Didi
“Don’t worry about Tommy and Remy,” Talia whispers as we approach the party.
We are still hidden by darkness and the giant trees that surround us, but the crisp cool air chills my skin as we make our way over to the bonfire.
We follow a narrow animal path using a small flashlight to guide us.
The boys are off a few feet ahead of us, and we stand back into the shadows.
On the outside, they couldn’t look more different. But each of them bears the weight of three centuries worth of secrets and unparalleled darkness that runs through their blood.
We finally reach the clearing, close to a stream where the large fire is burning and several of our classmates are huddled around.
I’m not sure how many are here, but it looks like nearly forty.
And we are nowhere close to town and the crippling curfew hankering everyone’s fun—laws don’t apply out here.
It’s all the Jesus people, from what I can tell. Soft folk music plays from a nearby stereo, and everyone is swaying and laughing, but my attention zeros in on the ones originally from Kinsmen. Cindy and her friends—my tormentors in high school.
The false shadows.
Talia and I stand to the side, not completely hidden but not in the mix. Not that it matters, no one notices us. There are a few people doing keg stands, and many of the girls are swaying, stumbling, and giggling.
“See and be seen,” Talia says quietly as a few girls stumble by us. “And under no circumstances do we draw attention to ourselves. Everyone needs to know we were here.” Talia grabs my hand. “Come. Let’s get a drink.”
She pulls me over to the keg, where the guy handling the keg hands us each beer in a red solo cup. Talia knows a few people, so she spends a few minutes chatting with the group and introducing me as her friend Rose. I stand awkwardly beside her, trying to contain my beating heart.
She takes a long drink and stares at me and smirks when I don’t do the same. I bring it to my lips but don’t drink it…but that seems to satisfy Talia.
My fingers curl into fists watching as Cindy and her friends smile sweetly as they stride by, looking confident and cocky as they are good at doing.
Tommy’s wearing his letterman jacket, and Remy’s in his leathers, and Bax heads directly to the fire.
Although tonight has nothing to do with fire.
Tonight is about something else entirely.
Tonight, my serpent sings.
Cindy makes eye contact with me, a silent dare, and walks up to them and places her hand on Remy’s chest. I can tell she likes Remy the best, and perhaps if circumstances were different, they’d be together.
Even with her boyfriend close by, she still gives him attention.
I sense Talia’s tension and grab her hand.
“Get her alone, her friends will follow. And when you have the opportunity, slit her throat. Don’t hesitate. We will be there to protect you.”
That we can agree on.
Cindy laughs, flicks her pretty curled hair, and then runs her hand down Remy’s arm.
I vividly recall the smell of her father, the holy water cleansing me after he was on top of me, and her attempts to drown me in the school hallway.
Tommy is speaking to another girl, but he keeps glancing nervously in our direction.
“What about the rest of them? Should I kill them, too?”
“Anyone with her will be a part of this. We kill them with zero hesitation.” A silent battle forged in the shadows of death.
I notice Stephen Garcia, his arms wrapped tightly around his girlfriend, wearing a button-up cotton sweater and a scarf. Talia’s eyes dance in the dark. “No matter what happens tonight, Stephen is mine. We need to keep him alive.”
We know for certain that Cindy and Stephen are a part of this…Cindy’s boyfriend, too. Everyone else is speculative.
I dip my head toward her. “Why not kill him, too?”
“He’s the only one who can get me back the trust. His father controls it now, so he will inherit it instead of me. If he dies, I will have no link back to it. He’s my only hope of ever getting control again.”
I watch him for a moment. He’s cocky and confident, and I can see what Talia sees in him, even if she won’t admit she has feelings—complicated as they may be.
He’s powerful; he reminds me of Remy in that way.
I try to ignore my jealousy, remembering the lengths Talia went to get that key and the tidbits of information he gave her.
He’s toying with her…she must see that. But I recognize the look Talia’s giving him.
Her eyes flicker the way they do when she’s up to something or wants something desperately. Is it the money or Stephen himself?
She applies lipstick, then stares at me. “I’ll only be a few feet away, and it may not seem like it, but I’ll be watching.”
“Wait…where are you going?” I whisper.
She finishes her drink in one slug, tossing the cup to the ground. “I’m going to go play, and I suggest you do the same.”
I grip my drink tightly, knowing I won’t have a sip of it.
