by M J Waverly
Jason nodded.
“Go away.” Mandy scowled. “This is a private conversation about us. Not about ghosts. Not about you.”
“Sidney, there you are.” A familiar voice called out to me.
I turned. I couldn’t believe it. Dr. Hawthorne wove his way through the crowd. “Glad I caught up with you. A mutual friend suggested this was a great evening to take a hike.”
“Yes, it is.” Relief flowed through me because Dr. Hawthorne had arrived, and at least I wouldn’t be alone to face George. It’s good to have a vampire on your side.
“See, I told you something is going on between them,” Mandy said.
Dr. Hawthorne frowned. “Is that . . . ?”
I nodded. “Dr. Hawthorne knows Rudolph.”
“You’ve met Rudolph?” Jason frowned.
“Yes. Sidney and I need to talk. Why don’t you and your companion go ahead? Sidney can fill you in after the hike.” Dr. Hawthorne’s accent sounded very British.
Jason rocked back on his heels and stared at me. “I don’t know.”
Mandy tugged on his arm. “Obviously, they want to be alone. Come on.”
The wind picked up lifting the loose strands of hair around my face. The air grew heavy as if evil intentions had awakened.
“We’ll cover more ground if we split up. Keep an eye on the hikers,” I held Jason’s gaze.
He nodded and held out his hand. “Come on, Mandy.” She squealed and clasped his hand and skipped by their side.
I watched them make their way down the trail. Suddenly, glad I held onto my determination to keep my relationship with Jason a business one. Yep.
Cold surrounded me, and then a horrific smell, not a decaying smell but rank and nasty filled the air. “Hey, Honey.” An invisible George whispered in my ear his corporeal breath like dry ice scraped against my skin. I forced myself not to shiver.
“I see how you look at him, wanting him. He’s with that irritating girl, and you’re with the vampire.”
“Is he here?” Dr. Hawthorne’s eyes grew dark like hard obsidians.
I could’ve sworn his fangs elongated.
“Yes.” I forced my mouth close to keep my teeth from chattering. George hovered at my shoulder. With the sorority sisters, I experienced cold, but there had been light, with George cloying, choking darkness sapped my energy. “Hold this.” I gave my selfie stick and camera to Dr. Hawthorne. I needed both hands for whatever George dished out.
I cut my eyes over to the side. George had returned as the Iceberg Cooler polar bear mascot in the blue velour jogging suit. “All the spirits are talking about you. You must be so pleased.”
“You can’t hurt anyone on his hike.” I tapped into my telekinesis, the energy building deep within my solar plexus and my blood burned with heat.
George chuckled like an evil villain from a superhero movie. “You can’t stop me. You don’t have your full power, yet.” He zoomed up into the trees on the trail, landing on an old growth oak with a tree circumference of more than ten feet. George faded out. Teresa Duncan’s eyes followed George, but she continued talking about the nighttime activities of owls in the park.
“I felt his presence. What is he doing?” Dr. Hawthorne asked.
“He’s waving at me from a low hanging branch ahead.” I pointed at the large oak tree “He’s jumping up and down.”
Jason stared up at George as he and Mandy walked right underneath the branch.
“He’s a bit of a trickster bloke, isn’t he?” Dr. Hawthorne’s accent sounded more British.
A loud crack and the branch splintered, but George grabbed it and swung it in the direction of Mandy and Jason, and then released it. I tapped into my telekinesis and waved my hands. I swept my hand to the left, and the branch swerved, missing Jason but crashed landed on Mandy. Oops.
Chapter Seven
I slapped my hand over my mouth and stood there frozen. I watched as everything unfolded in slow motion. Handsome Ranger and Teresa immediately rushed to Mandy’s side and administered first aid.
Jason kneeled beside her. “Mandy. Are you okay?”
She whimpered.
I hoped Mandy wasn’t unconscious. I know she’s not my favorite person, but it didn’t mean I wanted something bad to happen to her.
“Yes, we have an emergency at Thunder Mountain Park,” Teresa spoke on her cell phone.
I hung back with Cyrus and Todd, but stared up into the trees, tapped into my senses, and clasped my hands in case I needed to use my power to stop George.
