Demons and Magic

CHAPTER 9: The Wrong Person

“So, tell me. When exactly does your dumbass of a human plan to look for Lucifer with me?” Alastair asked as she slammed a can of diet coke in front of Castiel who was only gazing down at her with an impassive look on his face. “I’ve been running around with him for a week now and we still haven’t found anything that might lead us to the effing prince of hell! I can feel Michael breathing down my f*cking neck. If I get sent down to The Pit for this, I’m twisting Nathan into a human pretzel.”

Castiel rolled his eyes at her, something he only does when he’s talking to her, and sighed. “You know what I don’t understand? It’s the fact that you’re getting all mad at me. You looked pretty cozy with him, why don’t you ask him, then?”

“Because he keeps saying ‘later’! Come on, just give me your bloody blessing already so I can kill him and finish this. I’ve been feeling weird lately. Feels like someone’s been watching me.”

“Wait. Are you scared?”

“Scared my foot,” Alastair sneered and scoffed. “I’m not. It’s just that Michael might stuff me in a box if I don’t give him Lucifer by Christmas Eve.”

“Blood moon?” he asked.

“F*cking blood moon,” she sighed.

···

Halfway through lunch with Jackson and his girlfriend, Chuck, followed closely by Warren who had both hands stuffed deep inside his jeans, approached Nathan and Alastair with a serious expression.

“Look,” he started, catching all of their attention but Alastair’s, “I know I can’t count on Alastair on anything especially now that she already has a track record for being an airhead, but I trust you would not do the same, Nathan. I don’t know you well but I have high expectations that you’d give me a good first impression. I hope you eating in Satan’s table isn’t a confirmation that you also are one.”

“Kiss my ass,” Alastair rudely interrupts and sticks her tongue out at him.

“Say that again and I swear to God I’m going to stab you with a rusty knife.”

“That again.”

Chuck just raised an antagonizing eyebrow at her and turned to Nathan as he ignored her poor attempt at a joke. “Be at Warren’s at exactly two o’clock. He’s already volunteered to come and get the little imp here later. Surely, you know where his house is?”

Nathan’s eyes wandered for a brief second towards Warren before he nodded, his face reflecting his dislike that they’re in the same class and now, in the same group, too.

“Great. Now, Alastair, where do you live?”

“In your mother’s basement,” Alastair deadpanned and finished her burger.

“You live at the same apartment as Nathan, don’t you?” Warren suddenly said and caught the attention of nearly half of the girls sitting at the other table. “I’m friends with Keiffer. He told me all about you. I’ll get you there at around two in the afternoon.”

“Who’s gonna get Nathan?”

Warren shrugged. “I only have room for one.”

Alastair just shook her head. “Nah. I’ll just go with him, then,” she replied, fishing a key that looks oddly like those of a sports car’s from the pockets of her jeans and tossing it to Nathan.

He just studied the key in his hand with a questioning look. “What’s this?”

“Your grandfather’s dentures,” Alastair retorted with a blank look on her face. “That’s a key, dumbass.”

Chuck just sighed from behind them and left, gesturing for Nathan to take a close look on Alastair to which he completely ignored.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Nathan replied and placed the key on the table between them. “But why are you giving it to me?”

“You can drive me to Barry’s place.”

“I don’t know how to drive. And who the hell is Barry?”

“He is.” She pointed at Warren and scowled at Nathan as though he was the dumb one there. “And you have a license, don’t lie.”

Nathan’s eyebrows simply furrowed. “How did you know?”

“What do I not know?”

He rolled his eyes. “Show off. And besides, I only got that license for driving a bike not some luxury car or some sh*t.”

“A bicycle? I didn’t know you needed a license for a bicycle.”

“It’s a motorbike not a bicycle, you moron.”

Alastair just sneered at him and stabbed the wooden cafeteria table with a bread knife before standing up to probably go and buy another round of cake from the counter.

Walking out of the school and into the huge parking lot where a scattering of cars were parked that were all probably driven by sixteen year old kids with no license, Nathan’s eyes immediately flew to the direction of Alastair who was leaning against a matte black Ferrari 458 Spider.

