ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  Finn’s mother Kelly rushed into the room and Caleb grabbed her by the arm firmly in order to stop her from approaching the child. “The demon knows that it’s cornered now and it might try and jump into someone else’s body. You can’t make physical contact with him until this is over.” Kelly slowly nodded her head.

  Magda silently began to unscrew the lid of the holy water bottle. Now Finn appeared to almost be shaking from fear. “I’m only going to ask you one more time, demon. What is your name?” Magda demanded in a powerful voice. The orange cat was now purring at her feet, rubbing itself up against her legs. Caleb was impressed with Magda now. Her skills seemed to be quite advanced. When the demon hesitated before answering, Magda flicked a few drops of holy water in Finn’s direction. When the drops of water made contact with his skin, he howled at the top of his lungs in agony. Both of his parents winced. The demon then began to speak rapidly in Aramaic. Caleb couldn’t quite make out the name, but from the look on Magda’s face he understood that this was a serious case and could tell that Magda understood what was being said.

  Then, something unexpected happened. A high-pitched voice that sounded almost like a fairy forced its way through Finn’s body and began to giggle uncontrollably. Finns body was rolling around on the floor in the throes of an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

  “Who are you?” Magda asked, seeming a bit annoyed.

  “Who are you, sassafras cat-woman who secretly drinks milk one month past its expiration date?” Magda wasn’t amused, yet the voice carried on. “I saw you touching yourself in the shower yesterday. Who was it that you were thinking of? Oh yes, Patrick Swayze.” Now the high-pitched voice was rolling with laughter as it harassed her. Then, Magda pulled out a relic from St. John of the Cross. Again, the demon inside Finn’s body screamed. He boy’s face twisted upwards into a terrible frown and he reared back.

  Just then, there was a slight knock at the door. A second group of ghost-hunters had arrived. They were fresh out of Department 99’s training program and looked like kids themselves. There was a short guy with thick-framed glasses, which were somewhat like Magda’s, a young woman from the Philippines, and a hefty looking guy with a brown beard, who introduced himself as Ted. Ted claimed that he’d always been interested in the paranormal, and shook Caleb’s hand after acting as though he were meeting some kind of celebrity. Caleb could see Lillian roll her eyes behind her box and he chuckled to himself.

  Next the group decided to hook Finn up to a small machine. So, together everyone accompanied Finn upstairs to his bedroom, where he stripped down to his underwear and lay back on the bed. Ted tenderly began to place electrodes all over the boy’s head and boy. “Don’t get too close to him, Caleb warned,” and yet Ted seemed to act as if he knew better. “I was the oldest of nine boys, I think I can handle this little guy,” Ted turned his face back to look at Caleb and smiled. When he did this, Finn silently sat up on the bed and smiled also. When Ted turned back around to face the boy, Finn’s face was locked in some kind of terrible grimace. His body was now stiff and he seemed unable to move.

  “Just continue to place the electrodes, but don’t make any more conversation with him,” Magda demanded cautiously.

  Ted sneered and leaned down to whisper something funny into the boy’s ear—hoping to make Finn laugh. “I guess that cat lady thinks she knows better than us boys,” Ted said with a chuckle. What happened next, occurred so quickly that Caleb was in doubt that it was even occurring. Before anyone had a chance to react, Finn had leaned forward, bit Ted’s nose entirely off down to the bone, and spat it across the room. Ted grasped at the hole in his face, moaning and shrieking—fumbling around the dark room, searching for his detached nostrils. Finn giggled and bounced on the bed as though nothing had happened. He looked absolutely demonic with the massive blood splatter dripping down his chin. His tiny pink tongue reached down to lick some of the blood off. Finn’s mother Kelly buried her face in her husband’s chest and began to sob.

  While the nice Filipino woman helped Ted find his nose (and escorted him out of the room so that he could go to the hospital), Lillian took charge of the situation. “Caleb and I are in charge here, so if anyone else would like to defy a direct order and get their faces bitten off as well, let us know so that we can have you court-martialed by Department 99 right now.” She spoke firmly, as the Filipino woman made her way back into the room. Lillian took over the task of attaching the rest of the electrodes to Finn’s body, and then they turned all of the lights out.