“How long will it take the ambulance to arrive?” Sophie asked.
“Fifteen minutes.” Teresa Duncan adjusted her ranger hat.
“I’ll take everyone back to the Visitor's Center and offer sodas, coffee, and water,” Sophie said.
”Did you do make the branch sway?" Dr. Hawthorne whispered.
I nodded. The lighter end of the branch had fallen on Mandy. She would have suffered worse injuries including head trauma if the heavier end had landed on her.
The wind blew, and the trees swayed like forested dryads and nymphs. Todd and Cyrus pointed their cameras up. I knew this footage would be on The Third Eye YouTube channel.
Jason held Mandy’s hand as tears streamed down her face. “It hurts so much.”
In the distance, the ambulance’s sirens echoed like a shrieking banshee.
“I must find George,” I said.
Dr. Hawthorne looked at me with a worried expression. “I will go with you. You shouldn’t be alone.”
Surprised, I blinked. “Thanks.”
He gave a slight smile, still concealing his fangs. I had to admit he was handsome, but he was older than my grandmother. There’s a certain don’t-want-to-think-about-it factor when it came to Dr. Hawthorne. At least, he didn’t sparkle.
Teresa spoke to some of the other hikers, and she made her way over to me. “We’re sending everyone home."
“Good idea. Dr. Hawthorne and I will hike down a little further to see if George is up to more mischief.”
“Be careful,” Teresa patted my arm.
Dr. Hawthorne started walking, but I stopped. An invisible George hovered close by. Whenever I sensed a ghost, it felt like a spider crawling through my brain.
I searched the trees. The full moon now hid behind the dark clouds, which had moved in at a preternatural speed. Dr. Hawthorne joined me.
Teresa stood on top of a tree stump and waved her arm. “We’re canceling tonight’s hike. If you follow Ranger Sophie, she'll offer you some refreshments at the Visitor's Center. You’ll be given full refunds. Call the park in the morning, and we’ll make arrangements.”
“What if we want to finish the hike?” Leather Jacket John shouted. “This is exciting. I want to see the ghost."
“There’s always an idiot," I mumbled.
“Mr. Gordon, this is a nature hike, not a ghost tour.” Teresa Duncan glowered.
The wind kicked up, and a cyclone of dirt swirled on the trail. George’s maniacal laughter reverberated around us. People couldn’t see him. But, I could. He was back in his Iceberg Cooler mascot costume. He floated over to John Gordon.”You wanted to meet me.”
John’s eyes widened and he stumbled back. Apparently, he could see George.
The polar bear ghost turned his face and our gazes locked. His eyes flashed red like the Blood Collector’s. “It’s always the asshats.”
Jason stood, but Mandy pulled on his hand. “Don’t leave me.”
“Hello Honey.” The Iceberg Cooler polar bear mascot in the blue velour jogging suit circled John Gordon, who stepped back until he hit the edge of the trail. He flapped his leather clad arms like a large bird to maintain his balance.
“Stop,” I shouted.
George rushed into John Gordon’s body, and he toppled.I didn’t breathe. One step. Two steps. And over the side of the trail, John shrieked as he plummeted.
His girlfriend screamed.
I rushed to the edge and looked down. John bell
owed as he thrashed head side-to-side. At least he was alive. His leg laid at an odd angle with something white sticking out. I cringed. Weird bone placement creeped me out.
George swirled above the hiker and said ‘hello, honey’ over and over as the man howled in pain.
I tapped inward, reaching for my telekinesis. My hands grew warm, ready to push George away from the injured man. I tried. “I need to be closer.” The ambulance's sirens grew closer.
“Is there a side trail?” Dr. Hawthorne asked.
A pale Teresa pointed down the trail. “Yes, several yards on the other side of the Visitor's Center."
“This way, Sidney,” Dr. Hawthorne grabbed me by the hand and removed a flashlight from his jacket.
“I’ll go with you. ” Teresa Duncan followed.
Jason stood up as we passed him. “Do you need help?”
“Don’t go.” Mandy tugged on his hand.
“Stay with her. She needs you,” I said. “We have this.”
