Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “When's the last time you fed?”

  “Couple days ago. Not in town, a couple hours out. I like this place, and you don't go on a murder spree where you buy your boots.”

  A neighbor passing at precisely that moment stalled, stared, and then nervously kept walking. So much for covert. Nicky glanced down at Corrine’s feet-- they were nice boots.

  “Who was it?”

  Corrine grinned that predatory grin again, all teeth.

  “Some creep just hanging out. He kept yelling at girls and following them until they went inside somewhere. He followed me. Guys like that don't think about what girls like me can do to them.”

  Girls like her. She means monsters.

  “He would have hurt somebody if I didn't stop him. There's not that much difference between you and me.”

  “Except you kill people,” Nicky pointed out.

  “You kill vampires.”

  “Vampires aren't—”

  Nicky stopped herself. She expected to see anger flash across Corrine’s face, but there was only sad understanding. There was only one way that sentence could have gone.

  “I'm doing my best,” Corrine said quietly. Her eyes widened as she spotted the half-decorated Christmas tree in the back corner of what passed as a living room. “You're decorating? Can I help? I haven't decorated a Christmas tree in years!”

  Finally, Nicky relented. Nebula hadn’t launched herself at Corrine’s ankles, which meant she was probably wasn't completely evil.

  “Come in.”

  Corrine all but bounded inside and beeline for the tree. She didn't hesitate for a moment before digging through the box of dollar store decorations and hanging a plastic bulb from an equally plastic branch. Nicky settled on the other side of the box and did the same. It was, admittedly, a little bit nice having some company. She'd never had anyone over here, not even Lauren or Megan. Nebula was great, but she couldn't exactly respond properly. Nicky glanced back to find her perched on top of a bookshelf, watching them.

  “You jump on this and I'm trading you in for a Doberman,” she warned.

  Corrine laughed. The sound was a little rough, as though she wasn't used to doing it anymore.

  “So what do you know about this demon?” Nicky asked, not wanting to get too cozy.

  “The demon you saw is a type of soul eater. They're usually controlled by somebody, maybe another demon but probably a witch. A normal human wouldn't have the kind of power to actually boss that thing around, and vampires have zero affinity for magic. Plus, we don't exactly get along all that well. Too much negative energy in one place. Pass me the gingerbread man? Thanks.”

  Nicky considered Corrine’s words. If the soul eater was being controlled by somebody, that meant she had two things to take down.

  “Why would somebody need a soul eater?”

  “Power. Magic comes from the soul. If you don't have one, you need to get one from someone else. Or if you want to do something beyond your abilities. Or if you're just a dick.”

  The last one had Nicky biting back a laugh. She did have to account for the possibility of somebody just being a dick.

  “So, do you think we’re up against a demon or a witch?”

  Corrine wrinkled her nose in thought. “I haven't found any signs of another demon. They're usually harder than witches to actually track, but it's easier to tell if one of them is around.”

  Nicky gave a slow nod and stretched her arms up to hang a snowman above her head. She grabbed the unopened package of lights and pulled the string out. She stood, motioning for Corrine to help her. Together, they wound the lights around the tree.

  “What's our next course of action?” Nicky asked.

  “I was going to head to the cemetery. If there really is a demon around here commanding the soul eater, we should find signs of it there.”

  Nicky was no stranger to cemeteries. She'd spent plenty of time sneaking into them in high school, much to her parents' disapproval. There were things that became much more powerful in cemeteries than anywhere else, which was exactly why she'd been so eager to spend time in them. She'd been tired of fighting the same old easy vampires. If she'd known then what she knew now, she might not have been so eager.

  She-- armed with her brass knuckles, dagger, and a flashlight-- and Corrine-- armed with herself-- had no difficulty climbing over the iron gate that shut the public out of the cemetery.

  Or shutting ‘something’ out of the public, Nicky thought without meaning to. Her body gave a slight, involuntary shudder.

  “Cold?” Corrine asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Better than admitting she was scared.

  “Oh. I wish I had a jacket to lend you.”

  The fact that Corrine didn't seem even the slightest bit chilly standing in jeans and a t-shirt was less strange than the almost-offer.

  “It’s fine,” Nicky said. “I’ll warm up.”

  She didn't know what they were looking for. If there were any upturned graves, she would have heard about it. It either would have been in the papers, or word surely would have spread through the office. For some reason, those sorts of complaints always went to the mayor's office before the police. Nicky had heard someone say once it was because most of the older folks in town remembered a time when the town had a population of barely two thousand and the mayor was almost always the sheriff, too. Complaining to the mayor, especially when most people had already been friends with the mayor, had made much more sense than complaining to a lowly police officer who wouldn't do anything about it. These days, though, did people really think Carly in reception would be able to do anything for them?

  Sweeping her flashlight over the graves, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary but Corrine’s iridescent eyes occasionally staring out at her in the dark. The first few times, it made her jump. It wasn't something she wanted to get used to. She was going to find this demon, then kill Corrine. She had to. Acting as a vigilante didn't redeem Corrine, and it didn't change the fact that she still killed people.

  People like that man harassing girls the next town over; people that nobody would do anything about, even if they went to the police. The real police, not somebody like Carly in reception at the mayor's office.

