Saira's POV
We're on the road the next morning.
After meeting up with Jay, Billy, and Aaron at Zak's Haunted Museum, we all put our equipment and suitcases in two waiting vans; black, as usual. Zak, Billy, Aaron and I climb into one van, with Jay and the rest of the GAC in the other.
We drive. I have no clue where, nor do I wish to know. My nightmares plagued me all last night, and I know it's evident.
Ghosts and demons had tried to drag me from my house. Not the one I shared with Zak. No, this house was worse: the house that burned down fourteen years ago. The house the Devil set to fire because of me.
The demons cackled and hissed. The ghosts murmured and whispered. It sounded like fire and water in my ears. The twenty-seven scars across my back twinge and blaze, just like they were getting put on my skin for the first time.
I didn't scream, nor yell, nor fight or kick or scratch. I simply let them-my enemies, my friends-take me wherever they wished. They dragged me across the ground, ground burnt black by fire and turned red by blood.
Suddenly, I hear singing. Zak's voice calls to me, as if from far away. Aaron's voice joins him. As does Billy's, Jay's, Ashley's. And, most painfully, my family's. Soulful Mica, deep Quentice, soothful Fairen, warm Carson. Tears ran down my face at hearing their voices, though my tears aren't crystal clear or even black like ash.
They're red, like all the blood I have seen spilt.
We reach an open plateau, and the sharp edge looks like a serrated blade. All my loved ones stand before me in a line, like an execution. Then, I feel a cool grip in my hand. Raising my arm, I see a polished silver pistol in my hand, old-fashioned and gleaming like diamonds.
A voice whispers in my ear. The deep, melodic tone of the words soothes me, putting me even deeper in the world of dreams. "Kill them, Saira. Kill them. Like you killed Chase. Like you killed Ashly. Like you killed Justin. Shoot them, and you will be rewarded," the voice says.
Staring down the barrel of the gun, I close my right eye and aim at Ashley's forehead. She stares at me, nods, smiles, then collapses with a red hole in her head from my bullet. Down the line I go, shot after shot after shot.
At the end stands Zak. He stares right into my eyes as I line up the gun with his head. He's the first and only one to speak. He says,"Go on, Saira. Kill me. I have no reason left to live. End my misery. The misery you have put me in." With a choked scream I fire the gun, and Zak falls to the dusty ground. But that isn't enough for me. I walk over to his body, aim, and shoot again.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The shots resound through my body as I fire the remaining bullets into Zak's body. His scarlet blood pools around my bare feet, but I don't care. I turn, and see the owner of the voice behind me.
His form is hazy, indistinct, but clear all at the same time. I make out horns like a goat's spiraling from his forehead. His muscular chest is bare, and colored like dried blood and ash. His legs are covered by a black kilt, made of what looks like human skin. Knives, guns, swords, ropes, whips, axes; every kind of weapon imaginable hangs from the belt around his waist.
I stare into his face, a face as human and handsome as ever. Tan skin, handsome eyebrows, tousled hair, high cheekbones. His eyes change color as I watch, and then he smiles a human smile.
"Saira Collings. My child. How far you have gone and how well you have grown in twenty-eight years," the Devil says, his words honey and wisps of cloud. I glare at him, a strange fire burning in my bones as I look around at the carnage I have created. A fire of kinship, pride, and joy.
"What do you want, Lucifer?" I ask, my words dripping with poison. The Devil's eyes flash gold and red, and he says calmly,"Names have power, Saira. I'm sure you know that by now." I roll my eyes and say,"Yeah, I know. I've read the Percy Jackson series."
Anger and annoyance flash across his face, and I smirk; I can annoy anyone, even the Lord of Darkness himself.
"Do not cross me, child. I can send my other children to harass your friends if you wish." I know that the Devil's harass is different from mine, but I refuse to show weakness to this beast. "I am the Weapon of God, remember?" I say, and the Devil flinches.
Then, I'm on the ground, pinned by my throat. Zak's blood wells up around me, boiling from the Devil's anger. His eagle-clawed fingers dig into my throat, and I feel my own blood join Zak's. "You are also my Weapon, Saira Collings. You live in the home of the ghosts. It is your birthright to never find love. To never live in the land of light. You were promised to me the moment you were born."
