by Chris Cannon
“No,” I said. “You don’t.”
“Thank you. When you get older you’ll realize grown-ups mostly pretend they know what’s going on and how to handle everything. It’s nice not to have to pretend around you anymore.”
We sat in the visitor’s chairs and pulled the tray table over. My dad opened the box and then frowned. “I didn’t remember to bring forks.”
“Irresponsible grown-up,” I teased. “I’ll go ask for something at the nurse’s station. Next year we should bring cupcakes.”
My dad nodded.
I headed back up to the front. I could have gone straight to the cafeteria, but I knew from experience that wasn’t a happy place. Maybe the nurse’s station would have what we needed. Before I made it to the desk, an orderly came down the hall toward me pushing a cart.
“Excuse me.” I stepped into his line of sight.
His eyes narrowed. “Get the hell away from me. I already paid this month.”
I froze as a wave or resentment rolled over me. The only thing that came out of my mouth was, “Forks?”
“What?” Now he looked confused.
“I’m here visiting my mom.” I pointed back toward her room.
“Oh.” He visibly relaxed, releasing the death grip he’d had on the cart. “I thought…I mean I heard about your new job.”
“Which I didn’t sign up for.” I wanted to make that perfectly clear. Maybe people would resent me less. “I signed on to clean Carol’s house for the summer. She lost to Bane and now he has my contract.”
“Better than the contract he has on me.” He attempted a laugh but it came out more like a wheeze. “What did you need for your mom?”
“Forks for her birthday cake? You can stop by for some cake if you want. It’s not like my mom will be eating any.” Ugh. Why did I say that?
“I’ve got sporks.” He reached into his cart and then held out two spoon/fork hybrids.
“Those will work.” I gave a tight smile. “Thank you.”
“Sorry I yelled.” He straightened up a container of straws. “I think that’s one of the side effects of selling off pieces of your soul. You get angry quicker.”
I nodded and headed back to my birthday party from hell. When I reached the doorway, my dad was holding my mom’s hand and talking to her in a voice too quiet for me to hear. I noticed the scar on my mom’s forearm. It was shaped like the bird on the locket Carol had given me. Strange coincidence, or did that mean something?
…
Jake
The movie I’d been pretending to watch with Aunt Zelda ended. Thank God. It had something to do with two women wanting to be queen and all the backstabbing that caused. I didn’t give a crap about royalty, but she liked it so I pretended to be interested.
“Jake, I’m going to sleep.”
“Good night.”
“Set the alarm before you go to bed, please.” She exited the television room and I flipped channels.
“Why didn’t the first queen just chop the other woman’s head off?” Vi asked from inside my head.
“Because then the movie would’ve been over in ten minutes,” I answered in a whisper. Technically I didn’t need to speak out loud to Vi, but I didn’t want to get into the habit of silently talking to my ghostly invader. I’d end up looking like one of those homeless guys who stared off into the distance rocking back and forth. Talking out loud to Vi made me more careful.
My stomach growled. Time to grab some food.
“We liked the pizza,” Vi announced.
“Me, too, but I’m not sure what Aunt Zelda has.”
“You have a body,” she said, “so you could leave and get whatever you want.”
“Food’s not free. You have to pay for it, and I’m not rich.”
“Can’t you get money?” Vi asked.
“No.” Sometimes it was like dealing with an alien who had no idea how the world worked. At least she’d stopped asking for blood.
When I made it downstairs, I found the freezer was full of ice cream and cookie dough. The refrigerator had lunch meat but not much else. Maybe there was something in the deep freeze on the screened-in back porch.
“We could go after the rats in the cellar,” Vi said.
“No rat snacks.” I unlocked the back door and stepped out onto the porch. Before heading for the deep freeze, I flipped on the porch light because dark in the city had nothing on dark at a farmhouse. Without the light you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. With the light, I could see the woman sitting on the porch swing. She was pretty in a pale, goth, dark-haired way. The black leather bustier she wore made her over the top hot. If only she wasn’t sucking on the body of a rat.
“What the hell are you doing?” I blurted out.
She tilted her head at me and removed the rodent from her mouth, licking the blood off her lips. “Sorry. Did you want some?” She held the dead furry creature out toward me.
Vi tried to push me forward. She urged me to reach for the dead rat that dripped blood on the floorboards.
“Knock it off, Vi,” I ground out between my teeth as I shoved my own body backward into the house. I glanced down at the salt line, not sure if it would keep rat eaters out.
The woman laughed. “I’m not here to hurt you, Jake.”
“Why are you here?” If she was a vampire, she couldn’t come into the house. Right?
“I want to make a deal.”
“Hell, no.” I’d seen the poor saps Meena dealt with.
“She’s not a demon,” Vi said.
Like I was going to take her word for it. “What are you?”
“Let me turn my glamour off.” The woman snapped her fingers and grinned. Her smile exposed white fangs.
“You’re a freaking vampire?”
“I am.” She gave a slow, disturbing smile, featuring her twin pointy teeth. “You could be, too.”
