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

by Rebecca Hamilton

  "Crap," Nesohc said. "They're voting on something."

  "Duh." Layol smirked.

  "...against."

  "They were talking about me." Dekram's wings enveloped her head.

  "...it's settled, we proceed as planned, then..."

  "Puck me!" Layol spat. "What plan?"

  "I motion to adjourn," gruff voice said to a round of applause and buzzing wings.

  "I second the motion," said a soft male voice.

  "We will all meet back here by week's end," the gruff voice said, ending the meeting.

  Ears to the vent, the three friends listened to the inaudible conversation that rapidly faded to silence.

  "That's it?" Dekram sobbed behind translucent wings. "And all we got is my mother saying my fate is in the hands of the Goddess Aine? What fate? What does Fire have to do with me?"

  "Hey, she did say she wouldn't keep you under lock and key," Layol offered.

  "And we're just a phone call away." Nesohc glared at Layol. "Right?"

  "I'm in," Layol said.

  "I can't believe this." Dekram stared at her friends through watery eyes. "Do you really think they're talking about me?"

  Layol nodded profusely.

  "But why? Why me?

  "I think it's because you're part Water, part Air," Layol said.

  "Whatever it is, it's pretty obvious you're special to them," Nesohc encouraged.

  "And we're gonna keep our ears and eyes open to find out why," Layol added.

  "Lot of good that will do if Fire or the council cart me off somewhere." Dekram leaned back and melted into Nesohc's chest. He circled his arms around her stomach.

  "Nah," Layol said. "We'll stick close."

  "Yeah, we could even take turns sleeping over," Nesohc said.

  One of Layol's eyebrows stood at attention while she chewed the inside of her cheek and stared at Nesohc.

  Nesohc got all deer in the headlights. "You can let both of us in your bedroom window, or one of us every other day." Words rose in pitch to form a question.

  Dekram and Nesohc turned in opposite directions and they both blushed.

  "Swell," Layol said, throwing her hands up, "something tells me our girly nights aren't going to be as much of an adrenalin rush as your knight-in-shining-armor nights."

  "I also suggested both of us!" Nesohc blurted.

  "Uh-huh, like that's gonna happen." Layol smirked.

  Chapter 12

  DEKRAM FLEW AROUND her bedroom, flinging off party clothes, trying to get it together before her mother got home from the meeting. She buzzed into the bathroom, flash-washed her face, and a couple of other important places then scooped up the mess and stuffed everything into the hamper.

  Two squirts of peach-nectar oil later, balancing on one foot, the other stuffed inside Tinkerbelle pajamas, and she froze. I might as well get out the coloring books and crayons and Nes and I can have a play date. Whipping them off, she stuffed the pajamas into the hamper.

  Working herself into a frenzy, she pulled one pair of pajamas after another out of her drawer. Nothing seems right; she thought and then mentally scolded, Maybe that's because sneaking a boy into your bedroom isn't right. She sighed and her eyes scanned the pile of scattered pajamas. "Pix it! You know you're gonna do this so just close your eyes and grab something!"

  Dekram started weeding pajamas and tossing them back into the drawer. She finally placed a white long sleeved t-shirt that read, Café Salmonella, where something fishy is always going on, against her chest and it molded around her body. She straightened her wings, picked up a pair of blue boxers with pink salmon swimming all over them and as she stepped into them someone knocked on her bedroom door. She shot right out of the boxers and hid them behind her back.

  "Dekram, are you sleeping?" her mother asked.

  "Crap! Like my pajamas are the guilty party," she chastised and hurriedly slipped them back on. Like that is soo-o lame. If I were sleeping, I sure as heck wouldn't be now. "No," Dekram said, scattering school books across her bed. "I'm studying for the mission." She hopped onto the bed and grabbed her mission folder and a pad.

  "Can I come in?"

  Deep cleansing breath, she coaxed, nostrils flared then wiggled up to the headboard. "Sure," she mumbled over the pencil she'd stuck between her teeth.

  Diuqil had peeked into the room before her khaki body followed. "How did your study group go?"

  "Okay, I guess. We go out the day after tomorrow." Dekram scribbled on the pad and turned a page in the folder, pretending to read.

  "I know. That's one of the things I want to talk to you about."

