by Norah Wilson
“Let’s go find out.” Brooke said.
Without waiting for the others to respond, Brooke took off. By the time she reached the penny-netted girl, Alex and Maryanne were on her heels.
Brooke tapped the girl on the shoulder. “Hey, cool outfit. Are you a Heller?”
The girl turned and Brooke saw that it was Kassidy, Alex’s former friend. She also saw that Leah was with her. Literally with her. As in Leah had a rope around her neck and Kassidy held the other end.
“Duh,” Kassidy said. “Of course I’m a Heller. And this is the soul I’ve captured.” Her gaze skimmed Brooke’s scanty outfit. “And what are you? Hooker Barbie?”
“Barbie?” Brooke ignored the hooker part and pretended offense at the latter part. “Does no one watch the classics anymore?”
Leah giggled, but shut up when Kassidy shot her an acid look.
Kassidy swung her gaze back, this time looking past Brooke to the other girls. “Alex? Oh, God, you did the cereal killer thing!” There was no mistaking the genuine dismay on her face, which, unlike some of the other Hellers present, had not been blackened. She turned back to Brooke, her voice accusing. “What’s the matter with you? Friends don’t let friends do lame costumes like that.”
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Brooke said. “I had nothing to do with it.”
“It was my idea,” Maryanne said. “She really didn’t want to dress up, but I thought—”
“Don’t bother, Maryanne,” Alex said. “We don’t owe anyone an explanation. Come on.”
Brooke and Maryanne followed Alex back across the floor, leaving a sputtering Kassidy and Leah behind.
Before they got far, though, they were stopped by Danielle Mann, who was dressed as a glittering fairy godmother. Dani was another one of the handful of local kids who attended Streep, and shared a Chem class with Brooke and Alex. “Hey, don’t listen to Kassidy, Alex. She’s just being a bitch. Your costume is great. Made me laugh out loud when I figured it out.”
“Thanks, Dani,” Alex said, then looked down at herself and started laughing. “Okay, you gotta admit, it’s the lamest costume ever.”
Dani smiled. “Maybe a little.”
“Besides,” Brooke said, “it’s not like Kassidy’s costume was so great. I mean, she doesn’t even look like a Heller. Her face wasn’t even black, for God’s sake! And what’s with that cape?”
Dani turned to look back at Kassidy. “Oh, those are pennies.”
“Ahhh... figured that out already,” Brooke said. “My question would be, why?”
“Copper.” The other girl turned back to three blank stares. “Don’t you know the Heller legend? They’re supposed to line their nests with copper. It’s supposed to... I don’t know... energize them or something. The old lady who babysat me sometimes when I was a kid used to say Hellers stole the pennies off the eyes of the dead in the old days. Kind of creepy, huh? And pennies have copper in them. Or at least they used to. I don’t think they do anymore. I mean, they’re not made of copper anymore. Just a little copper plating.”
“Interesting,” Alex murmured, but Brooke didn’t think Danielle even heard her. She was too busy laughing when a boy in a Frankenstein costume, complete with green skin, neck bolts and a too-small jacket scooped her up and carried her off.
“So,” Maryanne said. “Copper. Suppose there’s any truth to it?”
Brooke grinned. “I don’t know. We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” Then she spied Ty Piper making a beeline for them. At first she thought he’d come without a costume, but as he drew closer, she saw that his red striped tie was flipped up—probably with the help of a strategically placed coat hanger—and he wore what must be his father’s blazer. “Here comes Ty, and he looks pissed,” she murmured, before lifting her punch glass in his direction. “Ty!” she called brightly. “Or should I say Dilbert?”
Predictably, his gaze dropped to give her the once over, then skipped right over Alex to settle on Maryanne.
“Gee, I totally see why you couldn’t come with me to this dance, Maryanne.” His voice trembled with anger. “Obviously, Star Wars and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and... Corn Pops go together like peas in a pod. Clearly, no one would have recognized what you were supposed to be if you weren’t all together.”
“Whoa, chill, buddy,” Brooke said.
