HEX

by Stacy Charasidis

  Taline smiled. “I just might,” she said to the woman and pulled out another basket of stones.

  “Good luck,” Taline said with a small wave as Luke and Sadie left. As they exited the fairgrounds, Dean was coming in with his little brothers.

  “Hello monsters,” Luke said to the two excited boys. They could barely contain themselves as their gaze flitted from one place to the next. They were like little jumping beans, quivering in place.

  “Whoa little dudes,” Dean said. He looked at Luke and gave Sadie a quick hug hello. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “Not exactly,” Luke admitted, “but Taline did help us. Let’s meet in the library tomorrow night, after supper. We can use Liz’s office and chat. Where’s Nathalie?”

  Dean frowned. “She’s not here? She’s supposed to be helping in Taline’s stall.”

  “We didn’t see her,” Sadie said.

  “That’s strange,” he started, but then the boys started to jump up and down and scream. “Horsie! Oh my God Dean a HORSE! Oh GEEZ! LOOK AT IT POOP! IT’S TAKING A SHIT RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!” The boys were ecstatic, but Dean was obviously embarrassed as many heads turned in their direction at the boys’ outbursts. The boys just stood in awe, staring at the huge steaming pile of fresh poop, totally fascinated. A calculating look appeared on their faces. Dean’s eyebrows rose in alarm.

  “Don’t even think about it you little brats,” he said severely.

  “Whaaaat??” they said together, the picture of innocence. Their hands in their pockets. A woman passed by and smiled, “what little sweethearts,” she said as she walked away.

  Luke looked pained. “Good luck with that,” he said to his pal and then chuckled. He grabbed Sadie’s hand and they headed towards Town Circle.

  Dean grabbed the boys’ hands and pulled them into the fairgrounds, away from the horse poop. “Any sign of trouble and we’re going home, got it?”

  “Sure, Dean, sure, sure,” they said, eyes huge as they looked around. They played a couple of games and Dean got them some cotton candy. Wayman let them sit on Pleasure and they squealed in delight. Wayman laughed and swung them around. He looked at Dean, who was watching from his seat on a bale of hay. “You should visit Taline,” he said casually.

  “Alright,” Dean said, getting up to leave.

  “He’s so big,” the boys said to Dean as they left the stable.

  “He’s a good guy,” Dean said absently, looking ahead to Taline’s stall and hoping for a glimpse of Nathalie.

  “Yes,” they agreed.

  Taline smiled at the boys and gave them each a little rock necklace. “For protection,” she said. “Don’t take them off!”

  The boys looked at her with round eyes. “You’re big for a girl,” Eddie said in awe.

  “And kinda shiny,” said his brother.

  Taline laughed. “Ah, such sweet talkers! You are great little guys!” she said, ruffling their hair. They both blushed and scuffed their running shoes in the dirt, suddenly shy. They held their necklaces tightly.

  “Taline, where’s Nathalie?”

  She looked worried. “She’s at home. There was an…incident this morning.” Dean looked alarmed. “Don’t worry. She’s fine, but we can’t talk about it here…too many strange ears. Wayman is looking into it. We’re hoping to have a bit more information tomorrow.”

  Dean told her about meeting Luke and Sadie in the library tomorrow evening.

  “After that, come here. We’ll meet in the stable. There are some things you need to know,” she said mysteriously.

  Dean felt apprehension curl in his gut, and curiosity.

  Taline smiled at the boys. “Have a good time, little ones.”

  The boys were showing signs of their usual boisterousness and were impatient to leave. They whispered and then bowed in unison. “Good evening, beautiful one,” they said with great flair.

  Taline laughed in delight and inclined her head to them. Dean looked stunned.

  “Where did you learn that?” he asked as they walked off.

  “Television,” they said.

  “The chicks love rivalry,” Eddie said smugly.

  “It’s chivalry,” Zach hissed furiously.

  Dean just snorted.

  At the bake table Nettie gave each boy a huge cookie, but shooed Dean away when he tried to pay for them. “I have a soft spot for little Crofts,” she said. She looked at the boys eating and talking and sighed. “Crofts were always the sweetest looking children.” She looked at Dean, “but I’ll bet these two have the devil in them.”

