by Dora Blume
“Fine, whatever.” Erik took a long pull from his fresh beer.
“So, there was this guy that Erik was tracking, he’d been possessed a few weeks prior and was suspected by Erik of killing an entire family down near the Iowa border. Erik had been following him for a month trying to get to the guy to eliminate the demon. The problem was the more he watched, the more he saw of the guy’s family. See demons don’t always possess the guys who are predetermined to kill, no sometimes they like to possess a typical person, and that was the case with this guy. He was a good father and husband before the demon possessed him that’s why Erik was having a hard time. Demons possess humans, but they can be dormant in the host for however long they want. The person possessed has no idea when the demon is taking over, and the demon has access to all the human’s thoughts. It can be difficult to flush out a demon if they don’t make themselves known. So, this guy went on living the life of the man, without a missed step. He was suspected of killing the family, but the only proof Erik had was in a few glimpses of thoughts that were often jumbled. Erik watched this for weeks and realized he couldn’t kill the guy to eliminate the demon. He watched the family, and this man was a huge part of it. The love he’d seen after watching the family had gotten to him. Of course, he came to me for advice. I gave him the incantation that removes the demon from the person. One I’m surprised your father never gave you, he certainly should have. Either way, Erik got what he needed and went to the house. The little girl, what was she about five or six?”
“Five,” Erik answered, hollow.
“Yeah, the five-year-old girl was home with her father. Erik didn’t want the girl to see anything, so he waited until the girl went in her room before entering the house. He did what he does, and the man was dispossessed, and the little girl got her real dad back. See, Erik heard the demon planning to kill the whole family and after watching her Erik couldn’t let that happen. She was so sweet and innocent. He also saved the dad’s life which was very commendable of him.”
“Nice, story. It was a little more complicated than that but yeah that’s essentially what happened.” Erik shook his head at Mike. He just had to tell that story.
“See the remarkable thing about the whole story is that Erik was only fifteen years old. His mother had just died, and he still managed to save the day for that family. Can you imagine still facing demons and doing your duty despite the circumstances? He is incredibly brave.” Mike winked at Erik.
“Seriously, Mike cut the crap.” Erik took a long drink from his bottle. “I need a smoke,” Erik turned to walk toward the back.
“You really saved that girl’s father when you were only fifteen?” Amy was shocked.
“Yep.” Erik went out the backdoor to have his smoke.
“Wow,” Amy said amazed. She wasn’t saving anyone at that age; she’d been too worried about not being bullied to think about saving anyone but herself.
“Don’t mind him; he has issues with people knowing that he’s a good guy. Ruins that bad boy rep he’s going for. Would you like another drink love?” Mike leaned across the bar toward her.
“No thanks, I think one of us needs to be able to drive and the way he’s knocking them back I think that will be me.” She didn’t blame him it’d been a rough day.
“Yeah, I have a feeling something’s up; I can feel the buzz in everyone. That’s the thing about being a tracker, you know when something’s up.” Mike walked over to continue washing glasses for the coming night crowd.
“So, have you had this place long?” Amy asked. She looked around at the bar. It had an old grunge feel with the light wood half-way up the walls and hexagons were everywhere. The pictures that lined the walls were a stunning display of history in themselves. The darkness of the room accentuated the green lanterns that hung from the ceiling down to matching green booths and pool table. It felt like stepping back in time when Amy studied the room.
“Yeah, about seven years or so, I like to hang out here, serve drinks. So, what’s rattling around in that pretty head of yours now that you know the big secret?” He continued to put away glasses. His staff would be here shortly to start, and he wanted to talk to Amy before any other workers showed up.
“I’m still not sure; it’s a lot to take in. It’s nice to hear how you guys save the world and all but it’s still kinda weird that you all have powers. I never thought anything like that existed, I mean its fantasy, not reality. Now I just don’t know what to think. It’s all happening so fast. Yesterday was normal, today is anything but.” She looked down at the counter as she spoke.
“My advice to you love, is just go with the flow. Sometimes it’s not important to figure out the details, sometimes you just got to go with it. I think these two might need a supportive person soon. You might need to be that person for them. Besides you already know they’re good otherwise you wouldn’t have stuck around.” He genuinely smiled at her. He could tell she was a good person and would stick around for them if they needed her. He had a gift for knowing such things about people, and he had a sense about her.
“Yeah I guess,” she looked down at her untouched drink and took a long pull from the bottle. Maybe she did need the beer to steady her nerves.
Erik came back from his smoke and sat down on the stool next to Amy. He looked drawn, his eyes sad. His lips thinned in a hard line. He looked to Amy and sighed.
“Do you want another beer before you tell me what the hell is going on?” Mike walked to get another beer for Erik.
“Yeah, I could use quite a few drinks but I need to stay focused.” He turned his attention back to Mike as he got him another from the cooler.
“So, what’s up?” Mike leaned against the bar.
