Hidden Realms

by Unknown

  I guessed Brent was the man holding Lucy, and David had to have been the bald man. Dan started pacing with his arms clutched behind his back, chuckling to himself, like the mad scientist in a horror movie. He had totally lost it. He asked me, “Would you like to hear my new plan?”

  I glared at him.

  “I will no longer simply take my dear Lucy and leave the rest of you alone. I will still take her of course, but now I will take you as well. There’s more to you than you’ve led us all to believe. I’ve come to my own conclusions on what that is, but we’ll have plenty of time to prove my theories true or false once we get out of town. As for the rest of your party, they will all have to die. And little Lela? Do you wonder why she is still in wolf form? We’ll have to dispose of the bodies somehow.” Dan walked closer and got in my face. Sweat had beaded on his brow and began to drip down around his crazed features.

  I turned my nose up and peered at him with prideful eyes.

  “Ah,” Dan said. “I see I’ve sparked your temper. Don’t want to do that ‘till I’ve got you on a leash. Are you surprised that I know? It really wasn’t all that hard to figure out.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said coldly.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Dan went on. “No more playing dumb, Xoe. I’ve figured it out, that elusive smell, you smell like demon.”

  “And how would you know?” I asked, fear leaking into my voice.

  “Oh, I know all about demons, all about dealing with them too. Part of the draw of Shelby is its graveyard, perfect for calling on demons. You see, it’s not only the size of a graveyard that makes it a proper catalyst for magic, but the age as well. Shelby's cemetery has both size and age, but that’s a story for another time. We’ll have plenty of time for that later. If you’re a good girl, I’ll give you any answers you might want.”

  I needed to keep him talking. I had to buy some time. Dan’s pack had to be here soon. I asked conversationally, “But graveyards aren’t evil are they? Why are they a good place to call demons?”

  Dan smiled. “They’re good for all sorts of stuff. Magic tends to collect in cemeteries. Raw power. I don’t know the exact how and why, but the older and larger the cemetery, the more power that collects there.” Dan began to pace with his arms clutched behind his back again. “The ritual needed to call a demon requires quite a bit of power, and with no magical talents of my own, I must rely on cemeteries.”

  I nodded. “But why would you want to call a demon?” I saw Max shift position slightly, gaining consciousness. I kept my eyes on Dan, urging him to continue.

  Dan grinned like a teacher, proud that his pupil had asked a good question. “There is much to be gained in dealing with demons: strength, wealth, information, though there is much to lose as well. I’ve done pretty well so far. I may have even come across your father at some point. I’m guessing that he is your demon parent. Your mom doesn’t have that particular smell. We’ll eventually find out who he is. I can only imagine what he would trade for you.”

  I smiled bitterly. “He left when I was born. He obviously doesn’t want me.”

  Dan chuckled again. “Well of course he didn’t want you then, you were useless. But I imagine you have at least begun to come into your powers, after what you did to Lela. That, makes you far more appealing. He’ll trade, and you will be reunited with dear old daddy.”

  Tempting as that offer was, I had no intention of meeting my dad. Dan’s pacing had taken him closer to Max, leaving his back to me. I had to act, but what could I do? Suddenly, the door swung open and a loud crack resounded behind me. I spun around to face Lucy and the man called Brent. Brent had dropped Lucy to the ground, where she crouched, surprised. Allison was standing behind Brent’s broad back, holding her baseball bat ready to swing again. Brent turned and grabbed for Allison, and Lucy jumped on his back. The three of them went tumbling out the door.

  Arms grabbed me and threw me against the wall again. A new shock of pain shot through my arm as I fell to the floor. Bright splotches blurred my vision as I tried to catch my breath. I opened my eyes to see Dan’s red, hateful face inches from mine.

  He spat his words into my face. “I’m going kill all of your little friends while you watch. Even my dear Lucy. I’ve grown tired of her antics. And your vampire? His death will be special. Nice and slow. I may even make you help with that one. I won’t kill you though. I may even let you go. I’ll let you live out your sorry little life with the memory of watching your friends die. I’ll let you live with the knowledge that you did nothing to stop me. You are powerless. A worthless . . . little . . . nothing.” His anger had flipped a switch in his mind. It was like he had two different personalities . . . as if the situation could get any worse.

