by L.H. Cosway
“Every detail, unfortunately,” he croaked, closing his eyes as though in pain.
“Do you still hurt?” Rita questioned worriedly.
“Not presently, but the memory is there. I’ve been stabbed enough times to know that the pain isn’t something you quickly forget.” He regarded Rita warmly. “That’s twice you’ve healed me now.”
She shrugged. “No biggie. Though you might want to start a tab.”
Finn smiled, and it was so good to see him do that, to see the life in his face. “We’ll see,” he answered her teasingly.
“You going to let go of my hand, petal? You’re cutting the blood off, and I’ve lost enough today as it is,” he said gently.
I quickly released my hold. “Sorry. I’m just still a little in shock.”
“That’s you and me both.”
“I can’t believe I stabbed you,” I breathed, peering down at the scar on his abdomen that was now silver like all the others.
“I can’t believe I almost choked you to death,” he countered, sounding guilty, which was silly. He’d been possessed. It wasn’t like he could have helped it.
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“I know that, but Christ, look at the bruises on your neck.” He reached out and ran his hand along my skin. I closed my eyes for a second and suppressed a shudder. “I hate knowing that the mist can get into me at any time and make me do things like that. Especially to you.” His words were tender.
“That’s why we need to keep hunting them every night until we’ve killed them all,” Rita said, breaking the intense moment between Finn and me.
We sat there for another few minutes, gathering our strength after the ordeal, before going to make sure that Father McGuire and the other people in the church had recovered. Finn and the priest seemed to know each other well. Finn explained to him what happened with Theodore and told him about the chaos that was currently infesting the city. Finn also told him that he’d organise for the DOH to come and remove the body of the man who was killed by the mist.
Surprisingly, the priest didn’t bat an eyelid. It turned out Father McGuire was well-versed in the world of the supernatural and was, in fact, the DOH’s appointed minister.
After we stocked Finn’s car with countless bottles of holy water, we headed home. I was so ready for my bed right then. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
It was dark by the time we parked outside the house, and in my world, darkness meant one major thing—vampires. I could make out the shapes of Ethan and Lucas through the living room blinds. Did they just let themselves into the place, or did Ira answer the door to them?
“You two go on ahead,” Finn said. “I’ll unpack the holy water and carry it in.”
Rita nodded and disappeared inside her RV. I didn’t think it was fair that Finn should have to carry in all the bottles after what he’d been through, so I went to help him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, as I started loading bottles into my arms. We stashed a lot of them in the rucksacks Finn brought, but we ended up buying more than we could fit in those, so the car was filled with loose ones.
“Helping you,” I answered quietly.
He raised a sceptical eyebrow and nodded to the living room window. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to avoid the Prince of Darkness in there?”
“Marcel’s potion still hasn’t worn off, so yes, I am avoiding Ethan.”
Finn stopped collecting bottles and stared at me a moment. Just as I started to get self-conscious, he said, “I went to see Marcel last night. Broke his nose for what he did.”
I gaped at him. “You did?”
“He needed to be told off,” Finn stated simply.
A grin tugged at my lips. “You’re not wrong there.” I paused as I nodded to the living room window. “Any idea what they want?”
Finn shook his head. “Nope. We should probably go in and find out.”
We finished unloading the bottles and headed inside. I buttoned my shirt up over my neck so Ethan wouldn’t see my bruises and start asking questions. I was far too tired to explain what had happened. Finn and I stacked the bottles in the empty cupboard under the sink, then went into the living room. Ethan was standing by the fireplace, while Delilah perched on the arm of a chair and Lucas sat comfortably on the sofa.
“Decided to let yourselves in, did you?” Finn asked in that way he did, sounding both friendly and hostile.
“You need better locks,” Lucas remarked.
Finn bristled at that, probably because breaking and entering was normally his forte. Ethan brought his attention from Finn to me.
“What happened to you?” he asked, taking in our bloodied clothing. So much for putting off the explanation.
“We had a close encounter with Theodore. Nothing big, just him making sure we know he’s got the biggest balls in the playground,” Finn answered.
Ethan’s eyes showed a flicker of concern as he studied me. “Were you hurt?” He took a step closer, sniffed the air, and seemed to relax. “The blood on you is not yours.” The lust potion woke up at Ethan’s proximity. It was much weaker than it was yesterday though, which was a relief.
“The blood is Finn’s,” I said and went to sit down. My muscles ached from my struggle earlier.
“She stabbed me,” Finn added with a big smile, showing his teeth and dropping down onto the couch next to me. “Rita managed to heal the wound, so I’m right as rain.” He leaned close to my ear, allowing his breath to linger on my skin. “Now I’ve got your mark on me,” he whispered. “So, when do I get to put my mark on you?”
I shot Finn a look that said Don’t because he was clearly trying to rile Ethan, whose face hardened as one eyebrow rose.
“Why did you stab him?” Delilah asked curiously.
“I was possessed by the mist,” Finn answered. “And Theodore forced me to attack Tegan. Stabbing me was her only option.”
“One I can’t help approving of,” Ethan muttered under his breath. Finn arched an eyebrow, showing he’d heard.
