Antiphon

When we get back to Luc’s, Taylor and Riley are sitting on the hood of Riley’s car in the parking lot, and I’m trying to remember when I told them where he lives. “What the hell are they doing here?”

“Gearing up to kick my ass, no doubt,” Luc says.

“Well, you deserve it.”

He looks at me from under an arched eyebrow, making me tingle all over.

We pull into a parking spot near Luc’s building, and I work to get myself together as they bounce over to us. I’m happy to see Taylor looking almost herself again. Today was her first day back at school after her dad, and she’s been pretty down.

“We came to kidnap you,” Riley says, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

“You’re coming with us. Girls’ night,” Taylor says.

“It’s not ‘night’ and it’s not Wednesday. What’s the deal?”

“Just shut up and do as you’re told,” she smirks.

I step forward and hug her. “How you holding out?”

She looks a little confused for a second then says, “Fine.”

“Did your dad come home today?”

She glances quickly at Riley and back. “Yeah.”

“He’s doing okay?”

“Yeah.”

I wait for her to elaborate, but then decide she must not want to talk about it. “So, what’s going on?”

“You’re coming with us.”

“Sorry. Luc and I are kinda busy,” I say.

He looks at me, and I see his eyes drop to the crucifix under my shirt. “No, it’s okay. I think you should go.”

I glower at him. “I thought we had plans.” At least I did. Plans involving cool sheets and warm bodies.

“Go ahead, Frannie.” He steps away from us, scanning the lot and buildings with growing concern on his face.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” he almost growls. “Just go.”

Something’s not right. I force my eyes away from Luc and scan the parking lot then shift them to Taylor. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” she says with a sparkle in her eye.

When I turn to kiss Luc good-bye his eyes are still darting.

“What’s up?” I whisper in his ear as he leans down.

“Nothing. I’ll see you later.” He kisses me, and I force myself to let him go.

I slide into the back of Riley’s car. As we pull out of the parking lot, Riley keeps looking at me in her rearview mirror.

“So, really. What are we doing?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” she says into the mirror.

“How did you guys find me? I never told you where Luc lives.”

Riley glances at me in the mirror again. “Yeah, you did. Remember that time at school?”

“Actually, no. So. ” I look back at Luc’s complex, fading into the distance, “this is all a little weird, don’t you think?”

Taylor turns and looks at me. “You’ve been blowing us off for Lucifer. You left us no choice.”

Lucifer? Suddenly alarms are ringing in my head. I work to stay calm. Panicking isn’t going to help anything. I feel the weight of the crucifix against my chest and breathe into it. “Yeah, I guess. Sorry. But what about Riley and Trevor? They’re just as bad.” I watch for Taylor’s reaction.

They share a quick glance, then Taylor turns back to me with a grin and says, “Yeah. I had to kidnap her too.”

Wrong reaction. Shit! And as I look at her, I notice for the first time that her eyes are glowing red. Just a little behind her gray irises, but enough that it’s just noticeable in the shadows of the car.

I don’t know what’s going on, except I’m pretty sure I’m screwed.

I look for a spot to bail, but by now we’re out of town and there are no more stop signs. We’re heading out into the middle of nowhere. Riley’s driving much faster than usual, or I’d open the door and jump. I’m trying not to freak as I look out at our surroundings. and then I get it. We’re heading up to the quarry.

We park near the trail into the swimming pit, and I open the door and start to move away from the car.

Taylor-or whoever this is-swings behind me in a flash. “Hey, where you going?”

That’s a really good question. Where am I going? I look up the dirt road. The main road is at least half a mile away and the dense woods are quiet. Too early for the groups of summer swimmers. There’s nowhere to run. “Nowhere. So, what are we doing here?”

“Just hanging out. Maybe skinny-dipping. Sound good?”

Yeah, sounds great. “Not really up for skinny-dipping. Water’s freezing.”

Taylor shoots a glance at Riley, and her eyes flash red. “We’ll have to huddle up for body heat,” she says with a lascivious grin.

This is bad. I watch Riley slide her keys into the pocket of her cutoff shorts as she heads up the path. Taylor is hanging back, waiting for me to go first. I follow Riley, trying to figure out how to get those keys.

We wind our way down the wooded path, and when we get to the quarry, Taylor saunters over to the edge and sits on a rock. Her eyes flash, and an evil smile turns up the corners of her mouth. “I say we get naked. The water looks great.”

“Mmm. sounds good.” Riley says, eyeing me with that same gleam. “But I gotta take a piss. I’ll be right back.” She slinks off into the woods. Crap-there went the keys.

Taylor gets up and comes over to where I’m standing. “You look so uptight. Chill,” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the rocks. She’s as hot as Luc ever was. She sits me down and stands behind me, rubbing my shoulders, then starts pulling my shirt over my head.

I yank it down. “It’s way too cold for that. I’m serious,” I say. I don’t turn to look when I hear her growl. I need to think, but my heart is thundering in my ears, making it hard to concentrate. Then I hear the faintest rustling in the woods. I look up and exhale the breath I’d been holding as he walks out of the trees, silky black hair glistening in the sun. Thank God. “Luc,” I say, shaking Taylor off and standing up. I take a step forward, but then he lifts his head.

“Hi Frannie,” he says with a wicked gleam in his glowing red eyes. “I’m Belias.”

I look at him and know I should run, but my feet seem rooted to the ground, and I’m feeling a little dizzy all of a sudden. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Taylor slink off up the path.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the night we met in front of your house.” His voice is velvet, and I feel my legs go soft. He steps slowly forward till he’s right in front of me. He touches my face and traces a burning path across my cheekbone. “Everything is fine, Frannie. It’s going to be great.” His hot hands slide around my waist, pulling me to his burning body.

The black fog permeates my brain as I melt into him. He feels like Luc, and I can’t help but lose myself in his touch. When his lips touch mine I can barely breathe. My hands slide around him and I press into the curve of his body, but then some little corner of my mind screams, “No.” I pull a deep breath and try to think. Almost instinctively, my hand gravitates to the cross dangling from my neck as I fight to hold on to my remaining shred of conscious thought. With my last scrap of free will, I pull back from his kiss, look up at him, and smile.

Then I yank the cross from my neck and jam it into his eye.

A bestial roar shakes the woods as he drops to his knees, clawing at his bubbling face. He shimmers for a second, almost like a mirage, as something terrifying peeks out from under his skin.

The smell of rotten eggs instantly clears my head. I turn and run full speed up the path without looking back. I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do when I get to the car. Is there a car? Were Riley and Taylor ever really here? I don’t know what’s real.