Page 56 of Burn for the Devil
Walking along and keeping eyes on the glowing orange lights of the station up ahead, all I could think about was Ammar’s inquisition. There was no way to tell what he really wanted to know, other than he was in search of the mysterious glass sphere. It struck me as strange he approached me rather than Ramone and I had no idea if he’d already questioned my green-eyed devil.Devil. I laughed under my breath. Such a strange idea. It had seemed as if Ammar was serious and took it literally.But he couldn’t have cared that much what I saw or thought if he was willing to leave me stranded on the side of the highway.
I’d been walking for nearly five minutes before a pair of headlights passed me, my jaunt passing in the silence of the night. There was barely a breeze in the air, everything quiet and lifeless other than the distant buzz of traffic.
A rustling sound on my right forced me to whip my head around, the intrusion feeling foreign in the stillness. It was too dark to see clearly but I thought I caught some low bushes shaking and picked up my pace as much as my high-heeled shoes would allow. I shook my head; I was walking down the side of the road in a cocktail dress and five-hundred-dollar shoes. This was ridiculous.
Ammar had some nerve leaving me on the side of the road. He hadn’t left me any time, or the wherewithal to request a more convenient place to dump me. As I walked along, focusing on the security of the lights ahead, the heels of my shoes echoed down the road. My cell phone’s flashlight shone on the asphalt, guiding my steps, the beam casting right and left while I hurried, giving the illusion the trees were moving.
Another rustling of leaves sounded alongside the stretch, and I swung my phone around. A pair of eyes caught the light. It was odd—deer generally ran away from people at first sight. I slowed my gait, marveling at the unique experience. The closest most people got to the wild creatures was when they flew across the hood of your car after darting into traffic the way they were prone to.
Yet another pair of eyes peeked through the trees, but this set was moving, almost appearing to float. The form began to move forward, tree branches separating to reveal a cloaked figure. At first, I was confused, wondering why someone would be wandering around the woods along the highway. When I raised my phone, the beam was too weak to shine much light on thewhatever it was, but it was just enough to display something that wasother.
I froze, unable to comprehend what was slowly gliding toward me. The being—there was no word descriptive enough—possessed protruding eyes and hairless, prominent brows along with stringy, greasy strands of what may have been hair coming off the top of its head. The other set of eyes in the woods began coming forward. My ears were buzzing, my lungs tightened, and my arms were turning numb as a sticky feeling slithered around me. The terror was engulfing as the beings kept creeping toward me. My brain couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing.
An arm curled around my waist at the same time the creatures faded away, dissolving as if they were projections. I blinked, trying to clear my eyes, but they were gone. I knew it was Ramone who’d come to my aid before he even said a word, his familiar scent plus my instant physical reaction assaulting my senses.
He led me to a car directly behind us and I willingly entered. I’d never heard the vehicle pull up. “What were you doing out here?” he asked after the car started moving.
Blinking, I turned away from the window. There was nothing there, no sign of the strange beings. “I was dropped off,” I answered.
“I’m aware of that,” he snapped at me. “Why?”
I took a deep breath before replying. “Someone wants to know where the crystal ball is. What were those things in the woods?”
“What things?”
“Those people! They were headed straight for me, what were they? Or are they?” I shook my head. I knew they weren’t human; Ramone could play as dumb as he liked. He wouldn’t have come to my rescue if they had altruistic motives.
He eyed me thoughtfully. “Those were,are, lesser demons. You shouldn’t be able to see them.”
“Demons... " It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in evil spirits and demons, it was that they’d always been something I’d never considered before. I’d ordered books for my shop on the subject, seen them in paintings, watched them depicted in movies, but I’d never given them a place in everyday life. “Okay. What are they doing in the woods and why shouldn’t I be able to see them?”
Ramone’s jaw twitched and he clenched and unclenched his fists. “I wasn’t supposed to go to the Fourth Realm, the place that I took you. I was banished, as I believe I’ve told you. Because you touched that crystal, it unleashed something. It's similar to GPS. You have magic inside you. The preparations I took before bringing you weren’t enough.”
“I had Ilya test your blood and you come from a long line of witches, a highly sought after family bloodline. Now that my father knows you exist, you’re a target. Why do you think Matthew sought you out?” His proclamation was punctuated by a thud from the back of the car when we hit a pothole, jarring me.
None of what he’d said made any sense. “Matthew? The man I went to the opera with? What does he have to do with anything?”
“He must’ve known due to my interest in you, he has a habit of pursuing what isn’t his.”
“You didn’t answer my question and he ghosted me.”
Ramone smirked. “He’s a smart man.” I glared at him.
“Matthew’s an angel,” he replied, waving his hand. “You could only see those cockroaches because of the magic inside you. I don’t know how it escaped me.”
I let out a breath and drummed my fingers on my leg. “Please take me home.”
“Who dropped you off? I need to know who put you in danger.”
“You’re going to take me home.” I stared out the window as we passed Harding Dairy. The full moon highlighted the inside of a large open barn with cows visible inside. I recognized the huge farm from multiple trips with my parents down this road and knew we were headed in the wrong direction.
Ramone chuckled under his breath. “Little witch, you’re going to tell me who dropped you off.”
My head tilted at his words. I wasn’t a witch, no matter what he thought he’d discovered. “Ammar did.”
His eyes turned dark, and I felt the anger emanating from him. Ramone sat forward and angled himself toward me, grabbing my hand. He laced his fingers through mine and lowered his head to my neck. Instantly, my heart rate accelerated and my skin heated as warmth flew through my veins. Pressing my hand against his chest didn’t stop him, his lips and nose trailing along my flesh as I held my breath. Then I reached for him before I knew what I was doing.
“He didn’t touch you,” he remarked, his mouth brushing my skin.