“Did you notice that anyone’s missing?” Lucas questioned, changing the topic.
I glanced at him. “Rita’s in her RV and you know the others have gone to see Gabriel’s warlock friend.”
“Dru has left us,” Ethan said. “She didn’t want to live in exile anymore, so she’s going to start again in a new city.”
“You let her go?” Finn asked in surprise.
Ethan cut him a sharp look. “Of course I did. I’m not entirely morally bankrupt. I don’t hold people prisoner. If they want to leave, they can leave.”
His eyes landed on me, as though reminding me of the night I left Tribane. He hadn’t wanted me to leave back then, but he hadn’t forced me to stay either when he probably could have.
“So, now you’re just two vamps and one dhamp,” Finn said with a hint of humour. “Things could be worse. Turn that frown upside down. A big fella like you shouldn’t be getting all upset because his friend doesn’t want to play with him anymore.”
He was taunting Ethan. I shot him a warning look that told him not to push it. Ethan was clearly upset and angry at Dru’s departure. There was no sense poking the bear.
“You need to learn when to be silent, slayer,” Ethan said, his voice low and threatening.
“I don’t need to learn anything from you, leech,” Finn retorted, putting the same emphasis on the word ‘leech’ as Ethan did on ‘slayer’.
Both of them despised what the other one stood for, that much was clear. They eyed one another, and the tension was palpable. The moment dragged out, only interrupted when someone noisily opened and shut the front door. Rita sauntered into the room, holding several empty spray bottles in her arms, oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
“Um, am I interrupting something?” she asked.
“No, you’re not,” Delilah announced, rising from her seat. She let her eyes travel between me, Ethan, and Finn. “I think you three should avoid interacting as m
uch as possible. It only ever ends in drama.”
Nobody said anything in response, and a moment of quiet ensued before Rita spoke. “Sooo, I was going to show them how to make the mixture,” Rita said to Finn before gesturing to Ethan, Lucas, and Delilah.
“Yeah, good idea,” Finn grunted before stalking out of the room. A moment later, I heard him slam shut the bathroom door and turn on the shower.
“Don’t mind him, he’s had a rough day,” Rita said, excusing Finn’s grouchiness. “Come on into the kitchen, and I’ll show you how to kill the mist. Tegan and I discovered a formula during our research this morning.”
Intrigued, they filed out after Rita. Ethan cast me a single, indecipherable look before leaving, and I flopped back into the couch, exhaling heavily. About fifteen minutes later, I heard them all going into the back garden, probably to test out the spray on the clouds of mist captured inside the shed.
The look Ethan gave me wouldn’t get out of my head. It made me feel like I’d done something wrong. Remembering his words from last night, about how it killed him that I shared a house with Finn, I thought maybe that was the problem. Maybe he was jealous and it was eating away at him. But at the same time, he still hated me, so even though he might be jealous, he still didn’t want anything to do with me.
I went upstairs, changed into some clean clothes, and went to knock on Finn’s door.
“Who is it?” he called.
“Tegan,” I answered softly.
A pause. “Come in.”
Inside the room I found Finn stretched out on his bed in a clean T-shirt and lounge pants with a movie playing on his laptop. “Inception,” he said when I leaned forward to see what he was watching.
“Oh. I haven’t seen that one.”
He grinned, patting the space beside him on the bed. “Watch it with me then. It’s only a few minutes in.”
I grabbed one of his pillows, fluffed it up, and lay down, making sure to keep a bit of space between us.
“I was terrified you were going to die today,” I whispered, a swell of emotion clogging my throat.
Finn reached out and patted my hand, his voice soft, “It’ll take a lot more than a knifing to get rid of me, Missy.”
I swallowed, hoping he was right. Finn was my rock. Somehow, in all this, he’d become my best friend. I needed him around, but I felt guilty about it because I suspected he might have some burgeoning feelings for me. He went out of his way to gift me that fancy barber’s blade, not to mention I was certain he blushed when I thanked him for it. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good-looking guy who knew how to take care of himself, and we had an easy camaraderie that could transform into something deeper if encouraged. He was also one of the few people I could actually trust.
But the way I felt for Ethan eclipsed all of that. Perhaps one day when I finally got over the vampire, Finn and I could have something, but that day wouldn’t be coming any time soon.
No, for now, all there was between Finn and me was friendship. And Ethan … well, he wished for a day when he didn’t want me anymore, so I guess all I could do was wish for a day when I didn’t want him anymore either.
6.
The next morning, I woke up in my bed, not knowing how I got there. Finn must’ve carried me in after I fell asleep watching Inception. I went downstairs, and he and Ira were eating breakfast. Finn informed me that Pamphrock had set his slayers the task of manufacturing large quantities of Rita’s mist spray, except instead of putting it in plastic bottles they were working on using modified fire extinguishers for maximum efficiency.
Now why didn’t we think of that?
Rita and I resumed our magical studies in her RV. It was when I came across the book from yesterday, the one about other dimensions and their inhabitants, that I paused to think.
I flicked to the page at the front with the publishing info. The copyright was registered in 1995. Perhaps the author was still alive? I could find him and question him about how he knew all this stuff. Had he been to another dimension? And more importantly, had he ever been to the hell dimension where my dad currently dwelled?
