Trembling(53)

"Can we go somewhere and talk? Somewhere quiet?" I asked him.



Jason raised his eyebrows. "What do you want to talk about Azazel? Can't you see I'm drinking here? I'm having fun. I thought you'd be glad. Isn't that what you want me to do? Stop being so serious? Live it up?"



"No," I said. "No, I need to tell you something very important."



"So tell me."



"It's so loud and crowded here. Can't we just—"



"Tell me," he said. "I've got shit to do."



I looked at the floor. "You're drunk."



"Hell yeah, I am," said Jason. "No drunker than you always get, though."



"It's about the bell, Jason."



"Oh, the bell. Come on, Azazel, can't you let that go? I thought Sutherland stuck it in your purse, anyway. Sutherland's not a problem. I told you that, didn't I?"



"Sutherland didn't do it," I said.



"Then who did?"



"The Satanists," I said.



Jason's expression froze thoughtfully. "The Satanists?"



"I found a ritual on the internet telling me that the Invocation to Azazel could be completed with a bell and other stuff. I think the bell was planted to scare me. Or to tip me off. I don't know. Maybe they thought once the ritual was completed, I'd be on their side completely or something."



"Wait," said Jason. "The Satanists? Who? Michaela Weem?"



"No," I said. "I mean, I think she's behind it, but I don't think she's here."



"Then who?"



"There's only one person who's close to me, who has ties to the Satanists, and who showed up right before the bell appeared in my purse."



"There is?"



"Lilith, Jason. It's Lilith. And she's obviously trying to seduce you so that I'll get angry with you."



Jason glared at me witheringly before chugging his drink again. "Lilith? Jesus, Azazel, this is ridiculous."



"You don't believe me?" I said. God, what was wrong with Jason? Why didn't he see that what I was saying was the truth?



"Look, I'm drunk, and you're grasping at straws."



"Mr. Sutherland said that someone close to me was trying to complete the ritual," I said.



"And you believed him? He's not exactly a reliable source, is he?"



"He wanted to trade information. He only got violent with me when I wouldn't tell him that you were Edgar Weem's son."



"What?" Jason looked confused. "I can't think about this right now, okay?"



"We have to. Lilith is staying in our house. We have to do something before she—"



"Before she what? Why do you hate Lilith so much, Azazel?"



"This isn't about the way I feel about her. This is about the fact that you and I are both in danger and that the Satanists are—"



"Spare me," said Jason. "I'm sick of your conspiracy theories. If it's up to you, we'll never be safe. We'll never be normal. You see danger everywhere. You're paranoid, and you need to get over it."



Jason drained his glass, turned his back on me, and started back for the kitchen.



"Jason!" I called after him, struggling to push through the bodies and keep up.



He turned on me. "I need some space, okay, Azazel? Just give me one night where I don't have to be the Rising Sun. Just give me one night where I don't have to think about this crap. Just give me one night to be normal. Okay? Is that too much to ask?"



His eyes blazed. Wounded, I hung back. But then Lilith slid between the crowded bodies and moved close to Jason. She was holding two plastic cups. She gave one to Jason. He took it from her and took a large gulp. The two surveyed me.



"Zaza," said Lilith. "You look like you might start crying. Are you okay?"



God. I hated her. How could she pretend to be concerned when she was plotting against me?



Jason laughed. "You should hear her latest paranoid delusion, Lil. She thinks you're working for the Satanists. She thinks you put that bell in her purse after you performed an invocation over her body to invoke the demon Azazel."



Lilith's brow furrowed sympathetically. "Jesus, Zaza." She turned to Jason. "She's been under a lot of stress lately. She was nearly captured and then nearly raped. You shouldn't be too hard on her."



I gaped at Lilith. "Don't play dumb," I said to her. "I know it's true."



Lilith looked into her drink, pressing her lips together as if she were trying very hard to keep from saying something.



"What's your plan?" I said to her. "You think if you seduce Jason that I'll feel betrayed and kill him?"