Page 19 of Demon Stalked
When I arrive at school, the parking lot is completely full and the gray sky is threaded with streaks of metallic violet. The sun is steadily sinking beneath boughs of trees, providing the building with a decidedly mythical feel. And though it’s December, and a fine layer of snow coats the walkways, the school is bedecked like it’s Halloween. Skeletons hang from the roof, cobwebs decorate the entryway, and a few ghosts decorate the windows.
I step through an archway constructed entirely of black and orange balloons, the wordsThe Nightmare Before Christmasetched at the very top.
Students are dressed in a variety of outfits. Some wear normal dresses and suits, while others are in costumes. I spot a knight, a clown, and even a few cowboys. Janie is up ahead wearing a slutty nurse’s costume that reveals her lacy black bra and dark stockings. I have no idea how she expects to get inside with that outfit on, but I don’t care enough to allow my thoughts to linger on it.
And there, standing in the doorframe of the gymnasium and craning his neck from side to side like he’s searching for someone, is William Washington.
“Fuck,” I curse, jerking to the side just when his eyes sweep in my direction. I press my back flush against the balloon archway and work to control my breathing.
Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.
When I peek my head around the corner, I watch William release a disgruntled sigh and turn to walk back inside. Do I feel awful for avoiding him? Absolutely. Despite everything, a part of me still remembers the unrequited love I felt for him only weeks earlier. I now know that the love I thought I felt was superficial at best, infatuation at worst. There’s nothing about William that’s really likeable, let alone lovable. I went on a date with that guy, and let me tell you…
Do not recommend.
Smoothing my hands down the sides of my dress, I lift my chin and emerge from my hidey-hole. Plastering a wide smile on my face, I step under the arch and through the doors to the gymnasium.
The interior is horrifying, which is exactly the point. Immediately to my right is a long table with a bowl of “blood punch” and “ice eyeballs.” There are what appears to be gummy hands and feet on a platter adjacent to it, as well as “livers” and “hearts.”
Even more decorations hang from the rafters—everything from a creepy, green-skinned witch, to a ghost made of sheets, to a skeleton that was once in the anatomy classroom, to a zombie.
But let me tell you…the man with decaying flesh and sunken eyeballs? Not a real zombie. Jason looks completely normal despite being…well…dead. And zombified.
Directly in front of me, a group of witches dance to the upbeat song while a couple dressed in normal “dance” attire sway to the beat in each other’s arms. It’s a weird clash of high school prom and a Halloween party.
Honestly, I hardly see theNightmaretheme at all, because the decorations are way scarier than the claymation movie. But I’m guessing the student council budget had its limits.
I scan the crowd, searching for my demons.
My demons.
My heart dances a little jig inside of my chest at the possessive term. I don’t necessarily know where tomorrow will lead, but I do know that tonight, I’m going to be in their arms. One way or another.
I spot Zolroth first, weaving through the crowd to get to me, a beaming smile causing his eyes to sparkle. My eyes track the way his muscles flex in his expensive, dark gray suit. His white teeth are blinding under the fluorescent, flashing lights.
“You came,” he breathes in wonderment, “and you wore my gift.”
“It’s beautiful,” I praise, suddenly feeling shy and uncertain. “I love it.”
His eyes spark with an unnamed emotion as he brushes at a strand of my light pink hair, pushing it behind my ear.
“You’rebeautiful,” he declares, his voice just as soft. It’s barely audible over the thumping music. He extends his arm for me, and after only a brief moment of hesitation, I take it, loving the feel of his corded muscles beneath my small hand. “Now, I’m not the only one who wants to see you tonight.”
“Zolroth…” I begin as he leads me out of the gymnasium and towards a darkened hallway. “I know I agreed to go to the dance with you guys…”
He pauses in front of a smaller gym, a few doors down from the main one, and grabs a key ring from his pocket. I recognize it as belonging to Raz.
“But I don’t know what this means. I don’t know if this changes anything,” I blurt as he places the key in the lock and pushes the door open. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you guys because of me, and…”
And I don’t know if I can be the mate all five of you need. I’m only one person, one woman, and you guys are centuries-old demons who will tire of me. I’m not that interesting. There’s no way I can keep the attention or devotion of all of you. And that would break my fucking heart.
But I don’t admit that aloud. It’s too private, too personal, for me to articulate in words. I know Zolroth would deny it profusely, promise me that he would never hurt me, but my insecurities can’t be quelled with petty reassurances.
“Don’t think about that,” he whispers as I step inside the darkened gym. “Tonight, it’s just us. Tonight, we’re going to forget about everything besides that. Tonight, we’re just normal guys taking the most beautiful girl in the world to a school dance.”
He claps his hand, and bright light immediately engulfs the room. It allows me to see the four other men waiting for me in the center of the small gymnasium, the one the school isn’t using for the dance.
Van looks like some sort of sex god with his auburn hair messily tousled and his form-fitting black suit conforming to his slender figure. He smiles warmly when he sees me, his eyes making a slow, hungry track down the length of my body.
