by Spear, Terry
“Now what do we do?”
“My uncle is destroying summoning books. If you could hook up with him, he’d be pleased to have your help.”
“If I had a friend like you—”
Hunter, Samson, and Jared ran toward her.
“I’m afraid my demon friends wouldn’t like that.” She gave Connor her uncle’s number. “Call him. He could put you to good use.”
When she saw Hunter’s angry expression, Alana quickly shouted, “He’s on our side, Hunter!” Turning to Connor, she patted him on the shoulder. “Possessive Matusa.”
Connor shook his head and strode off. “I always miss out on the interesting witches.”
Hunter grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her mother’s house. “What happened? You're hurt.”
“The demon pretending to be my father was the Matusa who killed his summoners and could change his demon type at will. He was going to meet with Ferengus and Gryndal. I'll be fine.”
Jared shook his head. “Never heard of a demon like that.”
“Well, believe me, one minute he was a Kubiteron, the next, Matusa.”
“So he didn’t know Gryndal was dead.” Hunter smiled. “Good. He probably doesn’t know Ferengus is running around in a swamp in the demon world either.”
Alana punched in her uncle’s number on his cell phone.
“Alana? Where are you?” Uncle Stephen asked.
“Home, but mom’s not here.”
“She’s here. You’re in some serious trouble, young lady.”
She touched her face where the cuts still burned. “Yeah, Uncle Stephen. I sure am. Have you destroyed the summoning books?”
“We’ve canvassed the States for them and destroyed all the ones we found at the stores you’d given us. We’ve done sporadic checking of other off-the-wall stores, but found nothing.”
“Good. Then all we have to worry about is anyone who already has the book.”
“Already done. We’ve checked any purchases made at any of the stores and tracked them down.”
“That’s great. I’m going to get rid of a couple of poltergeists Mom was scheduled to do, then…” She looked at Hunter. “We have two more Matusa to destroy. I can’t return home until then. And there’s a warlock who helped me escape the last Matusa, so if you have a job for him, maybe he can help, too.”
“Tell me more about him.”
“Connor wouldn’t tell me his powers but helped me escape the demon’s apartment through levitation. He’d been helping the demon get to our world by opening a portal for him, but he said it was because he was forced to.”
Hunter grunted.
Alana looked at his sour face. “Okay, Uncle Stephen?”
“I’ll check him out.”
He sounded just as untrusting. Why would the warlock help her, then turn against her?
“I can’t convince you to come home, Alana?”
“They’ll come for me there before long. Mom’s house isn’t safe, either. I’ll be in touch when I can.”
“Your mother wants to talk to you.”
Her mother sighed heavily into the phone. “Alana, your father came for you. That’s why I sent you to your uncle’s place.”
Alana’s heart sped up. “My dad?” She couldn’t believe he would really come to see her.
“He wanted to take you to the demon world. I couldn’t let him.”
Alana’s head spun. So, her mother wasn’t looking at renewing a relationship with a warlock. Why didn’t she just tell her? She hated how her mother kept her life so secret from her. Maybe she thought Alana might choose to stay with her father. Her mother should have known better. “The Baltimore Matusa said my dad wasn’t summoned. That he selected you.”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“I’m thinking.”
“You were drunk,” Alana said, still disgusted.
“Alana, shhhh. I’m thinking.”
“I’m a… gate guardian.”
“What?”
“Apparently my dad thought your abilities transferred to a child of his would make a good portal guardian. That’s why I keep getting pulled to them. Dad was also a gate guardian. So I think you summoned the portal and not a demon. Dad came to the portal.”
“But you said he selected me. Besides, he wouldn’t have really been there, right?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I summoned the portal… and summoned a demon. I’m sure of it. But things kind of blurred after that.”
“But you remember him making love to you.”
Silence.
“Don’t you?”
“Yeah, your dad was really special. But you’re right. Something strange happened. I… I don’t think the demon I summoned was your dad.”
“How—”
“I think… I think the demon I summoned meant to harm me. And your father somehow came to my rescue.”
Her dad saved her mother? She had to know the truth.
Hunter tugged on Alana’s arm. “It’s not safe here. The Matusa pretending to be your dad will return when he discovers you’ve escaped.”
She took a deep breath. “I’ve got to go, Mom. Keep yourself safe.” She ended the call. “I’ve got to zap a couple of ghosts, but I need to rest first. I doubt staying at my mother’s place would be safe. Any other suggestions? You guys want to watch a witch in action?”
Hunter yanked open the door to the rental car. “Yeah, I want to see you take care of some of these sweet spirits. I thought you said you don't zap ghosts, by the way.”
"After the last few…" She let her words trail off.
Jared hopped in the backseat with Samson.
“This I’ve got to see,” Jared said in his cocky way.
When they arrived at the Holloway Mansion, the parking lot was deserted except for one car sitting near the old colonial-style building. But a light flickered on and off in the dining room.
“Now or never.” Alana climbed out of the car.
“What do you want us to do?” Jared asked.
“Know any protective spells?”
Jared vanished. Alana chuckled. “Cowardly lion.”
Alana knocked on the front door and a fidgety, gray-haired woman opened it. “W-we’re closed.”
