The Devil's Prey (The Demon Within) (15 page)

‘This is not working
,’ I said, already about to give up.

‘It is not working because your head is clouded
. Clear it. Think of nothing but your power. Try again.’

I close
d my eyes. I tried to wipe everything from my head except for my power, but my thoughts were so jumbled that it didn’t work.

  ‘See
, I tried, it’s not working.’ I stood still for a moment, feeling defeated.

‘What do you do when you glow
?’ he asked.

W
ell, I just glow. ‘Umm…I am not sure. I can show you.’ I glowed, just like that- no thinking or attempts to clear my mind.

‘I
nteresting. Your mind is still clouded, but it is like a natural instinct, the same way you breathe.’ We stood for a moment while Liam was thinking.

‘Ok
, let’s move on to your telekinesis. I hear you managed to move a whole person, am I right?’ I just nodded, too ashamed of what I’d done to admit it aloud. We stood there for a whole hour while I tried to move a stick.

‘Summer
, you need to concentrate. Please clear your mind. Think about your power and moving the stick. You need to connect to your fairy side.’

I close
d my eyes and dug deep down for my power. This time, I did find something- a hum, like a bird, but it was locked away. I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. My eyes flew open in a hurry.

‘I had it
! I heard the hum, but it was like it was locked away.’ I was excited. This was the first breakthrough I’d had in ages.

‘Ok
, that is good. Now you need to open it, and it will unlock all your powers.’

‘How the hell
am I supposed to do that?’ I asked. He always left me with unanswered questions.

‘It
’s like a key. Find the right hole it belongs to, and it will open.’ Another riddle. I closed my eyes and found the same power source, when out of nowhere, I began thinking of Michel. What was he doing right at that moment? I felt myself open, so I kept thinking about Michel, but nothing else budged.

‘Good
, Summer. Try to move the stick.’ I opened my eyes and lifted my hand. When I moved my hand to the side, the stick moved with it.

‘Oh my gosh
! I did it! I did it!’ I started dancing around the place, excited that I’d finally managed to do something.

‘Very good
, Summer, now it’s time to move this.’ Liam pulled out a huge weight from a cabinet against the wall.

‘You have got to be kidding me
.’ The weight was huge!

‘Nope
. Now move it,’ I tried, but it wouldn’t budge. I tried for another hour, with no results.

‘I give up
! I really do. Maybe I can only move small things.’ I threw my hands in the air.

‘You are not even trying
, Summer. I am starting to see that maybe you are not a pure fairy- just a normal fairy trying to add a bad name to real pure fairies. They went through hell trying to stay alive, and what’s the most you had to deal with- keeping your boyfriend?’

I did
n’t know what he was aiming for, but I was getting mad, and when I get mad it never ends well for anyone. ‘Don’t start about me going through nothing! If you haven’t heard, I nearly died! I even went into the other life for a brief moment, where I was told I was destined for great things. I was pulled back into a world of pain. I have been tortured- demons escaping from my chest, the devil himself stabbing me with a knife, so don’t tell me I have not been through hell, because you cannot begin to understand!’ I was so caught up in my words that I did not realize what was going on around me. The wind was blowing  and everything was shaking.

‘That’s what I want to see
, Summer.’ Everything stopped when he talked.

‘What do you mean?’ I was still annoyed
.

‘You unlocked
your powers. I know what the lock is. It is the event you have been through that restrained your powers. It is the happy memories and accepting that bring out your powers.’ His voice is gentle again.

‘You know what
? I don’t bloody care. I came here to learn, and if I am going to be yelled out and abused all holiday, I might as well go back to Lauren. She seems to do that fine without any help, so I am going to pack up my bags and leave!’ I walked toward the door, and it flew open before I even touched it.

At first I was
walking, and then I found myself running through a strange park. People were looking at me because of the way I was dressed, and my hair was messy, falling out of its braid. When I finally stopped, I found myself shaking, not because I was cold, but because I was in shock. I sat on a bench and closed my eyes.

The first thing I saw were
memories of the night I died and came back to life, only it was like I was there again, in that moment. I could feel the knife pushing its way through me. I tried to think of Ethan, but the only thing I could see was him lying broken and bleeding next to me. I knew that this was not real, but it sure felt like it. I started to think of Michel, but all I could see was my dream where Michel was being held at knife point by someone I couldn’t quite identify.

‘T
hinking of me, I see.’

My eyes flew
open, but they were blurry with tears. It took me a while to see who was sitting next to me, and when he finally came into focus, I jumped. ‘Michel! What the hell are you doing here? Wait, don’t even bother, how did you get here?’ I was barely managing to keep myself from falling apart, and suddenly Michel appeared, bright, happy and looking ready to conquer the world.

‘W
ell, it was boring without you. So I vanished into thin air and ended up next to you.’ He was smiling at me. ‘You ok, princess?’ He’d started calling me by that name after seeing me in my princess boxers.

‘Y
eah, I am fine,” I muttered, but I could tell he was not buying it.

‘C
ome here,’ he said, and that’s when I burst into hot tears. My emotions had been building up for so long that I just couldn’t contain them any longer.

‘I
t is ok, Summer.’ He moved closer to me and held me in his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder.

‘I
t’s not fair, Michel. It is not fair.’ I feel the heat of my tears run down my face and onto Michel’s shirt, which was getting wet, but he didn’t seem to care. ‘Why me? What have I ever done to anybody?’

W
e were getting a few glances from other people in the park, but I didn’t care.

