Body and Soul (Body and Soul Trilogy) Page 8

  “Do you mind if we color the ends of your hair?” she asked. I think the blues and purples would look amazing with your eye color.” She bent down to get a closer look at Kate’s eyes. “Did you know that your eyes have hints of blue in them? That’s amazing.”

  Kate just sat there, agreeing to everything that Adriana suggested. She watched Adriana’s eyes get bigger with each new thing that was added to Kate’s look. When Adriana was finished, Kate was sure that she had copious amounts of makeup plastered to her face. She knew that she had nude fingernails and sky colored toenails, with a sun painted on her big toe. She knew that she had blue and purple streaks on the ends of her hair, but she didn’t know how it all looked as a whole. She grew nervous and excited at the same time, eager yet afraid to glance at her new reflection.

  “Are you ready?” Adriana asked.

  Kate took a deep breath then nodded. Adriana spun Kate around slowly so that Kate could take it all in.

  Kate leaned toward the mirror, not certain if she was looking at herself. Her eyes looked twice the size that they normally did, her lashes long and thick. The navy eyeliner brought out the flecks of blue in her eyes; they shimmered like glitter and confetti. Kate’s hair was long and thick, and slightly curled at the ends. It fell around her waist, the highlighted ends accentuating her slight curves. Kate was beautiful. She had heard people say this before, that she had a natural beauty, but she had not seen it until now. She twisted and turned in the mirror, taking it all in with a small smile that broke across her face.

  “Do you like it?” Adriana asked questioningly.

  Kate turned around to face her new friend. “I love it,” she said, rushing forward to embrace Adriana. Adriana smiled, pleased, but pulled away quickly. Kate felt a jolt of surprise.

  “What about I make you over too,” she suggested, changing the subject.

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Kate.” Adriana sat down in the stool, and Kate picked up the flat iron, and idea forming in her mind.

  When Adriana turned around a while later, she stared at her reflection. Her dark hair tumbled around her shoulders in beautiful curls. Her eyes were free of makeup, her cheeks rosy, her lips a pale pink.

  She turned toward Kate. “I look like you,” she whispered. Her eyes shimmered for a moment before she turned around and shuffled through her bag. A moment later she held an expensive looking camera in her hands.

  After the girls were finished with their miniature photo shoot, Adriana and Kate climbed into bed and talked about normal girl things, not demons or dreams or lies. Kate was truly happy for the first time in a long time. She had a real friend.

  “So tell me about love,” Kate said right before the girls fell asleep.

  Adriana rolled over so that she faced Kate and propped herself up on her elbow. “Love is absolutely beautiful,” she said wistfully. “It’s almost like waking up to a surprise or falling asleep after a wonderful day. It’s perfectly imperfect; you are entranced by him one minute but hate him the next. In the end, you wind up kissing for the rest of the night, making up for the minutes you spent arguing.”

  “It does sound beautiful,” Kate mused.

  “You’ll find it, Kate. I know you will,” Adriana responded.

  “I hope so,” Kate whispered to herself when she rolled over. Her thoughts swirled around their discussion. She craved love, and felt a twinge of regret for demons, creatures plagued by hate that craved the same feelings that she could one day reach. She wondered, briefly, what it would be like knowing that you could never truly fall in love with someone.

  Kate and Adriana lounged on the beach the next day, spending as much time as they could on the hot sand in order to preserve their makeovers. After lunch they found themselves craving the ocean waves, and jumped in, Kate’s curls delighted at the chance to spring back where they belonged, Adriana’s curls falling back around her waist.

  “I can’t believe you get to spend every day out here just lying around and reading,” Adriana commented as they walked back up to their beach chairs. “You’re lucky that you can spend your summer like that. Your life is so easy.”

  “I guess,” Kate said. “It’s easy as long as you don’t count the multitude of demons that are coming after me, trying to possess my soul and whatnot.”

  “Sorry, Kate. I guess I forgot for a minute.”

