by Keith Keffer
Henry crawled into the backseat of the car and went right back to sleep. She cringed at the thought of not having him wear a seatbelt, but they needed to keep him out of sight until they got to Joe's. According to their story, that's where Morgan was going to find him.
It was a dive gas station at the edge of town. Just the type of place a kidnapper would stop to fill up before going on the run. The best part was that there were no working security cameras in the area. Jimmy had been there once in response to a late-night call, and the cameras were just for show. They didn't even have power running to them.
Once Morgan got there, Jimmy was going to give her the phone, and she and Henry would drive back into town. On the way she'd call Jimmy on her cell phone, and then head to the emergency room to have Henry examined. Jimmy would meet her there and deal with the rest of the cops to make sure no one asked too many questions.
Their plan might not have worked in a big city like New York or Detroit, but in a quiet little town like Whitebridge it should be enough. The phone calls would create a time line, and any traffic cameras would show Morgan coming and going to the gas station. Yeah, she told herself. This would work.
She couldn't wait for her life to get back to normal. Right now, she would do anything to get a good night's sleep. She had been awake since Saturday morning and that was with only a few hours of sleep before Jimmy started knocking on her door. Morgan didn't know the record for the longest stretch of time without sleep, but she was fairly certain she was reaching her limits. The soft, steady breathing coming from the backseat wasn't helping.
Maybe that was it. She was tired, and maybe she just couldn't focus on the spell now. Nope. That didn't make sense. Summoning a demon was the hard part. Getting rid of him was supposed to be easy. If things went badly, no one wanted to rely on a complex ritual. Three words said with intent and poof, the demon was gone.
She didn't think it was lack of intent either. Morgan didn't like the idea of sending Bob away, but she knew it was for the best. It was the only way to keep everyone else safe. Even Bob had said so.
No. Something else had gone wrong. Bob should be gone now. Instead, he was waiting at her house, watching TV and probably eating the last of the Pop Tarts. She could feel him tugging at her, almost like there was a string connecting them. It wasn't there when they were near each other, but with every mile she put between them it felt more noticeable.
The flickering light from Joe's Gas appeared in front of her, but it was the car parked about a hundred yards away from it that caught her attention. A light flashed inside of it as she approached. That would be Jimmy. It was time to get the burn phone and give it to Henry, then they could continue with the rest of their plan.
And after that, Morgan was going to take a nap. Any magical mysteries that needed to be solved could wait until then.
CH 15 - Star and Stone
The time at the hospital was a blur. Morgan expected to be in and out in under an hour. Talk about underestimating the bureaucracy involved. There were lots of tests that Henry didn't like and even more waiting around after they were done.
It wasn't a completely horrible experience. Aunt Helen was there. She hadn't left Henry's side for a second even though she was stuck in a wheelchair. There were tears and hugs. Even Officer Jimmy had to wipe his eyes a few times.
As promised, he stayed close by and kept the police from asking too many questions There was nothing he could do to keep Chief Grundy at bay. The older police officer asked Morgan and Henry a bunch of questions as he jotted down things in a notebook. He could have been doodling for all Morgan could tell. No matter what she did, the Chief managed to keep his notes positioned so that she couldn't see what he was writing.
By the time the Chief was done, he seemed satisfied with their story about Henry escaping from the car when the kidnapper stopped for gas. He pulled Jimmy aside for a private discussion and then left to look for clues around Joe's place.
Jimmy had been ordered to guard Henry until they were sure the kidnapper wouldn't come back. That thought sent a shiver down Morgan's spine. It would be bad enough if the kidnapper was human, but from what she knew, a Candy Crone was something else, closer to a demon, like Bob, than a mortal witch like Morgan. She would had to be prepared if that thing dared to show its face around Henry again.
Somehow during it all, Morgan managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. It was on a chair in Henry's room, but that didn't matter to her. She was so tired that she could have slept anywhere, and while Jimmy watched over everyone she got some much needed rest.
The doctors had decided to keep Henry overnight for observation, and Jimmy used his authority as a police officer to get Helen and Henry moved into the same room. He said it was for their protection, but he really just wanted to make sure that they remained together. That's what they needed more than anything.
Morgan stayed with them until everyone had dinner. Jimmy promised to stay the night, even though a second officer had been sent to relieve him. The other officer, Daniels was his name, sat on a chair in the hallway while Jimmy took over Morgan's seat and tried to get a few hours of sleep himself.
Morgan needed to get home.
She had tried to call Bob a couple of times, both on his cell phone and on her aunt's home number. The cell phone had gone right to voicemail, which wasn't set up yet, and there was no answer on the home line.
Bob didn't know what was going on, and Morgan was worried about him. She didn't know what had happened with the spell, and it was hard to imagine what he was going through. Bob really was a lost soul trapped in Limbo.
Aunt Helen and Henry were as safe as they could be in a crowded hospital with two police officers nearby. No one was going to bother them there. She needed to talk to Bob.
By the time Morgan left the hospital, it was dark. She had spent the entire day there. The drive home took a little more than forty-five minutes, and the closer she got, the more concerned Morgan grew.
