by Mac Flynn
The werewolf pursed his pink lips together, but he turned towards Aunt Ma and I noticed his nostrils flared. He stiffened and his eyes widened.
"She's the same, and yet not," he commented.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," I insisted. "She's got part of the vampire's being inside her, but she isn't the one who stole your book. The one you want is in there." The werewolf growled and lunged at the truck, but I stepped in front of him and held up my hands. "Wait! We need her to fix this soul swapping mess!"
He skidded to a stop and tilted his head to one side. "Soul swapping?" he repeated.
"Yeah. It's the ultimate in identity-crisis mayhem," I quipped. "We've all got our souls or beings or whatever swapped between the six of us, and we need that vampire to help us get things straightened out."
"How did this-"
"It's a long story, and the longer we wait the more likely my aunt's going to wake up and run amok again," I told him. I pointed at the cemetery. "We need to get to a mausoleum and perform a spell, and then you can have your book back and maul the vampire to your heart's content."
"I don't agree to that," Rose spoke up as she peeked her short head through the passenger window.
The werewolf snarled at her, and the vampire half-ducked beneath the window. I turned to her and crossed my arms over my chest.
"You'd better agree to the first part of I'm going to let him have you right now," I warned her.
Rose glared at me. "I have already agreed to assist you," she reminded me.
"Then stop making it worse for yourself by opening your big mouth," I snapped.
A foot slammed through the cracked front windshield, and Roland emerged. He dragged the unconscious Ginsleh after him.
"We should all do with less talk and more walking," Roland advised.
The werewolf sniffed the air and turned to me. "Who are you people?"
"Just your ordinary family trying to survive the inordinary paranormal world," I replied. "So do you think you can help us out by giving us some breathing room?"
The werewolf straightened to his full, tall height and smiled. "I'll do more than that. I'll help you." He walked over to Roland and took Ginsleh in his arms.
That left Aunt Ma for me, and Uncle Seward took the tome. Our strange little group crunched through the snow up the hill with Roland in the lead, and we soon arrived at the mausoleum. Roland turned to the werewolf.
"Set him inside against the wall, but you should wait outside the magical circle," he advised our new friend. "We wish to avoid any further complications."
The werewolf nodded and stepped inside only long enough to set Ginsleh against the center of the wall to the right. The rest of us positioned ourselves in a circle. Uncle Seward and I swapped with him holding Aunt Ma and me with the book. The werewolf stood in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest.
I raised my hand and chanted the words. "By the darkness in my hand and the dark lord in the land, let our souls be born anew in the body of we six." Fortunately, nobody held their breath because nothing happened. I frowned and cleared my throat. "By the darkness in my hand and the dark lord in the land, let our souls be born anew in the body of we six!" I was met with the same result.
"What's wrong?" Uncle Seward asked me.
I tapped the page of the book and shrugged. "I don't know." I glanced at Rose. "You know more about this stuff. What's wrong?"
Rose furrowed her brow. "It may be because the sentence doesn't rhyme," she guessed.
My face fell. "Seriously?"
She glared at me. "I am not one to joke."
I held up my hand. "Fine, fine, but how do we fix it?"
"The last part of the sentence must rhyme with the first, so change the 'anew' part to a word you believe best fits the 'six,'" she instructed me.
"Me? Why don't you think of something?" I shot back.
"Because you are the one casting the spell," she snapped.
"Ladies, if I may remind you, but our unconscious captive may awaken at any moment," Roland spoke up.
I glanced at Ma and sighed. "Gimme a sec." I wracked my mind for an idea.
"I no longer have all eternity," Rose spoke up.
I glared at her. "I'm fixing your-" My eyes lit up as a word came to mind. "Okay, I've got it! Everybody hold on to your hats, and prepare to be amazed." I raised my hand and cleared my throat. "By the darkness in my hand and the dark lord in the land, let our souls be now fixed in the body of we six!"
The symbols on the floor lit up in a brilliant dark light. A burst of wind flew off the pages of the book and swept over the room. The six shadows from before leapt off the pages and rushed at the six of us. I cried out when my shadow rammed into my chest. The book clattered to the floor and I stiffened as Roland's soul was torn from me. The cold of the vampire left me, and in its place came the warmth of my human soul.
The whole process took only a few seconds, and then the wind was sucked back into the pages. The lights on the floor disappeared, and the whole affair ended on a loud note as the explosion of completion blew up the whole place.
CHAPTER 9
The force of the blast knocked all of us against the walls, and Ginsleh in particular had his head whacked against the hard stone. The dust settled over us like a smog winter and I choked on the stagnant air. I waved my hand in front of my face and peered into the impenetrable darkness.
"Everybody okay?" I choked out.
Roland sat up next to me. "More or less," he replied.
"I'm all right," the werewolf's gravelly voice answered from the doorway.
"We're here, but Ma's out cold," Uncle Seward spoke up.
"One sec. I'm coming," I called back.
