Free Bitter Demons by Sarra Cannon Page B

think
she'll make a good Prima someday. Me, I never wanted this life, to
be honest with you." She got a faraway look in her eye, like she
was dreaming of another life. "Sometimes I wish I could just get
away from it all, you know?"
    "Yes, I do," I said. "I know exactly what you
mean."
    Caroline came out of her daydream and smiled
sheepishly. "Meredith's alright. She's just got her own ideas about
how things need to be, and there's no use arguing with her about
it. Why, did you do something to piss her off?"
    "I was talking to Jackson Hunt," I said. I
watched her face as I said the name, but she didn't seem to
recognize it. I pointed to him. "That guy over there."
    She gasped and pulled away. "You know he's a
demon right?" she asked. "The Order named him Wrath for what he did
all those years ago."
    "So your sister told me," I said. "But no one
calls him that here. What did he do that was so bad?"
    "You seriously don't know?" she asked. "I
can't believe you go to school with him and you don't know."
    Tell me already , I wanted to scream,
but I kept my cool. Just as she opened her mouth to answer my
question, Meredith appeared again, a sour look etched onto her
face.
    "Caroline, may I speak with you for a moment,
please?" Meredith had one hand on her hip, her lips pursed tight in
disapproval. What had I done this time?
    "Sure, one sec," I said. I leaned over to the
real Caroline's ear and whispered, "Go upstairs to the bedroom and
wait for me. I'll be up there in a minute and we can switch back to
normal."
    She nodded and turned away, leaving me with
Meredith.
    "What's up?"
    "You tell me," she said. "You've been acting
strange all night. First, you interrupt me when I'm busy talking to
people, then I catch you talking to that demon. You're not being
yourself, and I want to know what's wrong with you."
    "Nothing's wrong," I said. "I'm fine."
    She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible
tonight. I hope you get this little attitude out of your system,
because I'm not going to put up with it for much longer."
    I needed to get away from this chick. I'd had
enough. As much as I felt sorry for Caroline for having to put up
with a sister like this, I was ready to hand this life back over to
her and get my own back.
    "I really have to go to the bathroom," I
said. "Are we done here?"
    Meredith crossed her arms and pursed her
lips. "Yes, but I want you to come find me when you're done. I'm
not going to let you out of my sight for the rest of this party.
There's no telling what craziness you're going to get yourself
into."
    I turned on my heel and bolted up the stairs
to the second floor. The music was pumping down in the living room,
and I had the most terrible feeling of deja vu. This house was
different from Foster's lake house, but the layout was eerily
similar.
    Agnes is dead, I told myself. She
can't hurt anyone anymore.
    But there was something else that was
bothering me. A chill in the air that caused goosebumps to break
out all over my arms. Icy fear crawled through my veins. That's
when I heard her scream.
    I stood there frozen in place, unable to
force my body to catch up with my brain. A strange shrieking sound,
something not quite human, followed Caroline's scream and the sound
jolted me. I moved with lightning speed, throwing open the bedroom
door only to find the room pitch black in darkness. My hand fumbled
for the light switch.
    The room lit up in bright white, and I
searched for Caroline. She wasn't anywhere in the room, but the
balcony door stood wide open. A cold breeze blew across my skin.
Sitting on the edge of the balcony was a small black crow, its
bright blue eyes staring intently at me.
    My heart stopped beating and time seemed to
stand still. Then, the crow flew off into the night. I crossed the
room in three long strides, reaching the balcony just in time to
see the bird disappear into the woods.
    My shoe slipped in something slick, and I
looked down. Bright red blood pooled on the wooden planks below my
feet. Stuck