Beautiful Demons

38. A Part of Me

Fear ripped through my chest. I didn't want to die. For the first time in my life, I actually had something to live for. Something worth fighting for.

I stared down at the floating red candle and concentrated all of my anger onto it. At first, nothing happened. I felt helpless. Weak.

"When you're gone, Mrs. King will have to let me onto the squad," she said. "You heard her say that I was her second choice. Well, once everyone is finished mourning your death, I'll be her first choice. I figure it will take about a day for everyone to forget you. Or haven't you noticed that memory works a bit different here?"

Anger flared up inside me. In the center of the room, the red candle rose up higher, then with a flick of my hand, flew toward the curtains, lighting them on fire.

Agnes went into a rage. She turned her back to me and stepped out of the pentagram, desperately trying to put out the fire. Whatever spell she had cast that held my feet in place was released and I ran toward the stairs.

A stream of bright electric energy shot through the room and only missed me by inches as I jumped out of the way. Agnes moved quickly to block my exit. She'd been unable to put out the fire and flames engulfed that side of the room. Smoke filled the bedroom and I squinted to see. There had to be another way out.

Outside, the music stopped. Voices shouted from below, screams of fear.

"Not exactly the way I planned it," Agnes said. "But one way or another, you're not leaving this house alive."

She rose high into the air. Bright blue current ran up and down her body. Even her eyes glowed blue. I stepped back. She was too powerful for me. I didn't know the first thing about how to control my own power.

Her hand shot out and a bolt of energy flew at me. I didn't have time to jump out of the way. I lifted my hands to protect my face, bracing myself for the jolt of electricity. But it never came.

Agnes' eyes grew wide. She threw both hands out in front of her body. An arc of blue lightning shot out at me, but it dissipated before it connected. As though I were protected by an invisible force-field.

"What did you do?" she screamed.

I shook my head. I had no idea what was protecting me, but I didn't have a moment to waste. The fire was spreading rapidly. Smoke filled my lungs and I coughed, then crouched lower, searching for better air.

"We need to get out of here," I said.

Apparently, Agnes had no intention of letting me go. She roared and sent another bright shock of light across the room. This time, I felt a small jolt run through my body. It reminded me of the way it felt when you touched someone's hand and got shocked with static. Mild, but surprising. I jerked back, fear making my limbs weak.

I fell to my knees, the smoke becoming almost unbearable now. I heard a cackling, high-pitched laughter and looked up to see Agnes gathering a ball of light between her two hands."Goodbye Harper," she said.

My heartbeat roared in my ears. A memory came back to me in that instant. A drawing of a room full of flames. Jackson's voice.

This time the picture was different. This time you were wearing your necklace. Promise me you won't take it off, okay? No matter what.

I brought my hand up to my mother's necklace, then looked back at Agnes.

Just as she leaned back to throw her final bolt of lightning, a dark figure moved through the room. A figure bigger than a man, but partially transparent, like a shadow. It had the body of a gargoyle. A demon's face. I knew that whatever it was, it had come to protect me. I couldn't explain it, but when I saw the black shadow, I knew that it was a part of me.

The darkness circled around Agnes, and she screamed. It pulled her from the room. The glass of the sliding doors crashed as she broke through. Then, she disappeared behind a blanket of red flames.