And then it was gone.
Cooper grinned. “See—”
The tree branches over our heads rustled and then a large black object dropped right down on top of us. Savannah and Gigi screamed as we were thrown onto the ground. We landed in a pile, our arms still linked. Whatever hit us was heavy and covered in fur. The scent of maple syrup stung my nose. I cursed and threw my hands up and pushed. My bright gold magic shot straight up and slammed into the object. It hissed and jumped up and my breath left me in a rush. In the glow of my magic, I saw eight narrow legs attached to a round body that had massive red eyes the size of my fists.
DEMON!
I opened my mouth to scream for Cooper when a shadow passed above the demon — and then the sharp, angled tip of a silver blade sliced through its skull, right between the eyes. The demon shrieked and something wet splashed onto my hands and then it exploded into black dust just like the wolf demon.
Cooper stood over us with his dagger gripped tightly in his hand and his eyes blazing bright. He looked down at his dagger that was covered in something black and grimaced. “Demon blood. Gross.”
“What was that?” Savannah screeched and scrambled back to her feet.
“Spider demon,” Cooper growled and eyed the tree over us. “Those are the most deadly demons out there, their venom is fatal without a special antidote. My sister’s soulmate almost died from one in October.”
He glanced over to me then quickly looked away. There was something in his expression that sent a chill down my spine.
I frowned and sat up. “Sorry, was that my fault? Did I do something wrong?”
Cooper shook his head. “No, no. That’s on me, I knew this was a bad idea. Come on, let’s get you three out of this park before more of those show up.”
Gigi pushed up onto her feet then brushed leaves out of her hair. “I’m game with gone.”
“You think there’s more?”
Cooper shuddered as he held his hand out and helped me to my feet. “There is never one spider demon around. And I can’t fight off more than one by myself. Let’s go.”
Savannah brushed dirt off her jacket and nodded. Her face was pale. “Yeah, I’m done. That was super educational, I’m all learned up.”
I glanced around the park with my heart lodged in my throat. That moment was short but it was intense. Adrenaline pumped through my veins like I’d been plugged into an electrical socket. My fingers trembled but I wasn’t scared. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t scared but I wasn’t. But I definitely needed to learn how to fight and use weapons because I wanted to be able to do what Cooper had just done.
“Saffie?”
I turned at Cooper’s voice then gasped. They were twenty feet away already at the edge of the park. I cursed and sprinted over to where they were waiting for me. None of us spoke as Cooper led us around the corner, I knew we were all a little shaken up. Cooper was probably beating himself up for luring a demon in the first place.
Luckily the streets were empty. I’d learned quickly that the town of Salem was not a place for night owls. Stores all closed at sunset and the restaurants didn’t stay open after eight or nine – aside from a random one here and there. And since it was winter and the temperature was in the teens, there weren’t any people out walking around besides us. Even on a Saturday night like tonight.
“Let’s stop in here,” Cooper said as he stopped outside of a building with light green awnings and massive lit up Christmas wreaths in the front windows.
Savannah frowned. “The Hawthorne Hotel? But Saffie’s place is right there.”
Cooper paused outside the door and said softly, “demons can track your scent once they’ve been around you. So, if there were any other demons in the park just now, I’d rather not lead them right to her house.”
All three of our jaws dropped.
“Exactly.” Cooper chuckled and shook his head. He pointed to the door. “Let’s stop in here for a few minutes and if nothing comes looking then we’ll leave.”
We all nodded then followed him through the glass doors. Inside was warm and quiet. There wasn’t a single soul in sight. To our right there was a wooden counter with a computer and desk chair behind it but no one was there. I frowned and looked around the lobby. The ceiling was low and with the big chandelier glowing a soft golden light the whole room felt cozy. The carpet was dark green with some kind of swirly print. Then there were red area rugs thrown on top which I didn’t quite understand but somehow worked. There were comfy couches and chairs and straight back what looked like a bookshelf.
“I need to make a phone call,” Cooper said as he pulled his cellphone out of his back pocket and started dialing. “Just give me a minute.”
“Where do you keep your dagger?” I heard myself ask before I could stop myself.
But it was a valid question, since he seemed to pull it out of thin air.
“My sister gave me a little trick for concealing it.” He gave me a sideways grin. Then he held his phone to his ear and said, “hey, Tenn, so what’s your plan on these demons up here?”
“Oh snap, there’s an ATM here. I need some cash, come on.” Savannah grabbed Gigi by the arm and skipped past a pair of golden elevators and then around a corner. “Safferella, come on!”
I skipped to catch up with them but as I rounded the corner something moved in my peripheral vision. I looked toward it and my breath left me in a rush. Riah sauntered through the front doors like he was on a mission. I froze. Heat filled my chest and my breathing grew tight. My pulse quickened at the sight of that black hood pulled over his head. His long blond hair stuck out the bottom of the hood and swayed as he walked.
Something hard slammed into my back and pushed me forward. My feet stumbled over nothing before I caught myself on the column in the lobby. I gasped and glanced over my shoulder to yell at Savannah — but no one was there, there wasn’t anyone behind me. Nope. No, that wasn’t a spirit. You’re just tired.
I shook my head and turned back — I cursed and threw my hand out to the column to avoid running right into him. He’d just been at the front door but now was mere inches in front of me. I looked up and met his golden stare and my breath left me in a rush. His eyes twinkled in the low hanging lights around us. The fire in his eyes hypnotized me. He licked his lips and my knees felt weak. I sucked in a desperate, ragged breath but it was a horrible mistake because his burning ember scent filled my lungs and the world spun. The heat radiating out of his body made me want to bury my face into his black hoodie.
This boy made me dizzier than a fly climbing a sugar hill.
We stared at each other for an hour, or maybe it was a second, but it felt like forever.
When I couldn’t take the silence anymore, I cleared my throat. “Riah…”
He arched one eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. “Saraphina.” His voice was smoother than honey.
I needed to break the spell he put on me so I forced myself to look away…and then I remembered we were in a hotel lobby. After midnight. I frowned up at him. “What are you doing here?”
He leaned back on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Visiting a friend.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s after midnight.”