Call of Night

by Emily Goodwin

  He’s not the man I saw with glowing eyes, that’s for fucking sure.

  “What the hell?” I hold out my hand, creating a shield of energy to keep him from advancing toward me any more. The guy runs toward it, eyes clouding over. He crashes against the wall of energy and then staggers back, tripping over his own feet. He falls hard against the ground, head whacking the pavement. He doesn’t get up and come at me again. Instead, his body starts to shudder, and black ooze drips from his mouth, collecting in a puddle on the ground that then starts to boil, billowing up as steam. It moves like a dark cloud, slipping through the air vents of the building next door.

  “What the hell?” I repeat, staring at the man on the ground. The black veins on his face start to fade, and I shake myself. I rush forward and drop to my knees, putting my fingers to the man’s neck. The bad feeling is back, and I don’t need to feel the lack of pulse to know this guy is already dead.

  Goosebumps break out over my skin, and I’m overtaken with the urge to run far, far away. I stand up, breathing fast, and back away from the body.

  Holy shit.

  Eyes on the body, I blindly bring my hand up and into my purse with the intention of getting my phone to call the police. My fingers brush over the feather, and something other than fear floods through my veins. I look at the air vent on the side of the building and then back at the body. Whatever was in him—whatever killed him—is loose and hiding inside the building.

  I need to find it and kill it.

  I run my fingers over the spine of the feather once more and then bring my hand out in front of me, telekinetically ripping the vent from the brick. I hike the strap of my purse up over my shoulder and conjure an energy ball, gently tossing it into the air vent. It feeds directly into the building, and I climb through, dress bunching up around my waist as I drop down several feet.

  I splay my fingers and the energy ball spreads out, lighting up the room. I’m in an abandoned laundry mat, and half the washers are hanging open. Dust covers the old green tile floor, and the place smells like mold and dirty clothes.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I whisper to the darkness. Something rustles through a tangle of long-discarded clothing several yards ahead of me. “Gotcha.”

  I throw the energy ball, and a rat the size of a small cat goes sprinting away. Dammit.

  “Sorry, Mrs. Rat. I hope you didn’t have giant babies in there.” I conjure another energy ball and walk through the laundry room and into a hall. It splits three ways, and I pause, looking up and down each way. “Where are you, fucker?” I let my eyes fall shut, listening for any sort of call to let me know to go.

  But instead of some sort of intuition guiding me, my phone rings. I scramble to silence it. It’s Kristy, and she’s probably wondering where the hell I am. I answer at the last second, knowing she’ll keep calling if I don’t answer.

  “Hey,” I whisper. “I can’t talk right now.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In an abandoned building. Long story. Also, there’s a dead body in the alley behind the bar.”

  “What? Did you take something?”

  “No, but I did have a hot dog.”

  Kristy sputters something I can’t make out. “Where are you?”

  I inch forward, directing the energy ball to move a few feet ahead of me. “The building next to the bar. I got in through an air vent.” Suddenly the floor creaks in front of me, and it’s like all the air got sucked out of the room. I can’t breathe, and my body starts to go cold.

  The sound of horse hooves on pavement echoes around me, and my stomach painfully twists. I pitch forward, phone clattering to the ground, bracing myself from the pain. Gritting my teeth, I press my hands over my knees and force myself up. Something is coming closer and closer, and the sound of hooves turns into a low growl.

  “Oh shit.” I look up just in time to see a huge dog-like creature with yellow eyes lunging at me. I throw my hand up and magically throw the thing into the wall. It snarls, pulling its lips back over its fangs, and gets up, shaking its head.

  It comes at me again, and I thrust my hand forward once more. The dog-creature is shoved back, but it’s like I’m moving something incredibly heavy and it takes great effort just to throw the thing away from myself. Pain hits my stomach again, like someone shoved a knife, hot out of the fire, into my gut.

