Something Wicked

by Brian Harmon

“Say…” slurred the old man, his foul beer breath blowing directly into Eric’s face. “Aren’t you Agnes’ boy?”

  “Um… No. I’m not.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Eric heaved him around and started for the emergency exit again. “Pretty sure. Yeah.”

  “Funny… Spitting image…”

  Eric doubted very much that the old man’s eyes were anywhere near sober enough to tell him apart from Jabba the Hut. As if to confirm this, he added, “Wait… Maybe Agnes’ boy was a girl…”

  “It was probably one of the two,” Eric told him.

  “I bet you’re right,” agreed the old man, as if it had been an astonishingly brilliant deduction.

  Eric glanced back down the hallway. Holly, Emily and Margarita were right behind him. No one else was in the hallway. Everyone had exited the building ahead of them. If something awful was going to leap out and attack them, now would be the time.

  But the most frightening thing that appeared was the bouncer with the big mustache as he came down the hall behind them, peering into each dressing room, making sure everyone had left the building.

  He dragged the old drunk through the door and out into the brilliant sunlight. Most of the women had gathered here behind the club, out of sight of any passing vehicles. Some of them were still in their stage costumes, like the nurse, but most had either managed to get into their street clothes before exiting the building or had grabbed them on their way out and were dressing now. The only one still indecent was the middle-aged brunette, who was just standing there, still topless, still smoking her cigarette and still looking bored with her life.

  Eric took the time to carry the old man a safe distance from the building and then lowered him gently to the ground. But before he could stand up and step away, his tee shirt was seized in a wrinkled fist and the man’s eyes flew open, almost bulging. “She doesn’t know!” he cried.

  Eric stared back at him. “What?”

  “You won’t be able to save her!”

  “I won’t be able to save who?”

  But the old man now only looked confused. “Who?”

  Eric blinked down at him, stunned.

  The old man wilted back onto the ground and rolled his bloodshot eyes away from him.

  When he looked up to see if Holly had heard any of that, he found her helping Emily into her shoes.

  Who didn’t know? And what didn’t she know? And who was it he couldn’t save?

  Eric stood up, stretching his back, and said, “Make sure they don’t leave the poor guy out here in the sun.”

  “I’ll take care of him,” promised Emily.

  He nodded, then looked at Holly. “Now can we get out of here?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” So far, he thought, but didn’t add.

  Holly turned to Margarita now. “I’ve got to go,” she told her. “Promise you won’t leave Emily.”

  “Jeez, Holly,” sighed Emily.

  “You know I won’t,” snapped Margarita. “I promise.”

  She turned to Eric now and said, “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Finally, he thought.

  The two of them hurried away from the crowd and around the corner of the building, their eyes open for any more unexpected surprises.

  As they ran, Eric’s gaze drifted to the cornfield. He didn’t like cornfields. Lots of things hid in cornfields. He’d once encountered nightmarish things in a cornfield just like that one. Except that it had been August and the stalks had been a little taller.

  But that was far from here, on the edge of another world.

  “It’s the magic man, isn’t it?” said Holly as she kept up with his brisk pace.

  “It’s probably not Santa,” Eric told her.

  They hurried around the side of the building and into the parking lot where the van waited, undisturbed. No one seemed to notice them. Lots of customers were leaving. The bouncer in the American eagle cap who took Eric’s eleven dollars was barking orders from the front doorway at those who remained. He didn’t look well. In fact, he looked like he could have a massive heart attack at any moment. His pudgy face was bright red.

  Wisps of smoke were drifting out of the open doorway.

  This was no accident. Clearly something had happened here. Delphinium said it was important to find Holly first. Obviously, she was next on the magic man’s list. How close had he come to being too late?

  “I hope no one’s hurt,” said Holly.

  “I don’t think we can help them by sticking around. We need to get you away from here.”

  She nodded. “Del will know what to do.”

  He hoped she was right, because he sure didn’t have a clue.

  He opened the passenger door of the van and ushered her inside, then he ran around to the driver’s side and jumped in behind the wheel. Seconds later, they were pulling out of the parking lot and speeding away.

  With The Dirty Bunny shrinking in his rearview, he finally relaxed a little. But he’d barely had time to take a relieved breath when something darted into the road in front of them.

  Chapter Eight

  Small and dark, it might have been any of the area’s nocturnal wildlife, except that it appeared to be hairless, ran on two legs and had a frightful grimace on its ugly face.

  Holly screamed.

  Eric cursed and swerved into the other lane, but he couldn’t avoid it. It struck the right side of the front bumper with an audible thump.

  He didn’t dare stop. Whatever it was, it obviously wasn’t human. “What was that thing?” he asked as he sat up and looked into the rearview mirror.

  But Holly didn’t know.

  He saw nothing lying on the road behind them. Whatever it was, he must have knocked it back into the ditch.

  His heart still thumping, he focused his eyes on the road again just as the strange, little creature leapt up onto the hood and hurled itself into the windshield.

  Holly screamed much louder this time.

  Eric cursed a little shriller.

