by Rain Oxford
“Can you promise not to blow up my house?”
“No.”
“Fine. I’ve got a cat now, though, so your dogs had better mind their manners.”
“That’s insulting. They have excellent table manners.”
I texted Lilly the new plan and ten minutes later, I parked behind Cindy’s blue Mini Cooper. The one-story house was simple, but not decrepit like many of those on the same street.
Before I could knock on the door, she answered. Cindy was a petite woman in her early thirties with dyed-lavender hair and light blue eyes. “This isn’t going to be a permanent thing,” she warned, stepping out of the door way with a gesture for me to enter.
“I want to be here less than you want me here. I have a home and bar waiting for me. If it wasn’t Lilly, I wouldn’t be here.”
“The brat does have a way of convincing people. What does she need help with?”
“She foresaw her mother’s death, but she didn’t tell me how.”
“Maybe it has to do with vampires since she called you.”
“Maybe.” I wasn’t convinced, though. I got the feeling Lilly wanted my help because I was a vampire. She was Wiccan, not a wizard. Unlike wizards, who were born with magic in their blood, witches gained power from faith and nature. Witches could be male or female, just as wizards could be. Furthermore, a wizard could be Wiccan, meaning he or she was both a wizard and a witch. The main difference was that witches were human, not paranormal. It couldn’t have been easy for her to know that paranormal wizards could do magic much easier than her.
I stepped over the line of salt across the entrance and walked into the living room. The wooden floor was painted with magic symbols. In the middle of the room was a coffee table covered in tarot cards and old books. Against the north wall was a bookshelf full of old books, in the south wall was a doorway into the kitchen, and there was a hallway across from me on the east wall. The walls were wooden panels covered with paintings including skulls, magic plaques, and abstract art.
Phobos whined and Deimos growled at him.
“What’s wrong with him?” Cindy asked.
“There’s no TV. Deimos is telling him to shut up and stop being rude. We’re here to work, not play around, and we’re grateful to have a safe place to spend the day.”
Cindy led us down the hallway to her basement, which was cold and dark. It was a good-sized basement, except it was so full of boxes that I only had an eight-by-six-foot section to sleep in. I liked it.
“I have an air mattress somewhere around here,” she said.
“This would be an awesome place to raise a baby monster that will inevitably break out and wreak havoc on the town,” I said enthusiastically.
“You’re a strange person.”
“I know.”
“Don’t conjure anything in my house.”
“I’m a vampire, not a wizard.”
“Don’t… eat anyone here, either.”
“I have a cooler in my car with blood.”
“Okay, gross. I’m going to be in the kitchen.”
* * *
I drove to Lilly’s house and pulled into her driveway. The house was old with yellow paint and a wraparound porch. “Do a search of the perimeter for magic,” I told the boys. They both frowned at me because that wasn’t the normal plan. “I don’t want to find out how far Lilly’s mother can be pushed.”
Meredith had made a deal with a demon, who was Logan’s father. The demon was then killed by a wizard, but I didn’t know what mental effects the relationship with the demon caused. I didn’t know if she could break my thrall.
The thrall could often be broken if someone felt extreme fear or anger. While I’d never used it on a woman who was protecting her children, I didn’t think Meredith was that protective anyway. Nevertheless, I had the boys as backup.
I let the boys out of the car and they went to work. I considered my plan and backup plan as I approached the house. The last time I had been there, I accidentally saw the woman’s soul. It hadn’t happened again since Logan and I defeated the demon, but it still bothered me. There was a lot more to a person that my vampire senses couldn’t detect. Meredith was the kind of person who would have a lot of enemies.
I knocked on her door and she answered. She had ash-blond hair, cold blue eyes, and a number of wrinkles. She was probably in her forties, but years of smoking had aged her. She obviously didn’t recognize me. “Can I help you?” she asked, annoyance spewing from her tone and narrowed eyes.
I unleashed my power over her and ensnared her mind for the second time. “You asked me to come here and council your daughter. I’m from the church.” I left the details up to her mind to fill in and retracted my power. Her mind now had the reason I was here and it made sense to her. She blinked as if she had been spacing out and just realized I was there.
“I’m sorry. I completely forgot.” She stepped out of the way. “Thank you for coming despite the late hour.”
“The wellbeing of a child is worth it,” I said. Pain pulsed through my head, but as I had done for months, I ignored it.
“I’m Rose, and---” She cut herself off with a mixture of shock and horror across her face. “Meredith Hartwell,” she amended.
I swept my gaze around the room, both to imply that I hadn’t seen the place before and to pretend I hadn’t noticed her slipup. The house was pretty fancy inside, with matching furniture and pristine white carpet. It felt cold. “I’m Aurora Ares. Is your husband around?” I asked. I didn’t want to get caught unaware, especially by a human I didn’t know. Normally, I could tell how many people were near, but cigarette smoke stained everything and overwhelmed my senses.
“He’s at his brother’s wedding.”
“You didn’t want to go to that?”
“Lilly has her end-of-the-year tests this week. I can’t take her out.”
