The Devil's Prey (The Demon Within) Read online

  ‘No, you didn’t. No one seems to know how I feel, because no one asks.' My voice was calmer and I sighed, so Amanda took that as an invitation to come and give me a big hug. I knew that we had sorted our problem out. One down- now all I had to do was get Ethan-the-pig-head to listen to me before he started accusing me again.

  Amanda left to give us time.

  ‘So are you going to listen to me, or just assume the worst?’ I crossed my arms again in a defensive position.

  ‘Fine,’ he muttered under his breath.

  ‘So you’re going to be like that? Well, two can play at that game, Ethan.’ I picked up my bag, turned to my desk, and started taking out all my books.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he grumbled.

  ‘What does it look like I am doing? I am going to start my homework.’

  ‘What, you didn’t get time to study at your dinner date? Too busy with other activities?’ He raised an eyebrow at me, and I knew what he was implying. It made me so furious that I picked up my paperweight and threw it at his head.

  ‘You arrogant pig-head! I was with my mother, for crying out loud, and I didn’t get time to do my homework because I was too busy catching up with her!’ I yelled at him, and I could hear thunder in the distance. He was rubbing his head where the paperweight had hit him, and I give myself an internal high five.

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know.’ He had his eyes downcast, but I was still mad at him.

  ‘No, you didn’t. You just assumed the worst, like at school. We were just talking, and I felt a little light-headed, so I sat down and he made sure I was fine. And before you ask, I don’t know why he was there in the first place.’

  Ethan let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t believe him. Did he really not trust me? I was about to push it further, but he spoke up first.

  ‘I am sorry, Summer. I should have just waited and let you explain. I jumped to conclusions, and I am sorry for that. Forgive me.’ He looked up, and I was staring into those amazing green eyes. They made me forget everything we were fighting about.

  ‘Of course I forgive you.’

  Chapter 9

  The nightmares were back. The devil trying to kill me, the knife plunging into the depths of my stomach, blood spilling into the ground, leaving my body into the next life, seeing my father and then coming back to a world of pain. I woke up with a jolt. I was sweating and panting. I looked over at Amanda, who was still sleeping. I got dressed for a run. I knew nobody would be up for a while, as it was the weekend and everyone would be sleeping in, but I still left a note, just in case.

  When I was outside, the air was fresh and relaxing. I didn’t know where I was running, but I just ran. After about twenty-five minutes, I stopped by a river and a waterfall. I went over to the pond and took a drink.

  ‘You know, I really like this place.’

  I jumped up from where I was, and had a blue light in my hand.

  ‘Whoa, Summer! Calm down! I am not going to kill you, though I think my charm might be the death of you.’

  I rolled my eyes when I saw Michel jumping down from a rock on the top of the waterfall. ‘I am sorry. I just don’t do well with people sneaking up on me.’ I glanced over at Michel’s face, barely illuminated in the early morning light. He was beautiful with his short, chocolate brown hair.

  ‘I guess I would, too. So what brings you out at this ungodly hour?’ He took a step closer to me, and I let the blue light go.

  ‘I couldn’t sleep. Nightmares.’ I splashed more water on my face, hoping to get rid of the nightmare feeling that was still lingering. ‘How did you know where to find me? Because last time I checked, I was not being followed.’ I looked up to see him grinning.

  ‘You called out to me, a trick I do. When people call out into the open, and not at a direct person, I can choose to either go to them or stay put.’ He smiled at me, but the only problem was that I didn’t remember calling out to him, so I knew he was lying, and he knew it too.

  ‘So? You want to talk about it?’ He sat down and started playing with the grass, so I joined him.

  ‘Well, it started when I was being stabbed, and I was about to go into the other life.’ I stopped playing with the grass and started pacing. I ran my hand over my scar, thinking about it.

  ‘Wait- you almost went into the other life? What was it like?’ He was gazing at me with amazement and wonder.

  ‘It was warm and bright, but I was stopped by dead pure fairies and my father. As I was about to talk to him, I was pulled back into my dying body.’ I shivered and stopped pacing, trying to hold back my tears.

