“Hmm,” said Lola. She moved from behind me as she stared a hole into Wolf’s bare chest.
“Could you cover your little bird chest, so we can get this over with?” I asked.
It wasn’t a little bird chest. Not unless a bird has a smooth, chiseled chest that made you want to—
Peter chuckled. “She’s immune to your charms.”
Wolf backed into the hallway and disappeared for a minute. I sat in one of the oversized chairs while Lola took the other. He returned in a light gray t-shirt. He might have been handsome. Maybe. Dark hair, dark eyes, muscular. If you liked that kind of thing. I glanced at Lola as she stared at Wolf. She definitely liked that kind of thing.
“My apologies,” he bowed. He sat down next to Peter.
“What can you tell me about Rose?” I asked. I opened my notebook and found a blank page.
Wolf leaned back. “She was nice. Sometimes too nice. And naive. I think she always wanted to believe in the goodness of people.”
“That’s not a terrible thing,” said Lola.
“Most people aren’t good. Not here anyway,” I added.
“Exactly. I told her she needed to be careful,” he said.
“Did you see her the day she went missing?” I asked.
“Yeah. She left after her second class. I saw her and Paige talking, but I don’t know where she was going,” he answered.
“Did you know about her boyfriend?” I inquired.
“What boyfriend?” he asked.
“You’re lying,” I accused.
“What are you some kind of witch lie detector? You cast a spell on me?” he smirked.
“No. Paige told me about him,” I answered.
“Oh. Never known Paige to break so easily,” he remarked.
“What do you know about him?” I asked. “And don’t say nothing.”
Peter chuckled again before he stuffed another blood-soaked fry in his mouth.
“Not much,” Wolf smiled. “I never met him. None of us have. She kept him a secret.”
“Didn’t you try following them once?” asked Peter. He was so engrossed with his fries he didn’t notice the annoyed look Wolf shot at him.
“Yeah once,” Wolf sighed.
“What did you see?” I asked.
He sighed again. “Not much. I could only follow them up to a certain point and then it was like they disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” asked Lola.
“Describe it,” I said.
“I followed them downtown for a couple of blocks and then this mist or fog came, and I couldn’t see anything. I turned around and went back, and it cleared. Then I tried going back down the street and I got a little further but then the fog came back, and I had to turn around again.”
“He knew you were following him,” I said.
“You think?” Lola turned to me confused.
“It’s magic. It stops you from being followed. He must have noticed you and activated the spell. Whenever you got too close to him the fog appeared to stop you, so he could get away,” I explained.
“Oh,” said Lola.
“That sounds cool,” giggled Peter.
“Did you see him? Even for a second?” I asked.
“Kind of. It was only from behind,” answered Wolf.
“What did you see?” I asked.
“Just... he had dark hair. Black, I think. He was tall and slim. That’s it. He was covered so I couldn’t see any scars or tattoos or anything,” said Wolf.
“Okay.” I wrote what he said in my notebook before closing it.
“What do you think happened to her?” asked Wolf as he leaned forward. Surprisingly his sapphire eyes were full of concern. I don’t know why I was surprised. I mean he was her friend, of course she would mean something to him.
An orb disappeared, and the room grew darker.
“Can’t say just yet,” I said. I stood up and made my way to the door. The remaining orbs followed me as did Lola.
She closed the door behind her. “He’s so hot,” she said as she fanned her face.
“Why?” I asked. “Is it because he’s broodingly handsome with dark eyes, chiseled features, and the bad boy attitude?”
“Yeah,” said Lola as we got into the elevator. “All of that.”
“Please. He’s the cliché of his entire species,” I scoffed.
“He’s still hot,” chuckled Lola.
I shook my head and laughed. He was okay.
We wanted to stop for lunch before heading back to the office. A restaurant down the block catered to vampires. We walked right by it. There were a place tourists from other islands loved, where dragons cooked the meat right on your table. We walked by that too. Even though the line reached out to the street, the thought of someone literally blowing their hot breath all over my food didn’t sit well with my stomach. Lola spotted a sandwich shop across the street. We ran to cross it and passed another teddy bear walking a dog.
“Okay. What is it with the bears?” asked Lola.
I laughed. We entered the shop and found a booth next to the window. The shop was small with a few booths and fewer customers. The deep purple and black booth cushions popped against the white walls and the black and white checkered floor. A lilac haired waitress came and took our order. No mystery meat. A pork belly sandwich for Lola and seafood potato soup for me.
“Now back to the bears,” said Lola once the waitress walked away.
“They’re bewitched,” I answered.
The waitress came back with our drinks. When she left Lola asked. “Bewitched how?”
“It’s a spell. The teddy bears are basically brought to life for certain children.”
“Certain children?”
“They are usually prescribed by a doctor,” I said.
“Why?”
Amy, the waitress, returned with our food. The soup was delicious, better than I thought it would be. Lola took a bite of her sandwich and closed her eyes.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Not long,” she said. Lola rolled up the sleeves of her jacket and rested her elbows on the table. She had another scar on her right arm. Long and jagged.
