Earth Angel (The Kamlyn Paige Novels) (24 page)

His plan made more sense than my impulses did. I
laughed to myself as I pictured running after the young pretty girl, gun in
hand as fellow students watched in horror. I could just imagine the looks on
their faces when they saw Mia’s transformation and my special way of killing
her.

“So, why do you think she’s going to the auditorium
after hours?” I wondered aloud, sipping up the last drops of coffee.

“She’ll probably have someone with her tonight, so
you’ll need to be extra careful,” Sari said, leaning his elbows on the table
and staring at me. “There’s no telling if that person she’s with is there as a
victim or an accomplice.”

I hadn’t thought about the fact that she might not
be alone in her evil doings. There could be others out there like her and what
if they were teaming up together here? I was nervous and unsure about my
ability to defend myself against one demon goddess let alone multiple ones.
There was no way I would survive. And Sari didn’t know it yet, but he wasn’t
going to come with me tonight either. I said it to Don earlier, but I had meant
it for the both of them. This was something I needed to do on my own, even if
it was the last thing I ever did.

Endless hours of walking around the campus wore my
legs out. As we sat in the crowded college diner, I rubbed my ankles under the
table. The sky turned from pink to orange to a deep navy blue as night fell
outside the window next to our booth. Sari sat there, watching me as I took a
bite of my mushroom Swiss burger. A dribble of burger juice ran down my chin
and I wiped it away with the napkin in my lap.

“Could you not watch me eat? It’s weird…” I asked,
putting my burger back onto my plate.

Sari picked up my half eaten hamburger and shoved
as much into his mouth as he could. The site of his cheeks puffed out like a
chipmunk storing nuts for winter made me burst out into laughter. He attempted to
chew the mass of food in his mouth and swallow it as I watched, trying to
contain myself.

“There. Now you don’t have to be embarrassed,” he
said once he finally got the mass of food down his throat.

I rolled my eyes at him and picked up my dinner
again, not caring if he watched me or not anymore. He always knew the right
thing to do or say in order to put me at ease, even if it was a little silly.
We finished dinner and paid the tab before walking back out into the campus.
Not sure where the auditorium was at, I picked up a map from outside one of the
administration buildings we passed and opened it up.

I turned the map one way and then another, trying
to make sense of it. Every building looked the same to me and the little labels
in the corner were no help. After a few frustrating minutes of trying to figure
it out, I crumpled up the map and threw it in the trash. I had special ways of
finding things. Why didn’t I use it more often? I closed my eyes and
concentrated.

My head spun around every which way before settling
on the sight of a large brick building with many double doors on one side.
There were large, wide concrete stairs leading up to the front of the building
where tall white columns stood for decoration. I was drawn to the building,
knowing the way by heart even though I had never laid eyes on it. I left Sari
behind as I jogged through the dimly lit campus. I stopped at the bottom of the
stairs I had seen in my vision not more than a few minutes ago. Sari appeared
by my side as I tilted my head upwards to take in the whole building. The
auditorium was clearly closed for the night. All the lights had been turned off
and there were large chains holding the main doors closed.

“Doesn’t look like she’s here yet,” Sari pointed
out as we stared.

The sound of giggling voices approaching echoed as
we both stood there frozen. Sari grabbed my shoulder tightly, yanking me
through the air to a safe place out of sight. I took a deep breath as I tried
to stabilize myself after the unexpected relocation. I peeked through the
bushes to see Mia walking up the steps with another breathtaking girl at her
side. She was tall and curvy with long blonde hair flowing down the middle of
her back. She walked as Mia did, her hips swinging side to side tossing her
skirt around in the breeze. I felt my heart sink when I saw the two unlock one
of the heavy chains and disappear through the doors.

“Don’t worry. The other girl is just a student,”
Sari informed me.

He looked deeply into my eyes before planting his
velvet-like lips onto mine. I knew there was more to the kiss than a good luck
gesture. He was buttering me up for something I did not want to hear. And as
good of a kisser as he was, it was working. I stared back at him and sighed,
taken in by his beauty.

