The Art of Seduction

by Annie Harland Creek

  · Covert operation. Lucky turn of events has put me in a position to watch Corel closely.

  · Suspiciously, David has turned up at the murder sites before the police. Must work out how he does it.

  · David Corel was shot dead tonight. Feeling numb. I don’t believe he was the killer but Terry believes that the case is now closed

  · Witnessed a murder tonight. Poor young woman was sacrificed. Not sure if I believe my own eyes. Must find a way to convince Terry.

  Terry. Please be alive. She shook her head. This won’t get you anywhere. Think Meaghan. What is the connection? She picked up her pen and added to the list.

  · Attacked by hell-hound outside police station

  · Stalked by Lilith and friends

  · Terry suddenly disappears

  · Blind witch attacked in her store

  She tapped her pen against her bottom lip as she considered the clues. Why would the hell-hound be after me? Is it because the demon saw me at the ceremony? Why come after me at the police station, does the unsub know I’m a cop? Why the blind lady and Terry? Think, think, thi— Oh my gosh. I’m the connection. I was at the police station to see Terry and whoever has him must know that we are friends. No. That couldn’t be it. I don’t even know this, Sofie woman, she’s Anna’s friend … who is working with Anna to break whatever spell was cast to block the killer. They must be making progress or else why would she be attacked.

  With notebook in hand, she rose from her seat and walked over to the large sliding door, carefully lifting the corner of the curtain to peer outside. The sky was cloudless and filled with stars. The moon hung low in the sky illuminating the huge estate. She could see all the way to the beach from her position but she knew that there were many dark corners that could conceal the hound or its master. The thought chilled her to the bone. She felt confident enough to take on a flesh and blood killer but she now knew that there were things that lived for the darkness, things that could rip you to sheds, and she had no intention of becoming the next victim. It pained her to allow fear to keep her sequestered in her home while her loved ones were in danger. If it wasn’t for her phobia, she could have helped David search for Terry. Her injured hand rendered her even more useless against an attacker.

  “Some detective you are,” she said aloud as she threw her notebook across the kitchen counter. It knocked the phone off the hook before skidding off the bench and onto the floor. “You should be at the station looking for Terry.” If only she wasn’t so scared of the hell-hound. If she could only find a way of … idiot! She slapped the side of her head with her palm. Why didn’t I think of that before?

  ****

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Evan. Listen, I’m sorry if I woke you up old man but I need your help.”

  “Of course, Master David. I wasn’t asleep, just resting my eyes.”

  David knew that Evan was fibbing. The call had almost gone to voicemail before it was picked up. Poor Evan. Eighty years old and still refusing to retire.

  “What can I do for you, Sir?”

  “I’ve been trying to contact Meaghan at the cottage but she isn’t answering her cell phone and the landline is busy. Could you do me a favor and check the surveillance camera from the study?”

  “Certainly, Master David. Just give me a minute, if you will.”

  David’s exceptional hearing picked up the sound of the contents of a bottle shaking and he heard water being poured from a jug. “Is everything all right, Evan? Are you ill?”

  “No, sir. Just a slight headache. I’m just popping a paracetamol. Here I go … off to the study.”

  Time dragged on as the old servant shuffled the length of the house to the study. David could hear the Evan’s wheezing breaths as he made his way along the long corridors. He cursed himself for not forcing Evan to take retirement and go on a long cruise.

  “I’m here, Master David.” Evan gasped. “I can see Miss Lamb sitting in a chair with her back to the camera. I believe that she is asleep.”

  “Thank you, Evan. Once again, I’m so sorry to have disturbed you. You sound tired old man. When I get home, we need to have a serious discussion about your retirement.”

  “Master David?”

  “Yes, Evan.”

  “I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you and Master Derrick for all that you’ve done for me. I may never have had children of my own, but you’ve been like sons to me. God bless you both.”

  David felt uneasy. It was uncharacteristic of Evan to sound so maudlin.

  “We could never manage without you, old man. You’ve been more of a father to us than our natural parent and that’s why I will be forcing you to have a holiday. I’m worried about you. Are you sure that you feel all right, Evan?”

