“This is why you need us!” Ace roared. “Lizzie, I am going to say this once and then I need you to leave it alone until the time is right to share the rest,” Ace breathed, stepping so close to me, I could feel his warm breaths caressing my skin. “What you don’t know yet, is that you hold the power to keep the Demons away from our town. Your Great Aunt Morgan was the key to keeping us safe. Now that you have arrived, the Demons will stop at nothing to end your life. The one thing missing from this entire equation is the necklace,” Ace said, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
My mind raced as this new information spun around me like a raging twister. It was as though each time I was given more information about my life, I ended up with a million more questions. Nothing made sense at all to me anymore and I was starting to question my own sanity.
“I don’t...this doesn’t…” the words eluded me as my brain and my mouth seemed to be at odds with one another.
“Just tell her,” Maylee cried out, her body shaking in frustration.
I briefly turned to her, shocked by her sudden outburst, but thankful for her help all the same.
Ace paused for a moment, his eyes dancing between me and Maylee. For the slightest of seconds, I thought he was going to walk away and forgo giving me the information I craved so desperately.
“Lizzie, your Great Aunt Morgan possessed a necklace that your family has held for centuries. Whoever wears that necklace, ignites the key to the protection spell placed on the gem inside the necklace. We have to find it before the Demons destroy you and everyone else in this town. This is all information you would have learned in greater detail had you been patient and just waited like I asked you to,” Ace said, shaking his head in anger.
“Umm, guys,” Maylee said, trying to interrupt us.
“Wait, Maylee,” I stated, holding up my hand to pause her. Turning my anger back to Ace, I closed the slim space between us. “You were going to make me wait to tell me that there is a necklace that could save me?” I spewed out, my words like flowing lava.
“This isn’t information you just throw out in everyday conversation. There are rules to the supernatural world-- to the Crows at Crow Haven, that we must abide by. It’s not that simple,” Ace argued.
Finally stepping into the battle, Maylee approached us with caution.
“I really need for the two of you to stop fighting,” she said, her eyes locked behind us.
“Maylee, just stay out of this,” Ace stated through gritted teeth.
Shaking her head, Maylee continued to stare blankly behind us.
Both Ace and I stopped and slowly turned to see what had Maylee so frozen in place. I could see her chest rising and falling as her bewildered eyes grew large with fear.
The air seemed to fill with a thick haze that stifled our ability to breathe. Sweat trickled down my brow as I struggled to take in another breath.
“Maylee, what’s going on?” Ace asked, his eyes never leaving his sister's stricken face.
“Don’t move,” Maylee whispered, her voice quivering and barely audible.
I don’t know what it is about someone telling you not to look, but it is as though your body is forced to look anyway. It didn’t matter how much I wanted to close my eyes and wish myself back inside of Ace’s car, I was still going to look.
Slowly, I turned and what I saw will forever haunt my dreams.
Hovering over the roadway, a black figure lured my eyes to its nasty form. The black tentacles of darkness that swirled all around its long and haunting form, caused a shiver to race down my spine. Red, crimson eyes stared back at me, like pools of blood ready to spill out and rain down on me.
A string of curse words were elicited from Ace as he took a step back from the dark figure.
At that moment, I wasn’t sure what to do. My fight or flight instincts told me to run and never look back, but my body didn’t seem to get that memo. It was as though I was frozen in place and only placing myself as an offering to the figure before me.
“What is that?” I asked, not sure if anyone heard me over the shaking of my voice.
“That’s a Demon,” Ace said, his words sounding so foreign to me right now.
Demon.
That word sliced through me like a rusty knife. I had heard the threats of Demons, but it never felt real until I was faced with one right in front of me. Even though my mom was a Mediator to the dead and I had heard stories that some would only see fit for fiction, a Demon was still something I never imagined I would ever face.
Until now.
“What do we do now? Lizzie isn’t prepared to fight,” Maylee said, her stance rigid and frightened.
Fight? Why in the world… Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten.
“Get in the car,” Ace ordered, his body never moving.
I wanted to fight him because I was so close to standing my ground; but right now, I knew better than to question him.
Not with a Demon staring down at me.
It didn't dawn on me that my feet were moving until I was jumping into the car with Maylee hot on my tail.
Somehow, Ace had moved at lightning speed to get in and he was already revving the engine to get us out of there.
“Can we out run a Demon?” I cried out, turning in my seat to stare into the darkness.
“We will try,” Ace seethed, his eyes never leaving the road.
The car raced down the one lane road with the Demon chasing after us, hovering over the car as it stared back at me with such intensity. I could barely breathe. Its outstretched arms were reaching for me, as though it were trying to reach into my very soul.
“Go faster,” Maylee cried out from the front seat.
“I’m going as fast as possible. If we didn’t have Lizzie with us, we could fly,” he shouted back.
Again, Ace felt the need to attack me with a sarcastic comment which only brought on more pain.
“Either help me or leave me here to fend for myself, but stop acting like you are the victim here,” I roared, throwing my anger out onto Ace.
Somehow, that managed to shut him up for a moment and he continued to drive.
I watched as Ace drove past the turn to my house and as the world passed by in a blur, true fear really began to set in.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice trembling in spite of myself.
“Crow Haven,” Ace stated firmly.
“Why Crow Haven?” I questioned, even though it didn’t really matter. I just wanted to be safe and away from this disgusting Demon chasing our car.
“It’s the only place where the Demons can’t touch us. They can’t break the barrier that protects us there,” Maylee told me.
At that moment, all I could do was nod because my life was now up to Ace, Maylee, and Crow Haven.
Chapter Twelve
Unwelcome Guest
W
e turned off of Main Street as Ace drove back onto the main highway that drove through Nicholasville. As we passed by the large, white house of Camp Nelson, I admired the gravestones marking the fallen soldiers of war. So many wars had been fought there-- both real and supernatural. Right before we passed the large bridge over the Kentucky River, linking Nicholasville to Garrard County, Ace turned left onto a small, tree lined road. We drove for what felt like forever, down winding turns and up high hills. Finally, the car slowed as a drive came into view.