  Dean laughed. “They sure do, but since they’ve stolen everyone’s hearts, they get away with murder.”

  Nettie’s face crumpled at the word. “You keep those boys safe, Dean Croft,” she said sternly.

  “Yes m’am,” he said with a slight bow and a chivalrous smile of his own.

  It became apparent it was time to go home. The boys had started slapping each other, which meant it was bedtime, and Dean wanted to see Nathalie. Uneasiness sat within him. Something had happened to her today. He needed to make sure she was okay. Why hadn’t she called him this afternoon?

  As he left, it was impossible to avoid Beth, who was manning her little stand. She looked up when he walked by and she called his name. Dean gritted his teeth. It had to be that exact moment her stall was free of customers.

  “Dean, can I speak to you for a moment?” she asked. Beth was a beauty. Her long blond hair lay in soft crinkled waves to a slender waist she emphasized with tight fitting dresses. Her pale skin and blue eyes practically glowed. She was a catch, but not for him. He was already hopelessly in love.

  “It’ll have to be quick,” he said tonelessly. “I have to get my brothers to bed.” The boys had halted and were looking at Beth with unfriendly expressions. Uh oh, Dean thought to himself.

  She looked at them with narrowed eyes. “Well, hello little ones,” she said, bending down to look at them. She appeared to be sizing them up as if they were dinner. Both boys took a step back, but didn’t say anything. Dean gave silent thanks. Sometimes you just never knew what would come out of their mouths.

  “Well, aren’t you the sweetest little things,” Beth said sarcastically. “Do you want some chocolate?” She rummaged around in her little stall and produced two chocolate bars. The boys looked at each other in silent communication and accepted the proffered candy. “Enjoy,” she said evilly. Beth turned to look at Dean.

  “There seems to be a grave misunderstanding around what happened last week,” she said softly. Her blue eyes looked at Dean earnestly. If he had never seen the hateful glares she’d directed at Nathalie, and lived through a hex she’d created, it would have been easy for him to believe she was the simple, sweet person she pretended to be. But he knew, with all his heart, that while her outside was beautiful, her soul was black. There was something very wrong with this girl.

  “I do admire you so,” she continued. “I realize now that your friendliness towards me was just kindness and not an interest in courting,” she said indulgently.

  Dean bristled. Courting? Ha. She made it seem as if he had led her on when he had made it very clear that his only interest was Nathalie. No, she had violated him and he was still angry about that. Furious. But he also knew that letting her know how he felt was dangerous. Beth was vindictive and spiteful. He didn’t want to take a chance that she’d do something to Nathalie.

  “It’s water under the bridge,” Dean said affably, but his eyes remained cold. Beth sighed as he nodded and walked off with the little boys.

  Such a handsome man. Such cute little boys. She smirked. What a pity. If she couldn’t have him, then no one could, and she’d take the two brats along with him. She turned and smiled at a tall youth waiting for his free drink. She smiled at him and he smiled back. “Aren’t you the Baker boy?” she asked flirtatiously, batting her eyelashes at him and wiggling her bottom as she poured.

  “Why yes I am. Name’s Reg,” the boy leered
, staring at her ass.

  “Nice to meet you,” she replied demurely. You’re mine tonight.

  Town Circle

  Luke and Sadie walked through The Rotunda. The place was wild with dancing and drinking. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Luke said, laughing.

  “Neither have I,” Sadie replied as they joined in, letting the music move their feet. They felt happy after seeing Taline. Now they had something to help them.

  They ate and then walked hand in hand through one of the circle’s paths towards the outer sidewalk. It was pretty on the paths at night, and each path was different. This one was called Lantern Way because it had small glowing streetlights shaped like old-time gas lanterns lighting the path, making the tree and bush lined walk a romantic place to stroll. For lovers looking for some privacy to steal quiet moments together, all the paths had openings to grassy resting areas popular during the day.