Iceberg Polar Bear Mascot George stopped spinning around the now unconscious man when we approached. George stopped and swiveled his polar bear head as eyes rotated in opposite directions. “What do we have here? Two witches and a vampire.”
John Gordon continued to moan in the background.
“Leave him alone,” I ordered with more bravado than I felt, but energy continued to build.
George removed his polar bear head hand and held it to the side, rushed forward until he stopped six inches from my face. His cold breath smiled like decay and dirt. “Guess, you didn’t know a fairy and her little woodland minions watched you? Always watching with their little brown eyes.”
George squinted as the bear eyes on the mascot’s head rotated in the same directions, slowing down as if he tried to focus. “None of you can stop me." He lowered his voice, deepening it, almost like a low growl. "When the Void is opened, no one can stop us.”
Power surged through me. I pulled on the energy increasing within. “I held out my hands, and I spoke in a language I’d never known. It sounded as if it might be Latin or a combination of Latin and Russian.
The magic sigils with their weird geometric shapes I had seen earlier in the Book of Shadows formed around George and glowed like clear white Christmas lights. I must have absorbed some type of magic. I had no idea how I was doing this.
“Hey Honey, what are you doing?” George raised an eyebrow, or more like half an eyebrow. There were tooth marks where the other half should’ve been.
The strange sigils became tendrils of ropey light and bound George. “Honey, you're bad.” He laughed in his crazy chuckle. He rammed the polar bear mascot back down over his face.
I pushed with my hands and George went tumbling upwards into the dark storm clouds.
George’s laughter rang out “Honey, I’ll be back.”
“You’re definitely Elizabeth Latimer’s granddaughter,” Dr. Hawthorne said.
Pain throbbed behind my eyes. “I think my skull is about to explode.”
Dr. Hawthorne rushed to my side, and I leaned against him.
Teresa kneeled beside the injured man and chanted something in a language I didn’t understand, but sounded familiar on some unknown level.
The ambulance’s elliptical lights from above cast a hellish glow down on us as it entered the parking lot. From above the higher trail, people shone flashlights down onto the injured man. I glanced up, expecting to see George push someone else down. I checked the trees. Nothing.
The man in the long-sleeved shirt looked down at us. I could’ve sworn I saw light glowing from the tattoos hidden by his shirt. The glow faded. Could’ve been someone’s flashlight. I rubbed my temple to ease the pain.
“I spoke a forgetful spell to him. The memory of George will be a blur. John Gordon won’t be able to remember what was real or if it was hallucinations from the medication the paramedics gave him for pain.” Teresa ran a trembling hand through her short silver bob.
The paramedics rushed down the trail and began treating John.
“Let’s go find your friends," Dr. Hawthorne said. We climbed up Bear Falls Trail.
In the parking lot, emergency medical technicians treated Mandy.
Jason came over. “What happened?”
“She sent George away,” Dr. Hawthorne answered.
Jason narrowed his eyes. “How?”
“My abilities are getting stronger.”
Jason cocked his head in the direction of Mandy. “We definitely need to talk about what happened here tonight, but I need to ride in the ambulance with Mandy. She won’t calm down, otherwise.”
I waved my hands in-a-I’ve-got-this gesture. “No worries. I’m handling it. Of course, she needs you. I can catch a ride home with . . .”
“I’ll take you home. Perhaps, you’d like to stop by Crooked Spoons for a coffee, and we can update Rudolph on the situation," Dr. Hawthorne suggested.
Jason frowned. “Did you see the Blood Collector?”
“No. Thank goodness,” I exhaled and closed my eyes.
“Jason,” Mandy called out.
I opened my eyes, and he had turned in the direction of her voice.
Jason looked back at me. “I need to go, but I’ll see you first thing in the morning. We need to come up with a plan of action.”
“I agree.” I stepped back, just needing space as I tried to mentally digest the evening’s events.
“I guess we won’t see you in the morning,’” Jason stared at Dr. Hawthorne.
“No, not since I teach evening classes.” He grinned, keeping his fangs covered.
Jason implied he knew about Hawthorne being a vampire.
Cyrus and Todd found us. “We’ve been filming, and we’ll edit what we have from tonight.”
