Chapter Forty-Two
T he taxi ride to Peg’s Diner took a little longer than usual, mainly because I procrastinated on my outfit and then tried to find a good hiding spot for my dagger. That part took some time, especially finding a place to keep it without Jeremy becoming suspicious. I had to run back to the dorm because I had almost forgotten my pager.
I didn’t leave until nearly five, the worst New York City time to travel. But Jeremy didn’t care; he greeted me like we hadn’t seen each other in years with a hug so tight I almost lost the air in my lungs.
“I’m so sorry for the other night. I should’ve called you right away.” He apologized again, kissing my head.
“It’s okay. I just want you to know I’m still me,” I said. Well, me physically. My occupation was questionable.
Jeremy linked his arm through mine and led us toward the entrance of Peg’s Diner. A small line began to form, but luckily, we chose a Wednesday night, with fewer crowds and wait time to get a seat.
Jeremy and I were discussing the latest drama of our old classmates when I heard my name being called from behind. “Remi?”
I turned and never wanted to melt into the nearest drainage so severely in my life. Nickie’s well-manicured hand draped over Josh’s arm seductively, sending a pang of jealousy rippling through my core. Nickie smiled brightly, releasing her hold on him to hug Jeremy and me together. Josh lingered in the back, looking anywhere but at me, which hurt. It hurt because the last conversation between us left me broken and lost. And I had no right to feel the way I did, not when my best friend belonged to him.
“Are you eating here too?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes! Want to join us?” Jeremy offered.
She glanced at Josh, a small smile in her questioning eyes. “We would love to!” Nickie turned back to us, smiling from ear to ear.
“Awesome!” Jeremy said.
I smiled at my best friend, trying desperately to avoid the beautiful man beside her.
“Oh, Josh! By the way, this is my other best friend, Jeremy. Jeremy Levine,” she introduced.
He held out his hand for Jeremy to shake. “Levine? Are you by any chance related to Ophelia Levine?”
Jeremy clasped Josh’s in return with a firm shake. “Yes! She is my aunt.”
“I didn’t know she was your aunt,” I said, keeping my attention on Jeremy after I spoke.
Their hands disconnected as Jeremy peeked over at me. “Yeah, I thought I mentioned it before.”
I shook my head, about to say something else, when Josh interrupted. “I’m surprised you’re not attending.” There was something weird about the tone that finally caught my attention. Sensing my stare, Josh ran his hand through his dark hair, biting his lip, trying so hard not to look at me.
“Table for four?” the hostess said at the front door.
“Yes, please,” replied Jeremy.
She grabbed four menus and led us to a cozy corner booth in the back of the diner. Josh slid into one corner as I slid into the other. Jeremy to my left, Nickie to his right. We faced each other, but Josh instantly grabbed the menu to dodge conversation with me. I snatched the menu the hostess left on the table, gripping it in anger. If he wanted to play this game, then so be it.
“So, Remi, how are classes?” Nickie asked over her menu.
I bit my lip behind my menu. “Oh, you know, boring.”
Jeremy snickered beside me. “Columbia is a dry campus.”
“We know how to party,” mentioned Josh with a smirk.
Nickie’s eyes sparkled in delight. “When’s the next frat party?”
Josh casually put an arm behind her, leaning into her ear. “Soon.”
I ground my teeth, trying my best to keep my cool. The waitress, Liz, finally came over and asked what kind of drinks we wanted.
Our menus were taken after ordering; we already knew what we wanted since it was a regular spot for Nickie, Jeremy, and me. To our surprise, Josh came here occasionally as well, which meant another menu off the table, leaving nothing to hide behind. Yet he kept his attention away, leaning his head against Nickie’s. I had no right to get mad or feel envious of their closeness. Josh clarified that it was a mistake and set the boundaries between us, whether I approved or not.
Liz returned with a tray of drinks, some straws, and a basket of bread and butter before attending to another table. Jeremy grabbed the first slice, buttering the crap out of his piece. “God, this bread is my favorite.”
“That’s why your ass is so big,” joked Nickie, grabbing a slice for herself.