  ‘You haven’t told anyone, have you?’ He could tell by the expression on my face. I tried to speak, but my voice got caught up in my throat, so I just shook my head. After giving myself a few moments, I tried again. ‘So what are you up?’ I asked, trying to change the subject. My voice came out croaking, but Michel pretended not to notice.

  ‘Well, I couldn’t sleep either. I was having a weird nightmare, and you were in it. I found your trail and came here.’ I heard the birds chirping and the water flowing downriver. This conversation had just gotten really weird.

  ‘I knew I never called out to you,’ I said, trying to break the ice. Michel was looking at me funny and then cleared his throat. I gave him a weird look before I realized I was glowing.

  ‘Oh great, I am so sorry.’ I closed my eyes and tried to calm down, but my heart was pumping a thousand kilometers an hour. When I opened my eyes, Michel was so close I could both the warmth and chill coming off him.

  ‘It’s ok. I am just shocked. I have never seen it done before.’ He smiled at me and ran his hand over the glow, but his fingers slipped though. It reminded me of the first time I tried to touch it.

  ‘Can you do it, if you are only half?’ The glow had finally stopped, and I was glad.

  ‘No, but I can create lambos.’ He held up his hand, and there was a lambo in it.

  ‘Summer, Lauren wants to see you back at the house.’ Amanda said to me. I hadn’t realized that the sun had risen.

  ‘I am being called. See you later.’ I waved him goodbye, and I could feel him watching me as I ran back to the house.

  I somehow ended up on the training ground, where Lauren was waiting for me. 'Good morning, nice to see you up and ready.'

  I ran towards her, anxious about what she wanted with me. 'Ready for what?' I asked, trying to catch my breath.

  'Training!' She clapped her hands, and I moaned. 'We are now training your powers- like the weather, and your telepathy, and your telekinesis.'

  I sighed. This was going to be a long year.

  'Ok, Summer. Concentrate on the wind. Try to make it blow towards us.'

  Tired, I closed my eyes for like the tenth time and took a deep breath. I tried to grab the wind and pull it, but nothing was working. How did she expect me to pull something that wasn’t solid?

  'Urhh, I cannot do this. It is impossible!' I was frustrated after so many failed tries, and ran my hand over my hair.

  'Summer, you have to keep trying, ok? So let's try and move the water bottle.' She gestured at the water bottle on the stump. I concentrated on the bottle, and it tilted a little.

  'That's it, Summer.'

  The bottle fell.

  'Lauren, I give up. It is too hard, and I am useless.' I stormed out of the training area, where I had been stuck for the last two hours, and stormed my way into the house, tired and frustrated.

  'Summer, I was just coming,' Amanda said as I entered the house, but I stormed past her into our room, where I slammed the door shut.

  'I hate this!' A lamp went flying across the room without me even touching it. 'Great! One more thing I have to deal with,' I muttered, and started to clean up the mess when Ethan walked in.

  'What happened in here, Summer?' Ethan asked when he saw the mess.

  'Nothing. I was annoyed and accidentally made the lamp fly across the room.' I picked up the last piece of the lamp and put it in the bin.

>   'Ok. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come on a picnic with me today. I still owe you an apology.' He was smiling at me, and I smiled back.

  'I would love that. Let me get changed into something that is not covered in sweat.'

  Ethan left the room to allow me to change. Once I was ready, I opened up to my door to see Ethan with a picnic basket, ready to go.

  'So where are we going?' I asked as I linked my arm through his.

  'A nice, quiet place, where no one will find us.' We headed out the back door and into the woods.

  'Ethan, this place is so beautiful!' I said as I glanced around.

  'I knew you would like it.' He set up the rug and the food. We ate and talked a bit. In-between the eating and talking, we kissed each other to the point that we began glowing.

  'I wish I could stay here forever.' I was lying on his chest. There was a slight breeze in the air.

  ‘I thought you might like it.’ He stroked my hair. The sun was warm on our skin, and we sat still for a while before I managed to fall asleep. Both Ethan and I must have fallen asleep, because when we woke up, the sun was setting.

  ‘Ethan,’ I whispered his name.

