Succubus

Chapter 31: Midnight Meeting

Peter and Daumantas said goodbye to Adriel under a crooked street sign. A car had smashed into the pole years earlier, but the street name was still legible, so it hadn't been fixed. Adriel went off toward the churches to sleep in their gardens. Daumantas and Peter headed toward Peter's house. All three had promised to meet up tomorrow under the crooked street sign.

"Aren't you worried that Paimon will come to your home and kill you in your sleep?" Daumantas asked.

Peter looked sideways at the tall saint. "I am now. But I'm not leaving my mother alone. Besides, I can't fight if I'm exhausted."

Daumantas grunted his approval. "Many warriors should have taken those words to heart."

Peter placed his duffel bag with the sword in the closet. Daumantas crouched down to go in after.

"See you tomorrow," Peter said.

"Sleep well," Daumantas ordered. The saint vanished as Peter closed the door.

Peter changed into his pajamas. It was a full linen set that his mother had bought him years earlier. The sleeves and pants were a bit too short now, but he still liked wearing them. After brushing his teeth Peter collapsed into bed and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.

Peter dreamed normal dreams: like forgetting homework, or someone he'd known years ago would appear in a place Peter had seen in a movie.

The dream suddenly shifted so that Peter was sitting in a car overlooking a city. He had parked near the edge of a cliff, and between him and freefall was a faded wooden fence that couldn't stop a bicycle. Down below him was a sea of lights in highrise windows and on the roads.

Peter realized it was a dream because he didn't have a car. He wanted one, but that wasn't in the cards. Also, there weren't any cliffs around Bridgeton; it was flat to the horizon.

"Don't freak out," someone said from the passenger seat.

Peter's head turned toward the speaker. In the dim light of a streetlamp he saw Tara looking back at him.

"I never freak out," he said.

"Good, because I need to speak with you."

"About how you're eating people again?"

Tara sighed. "I tried not to, but this is what I am. I've been trying to be responsible and just visit high school boys. They've got energy to spare."

"So I'm just a snack?"

"No, I've just run out of people I can ask for help."

"Are you that in control of your dreams that you can appear to anyone?"

Tara laughed. "No, my body is sleeping under your window. The alarm will go off in a few minutes."

"I've still got my sword. What makes you think I'll trust you?"

"At this point either you help me or I spend the rest of my life living in abandoned buildings."

Peter sat back into the seat of the car. It was comfortable, which led him to believe that Tara had good taste. Or maybe she was borrowing his taste?

"Alright, we can speak when we wake up."

"Great," Tara said. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. His hand flew up and he tried to glare at her.

She narrowed her eyes and grinned at him. "Sorry, I've been peckish," she said as the horns appeared.

Before Peter could reply the car radio switched on. The radio tuned to the far end of the dial on its own. A tired sounding man yawned through the tinny speakers.