As soon as she noticed Nathan looking her way though, she just gave him a wink before getting into the driver’s seat. She drove around the parking lot, stopping only in front of Nathan and rolled her window down. “Does your shiny, happy ass need a ride?”

He just clenched his jaw. “Quit calling me stupid nicknames, and no, I don’t need a ride. Besides, how the hell did you even afford buying one of these? Did you steal this one?”

Alastair gave him an all-knowing grin, motioning for him to just get on the passenger seat. “Have you forgotten already? I’m the one who gave you the gold bars. I can create one with just a snap of my fingers.”

“You never left my side. And even if you did, you can only leave for ten minutes. Otherwise you’d be automatically transported back. How the hell—”

“There’s a lot of things you can do with just the right amount of money, Nathan. Now let’s go. I’m getting bored.”

“It’s fine. I can walk,” he said, disgruntled, and walked ahead.

“I never said you were a paraplegic,” Alastair retorted and matched her car’s speed with his pace. “Just get in the car. Quit playing hard to get.”

Nathan scoffed so hard with this that his throat actually hurt and stopped to look at Alastair. “Why are you even following me?”

“Uh … because now I’m your familiar? I thought we already had that laid out? You know, you seriously need to reconsider getting yourself admitted to a mental asylum. Maybe they can treat you there.”

He ran his eyes down the road and laughed mirthlessly again, irritated with everything that seems to come out of Alastair’s mouth. “You know what? This isn’t even my problem. Like I said, how the hell should I know you’d appear out of nowhere? If you want to stay, fine by me. But quit irritating me before I stuff your face down the pavement,” he said and pointed at the road to which Alastair just replied with a sly smile.

“Just get in the car, pretty boy. I wouldn’t want you to get mistaken for a homeless person. I heard the mayor’s been planning to make the local taskforce evacuate them — or at least force them to if they don’t. They might shoot you if you run.”

“Wow,” he said sarcastically. “This place sure is something. Are they trying to clean the city of poor people, too?”

“Well, considering you’re still here, I don’t think that’s the case.”

Nathan stopped midway from turning a corner and met Alastair’s eyes with a serious look, his whole body tense.

“Yeah, I’m poor. But do you really have to go there?”

Alastair just blinked, the expression on her face unchanging, and gave him a confused stare. “Go where?”

He sighed. “You know what, never mind.” He turned his attention back to walking and just shrugged her words off. “And stop following me. It’s not funny.”

“Who said I was following you because I wanted to be funny? I’m following you because I have no choice, you dingbat.”

“You’ve already offended me as it is. Don’t make it worse.”

Alastair nodded. “Okay.” She sneered at him. “But if the guy on your seven o’clock kills you, you can’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

She attempted to drive off (as if she can) but Nathan placed a hand on the window of her car, stopping her, and quickly glanced at the way she pointed.

“Who the hell is that guy?”

She just shrugged and gazed at the man with a monochromatic black outfit through the side view mirror. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”

“He’s been following me around since the first day that you got here. I noticed him at the lobby of school, too.”

Alastair just nodded at his words, unlocking the door. “Get in the car if you don’t want to be the latest headline in tomorrow’s news. I bet people would like it if you were found dead at some ditch or something.”

“And by people, you meant you, right?” he countered, getting inside the car.

Alastair just chuckled at this and drove off, glancing once more at the man who quickly disappeared after noticing that his cover’s been blown.

As soon as they stopped in the driveway of Warren’s huge mansion, Nathan got out of the car and thanked her, his throat dry as the bitter realization that he just thanked the demon who wanted nothing but to reap his soul out of his body sunk in.

“About what I said,” Alastair started as they walked towards the house, her face torn between a bitter scowl and an apologetic gaze, “sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Nathan’s face immediately brightened up at her words and almost couldn’t believe that someone like her is even capable of a proper apology. He just forced back a smile and bit his lip. “Don’t worry about it. It's fine.”

Alastair just nodded at him. “If you see the guy again, just tell me. I think he’s following the wrong person.”