  ‘Yes, Summer?’ he replied drowsily.

  ‘We both fell asleep.’ At that, he was up in a jolt.

  ‘Oh my god, I am so late.’ He quickly grabbed his jacket. I was still confused by what he was late for. ‘My parents are picking me up for dinner tonight. They have made a special trip down- I am so sorry!’ Once he’d found his phone, he gave me a kiss and took off, just like that- leaving me all alone.

  Asshole. I had such a nice afternoon, and he just left me.

  I finished packing up everything from our lovely day. I could see the sun setting, and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to stay a bit longer, so I lied on the grass, watching the sun set in the skies and thinking about what an arse Ethan was for leaving me here alone.

  ‘Summer…Summer…’ I could hear the whispers again. The voices were cold, colder then the devil himself.

  ‘Leave me alone,’ I said into the open air, but they kept saying my name. ‘Please go away,’ I pleaded. I covered my ears with my hands, but I could still hear the icy voice whispering my name. I closed my eyes, and the voices stopped abruptly. When I opened my eyes, the sky was getting darker, so I started to head back towards the house.

  About half an hour later, I knew I was lost. Ethan and I had only walked about twenty minutes away from the house, but I must have gone the wrong direction, because the vegetation was only growing denser.

  ‘Amanda can you hear me?’ I asked in my head, but I got no response from her. She must have been busy. I started to glow, because it was getting dark and the glow was my only source of illumination. I turned around and started to head back the way I came, but only ended but getting more lost.

  ‘Great,’ I murmured to myself. I was lost in the woods, with no way to contact anybody. I was going to kill Ethan when I saw him next. I got an idea. I could try to call out to no one in my mind, and maybe Michel could help me.

  ‘Miiiiiccheel!’ I yelled out in my mind, and just like that, he was standing before me.

  ‘Why, I never thought I’d see the day you would be calling me.’ He smirked, and I bit back a groan. Why had I called him again? Oh, right- because Ethan had left me.

  ‘Please don’t start, Michel. I am not in the mood. I need to get back to the house. Can you help me?’ I looked up to see him gazing at me curiously.

  ‘Of course I would, but might I ask what are you doing out here all by yourself?’ Just then he noticed the picnic basket in my hands. ‘A date with Ethan, I assume.’ He was smirking again, so I punched him in the arm.

  ‘Yes, it was, until he left me alone…and I kind of got lost.’ I shrugged my shoulders, but even in the semi-darkness he could see my scowl.

  ‘You’re going to kill him next time you see him, right? I don’t need to do it for you?’ I looked to see if he was joking, but he was dead serious.

  ‘Since when did you become the big brother figure?’ I asked, nudging him to try to lighten up his mood.

  ‘I don’t really know. I guess us special and unique people should stick together.’

  He did have a point, so I didn’t bother arguing with him about it. We hadn’t moved yet, and it suddenly occurred to me that Michel was probably just as lost as I was.

  ‘You don’t have any idea where to go, do you?’ I asked.

  ‘Nope, not a clue.’ He chuckled to himself, and I looked around to see the sky darkening, so I started to glow a little more brightly.

  We both sat on the cold ground in silence. I could feel the cold autumn breeze sweeping through the forest, and I wasn’t wearing much, so I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm.

  ‘Are you cold?’ Michel asked, and his voice seemed to echo through the forest.

  ‘Just a little.’ I shivered as a gush of wind rustled through the trees.

  ‘Here. Take my jacket.’ He took off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders.

  ‘Thanks.’ I smiled at him and he smiled back. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, so I didn’t feel too bad for taking his jacket.

  ‘Summer, can you hear me?’ Amanda said to me, and I stood up straight away.

  ‘Summer, everything ok?’ Michel asked, and I quickly shushed him so that I could hear Amanda.

  ‘Yes, I need help. I am lost in the forest. Can you get a locating fairy to find me, please?’ I was getting really cold. I was shivering, even though I had Michel’s jacket on. My legs were frozen because I was wearing shorts.

  ‘Doing it now. Someone is on their way.’ I sat tight for a while, and finally I saw a light in the distance.

