The Demon's Grave (31 page)

“Nora,” he warned.

I took a deep breath. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

“I’m not moving until you tell me what’s going on.” He crossed his arms.

If his pale eyes could hold sparks, they did today and I realized that if I didn’t tell him, the small bits of trust we had collected over the last few Challenges could be shattered. We’d end up like the Other Nora and Aidan.

Don’t tell the Birket about Nell
, he’d said, and then did this to me. He was making the rift between us widen.

Clearing my throat it took more effort than it should have to speak, but I pronounced each word carefully, having not said them for over a decade. “They murdered my twin sister in front of me when I was five.”

The silence stretched and though Aidan finally decided to look at me, I didn’t want to look at him. The last thing I wanted was sympathy or worse, the accusations in his eyes.

“Aidan?”

He grunted.

Twisting my camisole in my hands, I asked. “Remember when you said you sometimes felt strange around me?”

“You’ve asked this already,” he said.

“Was it like you knew I was coming before I got there?”

“No,” he sounded serious and cleared his throat. “It was more like there was something wrong with you.”

Surprised, my eyes snapped back to him to see if he was serious.

His chin lowered as he glowered at me. “Like you didn’t belong here, like you were never meant to be in the same room as everyone else, but you were.” He took a deep breath through his nose. “I guess I don’t have to ask you about your experience.”

Like I didn’t belong? I gaped at him, unsure how to proceed.
Don’t tell the Birket
, Damien had said.

At my silence, Aidan stood up and began pacing the small room. Behind him the black door was replaced by a white one. “You said
they
…‌”

“What?” I stood up with him, clenching my fists around the bottom of my shirt, desperate for something to do.

“You said
they
killed your twin sister.”

His back was to me and I felt the chill from where I stood. Licking my lips, I nodded knowing he couldn’t see me. “There were three of them. A woman and two guys and no, neither of the men was Damien.” I stalked toward the white door and tried the handle. It was locked.

He still wouldn’t look at me as he paced the rectangular room, his shadow followed along the wall so I could track him without looking.

“What if one
was
Damien? You were young and…‌”

Tugging at my shirt, I sighed. “One was a fat, blonde guy and the other was a skinny guy with a stupid jacket that had JWD on the sleeve. Besides, I already asked Damien.”

“You asked Damien?” Aidan paused in his pacing. I could see his shadow face me before he snorted, “Because a demon wouldn’t lie.”

I held up my hand and counted on my fingers, still facing the white door. “Neither talked like Damien. They didn’t look like him and we weren’t even close to your Grandpa’s place. It was a different city entirely.” I grit my teeth and snapped. “Remember, Aidan? The place where
all
this started. How come you’re not on trial?”

Aidan stopped pacing, I had hit the nerve. I seem to be getting good at that.

With enough courage to turn around, I let my emotions guide my attack. “Cody, Phoebe, and Read are trapped off in some shadow. Robin could be seriously hurt or worse.”

“Why would Robin be seriously hurt? You don’t think she’s dead?”

I had slipped up, but I wasn’t about to stop. “And I can’t tell you about my family tragedy because he’ll kill Phoebe. Do you know how many shrinks my parents threw me at? I don’t think there’d be enough in the world after this!”

“Nora, stop, please,” Aidan began.

“Stop? You wanted me to start!” I shouted so loud the back of my throat ached and my already weak legs wobbled. Slapping a hand to the wall I waited for the scathing retort. I couldn’t even look at him as I’d already said too much and my head was pounding with adrenaline that should have been put to better use.

If I wasn’t too tired I might have just decided to cry. Not to get him to shut up, but because I needed a release. All this pressure had been building with no escape valve.

Aidan’s soft voice said, not far away. “I shouldn’t have accused you.”

Frustration launched me away from him.
He doesn’t mean it,
I thought.

To get away, I stepped into the only other room, a bedroom.

I took a deep breath through my mouth, letting it out slowly. I heard the shudder in my chest.
This was stupid
. I couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me, just like Damien said. I touched my stomach, feeling it twist and warm, though I wasn’t sure if it was out of hunger or anger.