  As Luke and Sadie walked through holding hands, leaving the noise of the revelers behind, the soft sighs and sounds of passionate couples drifted around them. The wooded areas were full of people having “private” moments. At one turn they were startled by the sounds of heavy breathing, a zipper opening and an ensuing groan.

  Shocked, Sadie glanced at Luke, and while she couldn’t exactly tell by the lantern light, she suspected he was a bit flushed. She suppressed an embarrassed giggle as Luke pulled her and they ran through the clandestine path as fast as they could.

  When they reached Barrington property they headed to their secret place. Luke pulled her into his arms and put his mouth against hers, and they made their own lovers sounds.

  The Parker Residence

  After dumping the boys in their beds and chatting with his parents for a few minutes, Dean headed to Nathalie’s house. He took his bike and pedaled as fast as he could.

  When he arrived the Parker residence was quiet. All residences in Barrington were nestled in the trees. Nathalie’s yard was surrounded by huge maples and firs, and all that could be seen of the surrounding houses to the sides were twinkling outside lights. The residential quads were magical at night, the streets lit only by hanging lanterns in the trees. Built in the valley at the base of the Spire Mountains, Barrington land rose gently from the town’s center, creating a town shaped like a bowl. The north quad Nathalie lived in was hillier than the flatter south quads, so homes were at slightly different levels, each higher than the next as you moved west. The effect at night was a stacked fairyland. It was beautiful. Nathalie lived at the base of the hill. Her family had a breathtaking view of the neighbourhood.

  He walked to the front porch and knocked on the door. It was just past nine, so he was sure Nathalie’s parents were still up. When there was no answer he rang the doorbell. He heard a shout and then saw Nathalie through the glass, coming down the stairs. She opened the door and pulled Dean inside. She slammed the door behind him and launched herself into his arms. Dean held her closely. She smelled like roses. He loved roses. Her face was pinched and pale. He kissed her forehead softly and looked at her. “What happened? I thought you were at the fair but Taline tells me you didn’t stay.”

  Nathalie nodded. There was fear in her eyes. “I met a demon, Dean.”

  He was still for a moment. “What?” he said incredulously.

  “I swear to God, I met a demon at the fair today.” Nathalie shuddered. “He said his name was Danner.” Her eyes widened. “I have proof!” she said. Dean followed as Nathalie raced upstairs. She bolted into her room and stopped in the middle. She pointed and Dean bent down to look at the object of interest. It was some sort of penny.

  “Don’t touch it!” Nathalie said, backing away. “It roared at me.”

  Dean looked at her. She didn’t look crazed, just stunned.

  “Why didn’t you call me sooner?” he asked angrily as he stood up. He was frightened and trying to get his confused thoughts together. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  She told him what she remembered. “Then, when I got home I fell asleep. I was so muddled afterwards, I actually forgot. He told me to forget, but I remember! I remembered when I put on my amulet!” She shrugged. “I know I didn’t dream it. Wayman rescued me. Without the amulet I only have a sense of fear. He did something to me to make my memory fade.”

  “You took off your amulet? After what happened with Beth? ARE YOU NUTS?” Dean roared. He was looming over her, bristling and fierce, the horror of his experience in his face as well as terror for her. That being could have taken her and murdered her, and no one would have been the wiser, he thought to himself in a panic.

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” she said earnestly, giving him a hug.

  Dean shook his head. “Okay, let’s test your theory. Take the amulet off.”

  “What?” Nathalie said, clutching it to her.

  “Take it off. I’m here. I’ll remind you.” He shook his amulet at her. “Let’s see if your theory holds water.”

  Nathalie took the amulet off and put it on her bed. A look of disorientation crossed her features briefly as she looked around her room. Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, slipping her hands under his tee-shirt onto his back. Wow, that was fast. He kissed her back and was tempted to worry about the demon thing later, but then he shook his head. “Nathalie, why do you think we’re up here?”

  “To fool around?” Nathalie said, kissing his neck and rubbing him. “Why else would we be in my room these days?” Dean groaned and put her away from him. Nathalie laughed. “Don’t worry! My dad told me he was taking my mom on a ‘date’ tonight. Nick is at a friend’s.”