  “That’s okay. At least one of us can forget about it, although I must admit that I wish it was me and not you.”

  The two girls sat quietly for a moment, thinking about demons.

  “I know that you and Rico have been going around trying to kill this elder demon,” Kate started to say.

  “His name is Kern,” Adriana mentioned.

  “Well, what else do you do, besides hunt Kern?”

  “Rico and I protect the people that he attempts to possess. We do this so that he may die in the process.”

  “He hasn’t died, though. What happened to the people that you were trying to save? Did he give up on them because you thwarted his plan? Are they alright now?”

  “Kate,” Adriana began.

  “What are you two talking about,” interrupted Rico. Kate was surprised by his appearance. Rico seemed to have come from the wind that blew from the ocean. He stood there panting, drenched in saltwater. He was wearing a pair of black swim trunks that hugged his legs. His chest moved in and out with his breathing and his hair clung to his cheekbones, the ends drying already. He looked at Kate through his dark lashes.

  “You have something on your cheek,” he said, leaning over to pull it off. His fingers were gentle, and Kate thought that they stayed on her skin a moment too long. Her heart fluttered with a feeling of hope.

  “Thank you,” she breathed.

  Adriana stood up suddenly and stretched like a cat, her thin arms reaching toward the sky. “I think I’m going to take another dip. It’s hot out here,” she said. “Why don’t you go ahead and take my chair, Rico.” Kate watched as Adriana skipped down to the water.

  “That was nice of her,” Rico said, taking a seat in Adriana’s chair.

  Kate nodded in agreement and took a sip of water to clear her mind.

  “So, what did you two do last night?” Rico prompted. “Anything I should hear about?”

  “Adriana straightened my hair and I curled hers.”

  “So you two switched places?”

  Kate laughed. “Something like that,” she said.

  “I’d like to see that.”

  “Adriana took pictures. I bet if you asked she would show them to you.”

  “Okay,” Rico said. He stood up then, shouting out to Adriana, asking where her camera was. Kate grew anxious, wondering what Rico would think about her hair.

  “You could have just told me the camera was in her bag,” he said teasingly. “She doesn’t mind if I go through her things.” He lifted the camera out of the bag and turned it on, bending over to shield the screen from the sun. He looked through each picture slowly, sometimes zooming in to see it more closely. Kate watched him, growing increasingly more nervous.

  When Rico was finished, he put the camera back before facing Kate, and even then he looked at her for a minute before speaking.

  “You both looked fantastic. It was nice to see Adriana without so much makeup on,” he said. “However, I prefer your hair curly. It suits your personality.”

  “I had never seen myself with straight hair before.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Kate. You looked great with straight hair, but you look better when it’s curled.”

  “Really?” Kate asked seriously. She knew she was fishing for compliments but none of Rico’s answers so far had clarified the questions she had regarding his feelings for her. “I guess I never thought that I was attractive until I saw myself last night.”

  “You mean that you never thought you were attractive because you’ve been comparing yourself to Adriana. That’s the look she likes. Not all people prefer that look.”

  “I guess
,” Kate said in frustration.

  “Kate, I know I’m not going to give you the answer you’re searching for. I’m sorry for that, but it’s my opinion. Can’t you just take something I offer just this once?”

  Kate turned to Rico, a flash of anger stirring in her stomach. “What do you mean when you say you aren’t going to give me what I’m searching for? I’m not searching for anything other than the stupid elder demon that’s trying to kill me. And I do take the things you offer. I’m grateful for your help, for the fact that you’ve saved me more than once now. I was just attempting to have a normal conversation with you, but apparently we have the inability to hold one unless we’re arguing or you’re grilling me about clues.”

  Kate paused, catching her breath and thoughts. She guessed that her relationship with Rico hadn’t moved forward. They were stuck in an endless tug-of-war match; one where Kate kept pulling Rico closer to her but pushed him away when he got too close. On the other side, it was almost as if Rico was pushing her to push him away with his back-and-forth responses.