This could be what caused the rift for the doppelgängers; not the story of my sister or Damien’s lies. Crossing my arms, I surveyed the little bedroom, trying to form a logical solution. Weapons, I needed weapons and a hiding place.
Couldn’t get caught, couldn’t be controlled by emotions.

My bottom lip quivered and I tried to make notes of the room to distract myself. Black candles crowded the bedside tables, the shelves and the dresser, snaking tendrils of wax over edges and to the floor.

In the center of the room was a black four poster bed with a sheer, lacy canopy. Just seeing the fluffy, dark comforter seduced my every muscle to lie down. After my massive puke-fest, my body felt as if it were filled with sand.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I rested but wouldn’t allow myself to lie back. My nerves were shot, my emotions running so deep and hard I was exhausted. I was puttering on low-fuel and knew I should be focused on hiding. Ahead of me, the stairs beckoned me to keep moving. Turning my head, I noticed a stone crucifix on the wall above the headboard. To my right was a window, though outside it was a blurry grey as wet snow splattered the glass.

Aidan mentioned that, before Cody disappeared it had started to rain and snow at the same time. Could Cody be outside right now? Or in here with us?

“Aidan?” I asked, watching the window. In my fascination, it took me a moment to realize he hadn’t answered.

Standing slowly, with the help of one of the bed posts, I poked my head out into the living room to see Aidan sitting on the couch. His body was hunched with elbows on his knees, careful to avoid the bloodstained towel tied to his leg. Peering over his fingertips at the white door, he was ashen.

Glancing at me, his eyes widened before he motioned me to stay quiet.

Leaning against the doorway, I listened.

Footsteps squeaked against what sounded like packed snow. They were pacing in front of the door, back and forth.

Stiffening for several seconds, we waited for the next move. The footsteps kept pacing and I thought of our warning. We had to hide. I motioned to Aidan to come to me.

He stood up, eyes darting to the door. He ventured a single step but a new noise froze him before he took a second. Mumbled words could be heard through the door.

Don’t get caught.

Flailing at Aidan to hurry, the doorknob twisted and my heart stopped. I think I stopped breathing until I heard the lock rattling but the door remained closed.

Aidan jerked off the couch and limped on tippy-toes across the living room.

The instant he was in arms reach I grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to whisper in his ear. “We have to hide.”

Aidan nodded and peered inside the bedroom. “Let’s go outside before it can come in,” he breathed and limped to the window.

Flipping the lock at the top Aidan gripped the small handle at the base and tugged, gently at first. The window shook, but otherwise didn’t budge. Taking a deep breath he strained, his face reddening with the added force and this time the window slide as if layered in grease and slammed into the frame above. He might as well have just held up a sign that said: “
Victims Seeking Abuse: Sign Up Sheet Here.
”

A single, icy strike snuffed most of the candles. Bullet sized rain and snow pelted my face, numbing skin.

Jumping back, I held up my hands to protect myself and staggered into the archway. Stealing a glance at the main white door I saw splinters beside the doorknob as if the Hulk were on the other side.

“Aidan, we have to go upstairs,” I said, though my voice disappeared in the wind. The steps behind me reached a landing before curling up along the wall. The second floor was probably where we should hide.

Struggling to close the window, Aidan jerked hard on the handle and it slammed shut, the sound echoing in my head.

Before I could tell Aidan about the door there was a sharp
snap
from the living room and I noticed the doorknob was gone, leaving splinters on the floor. The door slammed inward followed by a rough, male’s triumphant cry.

Racing into the bedroom before I could be spotted, I pointed to the bed and dropped to my belly.

The shrieking wind ceased as the front door shut and I could hear boots clomping in the next room.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” came the husky voice from the living room.

Together, we slid under the box spring, shuffling to the middle before turning our faces to the archway. I half expected Aidan to grab my hand, but this time he didn’t. His hands clutched the carpet, his focus on the doorway.

The leathery creak of wet shoes and deep rasps in the living room was all we could hear. We should have run for the stairs while we had the chance, I thought.

