The Demon Inheritance

EIGHTEEN

The night after was spent in a run-down house on the outskirts of town. It was luck that I had listened to Oliver when he told me not to go after Salt; the truck we used had been falling apart. It was abandoned near the run-down house to sit and rot. Trying to make our way out of the Texan town, the car failed on Dillan. So after that, the ten of us slept in an abandoned building and even stayed until the next night while Dillan, Nahara, and Ace tried to find another way to get closer to LA. After all, we weren't going to steal from any people that didn't owe us. Not like those cannibals, who had taken two Apotropaics from us physically. So, the nine of us took shelter.

I twisted against my makeshift bed, which was only a dusty blanket I had found in the attic and part of the carpet I had folded into a pillow. Luckily, whoever had abandoned the place seemed to have a passion for either sewing or collecting blankets. I would bet money on the first. I turned over to look at Oliver, who was sleeping solemnly beside me without a blanket. He had his own upturned carpet pillow, however.

I let out an annoyed breath. Maybe I can't fight it anymore. I am part of this group. I do care about the people in it. I shrugged my quilt off and threw it over him. After all, he had taken off his jacket for Ace to use. He was probably freezing cold. I pressed the back of my hand gently to his arm, wincing at the iciness I felt crawling over his skin. Poor Oliver. Hehe. You're lucky I had the visions about you, otherwise I probably wouldn't care about you as much. I really am I hard person, aren't I? How could I, maybe, make up for that?

Oliver stirred a bit in his sleep, grumbling a little. The half of his face covered in hair was pressed against the floor, so the curtain of white was tattered against the bottom. I could see his full face for once, without hair and without his cigarette. Both of his eyes were wide, even under his eyelids. His thin lips were rested into a gentle frown.

Sitting up against the rotting wooden floor, I glanced away from him. I wonder how sick some of these guys are of dreaming. They're so ancient... I guess young, in the sense they could live forever. My eyes skipped back to Oliver like a stone, then to Ace, then Mun, then Carter. Why are you doing it? The Extants don't want earth to end. But why you? What do you get out of this? I straightened my back with a pop. Then, I swung my head towards Carter as he woke and his scratchy wool blanket rustled.

His gray eyes blinked at me in the darkness, and he held his head as if it ached. He practically yawned, "What are you doing up, Emma?"

I held a finger over my mouth sternly at how loud he was. Someone groaned through their sleep in turn, and I gestured towards the door out of the room we all collectively shared. Carter nodded and stood. I followed him out the door and into the hall.

"It's a little early," Carter muttered, standing up against the wall with one leg propped up on it. "Why are you awake?"

I shrugged, feeling my shoulders pop in the process. My muscles stung. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I just woke up. I wouldn't ask you the same because it's a stupid question. I didn't do this on purpose, genius."

Carter rolled his eyes. This close to him, I could see the ring of charcoal around his iris and the flecks of silver and white that took up the middle. "So... I noticed Oliver has your blanket. You can't ignore your demon instinct for long, can you?"

"What do you mean?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

At my cluelessness, Dillan's Apotropaic grinned. "As a Kalos, you instinctively trust and care about your Apotropaic. I mean, you do as an Extant, but Kalos and Murondoes seem to tie loyalties tighter than the rest. It was predicted that some Extants will fall in love with Apotropaics. I guess Oliver can be yours. Demons are pack animals. It happens often.""