Insidious(39)

“No, I mean the color of his eyes,” I whispered.

A look best guessed as confusion distorted Daniel’s features. He suddenly gaped, imitating my apparent dismay. “I know, right? When was the last time you saw brown eyes? That’s only, like…half the population, including me.” He laughed, but still looked at me in bafflement when it was clear I didn’t share in his amusement. “Seriously, what’s up with you? You look like you’ve just seen Pennywise the Clown.”

“I have to go.”

“Kat-”

I pushed past him, making my way toward the escalator. As I made my way down, I spotted Carly sauntering over to Daniel. Knowing he’d tell her about my mini freak-out, I maneuvered between the inactive people standing on the stairway and ducked into the first store I could get to when I reached the ground level. Hiding behind a clothing display near the shop window, I saw Carly and Daniel walk out of sight after a couple minutes toward the other end of the mall.

At last, I’d caught a break.

I exited the boutique and started heading over to the record store when a figure cut into my path.

“Hey, again.” It was Black Eyes!

For the life of me, I couldn’t say anything. I just stood paralyzed, looking up at him with eyes the size of saucers.

“I haven’t seen you here before, and I never forget a pretty face,” he mused, perching his elbow up against the wall beside us. His other hand suddenly teased through the ends of my hair.

I shied away, but a woman leaving another store suddenly plowed into my back, hurtling me right into Black Eyes’s chest!

He grinned down at me, clearly pleased by the development. “How about we take this somewhere a bit more private?” he cooed, his hand cradling my chin.

Just as I was about to run for dear life, another arm suddenly slung across my shoulder. “What a little maverick this one is. I leave you alone for ten minutes, and you’re already seducing your next victim.”

Both Black Eyes and I turned to see my Psychotic Hallucination beaming down at me devilishly, and I’d never welcomed the sight as much as I did in that moment. The Goth reluctantly backed up as Reese planted a kiss on the side of my head.

“Seems we need to have a little talk,” the magician jabbed lightly, pulling me away.

His arm dropped down to the middle of my back, and he steered me across the plaza. Temptation urged me to look behind us, but he tightened his grip. “Don’t. You’ll only draw more attention.”

“Is he the same thing as the guy from the alley?” I asked under my breath.

“No, he’s a demon.”

Well after we were in the clear, I tried moving out of his hold, but he wouldn’t let up.

“What the hell is going on?” I insisted, slamming on the brakes. The effort did me little good as he continued on, practically dragging me across the marble floor. “Will you stop? Just talk to me!”

We passed the Cineplex, heading down toward a side exit. I further protested, but Reese pushed the door open and hauled me through. The exit took us out to a vacant section of the parking lot where only a few sparse cars were scattered across the spaces by the closed automotive department. I immediately spotted the old beater truck resting under a streetlight just down the way.

“What attacked me in the alley?”

“Hellhound.”

I looked at him incredulously.

“Trust me, it’s a long story. I’ll fill you in once we get you somewhere a bit safer.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” It still amazed me that I was even bothering to put up a fight at this point. I’d have better luck taking down a great white than this guy.

“Hey!” a voice barked from behind.

Reese’s hold on me ripped away as I caught sight of a hand clasping around his throat. The power behind the individual sent the magician hurtling away, driving him into the brick wall beside us.

Adam?

“Don’t!” I bellowed. Seeing firsthand just what Reese was capable of, I didn’t doubt for a second that he’d skewer Adam like a shish kabob.

Adam ignored my plea as he charged at the man, grabbing a hold of the front of his shirt. Reese instantly nailed his foot into Adam’s left shin, making him retract. The magician pushed up in front of him and whirled around to catch him off guard as he caught him in a chokehold. Adam’s face started turning red as he tried and failed to break free. I sprang forward in an attempt to intervene when I saw Adam at last pry out something from his pocket. Was that a black marker? He swiftly thrust the ballpoint right into Reese’s bicep. The magician barked out a string of curses as he released his grip on my ex.