  “Hey,” Rico said, stopping Kate before she could go on. “I’m not responsible for this mess. I’m just trying to fix it. You don’t have to yell at me for no reason. I’m here to help you. And I’m glad that you’re grateful that I’ve saved your life, but you don’t have to take your fear, anxiety, or insecurities out on me.”

  Kate seethed. “My insecurities? I just found out today that this elder demon is named Kern. I was about to find out what you two did to help the other people like me but you interrupted. I could tell from Adriana’s tone that it wasn’t good. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to feel insecure right now, especially when it comes to your claim about being good at your jobs. What happened to those people, Rico? What was she afraid to tell me when you walked up here all self-righteous and confident? What was it?”

  Rico looked down at the sand, seemingly counting the grains. Kate’s temper dissolved as quickly as it came. She felt guilty for having yelled at Rico; he didn’t deserve it. However, Kate’s pride took priority in this situation, and she felt defensive about Rico’s comment about not being able to give her what she was searching for. Was her crush that obvious? She couldn’t help but stare at his gorgeous body, but she could bet safely that she hadn’t been the first to do so. What was with her? Rico could make her feel safe, nervous, and angry all at once. She didn’t think it was healthy for a person to feel so many emotions.

  “The other people didn’t make it, Kate. We tried but Kern was successful in possessing their bodies. You, however, have escaped twice from other demons. I don’t know if Kern sent them here, or if they’ve come of their own accord, but I do know that you’ve managed to slip from their clutches more than once. I think that luck is on our side this time.”

  “The other people died? You think I’m lucky?” Kate sputtered these questions, losing all rational thought.

  “They didn’t die, Kate. They were possessed and lived with Kern in their bodies until he was ready to find another host. I didn’t want you to find this out now because I didn’t want to scare you. I’m sorry that you’ve found out.”

  “I would live with Kern inside me? Trying to take control of my body?” Kate’s voice was barely a whisper, her words coming out in gasps as she took all of this new information and processed it. She couldn’t live with another being inside of her body. She couldn’t live the remainder of her short, yet seemingly long life sharing it with an evil and crazy demon. Kate wasn’t strong enough.

  Rico stood up and moved so that he was squatting in front of her. “Look at me, Kate. Look at me,” he said.

  Kate looked up at him and fresh tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t help it this time. She couldn’t pretend to be strong, knowing that they had failed each time before. She should have known, though. Rico had told her that a demon died if he failed to possess a human. The knowledge that Kern was still alive should have clued her in on his past.

  “You need him to possess me,” she said as she looked into Rico’s eyes. You want him to possess me because you need to expel him. She knew she was right; she didn’t need Rico’s confirmation but she wanted it.

  “Yes,” he said, unable to hold back the truth from her any longer.

  Fresh tears tumbled down her cheeks, racing to touch the warm sand. Kate’s breathing came in gasps now, and she feared she would hyperventilate. Her hands gripped the armrests, her knuckles white.

  Rico put his hands on Kate’s, gripping hers, willing her to come back to him. He watched as Kate stared through him, her heartbeat increasing wildly. He moved his hands to her face, trying to get her eyes to focus on him. That didn’t work. He tried talking to her, whispering words meant to soothe, but that didn’t work either. Rico tried gently shaking her shoulders. That failed too. He sat back for a moment, not knowing what to do to comfort Kate, upset that he couldn’t save her from this. A spark of an idea flashed through his mind and he wrapped his arms around Kate, picking her up. He ran towards the ocean, her sweaty palms clinging to his neck. When he reached the water Adriana rushed toward them.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “I had to tell her about the others, Adriana. You started to tell her, and like always, she had to know the entire story.” He shot Adriana a look that sent her stepping backward.

  “Look, Rico. You can’t hold her for much longer. You need to put her down.” Adriana reached out, pulled Rico’s fingers loose and took Kate from him. She sat down in the water with Kate on her lap, and moved quickly so that Kate was sitting in the sand next to her, but not quite touching her. She pushed Kate’s damp curls from her face and splashed her gently with water until Kate came back.