I took a long sip of my Coke, keeping a composed face.
“So, Josh, have you slept with Nickie yet?” asked Jeremy in between bites of bread.
I choked, spewing my Coke all over the table, barely missing the breadbasket. Jeremy’s habit, or lack of table manners, never failed to appear at the wrong time.
Everyone began to wipe up the mess with brown napkins, including myself. “Sorry, guys.”
“It’s okay, girl. We can’t control Jeremy’s potty mouth,” said Nickie.
“You’re very direct, I must say,” Josh chuckled, dabbing the table with some napkins.
“I like to know my girls are happy,” Jeremy mused.
Nickie rolled her eyes. “And you’re super nosy.”
Jeremy gave her the middle finger with a sweet smile. “Only love, baby.”
Liz came at the right time to take the soaked napkins away, promising to return with more. “Your food is almost done,” she added before leaving again.
“Thank God. I’m starving,” said Jeremy, rubbing his stomach.
Josh perched his arm behind Nickie, only this time around her shoulders. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
“Really? Why’d you stop?” asked Nickie.
“My extracurricular activities have been getting in the way,” he said.
“Oh, yeah, your band,” mentioned Jeremy.
“Yes, my band. We have a gig this Saturday night if you guys want to come. It’s at that new club, Arctic Sin.”
“I highly doubt your band is playing,” I blurted.
The table fell silent, and Josh finally turned to me, those fucking baby blues killing me softly.
“And how would you know,” Nickie inquired, and a perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose.
“Heard the place was shut down for maintenance,” I lied, downing the rest of my Coke.
Nickie waved my face away like it was nothing but nonsense. “I’m sure by Saturday it’ll be fine.”
Liz popped out from the employee-only door of the kitchen with another tray, baskets of our food steaming as she maneuvered through the restaurant to get to our table. We thanked her profusely and dug right into our meals, grateful for the silence as I chewed my food, or tried to. Nickie and Josh’s arms rubbed against each other, smiling whenever they bumped a little too hard into one another. Oblivious, Jeremy got on to the topic of music, quizzing Josh on his taste, fishing to see if it passed Jeremy’s test of a decent guy.
What I needed was space and a place to clear my head. “Excuse me, Jeremy. I need the bathroom.”
“Sure thing, chica,” he said, moving out of his seat to let me by.
Not daring to glance back, I found the bathroom, rushing over to the sink to splash my face with cold water. I let it trickle down my cheeks, on my neck, seeping into my shirt, praying it would ease the tension. My reflection, the girl who seemed unrecognizable yet familiar at the same time, never looked so lost. I touched the mirror, unsure what she wanted, what I wanted. Yet I knew, deep within, underneath the layers of being a shit person, fighting evil, and trying my best not to relapse with drinking, I had a choice to make, and it wouldn’t be easy.
The beep of my pager made me jump back from the mirror, wiping my upper half clean. I checked the message, and the symbol shaped like a scarlet quill flashed on the screen, then the address underneath where demon activity occurred.
Nobody would suspect my absence if I left now without bothering to return to the table. Well, Josh would. But to leave them both at the table, what excuse could he use? I had my chance, and I was going to take it.
No second-guessing, I went in and out undetected, running to 89 th Avenue, my dagger strapped securely on my leg, hidden by my pants. My lungs burned with each long stride, but nothing mattered more than reaching that spot. Yes, Josh should have been with me, he was my guardian, and my inexperience would probably get me killed, but if the message went out to everyone, I was sure backup would follow. Heck, I was sure the fleet was already there.
I could smell the sour stench of demonic activity right near the alley between 88 th and 89 th . A light tap on my shoulder had me spinning around, ready to strike, when Chloe caught my arm.
“Where’s Josh?” she asked, releasing my arm.
“Occupied,” I said.
“Not likely.” He came up behind Chloe, looking over me into the alley.
How? How did he escape the booth?
To my surprise, Kal appeared from the alley, his bow strapped securely to his back. “A body is in there. Well, what’s left.”
“What do you mean?” asked Josh.
