Star Eater
Chapter Nine

“I hope we can reach a suitable arrangement, Mr. Wright,” the slimy little man bowed his head ever so slightly.

Joseph kept his face expressionless.

“We shall see,” Joseph said. He rose from the table, buttoning his suit as he did. Beside him, Cole vibrated with suppressed rage. Joseph walked away before his second could act rashly.

“Shall I—”

Joseph waved his hand sharply and Cole fell into stony silence. One of the minorlings ran ahead to the valet. More created a guarded walkway for Joseph to pass through, but there were few people around. Joseph had left the compound before the press descended on it and they had not caught up yet.

Joseph slid into the waiting limo with Cole right behind him. When the door was safely closed, Cole burst again.

“Are you considering taking his offer?”

Joseph spared him a disgusted look. “To testify against my brother in court? Absolutely not.”

Cole’s face screwed up in confusion. “You said ‘we shall see.’”

“Because I don’t want him to think the offer is off the table,” Joseph said. “If he thinks I’m considering it, it buys us time to find another way to get Silas out of jail.”

“Shall I have him taken care of?” Cole asked. “Carefully,” he added.

“We will take care of him in time. My priority is finding out what they have on Silas, how they got it, and who we can bribe to jeopardize the case.”

Word of Silas’s arrest had spread quickly. The press wasn’t helping. Many of their business associates had demanded reassurances that their merchandise was safe. Joseph had been fielding angry calls all afternoon and their usual informant on the FBI had disappeared. This smelled strongly of Sharpe.

To make matters worse, the family lawyer cautioned Joseph that the FBI had real evidence of murder. Their options were limited. The lawyer was talking about plea bargains rather than getting Silas out.

In response, Joseph had set up the meeting he just left with a dirty cop. Even he had stonewalled Joseph and suggested he could act as a go-between to the FBI to broker a deal. The cop had actually suggested Joseph testify against his brother and take over the organization. The man had absolutely no honor.

“I’ve had several of our men checking in to the FBI. It’s going to take some time—”

“Find out about their families, their loved ones. Find out every scrap of information of everyone single person down to the janitor that works in that building.”

“Yes, boss,” Cole said.

“We just need one way in, Cole,” Joseph said. “And go through the finances of our captains. If someone is taking payments, I want to know who.”

The limo stopped at a red light and Joseph glanced out the window, his mind searching for a solution. On the corner stood a yogurt shop with a crowd of humans littering the seats out front. Joseph sneered. He was about to turn away when movement from above caught his attention. On the roof, an Asian kid stood watching the crowd as he ate. He was young, perhaps younger than Mason. Joseph watched him lick his spoon, and suddenly had a craving for frozen yogurt.

The teenager glanced down at something or someone below the line of sight. Then a black head appeared as a creature stood up next to him. It was definitely not human. Joseph’s eyesight was very good, better than a human’s, who might take the creature for a person in a dark hoodie. But Joseph trusted his eyes and his instincts but most of all, the unnamed ancient fear that stirred in his heart.

Not many creatures could do that.

He thought he might be staring at a piece of the Abyss and he couldn't tear his eyes away. Claws the length of flatware dipped into the yogurt cup casually held in the boy’s hand and retracted. Then the entire creature sunk once more below the line of sight. Joseph gaped.

The limo jerked forward.

Joseph leaned forward trying to keep the boy in sight, hoping the creature would reveal itself again, but the car was moving too fast. The boy and the shadow creature were gone.

Kai followed his dad up the stairs. Instead of them parting ways on the landing, Dad told his assistant he’d call her back. Then he followed Kai to his bedroom. There, he lingered at the door. Dad didn't like coming into the room. He hadn’t since Kai had come home from the hospital years ago. The boy wasn’t sure if it was because the last nurse they had thought his room was haunted (which, to be fair, it was—by a demon) or if it was because Kai had spent so many days comatose in his bed.

“I want you to take your pills,” Dad said, crossing his arms.

Kai rolled his eyes, but didn't fight it. He grabbed the pill bottles from beside his bed, shook out a pill from each, four in total, and then threw them back. There was a glass of water on the bedside table. He picked it up, and took a swallow.

In the time between Kai throwing the pills in his mouth and when he took a drink, Akuma’s hand slithered up his throat and grabbed all four pills. The demon brought them down into Kai’s stomach and held them there, carefully encased in his form, safe from the stomach fluids. Meanwhile, Kai opened his mouth for examination. Dad grimaced unpleasantly.

