Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “Honey, you can never be simple.” I reach out to give him a big squeeze.

  “And what about you?” he says as he releases me. “Mm mm mmm, you look good enough to eat.”

  I twirl in a circle feeling like a little kid. I’m wearing a short red dress that hugs every curve, a gold necklace Jonas gave me, and my trademark boots. My hair is swept to the side and hangs in a whirl of blond, purple, and just a touch of red accents.

  “Oh, my, is that a ring I see?”

  Magicka grabs my left hand.

  I blush and wiggle my fingers. “Oh, it’s something Jonas gave me. After we’ve settled in we want to do a commitment ceremony in the spring. Just something to declare our devotion to each other.”

  “I’ll officiate,” Magicka declares. “I’ve got the certificate from Holo Industries, you know—Performer of All Ceremonies that Need Officiating. It cost me a few bucks, I filled out a few questions—voilà!” He whistles as he gazes at my ring. “This is not just any ring. It’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you. I designed them.”

  “Them?” Magicka says with an arched eyebrow.

  I laugh. “We’re going for equality in this union. Jonas has one, too. He asked me for the commitment, I asked him as well, it was a win-win.”

  “You only recently got back together, girl.”

  “So we’re moving fast. We’ve known each other for a bazillion years.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you that.”

  The ring is made of two flattened pieces of gold, entwined like strands of seaweed. A bit of copper threads through the gold, adding a mysterious greenish accent.

  Dean, Kaama, Kayos, and Grammy enter the room, talking and laughing, followed by Jonas. “They all arrived at the same time,” he says, giving me a warm smile.

  “That’s because Dean drove, dear heart.” Magicka flashes him a saucy wink. “In his Cadillac.”

  Jonas shakes his head. “You gender benders and your toys.”

  “You heteros and your…your…whatever,” Dean counters, sniffing.

  Jonas makes his way to me, leans me back along his arms, and gives me a dramatic, movie-worthy kiss. Everyone cheers as I turn twenty-nine shades of scarlet.

  “Not sure how I feel about the PDA,” I say to Jonas.

  “Get used to it,” he retorts. “We’re together finally and I intend to tell the world.”

  “Welcome, everyone. Help yourselves to refreshment.” I bite my lip, put my arm around Jonas, and gaze around the room. “Restoration happens. This celebration is proof enough.”

  “Hear, hear, doll,” Dean says, reaching for a glass of champagne. “Here’s to restoration.”

  “I’m happy you two finally got off your high horses,” Grammy says to me as she reaches for a cup of cider. “All this ‘we’re just friends’ stuff was getting on my nerves.”

  “Timing is everything,” Jonas says. “And friends are good to have.”

  “Yes, but good family is even better. Welcome to the family, dear.”

  Grammy shuffles between us and puts her arms around both of us.

  “Best damn practice birthday ever,” Jonas says.

  “Best damn practice birthday ever,” I agree. “In more ways than one.” I wink at Jonas.

  “Did you give her the best gift a girl could ask for?” Grammy asks Jonas.

  Jonas actually reddens. “What’s that, Evelyn? I gave her a ring, I gave her my heart. Are those what you’re referring to?”

  “Did you make my girl orgasm?”

  His face flames. “Uh, yeah, as a matter of fact. Not only one.”

  My foolish new grin spreads across my face. My cheeks feel warm, too. “Grammy! You’re so blunt sometimes.” I lean into her ear and whisper, “I already taught myself the basics before I let him make magic with me.”

  She smiles and winks. “When you’re my age you can be as blunt as you like. I’ve earned this. And that’s the kind of news I like to hear. Good for you. Good for you both.” She squeezes us both, hard. “Now let’s get this party started.”

  * * *

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  JUMP TO...

  A DOSE OF BRIMSTONE by NOREE COSPER

  END OF DREAMS by KIM FAULKS

  HAUNT by HEATHER HAMBEL CURLEY

  DARK CROSSINGS by ANN SIMKO

  HEADSPACE by CALINDA B

  THE OTHER F WORD by SUSAN STEC

  UNLEASHED by RACHEL MCCLELLAN

  HIDDEN INTENTIONS by STACY CLAFLIN

  THE COMPLETE BLOODLING SERIAL by AIMEE EASTERLING

  SHE WHO FIGHTS MONSTERS by KYOKO M

  ST. CHARLES AT DUSK by SARAH M. CRADIT

  WICKED BY NATURE by MADISON SEVIER

  UNDERLIFE by MARISSA FARRAR

  DRAGON’S REDEMPTION by EDEN ASHE

  MILAN’S RETURN by GRAE LILY

  THE BREAKERS CODE by CONNER KRESSLEY

  THE MEDIUM by MR GRAHAM

  WICCAN WARS by HEATHER MARIE ADKINS

  CARPE NOCTEM by KATIE SALIDAS

  A QUESTION OF FAITH by NICOLE ZOLTACK

  THE OTHER F WORD

  BY SUSAN STEC

  Copyrighted © 2013 by Susan Stec

  Wandermere is anything but your typical fairy forest kingdom. No dainty, innocent, classical fairies sitting on toadstools petting baby bunnies. Instead, you'll stumble upon mouthy teen fairies wearing designer knockoffs and texting on their smart phones. Think cute, tiny, fae teens driving bugs instead of cars and drinking honey instead of beer. And there's always a nasty girl in High School; the most popular, the prettiest, the one that hates the protagonist. Yep, that would be Soahc.