I stood and patted the walls with my hand as I stumbled in their direction. My lead foot connected with something soft and limp. It groaned, and I leaned down and squinted. Ginsleh's pale, scrunched face appeared from the misty dust. I 'accidentally' gave him another kick with my foot and stepped over him to Uncle Seward and Aunt Ma just a few yards beyond.
Uncle Seward sat with his back against the wall and Aunt Ma in his arms. She was ghostly pale and her breathing was very shallow. I knelt beside him and looked her over.
"I think she's okay, just still knocked out," I told him.
"You think she's the same as she was?" Uncle Seward asked me.
I shook my head. "I don't know, and I don't think we'll find out until she-" She stirred, and her eyes fluttered open.
Uncle Seward and I breathed a sigh of relief when they showed their normal color. She looked up into our faces and smiled.
"Thank you," she whispered to us.
"For what?" I asked her as Uncle Seward wiped a few loose tears from his happy eyes.
Aunt Ma grasped my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "For knowing when to give me a good walloping."
I shrugged and sniffled. "I'd hate to lose you. You're the only one who knows how to babysit Uncle Seward."
"Young lady," he warned me.
Aunt Ma turned to him and chuckled. "Have you been in my bleach again? You look as white as a sheet," she teased. He, like Aunt Ma and the rest of us, was covered in the mausoleum's dust.
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm. "I'm okay now that you're back."
She giggled and playfully batted at his arm. "Oh, you!"
"This sentimentality is sickening," a voice hissed.
A short shadow rose from the darkness. A sudden wind blew from the figure and revealed Rose. She stood in the center of the room with the tome open in one hand. Her red eyes glared at all of us.
The werewolf growled and lunged through the door, but Rose jumped back and avoided his outstretched arms. He flew to the end of the room and spun around. She pointed her fingers at him.
"Another step and you will be a puppy," she warned him. He hesitated, but snarled at her. She turned her attention to Roland as he climbed to his feet. "Now I will finally get what I deserve."
Rola
nd glared at her. "You deserve nothing but a short lifespan," he shot back.
Her eyes narrowed. "I will grant that wish, but on you." She wiggled her fingers and a slight wind picked up around her.
My family and I jumped when a shot rang through the small stone room. The bullet hit her hand that held the book and lodged itself in the thick spine. Rose let out a scream and the book dropped to the ground. She clutched her arm in her other hand and raised her wounded hand. Smoke rose from the perfectly round hole. She whipped her head to Ginsleh as he stood holding his rifle Uncle Seward had appropriated.
"How could you injure your mistress?" she snapped.
"You are not my mistress any more than I am your slave," he countered. He raised the barrel and pointed the end at Rose. "I remember everything, and my last service to you will be extinguishing your hated life."
Roland took an inopportune step back, and Ginsleh swiveled so the barrel pointed at his head. Ginsleh grinned at him through the scope and his finger pressed against the trigger.
"But first I will finally get you, vampire," he snarled. "You've been a thorn in my side too long."
"Wait!" I shouted. I hurried past Ginsleh and stopped between Roland and the hunter. I faced Ginsleh and held my hands above my head. "Wait a sec! Just wait a second!" I pleaded.
His eyes hardened and narrowed. "Get out of the way or I will shoot you, too," he warned me.
"But why shoot any of us?" I asked him.
"Because he is a vampire, and all-"
"I know, I know, all vampires must die, but why not kill-"
"Destroy," he corrected me.
I rolled my eyes. "Why not destroy them in the order they deserve?"
He frowned and lowered his gun so he looked at us over the sight instead of through it. "What do you mean?"
I jerked my head over my shoulder at Roland behind me. "He could have killed you a half dozen times-"
"Three," Roland corrected me.
I turned and glared at him. "Do you want help or should I just leave you to be killed?"
"Destroyed," Ginsleh spoke up.
I prayed to the saints of patience and turned to Ginsleh. "Okay, the vampire behind me has had plenty of opportunity to kill you, and he hasn't." I glanced past him and pointed a finger at Rose. "She made you her bitch. Which one do you think deserves to be destroyed first?"
Ginsleh pursed his lips. "They all deserve to be destroyed."
"Yes, but what rule says you have to do it in any order?" I pointed out. "Besides, can't you at least give us a running start? I promise I won't move apartments until you get back."
Ginsleh furrowed his brow. The air was deathly still and I dared not breathe. He finally lowered his gun and I gasped for breath.
"I see your point," he commented.
He swung around and pointed the barrel of the gun at Rose. "You die first, bitch."
"Be destroyed," I corrected him.
Rose hissed at him as Ginsleh fired off several rounds. She dodged the hail of bullets and dove out the doorway. The short vampire flew into the air with Ginsleh close at her heels. The pair disappeared into the night, and the last we heard from them was the gunshots from Ginsleh's gun.
I hunched over and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. "That was a little too close."
Roland came up behind me and set his hands on my shoulders. "Yes, but you were quite cunning."
I smiled and shrugged. "Maybe being a vampire for a little while made me a little more devious."