“Cougar,” Vi muttered in my head.
“Why would I want to be a vampire?”
“You’re what, seventeen? You could stay this age forever. Never grow old. Think about it.”
“If I’m going to immortalize myself I’d want to work on my abs for a few months first. So no thanks.”
She stood and tossed the rat toward me. “You don’t have to make a decision now. Consider it an open-ended offer.” She walked closer. As she moved the leather corset top she wore shifted back and forth, distracting me. Suddenly she was right in front of me, inhaling deeply. “You smell yummy. I’m Sybil.”
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, Sybil, but it’s not. Get off my aunt’s porch.”
“No need to be rude.” She backed up a step. “I’m calling dibs. We don’t get a lot of new recruits around here. The demons snatch up the most promising candidates.”
That was interesting. “So you can’t turn someone who’s made a deal with Bane?”
“Only a suicidal fool would touch Bane’s property.”
“In general, can someone who made a deal be turned?” I asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just want to keep my options open,” I said.
“Here’s a little free advice. Don’t mess with another supernatural’s property. We don’t share well.”
Speaking of sharing… “Vi, would you like to live with someone who has a taste for blood?”
“Who are you talking to?” Sybil asked.
My body convulsed. I stumbled forward as black smoke poured out of my mouth and headed for Sybil. I coughed and hacked, and my eyes watered as Sybil swiped at the smoke that surrounded her.
“What magic is this?”
“Dark fairy spirits,” I muttered.
The smoked funneled into Sybil’s mouth and nose. She didn’t cough, maybe because vampires didn’t breathe.
Laughter came out of
Sybil’s mouth and then she went very still. Was Sybil talking to Vi?
“Everything okay in there?” I asked.
“We’re bargaining.” Sybil walked over and picked up the rat. “And we’re hungry. See if Zelda has any pizza in the freezer.”
Wait. “Since you two are together, why don’t you go do girl bonding things. Watch chick flicks. Get your nails done. You don’t need me anymore.”
Sybil moved across the room like lightning and stood toe to toe with me. “You’re ours, Jake. Don’t ever forget that.”
Some magical waves of power came off her, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. All I could do was stare. “We know you lust after this body.” She leaned in and pressed her chest against mine. “We could have so much fun together.”
I closed my eyes, ignoring the urge to crush my mouth against hers. She was a vampire. Probably had blood breath. That would be gross. And, as a guy, there were certain places you did not want fangs. My body did not care.
Sybil gave a low, sultry laugh. “You’re right, Vi. It would be better if he came to us of his own free will.”
There was a sudden rush of air. I opened my eyes and Sybil was back on the couch. “Feed us, Jake. Or we’re going after the rest of the rats and leaving their corpses in Meena’s mailbox.”
Okay. Instead of solving my problem I’d created a bigger one. Sure, I’d gotten Vi out of my head…that was the good part. The bad part was she was now in league with a vampire…a very hot vampire. What were the chances that this would end well? I needed to regain control of this situation. How in the hell was I supposed to do that?
My stomach growled. Food. I needed food first, and then a plan. If I fed Vi and her new fangy friend, maybe they’d leave me alone.
I walked over and opened the freezer. A stack of frozen pizzas filled half of the space. There was a post-it note on top. Jake, these are for you. There’s apple pies underneath the cheeseburger sliders and fries. Let me know when I need to restock.
Zelda was great. Funny how a freezer full of food and a note made you feel like someone gave a crap. Maybe pie and pizza would make Vi happy. I grabbed one of each and headed inside. I put the pizza in the oven and set the pie on the counter. I had food. Now I needed a freaking plan.
…
Meena
The next morning, I headed over to Carol’s, hoping I’d find something in one of her books that would help bring my mom out of her coma and help with her bipolar disorder. If Bane could do it with his magic, shouldn’t someone like Carol be able to help, too? Or maybe I should concentrate on helping Jake with Vi.
When I knocked on Carol’s door, she answered in her robe. Forehead crinkled, she said, “Meena? What are you doing here?”
Oh. This was awkward. “Sorry. I wanted to look through your books. Maybe try to figure out more about how this whole magic thing works.”
“Sure.” She stepped back. There were red marks on her neck from where the collar chafed her skin. How long would it take for Bane to get rid of that?
Goblin sat on the couch in human form, dressed in a pair of Scooby Doo pajamas. “Nice pj’s,” I said.
“Thank you. They’re very comfortable.”
Had I walked in on a couple having breakfast? My face heated. “I should have called first. I can go.” I stepped backward toward the door.
Carol’s eyebrows came together and then she laughed. “It’s not like that. We were having a late breakfast. Getting up early doesn’t seem like much of a priority anymore when I can’t leave the house.”
“You can’t leave the house?”
Carol touched the collar. “Technically I could but this might be hard to explain.”
This kept getting more uncomfortable. “Do you think Bane would take it off if you asked?”
“No. He’d probably add spikes.”
That was disturbing. “I’m sorry. I came over to learn more about magic, not pester you with depressing questions.”