“I don’t want you to go in there,” he said,
snapping me out of my love induced trance. “I’ll finish her. You wait somewhere
safe for me.”

His eyes were soft and pleading. I knew he was only
saying these things because he cared about me. I smiled softly at him as he
searched my face for some sign of agreement.

“Please, Kamlyn, don’t go in…if anything were to
happen to you, I don’t know what I’d do,” he begged as he brushed my cheek with
the back of his hand.

His vulnerability pulled at my heartstrings as I
looked at his pleading face.

“You know I have to do this, Sari,” I said, staring
straight into his defeated, disappointed eyes. “And I want to do it alone.”

“No way,” he answered sternly, not wanting to hear
a word of my argument against his response. “No way am I letting you go in by
yourself. What if something happened? What if you need me? What if…”

I cut Sari’s panic attack of questions off with a
kiss. I forced my lips onto his and put as much love as I possibly could into
it, breaking away slowly in order to let him take in all my feelings for him.
He looked away from me towards the warm dry ground, the moisture in his eyes
filling to the brim. He took me in his arms till our faces were just inches
from each other and he closed his eyes.

“When this is all over, we’re going to go somewhere
no one will be able to find us and we’re going to start a new life together,”
he whispered.

I nodded my head and he wrapped his arms around me
tight. I’d fallen in love with Sari so quickly, I hadn’t even thought about our
life together. I never thought such a perfect existence was ever possible. But
suddenly images of me and him together filled my head. Although forever for me
was a much shorter time than forever was for him, I knew he’d be there with me
through all my years. No more nightmares, no more monsters; just the man I
loved next to me.

“I
will
be back soon,” I whispered. “I love
you.”

Instead of responding, Sari just ran his fingers
through my hair and kissed me hard, not able to give me up so easily. Through
the doors in front of us was a possibility of endings, but the ending of me and
Sari was not going to be one of them. I could tell Sari was not going to be the
one to turn away. I closed my eyes and started walking towards the big white
doors. Once I climbed the stairs, I turned back to look at Sari but he was
nowhere to be found. I guess the sight of the only one he’s ever loved walking
away from him towards imminent death was too much for him to handle. If the
tables had been turned, I don’t think I could have let him go at all.

I paused with my hand on the door handle, not sure
what I was going to find on the other side. What were the chances I was wrong
about this girl? What if I had found a different Mia who was just a normal human
being? I had come so far and worked so hard to track down this nightmare. There
was no way I could be wrong. I wouldn’t accept it. If anything, it had to be
maternal instincts that had led me to her. She had taken my baby from me, and
like a lion defending her cub it was now my turn to show her how fierce I could
be.

I reached up behind my head and pulled out my
ponytail holder, letting my long wavy hair fall. I zipped up the thin black
hoodie I was wearing and pressed the latch of the handle on the door, hearing
the soft click as it opened. I slipped into the darkness, letting the door shut
quietly behind me.

“Her breath began to speak as she
stood right in front of me. The color of her eyes were the color of insanity.”

 – Flogging Molly

The auditorium was dark and completely silent. I
reached my way through the aisles, making sure my right hand was touching one
of the seats at all times. My heart raced. I saw my fears play out in my head.
Mia crouching behind one of the seats like a tiger in waiting, ready to make
her move and pounce on me. There was no telling if I could even save the girl
with her. What if she was already dead? I remembered the night I’d found Danny
motionless in his bed.

With a loud thud, the lights on the stage came on
revealing Mia and her prey pulling large play sets out into the middle of the
floor. I had enough time to duck down before I was spotted. I dove into one of
the rows of seats and sat on my knees, peeking out around the corner to watch
what was happening on stage. I was too far away to hear all they said, but from
a distance it seemed completely innocent. They had brought out the sets to what
I assumed was an upcoming play and then proceeded to bring out the supplies to
paint them. The mystery girl had boxes with art supplies in them; paint
brushes, marker, paint bottles, and scissors. Mia had a large toolbox and
nothing else. Both knelt on the hardwood floor to begin their work.
Occasionally, I could hear the loud giggles of two girls trying to make the
best of their late night at school. It was a Friday and I was sure they would
have much rather gone to a party with their friends than stay indoors alone,
painting pieces of cardboard and wood.

