Tirade (Heven and Hell #3)(27)
Author: Cambria Hebert

Colin didn’t put the car into drive right away like usual, but turned to look at me. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m just worried about my mother.”

He leaned across the seat and placed his hand on my leg. My thigh actually. I was so shocked I barely heard him say, “People who suffer head injuries sometimes act a little different when they first wake up. Give her some time.”

His words were kind and spoken with the thought of making me feel better, but I felt gross. The fact that it felt like he was groping me overshadowed his attempt at making me feel better. I shifted, trying to tell him that I was uncomfortable. He smiled and squeezed my leg before letting go and sitting back in his seat.

My fingers slid over to the door handle as he roared the engine to life and turned on the AC. When he looked over at me, I swear something dark and sinister slid behind his eyes. I blinked and he was smiling his usual friendly smile. “Ready, kid?”

“Sure,” I said, not sure if I was.

As we drove out of the parking lot, a fly flew past my face and swarmed around Colin’s head. He batted at it and cracked his window trying to shoo it out. “So how far did you run today?” he asked.

“Seven miles.”

“You must be awfully tired.” He turned his head just slightly to look at me and his aura blinked out. But within seconds it returned.

“Are you feeling all right today?” I asked.

“Right as rain.” He glanced at me and smiled. I studied his eyes; there was nothing there. It was like I imagined it.

We rode in silence for a few minutes and I tried to calm my nerves. Something didn’t seem right, and I had learned that if something didn’t seem right, it wasn’t. Another fly buzzed around his head and he craned his neck to see where it flew.

That’s when I noticed the goose egg on the back of his head.

“Did you hit your head?” I asked.

He gave up on the fly and turned back to the road. “No.”

“You have a huge bump on the back of your head. Doesn’t it hurt?”

He looked at me, surprised, then felt the back of his head. When his fingers slid over the bump, he winced. “I don’t remember hitting it on anything.”

“What did you do yesterday after you got off work?”

His brow wrinkled as he thought. “Went home and cut the grass, worked in the garage. The sun made me tired and I went inside and took a long nap.”

Warning bells went off in my head. “Did you hit your head in the garage?”

“Think I would remember something like that.”

Unless the Prince of Demons erased it from your mind.

“Stop the car!” I yelled.

Colin slammed on the brakes and the car fishtailed before righting itself and coming to a halt in the center of the road. “What’s the matter?”

“I think I’m going to walk the rest of the way,” I said, reaching for the handle. I had to get out of this car. I had to get some space so I could think. Think about what to do about Colin. He had a demon living inside of him. I knew all the signs.

I’d seen it before. With Logan.

Only this time, I was afraid it might not be just any demon. This time it might be Beelzebub… the body switcher.

The flies.

The strange aura.

The darkness that lurked just beneath the exterior.

All these were signs that something was manipulating Colin. And trying to get to me.

But what convinced me the most was the fact that one minute, it seemed like Colin was a completely different person. One minute, he was a stranger, but the next, he was the same nice security guard that I always saw.

It was just like Logan.

I needed to get away, to think of a way I could save Colin. He didn’t deserve what was happening to him. I pulled the handle, pushed open the door and reached down between my feet for my bag.

Colin launched himself across the seat and grabbed my shoulder. With a startled yell, I whipped my bag up and slammed him in the face. He gave a roar and released me. I scrambled out of the car, but he caught hold of my shirt and pulled. I ended up falling, half in the car, half out. The contents of my backpack spilled out onto the hot pavement. The sun glinted off the dagger.

I used my foot and kicked Colin in the face. He howled again while I climbed the rest of the way out of the car. Somehow, he managed to throw himself after me, his body rippling and contorting in unnatural ways. I shrieked and rolled, landing on my back to stare up at the cloudless blue sky.

It was too beautiful of a day to die.

Colin lunged, landing on top of me, and immediately I reacted. The minute he pressed his full weight onto me, I’d be as good as dead. My only chance of fighting someone who outweighed me by a good ninety pounds was to never let his advantage become my disadvantage. Before he even settled his weight to pin me, I brought up both my knees and kicked out, slamming him in the ribs and momentarily knocking the wind out of him. Using his shoulders as an anchor, I pushed myself upward, sliding out from under him and jumping to my feet. He reached for the dagger, but I was faster and palmed it first. I watched him warily as he got to his feet.

All traces of the demon fell away and I was left looking at a confused Colin. “Kid?”

“I’m gonna walk from here. Thanks for the ride.”

He stared at the dagger I held in warning and he shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”

He feigned turning back to the car, but his left foot didn’t turn with his right. I practically watched the demon taking back over. His left foot stayed planted on the ground as his body pivoted around. There was a loud popping sound in his hip as he spun, but he didn’t even wince. Then he was leaping at me, his eyes wild.

I stepped backward and onto my steel water bottle that had rolled from my bag. I fell back with a snarling Colin close behind. He landed on top of me.

Except I didn’t take the impact of his fall.

My dagger did.

He made this weird gurgling sound and dark red blood ran out from between his lips.

I tried to push him off me, but I couldn’t. He was too heavy. I was pinned. His blood ran down his chin and dripped on my face.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

Colin looked down at me, surprise making his eyes wide. “Why?” he asked before coughing. Blood splattered my cheeks. It made me sick but I couldn’t look away.

I pushed at his shoulders until I managed to roll him off me. He stared up at the sky without blinking and I wondered if he thought it was too beautiful of a day to die too. I leaned over him. “Colin? Listen to me. I know you don’t understand, but you had a demon living in you. He was controlling you. You tried to kill me. I was only trying to get away. I didn’t want this.”