  Brent came limping back in holding Lucy in his arms. I didn’t see Allison with them. I tried to struggle to a sitting position, but my body screamed with pain. My arm felt like it was made of fire. To look on the bright side, at least I hadn’t been knocked unconscious from hitting the wall as hard as I did. Hoorah for superhuman strength.

  Dan stalked to the other side of the room and grabbed Jason by his cuffs. He dragged Jason across the floor and threw him next to me. Jason had apparently come to.

  He looked at me with defeated blue eyes. “I’m so sorry Xoe,” he whispered.

  “Shut up!” Dan shouted. He walked to Jason and kicked him in the stomach.

  Jason didn’t so much as grunt in response. He kept his eyes locked on mine.

  Dan sneered and got back in my face. “How shall we kill him?” Dan stood back up and kicked Jason in the face. Fresh blood poured from Jason’s nose to splatter on the floor.

  My vision went red. I felt my blood boil. Hot rage washed through my veins, numbing my pain. I welcomed it with open arms. I wasn’t afraid of my new temper anymore. Anything to wash away the image of Jason’s bloody face.

  I thought of Allison unconscious on my floor after Lela threw her. I thought of Lucy, screaming as her bones cracked and reformed her into a wolf. I thought of Max, his black and blue face against the floor. I thought of never seeing any of them again.

  I let the rage wash over me. I reveled in it. Gathering my strength I lunged for Dan, not sure of my intention. My good hand had barely made contact with his chest when he erupted in blue-white flame. I threw myself backward and fell back against the wall. The fire crept up his shirt and began to turn to orange as the clothing burned. Dan dropped to the ground and started rolling, grunting in pain. The flames began to go out. I closed my eyes in defeat, waiting for the next blow.

  I reopened my eyes to see a dark shape fly across the room, spewing liquid. It landed on Dan. I smelled gas. Max had opened one of the gas cans and thrown it when he saw the flames. Within seconds, Dan was engulfed in fire. He started screaming. He continued rolling on the ground, a few feet away from me, but he couldn’t put the flames out. The acrid smell of burning flesh began to fill the room. His screaming became something shrill, almost inhuman.

  I looked to the front door. Lucy and Brent had disappeared. I couldn’t make myself move to find them. A wolf’s face appeared around the writhing, flaming mass that was Dan. Lela crept up and laid her large wolf head in my lap. Jason had struggled closer to lean against me in a half-sitting position, blood still dripping from his nose. The room began to fill up with putrid smoke. Movement at the door caught my eye. Lucy stood holding Allison up, silhouetted by the moonlight and blurred by smoke, with Allison’s arm across her shoulders. I turned my attention back to the burning mass. Dan had stopped screaming. I should have been scared. I should have been horrified.

  I numbly looked past the flames to the faces of my friends and stroked the fur of the wolf that sat calmly at my side. Lucy and Allison looked horrified. Jason carefully avoided my gaze. I realized that I was smiling. I had set a man on fire. I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t horrified. I was glad. He had hurt my friends. Burn baby, burn.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Max had disappeared.
I looked away from the disbelieving faces of my friends toward the back door, wondering where he'd gone. He came limping out of the small bathroom, carrying a fire extinguisher I hadn’t noticed earlier. He shuffled up to the burning mass formerly known as Dan. He sprayed it with the extinguisher, putting out the last of the flames.

  Lucy and Allison stumbled past me, to stand behind where I was sitting. I followed their eyes to the front door of the ranger’s station to see a tall, dark man framed by the light of the moon. For a moment I thought it was Brent, but then the man stepped forward, revealing strong Hispanic features framed by dark, straight hair reaching well past his shoulders. He had to be Dan’s old alpha.

  “Abel,” Jason said in greeting.

  The man, Abel, nodded his head in acknowledgment. His voice was a deep bass rumble. “I see that we were a bit late.”

