by Megan Berry
Jasper held her like she weighed nothing. When he used his vampire super speed, the air started to whip past her face so quickly that she couldn’t even draw a breath. Harper couldn’t help the girly scream that bubbled up from her chest. It was dizzying, even though Jasper kept her head tucked tightly to his chest. It was several seconds before Harper realized that he had stopped and was no longer moving, though her world continued to spin.
“Don’t do that again,” she gasped, filling her lungs back up with oxygen. When he set her down on her feet, she swayed and had to clutch at him to keep from falling over.
Jasper gave her an annoyed look. “Don’t help you up fifty flights of stairs again?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, and Harper felt foolish being mad at him, though she was determined not to let him know that. He already had too much to hold over her.
Harper nodded, “Yeah…”
Jasper looked thoughtful. “I could just zip you back down to the bottom and let you do it all yourself… Girl power and all that,” he offered in a sweet tone, though the threat was clear as day. Harper swallowed.
“Well, I’m already here,” she said, shaking her head.
Jasper snorted, turning his back on her as they waited for the wolves to catch up.
Harper stared at his back and felt bad for the way she was acting. Jasper had really helped her out down there; she should be thanking him. She opened her mouth, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Two large wolves suddenly came bounding up the steps, distracting Harper from her apology, and Harper took a frightened step backwards. Her head swiveled to Jasper, but he didn’t seem concerned, so she forced her muscles to uncoil and took a deep breath to make herself relax. It didn’t work.
The two wolves stopped before them, their tongues lolling out like big, friendly dogs. Their forms began to change, and Harper could hear their bones popping and cracking. Then Mary and Keaton stood before them again, completely naked. Harper blushed to the roots of her hair and averted her eyes.
“Wolves have no shame,” Jasper couldn’t resist adding when he saw how uncomfortable Harper was.
Mary smiled at them before pushing casually past them and pushing the trap door open with a small grunt of effort. Harper got an accidental glimpse of her tanned rear end and quickly looked away, even as she hurried to climb the steps before Mr. Bell decided to go ahead of her and really give them a show.
They climbed out of the floor, back into the circular room, and Harper had to smother a smile when she saw that Jasper had somehow gotten behind Keaton as they climbed up. Jasper caught her smirk and shook his head at her, his eyes promising vengeance if she dared open her mouth.
“So…” Harper said, making Jasper look at her sharply. “What do I do now?” she asked instead.
Keaton shrugged. “Head home, work on your craft, and we’ll call you when the next life or death crisis pops up.” Harper looked at him, not sure if he was joking or not. He didn’t so much as break a smile, and it made Harper feel deflated. Was her life going to be a series of life or death situations from now on?
Harper stood there awkwardly. Mr. Bell had driven her.
“I’ll take you home,” Jasper offered as he motioned her out one of the doors, and Harper found herself not back through the bookshelf to the secret boiler room, but out in the main lobby of the town office.
People shuffled around and filed papers, the tap, tap, tap of the secretary’s keyboard seemed overloud. “Come on,” Jasper said, grabbing her elbow to get her attention. No one really seemed to notice them as they walked right through the busy office and out the front door into the bright afternoon sun. Jasper reached in his pocket and grabbed a dark pair of sunglasses and slid them on his face.
“Did you drive here?” Harper asked, looking around at the row of vehicles in the parking lot and only recognizing Mr. Bell’s car.
“What do you think?” Jasper snapped, pulling a pair of keys out of his pocket and motioning her around the corner of the building where she recognized Gran’s old truck right away.
“I thought maybe you turned into a bat and flew here,” she told him, only half teasing as she watched him closely to gauge his reaction. He shook his head, and Harper felt a small stab of disappointment.
“That’s folklore. Not true,” he said, pausing to hold the truck door open for Harper. It was a strangely nice gesture, but Harper shook it off, reminding herself that Jasper was ancient. He was from a time where chivalry was a way of life, not just some way for hipsters to impress a girl.
Jasper went around the driver’s side of the truck and fired it up like he’d been doing it his whole life, and Harper had to marvel at how strange it must be to see so many things change throughout your life. Harper herself was still having trouble completely making the switch from VHS to DVDs.
“Would you mind swinging by the store?” Harper asked when Jasper pulled out of the parking lot.