“Now sleep,” Dad said sternly. “I need to go out to finish up preparations for the charity ball. I’ll be home late. If you wake up and are hungry, Rosita left you dinner in the fridge.”

Kai nodded, portraying the obedient son. As soon as the door clicked into place, he went into his bathroom and leaned over the toilet. Icy hands reached up Kai’s throat and covered the whole inside of his mouth, even spilling out to cover his lips. Kai could see the fingers, ebony protrusions exploding at the periphery of his vision just beyond his nose. The cold spread from his belly to his lungs to his sinuses. It was harder to breathe and Kai fought an instinctual panic as that icy touch went beyond its normal boundaries.

Steady, Akuma whispered. He released the pills into the bowl and then retreated. The panic and cold subsided and Kai took a few breaths to calm down. Flushing the toilet, he went back to his door and listened. He could hear Dad in the next room on the phone again. Kai was already forgotten.

With that knowledge, he relaxed a notch. Dad had forgotten to tell his assistant to make a doctor’s appointment. With any luck, it would continue to slip his mind. Kai just needed to make sure he didn't fall asleep in Rump’s class anymore. Also, Kai was glad there had been no mention of him being taken out of school. He was vaguely surprised. Dad had been angling for an excuse to send him away for a while. The fact that he hadn’t used this as leverage was strange.

He is distracted, Akuma thought.

Yeah, Kai agreed, but by what?

Back in his room, Kai found his second cell phone and his wallet on his nightstand. Picking them up, he tucked them into his bag. He’d need to drop one set back off at the secret base. His lifestyle required that he have copies of everything: two phones, three book bags, two wallets, and extra uniforms he’d bought with his credit card. Two homes.

Remember you have to take one of your extra schoolbags back to the base, Akuma reminded him.

Thanks, buddy, Kai said, collecting what he needed. I should grab a duffel bag and bring back dirty laundry, he thought.

As he gathered himself, Kai heard his father walking down the stairs. A minute later the front door opened and closed. Outside, an engine started and through the window, Kai saw the car back out of the driveway. He pulled out his phone and tracked his dad’s GPS. He had installed an app after almost getting caught a few years ago. Dad had forgotten something and turned back. Kai had to dive into their neighbor’s bushes to avoid being seen when the car came back down the street. That night he’d installed the app and tucked it into one of the many folders on Dad’s phone. Kai might have done the same for his mom, but she was never home.

She will be at the end of the week, Akuma pointed out.

Kai watched his dad’s blinking blue dot reach the highway.

Yeah, he thought, it might be nice to track her and see where she spends all her time. Kai couldn't keep the bitterness out of his thoughts. Akuma filled his shadow and sat beside him, pressing his cold shoulder and leg into Kai’s. His frozen touch was comforting.

Sighing, Kai stood and grabbed both book bags. Akuma stayed beside him until they reached the front door, then deflated.

Do you think he’ll check on us tonight? Akuma asked as they walked down the street.

No, Kai thought.

The morning had obviously been a fluke. He was relieved he hadn’t gotten caught. If his dad really suspected that he’d been sleepwalking, his world was over. There would be no avoiding the hospital, the doctors, the medications, and the horror.

I won’t let that happen to us again, Akuma vowed.

No worries, buddy, Kai thought. If Dad thought I was sleepwalking, he wouldn't have left me alone again.

Do you really think that? Akuma asked.

Kai slowed down. He wouldn't let himself be embarrassed by me again, Kai pointed out. If there was even a possibility that I was caught sleepwalking, he’d have taken me right to the hospital. He relies on the drugs to control us, remember?

The demon didn't respond because he knew Kai was right. Kai dismissed that line of thinking. He was safe for now but he needed to stay awake in Rump’s class. Perhaps it was time to invest in energy drinks. He placed another online order and then added caffeine pills when the app suggested it.

You’re going to have to let me get at least four hours of sleep from now on, Akuma, Kai said. I’m serious.

I know, the demon said, sighing.

Kai hopped on a bus over to Ventura Boulevard and stared out the window. His gloomy thoughts lessened and turned to Link, and, more specifically, his reaction to the other boy. He felt heat crawl up his neck thinking about Link’s handsome face and his puppy-dog hands. He wished he had gotten a photo.

An image of Link shirtless created itself in his mind and he sunk lower in his seat, flushing with guilt and arousal. Damn, he thought, looking around to see if anyone noticed, but the people on the bus were enraptured by their cell phones or eBook readers. Kai pulled the string for the next stop and hopped off the bus.