She knew the smart thing to do was to send Bob back, but she couldn't do it. It didn't matter why the spell hadn't worked. She was glad it didn't. Morgan couldn't sentence him to an eternity of pain and suffering. He didn't deserve that.
There had to be another way to keep her family safe without banishing Bob. She would find it, no matter what it took.
The first thing that she noticed as she pulled into her parking space was that the back door was standing open. Light from the kitchen illuminated the yard, and Morgan could see the spell circle she painted yesterday to banish the Hunter. Caught between the headlights of the SUV and the light from the kitchen, she could also see tire tracks cutting through the yard and tearing up the ground around the circle.
Morgan turned off the car but left the headlights on. The ding-ding of the warning alarm silenced as soon as she got out and closed the door. She circled around the tire tracks and made her way to the back of the house. There were muddy boot prints all over the place. Even one plastered in the middle of the door. Someone had kicked in the door, leaving the door frame splintered from the impact.
"Bob?" She whispered it, and then cursed herself for being an idiot. Thankfully, she caught herself before she yelled his name. That would have been just wonderful if whoever kicked in the door was still here. She would have been just another dumb victim from a stupid horror movie.
Nope. It was better to assume that whoever broke into the house was still there. It would have been even smarter to go back to the car, call the police and have them deal with it. And, that is exactly what she would have done if she wasn't harboring a demon in her house. She could call Jimmy, but that would have left Henry alone.
Unfortunately, she was on her own. Fortunately, she wasn't helpless. She summoned the magic for the push spell that she had used in the parking lot and stepped into the kitchen.
Except for the broken door, the kitchen looked normal. There were no overturned chairs or broken dishes or spilled boxes of cereal. Morgan stood frozen in the doorway trying
to decide which one of the standard clichés she should follow. Would she grab the frying pan so that she could accidentally clunk an innocent neighbor on the head or would she reach for the biggest carving knife she could find and stab him instead?
She chose neither. She's a friggin' witch. She didn't need to carry a weapon. She was a weapon. Morgan laughed at that thought. Well, she did know one spell that would come in handy.
Morgan followed the muddy footprints into the house. The floor creaked with each step that she took until she finally made it to the carpet covered living room. It was darker here, but there was enough light from the kitchen for her to see that someone had knocked a lamp over. The trail continued up the stairs toward the bedrooms.
That's where Bob would have been.
The ceiling made a creaking noise. Not the ceiling, she thought. That was the floor upstairs. Someone was still up there. Morgan looked for the bag full of tools that she had taken to the library, but it was missing. So much for grabbing a flashlight.
Another creak followed by a thump. Someone was definitely upstairs, moving around, and she didn't think it was Bob. Morgan crept up the stairs. She kept as close to the wall as she could, and that seemed to help a little to reduce the noise that she made. Each time the stairs creaked, she froze until she was sure whoever was upstairs hadn't heard her.
The intruder was in her room. The door was hanging from its hinges, and Morgan could see the beam of a flashlight bouncing off the wall. From what she could see, the room was trashed, but she didn't know if that was from the intruder or if it was just that bad after the Hunter broke out of her room.
There were lots of footprints in the house, but there was only one person here now. It had to have been the robed jokers from the laundromat. They knew her name and they probably knew where she lived. They had come for Bob. If they hurt him, she was going to, well, she wasn't exactly sure what she would do, but it wouldn't be pleasant.
Morgan took a few steps down the hall, toward her room, and then stopped. The person shining the light in her room looked a lot smaller than the hooded guys she had dealt with last night. When the intruder turned sideways, Morgan realized why. It wasn't a guy. It was a woman, and not just any woman. It was that reporter from the hospital, Alisha Stone.
Morgan reached behind her and flipped the light switch. The reporter jumped as the lights came on. She spun around and pointed the flashlight right at Morgan.
"Get that light out of my face," snapped Morgan. "And, what the Hell are you doing in my room?"
Alisha lowered the light and stepped into the hall. "What are you?" asked Alisha. "I've seen everything. The symbols in the backyard. The circle on your floor. Even that thing you had caged up in here. Are you part of a satanic cult? Is that what all of this is about?"
Why did everyone think she was in some sort of Satanist? Morgan stared at the reporter. Alisha showed no sign of guilt or remorse about breaking into the house and going through Morgan's things. She was acting like she had every right to be there, and she had the nerve to start questioning Morgan about the spell circles and Bob.
"Wait," snapped Morgan. "Back up a little there. What thing in what cage? What are you talking about? Do you know where Bob is?"
"I have no idea who Bob is," said Alisha. "But, I did see those guys carrying a cage out of the house, and there was something weird in it. I couldn't see it too clearly, but I could overhear the men talking. One of them called it a demon, and from what I found in your room, I can believe it. You summoned a demon didn't you."
"Will you just shut up for a moment," said Morgan. "Those men took my friend. Do you have any idea where they went or who they are? What about what sort of car they were driving?"
Alisha started to talk, but Morgan cut her off before she could say more than a single word. "Please," said Morgan, "You have to help me find my friend."
