A Friend to the Darkness. Katherine Rathbone

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СКАЧАТЬ smiled, and closed the door behind him, before calling out, “I’m right here.”

      It was a struggle to get changed with one arm, but I was determined, and I managed. I flopped down on my bed and called out breathlessly, “All done!”

      He stuck his head through the door, and smiled. “Sleep well, Katie. I’ll wait out here until your mum gets home, in case you need anything.”

      I was too tired to argue, and drifted off to sleep listening to him moving around the living room. It was comforting knowing he was there.

      “Who the bloody hell are you?” Mum’s voice woke me.

      “Oh, hi, sorry, I’m a friend of Katie’s. I was just waiting to make sure she was ok.” Lucifer sounded diffident. Trust my mum to put the fear of God into the King of Hell. I leapt out of bed and raced to the living room.

      “Hi mum.” I said nervously.

      “Hello Katie.” Her voice was dangerous. “There seems to be a young man in my living room.”

      “Yeah, well, I’m in my pj’s so he didn’t come in my room. He was just waiting for you to make sure I was ok, I promise. We’re not even… I mean… We’re just friends.” I babbled, blushing.

      “Do you have a name?” She demanded of him. His eyes widened briefly and he glanced at me.

      “Oh, sorry.” I interjected. “Mum, this my friend, Lu..ke. Luke, my mum, Mrs. Longwood.”

      Lucifer held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Longwood. Katie has told me a lot about you.”

      “Hmm. Hello, Luke.” Mum shook his hand, eyeing him suspiciously.

      “Listen, Mrs. Longwood, I’m sorry about tonight. We don’t usually go to the park at night, but I really hoped Katie would join us. A friend of ours is very upset. She tried to make them feel better, but accidents happen, I guess.” He looked earnestly at mum.

      I resolved to pay very close attention to everything my friends said from now on. Lucifer hadn’t actually lied to mum, but he had still managed to paint a convincing picture that wasn’t at all true. Mum obviously decided he was sincere, because she nodded at him and said, “Before you go, tell me, Luke. Are you free Saturday night, two weeks from now? Katie’s birthday?” My eyes widened and I tried to catch Lucifer’s eye.

      “Yes, actually I am. Why is that, Mrs. Longwood?”

      “I’m taking Katie out for dinner for her birthday. I thought you might like to join us. And your friends, too.” I felt faint.

      Lucifer smiled, a dazzling, brilliant smile. “That would be lovely, Mrs. Longwood. What time, and where?” My head spun.

      “Six pm, at Paulo’s. How many should I book for?”

      “An extra four, including me. Thank you so much for the invitation, that’s very kind of you.”

      “I’ll see you then, young man.”

      Lucifer nodded at her, and smiled at me. “See you around, Katie. Hope you feel better.”

      “Yeah, see ya, Luke.” He winked at me briefly and let himself out.

      “Explain yourself.” Mum was glaring at me, hands on hips.

      I swallowed hard, and started to spin a tale, based off what Lucifer had said. “Luke called me, our friend Sera had been around to his place and was really upset about breaking up with her boyfriend. She left his place, and he called here to see if she’d come here, he was worried about her. He called a couple of our other friends as well, but she wasn’t there either. We decided to meet at the park and see if we could find her together. She was there, but she ran off. Seth and Sebastian followed her, and I climbed up on that rock wall to see if I could see where she went, but I fell off. I’m sorry mum, it’s just that we were all so worried about her.” I painted a contrite look on my face.

      “Were any of you drinking?” Mum’s voice was accusatory.

      I took a gamble, and sighed uncomfortably. “Sera had had some of her parent’s vodka.” I pretended to admit.

      It was mum’s turn to sigh. “Silly girl.” I nodded shame-facedly. “What about you?” I looked at her wide eyed and said,

      “No, mum. I was just trying to make sure she was safe.”

      “Well, in that case, I suppose the broken arm is punishment enough. Since you were looking out for a friend.”

      I nodded solemnly.

      “Where did you meet these friends of yours? School? And why haven’t I heard of them?”

      Oh shit. Time for more storytelling. “Um, I actually met Sebastian down by the river a few months ago, when I was walking Rufus.” A bit of truth always made a lie stretch further. “He introduced me to the others. They’re really nice, and they go to the High. We catch up after school some times.”

      She nodded thoughtfully. “It’s nice to see you with friends, Katie. I worry about you.”

      I smiled weakly. If she only knew. I went back to bed, and fretted myself to sleep worrying about my very Catholic mother going to dinner with the King of Hell and his Court.

      Six.

      Although mum had said my broken arm was enough punishment, she watched me like a hawk over the next couple of weeks, and I didn’t risk sneaking out or trying to sneak my friends in. The night of my birthday approached, and I was fretting about the dinner. The night before, mum poked her head in my door and asked if I needed anything from the shops.

      “I’m good thanks, mum. Do you want a hand?” Please say no, I thought to myself.

      “No thanks, dear. I’ll be a little while.”

      I listened for her car to pull out of the driveway, then prayed aloud for Seth. I wasn’t too sure what to do, I just hoped he was listening out for me.

      “Ah, Seth? Dear Seth? Lord Seth? I kinda need to talk to you, so if you could come to my room… I uh… yeah…”

      “Hiya, Katie.” Despite myself, I jumped.

      “Hey.” I muttered weakly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d hear me.”

      He smirked. “We all thought you’d probably want to go over some things before dinner tomorrow.”

      “What the fuck was Lucifer thinking?!” I was a little panicked.

      Seth shrugged, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

      “Are you seriously all coming?!”

      He nodded, grinning widely.

      “How will you keep a glamour up for that long? I can’t be sitting at a table with my mum and have all my friends turn into demons.”

      He laughed at me. “Lucifer СКАЧАТЬ