“Well... Let’s see where to start. Demons are possessing college students so they can do their bidding. They are doing this with the intent of those college students taking prominent positions within government organizations. We just got intel from an intern working in the capital. Sloane just figured out that a string of robberies is connected because they are stealing ingredients to weaken our powers. Bryant has been putting in calls to the leaders so they’re aware of the situation and are on the lookout for any other robberies. That information could have only been obtained by one of our own so we have at least one traitor in the organization but probably more.” Erik took a long drink again. “Yeah, the world is going to hell and we’re not prepared for it.”
“Shit. What happened to possess, kill, and move on? Since when do they think beyond just killing people. Any leads on who might have given them the information on how to weaken us.” Mike took a deep breath. “Shit... so is there a plan? Has Bryant heard back from the Shikari leaders?”
“He’s figuring it out right now. I have no idea what the plan is but I know it’s going to be crazy.” Erik finished the beer quickly. “Do you have any information that could be helpful? We could use anything right now. We’re trying to play catch-up and we’re not doing a very good job. Apparently, they’ve been planning this for a while and they had to have an insider to know the ingredients Sloane mentioned. I didn’t even know about ‘em, only a select few people even have access to that information. Although, I think more of us should know, it seems rather important.”
“I know because it was passed to me by my father.” Mike paused thinking, “Hmm... well I know our group is buzzing. A few have been overwhelmed finding more than one demon at a site where they weren’t expecting them. The demons working together explains what I’ve been hearing. Something big is happening since there’s an unusual number of demons in the city. I’ll speak with a few of our friends and see what I can get. I’ll get back to you as soon as I find anything.”
“Great, we better get back and see what’s going on. Bryant has been on the phone trying to get status updates from other areas and getting the Shikari in on the robbery stuff. I’ll let you know what the plan is as soon as we have one.” Erik got up from the stool and waited for Amy to join him.
&n
bsp; “Are you sure you should drive?” she said trying to count back how many beers he had.
“I’m probably fine but if it worries you, here,” he tossed her the keys, “You drive.”
Amy caught the keys against her chest. She fumbled with them a minute before she found the right one. “Okay, I can drive.”
“Can you handle a stick,” Erik winked at her.
Amy put her hand on her hip and looked at Erik. “Yes, I can handle a stick.”
Erik chuckled at her response and got into the passenger seat. Amy started the car. “Are we headed back then?” she asked.
Erik studied her face then couldn’t help but move his eyes down her body. She had a firm grip on the stick shift and he felt a jerk in his pants from the way she looked. He wanted her but knew he couldn’t do anything about this particular craving. Her coconut scent filled the car, and it took him a moment to realize that he needed to answer her question. “Yeah, head back to the house. Was talking to Mike helpful?”
“Yeah, in more ways than one,” she looked over to Erik who was staring at her hand on the stick shift. “I get that you do good things. I knew that already. I still feel overwhelmed but I’ll deal. You have much bigger things to deal with. Apparently, your world is in chaos and I’ll be here to help in whatever way I can.” She turned to look seriously at Erik.
“Wow, you changed your mind quick, was it something Mike said?” Erik was surprised. She hadn’t been willing to help before. She seemed like she’d been teetering on the fence whether she was running away or sticking around. He’d been really surprised to see her sitting at the table when he’d returned with Sloane today. He couldn’t fathom why on earth she would’ve come back?
“Yeah maybe, I don’t know. I just feel like I should be here to help. Sloane has helped me so much. I want to be there for her.” She sat, her back as straight as a board. Her hands were white as she gripped the wheel.
“Huh,” Erik lounged back and continued to study Amy. He wanted to get to know her but knew that Sloane would never allow him to get too close. She’d been extremely protective of her friends when they were younger and he knew that hadn’t changed. She’d kick his ass if he even attempted what he’d been thinking. He raked his gaze over Amy. It’d probably be worth the ass kicking.
Amy rolled her eyes at him and pulled into the driveway. She pulled to a stop near the rear entrance. She turned to face Erik “So, I get this is bad, but how bad exactly? I don’t know enough and you guys keep saying this is unusual but from what Bryant told me this has happened before. I guess I just want to know what I’m in for before I commit to sticking around.”
“Well yes, this type of thing has happened before. Demons have organized and tried to take us out but their planning hasn’t been this intricate and they’ve never gotten ahold of the information from our own order to weaken us. I’m still a little peeved that I didn’t know about that. I’m a fighter though so I don’t always get information. The Shikari leaders protect all our knowledge and that’s who Bryant has been in contact with. They figure everything out and dispatch fighters. We obtain intel or dispossess demons. This is the first time I’ve been involved in what was happening but that’s because Sloane has seen it and knows about the ingredients. Usually we don’t hear about demon activity happening in other parts of the country. We deal with our city. Not much happens in the Midwest. It’s dull here, most of the time. Demons come here to possess people and murder them occasionally, thus the nickname murderapolis but we try to keep it concealed. So, although this seems bad, it’s probably nothing that hasn’t been stopped before. It’s just this is the first time I’ve had to deal with it directly so it seems worse.” He shrugged. “We’ll stop ‘em, we always do.”