  Pulling her gaze from the folder in her lap, with no knowledge whatsoever of what was on the page; Dekram gave her mother a perfunctory smile and tried to keep from looking at her slightly open bedroom window. "You don't need to worry, Mom. I'll be fine," she said a bit too loud.

  Diuqil flinched. "Why are you yelling? Have you heard what happened tonight?"

  Dekram pulled her thighs to her chest, forehead resting on her knees. "Nothing happened. We studied. I'm fine." O'eternal punishment an' Karmic damnation; if she only knew HOW I heard! And OMG, what if Nes buzzes in that window? "I just really want to finish my outline and go to sleep, Mom." I'm lower than fetid scum in a stagnant pond. I hate to lie. Why can't she just leave?

  Tinkles against the window revved Dekram's wings, gaze jerking in that direction.

  Diuqil's forehead wrinkled. "You are not fine. You're a bundle of nerves. I'm going to go make you some chamomile tea and we'll have that talk," her mother said, turning to leave.

  "No!" Dekram shouted. "Can't it wait until morning?" Pond scum—my new middle name.

  "I'm afraid not. I don't want to increase your tension right before-"

  "Just say it, then!" Dekram snapped. "All the drama is like inching off a Band-Aid, Mom." Toe-jam—I have smelly toe-jam clogging the main artery to my once-upon-a-time pure heart.

  Diuqil sighed heavily. "Now don't be upset…but at the town meeting tonight a video was passed around."

  Dekram sat straight up in bed, opened her mouth to speak, but her mother raised a palm. "One that Soahc and her friends had taken in the school restroom. While the Elders investigated the video, they became aware that Soahc was consorting with Fire. Intolerance would have gotten her enough marks to ban her from the missions, as it did the other girls in the video, but consorting with Fire left the elders no choice but to ban both Soahc and Egar to the human realm."

  Dekram's quick intake of breath rushed the remainder of her mother's words. It was decided that both first and second groups will be participating in the missions tomorrow; yours in the afternoon, because-

  A flutter of noise outside the window shot Dekram three inches off the bed, into the air.

  Diuqil's gaze followed her daughter's eyes to the window. "You're jumpy. Are you frightened?"

  Puffed cheeks held back words that would only lead to lies. Dekram shut her eyes tight. He's out there! Soahc is banned from Wandermere? No freaking way! Is it a sin against goddess Aine to be so cunningly thrilled, and also filled with joy over Soahc's comeuppance?

  Diuqil walked over to the window and slowly slid it shut. "Are you prepared for the mission?"

  "Yes! And I don't want to discuss Soahc being abjured, the video, or tomorrow's mission, all night!" Mother Nature beckons me while Father Time smites me and if I continue down this road of deceit, surely the underworld will welcome me!

  "Well then, if you have no questions or concerns, under the covers with you." Diuqil walked back and started stacking Dekram's school books on the bedside table. "I won't keep you up all night by worrying about tomorrow."

  Sliding bare feet under the covers, and snuggling down, Dekram lifted her arms as Diuqil pulled the quilt to her chin. Toad-crap—slimy, smelly toad's dung—the depths of my murky deceptive character.

  Diuqil planted a kiss on her forehead. "No matter what you think in the morning, Dekram, you'll do just fine tomorrow. You are
your father's daughter."

  As her mother turned off the bedside lamp and walked to the bedroom door, Dekram whispered, "Yours too."

  Diuqil turned and smiled then closed the door behind her.

  Goddess Aine, I'll ponder how evil I am in the morning, I promise, Dekram thought as covers flew. She bolted across the room, and teeth working her lower lip, slowly opened the window and leaned over the ledge.

  A twinkle of florescent dust fell around her head and then Nesohc hovered in front of her, wings scattering light like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. "Did you hear about Soahc and Egar?"

  "Yes, and I might have spun off another Series of Unfortunate Events," Nesohc paused, eyeballing her pajamas, wings revving, sparkles brightening the darkness outside the window, "if I'd've tossed me at the window instead of those pebbles."

  Dekram hiccupped a giggle. "How 'bout you turn yourself off and get in here before my mother comes back and goes all Count Olaf on you."

  Nesohc blushed under the scaly tattoos around his eyes and slipped through the window.