  ‘Summer, where are you?’ Lauren’s voice was loud in the stillness.

  ‘Michel, you have to go.’ I turned, shrugged off his jacket, and gave it to him.

  ‘See you later,’ With that, he vanished.

  ‘I am here!’ I yelled. I was still glowing, and I pushed to make it brighter so they could see me.

  ‘Summer, what are you doing this far in the woods at night? I don’t mind you going for a run in the morning, but at night-’ She stopped when she noticed the picnic basket in my hands. ‘Summer, did Ethan leave you by yourself?’ she asked as she gave me a jacket. We started walking back to the house.

  ‘Yes, he had to leave. After the picnic, we fell asleep, and his parents were coming, and he just took off, leaving me alone. Asshole.’ I murmured the last part under my breath. She looked at me like she had no idea about the picnic. Great. Ethan had told me that Lauren knew all about our plans this afternoon.

  ‘You two are not allowed out for two weeks, and no more early morning runs, you got it?’ I sighed. When we got back to the house, I took a shower and got dressed for bed. When I came out of the shower, Amanda was already asleep. I lied in bed, but I could not get to sleep, so I got up and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Once I finished my glass, I went to bed and had no trouble falling sleep.

  Chapter 10

  The air was still cool, and I knew that it would be a cold winter this year. There was still a thin layer of snow settling on the ground. I must have been running, because I was out of breath. I was crouching down, getting ready to attack, only I had no lambos in either of my hands. The wind raged through my hair. I could hear the voices whispering my name. I also heard a dominating voice call out my name, but I didn’t call back, as it would give away where I was. I stayed crouched, waiting until I heard the dominant voice scream. I got up and ran towards the voice. I heard something coming behind me. They had found us.

  I suddenly woke up, jolted back into reality by Lauren, who was dressed in training gear. ‘Summer, ready for training?’

  I moaned. Another day of torture, trying to move things, attempting to control the weather, and just trying to figure out how to use my powers intentionally. I closed my eyes, hoping she would give me more time to sleep. Unlike Ethan, Lauren had n
o patience, and she immediately began dragging me through the house in my pajamas.

  ‘Ok, Lauren, please stop, I will get dressed!’ I could hear people laughing at me as Lauren pulled me through the house.

  ‘No way, because you will go right back to sleep. I told you the first time, and I did warn you.’

  I huffed as we made our way outside. It was not early morning, but early enough that a fair bit of people were outside practicing. Lauren finally let go, but when I tried to go back inside, she stopped me.

  ‘Fine, fine.’ I followed her, barefoot and wearing pink princess boxers with a singlet. Lucky for me, I’d worn a bra to bed, otherwise the situation would have been infinitely more embarrassing.

  ‘Ok, so today we continue where we left off.’ I could hear everyone laughing at how ridiculous I looked. Even without a mirror, I knew my normally neat hair was probably a tangled mess. Great. I really wanted everyone to see me with my hair looking like a bird’s nest.

  ‘Summer, I need you to try and move the bottle,’ Lauren sad, oblivious to my embarrassment.

  ‘Move it? I sure will move it. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can get dressed.’ She raised her eyebrows at my attitude, but it was her fault I was feeling grumpy.

  I tried several times to move the bottle, but nothing worked.

  ‘Summer, you are not even trying!’ Lauren yelled at me.

  ‘Not trying? Not trying! Don’t you dare say I am not trying! I am trying harder than you think!’ It came out with way more attitude than I’d intended. I knew Lauren hated it when people were smart with her.

  ‘Maybe, Summer, if you spent less time with Ethan or people from school, you might be able to concentrate better. Your father always had his head in the right place.’ There it was- it was like she knew just what buttons to push to get me in a pissed-off mood.

  I wasn’t thinking, so I grabbed a lambo and threw it at her. It caught her by surprise, which was a first. I could hear people gasping, horrified at what I’d just done, but I didn’t apologize. Lauren threw a lambo at me, but I was faster than her and managed to catch it. I could see that most of the other fairies from the house were clustering around us, watching fearfully. People were no longer laughing about my pajamas- they were too shocked that I’d had the nerve to throw a lambo at Lauren.