  It wasn't always like this, and the adults claim the reasons behind the change are to help them better deal with trips to the human world, but Dekram begins having doubts. She's not sure what's real anymore, and who has been lying, and why.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and places are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance of the characters to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjo
yment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people.

  Published by Susan Stec, author

  The Other F Word

  Copyrighted © 2013 by Susan Stec

  Cover illustration copyrighted © 2013 Susan Stec

  Chapter 1

  ANGRY BUZZING SURROUNDED the hollow cypress tree where Dekram and her friend, Layol hid.

  Dekram's wings quivered like a rainbow oil slick puddle as she wrapped them around her body and scooted further into the hollow of the cypress. Her wings parted, and, with a gasp, sage-green eyes worried a look at her friend. "Oh, for the love of Disney, Lay! Get back in here!" Dekram rushed a whisper. "They're swarming, you idiot."

  Layol giggled over her shoulder then wiggled back into the tree and perched on her heels, wings vibrating excitement. "Pixin' enchantin', right? I've never seen so many Fire fairies in one place. Don't ya wanna know what's up with that?"

  Dekram's wings shivered. "No! The Skulls are out there!"

  "You think they're working the rest of the Fire fairies up to go all lost boys on us during the mock missions?"

  "Really, Lay?" Dekram spread her wings so Layol could see her eyes roll. "It's not like they've been allowed to go into the human world for the last century or so."

  "Still…" Layol popped her head out of the hole in the cypress.

  "Do not! Attract them!" Dekram shrieked, pushing farther into the shadows. "They file their teeth wicked pointy, their tattoos scare me, and they always stink of rancid honey."

  Layol turned, hands flipped out, palms up. "And we care about their personal hygiene, why?"

  "Did you not hear, 'always stink of rancid honey'? They're in-ee-bri-A-ted!" Dekram rapid fired. "We're a gnat's butt away from getting a mission, and if you attract them to us and we get caught-"

  "Okay! Do I look like I'm rushin' out to ask them anything?" Layol said, butt in the air, upper body hanging out of the hole in the tree. "Impin' right, I'm not. Besides, they're leaving, and it's just as well."

  Layol back-winged a half circle until she hovered in front of Dekram. ''We need to get to class. You so totally do not need another deficiency mark, gal pal. So, unless you can pull a Wendy and wish us to Neverland, we best get our wings on."

  "I will never understand why Fire fairies are not institutionalized by the time they turn eighteen. All they care about is drinking and mating." Dekram unfolded her wings, stood, and fingered her long red curls. "You sure they're gone?"

  "Yesssss," Layol said, working a fist with her hip. "Give it a rest. Maybe I wouldn't go lip-to-lip with a Skull—those buzz-saw teeth—and sure, the whole drunken bad-boy fairy thing could be a big carnal thrill-kill. But c'mon, if they stayed sober they'd be a major attraction in an 'I know I'm not supposed to be doing this' kind of way."

  "Grimm calamities! You so didn't just say that!" Dekram made a fist and worried two front teeth with a thumbnail.

  "Just sayin'—not doin'."

  "I can only hope because that would definitely be a series of unfortunate events." Dekram glanced at the exit. "Can you see Renrad? Is he still tethered to the bush by the pond?"

  Layol blew a melodramatic sigh and looked out of the hole in the trunk. "Your dragonfly is safe. Now can we get to school before the first bell rings?"

  * * *

  IN SECOND PERIOD humanities, Mrs. Ecarg, an Earth fairy with gray hair pulled back in a bun and a tent-like flowered dress covering her bulbous body, wrote homework assignments on the blackboard. Behind her, students passed notes, their faces dressed in dramatic expressions, while others whispered exaggerations, teased or taunted.

  Dekram half listened to the students while she watched the bun on the back of Mrs. Ecarg's head bob to the beat of the chalk moving on the blackboard. Her eyes wandered to the clock on the wall over the door and she mentally counted off seconds, willing the minutes to move along. After two-hundred-and-seventeen seconds—three ticks of the big hand on the face of the clock, thirty-one seconds to the next—her eyelids felt heavy and her mind wandered back to the cypress tree and the swarm. The stupid Fire fairies are the least disciplined and most unsupervised kids in Wandermere. So totally not fair. Why does the council put up with them? If I had my way-

  When the communication device above Mrs. Ecarg's desk screeched a shrilly sound, the teacher jumped out of her Birkenstocks', bare feet kicking the hem of her muumuu.

  Two hollow taps echoed and a winded sound reverberated the speaker, before Principal Nrets stern voice came through loud and clear. "Mrs. Ecarg, please send Dekram to the office."

