by Amy Boyles
“You don’t want to end up like I did,” Alice said. “I was laughing and passing gas all over town. That’s what happened when the demon took possession of me.”
“This time,” Roan said, nodding to Axel, “I may need your help. We need to send the demon back to where he came from, once and for all.”
Axel nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
Betty jutted out her chin. “Me, too. I’ve seen my share of baddies in this life. I would love to send one back to the pits of hades.”
Roan clapped his hands. “Ruth, Alice, I need you to stick around nearby. I don’t want you coming inside. The demon has already taken over Alice’s body once. It may do so again.”
Ruth turned to me. “I brought my ATV. We’ll ride it up there. If anything happens, it’ll be the vehicle to drive through town.”
Roan nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He exhaled sharply. “The rest of us will go inside the house, see what we’re dealing with, and see if we can extricate the gold man while keeping Cecil and his mother safe. How is that?”
Everyone murmured in agreement.
“Okay,” Roan said, “let’s go get us a demon and stop a man from turning anyone else to gold.”
Roan and Blissful drove Betty over in Roan’s car, while Axel and I followed behind.
My stomach clenched at the thought of facing off against a demon, but I’d fought witches that could be heck on wheels, so I supposed this wasn’t too much out of my comfort zone.
“Don’t worry,” Axel said quietly. “Everything will be fine.”
I nibbled the tip of a finger. “What makes you think I’m worried?”
His gaze slid to the corner of his eye. “Everything about you. You’re biting your nails and you’re sweating.”
“Lucky guess,” I said, sitting on my hands. “I just think it’s weird that we’re suddenly going up against a demon right after everything that happened in the park, don’t you think?”
“You think it’s all coincidence?”
“Maybe not all, but yes, I think there’s something strange about it. That’s why I’m nervous.”
“Our plan should be simple.”
“What’s that?”
Axel pointed out the windshield. “We go inside the house, see if it’s the man we’re looking for, and we take what’s ours. That’s it.”
I stared out the window, watching as houses and trees passed by the landscape. Part of me wondered if it would be that easy, if we would be able to simply walk in and ask the man to hand over the piece of heart. I hoped so. For the sake of all the people in Magnolia Cove, I hoped it would be that easy.
“I wonder something,” I said.
“What’s that?” Axel asked.
“Why the mother of the boy didn’t call Blissful and Roan?”
Axel slowed to a stop behind Roan’s SUV. “Maybe she did, but Blissful didn’t get the message. We have been busy.”
I wiggled in my seat and released my hands from their hold under my thighs. “That’s true.” Axel braked and I unbuckled my belt. “Oh, well. I guess we’ll find out soon.”
“We will, Mrs. Reign.”
I smiled at Axel’s reference to my new last name. “I trust you, Mr. Reign.”
“Good.” He leaned over and kissed me, running his hand up my cheek. “Now let’s go get that piece of the heart.”
I slipped from the truck and eyed the house. It was an ordinary craftsman bungalow, the sort that had plenty of dark wood framing the inside. It was the kind of home that screamed welcome; it was just too bad exactly what was welcoming us.
“We need to cast a white light on everyone,” Roan said. “It should hopefully offer some protection from the demon. Grab hands.”
We circled and took hands. Roan said a quick prayer, and right as he finished, Ruth and Alice rumbled up in the ATV. They took position on the street and waved.
“Is everyone ready?” Blissful asked. “This may not be easy, but we’ll be as quick as we can about returning to you what’s yours. Remember, that woman in the park needs to be turned back into a human. That must be done before y’all leave.”
Axel nodded. “We will do everything in our power to help her.”
I smiled. “Even if we have to leave Betty here, we’ll find a way to turn her back.”
Betty scowled at me.
I winked to let her know I was teasing.
Roan checked his vest to make sure he had everything he needed. He grunted, satisfied. “Let’s go in.”
Axel, Betty and I followed Roan and Blissful. They knocked at the door, and it was quickly answered by a woman.
Roan introduced her as Moira. The poor woman, she looked exhausted, as if she’d been awake for days.
“Hello,” she said to us. Then she turned to Blissful and Roan. “Please, come in. I was worried when I didn’t hear back from you.”
Blissful frowned. “You called?”
“Oh yes,” Moira said, nodding. “But then this priest showed up. Said he had heard about the case and wanted to help.”
I followed them into the living room. The room was a wreck, with overturned furniture and broken objects shattered across the floor. My heart tightened. I couldn’t imagine the suffering this woman must be going through.
But it wasn’t simply the furniture and the mess that made me feel bad for Moira and her son. The very air was thick and heavy with what I could only describe as sorrow. It was as if an oppressive cloud had settled inside the house itself.
It was so thick that the feeling filtered into my lungs and squeezed me. I wouldn’t be myself again until I got out of here, until I was able to breathe fresh air.
Right then I realized there was only one major goal—to help Roan and Blissful send this demon back to where it had come from, and lock it away forever. This family didn’t need to be tortured by the evil that had pervaded their home. They needed to be freed from it.
My gaze cut from the disarray to Axel. His jaw was clenched, and a fire burned in his eyes. He was angry, and I knew he wanted the same thing I did—to end this family’s suffering, even if it was out of our realm of power.
