Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(64)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I watched her gather up a clean change of clothes and storm into the bathroom, angry at me for reasons I really didn’t understand. Kimber could go through my things all she wanted, she wouldn’t find anything. Even if she did happen to see the scroll, she wouldn’t have the first clue as to what it was.

*   *   *

Sleeping without Sam was not something that came easily. Sleeping right next to your best-friend-turned-enemy was even worse. Kimber insisted on sleeping with the bathroom light and TV on. It was beyond frustrating. I was enjoying the time here in Italy so far, but our days were full of people, places and noise. It would be nice to have a break at the end of the day. For my head and eyes to have a break. Even though I hadn’t told Sam yet, I was pretty sure what my new ‘supernatural’ ability was. If you could call it that. I closed my eyes and called up an image from the Sistine Chapel’s famous ceiling. It came easily, quietly. The images took perfect shape in mind with the slightest of clicks. I had been practicing this since I caught on to my brain’s newest ability. Every time it became easier and clearer.

I had a photographic memory.

Why this would be considered a ‘supernatural’ ability was beyond me. It seemed kind of lame and was one of the reasons that I had yet to tell Sam. I mean, gheesh, he turns into a super-powered animal with super hearing and strength. Fire doesn’t harm him, water cannot drown him, even ice cannot freeze him.

Those are superpowers.

Using my brain as a camera just seemed lame.

It didn’t stop me from practicing and seeing how much my mind could hold. Airis seemed to think that this ‘power’ would be useful, and considering that we are being hunted by demons for the Treasure Map, I figured that it couldn’t hurt to use everything available to me. Who knows when this little ability might come in handy.

From the bed next to mine, Kimber snored lightly. Moving slowly, I got up and tiptoed to the TV and shut it off. The room plunged into darkness except for the light shining from the bathroom. I went to the door and pushed it closed so that only a slim ray of light shone into the room. Relaxing already, I slipped back beneath the covers and thought about Sam. I reached out to him with our Mindbond, which had seemed to grow stronger since he broke the Dream Walkers thread, to know that he was already sleeping.

I closed my eyes and willed myself to relax. A while later, a sound roused me from my half-sleep and I lay there, unmoving with my eyes closed, trying to figure out what I was hearing. It sounded like someone was ruffling through a bag or a box.

And whomever it was… was right next to me.

My suitcase! Someone or something was searching my things. On impulse I threw out my fist, while yelling, “Kimber, wake up!” My fist connected with something solid. I turned my head and gasped at the large figure looming over me.

I heard Kimber moving. “Turn on the light!” I ordered as the intruder began to scramble backward.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Kimber demanded, but she switched on the lamp beside her bed.

We both gasped.

There was a demon at the foot of my bed.

It seemed familiar somehow with its long, black hair, full of twigs and leaves. He was naked and I wanted to gag. His hands were deformed and twisted… I strained my memory for this demon and what he could do… and suddenly I cursed the fact that I hadn’t always had a photographic memory.

The demon jumped on the foot of the bed, causing the mattress to dip. When it opened its mouth, I remembered exactly what this thing could do.

“What the hell is that?” Kimber cried, clutching the blanket around her.

Sam! I shouted. Hurry, Sam!

A strange mist began floating out of the demon’s mouth, a heavy curtain of fog. I bounded off the bed, trying to stay out of its reach, knowing that if I got lost in it we would be in trouble.

“Run, Kimber! Get out of here!” I said, reaching between the mattresses and pulling out the scroll.

The demon made a sound, the screech of an angry bird and more mist began filling the room, reaching toward us.

Kimber gasped, but made no move to flee. I looked at her to try to reassure her that this thing wasn’t going to hurt us. She must be scared out of her mind at seeing something like this.

Only she wasn’t looking at the demon.

She was staring at the scroll in my hands.

“Kimber, we have to get out of here,” I insisted, stumbling toward her, grabbing her arm to make her understand. The mist was getting closer, beginning to curl around us. I coughed.

Then something strange started to happen. The mist continued to fill the room, reaching for us, but it couldn’t get close. It wrapped completely around us, but it was like we were standing in an impenetrable bubble.

I looked at Kimber for some sort of an explanation, but she was focused on the demon advancing toward us, angry that his mist wasn’t working.

The door slammed open, smacking the wall with a bang and Sam stormed in the room. Cole followed behind and began coughing at the stuff that filled the room. Before I could say anything, Sam was driving his fist through the demon’s back, his hand coming out of its chest. Instantly, the demon disintegrated and vanished, taking the weird, choking mist with it.

Sam reached for me, pulling me close. I breathed a sigh of relief. I guess giving him my room keycard every night before bedtime was a good idea, because without it, he would have had to break down the door. He was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt with a kangaroo pocket in the front. Without second thought, I slid the scroll into the pocket.

“What the hell was that?” Kimber asked.

“I have no idea,” I lied, hoping I sounded convinced.

Kimber’s aura flared with disbelief, but there was curiosity there too, which seemed a little strange to me. She glanced back down at my hands and frowned. “Where did it go?”

“I guess Sam scared it off.” I knew full well that she was talking about the scroll, but I played dumb.

“Yeah, sure,” she agreed.

“Are you okay, Kimber?” Cole asked, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged him off, angry. “I’m fine.”

Why wasn’t she more scared and surprised? Why did she seem interested in the scroll?

Cole flipped on the lamp between the two beds. He whistled between his teeth. “You girls are messy.”

The room was trashed. Both our suitcases had been overturned, our clothes scattered everywhere. My shower bag had been dumped, its contents littered the floor. Kimber’s shower bag was also emptied all over the bathroom. My eyes collided with Sam’s and he nodded.