  "Right now," the voice of Dekram's mother snapped.

  Dekram bolted out of her desk, wings all a-flutter. "Pandora's box," she groused under her breath. "What now?"

  "Yes, sir, she's on her way." Mrs. Ecarg warbled, wings beating themselves invisible as she waved Dekram toward the door.

  Soahc, Miss Everybody-Has-My-Number-On-Speed-Dial, snickered. "What'd ya do this time, half-breed? Eat the family pet?"

  Accompanied by a chorus of giggles, rapid comments filled the air:

  "Her mother doesn't have wings."

  "Lucky she got some from Daddy."

  "Skype 'er, man. Two words: Pond scum."

  "Why do all of you have to be so rude?" Detaf blushed. His dark blue Air fairy skin turned purple. He ran a hand under his ball cap, palmed his black hair, and lowered the brim of the cap over deep blue eyes.

  Soahc curled her lips at Detaf. "Even gnats have wings…unless you pluck them." She flipped her blonde hair with some major attitude.

  "That's enough, missy!" Mrs. Ecarg snapped, back in her earth shoes which were firmly planted on the floor. "Do I need to enforce my no-tolerance policy in regards to species prejudice? Because I certainly will. Each of our species' individual Elements is essential to everyone's survival in Wandermere. No single species…"

  While Mrs. Ecarg yammered on, Dekram thought, Yeah, lotta good that does me, Little-Miss-Ethnic-Misfit. Why'd my father have to get all domestic with a Water Sprite? He's a Human Services officer. Surely, he could have found another Air fairy to attach himself to? I hate being the only half-breed in Wandermere.

  "Nymph's granny undies! Where does she fit into the Elements that rule each individual species?" asked a girl sitting behind Soahc.

  "This is getting old." Detaf's mouth pushed disgust in the group's direction.

  With a garish grin, Etah held Detaf's attention. "She's mottled our Elements—I say we put her in a cage before she mates and makes more anomalies!"

  Soahc adjusted the shoulders of her saffron-dyed dress and chided, "Bet you didn't have a policy until she came along, anyway."

  "A Merrybegot's dreaded existence—that's my life! I hate it!" Dekram caught Detaf's sympathetic expression and her delicate wings turned pink as she grimaced and tried to ignore the bell-like giggles of her classmates. She bolted for the classroom door, and, bright curly hair billowing around her heart-shaped face, and flew down burnt-orange halls, past closed classroom doors and blue lockers dotted with colorful padlocks.

  Mrs. Laretil was standing at the library door when Dekram rocketed by. "Slow down, young lady. We do not bolt, we flutter!" The Librarian's voice warbled and rose in pitch.

  Dekram shouted over her shoulder, "Yes ma'am," and the whole hallway distorted and wavered like heat rising from hot pavement behind her as she shot up through a whirling hole that shimmered on the tiled ceiling.

  On the other side, while flying toward the office, Dekram remembered the last incident that had brought her mother to school. So totally not my fault. It was all because of my transportation bug. I didn't ask for a lime-green Darner dragonfly with boring translucent wings for my 16th birthday. I wanted a butterfly, but no, my mother goes and snags Renrad at the pond—I'm sure it had absolutely nothing to do with him eating her precious larvae. Dekram blew a sigh. He'd gobbled up three other kids' transportation bugs, it became all my fault, and now I have to tie him to a tree at the pond and fly the rest of the way to scho
ol. Thank the Elements the stupid dragonfly didn't devour Soahc's Black Witch Moth.

  "Really, how smart was that gift?" Dekram mumbled as she darted into the office through another shimmering hole, halfway up the oak tree. I hope whatever they deem my fault, this time, doesn't get me another deficiency mark.

  Coming to a hummingbird stop in front of the secretary's desk, she yanked her camo low-riders up over her belly-button ring and fastened two more buttons on her midriff blouse.

  A tsking noise from behind made Dekram look over her shoulder to find Mirg, Soahc's best friend, staring at her with a disparaging look through a curtain of black bangs.

  Bacs, the only boy in Soahc's tight group, elbowed Mirg. "Camo and Dr. Martens. Bet half-breed's got herself a troll, too." He snickered, "Do much muddin' half-breed?"

  With fingernails painted maroon, Mirg pulled a black lace veil down over her nose and lips. "Oscar Wilde said, 'I suppose society is wonderfully delightful. To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it is simply a tragedy'".

  Blinking, Dekram ducked her head; pale khaki skin flickered pink as she hid behind red curls.

  Bacs wore a big silver-toothed grin, black jeans, and a long-sleeved ebony t-shirt with skull-and-crossbones laminated on the chest. A studded black ball cap, brim hiding one ear, sat over red hair and a cloud-blue, ghost-like face. "Toe-jam! She smells like flies' feet." Bacs flung a leather jacket haphazardly over one shoulder and fanned his face with a hand full of papers.

  "Maggot's breath would have been a darker, more suitable description, especially since she's dead to us." Mirg dressed in all black, casually kicked the stiff tulle under her skirt with a cyberpunk boot laced up to her knee.