  Lillian’s black box started to make a slight beeping sound, and a blue light appeared in the center of the box. “Tom, is that you?” Lillian asked in a sweet voice. At first there was no response, but then gradually everyone in the room could hear heavy breathing emanating from the speakers on the box.

  “Tom, is that you?” Lillian repeated—this time with a little more force. Magda raised her palm up into the air to signal that Lillian should stop. Then Magda shook her head no, while the orange cat slowly sauntered over to Finn’s bedside.

  “I know what you are,” Magda spoke. The speakers in the black box crackled. “Why have you attached yourself to this child?” Magda asked. Again, she raised her bottle of holy water and clutched it to her chest. Then a strange sound started to come from the black box, which sounded almost like humming. The heavy breathing faded away and was replaced by the voice of an older gentleman.

  “You need to listen to what I’m about to say. You’ve got to get Cain away from Finn. He’s planning some pretty nasty things,” the older man’s voice said.

  Tears swelled in Jim’s eyes. “Dad is that you? Dad?” Again, Magda raised her hand to signal that Jim should not communicate directly with the spirit.

  “You’re in grave danger, son.” The voice continued, “You’ve got to find a way to get Cain away from the boy,” then the voice transmitting through the box changed again. Someone started to sing, “Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton…”

  Lillian quickly switched the box onto the off position. “Let’s leave the family up here for a minute and have a quick conference in the living room.” All of the Department 99 employees quickly filed downstairs.

  Caleb swallowed as he descended the dark steps. This was a complicated case, and he felt uneasy and unsure if they were going to be able to save Finn. When they reached the living room, Caleb coughed for a brief moment and quickly offered his opinion. “I don’t think that was really Finn’s grandfather who came through just now,” Caleb stated plainly.

  Lillian nodded in agreement, “That was some kind of demon pretending to be the grandfather.” Everyone paused, taking in the seriousness of the case.

  “But why would a demon do that?” The short guy in the thick-framed glasses asked—it was the first time he’d spoken. No one had even bothered to ask his name, but he seemed to shake. His eyes darted from face to face, and he appeared to be sweating heavily.

  Magda swallowed, “I don’t like any of this. I think we need to call in a priest and a second psychic.”

  “A priest?” Caleb spat. “What do you think a priest is going to do? We’re the end of the line Magda,” Caleb continued.

  Caleb placed a heavy hand on the short man’s shoulder to try and steady the young gentleman, “Demons are tricksters. They’ll say just about anything to try and divide people up so that they’re easier to conquer; don’t be scared. They feed off of fear.” The short man nodded rapidly, and pushed his thick glasses back up on his nose.

  Magda swallowed, “This doesn’t sit right with me, Caleb. Something is very wrong. I can feel energy signatures and the voice that just warned us about Cain, didn’t feel demonic to me.” Magda was pleading now.

  “How long have you been at this with Department 99?” Caleb asked her, growing frustrated.

  “I’ve been with the department less than a week, but I’ve been dabbling in the occult for a long time, and I’m telling you…” Magda pleaded.

  Caleb cut her off, “Let us do
our job and stick to your cats and your painted car. I’ll be writing up a report about you after this, and hopefully you’ll be dismissed shortly.” He spat nastily. Magda looked down, defeated.

  Quickly, the group decided to re-enter the room and to try and make contact with the voice of Finn’s grandfather again.

  When they were back up in the room, Finn’s mother Kelly had lit a few candles. The candles gave the child’s room an eerie glow, and as Finn lay still on the bed, Caleb got the sense that he was attending a wake. Caleb blinked his eyes rapidly and tried to push the thought from his mind. Again, Magda called out to the spirit while Lillian monitored the black box.

  “Are you still there?” Magda asked. There was a long moment of silence, followed by more cackling. The voice had a different quality this time. Then again, the cruelty seemed to wash out of the voice and it sounded almost human.