  About two and a half feet tall, it had vaguely human features, but its proportions were all wrong. Its hands and feet were far too large, and sported long, jagged claws. Its arms and legs were thin, but its abdomen was bloated and swollen. Its head was small, but with big, misshapen ears and huge, black eyes. Its mouth wasn’t large, but appeared to be filled with a great many tiny, needle-sharp teeth.

  It banged its hands against the glass and snarled at them, trying to break through.

  Eric didn’t think he’d ever been happier to not be driving a convertible.

  “Hold on!” he shouted, and he stomped his foot on the brake. Both of them were thrown forward against their seatbelts and the creature tumbled backward, clawing desperately at the hood before dropping over the grill and out of sight.

  But it was gone only a moment before it scurried back onto the hood again, its mouth open in a furious shriek.

  Eric stomped the gas and the van lurched forward, its tires screaming on the pavement. The hideous creature was thrown back across the hood and slammed into the glass again. This time, it rolled across the windshield, dazed, and slipped over the side of the fender.

  But it caught the side mirror and clung there.

  Cursing at the stubborn creature, Eric shoved open the door and slammed it closed again, hoping to shake it free. Instead, it only managed to worm its narrow fingers into the vehicle so that they were mashed between the door and the frame when it closed. The thing let out a ghastly wail of pain and thrashed violently against the side of the vehicle, trying to free itself.

  “Make it stop!” cried Holly, her hands pressed against her ears.

  Eric shoved open the door again. This time, the little creature dropped like a stone and was gone. In his rearview, he caught a glimpse of it bouncing across the blacktop and into the ditch.

  He sped away, his eyes open for any more unpleasant surprises.

  “What was that thing?” he asked again. “
Have you ever seen anything like it?”

  Holly shook her head, her ponytail bobbing back and forth, her eyes still wide with fright.

  It didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen before, although he’d seen more than his fair share of monsters.

  Ahead of them, a police car sped into view, its lights flashing as it raced toward whatever chaos had erupted at the bar behind them.

  Eric let off the gas. He didn’t think an officer on his way to an emergency would care anything about a speeding minivan, but he decided not to press his luck.

  As the cruiser shot past them, his phone rang. It was Isabelle.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Whatever I felt enter that building before you left definitely had the same kind of energy as Delphinium.”

  “Magic?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure it’s related to whatever was going on at that farmhouse.”

  “I’m sure it is. And what about that old man? Did you make any sense out of what he was saying?”

  “Not a bit. I’d say it was probably just a drunken outburst, but… Well, you know.”

  Eric nodded. “True.” She doesn’t know! he recalled. You won’t be able to save her! Who was “she?” Was it Holly? Delphinium? Someone else? He hated these mind games. Why the hell did these things always have to come in riddles? “What about that thing just now? What was that?”

  “I don’t know. It happened too fast. I couldn’t feel anything. Scary, though.”

  “Yes, it was.” He glanced over at Holly. She was watching him talk and biting her nails. He knew this conversation probably sounded crazy from her perspective. “And my new friend here? Any thoughts?”

  “She has an impressive presence.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m not sure… But I think I like her.”

  “Well that’s good.” Eric liked her, too. It was hard not to like her. There was something instantly endearing about her. But he’d like her even better after he dropped her off with Delphinium. Being alone with a woman he’d just seen completely naked while his wife was fuming mad in the next state just seemed like a really bad idea.

  “I’ll let you know if I feel anything else.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  Eric hung up the phone and dropped it into the cup holder.

  Holly stared at the phone for a moment, not speaking. When she looked back up at him, he thought she’d ask who he’d been talking to, but instead, she said, “You never told me your name.”

  He glanced over at her, surprised. “No? I’m sorry. I’m Eric. Eric Fortrell.”

  “Eric Fortrell,” she repeated. She seemed to consider this for a moment. “Yes,” she said. “That sounds right.”

  Eric was confused. “I hope it’s right. It’s what I’ve been going by all my life.”

  She gave him another of those pretty smiles. “That’s not what I meant. Your name just sounds right. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it before. In my dreams, I think.”

  He could think of worse things than to be the object of a beautiful young woman’s dreams, but given the level of weirdness this day had already attained, he couldn’t quite decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

  She didn’t elaborate. Instead, she said, “I’m Holly Shorring. But I guess you probably knew that already.”

  This was the first time he’d heard her last name, actually. Delphinium had only given him her first. “Pretty name.”

  “Thank you.” She continued to stare at him for a moment and then said, “If Del sent you, then you must be special. Are you like Grandpa?”

  “What, you mean magic? No. I don’t know any magic.”

  This seemed to confuse her. “No?” Her eyes drifted to the cell phone in the cup holder again.

  Eric didn’t feel like explaining Isabelle to her right now, so he just drove on in silence.

  They passed two fire trucks, their lights flashing and their sirens wailing.

  After a minute or two, she asked, “Has Del found everyone yet?”