I stopped fidgeting when two black combat boots stomped into view.

They paused in the threshold as I heard the man say between heavy breaths. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” He sounded like a long time smoker.

The boots plodded toward the window and I heard the latch
click
back into place. He paused there, facing away from us. “You’re not out there,” he concluded, self-assured.

Rigid, I clasped my fingers together, digging nails into the back of my hands. Any second he’d poke his head under the bed and see us lying here like sitting ducks. Was he going to be deformed like the people from Aidan’s nightmare? Was he a cannibal? A ghoulish monster? My imagination was abruptly interrupted by his voice.

“Are you here?” The voice asked, but it was far away. Blinking, I peered around the bedroom to see he wasn’t with us anymore and breathed out.

Aidan and I were locked in place.

Until Boots went upstairs, I didn’t think either of us would budge. Even then where would we go? For all I knew Boots could have freakish hearing and find us the moment we shuffled.

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ll find you.” There was a crude snicker in the next room. “Actually, maybe you should worry, because I
will
find you.”

“Hey, Aidan,” said the man in a sing song voice. “Yeah, it’s me Aidan. You’ve gotta remember me. I was that kid you gave that little video camera to. We were pals, right? Gee, that camera sure did come in handy” There was the raspy snicker again. “So did that money I found in your backpack.”

Aidan tucked his arms closer to his body and didn’t respond to my glances.

Casually, the man kept talking as if Aidan and I were standing right in front of him. “Yeah, you know, it’s me, Jordan Peterson. Remember when you kissed the bathroom floor by the urinals on Valentine’s Day? Just so you know, that was totally piss. I know that weasel Jake tried to say otherwise. The whole thing was Mick’s idea; funny as Hell. You remember Mick, right?”

I prayed that he’d walk up the stairs, but he didn’t. He kept talking and pacing just outside of the room, taunting my patience in camo-pants and laced, combat boots. “Or the time we stuffed you in your gym locker? I heard the janitor found you hours after the school was closed.” He rumbled a gravelly chuckle before stepping back into view.

“Hey,” Jordan sounded like he was smiling. “From what I hear, you have a sweet little thing with you. I’m sure that she doesn’t want to be there with you. Just like Tracy Domo in the eighth grade. Though, you could have kept that one.”

Aidan winced as Jordan stepped farther into the bedroom again and I could smell the sharp sweetness of a cigar.

“Fuck, she was a terrible lay.” Jordan chortled.

In grade
eight
? I looked at Aidan but he hadn’t flinched.

Jordan wandered to the side of the bed where Aidan laid. He dropped to one knee and I realized we were done.

I scooted over and nudged Aidan to follow. We could get to the other side of the bed and maybe make a run for it. It was doubtful we’d make it but it was better than just sitting here.

A hand shot under the bed. It latched onto Aidan’s calf and yanked.

Aidan cried out as he was dragged away so fast that I barely had time to react. Clawing my hand out, I barely touched Aidan’s arm before it was ripped away. His piercing, wide-eyed gaze caught mine just before he disappeared and Jordan was back to his feet.

My breath was quick and panicked as I shuffled closer to the other side of the bed before a hand could snake around my ankle too.

I heard slaps and Aidan’s cries, then a massive
thunk
that shook the bed and Aidan groaned.

Slapping a hand on the bed, I used it to help me stand. Moving too fast made my head spin, but I had a barrier between myself and the two guys.

Jordan was tall with an ample amount of muscle in his arms, despite the beer gut. He had a dark buzz cut to go with the combat boots, camouflage pants and green wife-beater. I bet he had a collection of knives in his parents’ basement too.

Jordan was holding Aidan upside down by his ankles.

“Hey!” I cried, catching Jordan’s attention. I couldn’t see Aidan’s face; it was blocked by the bed.

Jordan looked up, revealing the numerous pale scars against the dark tan. Maybe he played with the knife collection, I concluded. It was either that, or enough knife fights to intimidate the crap out of me, and
that
was working.

“Hey, this must be your girlfriend.” Jordan shook Aidan’s ankle for attention.