We weren’t ghost hunters. We weren’t even demon tamers. We were simply two witches and one wizard who happened to be part werewolf. Maybe we would be enough. Perhaps with all of us working together with our collective power, we could lock the demon away.
“Now I’m sure your house has a portal,” Roan said.
Moira’s eyebrows shot to peaks. “A portal?”
He nodded soberly. “That’s how the demon was able to return.” Roan glanced around the room. “Where is Cecil?”
Moira pointed to a doorway. “The priest, Father Don, took him into the kitchen so they could talk a moment.” She called out. “Father Don! Cecil! We have guests, others who wish to help us.”
“Coming,” called Father Don.
This was it. The moment we’d been waiting for. We would see the man who had a piece of the heart, and it would be ours. He would either hand it over willingly or we would take it—there were no other options.
Cecil ran into the room, a teenager full of life. There was so much for him to look forward to. I hated to think he’d been possessed by a demon.
I closed my eyes for a moment, but they opened when heavier, deeper sounding footsteps entered the room. The priest wore a hat and kept his head tipped down.
“Everyone,” Moira said, “I’d like for you to meet Father Don.”
Father Don lifted his head and removed the hat. “How do you do?”
My blood became icy. This wasn’t the gold man we were looking for. Blissful’s information had been wrong. The man who stood before us was none other than Blake Calhoun.
He had arrived in Haunted Hollow and was looking for one thing and one thing only—a piece of the heart stone.
Axel
What in the world? When I saw Blake Calhoun, only one word went through my mind—destroy. I wanted him gone, done, out of this house and out of my
life forever.
I flexed my fingers, doing everything I could not to wrap them around Calhoun’s throat.
Betty stepped forward, her lower lip trembling. I moved beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and stared up at me. I shot her a look that said she needed to calm down. The last thing I wanted to happen was for this situation to get out of control. Blake could attack the woman and child. He could kill them or, worse, turn them into vampires.
He smiled, his lips curling back in a way that reminded me of a snake. “I’ve come to help the boy.”
“I bet you have,” I said.
His gaze sharpened on me. This was cat and mouse at its best. Blake had discovered where we were because of the newscasters. Obviously he’d raced here using his vampire power and decided to investigate. The fact that he was here, at the boy’s house where the demon was, may have been coincidence, and it may not have.
Blake’s smile widened. “I’m so glad y’all are here.”
I stepped forward. “How did you find out about the boy?”
His gaze cut to Moira. “I heard about the case. People were saying someone was running around town earlier in the week laughing and…passing gas.”
I glanced at Roan, who frowned. “I guess news travels fast.”
“So I came to offer my services,” Blake said.
All Blake wanted was that heart. He didn’t care about the boy, he just thought the two might be connected so he showed up pretending to be a priest.
I ran a finger over my jaw and glanced at Roan. “Well, I for one think we should take advantage of the father’s presence. His addition will surely mean we’ll be able to stop the demon more quickly.”
Blake’s eyes narrowed.
I glared at him before crossing over and clapping him on the back. “If the demon is inside the boy, you should be able to call it out, right, Father?”
Blake gave me an icy stare. “Of course, I can try. These matters can be…tricky.”
I clicked my tongue. My entire goal was to keep Blake under my thumb. I wanted to know every step he was taking. But at the same time, the last thing I wanted this vampire to think was that he was winning this situation. He was absolutely not winning. He was not in control, no matter what he thought.
He wasn’t walking into this house, conning this woman and her child, and stealing the heart from us—no way, not on my watch.
“Even if it’s tricky,” I said, “I’m sure you’re up to it, right? You’ve got this under control, and my friends Roan and Blissful will help you.” I leaned in and whispered, “Roan’s a demonologist. I’m sure he’d love for you to help him call forth the demon, right, Roan?”
Roan slicked a hand over his hair. “I would appreciate all the help I can get. So will Blissful.” He nodded toward her. “She can communicate with ghosts, get them to do things for her, right, Blissful?”
Blissful and Roan stared at Blake in a way that suggested both of them had caught on to what he was—or that at least the vampire wasn’t who he was pretending to be.
Blissful smiled. “Yes, spirits and I—we’re tight. So…” She gestured toward Cecil. “Whenever you’re ready, Father, call the demon forth.”
Blissful
So this guy was not a priest. There was no doubt about that. For one thing, he reeked of otherworldly. I didn’t know exactly what he was, but this guy oozed evil; there was no doubt about that.
And yet, why had Francine told me that the gold man was here? Had she confused him with this Father Don? From the way Axel was acting, it seemed as if he knew “Father Don” well.
Wait a minute. Was this the vampire, Blake Calhoun, who was searching for the heart as well?
My gut twisted. It probably was. Thank you, Media, for putting my entire town in the hands of a vampire.
Roan rubbed his cheek. “Father, are you ready to start, to call forth the demon? There’s also a portal we must close to stop the demon from returning.”
Blake, as I was sure was his name, smiled tightly. “Of course.”
I couldn’t wait to see this—to watch a vampire squirm. Not because I had any sort of hatred for them, but because it would be interesting to see.