  Eric glanced over at her again. He thought of the two dead girls and couldn’t bear to tell her about them, not after the anguish he heard in Jude’s voice when his mother told him about Marie. “You’re the first she sent me for,” he told her instead.

  This seemed to worry her. “Why me first?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s clearly a good thing I came when I did.”

  “I guess you’re right. I’m really worried.”

  “You were pretty determined to stay and help your friends. That was a little reckless. This ‘magic man’ was obviously looking for you. I think the best thing would’ve been for us to just get out of there.”

  She wilted a little, as if ashamed and Eric found that he instantly felt bad for saying anything.

  “Not that you did anything wrong,” he added. “It’s just… We don’t really know what we’re up against, what he’s capable of.”

  “I was worried about Emily. She has RP.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Retinitis pigmentosa. It’s a degenerative eye disease. She’s partially blind.”

  Just like that, Eric felt even worse. Now it made sense. She couldn’t leave her blind friend in a burning building.

  “I guess I didn’t have to worry. Margarita was with her. But I couldn’t leave without being sure.”

  “I understand.” And he did. Hell, if he’d known, he would’ve happily gone back with her. But he hadn’t even realized that there was anything wrong with the girl, except for the fact that everyone was inexplicably making a fuss over her.

  Again, Holly’s eyes drifted to the cell phone. “Could I borrow that for a minute? I want to make sure no one was hurt back there.”

  Eric nodded. “Sure.”

  She fished a slip of paper out of her purse and dialed a number that was written there, then went back to chewing her nails while she waited for someone to pick up.

  Eric glanced in the rearview. Except for the emergency vehicles, there was no one on the road with them tonight. There also weren’t any hideous little creatures chasing after them.

  Holly managed to get in touch with someone at the club. After hanging up, she turned to Eric and reported what she’d found: “Annie says everyone got out fine and the fire is already out. No major damage. Sounds like it was mostly contained to the bar.”

  No major damage. Was that because the bartenders had acted quickly to contain the blaze or because the magic man had only meant the fire as a distraction. He recalled what the curvy, blonde cowgirl had said about seeing something inhuman in the smoke. He couldn’t help but think about some of the unusual people he’d encountered in the past. More than one had been able to create monsters out of thin air. And something that definitely qualified as a monster had jumped onto the hood of the van just a moment ago… “This is all starting to seem a little familiar,” he said.

  The phone chimed in Holly’s hand. She looked down at it surprised, and then stared at the screen, puzzled.

  “What is it?” he asked her.

  She looked up at him. “It says, ‘Yes it is.’”

  Eric nodded. “Think we’re dealing with the same people?”

  The nameless organization for which the men with the terrible powers had worked, present during both of his other adventures.

  Holly cocked her head to one side, confused. “What?”

  The cell phone chimed again. “‘It’s possible,’” she read. It chimed once more and she read, “‘Keep your eyes open.’”

  “I definitely will.”

  Holly stared at him with those wide, pretty eyes. “Your phone talks to you?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t know any magic.”

  “I don’t. That’s Isabelle.”

  “Isabelle?”

  The phone chimed again. HI, HOLLY

  Holly stared at the phone for a second, her face filled wit
h childlike amazement, then she leaned toward him and whispered, “She knows my name…”

  Eric smiled. “Maybe I’ll just let her explain it to you.”

  Isabelle was clearly happy to do so because the phone promptly rang. Looking a little frightened, Holly lifted it cautiously to her ear and said, “Hello…?”

  Chapter Nine

  When they pulled into the driveway of the farmhouse, Jude was standing outside waiting for them, as if expecting them.

  “You found her,” he said as Eric stepped out of the van.

  “I did.”

  Holly closed the door and walked around the front of the vehicle. She still had the phone pressed to her ear, listening intently as Isabelle finished telling her about hers and Eric’s strange relationship.

  “Did you have any trouble?”

  “A little. But we’re fine.”

  “Mom wants to talk to you right away.”

  Eric nodded. He wanted to talk to her, too.

  The three of them made their way to the front porch.

  Jude looked over at Holly and Eric saw the adolescent longing in his expression. “Hi, Holly.”

  “Hey, Jude,” Holly replied sweetly, barely looking at him.

  Inside, they found Delphinium in the back bedroom, right where Eric first laid eyes on her. In front of her was a bowl of hot water with faint wisps of steam rising from the still surface. A teapot stood steaming on a hotplate to one side and several candles stood around the bowl, casting their light onto the water’s surface.

  She was staring intently into the bowl.

  Double, double toil and trouble, Eric thought as he stood looking down at her. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. “So what are we cooking up tonight?” he asked. “Eye of newt or toe of frog?”

  Delphinium never took her eyes off the bowl, but her pretty mouth spread into a lovely smile. “Nothing so foul,” she assured him. “Just water and steam.”

  “Not even tea leaves?”

  “It’s all about knowing what to look for. The water churns as it heats and cools. Steam rises from the surface as liquid turns to gas. Condensation forms as it cools from gas to liquid. First, you have to take it all in and let it calm you. Then, if you know how to listen, it’ll talk to you.”