  “Never better. Goodnight, sir.”

  “Good night, Evan.”

  “Master David, wait!” The old butler sounded panicked.

  “Yes, Evan. What’s the matter?”

  “I can see someone entering Miss Lamb’s cottage. Two people, dressed in black and wearing masks. She doesn’t seem to notice them. Oh, no. They’ve picked her up. I must do something…”

  “Don’t hang up, Evan. Stay on the phone.”

  He could hear the old man shuffling along. The sound of a door opening. The squeal of tires on the asphalt driveway. Evan’s breathing became labored, thready.

  “Evan! Are you all right? Are you still there, man?”

  “They took her. Black panel van- sped- down- driveway. Couldn’t stop them.” He wheezed.

  “Evan?”

  “Master David. They to-ok her. They took Miss. La-amb.” A tremor shook his voice as his words faded away.

  “Evan? Are you still there?”

  “B-lack van. No pl-ates. Two of them- dre-ssed in black. Aargh—”

  “Evan. Stay where you are. I’ll send an ambulance.”

  “It’s … all right, Master David. It’s … my time.”

  “No! Hold on. Please, Evan…” his voice broke as he felt his beloved friend slipping away. He could hear the erratic beating of Evan’s heart as it slowed. “Don’t leave us.”

  “Never leave you- always in my heart. My sons.”

  ****

  Despite being incorporeal, Meaghan could smell the blood even before she found Terry slumped against the alley wall. He wasn’t moving. She gasped and edged closer, fighting the urge to flee the scene. The area reeked of blood and Terry’s body sat in a puddle of the sticky mess. She swallowed down the bile and reached out to touch him. Her hand passed through him, barely causing a breeze to brush his skin. She tried again, concentrating her efforts as she touched his cheek with her fingers. Nothing. Aiming for his carotid artery, she reached out her hand but stopped when she saw the blood seeping from a wound to his stomach. Her incorporeal hand shook, almost fading into the ether. It took all her effort to hold herself together. If the blood is still seeping, his heart must still be pumping. She tried again. This time she could actually feel a pulse. His eyelids fluttered then slowly opened.

  “Megs?” he moaned.

  She nodded and smiled.

  Terry’s fear filled eyes motioned for her to look behind her. She turned to find Lilith and her group standing meters away. The strange girl with menacing eyes addressed her as if they were friends.

  “Hello, Meaghan. Long time no see.”

  Meaghan tried to return to her body but something was wrong. She was stuck in the void. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her body but it was as if she never existed.

  “Why are you doing this?” she directed her question to Lilith. “Terry and those other poor souls did nothing to you. Why did you target them?”

  “Because we could,” squawked one of the group. Meaghan recognized him as the belligerent male from the canteen. The others were there too.

  “Lilith. I don’t understand. Why are going along with this madness?”

  “She promised me that I would get your talent.”

&n
bsp; “Who promised you?”

  “Nemesis.” She motioned to the ringleader who smiled menacingly but remained silent. “She’s a powerful black witch and we’ve—”

  “Shut up!” Nemesis ordered with a back hand to Lilith’s cheek. “She’ll find out soon enough.” She motioned for the others to pick Terry up. They carried him to a black van that was parked in front of the alley. When she turned back to face Meaghan, she smiled and casually asked, “Are you coming?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  Nemesis shook her head. “I suggest that you take a look inside the van and see the answer for yourself.”

  Cautiously, Meaghan floated towards the back of the van where Terry had already been dumped onto an old, worn mattress. His blood soaked clothes beginning to soak through the fabric. Meaghan fought the urge the cover her mouth. She could see the two males sitting beside Terry and the three girls waiting outside the van, but someone else lay on the mattress behind Terry. She leaned closer for a better look and screamed. “No!”

  ****

  “It doesn’t seem right,” Derrick told his brother as he accepted the glass of scotch. “We should call the funeral home and have him laid out properly.”

  “If we call the funeral home, there will be papers to fill out and the police may need to be called. We don’t have time for this now, Derrick. We must find Meaghan.”