  “You can say that again,” I mumbled, thinking that he wouldn’t hear me.

  He whipped his head in my direction. “Excuse me?”

  My eyes widened in surprise. Damn that supernatural hearing. It took me a moment to speak. “Nothing, um . . . sir.”

  He nodded and turned back to Jason. “I apologize for your troubles. You will be compensated fairly. As a favor, I will ignore the three living werewolves in this room that are not of a pack. But they should be warned, that three wolves constitute a pack on their own. If they are all to remain in Shelby, they must file the proper forms.”

  I raised my eyebrows. I had imagined the forming of a werewolf pack as something mystical with loads of ritual and traditions. Filing forms just seemed so . . . mundane.

  Abel continued, “Now I suggest you all leave this place. We will dispose of the remains of the deceased.”

  “Thank you,” Jason replied simply. His nose had stopped bleeding. He waited as Max approached with a set of handcuff keys. I didn't know where Dan had gotten them, but it sure was convenient. Max freed Jason's hands, then Jason got to his feet and slowly lifted me in his arms.

  Lucy and Allison came to stand beside us. We made our slow progression outside, Max and Lucy trying very hard not to make any eye-contact with Abel. Lela followed at my heels, still in wolf form.

  The cool night air was refreshing after being in the smoky interior of the ranger’s station. “I can stand,” I told Jason.

  He slowly let me down from his arms, but kept a hold around my waist so I didn’t fall. The woods to either side of us were alive with the movement of the other wolves from Dan’s former pack. I glanced up at the moon as I shook bits of ash out of my hair, not allowing myself to consider where the ash had come from.

  We limped and hobbled back down to the car where we took an assessment of our injuries. Miraculously, I seemed to be the only one with a broken bone, though everyone else had a lot more cuts and bruises than me. Jason, Max, and Lucy had already started to heal, though Lucy was healing at a slower rate. The bruises on Max and Jason’s faces were already fading into a sickly brown edged by yellow. Allison was not so lucky. Her entire back was a swollen purple mess and she had several gashes on her arms. Apparently Brent had thrown her into some bushes and decided the fight was over.

  Lela, still in wolf form, had walked down beside me until we reached the car, making sure I didn’t fall. After we verified that we would all survive, I eased myself into the front passenger seat, then turned to acknowledge her. She licked my hand, the one attached to my unbroken arm. I gave her a pat on the head before she turned and disappeared into the darkness of the woods.

  With everybody loaded into the car, it was time I got to the hospital to have my arm examined. I was also healing a lot more quickly than I should have been, and Jason was worried that my broken bone would re-knit itself before a doctor could set it. I was able to convince Allison that she should get checked out as well. She was, after all, only human.

  We drove back down the mountain, reeking of smoke. No one seemed to know what to say. What do you say after a kidnapping, a supernatural battle, and a murder or two?

  “I smelled the gas, but how did you guys light Dan on fire?” Allison asked.

  No one was answering. I sighed. “It was me.”

  “You mean . . . ”

  “Yeah, my demon powers strike again,” I said bitterly.

  “You weren’t the one who killed him, Xoe,” Max interrupted.

  “I set him on fire and he burned to death. Yeah, I’d say I killed him.”

  “I got him with the gasoline,” Max explained. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  I didn’t answer. I appreciated Max’s valiant gesture, trying to take the blame, but I knew otherwise. It was my fire that had killed him, even if Max’s gasoline had helped. I didn’t really feel guilty. Dan totally had it coming. It was more the lack of guilt that was bugging me. I was already struggling with my loss of humanity in finding out about my heritage. Now I felt less human than ever.

  We pulled into the hospital parking lot a little after 2:00 am. Our absolutely genius cover story was that Allison and I had fallen down the stairs in the house. Whatever . . . it would work. If anyone asked about our unpleasant odor, we’d play dumb. Allison and I got out of the car and headed into the hospital. Jason was going to get Lucy back home. If her kidnapping had woken her parents up, we would have a lot of explaining to do. We’d just have to hope for the best.