  Dekram abruptly turned, puffed a breath at her hand then sniffed her palm. Crap, I forgot to brush my teeth and it would look dumb if I excused myself now. O'mifairygodmother, Soahc is banned!

  "I heard her tell you that we're starting our missions tomorrow, too," Nesohc said. "I can't believe they would send you into the human world right after banning Egar and Soahc. Bet they'd already sent Egar packing before the Buzz tonight—Soahc was there, but I didn't see Egar."

  "Yeah, that's probably why Soahc was hanging all over Detaf. Still, it's not like Detaf to drink honey or hang with..." Distracted, Dekram subtlety sauntered over to her dresser, reached into a small basket, turned, and popped a peppermint candy into her mouth. She offered Nesohc one, manic laughter echoing between her ears as she casually asked, "So they teamed you with Bacs, or…who?" Could I be any more obvious? I'm free-flying on Soahc's punishment and I can't wait to tell Layol.

  Unwrapping the mint, Nesohc laughed. "Not Soahc."

  Dekram melted onto the edge of her bed. Well at least that's something. She looked up and batted her lashes. "Who then?"

  "Probably, Etah." Nesohc popped the mint into his mouth and sucked nosily. "Bacs is with Mirg."

  Dekram smiled at the floor. "Who was Soahc assigned to? Is he ever going to sit down beside me?

  "Detaf," Nesohc said around hurried crunching. He swallowed hard.

  Dekram wrapped her hands around her tummy and worked her eyes into frightfulness. "Aren't you scared to go out with one of Soahc's friends?" I'm turning into Soahc—a hormone raging twit—does this flirting stuff just come naturally with pubescence? I can't seem to turn it off.

  "Nope." Nesohc sat beside her, hands jittery. He placed them on the bed behind him, then under his armpits, rubbed the top of his thighs and finally took her hand. Once he had it he didn't seem to know what to do with it.

  Dekram stared at his timorous hand. "Soahc is going to pull something in the human world, I just know it," Dekram mumbled, on autopilot. C'mon, just kiss me—like he's still working the hand thing—this is going to be a long night.

  They shared an apprehensive silence.

  Dekram's eyes wandered up the front of Nesohc's Angry Birds t-shirt, over the taut blue skin on his bobbing Adam's apple, across his tightened jaw, and stopped on the tattooed scales around his eyes. Nesohc turned his head, eyes seizing Dekram's—a rush of tingles whipped up her body, taking her breath away—Nesohc slammed a kiss on her lips that rattled their teeth. They both jerked back.

  He gripped her hand tighter. "Sorry. Sorry. Did I?—are you?—am I?—I've never done…I mean, not that we're gonna…um, do whatever we're gonna do… Crap."

  Dekram stopped thumbing the bottom of her front teeth, slapped her mouth shut and hand-clamped a laugh inside.

  Nesohc eyed the floor, foot nudging air. "Okay, so now you're laughing at me."

  "Am not." Dekram chuckled.

  "Are too!" he hammered a whisper, head jerking toward the door and back. "You try making all the first moves. It's not easy being the guy. I haven't had a lot of-"

  Dekram grabbed Nesohc's face in two hands and laid her mouth against his. O' adolescent pubescent stupidity, what am I thinking? Dekram thought as they both fell back on her bed and Nesohc's tongue muscled her tight lips.

  "Oh heck no!" Layol tried for an expressive whisper, but fell short and Nesohc and Dekram flummoxed a sitting position. "Tell me you were so not," Layol snapped her fingers, "laying on top of that boy," she snapped them again, "on your bed—(snap)—with your mom—(snap)—right downstairs."

  They stared at her, speechless.

  "I didn't think so. And I'm gonna so totally pretend I didn't see any tongue action, too." Layol strutted over to the bed, nostrils flared, wings lying flat against her back and nose sniffing the air. "Huh. Peaches and—got any more mints?"

  "On the dresser in the basket," Dekram said, cheeks burning. "Guess what?"

  "I heard about the roster change tomorrow," Layol said, shoving a mint into her mouth and tossing two at the bed.

  Nesohc caught one, the other bounced off Dekram's head. "But did you hear about Soahc and Egar being banned from Wandermere?"

  "What?" Layol stopped sucking—a mint-sized lump stretched her cheek. "You're pixin' me, right?"

  "Nope," Dekram said, after snatching the airborne mint before it bounced off the bed.