“Come into the kitchen and I’ll set you up with some books. I tried a dissolving spell on this collar but it wouldn’t work. Maybe if I teach you some magic, eventually you could help.”
“I’d be happy to try.”
Ten minutes later I was seated at the kitchen table staring at jars of herbs, learning their names and what they were good for. “This isn’t nearly as fun as I thought it might be.”
“Sorry, kiddo. You have to learn the basics first.”
Goblin came in and handed me a mortar and pestle filled with various leaves. “She doesn’t have to know what the plants are to make the spell work.” He opened a blue leather book and pointed at what was written on the page. “With the mixing of these herbs and the pricking of my thumb let the metal heat like candle wax, turn to liquid, melt and run.” And then he handed me a very pointy silver dagger.
I held it at arm’s length. “Um…what’s this for?”
“Magic costs.” Carol plucked the knife from my hand. “That was going to be our next lesson. All magic must be paid for with a sacrifice…like blood.”
“My blood?” I wanted to be clear on this.
“The blood must come from the witch casting the spell and you won’t be trying anything like that for quite some time.”
“But she might be able to help,” Goblin said.
I pointed at myself. “Not a witch.” And I liked my blood right where it was.
Carol set the knife on the table. “Witch is just a term for someone who plays with natural elements, someone who seeks to bend the natural order of things. I like to think of it as Karmic Chemistry because you need some heartfelt intention behind the spell to make it work.”
Okay. So I wouldn’t have to bleed on anything for a while. Good to know. I pointed at the spell written in the book. “Wouldn’t metal heating up burn the crap out of your neck?”
“It should feel like hot candle wax which is better than hot metal. And a mild burn would be worth getting this damn thing off my neck.”
Not that I wanted to question her witchy knowledge, but there had to be a better way. “What if you made the collar free floating so it wouldn’t touch your skin? I know you want to get rid of it, but making it float would give your neck some relief until you could figure out a better solution.”
Carol stared at me for a moment and then she smiled. “Such a simple answer, and I was so caught up in wanting to be rid of this thing that I didn’t think of it.”
My cell rang. Jake’s name flashed across the screen. “I’m guessing you don’t need me for whatever you plan to do next, so I’m going back to the living room.” She didn’t argue that she needed my blood, so I answered the call and headed for the couch. “Hey, Jake. What’s up?”
“I have good news and bad news.”
“Okay.” I sat on the edge of the couch cushion. Was he about to tell me that his mom was back and he was bailing? “Give me the good news first.”
“Vi has found a new home.”
“That’s great.” One major item off my to-do list.
“The bad news is she’s teamed up with a vampire named Sybil.”
I clutched the phone tighter. “Excuse me?”
“Vi moved in with a vampire.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Nope,” Jake said. “And they both like tormenting me.”
Vi with a human body would’ve been trouble. Vi in a vampire body had all sorts of terrible implications. “How bad is it? I mean it’s not like she tried to turn you, right?”
“Sybil asked. I told her I wasn’t interested.”
Good lord. It’s like he was catnip for supernatural females. “At least she took no for an answer.”
“For now,” he said. “So what are you doing? I’d like to get out during the daytime because I’m going to be staying in vampire-free zones at night.”
“Sounds good.” He spoke in a quieter voice. “While you’re there can you ask Carol about vampires? Like what works against them and what’s made up in the movies. I don’t want to worry Aunt Zelda.”
“You have to tell her,” I said.
“I know but I didn’t tell her about Vi so I’m not sure where to start. Can you get me some basic info so I know what I’m dealing with?”
“Sure.”
Well, this was a new complication. Was Jake afraid his aunt would send him packing if he told her? He seemed to like being in Crossroads. Then again, maybe that was wishful thinking on my part.
When I walked back into the kitchen, Carol was wiping her neck with a salve. The collar appeared to be floating an inch above her shoulders.
“It worked?”
“Yes,” Carol said. “Now tell me about Jake and this vampire.”
“How did—”
“Sorry,” Goblin said. “I have feline hearing and a bad habit of eavesdropping.”
“Okay.” I filled them in on what little I knew, including the existence of Vi.
“Why hasn’t he told Zelda?” Carol asked.
“You can’t repeat this, but I think he’s afraid she’ll kick him out. It sounds like his mom has dragged him all over the place, shacking up with different men. Living with Zelda is probably the best situation he’s had in a long time.”
“Zelda would never kick him out.” Carol wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. “This situation is good for both of them.”
“Tell her,” Goblin said.
Carol shot him a look.
“You know I’m right.” Goblin grabbed a bag of salmon-flavored cat treats, opened it, and popped two in his mouth.
I waited.
“Fine. Zelda lost her husband and son in an accident a long time ago. I think she likes having someone else to share the house with again.”
Poor Zelda.
“Jake living here is good for you, too.” Goblin tossed another cat treat in his mouth and gave me a knowing look. “Isn’t it?”
“As long as Sybil doesn’t turn him. Now tell me about the vampires.”