  Allison and I got signed in at the front desk of the emergency waiting room. They insisted on calling our parents since we were both minors. Our moms were on their way, though it would take my mom several hours, seeing as she had to come from Washington. The doctor called me in first, deeming my injury the more serious one. My arm was in fact broken, my ulna to be more exact. The wonderful, wonderful doctor gave me pain medication and went about setting my arm and cleaning the various scrapes on my arms and back.

  Eventually I went back into the waiting room, fresh plaster cast on my arm, to find Allison and her mom waiting. Her mom peered at me with her honey brown eyes disdainfully. My mom was still absent.

  “What’s your prognosis?” I asked Allison, trying to ignore the less than happy look her mom was directing at me.

  “Some pretty major bruises, got a few stitches. Other than that, I got off pretty easy. The doctor gave me some pain meds.” Allison was acting like nothing was wrong, but the way she avoided direct eye contact with me gave her away.

  With that, Allison’s mom stood and whipped her blonde hair in a perfect imitation of Allison, or maybe Allison’s was an imitation of her mother, and they left me alone in the waiting room.

  The hospital had decided that they weren’t going to release me until my mom came to pick me up. Gre-at. I sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs and prepared to wait.

  Several hours later, my mom gently woke me up. A word of advice, never sleep in plastic chairs. I hurt everywhere. Of course, that was probably mostly from the beating I had taken. She hustled me out to her car where I instantly fell back asleep. The next thing I knew I was in my bed. I didn’t remember getting home. A dark form was seated in a chair next to me. Noticing that I was awake, the form stood to hover over me. Jason’s face came into focus.

  “Lucy?” I mumbled.

  “We got her home safe. Her parents never even woke up. Apparently our luck held.”

  I tried to nod, but stopped because it hurt. “It’s over?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, sitting on the bed beside me. “I can leave town now, and let you get back to your life. Max will be here to help Lucy. But . . . if you want me to stay, I can, at least for the time being.”

  “Stay,” I mumbled, before slipping back into darkness.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sunlight streaming in through my window woke me. Jason was still sitting in his chair. I felt miraculously better. Maybe being a half-demon wouldn’t be so bad. The extra healing power sure didn’t suck.

  “Morning,” I said, turning my head toward Jason.

  “Morning.”

  I looked at the dirt on my vis
ible skin. I scrunched my nose. “I’m going to shower.”

  Jason smiled. “I was going to recommend that.”

  I gave Jason a dirty look, then went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. My mom had left a wad of plastic shopping bags and a roll of masking tape next to my sink for putting over my cast while I showered. I turned on the water to let it get hot while I bagged up my arm. When I was sealed up and ready to go, I slipped off last night’s clothes and stepped under the stream of steamy water.

  The water that sped toward the drain was tinted with dirt. Ick. I would need to wash my sheets today. I started to one-handedly lather shampoo in my hair and could no longer avoid my thoughts. Lucy was a werewolf. There was a vampire waiting in my bedroom. I was part demon. I had killed someone.

  I let the water stream over my face to wash away my silent tears. I didn’t know why I was crying. I felt numb. We were all safe now. We had all gotten out alive. That was what mattered. I clung to that thought in order to drown out everything else.

  I finished cleaning all of the dirt off me, turned off the water, then wrapped my fluffy purple towel around me to step out of the shower. I approached my mirror and cleared a circle in the condensation. I expected to look pale and fragile, like I had many mornings recently. Though I did have some serious circles under my eyes, I didn’t look fragile. I looked, and felt, strong. We had won.

  As I finished my reverie in the mirror, I turned to survey the bathroom, realizing that I had forgotten to grab a change of clothes. I re-wrapped my towel tightly around me and opened the door to my bedroom. Jason very carefully avoided looking at me while I shuffled through my closet looking for something to wear. I didn’t really care if he saw me in a towel, but I appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. I grabbed the deep red, long-sleeved shirt that Allison had picked out for me and one of the few pairs of non-holey jeans from my closet, went to my dresser to get underwear, then went back into my bathroom to change.