A hard knock on the door of the RV startled me from my thoughts. I shot Rita a questioning glance.
“That’ll be my new client. I told him to come over today. I haven’t met this guy before, but a regular of mine referred him. Apparently, he wants me to cast a spell that’ll boost his self-confidence and help him to move up the ladder at work.”
She went to open the door, revealing a tall, brown-haired man wearing trendy black-rimmed glasses and an immaculate white shirt.
“Hey, Brian, isn’t it? Come on in.” She stood aside, and the guy stepped into the RV. Rita eyed him, like she was either suspicious of him, or she was up to something. Could’ve been both. Brian was so tall the top of his head skimmed the ceiling.
“I have something I need to do,” I said to Rita as I stood. “Do you mind if I borrow this book for a while? I’ll return it later.”
“Sure, go ahead,” she replied, waving me off, and I left her to her session with Brian.
In Finn’s living room, I borrowed his laptop and scanned down the publishing page of On Other Dimensions and Their Inhabitants again. When I typed the publishing house into an online search engine, I found a bare-bones website with little information. Then when I typed in the name E.J. Edwards, miraculously the man popped up as the first result.
I gaped at the laptop screen. Edwards was a physics professor at a very prestigious university. When I looked at his profile there was a picture of a grey-haired man of about sixty and his bio was pretty normal for a professor. There was nothing that would lead you to believe he had an interest in the supernatural, or that he once wrote a book about other dimensions.
I did a little more digging and found the phone number for the physics department where he worked. When I called, I got through to a very chirpy receptionist, who informed me that Professor Edwards was currently on a yearlong sabbatical, but if I’d like to leave a message she’d be happy to pass it on.
“Um, would it be possible to get another number where I can reach him? There’s an important matter that I need to discuss with him.”
“I can’t give out his personal contact information, I’m afraid,” she replied. “However, I can give you his university email. I know he checks his messages there at least once a week.”
“Oh. Okay, yeah I’ll take his email then.”
I scribbled it down, and we said our polite goodbyes. Then I opened up a blank email and tried to form a coherent explanation as to why I was contacting him. The words jumbled around in my head, but when I started typing, it all spilled out. I told him how I recently came across his book, and in as simple terms as I could muster, I explained what had happened to my dad. Then I made a humble request for help, asking if he had any information at all on how I could bring Dad back. The worst that could happen would be for him to disregard the email, or send me a message back telling me I was a nut.
I hit send and sat back. All I could do now was wait and see if he replied. I shut down Finn’s laptop and picked up the book to bring it back out to Rita. She was still busy with Brian, but she said I could come in and watch if I liked. Brian nodded, saying he was okay with it, so I decided I might as well stay and see what went on in these sessions of Rita’s.
She sat at the small table across from Brian, muttering in Latin and mashing up a bunch of herbs with a pestle and mortar.
“So, how do you two know each other?” Brian asked.
If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a little bit of a tremble in his voice, like he was nervous. But that could just be down to the fact that he’d hired a witch to do a spell for him.
“Shush,” Rita scolded him for talking.
“Sorry,” he muttered under his breath.
After a few minutes of her quiet mutterings, Rita scooped up a spoonful of the herbs and handed the spoon to Brian.
“Eat,” she said, and he looked at her with wide eyes.
In the end, Brian took the spoon and shoved it into his mouth. His jaw worked as he chewed, and by the look on his face, it tasted bitter. He swallowed, and Rita made him open his mouth to ensure that he ate all of it.
“Now what?” he asked her.
“Now,” Rita said, clasping her hands together, “you tell me why you’re really here.”
Brian’s eyes flicked from me to Rita. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rita scoffed. “Don’t give me that. You’ve been on edge ever since you arrived, and every time I ask you a question your eyes flick to the left. Classic lying behaviour. Now come on, spit it out. What are you up to? More importantly, who are you working for?”
I watched the exchange with rapt attention. I had an inkling there was something off about Brian, but I mostly put it down to him being nervous. It was a good thing Rita saw right through him.
“Look, I promise I’m just here for the spell. You came highly recommended from my friend Greg.” He reached up and scratched at his neck.
“I do a lot of spells for Greg and he’s never sent me a referral before. He’s also one of the shiftiest guys I know, so it doesn’t take much of a stretch to see him accepting a bribe to give you an in with me.” Rita stated all of this in a cold, detached voice, and I got a brief glimpse of the witch she could have been if she’d been raised by Theodore instead of Noreen.
“You have to believe me,” Brian spread out his hands in a pleading gesture. “I’m not up to anything.”
Rita laughed. “Deny it all you want. In another minute, you’ll be singing like a canary.”
He eyed her now. “What do you mean?”
“You just ate the components of a truth spell, my friend. You’ll probably be telling us what brand of underwear you like and who you lost your virginity to by the time it takes hold.”
At this, Brian jumped up from his seat and made a run for the door. Rita casually stood, placing her tiny self in his path, holding up a hand and muttering a quiet incantation. Brian stopped in his tracks as though glued to the spot.
