Keeley Thomson (Book 2): Keelzebub by P.S. Power Page B

duties I think. Things here seem precarious and I fear that the death of one I am to guard would lead to punishment, were I off to play when it took place.”
    Keeley nearly denied that, but instead managed a sharp nod.
    “Good thinking. Very well, please be about that now. I don’t know what Darla wishes to do and secrets might be involved. Probably not, but that’s not my business, or the arrangement we have together.”
    Balthias just stood a little straighter and turned to his right, vanishing without the same flash that Darla always had. Then he wasn’t real, was he? It probably made a difference. Most people wouldn’t have seen anything, even had the creature been visible to them, their minds refusing to see someone disappear like that. If they could see a giant horror movie demon at all.
    Most just couldn’t accept the idea.
    It worked for now. Keeley didn’t need the Lesser Demon to be freaking people out left and right, did she?
    Keeley noticed the car pulling up into the driveway, a small hatch back of some kind, brown and a little boring looking. The guy that got out looked to be fit, maybe her own age, and had dark hair that was slightly wet. Probably coming home from the gym. A light workout prior to game day being traditional from what she’d noticed. Keeley memorized the license plate, because if the boy lived through the night, she might need to frame him the next day.
    Darla didn’t wait for Eve to move, she just pulled up behind the kid, blocking him in, and hopped out of the car rapidly.
    “Excuse me.” Her voice wasn’t overly warm, just normal. Happy, but a little shy sounding for her. Like a real girl talking to a fairly decent looking guy she didn’t know well.
    “Are you on the Wilson High football team?”
    The boy was halfway to the front door already, which was only about ten feet away from the driveway. He didn’t pull into the garage, though the place did have one. It probably just didn’t have room for two cars. The kid stared at Darla and then smiled.
    Keeley was ready for most guys to think Darla was hot. Heck, she’d designed her whole appearance to have that affect on people, so of course, it did. What she wasn’t ready for was the pure lust that came into his eyes. It was beyond creepy or even just like he felt entitled to all the cute girls. It was predatory.
    “Yes, I am. Want my autograph?” He chuckled at least, a superior sounding tone. “Just kidding, can I do something for you?”
    If the next words he would have said, if he’d kept talking instead of making an artful pause, didn’t involve throwing Darla down and raping her, Keeley didn’t know anything about people at all. This guy wasn’t normal.
     He was wrong.
    Evil.
    The real kind of evil that had to be bad for business, if you were a Demon just trying to get by in the word. A true sicko that did things that her kind got blamed for, people not able to think of any reason why such things would happen.
    Darla seemed to be ignoring that part pretty well, smiling at him as if basking in his glory.
    “Oh, good. There’s a party tomorrow night, in Hendrick’s park, after the Homecoming Dance? It’s going to be a really big thing, I mean music, bonfires, food, the works. The police have even signed off on it even, so they won’t be hassling people. Do you think you could tell all your friends though? It’s a big event, going to be in the papers and everything.” She acted casual about it, but the boy started nodding along anyway.
    “Yeah, that sounds good. Are you and your friend going to be there?”
    Keeley took that as her clue to get out of the car and walk over, so that he could see her in the light. She looked decent enough. Pretty even. The guy seemed torn between her and Darla for a minute, which shocked her. She wasn’t even trying to be in Darla’s league at the moment. He wasn’t just being polite about it either, he seemed to have something specific in mind.
    Wonderful.
    Given the vibe