"I should leave as well," the werewolf spoke up. He walked to the door and I noticed the tome was tucked under one arm.
I held out my hand to him. "Wait a sec. We didn't even catch your name," I pointed out.
He paused and partially turned to us. "It's Lance, and thank you."
I furrowed my brow. "For what?"
"For reminding me what it means to be human, and have friends," he explained.
He turned away from us and disappeared down the hill.
"Well, that was strange," I commented.
"That is an understatement," Uncle Seward quipped as he helped Aunt Ma up. He looked sternly at me. "You have a very dangerous life, young lady."
Aunt Ma put a hand on his chest and smiled up at him. "But wasn't it exciting?" she pointed out.
"And dangerous," he returned.
"And fun," she added.
He sighed and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Kiss me and make my boo-boos feel better," she cooed. It looked like I wasn't the only one partially affected.
Uncle Seward smiled and leaned down. They locked lips, and I turned away with my tongue sticking out.
I started when a hand slipped into mine, and I turned to find Roland by my side. His gaze lay on my aunt and uncle as they embraced.
"I have not seen such devotion in a great many years," he commented.
I dared a look back and smiled. "They've been together a long time."
Roland turned to me and his eyes searched my face. I leaned back and raised an eyebrow.
"Like what you see?" I teased.
He nodded. "Very much, and that is why I must ask you an important question."
"If you want to take me out to dinner again then-" He shook his head.
"No, not that." Roland knelt down on one knee and reached into his coat. He pulled out a small box. My heart did a little pitter-patter as he opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"
My eyes flickered between Roland and the dazzling diamond. "You. . .you're serious?" I asked him.
He smiled and nodded. "Very."
"But you're a vampire, and I'm not," I reminded him.
Roland shook his head. "That isn't quite true. Not anymore."
"What do you mean?" Uncle Seward spoke up. My aunt and uncle walked up to us, and Uncle Seward frowned at Roland. "You said there wouldn't be anything permanent."
"My soul remained in her long enough to give her a small gift. The gift of immortality," he revealed.
I blinked at him. "Wait, so you're saying I'm a vampire?"
"Not quite," he assured me. "Your body still lives, but there remains enough of my soul inside you so that you will not age, and only a vampire's death will kill you. You are like me, and I wish for nothing but for you to be by my side for all eternity." He took the ring out of its box and held it out to me in his palm. "Will you accept me, my love?"
I took the ring and slipped it over my finger. "I guess I could give marriage a try," I teased.
He stood and beamed with pride as he took my hands in his. "I hope for quite a while. The ring can't be returned."
I snorted. "Then I guess I'll have to try it for eternity."
Roland leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. A warmth spread through me and thrilled me to my toes.
Aunt Ma clapped her hands and turned to my uncle. "Vampire babies!"
Uncle Seward choked on his spittle. "W-what?"
I broke the kiss and glared at her. "Not yet!" I scolded her. "We haven't even had our honeymoon!"
"Not even then," my uncle insisted.
"Pat!" Aunt Ma scolded.
"Uncle Seward!" I chimed in.
"I have honorable intentions towards your niece," Roland swore.
Uncle Seward snorted. "Not if you're a man," he quipped.
Roland straightened and pressed his lips close together. "I swear I will-" My uncle held up his hand.
He pulled away from my aunt and stepped up in front of Roland. My vampire fiance stared down my uncle's stern look. My uncle leaned forward and wrapped Roland in a tight, manly hug. Roland blinked at Aunt Ma and me as we covered our open mouths with our hands.
Uncle Seward pulled them apart and grinned at Roland. "I suppose Misty could have chosen a worse nephew-in-law."
Roland smiled, and they shook hands. "I appreciate the compliment, Uncle Seward."
"Call me Pat," my uncle insisted.
Roland bowed his head. "Pat, then."
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"Oh, this is so wonderful!" Aunt Ma squealed. She hurried up and gave Roland a hug of her own.
Uncle Seward stepped back so he stood beside me. He looked down at me and winked. "Not a bad catch," he whispered.
"Not a bad hug," I teased.
"I expect a little more than a hug after the towing and repair bill for my truck," he added.
I snorted. "I think Roland can figure something out."
Roland loosened himself from my aunt and held out his hand to me. "Come, my wife. We need to fetch your car to take your family back home."
I smiled and took his hand. He led me outside, and my aunt and uncle followed close behind. The dark night sky was cloudy again, and a soft snow fell over us.
"We'll be right back," I promised my family.
"You'd better!" Uncle Seward called back.
Roland swept me into his arms and jumped into the air. We sailed high over the tombstones and through the thick white fluffy flakes of the pure winter snow. I snuggled against him and admired the ring on my finger.
"So how long is an eternity, anyway?" I teased.
He grinned and showed off his long fangs. "Long enough to make many vampire babies."
I leaned forward and pecked a light kiss on his lips. "Good, because I have a feeling this is going to be the start of a long and beautiful relationship."
And it was.
The End
For all books by Mac Flynn visit her author's page or visit Mac Flynn's website.
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