“I’m Alana Fainot, and I’m here in my mother’s place to exorcise your poltergeist. You’re the manager, Mrs. Johnston?”
The woman nodded and glanced at Hunter and Samson.
“They’re learning the ropes of the business.”
“You seem kind of young, but, well, I’m glad there’s so many of you because there are three of them. W-what do you need me to do?”
“If you don’t mind… leave.”
The woman’s violet eyes widened.
“For your own safety. Please.”
Though, Alana was telling the truth, she also didn’t want the manager to witness how she dealt with the poltergeists.
“Yes, yes. Good idea.” The woman hurried outside and shut the door.
Alana cast a protection spell over her companions. “Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.”
“Like against demons,” Hunter said.
“Yes. Every spirit is different. Some are extremely sinister; others are goaded on by a leader. I always target the strongest first. But I never know what will work against them.”
She walked across the wood paneled floor and entered the dining room when the light suddenly flickered off.
The sun still washed the room in a warm light through wide-paned windows. Ten tables covered with white cloths waited for patrons, each decorated with a vase of fresh red roses cut from the gardens in full bloom out back.
“I’m here to help you,” Alana said.
Hunter and Samson’s backs were stiff and their gazes shifted around the room.
The light fluttered twice, then stayed on in the crystal chandelier hanging from the ten-foot high ceiling.
Alana folded her arms. “Did a demon force you here?”
A low growl filled the room.
All at once, Alana wished her mother was here and they were working as a team.
“I take that as a yes,” Hunter said under his breath.
“Matusa,” the room seemed to whisper with hatred.
The hair on Alana’s arms rose to attention. “The one who sent you here?” Or was the ghost referring to Hunter? She had to know which, though she was sure Tarn was stirring up the poltergeists in this area since he used them to guard her at his place.
Something icy brushed the scratches on her cheek and her heart leapt in her throat. “A Matusa called you forth? Tarn?”
Frigid fingers embraced her neck, then slid away. The actions were seductive, not threatening, but the entity couldn’t help but creep her out.
“What’s happening?” Hunter moved closer to her. “Your breath is frosty.”
“I’m okay. Stay back.” She assumed the spirit was no threat to her, but she feared Hunter’s interference might provoke it.
Hunter glowered at her, but didn’t move any closer.
Samson watched with rabid attention, his hands fisted at his sides.
The entity brushed against her lips this time, making them feel as though she’d pressed ice cubes against them. “Are… are you a Matusa?”
Hunter’s eyes rounded. “What the…”
“Matusa,” the creature repeated.
“Did… did Tarn kill you?”
One of the flower vases hovered above a table, then flew into a wall, broke into bits, and fell to the floor with a crash.
Her mind racing back to what she’d read on the banker’s computer, she tried to recall the messages. The Baltimore Matusa had a dispute with another Matusa over territorial rights.
“Indigo? Is that your name?”
“Kubiteron.” He said her demon type with longing.
Near the entrance of the dining room, Jared said, “This is just great.”
She glanced back at him but saw no sign of him—still cloaked. “Do you want to get back at Tarn?” Alana asked the poltergeist.
Hunter frowned. “I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
“We’ll call him forth, Indigo. We’ll destroy him. Will this appease you?” To Hunter Alana telepathically communicated, “I’m not certain I can exorcise a Matusa poltergeist. I have to try and pacify him instead.”
Hunter let out his breath. “You’re the expert, but what if Tarn can control him?”
“Indigo wouldn’t allow it, would you?”
The air around here grew cold again and a frosty breath said next to her ear, “Kubiteron.”
Chill bumps raced down her spine. “Summon Tarn,” Alana said to Hunter. “Samson, you do what you do best.”
“What about me?” Jared whispered.
Alana raised her brows. “Same with you.”
Hunter opened the portal. “Are you sure about this?”
She stared at the blue-green light as the wind whipped her hair about. “Yeah. Go ahead. Let’s get this over.”
Hunter attempted to summon forth Tarn and Samson vanished into mist. Alana hoped Tarn hadn’t gone to Florida looking for Ferengus and Gryndal.
When he didn’t show, she expressed her concern out loud.
“Well, he won’t find Gryndal anytime soon,” Hunter said.
She frowned at him. If the spirit knew Hunter had killed the Matusa when Indigo and Ferengus had been partners…
“Ferengus killed him,” Hunter said, seeing the expression on her face.
“Ferengussss,” the poltergeist repeated.
“Yeah, he struck both of us with a lightning bolt, but Gryndal had been weakened after some kind of swamp creature attacked him. Ferengus planned to kill us both.” Hunter shrugged. “Seems he’s as devious as Tarn. It would serve him right, if Tarn plans to kill him next or vice versa.”
“Ssssummon Ferengussss,” the poltergeist whispered.
Hunter winked at Alana and gave her a dark smile. Arrogant Matusa. He was only lucky his ploy worked.
Hunter summoned Ferengus this time and the demon appeared.
“Oh, not again,” Jared groaned.
Ferengus glanced in Jared’s direction, but Hunter attacked the demon with a swift kick to his chest.