  Dean looked at her in astonishment. “We were just talking about a demon. Try and remember, Nathalie.”

  “What ARE you talking about, Dean?” she asked, stepping away from him and crossing her arms across her chest.

  This demon’s kung-fu is strong… Dean thought as he walked over and picked up the odd penny. It got hot in his hand but there was no other reaction. No roaring. He inspected it carefully. It wasn’t a penny but some sort of ancient coin. He noticed that his amulet was getting hot. He grabbed a Kleenex from the box on Nathalie’s desk and wrapped the coin in it tightly. His amulet cooled off. The coin needs skin contact, he thought to himself and filed the information away.

  Nathalie was smiling. “Find a penny pick it up…” she frowned. “Wait, do you get good luck or bad? I don’t remember the jingle. You can keep the penny,” she said uneasily as he wrapped it.

  Dean frowned. “Put your amulet on,” he said quietly, “it’s on the bed.” Nathalie scooped it up and placed it over her head. Her eyes widened.

  “Oh my God, Dean…I remember!” Nathalie grabbed her keys and headed out the door. “We have to speak to Taline and Wayman and find out what happened!”

  He grabbed her as she swept by. “And we will speak to them, tomorrow. The fair is closed and Town Circle is nothing but madness and mayhem. You won’t find them this evening,” Dean said.

  “What does this mean?” Nathalie was terrified.

  “I don’t know. There’s a lot of weird shit going on.” He told her about his conversation with Luke and their meeting at the library tomorrow. “It looks as if they’re not the only ones that need help at this point. After that Taline wants us to meet her and Wayman at the stables. They’re looking into something themselves.”

  Nathalie stood by her window and looked out at the twinkling lights of her neighborhood. “Do you think he’ll come back tonight?”

  “If he does, we’ll meet him together,” Dean said, stripping off his clothes and climbing into Nathalie’s bed. Nathalie’s body flushed as Dean’s intention became clear as it rose from under the sheet. She turned off the light and peeled off her own clothes. Moonlight pooled onto the bed from the window as she slipped under the covers and into Dean’s arms. He was hot and his body warmed her chilled one. The breeze coming through the window was cool with the smell of summer. His arms circled around her and he held her close as they sl
id their bodies against each other. Dean lay on top of her as he kissed her and pushed her legs apart so he could press himself against her.

  “We have to do something to keep busy while we wait, and this is our new and fun activity,” he said lightly before focusing his attention on her and kissing her deeply, rolling his tongue with hers while his arms tightened around her and his hips moved against her with pleasurable friction. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips and as he thrust into her, her cries of intense pleasure filled the room.

  Later they lay together, giving each other soft kisses. Thankfully, no demon appeared. They heard Nathalie’s parents arrive home sometime in the early hours of the morning, sounding like drunken teenagers.

  Now it was Dean’s turn to head home. Dean touched the amulet lying between her breasts then gave them both a kiss before kissing her mouth in a soft goodbye.

  “Don’t take this off for any reason,” Dean said, playing with it and then taking his and clicking it together with hers.

  “That’s kind of erotic,” Nathalie said sleepily. He unclicked them.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

  She palmed the amulet. “If I miss you I’ll rub it’s little penis,” she said in a naughty voice, “or I can rub your big one…” she said reaching down under the sheet. Nathalie licked her lips.

  Dean stared, his body reacting. The urge to plunge his body mindlessly into hers flooded him. He couldn’t seem to get enough. He had tried leaving an hour ago but he had been drawn back to bed when Nathalie had tousled her hair and spread her legs in wide-open invitation. That action and the view had done him in. He had accepted and they had rolled around for another half an hour, but now he had to leave before his parents came searching for him. But his body was on fire, again, and he didn’t want to go. He watched as she slid the sheet off their bodies. The sight of her hand rubbing him made him even harder. He pressed her back, his big body crushing hers. He held her hips steady and just pushed himself into her ready body over and over again. She moaned with satisfaction as he pumped his hips. He was sucking her tongue and her lips. She was using her hands to push him deeper.