A smile curls my lips, and I say,"Our choices can alter the details. That's how we rebel against destiny, how we make our mark. I will make choices that you can't alter. My time won't be spent in Hell, Lucifer. I won't be your pawn anymore."
The Devil screams with rage, and the blood from all my companions swallows me, spilling into my throat, restraining my limbs. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think. But, I smile as I exit the dream. The Devil knows to fear me, now.
Now, in the car with the boys, my dream fades from my mind. Aaron and Zak play poker. A stack of books, laptop bags, and Aaron's shoes stands in between the two men, so that way they have a semi-flat surface to place their cards. Zak is turned around in his seat, and Billy glances up into the rearview every few seconds to look at Zak's cards.
They play for a few rounds. Aaron eventually loses, and Zak smiles as he grabs the money from his friend's hand. I smile and roll my eyes at the two as Aaron calls for a rematch. Billy laughs and turns on the radio.
You Belong With Me starts playing from the speakers, and Zak yells and reaches for the radio. Billy puts his hand over the dial, smiling and laughing as Taylor Swift's voice echoes through the van. Aaron laughs and starts singing along with the song. I roll my eyes and start singing along too.
"You're all dead to me," Zak mutters as he covers his ears and stares out the window. I put my chin on his shoulder rest and sing right into his covered ear. He pushes me away but I'm right back at it, singing along with the words I haven't heard in years though still know by heart.
"If you can see that I'm the one who understands you. Been here all along. So why can't you see? You belong with me!" I sing. I faintly notice that Billy and Aaron have stopped singing along in their fake high-pitch voices. Zak has uncovered his ears and is listening to me sing. The radio is turned down, so only my voice sounds throughout the car. I pay no mind to any of this as I continue on with the song that is still playing in my mind.
I stop singing as I reach the end of the song, and the van is silent. I only realize now that the radio isn't playing, and everyone's staring at me. Fire erupts across my cheeks, and I lean back into my seat. I pull my legs up to my chest, and rest my chin on them as I stare straight ahead.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, my brain says, and my heart agrees with it. I turn my eyes to the window to avoid the guys' eyes, their judging stares, their thoughts that I can hear in my mind. Desert rushes by at a fast speed, just a blur of color. Yellow, orange, red, brown, gold. Blue spreads across the sky, with fluffy white clouds dotting some parts of the sky.
A pressure on my wrist makes me turn my head. Zak's dark hazel eyes stare at me from behind his black glasses. My own eyes, the color of jade stone, stare back at him from my dark blue glasses. "What's wrong?" Zak asks, staring into my eyes. Into my soul.
I think about shaking my head, about lying, about saying nothing. But, looking over at Aaron and Billy, who were watching me like hawks (well, kinda Billy; he had to watch the road as well), I know I couldn't do it.
"Dreams," I say as I lower my legs from my chest. Zak's hand goes to my knee instead, and I feel his worry seep from his fingertips. The ghostly blue-white spirits that I always see around his head glow brighter for a second, then fade back to their normal subdued tones. Black streaks of demon intertwine with the spirits, but all of the guys have at least one demon attached to them.
"What kind of dreams?" Aaron asks, his intense brown eyes on me. Even the most jokeful and laughable of the GAC has some seriousness in him, especially when it comes to his friends and teammates. I shudder as I say,"Me, killing people. Killing you guys, actually." Zak flinches, and Aaron stares at me.
Suddenly, memories of the five people I killed enter my mind. I sweep them back into their box, and throw the box into the darkest corner of my mind, where it belongs. I don't need to see the gaping bullet holes, the motionless bodies, the blood on the ground. Not now, not ever.
Aaron nods finally, and some tension leaves my body. "All of us have dreams like that, Saira. At one point or another in our career. Dreams seem to be common when dealing with spirits," Billy says. I nod, but my next thought escapes my mouth without my noticing. "And common when you deal with Lucifer."
The boys blink at me, shocked at my use of the Devil's true name. "Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself," I say, looking around the van. Zak smiles slightly and says,"Harry Potter?" I shrug and say,"Yeah. Sorcerer's Stone. Dumbledore says it to Harry while discussing the fate of the Sorcerer's Stone."
Aaron laughs and rolls his eyes, leaning back in his seat. Billy smirks and looks back at the road. Zak keeps me fixed in his gaze, and I can see myself reflected in his pupils.
If only bad dreams were the worst of my worries that week.