Ferengus fell back. The poltergeist whipped around him, turning Ferengus’s black brows and his long hair frosty.
The mist surrounded Ferengus, and Hunter swore under his breath. “Samson, I can’t see to strike him. Get away from him!”
Ferengus made a lunge for Alana, but suddenly fell on his face. She couldn’t see Samson for the mist, but she assumed he’d become more solid to trip the demon.
Hunter kicked at Ferengus’s stomach and the demon howled, but the mist swallowed him up again. “Samson, I swear I’ll kick your butt next if you don’t get out of my way.”
“We work together,” Alana said, “and let Indigo have his chance, too.” She only said it, meaning to keep the demon poltergeist on their side, but suddenly his cold touch swept over her lips again. She fought stepping away from the iciness and the repulsion she felt for him.
The front door opened and slammed shut. Alana worried Mrs. Johnston was checking on their progress. Before Alana could head out of the dining room and chase the manager back outside, Jared warned, “It’s Tarn and that warlock, Connor.”
So Connor wasn’t done being Tarn’s lackey. Tarn’s arrival didn’t help matters. Alana tried a lightning spell on him like her uncle had taught her, but nothing happened.
Hunter jumped away from Ferengus’s outstretched claws as Tarn tsked. “Haven’t you killed this guy yet?”
“I’m working on it,” Hunter retorted.
Tarn chuckled low, sending a wave of unease washing through her. “Kill them all but the Kubiteron. She’s mine.”
“You can’t be commanding your warlock to do your dirty work,” Alana said. “He can’t do anything more than a levitation spell.” She knew better than that. That he hid his powers from her because he was still in league with the Matusa.
Tarn smiled. “He told me how proficient you were in getting rid of poltergeists.” He turned his attention across the room. “If I don’t save you, Indigo, she’ll also send you to oblivion.”
“You already killed him, remember? I don’t think he’s too happy about it.”
“You’re creating a ripple in my plans if I have to keep you under my control, Kubiteron.”
“The poltergeists? You planned to use them to terrorize the human population? Better than having to deal with Matusas who might try to take over your rule, right?”
His face was shadowed as he smiled again, then he hurtled a blue smoke at Hunter.
Her heart racing, Alana cast her wind spell and blew the smoke back in Tarn’s direction. Since it was his spell it wouldn’t harm him, but the smoke hit Connor, and he grabbed his throat and began to choke.
Tarn cast a spell at Alana this time, but she didn’t have a clue what the effect would be, so she erected a water wall. He laughed. But then Tarn seized his own throat like Connor had done. The warlock was either passed out or dead on the floor.
Taran’s face turned whiter and his eyes bulged as he fought the unseen force. The poltergeist? Jared?
Hunter and Ferengus were lost in the mist, though painful sounding grunts and groans came from there.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she jumped away from it and whipped around.
At once, she felt the connection, saw a slight resemblance to the male Kubiteron standing before her. His hair was as golden blond as hers and his eyes as sea green. He even had the same dimples when he smiled.
He glanced at the room full of demons and nodded. “You have done well, Alana, for not being trained.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a wave of his hand. “You have a Matusa, Elantus, and Samuria working for you to help you guard the portals.”
“The hell she has,” Hunter said from somewhere in the thick of the mist
, then “oofed,” as if Ferengus had gotten the better of him when he was distracted.
“You’ve even managed to garner the help of a Matusa poltergeist. More than I could ever have hoped for. When I was a young gate guardian, I never had that much help. Therefore, in deference to your mother’s wishes, you will continue to train with her and hone your witch’s skills further. Two months of the year, I will teach you how to manage gate guardian duties. For one, how to stop from being pulled to a portal when you’re driving a car or…” He smiled. “…taking a shower.”
Her skin heated. He’d been watching her all this time? He was worse than a Matusa. “What about my mother?”
“She’s special to me.”
“She’s been pining away for you all these years.”
Her father laughed. “Is that the story she told you?”
Alana glanced at Taran lying on the floor. His face wore a death mask, his hands still clutching his throat. “Jared? Indigo?”
“Taran’ssss dead,” Indigo said.
“Yeah,” Jared said, reappearing. “Indigo and I helped Taran leave this world together.”
Hunter stepped out of the mist, his face flushed, his chest and cheek bloodied.
“Ohmigod, no! Hunter!” Alana rushed to grab his arm.
“This time Ferengus is dead.” He clenched his teeth and leaned against her.
“We have to call your father.”
Hunter grunted.
Samson reformed and the mist dissipated. “I’m sorry if I got in your way.”
Hunter shrugged and grimaced. “We got him, didn’t we?” But he cast Samson an irritated look.
“You want to call Bentos, or should I?” Alana held onto Hunter and felt his body temperature elevating.
“I want you to leave before he arrives in case he still tries to claim you,” Hunter said.
“No way. I’m staying right here until he heals you.”
Hunter scowled. “Maybe your father can teach you to respect the Matusa.”
Her father’s eyes sparkled with humor.
Alana and Jared helped Hunter to a chair, and he leaned his arms against the table. He wasn’t in any shape to summon anyone. She called to Bentos, summoning him to help his son once again, hoping he would do so and leave her alone.