  “I’m telling you son, you’ve got to get Cain away from the boy NOW.” Suddenly, all of the candles in the room went out. A voice to Caleb’s right began to howl, and then the lights flickered back on. The man with the thick glasses was on top of Finn, punching at the boy’s face, screaming obscenities. Caleb jumped into action and immediately tried to pull the man off of the boy. Suddenly, everything made sense. The short man with the thick-framed glasses was Cain.

  Cain pulled out a long dagger from within his coat and cut his own hand, and then started to cut the boy’s forehead. The entire time, both Cain and the boy were chanting in Aramaic.

  Caleb lunged onto Cain’s shoulders, and was thrown back by some horrible force. He flew across the room and hit the opposite wall with a loud smack, and then clattered to the floor, landing hard on his right arm. Next, Lillian sprang into action, attempting to throw her body onto Cain in order to stop him from attacking the young boy. Her fate was similar to that of Caleb, except she was flung up to the ceiling and seemed to stick there.

  Finn’s parents grasped at each other screaming in terror. The woman from the Philippines —whose name was Daisy, buried her head in her knees and began to rock back and forth, while praying. Only Magda had the sense to uncap her bottle of holy water and throw it in Cain’s direction. When the water hit them, both Cain and Finn screamed in low terrible guttural voices. Caleb seized the opportunity and lunged yet again for Cain. This time he was weakened by the holy water and Caleb’s bear strength overcame Cain’s demonic strength. Cain fell to the ground and Caleb quickly cuffed his hands behind his back. Then, Caleb pulled a device out of his pocket and zapped Cain in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.

  At that moment, Lillian fell from the ceiling, and then got up and dusted her pants off as if nothing had happened. Caleb couldn’t help but admire her strength. Nothing seemed to deter Lillian Smithson. Her green eyes looked intense and angry.

  Caleb reached down to the radio at his waist and called in back-up. Within ten minutes, a Department 99 paddy wagon had pulled away with Cain stuffed into the back. “I knew something was off about that guy,” Caleb said softly to himself as he watched the ambulance peel away.

  The group returned to the room, and again Lillian tried to take the lead. “Tom? Are you there, Tom?” Lillian asked.

  Magda shook her head. “Who are you?” Magda asked.

  “I’m not Tom,” a tiny but evil-sounding voice crackled over the speakers. The demon seemed to be unwilling to speak with Lillian.

  Magda stepped in, “What is your name?” Magda asked the demon. “Come closer, and I will tell you, cat woman,” the voice said. The orange cat ran across the room, jumped onto Finn’s chest, and sat there.

  Although the voice came out of the black box, Magda knew it wanted her to step closer to Finn. What choice did she have? Without the demon’s name, they would not be able to exorcise it. Magda took a deep breath and stepped closer. “Come closer,” the voice crackled again through the black box speakers. Now, Magda was standing directly over Finn. “Let me whisper my name into your ear,” the voice said. Caleb shook his head no, but Magda bent down over the boy anyway—feeling a sense of terrible desperation to save the boy and her beloved orange cat. Just as soon as she leaned down, Finn’s hands snatched up and snapped Magda’s neck—killing her instantly. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and her limp dead body slumped to the floor with a loud and terrible thud.

  Again, everyone quickly filed out of the room (Finn’s parents included), leaving Finn locked inside with the orange cat. Daisy was visibly shaking and so Caleb told her to go home and get some rest. Together Caleb and Lillian walked out into the cool night air, trying to gain a bit of perspective. Lillian was a smart woman and it didn’t take her long to come up with a theory and a plan.

  “There’s a reason that demon won’t talk to me,” she said—staring off into the vast darkness.

  “What are you thinking?” Caleb asked calmly.

  “It’s threatened by me for some reason. I have to figure out what that reason is, so that I can exploit it.” Lillian continued.

  Caleb nodded. “There’s a small occult library down on Kenneth Street. Let’s go.” Lillian nodded her agreement as she hopped into Caleb’s car.