  Another creature comes down the hall, growling. I plant my feet on the ground and hold out my other hand, ready to take them both on. The creature I’d just thrown into the wall gets up again, but doesn’t advance. It stands perfectly still, yellow eyes locking with mine.

  It looks like a Mastiff, but instead of sleek fur, it’s covered in coarse skin and wiry hairs, much like an elephant. It opens its mouth, revealing teeth three times as long as normal dogs’. Stringy saliva drips from its mouth.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I warn, giving it another shove. It’s hard to hold the shield with this pain in my stomach, and I’m trying hard not to break my concentration and look down at myself, because now it feels like warm blood is dripping from an open wound in my abdomen.

  The first dog-creature lets out a high-pitched whine and turns, running away from me.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  And then the other starts sprinting toward me. The creatures jump into the air at the same time, crashing into each other. A puff of that oozy, black smoke clouds around them, and the bigger of the two lands on the ground first, with its teeth clamped around the other’s neck.

  It’s not killing it, but absorbing it. The two merge together as one, doubling in size.

  “The fuck?” My heart speeds up and I send a final shockwave of energy forward, throwing the creature back.

  And then I turn and run as fast as I can down the hall.

  Chapter 12

  I skid to a stop, throwing my hands out to keep my balance. Pressing my back up against the wall, I let out my breath and look down the hall behind me.

  What the fuck just happened?

  Two demonic dogs just merged into one bigger demonic dog.

  Holy shit.

  I bring my hand to my chest, feeling my heart racing. Calm down. I need to calm down. It’s pitch black all around me, and the air is still and stale. I need to conjure an energy ball so I can see what’s around me, but it’ll be a dead giveaway to where I am, though I’m sure that thing can sense me somehow, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it can see in the dark. Dogs can. Demons can.

  Demonic dogs certainly can.

  Holy shit.

  The world spins around me a bit, reminding me that I’m not one hundred percent sober yet. I’d say I’m never drinking again, but if I make it through the night, I’m going to need a big glass of wine.

  I plant both hands against the wall and take in a steadying breath. Pressing my lips together, I lean forward and listen. The dog-creature is here somewhere, lurking and waiting.

  And so is the black ooze.

  Wait a minute…if the dog-creature is a demon, why hasn’t it attacked anyone? There’s a freaking bar right next door, pretty much offering up drunks like Happy Meals. As far as I know, there haven’t been any reports of people mysteriously missing in this area, and no carnage has been found.

  If the creature isn’t holing up in this building, using it as hunting grounds then…fuck. It’s protecting something, and I’ve stumbled upon something that doesn’t want to be found.

  But it’s all good, right? Two birds and one stone and all. I’ll kill that huge, demonic dog and then go after whatever it’s protecting. It can’t be anything serious.

  Hah.

  The Game of Thrones theme song sounds through the building, scaring me half to death. Right. I dropped my phone, and I’m sure Kristy is calling me back, wondering what the hell I was talking about. Dammit. If she comes out to investigate, she’ll be walking right into a trap.

  Kristy is a strong, smart witch, but doesn’t have the same powers I do. Naomi and Nicole
can manipulate energy and might stand a chance…if they weren’t drunk.

  “Shit,” I whisper. Inhaling deep, I push off the wall and conjure strings of magic around my hands. They glow a brilliant blue, lighting up the hall like it’s motherfucking Christmas. “Come and get me, asshole!”

  I move down the hall, not sure where I’m going. I have no plan other than trying my best not to die. Though, if I can not die and get to my phone, I can tall Kristy and tell her to stay away.

  “Look,” I start and slowly move my fingers, twisting the strings of magic around them. “I don’t know what you’re guarding, but I’m sure we can work something out. But let’s talk first, okay?”

  My heels click against the dirty tile. I’m getting close to the entrance to the laundromat again, and that same weird feeling starts to sink heavily in my stomach.