Right. Standardized testing. I fully believed in education. I also believed it should come before celebratory events, like weddings. However, standardized testing fell short. Also, I was biased against weddings. To immortal vampires, an eternal vow to love, honor, and not kill someone was usually too much to ask. I got bored with the same blood type after a few months.
“I’d like to meet her now.”
“I’ll go and wake her up.” She disappeared up the stairs. A few minutes later, she returned with a very confused Lilly in tow.
Lilly was twelve years old, thin, and five-feet-tall with waist-length, golden blond hair and light green eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw me, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Lilly, this is Aurora Ares. She’s from the church, and she’s come to talk to you about how evil your witchcraft is.”
Lilly wasn’t a fool; she was quick to figure out the plan. “I’ve talked with the priest already,” she said.
“Yeah, but he was an old man. You’ll find me a lot easier to talk to. Her mother watched her with narrowed eyes, about to yell at her if she refused.
With fake reluctance, Lilly nodded. “Fine, but only in my room with the door closed.”
“That’s how the fun always starts,” I said, following her up the stairs and into her room.
Lilly’s room didn’t reflect her style in the slightest. In fact, I was pretty sure Lilly wasn’t even allowed to pick out her own clothes. The walls were pastel pink with purple trim. The room was decorated with lacy curtains, a princess canopy bed, a white computer desk, and a bookshelf of dolls.
“Do you impersonate church officials often?” Lilly asked.
“Of course,” I lied. “I like to disguise myself as prey.”
“Can vampires enter churches?”
“Yes. Now, let’s get your problem fixed so that I can go home. Why did you call me and not Cindy?”
She blushed. “I don’t know Cindy as well as I know you.”
“I live almost a thousand miles away.” I waited for her to explain her reasoning better, but she didn’t say anything. I smelled fear from her. “Did you s
ee who killed your mother?”
“Sort of…”
When she didn’t continue, I sighed. “I’ve come a long way and it wasn’t a fun adventure, so just tell me.”
“It was the shadows. I saw the shadows eat her.”
That was a new one. “The shadows consumed her body?”
“Actually, it was more like her insides. The shadows sort of mummified her body in a matter of seconds.”
“Okay, you need to go way back. Start with what you were trying to see and go from there.”
She sat on her bed and gestured to the crystal ball on the table. “I was trying to find out what Mom was going to get me for my birthday. Instead, I saw her getting milk out of the fridge for her coffee. The kitchen lights weren’t on. Shadows crept out from under the table and behind her. They surrounded her and she didn’t even notice. Then they converged on her like an army of ants. I saw her scream as her skin dried out and her body shrank, as if her insides were being eaten out of her.” She was close to tears.
“That sounds like a curse to me. Does anyone have a reason to hate your mother?”
“Have you met my mother?”
“Let me rephrase that. Does anyone have a reason to hate your mother and the magic to inflict an entrails-eating curse on her?”
“I don’t know that many powerful witches, but I can’t sense their magic like Logan can. Isn’t there a wizard council?”
Although wizards didn’t live in covens like vampires or packs like many shifters, those in the United States and Canada were governed by a council of thirteen power-hungry men. When these men tried to expand their control to other paranormals three months ago, they received more resistance than they were prepared for.
“They’ve been disbanded for corruption. I know a few people who can help, but there’s only one who owes me a favor.”
“Who?”
“Your brother.”
“You can’t call him!”
“I will thrall your mother if I have to, but if you’ve got a wizard who can do this on your hands, you need more than me. I know how to kill paranormals, not break curses.”
Chapter 2
“It’s not that easy to leave my shop,” Logan said.
“It’s your mother’s life at stake.”
“She’s going to die eventually anyway.”
“I’m not going to argue; she’s your mother. She’s also Lilly’s mother. I’m sure Lilly will make a fine orphan. It’s not like people only adopt babies or anything.”
He sighed. “I’ll be there by tomorrow evening.”
“I’ll be here.” I hung up and saw that Lilly was staring at me. “What?”
“You like him.”
“He’s not the most annoying person I know, but that has nothing to do with your mother’s death.”
“But he likes you, too. Why aren’t you two together?”
“Life isn’t as simple as it is when you’re twelve. We live and work on opposite ends of the country. Liking and being attracted to someone isn’t enough. It would help us to come up with a plan if we knew when your mother is going to be attacked.”
“I will try to find out with my tarot cards. I’m not great at it, but I’ll keep trying.”
“You do that, but get some sleep. You look tired.” Actually, I smelled that she was tired, but since saying things like that raised questions with humans, I usually said they looked a certain way instead.
“I haven’t been sleeping well since that vision.”
“Is that the only reason?”
She frowned. “Yes. Why?”
“You haven’t had any side effects from Marluk’s summoning?”
“No… have you?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you still seeing souls? Does that mean he’s coming back?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Telling her the truth wouldn’t do any good because she wasn’t an expert in demons, despite her brother being one. “Do you have any books on curses that can help me?”
“No. Mom would freak if she found something. I bet Cindy does, though.”