  Thankfully, now wasn't the time to wrestle with that moral dilemma. Her foot caught in something, sending Nicky sprawling to the ground. She rolled with the fall. Pain shot through her hip, but she stood up almost immediately and brushed dirt off herself.

  “Are you okay?” Corrine asked, at her side uncomfortably fast. Nicky flinched back a little.

  “I'm fine.”

  She was glad she'd worn leather gloves. They weren't as easy to maneuver in as bare hands, but on top of keeping her fingers warm, they did wonders to protect her hands. Flashing her phone over where she'd tripped, she caught sight of a glint of metal. She bent down and picked it up. A gold coin hung from a matching chain. There was a pattern on the coin that Nicky didn't recognize. She wiped it clean on her jeans, then snapped a few pictures with her phone.

  “What is this?” She asked more to herself than to Corrine.

  Corrine took the coin in her hand, turning it over. Her face was pulled into a tight frown that seemed so out of place for the ray of serial-murdering sunshine Nicky was trying not to get used to.

  “I might have an idea. Can I borrow it?”

  Should she? If the thing was a magical artifact, Corrine could have used it to do some serious damage. Except Corrine had said that vampires couldn't use magic.

  And you believe that?

  Nicky stared into Corrine’s eyes. She might not have been human anymore, but there was humanity in them. If nothing else, Corrine still had some semblance of a conscience.

  Despite the logical part of her brain telling her not to, Nicky nodded. Wind rushed around her, and Corrine was gone.

  8

  The funeral was beautiful, but Nicky couldn't be proud of all the work she'd done. Not when her best friend was lying in the
coffin and wearing the dress she'd picked out. The dress was Lauren’s favorite; a white dress patterned with blue birds. The funeral hall was covered in flowers. Laurens family had only bought a small fraction of them. The rest were all bought by her friends, by her work, or the places she volunteered for. Nicky had paid for the bouquet of orchids that were now clasped in Lauren’s hands.

  She sat through the eulogy without crying. She watched Lauren’s mom get through half a sentence before she burst into tears and Megan led her from the podium. But when it was Nicky’s turn to stand up to speak, a lump the size of her fist rose up in her throat and choked her. She cleared her throat and tried to swallow it down. Without meaning to, she glanced back at the casket.

  The pallor of Lauren’s skin and the way she looked like she might open her eyes at any moment despite the lack of movement in her chest made Nicky’s stomach twist into knots. She wiped her hands on her black dress and forced herself to look back at the crowd. She'd had a whole speech rehearsed; one where she talked about how they'd met. How Lauren had shown up in her cubicle on her third day of work with a welcome basket full of locally produced snacks, all sitting on a ceramic plate made by a local potter. How they'd sat up together on Lauren’s couch until well into the middle of the night eating organic corn chips and talking about where they'd come from, how they'd gotten here. How Lauren never stopped insisting that one day, Nicky would find a cute girl who would fall in love with her whole grungy aesthetic and Lauren would find her the grungiest wedding dress out there. They'd laughed about that last one for almost half an hour until they had to look up whether or not it was possible they'd accidentally gotten high from the essential oil diffuser sitting on the coffee table.

  Nicky swallowed again. She didn't say any of that. She couldn't. Lauren had been like a sister to her. Even if she could find it in herself to share those precious moments with what must have been at least a quarter of the town, the lump in her throat choked her. Instead, all she said was,

  “Lauren was a good person, and a good friend. I hope whatever is out there for her is good.”

  She couldn't say anything more. She stepped away from the podium and rushed to the nearest washroom. The thud of her heels was muffled by the carpet. It was the men’s room, but she didn't care. Ignoring the startled man at the urinal, whom she didn't even look at long enough to recognize, Nicky walked to the sink. She ran cold water and splashed it on her face. By the time she remembered her makeup, it was too late.

  “Uh, miss? You know this is the men’s room,” the man said.

  “Do I look like I care right now?” She hissed.

  The man didn't say anything, which was smart of him. She wasn't in the mood for this. She wasn't in the mood for anything. All she wanted to do was find the thing that was responsible for killing Lauren and stabbing it in the face repeatedly. Vampire, human, demon, she didn't care. Whoever or whatever they were, they were going to pay if it was the last thing she did.

  Nicky couldn't leave right away. Even if she could, where would she go? She'd sent the pictures of that graveyard coin to Alison, who had no idea what it was either. Alison had added it to her list of things to look into, but realistically, the best she could do was translate the text on it.

  That meant the only lead Nicky had was Corrine, whom Nicky hadn't seen since last night. Vampires might have been easier to kill during the day, but they were much harder to track. With the way she'd been sleeping lately, she'd be too exhausted to actually do anything by the time she managed to find Corrine. As much as she hated to admit it — which was a lot — her best option was to wait until sundown to find Corrine and ask her what the hell that coin was.

  All she had to do was wait a few hours, then excuse herself to track down Corrine.

  “I'm glad you’re here,” Megan said as they gathered the hundreds of flowers filling the funeral parlor.