  “Are you shy?” I flick my wrist and send little balls of magic floating into the air in front of me, lighting my way. “There’s no need to be shy. I won’t bite.” I stop and look around. “I’ll just blow you up with magic as soon as I get the chance,” I add under my breath. “Where the fuck did you go?”

  I only ripped an air vent off the building. Please don’t tell me the pony-sized demon dog didn’t somehow squeeze through. My phone rings again, and I freeze, moving up against the wall.

  The floor creaks and a deep growl echoes through the hall. I hold my breath and put out the magic I’m holding at my fingertips. Shadows move across the hall, and the huge demonic dog growls as it walks. Ready for an attack, I peer around the corner and watch the thing sniff my phone.

  It plants a giant paw on it, growling in frustration when the phone keeps ringing. If only there were a way to record this, I could get a lot of money from the phone case company for an advertisement. Keeps your phone safe against accidentally dropping it, a quick plunge into water, and colossal demon dogs.

  What is that thing? And more importantly, how do I kill it?

  I could conjure the biggest energy ball I can and throw it at the creature. Even if it doesn’t kill it, that thing will be seriously injured. There’s always the option of trying to telekinetically snap its neck, but it’s already proven difficult to move it with my mind.

  The phone stops ringing, and the creature growls, thick drool hanging off its mouth. It crouches down, sniffing my phone and then turns, looking down the hall. I flatten myself against the wall at the last second, but it already picked up my scent.

  Okay…I can do this…I have to do this.

  I hold my hands out in front of me, bringing strings of magic together to form an energy ball. The second the magic sparks around me, the creature snarls and takes off down the hall toward me. I jump away from the wall, holding the energy ball out in front of me and continue to feed it more and more magic. It’s blindingly bright, swirling with bits of white and blue magic.

  It’s barreling toward me, gaining speed, and I hold tight to the energy ball, not releasing it until the creature is only a few yards from me. It hits the thing in the shoulder, burning its flesh. The creature lets out a high-pitched screech of pain. Its front feet fold underneath itself and it tumbles down, rolling across the floor.

  It springs up, shaking its head as if it’s trying to get the last bits of magic off its skin. The magic burns it like acid, and the putrid smell of burning skin and hair fills the air. The creature pushes back up to its feet and I’ve already got another energy ball ready for it.

  It looks at me with more intelligence than a dog, eyes shifting from my face to the energy ball in my hand. Thick, black blood drips from the wound on its shoulder. It’s not turning into smoke like the ooze that came out of the body, but it looks similar.

  I raise my hand, aiming the energy ball right at the creature’s head. With a snarl, it sprints forward, moving so fast I’m not able to get a clear shot. I throw the energy ball and miss. It hits the wall behind the creature, sizzling before going out. I dodge out of the way, and one foot lands on a piece of cardboard or something on the tile. I slip and go crashing down. Scrambling back, I throw another energy ball at the creature, knowing I’m a sitting duck down here on the floor.

  The creature lifts its head and lets out a harrowing roar and then takes off. My breath leaves me in a huff and my heart is racing so fast it’s pulsing through my ears. I stare at the spot where the creature stood, blinking.

  Right. It knows I can hurt it, and if I can hurt it, I can kill it.

  It’s not here to hunt or find prey. It’s here to guard something, and that’s where it’s going now. To protect whatever the hell is in this building. I reach up and grab onto a doorknob, pulling myself up. I’m at the back of the building again and have a lot of space to cover before I can find that thing again.

  I wipe dust and dirt off my hands and push my hair back behind my ears. Black drips of blood lead a trail down the hall, going in the opposite direction of my phone. I bite my lip, giving myself only a second to decide what to do.

  I can double back and still track the creature. I need to warn my friends to get the hell out of here and then come back with a supercharged vanquishing potion. Wincing every time my stupid heels click on the floor, I move as fast as I can in this getup. I’m close to my phone when it rings again.