“What if someone sees me?”
The corner of her lips tilt up. “Then unleash your fury on them.”
She’s gone before I can blink, moving right toward Stephen Garcia, leaving me alone.
I clasp my cross, playing with it in my fingers. I’m not sure why I even wear it anymore; it means nothing to me. But I hold on to it just the same—praying that one day my soul may be forgiven. That somehow, I’m redeemable. A few minutes tick by, and I walk in circles.
Suddenly, I hear my name, and a tiny figure runs up to me. “Rose? Is that you?”
A moment of panic fills me as I check my wig and turn to face her. “Hi Tina.”
She smiles so brightly. “I’m so glad you came.”
I smile shyly back at her. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
She grabs my hand before I can stop her and pulls me toward the group. “Come on. There are so many people I want you to meet, but we should say hi to Cindy first.”
My eyes desperately try to find Talia, but she is already talking to Stephen and his girlfriend over to the side of the bonfire. I wonder if his girlfriend knows that Talia’s been fucking him the last few weeks.
I pull my hand back. “I think I’m just going to stay here for a minute. I don’t do too well at parties, ya know?”
Her eyes narrow in the dark. “Are you sure?”
I give her a soft smile. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
She frowns. “Well okay. I’m here if you need.”
She walks away, and I pray she’s not one of them. “Tina,” I call out after her.
She turns to face me. “Yeah?”
My stomach twists. The tension in the air is crackling more than the fire. “Something bad’s going to happen tonight. You should get as far away from here as you can.”
She frowns. “You don’t understand. We’re not scared of Shadowface. We are here despite him. Good will always conquer evil, Rose.” She gives the sign of the cross. “I pray you find Jesus tonight.”
I give her a weak smile, knowing the horrors I plan to inflict on anyone who deserves it. “I sure hope you’re right.”
My eyes fall back to where Tommy and Remy were standing, but they’ve disappeared. They are watching…everyone is watching. But knowing they are there doesn’t make me feel better. They are giving themselves an alibi.
Stephen’s girlfriend is stumbling around aimlessly from too much drink, and when I glance over, Talia has Stephen by the hand and is pulling him into the woods.
I walk through the party, and nobody pays me any mind. With my wig on, I’m invisible. My stomach swirls—the sickness stirring inside me. I stand off to the side, my heart pounding when I realize I am truly alone. This isn’t a coordinated approach; Talia expects me to do this all on my own.
It’s up to me now.
I gaze up at the sky, wondering if leaving with Tommy would have been the better choice. He’d offered, more than once, to take me away from all this. Perhaps it isn’t too late?
I retreat into the trees, away from the group, away from the firelight, and take a shaky breath.
Suddenly, I can’t breathe. My vision swims, and my stomach churns.
I stumble into the woods, desperate for space.
I follow a small path to another clearing, barely managing to contain the vomit as it surges out of me.
It scorches my throat on the way up, and then I cough it out.
I let out a small sob, clutching my stomach.
I can’t… I just can’t.
I don’t have that darkness in me, not like they do… I’m not one of them, and I never will be. I could never kill someone in cold blood the way Talia does. Mama and Father Malcolm were different. They deserved what they got.
I’m not some kind of omen… I’m nothing.
It’s then I see him, staring at me from a few feet away from behind the shadows of a tree, and my frail heart beats at the sight of the mask that haunts my dreams.
My lips part as I take in his tall frame and dark clothes—his leather jacket.
Remy. It’s always been Remy lurching from the shadows.
“Remy,” I whisper, needing him desperately at this moment. “Is that you?”
He doesn’t say anything and stays still as a statue. Why is he just staring at me like that?
“Remy,” I whisper again, and the masked man shifts and shakes his head slowly.
A cry shrieks from the night, and when I look over, I see a menacing figure hovering over a girl a few feet away. Her head hangs low, and her frightened eyes are staring right at me, dazed and confused.
I run over to her and drop to my knees, ignoring the masked man. Driven by pure adrenaline. “Tina. Are you okay?” I look up at the masked figure staring down at me. “She has nothing to do with this, leave her out of this.”
A tight female voice cuts from the side. “I knew it was you, you demonic bitch.” I whip my head around to see another masked figure—a girl from the looks of her slim frame. Three more masked people walk up behind her.
“What did you do to her?” I demand.