The EMT’s loaded Mandy into the ambulance, along with the still unconscious Gordon. “We’ll need to speak with Teresa, too,” I glanced up at Dr. Hawthorne.
Todd held out his hand to Dr. Hawthorne. “Thanks for accompanying Sidney. We appreciate you looking after our girl.”
Warmth filled me. Todd and Cyrus were worried about me. How sweet.
“Thanks,” I said.
Cyrus pointed at Mandy. “I know she’s injured, and I want her to be okay, but she’ll milk this for all it’s worth.”
“Poor Jason,” I said.
Jason climbed in the back of the ambulance, and then the “He’s is in for a long night,” Cyrus said. “I’m driving his van home. Do you need a ride, Sid?”
“No, Dr. Hawthorne is taking me home, but we’re stopping for coffee at Crooked Spoons. A cup of joe would be good about right now.
Cyrus arched an eyebrow. “Coffee date?”
My face burned. “No, it’s--we’re talking about what happened.”
“Sure.” Cyrus grinned. “A bit old if you ask me.”
“See you tomorrow.” Cyrus and Todd held hands and strode to the parking lot.
Teresa joined us.
“You should cancel the festival,” I said. “This isn’t the last we will see of George. He’s definitely strong and becoming stronger.”
I intend to talk to the commissioners and the park officials,” Teresa said. “I need to take care of the other hikers and talk to my rangers. Be careful on your way home. The darkness rises even in the light of the moon.”
“Good night,” I said.
Dr. Hawthorne motioned to his Jaguar. He walked me to the passenger side door. “Allow me.”
One thing could be said about Dr. Hawthorne, he acted a gentleman. After the evening’s events with George the ghost and the Mandy situation, I enjoyed the attention.
“Sidney, we must talk.” A woman’s melodic voice called out from the forest across the main Visitor’s Center parking lot
“Did you hear that?” I scanned the woods and tried to find the woman, who called out to me.
Dr. Hawthorne narrowed his eyes and peered into the woods. “Yes, I did.”
My heart hammered in my chest. Nana? Had th
e magical breakthrough when I used the sigils to stop George had been her?
“Who is there?” Dr. Hawthorne called out.
I walked around the car and stared at the darkness. “Nana.”
“Sidney be careful. It may not be her,” Dr. Hawthorne’s fangs lengthened.
“No child, it’s not your Nana.” A kind voice answered.
“Who is it? Show yourself.” Dr. Hawthorne ordered.
In the illumination of the Jaguar’s headlights, around fifty woodland animals gathered including raccoons, squirrels, deer, and opossums. A large brown bear. Sophie stepped out of the darkness. Green magical energy shrouded her. Her park ranger uniform transformed into a green gown embroidered with trees and flowers. Moth-like wings fluttered on her back.
“I’m the elemental guardian of Thunder Mountain Park, and I think it's time we talked, Sidney Latimer."
Chapter Eight
“Fairies are real,” I stared in awe. “But, you’re a park ranger.”
I don’t know why I was surprised. Ghosts are real. I see ghosts, but fairies were new to me. And fascinating. Animals followed Sophie like she was a forest goddess.
This ethereal version of Sophie smiled and gave a slight inclination of her head. “Child, as you know there are worlds within worlds. My people call me Kylantha. It is the original name for this land.”
“Wow.” A thousand questions swirled in my mind, but I just couldn’t get to them because I couldn’t get over the fact fairies were real. Wonder filled me like a child finding proof solid that Santa Claus was real.
Kylantha turned her golden eyes upon Dr. Hawthorne. “I have seen you, Nightdweller in this park.
“Yes, milady.” He bowed his head.
A coyote howled in the distance as if announcing ‘all hail Kylantha, our fairy queen.”
“Sidney Latimer. You have your grandmother’s eyes and not only that, you have inherited her magical abilities, but not all of them have come to fruition.” Kylantha’s mesmerizing golden gaze fell upon like a spotlight.
“How do you know?” I finally managed to get my tongue to work.
“I spoke to your grandmother on occasion. We had common interests, and discussed our concerns about the spirits and other magic users of Cloverville.”
