Personal Demons 2 - Original Sin (14 page)

Luc

Matt seems to be taking his assignment more seriously in the last three days. I've had Frannie test him, calling for him at random moments, and he's always been there. This morning I'm less worried. Frannie's with her family at church, and the chance that Rhenorian—or any other demon—is going to follow her in there is pretty slim. Not that the whole religion thing is going to scare us off. It's just too hard not to laugh out loud. Not a wise tactic when you're trying to blend.

There's a knock on my door, and I'm hoping maybe Frannie blew off church. But when I open it, Lili stands in the hall with a white cereal bowl. “Hey. I ran out of milk, and my Froot Loops aren't happy about it. Can I borrow some?”

“No problem,” I say, swinging the door wide. She slides in under my arm and I push it closed.

“Thanks. I'm starving and the only thing I've got is Froot Loops. Pretty pathetic, huh?”

I open my refrigerator and show her the contents: a nearly empty half gallon of milk, half a stick of butter, a mostly empty carton of eggs, a lonely slice of leftover pepperoni pizza wrapped carelessly in cellophane, and a paper box from Ming's Bamboo House containing God only knows what. “Not so pathetic,” I say with a smile.

She smiles back, and for the first time, I notice that she's actually rather attractive. She's pulled her hair back this morning so I can get a good look at her face. Even with no makeup, she's a classic beauty.

“Grab a bowl and a couple spoons. I've got plenty of Froot Loops to go around.” She puts her bowl on the table and runs out into the hall, leaving the door open. She's back in a minute with a store-brand box of Fruity Ohs. I toss a bowl onto the table and she fills it, then divvies up the last of the milk between the two bowls.

She sits in the chair across from me and peels off her extra large gray sweatshirt. Under, she's wearing a pair of faded denim shorts with a low-cut, nearly transparent white tank top, and a black bra underneath.

So,
wow.

“Is that new?” I say, gesturing to her outfit.

She smiles shyly. “Yeah. Frannie helped me find some good deals.”

I never would have guessed
that
body lurked under all her usual frump. She rests an elbow on the table and cradles her cheek in her hand. I catch myself staring at her cleavage, which is enhanced by the gesture, and force my eyes to the orange, green, and yellow loops floating in the bowl in front of me. I'm totally flustered, my thoughts a tangled mess.

“So, is she around?”

“Who?”

“Frannie.” I hear the smile in her voice, but I still don't look up.

“Church. She's at church.” I clear my throat. “So, when do classes start?” I ask, watching the tip of my spoon bob the floating loops one by one.

“Six weeks. Hopefully I'll have enough money socked away from my job at the KwikMart by then to pay for books.”

“Good luck. That's about when Frannie's classes start too. We'll be leaving for L.A. in a month.”

“That's a big move. You excited?”

I look up and work to glue my eyes to Lili's face. “It will be good for us to start fresh somewhere away from here.”

My eyes follow her fingers as they move from her cheek to the strap of her bra, peeking out from under the tank top. “We all need a fresh start sometimes,” she says, her voice soft and low.

“Mmm,” I agree, focusing back on my bowl and scooping a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

“What are you going to do in L.A.?”

“Not sure yet,” I say between mouthfuls. “Maybe look for a job.”

“Doing…?”

“Good question.”

“You should look into modeling. The big shops are in New York, but L.A. has some good agencies too.”

I look up at her and laugh.

“You think I'm joking?” she says with raised eyebrows.

I pull my eyes away from her. “Yes.”

“Well, I'm not. You've got a look the ladies drool over—dark and dangerous.”

I lift my eyes back to hers. Her look isn't so bad either. And as she locks her gaze on mine, something primal stirs in me. I'm seeing something in her gaze that I shouldn't be.

“We'll see,” I say, lifting my bowl from the table. I stand and walk over to the sink, focusing on rinsing my bowl. I clear my mind of everything but Frannie's face. When I'm back under control, I push away from the counter and turn toward her. “I've got to get to the library.”