Restless energy flowed through him. He told himself it was the three hours of waiting in the school’s office and he just needed to move. Akuma emphatically disagreed, and Kai ignored him, launching into a power walk as the bus pulled away. Kai walked as if he could outpace his emotions.

You should pursue him, Akuma said.

Will you shut up? Kai demanded. This is super confusing right now.

Why? Akuma asked.

Because I’ve never been attracted to a boy before, Kai said.

What difference does it make? Akuma wondered.

Kai didn't answer, knowing Akuma could read his thoughts anyway. It mattered because it was new and the intensity of his reaction was a little alarming. It mattered because he’d always had internal assumptions about himself, and it seemed as if his body had made several big decisions without consulting him. Kai was used to that on some level—Akuma hijacked his body most nights—but this was different. This was a new aspect to his identity that was unfamiliar territory and therefore scary.

By the time Kai arrived at the frozen yogurt place, he was sweating through his school jacket. He grimaced. He definitely needed to do some laundry. At the counter, Kai ordered three scoops: green tea, lychee, and pink bubbly. It was a three scoops kind of day. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the FɪndNøvel.ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Then Kai surreptitiously wandered towards the bathroom. The yogurt shop was crowded today. Luckily, there wasn’t a line near the men’s room and since the women’s room was around the corner, no one in that line could see Kai go into the one stall bathroom and not come out. He didn't lock the door—he wasn’t that mean. Instead, he waltzed in and then straight into the wall with the electric hand dryer.

He’d accidentally discovered one day after tripping on his book bag that the other side of this wall led to a maintenance closet. The closet also housed a ladder up to the roof. Kai handed his yogurt bowl to Akuma to keep cold and climbed up. The door was rigged with an alarm, but Kai didn't need to open the hatch to get up there. He simply phased out and passed through. From there, he walked over to the walled edge, taking his yogurt back. He scooped up all three flavors and pressed them onto his tongue. He left the spoon hanging in his mouth as the yogurt melted and took out his camera.

He rewound the used roll of film. After wrestling his French textbook out of the way, he pulled a canister with a fresh roll from the bottom of his book bag. Using his jacket to block out the light, he removed the old film and placed a new roll in the camera. Once the film was loaded, Kai closed the back of the camera and stuck the spoon back in his melting yogurt. Gazing through the viewfinder, he searched for a subject.

The crowds of Ventura were relatively light. Early happy hour goers wandered into the bars and restaurants, the bookstore was changing shifts, the farmer’s market was closing shop for the day, and traffic swelled. Kai found a dog crapping on a 2’ x 2’ square piece of grass. It wasn't the best subject, but considering how his day had gone, it felt appropriate.

“You can give it to your dad as a gift,” Akuma suggested.

Kai chuckled and stabbed the release button. The demon tended to sit with his back against the wall, well out of sight of the crowds. Every now and then, Kai would hand him a fully loaded spoon, which Akuma would stick into his black body. When Kai got the spoon back, it was empty and the plastic was frozen. He turned back to the boulevard.

A limo stopped at a red light, and he wondered if it was a celebrity. CBS Studio lot wasn’t far away and celebrity spottings weren't unheard of in this neighborhood. Kai had seen four out of five members of the most popular boy band drink until they threw up on the outside patio of the restaurant across the street two weeks ago. Thinking of boy bands made Kai, once again, think of Link.

“Link could be in a boy band,” he said.

“Probably, but would you be attracted to him if he was?” Akuma asked.

The demon had a point. Eating his frozen yogurt, Kai wondered what he was going to do about Link.

“What do I know about dating guys?” he wondered, and then realized he was considering dating a guy.

Akuma shrugged and stood up, taking in the view beside Kai. Kai hissed and glanced around, but there was nobody watching.

“Nobody is watching,” Akuma reiterated.

“That doesn’t mean you should make this a habit,” Kai snapped. “What if someone sees you?”

“They will make an excuse for it,” Akuma said. “Like your parents do. Humans are very fond of making excuses.”

Then Akuma dipped one claw into the frozen yogurt. A little mound of yogurt disappeared into the shadow with a sizzle. There was no regret from the demon whatsoever. He settled back down below the wall and looked up at Kai with a grin.

Kai rolled his eyes but didn't rebuke him again. He was too tired to argue with Akuma. Instead, Kai took out his phone and Googled ‘how to date a boy when you’re a boy.’ Google would understand. At least, Kai hoped so.

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