“How long is not long?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve been here off and on for years. I just need a place to sleep in between gigs and Crystal Lake seemed as good of a place as any.”
“Oh okay. For children who have just lost a parent or for the ones without siblings, or have been through some traumatic experience, doctors prescribe these bears. They walk and talk. They are there to be a companion to the child and help them through a tough time,” I explained.
“That’s strange and sweet,” remarked Lola.
“Yeah. You see them everywhere now. I’ve seen a lot downtown,” I said.
We finished our lunch. I needed to talk to Syn, a friend of Rose’s who still hadn’t returned my calls. Lola had something she had to do so she dropped me off and said she would stop in later.
I stepped into my office and sat at my desk. I called Syn again and left a message for the fourth time. I might have to do a spell to locate him. Only as a last resort.
Chapter 6
Glimpse of a Fallen Soldier
I spent my afternoon and early evening, going over notes and researching spells. Lola came back late with a bandaged hand and refused to answer any questions about it. We talked about the case for an hour before I sent her to bed to get some rest.
I gave her my opinion, and she completely agreed after I reminded her what Wolf said when I interviewed him. The mystery boyfriend wanted to be kept a secret. It wasn’t that Rose didn’t want to talk about him. The spell he conjured up so he wouldn’t be followed, told me he didn’t want to be seen with Rose. Why is that? A few reasons came to me but only one stood out. He didn’t want anyone to see him with her because he knew he was going to kidnap her. Maybe he became her boyfriend, so she would trust him and come with him willingly. Or maybe she was under a spell.
&nb
sp; How do you look for someone without knowing what they look like? I made a list of things to try in the morning and closed shop.
Instead of going to bed, I left the building. The midnight air was cool and crisp, and the street was bare. I sat on the stone steps that led to the front door and listened to the familiar sounds of the neighborhood. A bar down the street housed the usual rowdy patrons with loud music and laughter. A firebird flew right above me. Its gold body and multicolored feathers glowed in the night sky like a burning star.
The strangest of people always came out at night. I noticed that a long time ago and they were just as fascinating as the people I saw during the day. My vampire neighbor was someone I had only seen at night. Either entering or leaving the building and he was usually carrying a vat of blood and a book. He descended the stairs in a black hoodie and black jeans.
“Why are you up so late?” he asked. He stopped two steps below me.
“Thinking,” I answered. “You?”
“It’s not late for me,” he replied.
“Oh, yeah that’s right. What are you reading tonight?”
He closed the book and handed it to me. On the Wings of Love.
“Really?”
“It’s not bad,” he answered.
“If you say so. Not really a romance novel kind of girl,” I said as I handed the book back.
“Why?”
“The whole love at first sight thing never made sense to me,” I answered.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” he asked.
“Just doesn’t work for me. It takes me at least a year to figure out if I like someone. And in the book, it’s always some obscenely handsome older rich guy falling in love with a naive young girl. A girl so naive she’s willing to overlook his controlling and stalker tendencies. And they both live happily ever after. It’s just not realistic,” I explained.
“You don’t believe in—”
“A happily ever after,” I interrupted. “No, I don’t.”
“That’s sad,” he said as he pulled up his hood. “I hope you find your happily ever after with an obscenely handsome man, preferably rich and not controlling in the slightest.”
“I’ll let you know if that ever happens,” I replied as he walked away.
I forgot to ask him his name. We’ve had our exchanges, but we’ve never introduced ourselves. Maybe next time. I continued watching the street. Merna, the neighborhood banshee gave me a wave as she headed towards the bar. Her long black hair swayed in the wind. Merna had only been on the island for a couple of years although she still dressed as if she were from Malius. Long black and green dress with bustle and corset.
A cool breeze carried with it a low hum.
“Hello?” I looked around. “Hello?”
The humming stopped. I listened. The wind kicked up again. I waited.
“Listening for me?” asked a voice behind me.
“I thought that was you,” I answered.
Vaughn sat next to me on the top step. “How have you been?”
“Not bad. You?” I asked.
He chuckled.
Vaughn was the neighborhood’s friendliest ghost. He wasn’t the only one I’ve seen around the neighborhood, but he was the only one that didn’t scare me.
As he sat next to me, I noticed I couldn’t see through him this time. He always wore the same thing. Armor, a sword on his hip and his helmet in his right hand. He was old when he died. Evident by the deep creases around his eyes and mouth. His white beard was braided and rested in his lap, but I was never sure if it was white from him being a ghost or his old age.
“Emerald stars will be here soon,” he said in a deep throaty voice.
I looked up at the sky. “Oh yeah. I had forgotten about those. They come out once every thirty years, right?” I asked.
“They do,” he answered.
“How many times have you seen them?” I asked.
He chuckled again.
“Come on,” I pleaded. He always refused to tell me his age or how long he had been haunting this place.
