Chapter 13

13

The alternate reality crumbled around us like a sandcastle hit by an unexpected wave, and suddenly, we were back in our world. At least, I was pretty sure it was real. We stood in a gutted apartment with nothing but the walls around us. Silence enveloped us as we took in our surroundings, confusion etched on our faces. The stark emptiness of the room was disorienting after our chaotic journey through surreal realms.

"Is...is it over?" Zara attempted to shake off the gelatin, chocolate, and paint that covered her from head to toe. Leaves and grass clippings adorned our clothing, and I noticed a sucker from the candy world stuck to Zara's back. We were also covered in tiny pieces of glass.

A moment of silence followed as we took in our surroundings, our confusion clear on our faces. It was then that I noticed the dead demon at our feet. It had jagged horns, leathery wings, and clawed hands. Its skin was a deep obsidian black, making it appear even more sinister than it already was.

It had an enormous shard of glass sticking out of its chest. Oops.

"Ugh, what is that thing?" Kendra asked, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "And why is it here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said. "But at least it's dead."

We stood there for a while, trying to process everything that had just happened. Our minds raced, attempting to piece together the puzzle of our bizarre adventure. But there was no time for that now, we had to figure out what to do next.

The silence in the room was broken by a sudden knock on the door. We froze and locked gazes for a brief few moments. My vampire senses were usually on point when it came to identifying who was behind the door, but this time, I was drawing a complete blank. Human or vampire? Friend or foe? With no clue who was on the other side, my hesitation only grew stronger.

"Should we answer that?" Zara said.

"Can't you tell who's there, Hailey?" Kendra asked as she stared at the door.

"Sorry, nothing," I frowned. "My senses aren't picking up anything."

Zara's grip on Kendra's arm tightened, and I noticed the tiny pieces of glass embedded in their skin. Kendra yelped in pain, jerking her arm away. "Ouch, Watch it, Zara!"

"Sorry," Zara winced, clearly mortified. "I didn't realize the glass was still there."

"It's okay, we're all on edge." Kendra rubbed her arm.

The knocking persisted, more insistent this time. We exchanged worried looks, and despite my uncertainty, we couldn't just ignore whoever was out there. With an unspoken agreement, I took the first step toward the door, my friends close behind me.

"Here goes nothing," I said. As I reached for the doorknob, I thought about how much our lives had changed since delving into this supernatural world. Unease never quite left me, even when confronted with something as ordinary as an unexpected visitor.

"Wait." Kendra put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"

"Got any better ideas?" I asked, trying to sound braver than I felt. She shook her head, and I turned the doorknob, ready to face whatever, or whoever was waiting for us on the other side.

I slowly turned the doorknob, trying to ignore the trembling of my hands. The door creaked open, revealing a tall figure leaning casually against the doorframe.

"Luci?" I was surprised to see the devil himself, aka Lucifer, standing before us. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too," Luci said with a smirk. "I had the sudden urge to find you and make sure you're okay." But his expression changed from casual indifference to shock as he caught sight of the dead demon sprawled on the floor behind us. "Holy Shi—What happened here?"

"Long story." Suddenly I was self-conscious about our gelatin and paint-covered appearances.

Luci raised a brow, clearly intrigued by the scene before him. "This looks like a party I wouldn't want to miss."

"Trust me, it wasn't that fun," Zara said.

"Really?" Luci's flicked gaze back to the demon, his curiosity piqued. "I've been looking for this delinquent. He creates false realities and feeds off the fear of the people stuck in them."

Without waiting for an explanation or acknowledgment from me and my friends, Luci leaned over and touched the demon's lifeless form, as if it were just another item on his to-do list. In an instant, both he and the demon shimmered with an eerie light before disappearing completely from sight.

"Hey, that's our skip," Zara yelled, clearly frustrated at the sudden turn of events.

The room got colder now, emptier still as if Luci had taken all warmth with him when he'd departed. We stood there, covered in gelatin, chocolate, paint, glass, and who knew what else, grappling with what had just happened, questions racing through our minds.

"So, um, who was that?" Zara asked. She looked from me to Kendra with confusion and lingering fear.

"Luci?" I tried to sound more nonchalant than I felt. "He's... well, he's... complicated."

Kendra and I exchanged glances, sharing a laugh at the understatement. Explaining Luci's involvement would require a longer story than we had time for in that gutted apartment.

"Complicated? That guy just poofed away with our demon skip like it was no big deal." Zara threw her hands up in disbelief. "And here I thought this supernatural stuff couldn't get any weirder."

"Trust me." I attempted to reassure her. "We've seen weirder. And we'll figure out what to tell Jordan. It's not like we could bring a dead demon to the human police."

They would freak the eff out.

"Hailey's right," Kendra said. "But first, let's get cleaned up. We look like we've been through a candy-coated tornado." She plucked a stray gummy worm from her hair and flicked it away with an exaggerated shudder.

"Good point." I surveyed the mess that was once our clothing. "I don't think my dry cleaner is prepared for this level of disaster. These are going in the trash."

Zara sighed, reluctantly accepting the situation. "If you say so, but later you're going to tell me more about Luci."

"We will. After a long hot shower," Kendra said.

"And some wine," I added.

I glanced back at the open front door of the apartment. I saw the number on the door, and I blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. "Damn it."

Kendra frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

"Guys, we're at the wrong apartment." I pointed at the door that clearly read 1131. "Weren't we supposed to go to 1113?"

"What?" Kendra said, her frustration evident.

Zara hung her head, groaning in disbelief.

"Yep." I was pretty dang sure. "We were supposed to go to apartment 113. This is 131."

"Ugh, seriously?" Kendra moaned as she kicked the ground, sending a small cloud of debris into the air. "You know what? Let's just get out of here. We'll find the real skip tomorrow."

"Good idea." I was utterly drained from our surreal adventure.

We made our way out of the building and to the parking lot where we left the SUV. When we reach it, I let out a curse. All four tires were flat.

"This night keeps getting better and better." The words were filled with exhaustion, annoyance, and a boatload of sarcasm. I wasn't sure if the demon flattened the tires or the rift raft that prowled the streets of Philly had done it.

I was too tired to analyze it tonight. Jax would make a call and have someone tow it to the mechanic he always used.

"Oh great. How are we getting home?" Zara asked, looking around for other means of transportation.

"Leave that to me," Kendra said with a determined smirk. She closed her eyes and focused, her brow furrowing in concentration. If Kendra could pull off a portal, it would mean we really were home.

"Here goes nothing." With a flick of her wrist, a shimmering portal appeared before us. It wavered unsteadily, but it was there, a glimmer of possibility for our escape and further adventures.

"Yes!" I cheered, giving her an appreciative pat on the back. "Come on, let's go home." I stepped toward the portal with newfound optimism. As we crossed the threshold together, despite everything we'd been through, and everything still to come, we were in this together, and we could handle whatever life, or unlife, threw at us.

And I didn't hate Zara anymore. She really came through for Kendra and me.