‘I
t’s going to be ok, Summer. You are strong. Stronger than anyone. You will be ok.’ He sat there with his arms around me while I cried. When I finally stopped, my eyes were red and my nose and face were puffy.

‘Better now?’ he asked as he brushed
away the last of my tears.

‘I think so
.’ I sniffled. I was tired and sore from training. I tried to get up, but my legs buckled and I fell down.

‘C
ome here, Summer.’ He wrapped his arms around my waist, and we were gone. When we landed, I was in my room. I found my way to my bed, where I lied down, not bothering to change into my pajamas. Michel was gone, and I started to doze, but the moment I fell asleep, I was woken by night terrors. I was surprised that Liam hadn’t come up yet, because my screams were blood-curdling and high pitched- almost like Lucy’s squeal.

By sunrise,
I still hadn’t managed to get an ounce of sleep. I was worn down and barely able to move. Every muscle in my body ached. On the end of my bed was a fresh new set of clothes, like last time, with a note.

When you wake up
, come down to the training room.

I got dressed like a robot
, putting on the top, pants, and boots, and walked down to the training room. When I walked in, I went into a state of total panic. Everywhere I looked, I could only see the devil, Lucy, or Andy.  I had two blue lights straight away. I went towards the door, but it was blocked off. I kept walking backwards until I was trapped against a wall. My eyes widened as they came closer to me.

‘L
eave me alone!’ I screamed. My body was going into shock. I tried to move, but my feet were firmly planted on the ground. I threw the light, but it went straight through them.

I remember
ed hearing what Michel had told me. ‘
You are strong. Stronger than anyone else.’
I started to move my legs, and ran into the open space. I stood still and closed my eyes. I reached deep down into my power, and felt it burst open inside of me. I could feel pure energy running through my veins, and I felt invincible, limitless. I could feel the ground under my feet. I could feel the sun, and the wind that was not there. I could feel every living thing around me.

I use
d my mind to throw Andy across the room, and when he was about to impact, I made him burst into flames. I could hear his screams as the fire burned him. I turned to the devil and Lucy, who were standing there, shocked. I felt for the wind, but there was none, so I started to twirl my hands and make wind. The force of it ripped my hair from its ponytail, whipping strands around my face. My vision grew blurry as rain began forming around me. I could feel lightning itching to have its turn, so I struck the ground with lightning right at their feet as a warning, but they didn’t back away.

I clear
ed a path for me to see through the storm. I broke a tree branch behind Lucy and ran it straight through her heart. She started to cough up blood and fell to the ground. I looked around for the devil, but he was nowhere to be found. I calmed down the storm so I could see, and I saw a black figure running behind a tree, like a coward. I started to glow, but the power was so great that I hesitated, taken aback at the amount of power pumping through my veins. I brought on my full fury like a charm, and burned harder, so that he would have to come out. Still he did not emerge from his hiding place. I knew it was a trap, but I still walked to where he was hiding- to find nothing. I still let the fury burn hard, just in case.

W
hen I whirled around, I saw him, standing so close I could have strangled him with my bare hands. I saw a vine to my left, and used my mind to wrap it around his neck. ‘You are going to suffer like I did.’ I laughed as the vine began killing him. At that point I knew I had gone mad. I released the vine’s grip, but as I stepped closer, I could see his flesh burning. I started laughing and tightened the vine again. I made the lighting strike around him in a circle, so that he was surrounded by a ring of fire, just like he had done to me.

I grab
bed my pocketknife and brandished the blade. ‘I think it Is only fair that you die the same way I did.’ I began to laugh again, and this time I used my own hands, not my powers. I cleared a gap in his fire circle and plunged the knife into his thigh. He screamed in agony as I plunged the knife into his arm and stomach. I watched him bleed, and laughed at him, like he had done to me.

‘S
ee, I have a very funny feeling that no one is waiting for you in the afterlife, to bring you back to the living like they did to me.’ At that, he let out his final breath and died. He vanished, just like Andy and Lucy had.

I took a step back and started l
aughing like a mad woman. I heard someone call my name, and saw a figure appear on the other side of the room.

I called down a warning lightning strike right next to him. ‘S
tay away if you are smart- or you will end up like them.’

The person kept
walking. ‘Summer, calm down, ok? They were not real. It was just a dummy- a dummy that takes the figure of whatever it is that you fear most. I was just seeing how you would react. You can calm down.’ The voice was soft, with a funny accent to his words.

It had all been a test? ‘N
o, never!’  I burst into full fury again. I could feel blood running from my nose. I heard the voice shouting lots of different things, but I paid no attention, until I felt all my powers drain from my body abruptly.

I knew someone had
tackled me to the ground, because my back was very sore.

‘S
ummer, can you hear me?’ Liam was standing above me.

‘L
et me go!’ I was unable to move. I could not get up. It was like I was somehow glued to the floor.

‘S
ummer, you need to listen to me. You need help. I can help you, but you have to promise not to kill me.’ 

I found I could
sit up then. I wiped away the blood from my mouth.

‘S
ummer, you did really well, but I was not expecting that.’

‘W
hat do you mean? They were here, Liam. They really were.’ I was a bit shaky.

‘N
o, Summer. I was testing you to see how you would handle it. I never expected you to kill them all- and in such a brutal way. They were decoys. They take what you fear most and turn it into a real person or thing. The way you acted first is what I was expecting. I was about to turn it off when suddenly you went out of control. Your energy power was beyond anything I have ever seen, but from what I saw, I know you need help. The way you killed them shows me that you went through more than hell itself.’