The reporter lifted her left hand. In it was a smart phone. "I don't know who they were," she said, "But, I did record the entire thing. I'll show you the video if you tell me everything."
Morgan considered hitting Alisha with the push spell and just taking the cell phone from her. It would have served her right for being such a pain in the butt. Instead, she released the power she'd been holding for the spell. If she held it much longer the temptation to use it might have been too much.
"Alright," said Morgan. "You want to know the truth. I summoned a demon named Bob to help me find my cousin. He did his part and now there are a bunch of goons hunting him down, and I need to find him and bring him back. Now, hand over that phone before I come over there and take it from you."
It was definitely a good thing that Morgan had released the spell. Otherwise, she would have punctuated that statement by blasting Alisha right into the wall. The way Morgan looked at it, making a bargain with Alisha wasn't that much different than summoning a demon, except that she liked the demon more.
"I knew it," said Alisha handing over the phone. "I always knew there was something weird about this town. What are you? A witch? Do you worship the devil? Is that why kids keep disappearing in this town? Did they betray you when they took Henry?"
Morgan sighed. "No one is worshiping the devil, and the town didn't have anything to do with Henry being taken. Do you remember the story of Hansel and Gretel?
"The one with the witch who lived in a house made of candy?"
"Exactly. Turns out that story is based on an actual witch. Bob calls them Candy Crones. One of them had Henry."
"Are you serious?"
Morgan nodded her head. "Up until two days ago, I never would have believed any of this. They were calling off the search, and Aunt Helen was in the hospital. I was alone and desperate, and then I found this book. It showed me how to summon Bob."
"Holy crap," whispered Alisa. "That's unbelievable. I'd swear you were crazy if I hadn't seen that thing in the cage."
"Bob. His name is Bob." said Morgan as she started to scan the video. The sound quality was horrible. She couldn't make out anything they were saying, but at least Alisha had zoomed in.
The reporter took a step closer so that she could look at the phone with Morgan. "There," she said. "There they are coming out of the house."
Sure enough, the video on the camera showed five guys coming out of the house. They all wore black sneakers, jeans and a dark blue sweat jacket. The hoods were pulled up to hide their face, but Morgan knew who they were. Well, at least in the general sense. It was the same guys from the parking lot. They had changed clothes, but they were all obsessed with the cage that hung from two poles. There was one of the hooded guys on each end of the pool, with the one who looked like the leader giving them directions. In one hand he held Morgan's backpack. In the other he carried her tool bag.
That was bad, real bad. The guy had the spellbook she found in Henry's room and the notebook Morgan had used to record the portal spell.
As bad as that was, it wasn't the worst. Clinging to the bars of the cage was Bob. There was no mistaking the little demon. His face was bloody, but he hadn't given up. He was shaking the cage and yelling at his captives. Morgan couldn't make out the words, but she was certain he'd owe Henry a few bucks for the swear jar once she got him home.
Because that was exactly what she was going to do. She didn't rescue Henry from a cage just so someone else could end up in one. These guys messed up big time when they came for Bob.
Morgan watched the rest of the video, and then another video that Alisha had recorded. She never got a good luck at anyone's face. She did see the car. It looked like a black SUV, but she couldn't tell what type or even see a license plate. Morgan wasn't even sure about the color. The sun had just started to set when they pulled in and everything looked black. The only thing she was sure about was that the SUV was bigger than her Explorer and that the guys had taken Bob and the two bags when they left.
"How long ago did this happen?" asked Morgan.
"Maybe ten minutes before you scared the crap out of me. They left
the back door open and I came in to see what had happened."
"Looking for a story," snapped Morgan. She remembered that this was the reporter who dragged her family's name in the dirt, insinuating that they might somehow be involved in Henry's disappearance. Then she had been stalking Morgan's house. She didn't care about Henry or Morgan. All she wanted was a story that would get her big ratings.
"I'm looking for answers."
"Get out."
"What? What do you mean?" asked Alisha.
"Get out of my house. Get out of my life. All you want to do is profit off other people's misery, and it makes me sick."
"But..." Alisha started to speak, but Morgan wasn't interested.
"No buts. Get out."
"Can I have my phone back?"
Morgan laughed. It sounded mean, even to her. "No. I need this to find Bob."
Morgan braced herself expecting Alisha to make a grab for it. Instead the reporter nodded her head, turned and started walking toward the stairs. She was actually going to leave.
When Alisha reached the top of the stairs, she stopped. She didn't turn around, but she did say, "My brother was taken when he was eight years old."
"Bullshit," said Morgan. "Do you really think I'm that stupid."
"It's not bullshit," snapped Alisha. "I never got to know my brother because some asshole took him before I was even born. I didn't even know I had a brother until I was in my teens. Nobody talked about him, and now it's too late. Nobody ever will."
The reporter turned around and glared at Morgan. "So, yeah, I'm here looking for a story, but it isn't your story that I want. It's mine. I need to understand what happened. I need to find out what happened to my brother, Ron."
CH 16 - We Need a Big Rock
Morgan blinked. That wasn't what she was expecting. Considering everything that Morgan went through to find Henry, was she really that much different from Alisha? That didn't make what the reporter did right.