  “But, after all he’s done for us over the years—”

  “I know,” he rested his hand on his brother’s shoulder and squeezed, “and we will give him a fitting and proper send-off … later. He would understand.”

  Derrick nodded and sipped his drink. “Anna is devastated but can’t leave Sofie. Not until we know she’s safe. Have you been able to contact Meaghan telepathically?”

  “No. I’ve been trying ever since I got the call from…” He swallowed the painful memory of Evan’s last moments. “No, Derrick. Not yet.”

  “Well the surveillance tape wasn’t a lot of help and Evan’s description a little vague. Do you think that they somehow drugged her?”

  “I don’t see how. He said that she seemed to be asleep before they arrived. What I can’t understand is … why didn’t she wake up?” He took a few steps before slapping his forehead with his palm. “Of course. She didn’t wake up because she wasn’t in her body.”

  “She was astral travelling?”

  “That little minx. I made her promise not to leave the house so she figured out another way.”

  “Where would she have gone?”

  “My guess is she would look for Palmer.”

  “You were in the underground carpark. Didn’t you see her?”

  “No, but I saw a lot of blood. If Palmer is alive … he’s in a bad way.” He leaned against the kitchen counter, running his hands through his hair. “Whoever they are, they’re not our kind. A vampire would never waste so much blood.”

  He turned to his brother. “Meaghan recognized a girl in the riot as being part of that cult who followed her on campus. She was worried that they were after Palmer … that’s why she sent me to find him. If they are the people who took him, I suspect that they also took Meaghan.”

  “Dark clothes, dark van.” Derrick agreed. “What do you think they want with them?”

  David’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared. “Every other victim was sacrificed.”

  Derrick rose from his seat and grabbed his brother by his upper arms. “Take it easy, David. You won’t be able to help her if you lose control.”

  “I can’t sense her, Derrick. She may already be dead.” He threw his empty glass across the room, shattering it. “I’ve tried to contact her in my mind but I can’t reach her.”

  “What if we try together?” David looked puzzled. Derrick offered an explanation.

  “I will reach out to you and we will try to reach her as one.”

  David nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate. He could feel the second Derrick made the psychic connection and together they reached out for Meaghan. For a moment, he connected with her, sensed her distress but, no sooner had he bonded, he lost contact.

  “Someone is blocking us,” he told his brother.

  “But she’s alive, David. We could both feel her.”

  “Yes, but she’s afraid. Afraid and in shock.” He fisted his hair, squeezed his eyes tight shut as he told his brother, “I haven’t had a chance to tell you but, Meaghan is deathly afraid of blood. The sight and smell repels her. It comes from a childhood experience and is a real phobia.”

  “That could be problematic.”

  “Not only that. Judging by the emotions I’m sensing … wherever she is … she is surrounded by blood.”

  ****

  “Where are you taking us?” Meaghan asked the unholy alliance as she hovered over her body.

  “To the cemetery,” Lilith answered with a smug expression that was soon disappeared when Nemesis glared at her.

  “What? I don’t see how telling her makes any difference now. It’s not as if she can do anything about it. She can’t even get back in her body.”

  “Yeah. How cool is that?” the other girl added in between puffs of the joint that she passed on. “You really did a number on her, Nemesis. I can’t wait until the master gives me some of those powers.”

  “You’d better hope he isn’t disappointed this time,” Nemesis warned the girl before directing her gaze to Lilith. “If you lied—”

  “No. No, Nemmy. I’m sure it’ll work this time.”

  “I’ve told you a million times you stupid bitch, don’t call me Nemmy!”

  “Okay. Don’t have a cow.” She snatched the joint from the other Goth and blew the smoke in Terry’s face. He coughed and then groaned from the pain that obviously resulted from the sudden movement.

  “Won’t be long now pig.” She turned to Meaghan’s incorporeal form and smiled. “Who’d ’ave thought you’re virginitis would be so profitable for me.” She giggled and took another drag. “The master will be very pleased this time.”

  “You’d better hope that you haven’t stuffed up again, Lilith.” One of the others warned her. “I thought he’d skin us alive when he realized that the last one wasn’t pure.”