“Take a look. I also alerted Captain Harrison,” Kal said, moving aside to let him through.
“Surprised they’re not the ones who found it first. They’ve been slacking, too busy caring about Columbia.”
I walked in front of him when Kal grabbed me by the arm. “Prepare yourself. It’s brutal.”
I gulped, nodded once, and then went further into the dark alley, Josh on my heels. There, sprawled out on the ground, blond hair knotted and pieces of it missing from being pulled out, was a woman, completely naked. Her body was half-submerged in black sludge… I froze mid-step. A human body, yes, but one where she had been sucked dry. One touch, and she would combust into dust. A life-sized prune in human form. Mummification in the flesh.
But the eyes, so kind, so lifeless, so…
The food from Peg’s Diner began to rise in my esophagus. “I know,” Josh whispered behind me. He took a step forward, bending down to examine the body, black goo staining his white shoes.“Josh,” I said.
“It seems this type of demon likes to strip their victims first. Why? I have no idea,” he said, more to himself than me.
“Josh,” I repeated.
“Granted, they have brains, but to be this precise in murdering their victim,” he continued, unaware of my pleading.
Everything spilled over. “Goddamn it, Josh, look at me!” I shouted. My words bounced off the walls in the alley; I’d never been so furious in my life.
He stilled and remained kneeling in front of the body.
“Why won’t you look at me?” I whispered, defeated. Hurt. I was hurt. Pathetic, because I thought we could at least communicate normally regardless of what happened between us.
“Don’t, Remi,” he breathed.
“Don’t what?” I repeated in that same breathy tone. Did he feel the longing too? “I can’t…”
“Maybe I can’t.”
“You guys good in there?” called Chloe, breaking our private bubble.
“Almost done,” Josh replied. Whatever moment we tried to share evaporated into thin air. Josh retrieved something from his jacket, took a small sample of the demon’s sludge-like matter, and stored it safely in the little vial. He stood, rolling his shoulders, and then without a single glance my way, stalked off to where Kal and Chloe stood waiting.
Tears threatened to escape, but I needed to pull myself together. After a few deep, calming breaths, I met the rest back on the sidewalk, hearing them discuss taking the sample to Father Benedict to test what kind of demon was lurking in the New York City streets.
“Strange, right? The body shriveled up like a prune,” commented Chloe.
“It could be a Drarkoth,” suggested Kal.
“Nah, the body would’ve been an odd gray. This looked like the demon stripped the victim’s muscle right from her bones,” Josh pointed out, scratching his head.
Chloe got a phone call, talking urgently and nodding a few times before hanging up. “Collin said Asher and Baron are coming with a body bag; we’re going to transfer it to the cathedral at night. Father will still take the sample to begin the process,” she explained.
I felt sick and clammy. “Kal?”
“Yeah?” He grabbed my hand.
“Can you take me back to the dorms? I don’t feel so good,” I said weakly.
“Go, Kal. Josh and I will wait for the others,” said Chloe.
Kal brushed my cheek with his thumb. “Yes, of course. I’ll call a cab.”
Josh rested casually against a brick building, flipping the vial back and forth, watching the black substance move up and down. “It’s similar to a Drarkoth but yet…”
“Yet what?” countered Chloe.
“Yet…” Josh never finished because Kal returned to say a cab pulled over for us, and I threw up by a half-empty trash can.
“It was only a matter of time before she spewed her guts,” said Chloe.
“We’ve all been there,” Kal reminded her in a cruel tone. He held my hair back for me as I emptied the contents from my stomach, Peg’s Diner food in a pile on the sidewalk.
Kal carried my weak body over to the cab after I stopped dry heaving, resting my head on his lap in the back seat, warning the driver to take it easy, otherwise he would need new seats if he went faster than thirty miles per hour.
His kindness made me sick again, to the point where I begged for the driver to pull over, throwing up bile near a group of young girls who screeched in disgust.
Kal got me back in the car after a few minutes of another dry-heave attack. Thankful for his calm strokes on my hair, I drifted into an unexpected sleep.