Maybe I really had gotten the wrong Mia. It would
have been just like me to jump to conclusions and assume the first Mia I came
across was the one I was looking for. It was very possible the girl I was
staring at didn’t have a shred of evil or supernatural in her. She really could
just be a drama major putting in extra time to get on her professor’s good
side. I felt silly as I watched the girls laugh together. I decided the only
way to know for sure was to stick around and watch. If I wanted to figure
anything out, though, I had to get close enough to hear.

Every time their backs were turned for a moment I
would crawl up one more row and hide behind it. In no time, I was close enough
to make out what they were saying to each other.

“I think we should put a few more nails in to hold
this piece together. What do you think Ashley?” Mia asked her friend who was
bent over another piece of wood with a paint brush.

“Sure. Whatever’s going to get us out of here in
the next hour sounds good to me,” she giggled back.

The two girls laughed as Mia stood up and walked
over to the toolbox to grab the hammer and a few more nails. I watched with
half interest, wondering if all I was going to witness would be set design
related bullshit. In no more than a second my wondering came to an end. Mia
stood just inches behind Ashley, holding the hammer in one raised hand.

“Look out!” I couldn’t help screaming to warn the
unsuspecting girl of the danger behind her.

The young girl turned around just in time to see
the hammer come down on top of her head. Motionless on the hardwood floor, she
laid twisted with her blonde hair turning red where she’d been struck. Mia
looked at her victim for a moment before turning to look at me. Her eyes had
changed to pure black. The tiny yellow slit down the middle darted from side to
side as she zeroed in on me. I could hear my heart getting ready to pound out
of my chest as I stared into the same snake-like eyes I’d looked into one year
ago. She blinked quickly once, changing her eyes back to their normal color.
She plastered a fake smile on her face as she continued to stare at me from the
high platform of the stage.

“Hi, there,” she yelled out sweetly and waved.
“We’re just practicing late for the play. Sorry if we startled you!”

If she were dealing with a normal human being who
hadn’t seen the horrors I had, her little lie might have worked. I probably
would have smiled awkwardly and said ‘okay’ before turning around and leaving,
but I wasn’t that person. I knew the degree of evil she was and I knew if I
didn’t act fast, that poor innocent girl might die right there on the stage if
she hadn’t already. I marched down the aisle, never taking my gaze from Mia’s
eyes. I climbed the few stairs in front of the stage to stare down the stunning
goddess. She was even more beautiful up close. Her skin seemed to radiate as if
illuminated by the sunshine, but I knew deep down what it was that really made
her glow like that and I was disgusted.

“This is private play business. You’ll have to wait
to see it just like everyone else,” she continued trying to play it cool.

I realized she had no clue who I was. I thought
once we were face to face she would remember me from that night, but she
didn’t. A shiver ran down my spine as I grasped just how many fearful parents
she had probably seen, unable to remember every horror-stricken face she looked
into before disappearing. I stood my ground and took one step closer to the
statuesque figure in front of me. Mia’s eyes narrowed as the anger grew inside
her. I turned my head to look over at the once vivacious blonde now lying on
the floor.

“Wow, your play-mate here is really committed to
the part,” I commented with a sarcastically impressed tone. “She’s even
pretending to bleed from the head and be unconscious, all in the name of a good
rehearsal…bravo.”

Mia’s eyes grew wider in shock. Not only had I
figured out she was lying, but I wasn’t even scared of her. I turned back to
her and waited for a reaction, ready to take on anything she threw my way. She
blinked before letting her hallow eyes scan me up and down, sizing up the
threat in front of her. Apparently, she thought there wasn’t any.