Obviously, Mike said something to her to make her want to stay and Erik was grateful. He liked her and wanted her to stick around. He hadn’t felt this way in a while, not since... he stopped that thought. He couldn’t think about her right now. He wasn’t the relationship type. But with Amy he could be different; she already knew the secret, so he didn’t have to worry. He also liked that he could be himself around her, which he rarely felt with other people. He was always so guarded, only sharing relevant information. With her he felt like he could tell her anything. He shook his head, he couldn’t believe he was having these thoughts; they were so uncharacteristic for him. He should just have sex with her and then he’d realize there wasn’t anything special, she’d just been one of the few to turn him down. It was probably just the challenge of it. He wasn’t turned down often, so he saw it as a challenge. Yet, he knew there was more to his feelings for her.
“Oh okay, so it’s not new just different for you. That makes me feel a little better. So, the leaders will know what to do to stop it and the Midwest will go back to being dull just the way you like it.” She nodded.
He felt a pang in his stomach when he lied but it was necessary. “Yeah most likely, I need to go find out what the plan is.” Erik hopped out of the car, he didn’t want to answer any more questions. He didn’t feel like he could give the right answers to make her feel better without lying.
“Good plan. let’s go find Sloane, see if she’s found anything new.” Amy followed behind Erik but noticed that the car they’d taken earlier was gone. “Where’d the other car go?” Amy pointed to where the car had been parked before they left.
Erik looked over and shrugged, “Maybe one of them needed it for something.”
Chapter 7
Sloane turned and parked in front of a new age shop downtown where she could get the ingredients she needed for a boost. Powerless, wasn’t something she experienced. She knew her confidence and sense of self were directly tied to her ability and without it working she couldn’t be her badass self. She needed to be strong to help everyone. Walking up she noticed different crystals and hookahs displayed in the window. A large colorful rug hung behind the display. Opening the door, she was assaulted with a strong sandalwood scent. She took in the shelves stocked with books, amethyst displays, and various gift items. She saw the various bottles and bulk bins and headed toward them. She studied the labels until she found what she was looking for.
The owner came up behind her. “Can I help you with anything, dear?”
Sloane turned from the wall toward the woman. She wore a long olive maxi skirt with white ruffled top tucked into a thick black belt. Her long dark brown hair fell around her shoulders but was held back from her face with a thick burgundy headband. Her smile was warm and inviting and she held her hands clasped in front of her. Sloane met her eyes and said, “I hope so, I have a list of things I need to get.” She handed her the scrap of paper.
“Ah, you are one of us I see, very interesting list of ingredients you have here. Need a little help with your powers?” The woman glanced from the list to look Sloane in the eyes.
“Yes, I’m having trouble. I’m sorry have we met? I’m Sloane.” She held her hand out to the woman.
“We haven’t. I’m Shaundra, nice to meet you. I run the shop here but I also help Shikari in need. Please come with me I already have this mixture prepared.” She turned and her skirt fluttered around her. Sloane watched her a minute then scrambled to follow.
“Really?” Sloane said surprised. She followed Shaundra. She pushed aside a beaded curtain and jumped. A raven was sitting on a thick branch attached to a post. It cawed upon her entrance.
Shaundra looked lovingly at the bird. “Oh, Poe hush she’s a friend. Sorry about him; he’s suspicious of new people.” She walked to a line of cabinets and started sifting through the bottles. “So, may I ask what power you are having trouble with dear. I have a generic potion which will help all powers but I have some that are specific to the type of power you need boosted.” She turned back to Sloane.
“Uh... I can just take the generic one.” She was reluctant to share her ability with someone she’d just met.
“I understand your suspicion but I can be of more help to you if you tell me what
I’m working with.” She waited.
Sloane sighed and decided to trust the woman. “I get visions of the future, lately they’ve been jumbled and I’m having trouble putting the pieces together.”
“I see, please have a seat, dear. I will make you up some tea that will have you seeing clearly in no time.” She motioned for Sloane to sit at the small table with a green velvet cloth laid over the top.
“So, have you owned this shop long?” Sloane was trying to make small talk, but she really wanted to press her for information.
“I’ve been here about ten years, it’s becoming more popular now with all the new age groups looking for alternative healing. There are so many trying to find a way to connect back to Mother Earth. I hope this streak continues because without that connection we lose much of our self.” She placed the kettle on the stove and sat down in the white metal chair across from Sloane.
“So, do you have a power as well?” Sloane was curious. She’d been away from this life for so long she wanted to know more. She felt like a part of her was missing.
“Wow, you are having trouble with your powers; you can’t sense that I’m one of the collective?” She got up and moved over to the cupboards again. “I think you’re going to need more than the usual to help. You need to find a way to reconnect. Can I ask what brought about your trouble?”
Sloane looked to the floor, “I haven’t used my powers in so long I don’t know for sure. I noticed last week I was having trouble. I’ve been away but came back recently. I can’t admit to anyone around me that I’m having trouble.” Sloane didn’t know why she was confiding in a stranger but she needed to tell someone.