She pulls herself out of the chair. “Thanks for the milk.” She goes to pick up her bowl, but ends up knocking it to the floor, where milk and Fruity Ohs splash and scatter. “Shit!” She stoops down and starts scooping the Fruity Ohs back into the bowl.

I grab a wad of paper towels and crouch down beside her to sop up the milk. When her hand brushes mine, a shudder races through me. I pull my hand away and pretend I didn't just feel the most carnal desire I've ever experienced.

“Sorry,” she purrs.

“No problem. I've got it.” I wave her off, but I can't look at her.

She stands and pauses at the door. “If you're looking for something to do after work, I'll be around.”

She closes the door behind her and I drop back onto my butt on the floor. I sit here forever, trying to breathe and figure out what the Hell just happened.

Frannie

“This guy is to die for,” Taylor says into the mirror as she touches up the lip gloss on her swollen lips. She swoons slightly. Now that's something I've never seen her do before.

“We've been together every night since Thursday,” she continues, “and last night, in the back of his hearse, he went d—”

“Too much information, Tay,” I say, holding up my hand. “Don't you think maybe things are moving a little fast?”

She gives me the patented Taylor glare in the mirror.

“I mean, you just met him.”

She tucks her lip gloss into her bag and spins, hands fisted on her hips. “You're one to talk. It wasn't that long ago that you were making out with not one, but two hot guys.”

My heart spasms at the thought of Gabe, and I drop my eyes. “That was different.”

“Only because there were two of them—which makes you twice as bad as me.”

I lift my eyes back to hers. “And, it was just kissing.”

A lascivious smile pulls at her lips and she raises her eyebrows at me. “But not anymore…”

Heat creeps up my neck.

“I knew it!” she bellows in triumph.

I shake my head and sink into my desk chair. “So how was that party you and Lili went to?” I sound only half as spiteful as I mean to.

She saunters over to my bed, where she flings herself onto my pillows. “Amazing.” But then her grin pulls into a scowl. “Until Lili dragged me out of there.”

“And you said Lili brought a guy?” I say, interested despite myself.

“Yeah. He was pretty hot too. He's got this wavy dark blond hair, kinda like yours but shorter, and these gorgeous blue eyes. I think Lili's diggin' on him.”

I smile at the thought of shy Lili diggin' on someone. “What was his name?”

“Matt.”

My breath catches in my throat.
Holy shit!
How many Matts who look like me could Lili possibly know? “Really…?”

I try to wrap my mind around that. Luc was right. Matt was out partying with Taylor and Lili while Rhenorian was stalking me in my driveway.

Taylor lifts her head and quirks an eyebrow. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah. He's a friend of Luc's.” Not to mention my brother/guardian angel. “That's how Lili met him.”

“Well, I would have taken a run at him if it wasn't for Marc, but…well…you've seen Marc. He's oh-so-tasty.” She sits up and wiggles her eyebrows.

“And a good kisser, from the looks of your lips.” I smirk at her.

A lascivious smile curls her swollen lips, and her eyes spark. “Uh-huh. He's
very
good with his mouth.”

I hold up my hand again, warning her to stop there. “So, are you hooking up again?”

“Tonight, at the Cove.”

“Okay if Luc and I come?”

She looks wary for just a second. “Sure. I guess. So, are you heading over to Luc's?”

“No. He's at the library this morning, then he's meeting me at Grandpa's.”

She scoots to the edge of the bed. “Can you give me a ride on your way?”

“You want a ride to Luc's?”

“Lili's.”

“Oh. What are you guys up to?”

She flops back onto the bed. “Just hanging out.”

I wait for my invitation, but it's obviously not coming. “Take the bus,” I say, my voice bitter.

She rolls onto her hip and props herself on an elbow. “What's your problem? You're going to your grandpa's. You just said.”

“Don't know. I guess I thought we'd hang out before I have to go.”

“We are. Then I'm gonna hang out with Lili.”

“Fine,” I huff. “Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.”