  As they pulled up to the occult library, Caleb couldn’t help by admire Lillian’s beautiful curved body. The gentle rise and fall of her breath made him notice the curves of her rounded breasts and slight waist. Her legs were shapely and crossed in his direction at the knee. Caleb’s inner bear was screaming at him to reach down and touch her kneecaps, but he refrained. Keep your mind on the task at hand, he chastised his bear.

  When they stepped into the occult library, a woman dressed entirely in black met them at the counter. Everything in the facility was free to Department 99 and both he and Lillian flashed their badges. The woman at the information desk nodded, immediately understanding that there was a serious matter at hand. Lillian began to explain the situation and the librarian started to ask some questions about Lillian’s ancestry. Lillian was somewhat confused by the line of questioning, but answered as best as she could. Most of her descendants were from Ireland and had immigrated to the United States during the Potato famine. This seemed to trigger something for the librarian and she rushed off into the maze of shelves in order to find what she was looking for with Caleb and Lillian close on her heels. After searching for a few minutes, she pulled a large and dusty book off the shelf and slammed it down onto a nearby counter. The librarian thumbed through a few pages and finally found what she was looking for.

  “If I had to guess, I would probably say that you are some kind of distant relation to this man,” she said to Lillian. The name written at the top of the page read Aengus Smithson, which made Lillian shudder.

  “We have the same last name,” she offered to the librarian who seemed to smile at this confirmation of her suspicions.

  “According to the history books that I have, Aengus managed to trick the devil during a wager many years ago. Long story short, his descendants are off-limits and any demon that communicates with anyone in the Smithson clan will be thrown into a lake of fire to burn for all eternity,” the librarian smiled at the end, satisfied with herself for solving the mystery.

  Caleb thanked her and started to thumb through the book himself. The pact seemed ironclad. If a demon so much as spoke to Lillian Smithson, it would be destroyed immediately. So of course, they knew that they needed to trick the demon into communicating with her. Caleb had an idea—what if they used some kind of shifter serum in order to try and change her physical appearance? But then, demons didn’t really operate based off of sight. This was going to be a tough situation.

  Lillian walked back over to the librarian. “Is there any way for me to get this demon to talk to me so that we can destroy it? It’s terrorizing a young innocent boy.”

  The librarian thought for a minute. “Demons operate on an entirely different plane, and they generally play by their own rules…but if you could somehow convince the demon that you were dead, and then maybe get it to curse your name—tha
t might be enough to get the job done.” Caleb and Lillian quickly thanked the librarian and rushed back out into the evening night air. While they only had limited information, they were at least able to surmise that the creature who had made contact with Lillian was not of the demonic, which meant it might be willing to help. Plain old ghosts were generally more reasonable then most people gave them credit for.

  “Let’s go back to my house,” Lillian suggested as Caleb drove silently. Moments later, they pulled up to a small townhouse surrounded by beautiful shrubs. Lillian jumped out of the car and Caleb followed quietly. He couldn’t believe he was about to see the inside of Lillian’s home. He admitted to himself that he’d always wanted to know her better, but had never really had the nerve or the time to make a move. Yet, he’d always wanted to come home with her—and possibly be invited up into her bedroom.

  A few moments later, Caleb found himself in Lillian’s kitchen, where she rushed around placing candles on the table. The scene would have been almost romantic were she not preparing to make contact with a dead person.

  “I’m going to try and contact Finn’s grandfather again,” she said. “He gave us some good information before, and I want to see if he’ll help a little more.” Caleb watched her closely as she fiddled about, lighting candles, and placing them within a chalk circle that she drew directly on top of her kitchen table.

  Caleb was completely distracted by Lillian. He couldn’t help it. She looked so beautiful in the dim light of the kitchen that Caleb found himself scarcely able to breath. Again, his eyes were drawn back to her beautiful and piercing blue eyes and to the roundness of her bottom. He wanted to pull her close, to smell her hair, to push himself up against her, and to take her upstairs into the bedroom…yet he remained silent and watched her work. He wasn’t normally so quiet, but Lillian seemed to bring out this part of him. He liked to observe her.