“I’m sorry, Ty,” Maryanne said. “Our other idea... um... didn’t work out.”
“Didn’t exist, you mean.” He spat the words at them.
Brooke’s own anger flared. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. It didn’t exist.”
“Brooke!”
Brooke ignored Maryanne. “She didn’t want to go to the dance with you, okay?”
“I got that,” Ty said.
Alex stepped forward, pushing between Maryanne and Ty. “Then why don’t you move along, Ty.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, bitch.”
The look he directed at Alex was murderous. Alex didn’t back down, but Brooke caught the way she flinched. And when she looked closer, she saw Alex was trembling.
Brooke laid a hand on Ty’s arm, but he wrenched it away. His oversized blazer slid off one shoulder. He shrugged it back into place and stormed off.
“Well, that was pleasant,” Maryanne said.
“Yeah, this whole dance kinda sucks.” Alex said. “We should go home.”
Brooke was about to argue that she wasn’t ready to go yet, but just then she caught sight of Seth and Melissa entering the cafeteria. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw their costumes. Romeo and Juliet.
“Good idea,” she said. “Let’s blow this Popsicle stand.”
They did, but not before Brooke paused to flirt with every guy in the place, including the lone male chaperone, who got very flustered. And she felt Seth’s eyes on her all the way. Hypocritical jerk. He had absolutely no respect for her. He’d chosen Melissa over her. He knew she’d released his horses! But still he wanted more of her. The knowledge soothed her ego, even as it turned her stomach a little.
Thanks to their early exit, they were home by 9:30. After dissecting everything that had happened at the dance, by mutual agreement, they peeled off their costumes, dressed in their PJs and crashed. Given the sleep deficit they were all running on, napping was never a problem.
A couple hours later, Brooke was the first to waken, and she poked the other girls. “Come on, sleeping beauties, it’s time.”
They didn’t need to be called twice. Within two minutes, they’d gathered their things and climbed the steps to the attic.
Alex lit her candle first, passing it to Maryanne, who lit hers, then on to Brooke. Quickly, they put them in their customary places and went to sit before the window. The evening was overcast, so the Madonna didn’t glow as strongly as she had last time, but it didn’t matter.
“Are we ready?” Alex asked.
“Yes,” Maryanne said, but Brooke didn’t need to hear it. She could practically feel Maryanne shaking with the force of her anticipation.
“Brooke?” Alex asked. “You ready?”
“For this? Honey, I was born ready.”
“Let’s do it, then.”
Alex tapped out first, followed by Maryanne. Brooke was right behind them.
They all paused to look back at their bodies sprawled in the nest of pillows on the attic floor. No matter how many times they did this, it was impossible not to look back. Which was silly. Brooke knew her body was okay on the floor because she was still connected to herself in there. Could still feel her original’s sensations, the coolness of the attic, the dusty smell. But she still had to look. Once she’d satisfied that need, she allowed herself to feel the night.
The thrill was just as strong as the first time. But better. Familiar. She let herself fully feel it. “God, that’s good!” she said. “Let’s own this, ladies!”
Maryanne laughed, and Alex completed the ritual “Let’s own the night!”
Tonight, Alex picked the route, and Brooke was happy to
follow—for now.
They soared low over the dark water of the St. John River, and when they tired of that, they climbed high then dove earthward again like a plunging rollercoaster, pulling up sharply as they neared the ground to slice through the treetops.
It was Maryanne who spotted the moose. None of them had ever seen one up close before and they couldn’t resist investigating. And OMG, it was amazing! Huge and gangly, it should have been ugly, but it was one of the most beautiful things Brooke had ever seen. Of course, the moose wasn’t equally enthralled with them. As soon as it sensed them, it made an odd, sonorous grunt of alarm and began lumbering through the swampy marsh. The girls glided after it, reveling in the rare sight. But then headlights appeared ahead, and Brooke realized they were driving the big creature in the direction of a road.
“Quick!” she shouted. “Head it off! There’s a car coming.”
