Bitter Demons

16. Get Away From It All

I spent exactly one minute talking to Jackson at the party before I felt razor-sharp nails dig into my arm.

Meredith yanked me away so hard I nearly spilled my drink all over the nice white carpet.

"What are you doing talking to Wrath?" she hissed.

I looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "That's Jackson Hunt. Who's Wrath?"

She shot a harsh look over toward Jackson. "That guy, Jackson, is Wrath. You know that," she said. "He's a demon, Caroline. I don't want him anywhere near you. I can't believe they'd even let him in this party in the first place. He should have been killed for what he did."

Anger rose up inside of me like hot lava, threatening to burst forth. I bit my tongue. I had to remember that to her, I was Caroline, not me. Then, her words hit me full force. Killed for what he did. My breath came fast.

"What did he do?" I braced myself for her to tell me about the night he came through the demon gate.

Meredith sighed. "Like you really have to ask me that," she said. "I want you to stay away from him, you hear me?"

I nodded and pulled my arm away. I rubbed the spot where her nails had dug in. Across the room, the real Caroline caught my eye and mouthed the words, "I'm sorry."

Drake appeared then and it was my turn to tell her I was sorry. I waited for her to follow my instructions to stay away from the jerk, but instead, she smiled up at him in a way that made me want to gag. Maybe this switcheroo wasn't such a great idea after all. The fun had been sucked out of it, and I was ready to change back.

I made my way through the crowd toward her and made it just in time, from the looks of it. Drake had his arm draped around her shoulders-my shoulders-looking way too comfy.

"Hey, Harper," I said, my voice much higher pitched than I intended.

"Oh, hi," she said. She sounded giggly and flirty. She leaned in slightly to Drake's embrace.

I quickly grabbed her hand. "Would you mind if I steal Harper for just a minute?" I said, pulling her away from his claws. "I have someone she really needs to meet."

"Bring her back to me," he said. "We've got some time to make up for."

I wanted to stick my finger down my throat. Gross! After the way I'd treated him lately, did he really think I would fall back into his arms so easily? He was completely delusional. I pulled Caroline away, but she looked back at Drake with a dreamy wave.

"He's gorgeous," she said. "You didn't tell me there were so many cute boys at your school."

"Remember how I told you stay away from Drake Ashworth?"

"Yeah."

"That was Drake Ashworth."

She opened her mouth in shock. "Why on earth would you want to stay away from him? He's so cute."

"He's also abusive and selfish and egotistical," I said. "Please tell me you didn't agree to go out with him or anything."

"I didn't," she said. "We were just making small talk, you know about the game and stuff, and he put his arm around me. I kind of liked it."

"Trust me, he's not as nice as he seems."

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't matter," she said. "He thought I was you, anyway."

"And by the way, your sister is a real you-know-what," I said. "She's not very nice to you, is she?"

Caroline shrugged. "She's okay, I guess. I mean, she's bossy and she likes to treat me like I'm her servant sometimes, but for the most part, she's a good person. I think she'll make a good Prima someday. Me, I never wanted this life, to be honest with you." She got a faraway look in her eye, like she was dreaming of another life. "Sometimes I wish I could just get away from it all, you know?"

"Yes, I do," I said. "I know exactly what you mean."

Caroline came out of her daydream and smiled sheepishly. "Meredith's all right. She's just got her own ideas about how things need to be, and there's no use arguing with her about it. Why, did you do something to piss her off?"

"I was talking to Jackson Hunt," I said. I watched her face as I said the name, but she didn't seem to recognize it. I pointed to him. "That guy over there."

She gasped and pulled away. "You know he's a demon, right?" she asked. "The Order named him Wrath for what he did all those years ago."

"So your sister told me," I said. "But no one calls him that here. What did he do that was so bad?"

"You seriously don't know?" she asked. "I can't believe you go to school with him and you don't know."

Tell me already, I wanted to scream, but I kept my cool. Just as she opened her mouth to answer my question, Meredith appeared again, a sour look etched onto her face.

"Caroline, may I speak with you for a moment, please?" Meredith had one hand on her hip, her lips pursed tight in disapproval. What had I done this time?

"Sure, one sec," I said. I leaned over to the real Caroline's ear and whispered, "Go upstairs to the bedroom and wait for me. I'll be up there in a minute and we can switch back to normal."

She nodded and turned away, leaving me with Meredith.

"What's up?"

"You tell me," she said. "You've been acting strange all night. First, you interrupt me when I'm busy talking to people, then I catch you talking to that demon. You're not being yourself, and I want to know what's wrong with you."

"Nothing's wrong," I said. "I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible tonight. I hope you get this little attitude out of your system, because I'm not going to put up with it for much longer."

I needed to get away from this chick. I'd had enough. As much as I felt sorry for Caroline for having to put up with a sister like this, I was ready to hand this life back over to her and get my own back.

"I really have to go to the bathroom," I said. "Are we done here?"

Meredith crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Yes, but I want you to come find me when you're done. I'm not going to let you out of my sight for the rest of this party. There's no telling what craziness you're going to get yourself into."

I turned on my heel and bolted up the stairs to the second floor. The music was pumping down in the living room, and I had the most terrible feeling of deja vu. This house was different from Foster's lake house, but the layout was eerily similar.

Agnes is dead, I told myself. She can't hurt anyone anymore.

But there was something else that was bothering me. A chill in the air that caused goosebumps to break out all over my arms. Icy fear crawled through my veins. That's when I heard her scream.

I stood there frozen in place, unable to force my body to catch up with my brain. A strange shrieking sound, something not quite human, followed Caroline's scream and the sound jolted me. I moved with lightning speed, throwing open the bedroom door only to find the room in pitch-black darkness. My hand fumbled for the light switch.

The room lit up in bright white, and I searched for Caroline. She wasn't anywhere in the room, but the balcony door stood wide open. A cold breeze blew across my skin. Sitting on the edge of the balcony was a small black crow, its bright blue eyes staring intently at me.

My heart stopped beating and time seemed to stand still. Then, the crow flew off into the night. I crossed the room in three long strides, reaching the balcony just in time to see the bird disappear into the woods.

My shoe slipped in something slick, and I looked down. Bright red blood pooled on the wooden planks below my feet. Stuck in the sticky drops was a single black feather. I leaned down and took the feather in my hand.

Caroline was gone.