene flashed through Daniel’s mind, making him shudder. “Xandros sat there motionless on his throne the whole time and never said a word. However, I could sense that he was communicating with the high lords telepathically.”

“Did you catch anything of it?”

“No, not a chance, but I felt Xandros poking through my head like it was a rummage sale.”

“What information did he glean?”

Daniel shrugged.
Anything he could get at, I imagine.
But he didn’t want to frighten Vanessa. She’d been through too much lately. She’d probably be troubled by the image of Old Joe for quite a while.

“I don’t think he found what he was looking for.” Daniel could easily sense Xandros’ rage. “In any case, the three high lords introduced themselves, but I couldn’t quite understand their names. One sounded like ‘Epsilon,’ another like ‘Antheus.’ They offered me infinite power, but first I would have to prove myself. There would be some kind of probationary period.” Daniel didn’t tell Vanessa what he had sensed from one of the demons. The hateful thought had penetrated the furthest recesses of his mind: “Silvan is a traitor to our race. He’s unworthy of the title of Overlord, this half-blood abomination! I’ll crush the maggot myself!”

Daniel feared that he would have to be very careful of this demon. Unfortunately, he didn’t know which one of the high lords had been responsible for the thought. “I kept flashing on the word ‘scepter.’”

“Scepter?” Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “That’s a symbol of sovereignty.”

Daniel nodded. “Whatever — I told them that I refused their offer.”

He heard Vanessa exhale. “And after that, they just let you go?”

“Well, Sirina raised a ruckus.”

“Your future wife sounds like a right minx.”

“Yeah.” Daniel laughed. It felt good to make light of the whole sinister situation. It would definitely be haunting his dreams. “Good thing I found out before the wedding, don’t you think?”

“Why didn’t you stay there? It sounds like a pretty amazing offer. It’s not every day you get the chance to become ruler of an entire kingdom.”

In fact, Daniel had hesitated for a moment, but an inner voice had emphatically warned him not to make a mistake. In addition, he could hear the high lords’ whispers in his head:
He’s not ready yet, he hasn’t truly decided …

“Well, it’s not as bad here in Little Peak as I thought it was last week.”

“Just because of that? Is that really all?” Nessa’s cinnamon-colored eyes were boring into him.

“Well, I guess I’d miss the sun, even though I don’t tolerate light very well.”

She frowned. “You’re kidding.”

“I’d miss my computer a lot, too, of course,” he said, trying to keep a straight face, “but I thought I might be able to introduce a few improvements down there, if I became Overlord, so …”

“DANNY!”

He laughed out loud and hugged Vanessa tightly. “I renounced my claim to the throne just because of
you
, you sweet little nerd, because I can’t live without you. What did you think?”

“Oh, Daniel, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Beaming with joy, she kissed him. “I love you so much, Danny the Demon.”

“
You’re
the nicest, and I love you even more!” He grinned back at her.

Nessa just managed to say the word “brownnoser” before their lips met again. He’d also missed her kisses. There was no way a demon could taste as nice as Vanessa.

“Do you think they’ll leave you alone now?” she asked, once she had caught her breath again.

“No, I don’t think so.” Through the mental link, he had received some strange vibrations that made him suspect that the last word had not yet been spoken on the matter. Daniel shuddered.

The Council had promised to completely activate his demonic abilities and to train him in their use. That had interested him, he had to admit — but the price was too high. He would have had to give up the two people who were most important to him: Vanessa and his mom. Even though she wasn’t his real mother, she would always have a place in his heart.
I don’t tell Mom how much I love her often enough. I need to fix that.
Daniel wasn’t good at expressing his feelings to her, but he was sure that she knew how much she meant to him. He couldn’t leave her alone, so soon after his dad had abandoned her — except that Peter Taylor wasn’t even his real father. He anticipated that at some point, they would have a heated discussion over why he hadn’t been told about his adoption much sooner.
I’m going to find my real father
, he decided, and kissed Vanessa on the tip of her enchanting nose to seal the promise. He felt somehow that his new mission was to find out everything he could about James Carpenter.

There was so much more, things that he had only realized when he looked into the sinister faces of the underworlders: That he didn’t want a life full of hate, violence, and scheming. But he was sure that this ordeal wasn’t over yet. The demons had reacted indignantly when he had rejected the throne — all except for Antheus. For a split second, the shadow of a smile had flitted across the surly man’s face.

Daniel made up his mind to try to learn how to use his abilities on his own, even though he had no idea how to go about it. He had to be prepared when they came for him again.

“Have we lost him, lord?” Antheus asked obsequiously, but Xandros could sense his feeling of triumph.

Xandros was sitting on his throne in the great hall, observing the son who knelt before him. Antheus was no different from the others. They all wanted power, wanted to outmaneuver him.

“Silvan has to truly want it. He’s not yet ready. If he doesn’t open himself to us completely, we won’t be able to manipulate him.”

“And only the half-blood can give you what you desire, is that really true?”

Xandros nodded. This was the only reason that Silvan was still alive. Other than Marla, he was the only bargaining chip they had. The young demoness had provided a wealth of information: for example, the fact that Kitana had had a child with a human, a certain James Carpenter, who knew where the scepter was located. Unfortunately, Marla hadn’t been present when Kitana and Carpenter had hidden the scepter; otherwise, Xandros would have long since known where he could find the artifact he needed so badly. The lower demons, who supplied the lords with the souls that nourished them, were increasingly prone to rebellion.

In the end, Marla had managed to find Silvan. Xandros owed her some kind of favor for that.