“I’m going to get the boys some food and then I’ll talk to Cindy about what might be the cause.” There was also a chance she might have an answer to my predicament.
“Okay.”
* * *
I drove to the twenty-four-hour diner and left the boys in the car. It was a quaint place with a few booths and tables. In the center, there was a six-foot-tall revolving display case of pies and cakes. A hipster was sitting in a booth in front of the window with his laptop while an elder woman sat in a booth in the corner, reading a book. Aside from them and the cooks in the back, I was alone with a familiar waitress.
The first time I was in this town, I frequented the diner and she was the only waitress I had seen working. She was also the aunt of one of the children who had gone missing, so I got some valuable information from her. She was slender and busty with tight jeans and a well-fitted green t-shirt. Her natural strawberry-blond hair was done with a Farrah Fawcett style.
“You really never go home,” I commented as she approached me.
“I work here so much I’ve forgotten what my house looks like. Nice to see you again. Two steaks?”
“Yes, as rare as possible.” While the steaks were shown a picture of the grill and then packaged in to-go boxes, I got a text.
Cindy: I have a headache, so I’m going to bed. There’s a key under the mat. Please lock the door when you go out.
Rory: NP
After paying for the food and thanking the waitress, I drove back to Cindy’s house. The house was dark when I arrived, but the key was where she had said it would be, so I entered the house quietly. I smelled the cat at the same time I heard her hiss.
The boys were perfectly fine with cats and dogs. Deimos and Phobos pretty much ignored them whether they were playful or aggressive. However, I didn’t like cats because they didn’t like me. Even cat shifters were bothered by vampires, although none of them could explain why. Wolf shifters tended to prefer the company of vampires, while cat shifters tended to prefer the company of wizards.
The large Bengal cat on the back of the couch prepared herself to launch at me and tear my eyes out. I hissed at her. Some cats were too fearless for their own good. Fortunately, this one wasn’t; she leapt to the floor and approached me politely, purring. She walked right past the boys without a glance. I rubbed her ears and she tried to rub her head against my leg. Deimos growled at her. The cat flicked her tail at Deimos’s nose before prancing away like she owned the place.
“That’s a cat for you.”
Phobos snorted.
I gave the boys their food and when they were done eating, we left to go to the farmhouse where everything had gone down. I didn’t expect there to be a problem. I mostly just wanted to rule it out. On the way, I stopped by the cop’s house. A new truck was in the parking spot, suggesting someone else had moved in. I wondered what people were told, or if people knew that one of their own cops had helped kidnap children. I doubted they knew he was trying to sacrifice the children to demons.
The farmhouse was abandoned. The old man’s body had been removed, but his personal items collected dust. I wondered how a man could live a religious life and turn to demon-summoning.
It didn’t really matter. Before facing one myself, I hadn’t believed in demons and I couldn’t see a moral issue with it. I wasn’t religious; I saw demons as powerful creatures of magic. It wasn’t uncommon for paranormals to form alliances with other paranormals. That didn’t mean I was okay with someone hurting others for personal gain.
As a vampire, I had to drink human blood. Until synthetic blood was created, I had to drink from people and the occasional bag of blood. That didn’t mean I hurt innocent people. I could take blood without hurting the human. I also didn’t hurt people with my thrall… unless I thought they deserved it.
I didn’t have a problem with someone who made a deal with a demon, but whatever consequences
they faced were their own to suffer. Sacrificing innocent people, especially children, was not okay. I didn’t even know I had such a problem with what the old farmer did until I stood in that house, looking at all his religious artifacts. Maybe I have a problem with hypocrites.
The house was decorated with old fashioned furniture and trinkets and had a stale tobacco smell, which hindered my ability to detect anything unusual. I looked through the farmer’s things and found nothing to explain his alliance with a demon. Next, I searched his books. When Deimos howled, I went to the barn, where he had dug up a wooden chest. Inside, I found strands of hair, a small iron cauldron, a jar of dried blood, and a stack of pictures of all of the children who had gone missing, including Lilly.
“That’s how he controlled the kids to get them back here after our first rescue. Apparently, everyone and their mother’s a witch around here. Where did he learn to do this?” There was nothing else, so I returned to the house and finished checking out the books. This time, it was Phobos who howled. I found him in the farmer’s bedroom.
The bedroom smelled of mold and the air was stale. There was a twin-sized bed, a dresser, a closet, a massaging chair, and a nightstand next to the bed. Phobos pawed at the bible on the table, which I had passed over. “No, thanks,” I told him. “I have a lot of books on my to-read list already.”
He grumbled, picked it up in his mouth, and brought it to me.
I took it and groaned, wincing as my head throbbed with pain. Deimos whined behind me. “Yes, I hear it,” I said. I ignored the pain and sound and opened the book. To my surprise, it wasn’t a bible; it was a book of spells. I removed the dust cover. The real book had no title on the cover, since it was a grimoire and meant as a sort of journal for wizards. I read through some of the information, which was all about demons. Unfortunately, a lot of it was in German and what wasn’t in German was poorly translated. On the inside of the front cover was only a name and date: Heinrich Baldauf, 1874.
