Free Bitter Demons by Sarra Cannon Page B

you-know-what,” I said. “She’s not very nice to you, is she?”
    Caroline shrugged. “She’s okay, I guess. I mean, she’s bossy and she likes to treat me like I’m her servant sometimes, but for the most part, she’s a good person. I 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