But I also didn’t want to put Cecil at risk. I held out my hand to the boy. “Come, Cecil. I’m just going to secure you in this chair so that you don’t get hurt.”
“I’ll help,” Roan said.
I pulled a length of rope from my belt. Roan and I worked to bind Cecil to the chair.
“He won’t be hurt, will he?” Moira asked, tears shining in her eyes.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” I rubbed her arm. “We will do everything in our power to keep him safe. But as Roan said, there is a portal somewhere in this house. We will have to close it in order to keep the demon from returning.”
Moira nodded. “If it will stop this creature from taking over Cecil, it’s what I want.”
“It should work, but we have to get started right now. Moira, stand in the back, if you would, beside Pepper.”
Moira took her place beside Pepper, and I locked gazes with Roan. All the fire in me, all that had burned because of our argument, faded away as I stared at him. I smiled widely and felt myself soften.
“Roan? Are you ready?”
He pushed up his sleeves. “As long as the good father is.”
The doorbell rang. “Are you expecting anyone else?” I asked Moira.
She started to answer when Blake cut her off. “I am. I’m expecting someone else. Reinforcements, if you will. Another person who has a gift, one that may be of use to us.”
Blake grinned but his smile held no warmth. A streak of cold, a chill that unnerved me, zipped down my spine. What or who had the vampire sent for? Was it more of his kind?
“I’ll get it,” Axel said. He shot Blake a look burning with such anger that it could have started a fire. “I’d like to meet whoever is supposed to help.”
I watched as Axel stalked to the door and opened it. “I’m Axel.”
“I’m Gary,” came the soft voice.
“Come in,” Axel said. “We’re just about to get started.”
Gary nervously stepped inside, and I felt my bones turn to sludge. Gary, nervous Gary was none other than—the gold man.
The man I’d seen earlier in the street turning simple objects into gold for a throng of onlookers stood here, in Moira’s doorway, ready to help with an exorcism.
“Which of you is Father Don?” Gary asked.
Blake strode over, shooting Axel and Pepper a triumphant look. “Thank you for taking my call,” he said. “I’m so glad you’ve come with your special…talents.”
I started to put the pieces together, started to glue the jigsaw tight. Blake must have put out a search for Gary, asking folks to get him in touch with the man. Someone knew Gary and gave Blake his phone number.
Blake then called Gary and probably stroked his ego, told him how he understood that Gary had certain abilities, ones that may be helpful in a possession situation.
Of course all of that was a lie. Blake only wanted to draw Gary out so that he could then take what he wanted—the sliver of heart stone. That was, if Gary had the heart on him. It could be somewhere else, someplace safe, someplace that none of us would ever guess it could be.
I inwardly groaned. It was all so simple, and if we had done the same thing earlier—asked more people about Gary—then we could have had this situation wrapped up and Gigi wouldn’t have been transformed.
But none of that mattered now. What mattered was that Blake and Gary were outnumbered. There were five of us against two of them.
The only fly in the ointment being, of course, Moira and Cecil, whose face was starting to turn purple. I guess the demon wasn’t waiting any longer for us to call him out.
Gary glanced at Cecil with hesitation. “Is this the boy?”
“Tell us,” Betty said, making her way over to Gary, “what gifts do you have?”
Gary placed
his left hand to his chest. “I have some abilities that may be of service. I’m not a priest, not like Father Don here,” he said, gesturing to Blake, “but I may be able to help.”
Blake clapped Gary on the shoulder. “What my new friend Gary has, here, is the ability to transform objects in a way that could be helpful. If we can call the demon out, Gary may be able to lock him away for good.”
“Uh-huh,” Roan said in disbelief. “I’d like to see that. Okay, are we all ready to start? I think the demon is getting a bit impatient.” He gestured to Cecil. “It’s time to call the creature forward. Don?”
Blake tugged on his collar and cleared his throat. “Oh, demon, I command that you come forward.”
“You’re no priest,” Cecil said, his voice warped and deep.
“Do not,” Blake said to Moira, “listen to the demon’s lies. Evil will do whatever it can to win against us.” He pointed at Cecil. “I command you to leave that boy’s body.”
Hatred filled Cecil’s gaze. “And what if I don’t? I like this boy. I want to corrupt him!”
Blake commanded again, “Come out of there.”
That was when Axel stalked up and placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “Maybe you should rest a moment, Father.”
Blake flinched but said nothing.
Axel rubbed his chin. “Strange the demon isn’t responding to you—you being a man of God and all.”
Roan stepped forward. “Demon, I command that you leave the boy’s body.” He opened a vial of holy water and threw a line of liquid on Cecil. The boy howled in pain. “Leave him,” Roan demanded.
“Or what?” the demon spat. “Maybe I’ll go into your girlfriend. Or maybe, just maybe, I’ll go into one of those witches there.”
My eyes widened.
Cecil pointed to Pepper, Axel and Betty. “I think I would like to be in a witch. Enjoying all that power would be wonderful.”
Moira inched forward. “What is he talking about?”
“Don’t listen to him,” Roan said. “He wants to weaken us.”