  Kate finally blinked and focused on Adriana. She turned to face Rico who was still standing. He was breathing heavily, not looking at her on purpose. Kate bit her lip, afraid that she would begin crying again.

  “Honey, he’s upset that he caused this,” Adriana purred. Kate watched as Adriana glanced up at Rico; a look of utter contempt crossed her features. Kate wondered why Adriana was mad at Rico when she, herself, was about to tell Kate the truth.

  Rico ignored Adriana and began walking back up to the chairs. He stopped halfway and turned toward Adriana’s house. He broke out into a jog, and Kate watched as his figure grew smaller with each step.

  Kate turned and faced Adriana once more. “Why me?” she asked.

  Adriana sighed. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out, honey. That’s why we’re here,” she said. “We want to know just as much as you do.”

  Chapter 12

  Kate woke at dawn the next day, surprised that she was able to fall asleep for a few hours. She stepped outside and sat on the porch while she ate a bowl of cereal. After hanging out with Rico and Adriana for the past couple days, finding out stressful news and getting attacked by strange demons, Kate was happy to be alone.

  She spent the first part of the morning laying the pieces out on the table. She grabbed a notebook and scribbled down the things that she wanted to figure out, the things that she wanted to put together. First, why did the elder demon want her soul? Second, was she willing to sacrifice her soul to kill him like Rico and Adriana wanted? Kate had no idea what Kern wanted with her, but she had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t just because she was a young, healthy human. When she began to think about whether she wanted to sacrifice her body and soul, her heart stopped. She knew deep down that she wasn’t brave enough to do that; she knew that if Rico and Adriana were relying on her that they would have to hold her down.

  Kate shuddered at the thought, remembering a time that she was held down at the doctor’s when receiving a shot. The feeling of being completely and utterly helpless had been one of the worst experiences of her short life.

  Next on the list of things Kate needed to figure out: Who was that random demon that had come to attack her? Why did he want her? Was it for the same reason that Kern wanted her? And was she really that important
? Kate didn’t think she was that important, but the idea that another demon was after her made her think twice about it. She knew that she needed to talk to the gardener. She needed to find out what he knew about the second demon, and she needed to find this out before she asked herself any more questions.

  Kate rose from her spot and walked inside to grab the phone. She found it resting on the counter in the kitchen, near the refrigerator. Kate picked it up and noticed a small slip of paper attached to the side of the fridge with a magnet. It was the number for the gardener, with his name handwritten below it. How convenient. Kate dialed the number. It rang twice before a woman’s voice picked up.

  “Excuse me, my name is Kaitlin Warren. I’m located at 403 Driftwood Avenue. I have a question about a plant that is located in my front yard, and wanted to know if I could speak with Mr. Alan Evans, please.”

  Kate was put on hold, and waited patiently, drumming her fingers against the dark granite countertop. Vivaldi’s Summer played on the line as she waited, and she wondered if they changed the song with the season.

  “Hello, this is Alan Evans,” the older man said in his southern drawl.

  “Hi, Mr. Evans. How are you today?” Kate thought it would be best to start a casual conversation first.

  “I’m doing fine today, Miss. Thank you for asking. My wife, here, tells me that you have a question about a plant a yours. I’m not far from where you are. Do you mind if I stop by and take care of the plant you’re wondering about? I’d rather not let my customers take care of their own plants; they tend to kill them if I let them. You know what I mean?” he chuckled.

  Kate made herself laugh with him, then said, “I don’t mind if you come over Mr. Evans. In fact, I think that would be best. I don’t think I could figure it out on my own anyway.”

  After the conversation ended, Kate hung up and waited.

  Mr. Evans arrived ten minutes later, and shuffled around the back where Kate was seated. Kate had it all figured out. She would offer the man a cool glass of sweet tea and a few cookies. Once she got him relaxed and comfortable, she would begin asking him questions.