  Nicky never wanted to see another flower as long as she lived. She was going to have to make a note somewhere that she didn't want a single flower at her funeral. “I wouldn't be anywhere else.”

  It was true. Unless the soul eater itself had made an appearance, no force in heaven or earth could have kept her from that funeral.

  It bothered her that there hadn’t been any sight of it since it had killed Lauren. Wasn't it a good thing? It probably meant the witch or demon had enough souls. It could have meant that they were done collecting souls, period. But neither of those felt right to her.

  No, she knew why it bothered her. It was because if the soul eater wasn't eating souls, then she couldn't find it. It was the same problem with vampire hunting. If vampires weren't actually feeding, it was almost impossible for Nicky to track her. In order for her to track the soul eater, it would have to attack, and maybe even kill, before she could start looking again.

  “I was thinking…” Megan's voice trailed. She stood, her arms full of brightly-colored chrysanthemums. “I miss you.”

  Ice filled Nicky’s stomach. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have. Not now, not ever.

  “What do you mean? I’ve been around,” she said, playing dumb.

  Hopefully Megan would get the hint and drop it. The real problem with Lauren’s theory about her settling down with some cute girl was that Nicky couldn’t drag somebody into this life. It wasn't right. Her time with Megan was a moment of weakness. A lapse in her judgement she wouldn’t allow to happen twice. Thankfully, Megan smiled and nodded.

  “You're right. I guess my sense of time’s been screwed up since… I know it was only a few days ago, but it feels like it must have been months.”

  Nicky nodded in understanding and picked up a bouquet of white roses. When they finished cleaning, she opted to skip the reception. The sun was finally setting, and she couldn't bring herself to waste even a minute of time.

  “I just don't think I can fake being functional around anybody right now,” she lied.

  “Well, why don't you come over later? We can watch a movie and have a few drinks.”

  Nicky shook her head, almost desperate to get out of there. “I'm wiped. I’ll probably just crash. Another night soon, though.”

  She wasn't sure that was a promise she should have been making, but Megan smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

  When Nicky finally got to her apartment, her car full of flowers she couldn't convince anyone else to take, she found Corrine sitting outside her door. When she saw Nicky, she jumped to her feet, grinning in a way that made Nicky think of a puppy left at home all day.

  “One of the guys upstairs let me into the building. I knocked but you didn't answer,” she said. “I guess you weren't home.”

  Nicky fished her keys from her jacket pocket. Corrine stepped back to give her an appropriate amount of personal space.

  “Can I ask you something?” Nicky asked.

  “Sure.”

  “The vampire who killed you. It got into your apartment, right?” When Corrine only nodded, Nicky asked, “How? It couldn't have gotten in without permission.”

  Nicky tossed her jacket on the couch. Nebula ran up to her and rubbed her head against Nicky's calf. How dare you be here for a whole three seconds without petting me? She seemed to demand. When Nicky wasn't fast enough to fulfil her demands for affection, she darted between her legs to Corrine. Faster than Nicky could see, Corrine scooped Nebula into her arms. Nebula let out a startled mrp but let Corrine nuzzle her.

  “Prettiest kitty! You are the best little fluffums, aren't you?” Corrine cooed. “I'd just switched internet providers. He showed up and said he was there to install the new modem. I knew there was something off about him, but I didn't know what else to do but let him in. I didn't think I could just call the company and ask them to send someone less creepy. I was about to ask the girl upstairs if she could hang out with me until he left but…”

  It made Nicky sick to admit it, but that was clever. Most humans didn't have the patience for that sort of game, let alone vampires.

  “Why did h
e turn you?” Nicky asked.

  Corrine shrugged. “He didn't mean to. I managed to stab him in the neck with one of my keys. Some of his blood got in me while we were struggling. Gosh, but you are the cutest kitty!” She kissed the top of Nebula’s head.

  Nicky shifted, caught between trying to imagine and trying not to imagine Corrine fighting for her life against something that must have seemed invulnerable to her. Most people didn't survive a vampire attack. Part of her wondered if Corrine wished she hadn’t survived. Wasn’t death better than becoming this?

  “Did you find anything about the coin?” Nicky asked, feeling a little dizzy.

  “Oh!” Nebula darted from Corrine’s arms at the exclamation. Corrine dug the coin from her back pocket. “Yeah, the symbol is a family crest. I don't know which family exactly, but you see this little raven here? This means it belongs to a witch family. I bet you a witch was in the cemetery to summon the soul eater and lost this.”

  Nicky took the coin and looked it over. The raven was wedged at the bottom of the coin separating the two lines of text.

  “Any idea what this says?” She asked.

  Corrine shrugged. “It looks like Latin. I took Spanish. But if it belongs to whoever summoned the soul eater, we can use that to find them.”

  The sound of rattling in the corner of the room made Nicky turn.

  “Nebula, leave the goddam tree alone!”

  Nebula froze, a paw on a green ball within reach, and darted off. Corrine giggled. For some reason, it made Nicky smile. She forced her expression back into neutrality before she faced Corrine again.

  “Find them how?”

  Corrine grinned and rocked from her toes to her heels. “I know a witch who will specializes in scrying. I’ll bet you she can find our witch for us just using the coin.”