But the other girls had also seen the potential for disaster developing and were already moving to block the big bull’s path. Thankfully, it changed course, veering south again. Once they were sure it was well clear of the road, they pulled back and left it to recover.
“That was awesome!” Maryanne said, laughing.
“Amazing,” Alex agreed. “Maybe that’s as good a note as any to go home on.”
Brooke had no intention of going back yet, but she waited for Maryanne to make the case. Much as Brooke loved the freedom of the night, she suspected Maryanne loved it even more. No way would she be ready to go back yet.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Maryanne agreed. “We should go back.”
What?
“No way!” Brooke pulled up in front of the others to block their path. “We just got out, and it’s early yet.”
“Brooke, it’s Halloween,” Alex pointed out. “People are likely to be up later, to be out and about. We don’t need to risk any more sightings. Let’s go back.”
No, she couldn’t go back. Not yet. She had a visit to pay to Romeo.
“You two go back, then,” Brooke said. “I’ll be along in a little while.”
“No!” Maryanne laid a hand on Brooke’s shoulder, causing that strange, heavy sensation they got when they touched in cast form. “It’s dangerous to be out here alone. Come back with us, Brooke.”
“Sorry. Can’t. I have something I need to do.”
With that, she shrugged out from under Maryanne’s hand and soared up and away, half expecting the girls to follow. They didn’t.
Good, she thought. Great. The business with Seth was private, anyway. She didn’t need someone looking over her shoulder.
Except as she sped toward the Walker farm alone, she couldn’t help but feel the sting of abandonment. She’d never leave one of them out here on their own. But that was okay. She had more than a passing acquaintance with that emotion. It wouldn’t last long. She’d soon replace it with something much more satisfying.
Anticipation, dark and thrilling and bottomless, flooded her, and she grinned.
“See?” she murmured. “Better already.”
Chapter 20
Three’s a Crowd
Brooke
Brooke cruised the garage first. Immediately she noticed the big Chrysler 300 that Seth’s parents usually took when they traveled together was gone. Seth’s car was there, though, as was his dad’s big F250, Bryce’s wheels of choice. Which meant the parents were probably gone, but the boys were likely at home.
Next, she entered the house through the front door, something she’d never done when she and Seth were dating last year. Thinking about that reminded her what a jerk Seth had been, even then. Fuel to a fire that burned dangerously hot already.
A quick recon confirmed that the only people home were in Seth’s bedroom, and judging by the high-pitched giggles, Seth’s guest was not his brother. Bryce must have either gone with his parents or stayed at a buddy’s house. Or maybe he was out in the horse barn. It had been lit up like Christmas. Brooke had figured that was a security measure, after what had happened to the horses, but then she recalled Bryce used to like to sleep out there, sometimes. They kept an old computer in the office out there, and Seth used to razz Bryce about using it to surf porn, though Bryce insisted he was just playing online games.
Brooke paused outside Seth’s door, eavesdropping unabashedly. The sounds issuing from inside were definitely makeout noises, but not sex noises, per se. Perfect.
Passing easily through the wall, she floated into the bedroom. The room was very dark, too dark for them to see her, but not too dark for her cast eyes. She clearly saw that Seth and Melissa lay on the bed pretty much as she imagined they’d be doing. Mostly clothed but with their shirts undone, limbs tangling as they fooled around.
Seth, of course, was putting on the full-court press. For a second, Brooke wanted to warn Melissa not to give in, not to give him what he wanted. Once he got it, he’d soon be scraping her off his shoes and moving on in search of a worthier challenge.
Unless he didn’t.
Maybe it was just her—Brooke—he found unworthy.
The idea fed her anger until she itched to hurt Seth. Hurt both of them.
She glided closer to the bed.
Seth rolled Melissa so the two of them lay on their sides. It was the perfect invitation. Brooke moved closer, then dragged her nails across Seth’s back. He flinched, but not altogether without pleasure. Taking the nail raking as evidence of Melissa’s ardor, he ratcheted up his efforts.