She hauls herself off the bed, glares at me, then pulls the phone from her pocket. I turn, grab a random book from my stack, and pull it open. I stare at it as Taylor storms out of my room. But before the door slams behind her, I hear her say, “Hey, Ry. I need a ride to Lili's.”

Luc

The library is always quiet on Sundays. I'm finishing up and getting ready to head to Frannie's grandpa's when I look up from the computer screen and see Taylor and Lili come wandering through the library doors.

Taylor looks up and smiles at the surprised expression on my face. The library's not her typical hangout.

Lili's still in her tank top and shorts, so I glue my eyes to Taylor. I step out from behind the desk as Mavis scowls.

“Ladies.”

Taylor sidles up, too close, as usual. “Hey, Luc. What you working on?”

I wave an arm at the computer. “Cataloging the new arrivals.” I glance at Lili, then back at Taylor. “Is there something I can help you find?”

Taylor elbows Lili. “No, thanks. Just researching a theory that Lili has.”

I look at Lili with a raised eyebrow. “A theory?”

“It's nothing.” She loops her arm through Taylor's and starts to pull her toward the computer stations. “We can find what we need on our own.”

Taylor cranes her head over her shoulder and grins as Lili pulls her away. “See ya.”

They huddle together at a terminal and search the catalog for several minutes, then disappear into the stacks. When they reemerge ten minutes later, they have three large books. Two of them, I recognize and am intimately acquainted with:
Demon Lore
and a modern translation of
The Lesser Key of Solomon.
The third, a more modern text on black magic, I know only in passing.

They spread the books on a table and hover over them, whispering and giggling. Two or three times, they burst out laughing, and Mavis shuffles over to hush them. Despite the fact that Mavis's tiny frame would probably blow away in a stiff breeze, in her library domain, she's intimidating enough that the girls don't giggle again until she's gone.

Mavis pulls her sweater tight around her and takes a slow sweep through the high stacks, straightening books in her obsessive-compulsive way; then she shuffles back to the desk. She glowers at Taylor and Lili on her way by.

I walk over and see a small notebook on the table between them. Lili jots something into it as I approach, but she closes it before I can get a good look. I slide my hip onto the edge of the table. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Lili looks up at me, and a smile plays at the corners of her mouth. “We're good, thanks.”

“Speak for yourself.” Taylor elbows her, and that signature lascivious grin spreads across her face. “I'll always take a little librarian with my books.”

“I'll get Mavis, then. She's the little one,” I say, peering past Taylor at
The Lesser Key of Solomon.
The page they have it open to involves Earthly demon conjuring and manifestation. A load of crap, really. There's no ritual required, as the book would suggest. We just show up where we want to, when we want to. Not too much a mortal can do about it either way.

“Let me know if there's anything else you need,” I say, and push off the table. Both girls watch me walk back to the counter.

“Kids these days,” Mavis says when I return, forgetting that, as far as she knows, I am one. “They have no respect for anything.” She catches herself, and her scowl shifts to a fleeting smile. “Well, some of them, anyway. You're an old soul, Luc.” Her scowl returns as she looks past me at the girls. “Devil worshippers, probably,” she says, tugging on the chain around her neck and fingering the cross.

There's nothing I can do about the smile that pulls at my lips. “Why would you say that, Mavis?”

“That book—
Modern Black Magic.
They were copying down the pentacles in it. I don't understand kids' fascination with vampires and demons. The darker, the better. It's all they want to read about. What happened to the classics?”

“There are some dark classics. Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe,” I say, sticking to authors who aren't older than the building, and making a mental note to ask Frannie to find out what Taylor's up to.

She shakes her head. “The world's going to hell in a hand-basket, and this generation—” She sweeps a hand toward the girls. “—is taking us there.”

My smile widens. “We'll see.”

Just then, the door swings open and Rhenorian strides in. He grins at me and takes a slow circle of the library. When his eyes find Lili and Taylor, his stride slows and he looks momentarily surprised. He flashes me another chilly grin and leaves.

All the pretty young things.

With a quick glance at Lili, I heave a guilty sigh. “You know what, Mavis? You might be right.”