  “Shit!” I rush forward, holding out my hand to telekinetically bring my phone to me. It’s Kristy again, and I silence the call as fast as I can. There’s demonic dog drool on the screen, making my phone unable to register my finger. I quickly wipe the phone off on my dress and then answer Kristy’s call.

  “The fuck, Callie!” she spits. “Where the hell are you?”

  “I told you, I’m in the building next to the bar. Are you still at the bar?” I take a few quiet steps down the hall.

  “We’re out front, looking for you. Callie, there isn’t a building next to the bar. It’s all torn down and it’s just a foundation and mess of broken boards. There’s nothing there.”

  I come to dead stop. “Yes, there is. I’m there right now.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I swear to you. It’s next to the bar in the alley and—oh my God.”

  “What? You’re freaking me out, Cal!”

  “The vibrations.” I put my hand on the wall and close my eyes. “I knew something felt weird, but I didn’t think it could be this.”

  “Be what?”

  “It’s a glamour. Kristy, this place has been hidden from human sight.” I pull my phone away from my ear and drop a pin in my location and then send it to Kristy. “There’s an alley behind the bar and the building is right across from it, I promise.”

  I can hear Nicole’s voice through the phone but can’t make out what she’s saying. A few seconds pass and it sounds like Kristy is running.

  “I’m in the alley,” she tells me. “And you’re right. It feels…weird back here. Hang on.” Rustling comes through the phone and then I hear my friends chanting. “Light of the sun, dark of the night, reveal the truth before my sight.”

  “Seven devils,” Kristy says and then it sounds like she drops the phone on the ground.

  “Are you there?” I whisper, inching down the hall again. “Do you see it?”

  “Yes.” Her voice is shaky. “How did you see it? That doesn’t matter now…you need to get out of there. Eliza is saying she can smell blood.”

  “Is it human?”

  “What other kind of blood would it be?”

  “There’s something here, Kristy. Something demonic.”

  “Then you really need to get out of there, Callie.”

  My heart is still racing, and I know she’s right. I’m not prepared, and my feet are really starting to hurt. “Okay. I’ll meet you in the alley. I came in through the air vent. I’ll come back out the same way.”

  “I see it. Hurry.”

  “I will.” I end the call and put the phone back in my purse. It’s a “going out” purse and is little and pretty, not holding much more than my ID, credit card, phone, and lipst
ick. It matched my dress much better than my usual bag, which is three times the size and always has minimal magical supplies in it.

  This is the last time I choose fashion over function, I swear.

  The entire building is silent as I hurry down the hall and back into the laundromat section. I push open the double doors and look around the room before stepping in. I rub my thumb over my fingers, sparking strings of magic.

  I can see light coming through the open air vent, and my friends’ voices floating in from the alley. I let out a breath of relief and rush across the laundromat, dropping my guard since I’m so close to getting the hell out of here.

  I dropped several feet coming in through the air vent and am going to need something to climb on to get out. This room is full of crap. I’m sure I can find something. I stop several feet before I get to the air vent and grab an old laundry basket.

  “Callie?” Kristy’s voice comes from the alley. “Is that you?”

  “Yeah. I’m trying to find something to climb on so I can get out.”

  “Fucking witches,” Eliza huffs and zooms through the vent. “I’m only giving you a boost up so we can get the fuck out of here. Galivanting through a dirty old building might be your idea of fun, but it isn’t mine.”

  “Trust me, it’s not my idea of fun either.”

  “Could have fooled me.” She holds out her hand to help me out the vent. “You seem to gravitate toward this sort of thing.”

  “It’s more like it gravitates toward me.” I take my purse off my shoulder and toss it out the vent and into the alley. Kristy grabs it and I put my hand on the vent, waiting for Eliza to pick me up and help me out the window.

  “Try not to enjoy this.” Eliza puts her hands on my waist. Right as she’s about to lift me up, she stops and spins around. “What the fuck is that?”