From Brooke’s perspective, Melissa seemed a little taken aback, a little unsure what to do, but she didn’t smack him down or anything. Biting her lip, Brooke floated to the other side of the bed and pinched Melissa’s butt through her denims.
She gasped. “Seth! What the hell?”
Seth, who’d been working his way into her bra cups, froze. “What? You don’t like that?”
“No, I do not!”
“Since when?”
“What do you mean, since when? Since forever!”
“Oh, okay. Sorry.”
Apparently mollified, she pulled him close for another kiss, her hands framing his face.
Smiling an evil smile, Brooke switched sides again, moved in close and pinched Seth’s ear. Viciously.
She zoomed back as he howled and rolled away, a hand clamped to his ear.
“What the fuck, Melissa? I said I was sorry for trying to get your bra off.”
She sat up. “What are you talking about?”
“You pinched my ear. And not the lobe! The cartilage. It stings like a bitch.”
“I did no such thing, Seth Walker. You’re the one who pinched me.”
“Like hell I did!”
“You certainly did. Right on the ass. And I’ll have a bruise to prove it tomorrow.”
“Oh, God!”
Seth dove for a light. The lamp beside his bed must have been one of those that come on if you touch any part of it, because it came on with no fumbling. Much faster than Brooke anticipated. Too fast for her to disappear. And then there they were, looking at each other as the seconds ticked by.
The frozen tableau shattered when Melissa screamed. That seemed to galvanize Seth, who leapt up and grabbed a poker from the fireplace near his bed.
“You! You’re the Heller!”
Brooke felt her heart racing—not here, but original Brooke back in the attic. She could feel her original’s adrenaline rush, feel her screaming to get out of there, but somehow it just fed Brooke’s excitement. She turned to face Seth Walker and his puny poker. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when it passed right through her. She’d let him swing at her, and when he realized the futility, realized just how vulnerable he was, she would open her mouth and unleash the primal scream. She would flay him alive with it. Melissa too. Damn them both!
“This should fix you,” he said. Lifting the poker, he swung it at her in a downward arc.
To Brooke’s shock, the poker struck her on the neck. The force of it stunned her, driving her to the ground.
Luckily, it must have shocked Seth, too, for he released his grip on the poker. Or maybe it was the effect of Melissa screaming in the background that unnerved him. Whatever the case, he lost his grip on his weapon, which lay propped on her chest. Big mistake on his part. She’d make him pay, and enjoy doing it.
She lifted a hand to brush the poker away, or rather she tried to. But to her horror, she realized she couldn’t lift her arm. The blow must have damaged something. Brooke tried shrugging. All she needed to do was jolt the poker and it would roll right off, but she couldn’t do that, either. Nor could she roll her body one way or the other.
Dammit, she was immobilized! Trapped by a thin piece of cast iron that she should be able to flick off like it was dandruff.
Panicked, she tried sinking through the floorboards, thinking to escape that way, leaving the poker lying harmlessly on the floor. Except—shit, shit, shit!—all she could manage was to sink her lower body through the floor. Her upper body, the part pinned by the iron poker, wouldn’t budge. It was as though the iron had turned that part of her shadowy caster body into corporeal, physical matter, incapable of sliding through the solid floor.
Melissa screamed again. “Oh, God, it’s in the floor!”
“Not all of it!” Seth said. “I think we trapped it!”
Okay, nothing left now but the scream. That would drive them away and give her some time to figure out how to get out of this mess.
She opened her mouth and... nothing! She couldn’t scream. Couldn’t make any noise at all. Defenseless. All her powers stripped.
Oh, God, she was so humped. Too exhausted to keep struggling, her lower limbs floated back up through the floor.
“Jesus, we really did trap it!” Seth’s voice rose with exultation.
Melissa just sobbed harder.
“Oh, man, we gotta get some help.” Seth raked a hand through his already disheveled hair. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll stand guard here and you’re going to run out to the barn and get Bryce. He’s the one who’s read all Grampie’s journals. He knows everything there is to know about Heller hunting. He’ll know what to do.”