  “She was a Sunday school teacher. You’d think that she’d have been as pure as driven snow.”

  “You haven’t tasted the yellow snow,” the argumentative male informed her and the others joined him as he laughed. “She must’ve tasted like piss too cause the master spat her out.”

  “You’re all scum. Do‘you know that?” Meaghan cursed. “Whatever it is that you think he’ll give you. He’s lying.” She tried again to return to her body but it was as though a barrier was around it. She couldn’t break through.

  “You can try all you like but you won’t get back in.” Nemesis informed her with a chuckle. “You say he’s lying to us? Well, how do you think I was able to block you out of your body? He gave me the power. We’ve had a partnership, him and I, for years now. He even gave me a little pet … I think you’ve met Fido.” She smirked as she looked from Meaghan to Terry then back. “By the way, if I’d wanted Fido to kill you, you’d be dead. We were playing a little game of cat and mouse with you, keeping you up at night, weakening you.”

  “He was trying to do more than weaken me when he attacked me outside of the police station.”

  “You know how wild things can be … a little uncontrollable sometimes. He would have been severely punished if he had killed you. That pleasure is to be mine.”

  “Why? I’ve never done anything to you. We’ve barely spoken. Why would you want to torment and kill me?”

  “You still don’t know who I am, do you?” she mumbled to herself as though she was arguing with internal voices. “I can’t believe that I’ve spent most of my adult life hating you and you don’t even remember me. You lousy bitch!” She flicked the lit joint at Meaghan’s body. It left a small burn mark on her bare arm but she felt nothing. “All I ever wanted was to be part of a family bu
t you couldn’t bear for me to find happiness, could you? You had to show up and ruin everything.”

  Meaghan gasped as Nemesis smiled. “Oh, so you do remember? Which part stands out for you the most, Meaghan? The part where you flew in through my bedroom window and convinced me that you were a ghost or the part where you found me half-dead on the bathroom floor?”

  When Meaghan grimaced she laughed.

  “Ah, the bathroom floor. I thought that might jog your memory.” She unfastened the leather bracelets from her wrists and held out her hands, palms up to show the thin pale scars. “At the time, I didn’t realize that it would have been more effective to slice down the vein instead of across. So much blood wasn’t there, but not enough to kill me.”

  “I never meant to hurt you Clarissa, I—”

  “Clarissa is gone. I killed her off along with those do-gooders who couldn’t wait to get rid of me. They thought I was crazy. Even called me that to my face … until they saw the knife in my hand. You see, they wanted a perfect little girl. A clever, talented girl. If they’d seen you first, they’d have chosen you but we all make mistakes…” She glared at Lilith, “And we learn from them. It took me a while to track you both down. She flicked her head in Terry’s direction. “But I was pleasantly surprised to find that you’re still friends. It worked well with my plans. Two for the price of one.”

  “Leave Terry out of this. He never did anything to you.”

  “That’s right. He never did anything. He never paid any attention to me because he was so in love with you. You had each other … I was alone.”

  Terry groaned and turned to Nemesis. “We tried to be friends with you, Clarissa—”

  “Nemesis!”

  He coughed and a trickle of blood ran down his chin. “Sorry. Nemesis. You shut us out. We would have—”

  “No. When she was around you didn’t see anyone else but I bet you see me now. And when the master devours her, you can have a front row seat. You see, it’s a win/win situation for me. I tracked down this group of idiots when I heard about the first murder.” She scoffed as she looked her group over. “Amateurs. They were trying to conjure a demon by strangling their victims. Even when I explained how the process works, they still managed to stuff up. I admit I needed their help to find sacrifices for my master.” She shook her head. “You’d think that virgins would be easier to find but, I guess not. When I saw you at one of the murder scenes, I upped the ante, hoping that I could trap you outside of your body. The master promised that if your incorporeal self was in the area when I summoned him, he could kill your corporeal body and trap you in the ether forever. Unfortunately, these fuckers stuffed so he refused to pay up. Who’d have thought that the very person I planned on killing would turn out to be the sacrifice? What a joke.”