Vaughn stared at the moon and sighed. I opened my mouth to say something, but when he sighed again, I decided against it.
“I died on the battlefield during the Battle of Shadows,” he said.
I had learned about the battle in school. I vaguely remembered it. After the veil had been closed to everyone from the darkness island, there was an uprising. The Blood Queen led it. She wanted to take over and reopen the veil. There were many battles, but the most significant was the Battle of Shadows. It was darkness versus light essentially. The part that always stood out to me was how the dragons fought.
Calia was a famous water dragon from the island of Tarau. She was white and light blue and known to be very beautiful in her human form. Inon was on the side of darkness. He was black with scales so red they glowed like embers. By the time the battle happened, the Army of Darkness was already weak. Calia fought Inon and sacrificed herself when she cast a final spell, wrapped herself around him, and self-destructed. This act severely weakened the army. The “good” side won in the end.
“What side were you on?” I asked.
“The right side,” he answered as he stared at the moon.
“I’m guessing both sides thought they were right, just for different reasons,” I stated.
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right. I was fighting for the side of Light.”
“Oh,” I said. “Do you regret your death?”
Vaughn’s head turned abruptly. “What do you mean?”
“When you think back, do you think you did the right thing? Do you regret having died for the cause?” I asked.
“I have no regrets,” he said without thinking. “Not at all. I died defending my family and friends. Doing what was right. There’s no greater honor for a soldier.” He smiled. But behind his smiling eyes there was a sadness. I think he believed what he was saying but maybe he missed his family.
“What happened?” I asked.
He stared at me for a second before he raised an eyebrow. “The battle?”
“You’re like a wispy history book. Tell me anything you can remember about that day. Do you know who killed you?” I asked.
“Well,” he sighed. “I didn’t die during the battle but after. I had some bad injuries and couldn’t be saved. The battle, it’s a blur really. Everything now seemed to have happened so fast but at the time it seemed to drag on. I remember Calia blowing up the dragon and herself and then chaos ensued. She gave us a fighting chance.”
“How? Was their Dragon really that powerful?” I asked.
“Inon? He was powerful, but her spell immobilized him. Just long enough for her to wrap around him. But there were powerful creatures around him that got caught in the blast. That’s what gave us a chance. We attacked as soon as the smoke cleared. There was a monster. Disgusting thing. Sagging skin, long claws, as tall as any of these buildings and he liked to eat and torture children. I fought him,” he said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“We both won in away. I cut off his head and the injuries he gave me are what killed me in the end. We were on Haven next to a castle. Mat and Kinon were twins; one was a warlock, the other fire elemental. I can never remember which is which. They came up and told me something about the monster while Mat was trying to treat my wounds.”
“Kinon said, ‘This monster is so old it predates the castle built next to the forest. No name is written for there is so much power in his name to say it is to summon him. It is very dangerous and manipulating. He is the king of tricks and promises things he has no intention of delivering on. Beheading him will do nothing but weaken it. He will not die.’”
“What did you do with him?” I asked.
“We buried the head. I’m not sure what was done with the body. Matt couldn’t heal me. I died shortly after the battle ended. My wife died during the battle. They brought me her body, so I could see her one last time. My Belle,” he choked. A tear slid dow
n his cheek.
“I’m sorry. Did you have any children?” I asked. Maybe there was someone around to carry on his legacy.
“No. No. Belle couldn’t have any. She was a slave from Niarus. Her master took away her ability to have children. It was just us. She loved them, though. She would bake all kinds of things for the children that lived around us. She was the nicest person I had ever known and the strongest.”
I wanted to pat him on the shoulder or something reassuring, but I was afraid my hand would go right through him.
“We lived around here. Times have changed so much though nothing looks the same,” he sighed.
“Did you come back here for her?” I asked.
“Yes. I thought if she would go anywhere it would be here, where we had so many happy times,” he said with a smile. “But I haven’t seen her yet. In all these years.”
“That’s so... sad,” I sighed.
He chuckled again. “That’s life, my dear.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” I said.
“Speaking of life, why are you out here so late?” he asked.
“Working on a case. Not getting anywhere. I just needed some fresh air I guess,” I answered.
“What’s the case?”
I told him about Rose being missing and her boyfriend and what I learned from her friends.
“That’s strange,” he said. “I’ll ask around.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. Who would he ask?
“I’ll ask the other ghost. See if they’ve seen or heard of anyone named Rose Stone. If she is dead, she may be a new ghost around town,” he offered.
“Oh! Okay, thank you,” I said. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.
“You should go get some rest. I have some roaming to do,” he said as he slowly disappeared.
I went back inside the building and up to my apartment. My bed was calling me, but I slumped on to the sofa. I cleared my schedule for Sunday because of my biweekly family dinner. I could still work and make it, but I needed the whole day to prepare myself. I love my family, but I’ve learned you can love someone and not like them at the same time.
Chapter 7
Witch Hunt Page 6