  "But she was at the buzz tonight." The lump in Layol's cheek disappeared, and sucking commenced.

  "Yeah, we were just talking about that," Nesohc said.

  "Should a done more talkin'." Layol words sounded sloshy. "I mean-" She chewed loudly.

  Dekram glared at her friend.

  Layol swallowed one set of words, hammered out another. "I'd say tomorrow's gonna be all about that test thingy we heard at the meeting."

  "Maybe they haven't banned her yet," Nesohc said.

  "I bet THAT'S why they're speeding up the missions." Dekram looked less stressed.

  "Yeah, and I'm sure THAT's why the elder feels the need to test you tomorrow. NOT!" Layol smiled over the mint between her teeth and then sucked it into her mouth. "So since we have, what?—like all night?—what say we come up with a plan to wow them when Soahc goes all angry wasp on us tomorrow on the HUMAN side of the portal?"

  "Yeah, like we're so totally experienced on the other side." Dekram scowled. "We might as well try to paint a picture without a canvas and colors."

  * * *

  "AS YOU KNOW, the second group left this morning, and tomorrow they will tell us all about their mission," Mrs. Evol said from her desk in homeroom the next morning. "The task force from Human Services will be arriving in the auditorium shortly to report any repercussions from the first group's mission-"

  "Yeah, good luck with that," Hcti shouted, fingers working an itch on his left arm pit.

  Mrs. Evol shot him a tight smile and quickly looked away. Eyes scanning everywhere in the class except Hcti's direction, she finished, "-and address your suggestions for resolving them."

  The speaker over the teacher's desk reverberated with an ear-piercing shrill, two hollow thunks and a soft muted hum, blanketed by a prissy nasal voice. "Mrs. Evol, they're ready for the children."

  The teacher rubbed her temples, plucked a tiny sachet of dried chamomile leaves off her desk, palmed it into her mouth, dry swallowed, and then answered the principal's secretary. "Thank you, Mrs. Edia. They will be there shortly."

  The speaker clicked into silence and the classroom became quiet enough to hear a gnat burp as Mrs. Evol's head swiveled back to the class. "Principal Nrets has asked a representative from Human Services to join the task force today. He will select several of you to assist him in demonstrating the proper usage of basic fairy skills such as charming, spelling and persuasion while out in the field. So if everyone will gather your mission books and line up by the door-"

  "Whoa, you're kidding, right?" Hcti shot out of his seat. "How come we're g
etting this training after two-thirds of us have already gone out? And I thought it was against the rules to use fairy powers on this side of the portal. What's up with that?"

  Mrs. Evol's left eye twitched.

  "I thought everyone is treated equally during try-outs!" said Hcti with a lot of hands and facial gestures. "Third group'll have an edge!"

  The teacher's head dipped and she forced a smile. "I'd be happy to discuss this with you at a more opportune moment. Maybe you would like to stay here and wait for that moment, Hcti? I do need someone to copy tomorrow's daily assignments on the boards."

  Hcti stuck his right hand down the back of his jeans, halfway up his forearm, and then his elbow bounced while he looked like he was considering her comments.

  Mrs. Evol sighed impatiently, foot tapping softly under her desk. "Well, it may have something to do with those repercussions Human Services is here to discuss, Hcti. Whatever the reason, I'm sure the first two groups will be given a fair share of latitude, while the third group will not."

  In unison, the class turned from the teacher toward Hcti who was now furiously scratching his left armpit.

  "More like attitude," Hcti mumbled, pulling his t-shirt away from his armpit and giving it a sniff before reluctantly grabbing his folder and flitting to the end of the line.

  Dekram grimaced at Hcti—shivered—wings vibrating. "Are we the only fairies in this room who know about Soahc?"

  Layol shrugged. "Nobody said she's gone yet."

  "Think I can get away with going home sick?"

  "Lighten up," Layol said. "Like I said last night, this so totally clears up the part of the conversation we missed last night as well as your mom's phone conversation with your dad the other day—bet they've been considering Fire's behavior since then. They just want to check out your powers. I bet your dad is the HS rep heading the training. Anyway, I heard that when someone gets abjured they lose their wings and have no powers when they send them into the human world."

  "I bet you read that on the Internet, right?"

  Layol shook her head and grabbed her book bag.