Jasper nodded and turned the corner, taking them to Main Street. Harper felt her pulse pick up when she saw her little shop was packed this afternoon. Tourists mostly, but she also recognized some of the strange people from her gran’s funeral, who she now knew must be some kind of paranormal creatures.
“Do you want me to come in?” Jasper asked when he’d parked them in the closest parking space. Harper shrugged.
“If you want to,” she said.
Jasper shook his head, pulling the keys from the ignition and leaning his head back as he relaxed.
Harper walked in to find Mallory and another young woman she didn’t know, both wearing pink aprons and bouncing around the store helping customers. A third woman, also in a pink apron, was behind the till furiously ringing things in.
“Harper!” Mallory squealed, and Harper spun to find the pretty vampire bouncing towards her with a big smile and a box full of…large claws.
“What is that?” Harper asked, staring at a razor-sharp, shiny black, curved claw that had the same thickness as her thumb and was double its length. Mallory looked down at the box in her hand like she’d forgotten it was there.
It looked like something off of Jurassic Park.
“Dragon talons,” Mallory said, shrugging her shoulder like it was no big deal. Harper blinked.
“Dragons are real?” she asked incredulously, and Mallory laughed.
“Of course. What will you be asking me about next—unicorns?” she giggled, and Harper froze, staring at the vampire.
“Are they?” she demanded, and Mallory nodded again, holding her finger up to her lips, like it was a secret. Harper felt like her head was going to explode, unicorns and dragons. It felt like she had just stepped into an alternate reality.
Harper eyed the box of dragon claws, there must be at least a hundred and fifty. “Did we…kill the dragons?” she asked, feeling sick at the thought of murdering a dragon, even if it was to make two hundred dollars a claw!
Mallory laughed again. “Of course not. They are protected. They shed their talons twice a year, so we just go collect them after they migrate. Their claws are great in some of our potions though—we just grind them up.” Harper shook her head. Her life had changed so much these last few days.
“I didn’t know you were coming in today?” Mallory commented as she set the box aside and motioned for Harper to follow her into the back room where it was quieter. The hum of the crowd disappeared completely as soon as Mallory shut the door, and Harper was surprised. “It’s sound proofed,” she explained.
Harper stared at the thin, rickety walls and raised an eyebrow. It looked like she could probably punch her way through it. “Really?” she asked, and Mallory nodded.
“Magically,” she amended, and that made a lot more sense. Mallory stood watching as Harper looked around for a few minutes, giving the witch some time.
“It’s been a crazy day,” Harper confided at last, and Mallory nodded.
“I heard about Caspian,” Mallory admitted, making a disgusted face when she spoke his name, like it was a curse.
“You are pretty new to all of this,” she tried to comfort the distraught witch, but doubt nagged at her subconscious. Once the power moved from one soul to another, the magic should become second nature to the witch, even without any formal training. It was like breathing.
Harper watched Mallory’s face turn down, deep in thought. “What is it?” she demanded, and Mallory shook her head.
“I’m not sure. No one around here is really qualified to help you…” she told Harper.
“Jasper has offered,” Harper told her friend, and Mallory looked surprised.
“He did?” Mallory demanded, and Harper shrugged.
“He just wants me to figure this all out so I can release him from the curse,” she told her friend, holding up her finger with the ring to show Mallory.
Mallory nodded, though there was a gleam in her eye.
“I have an idea!” she said suddenly, snapping her fingers in excitement.
Harper eyed the vampire warily, not really sure what to expect. “What?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier. There is really only one person who could possibly help you.” Harper stared at Mallory blankly, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Who?” she finally demanded when the vampire ignored her and began moving around the back, rummaging through boxes. Harper watched her pull out large, cream-colored candles and stack them in a pile.
“Gran, of course,” she said, making Harper’s pulse spike.
“Gran is….” Harper trailed off, unable to say the word dead.
Mallory knew what she meant though and nodded. “You aren’t honestly telling me that with everything you’ve learned lately that you don’t believe in ghosts?” she asked with a chuckle. “You’re a witch, I’m a vampire. Ghosts are not that much of a stretch.” Harper gasped. She had never even imagined such a thing was true.
Harper’s stomach knotted in anxiety. “You’re talking about a séance?” she asked, and Mallory nodded, making her red curls bounce.
“Tonight at your house. It’s where her memories will be the strongest.” Harper wanted to argue, and run out in terror, but a large part of her needed to see her gran one more time. She’d never had a chance to say goodbye, and she had so many questions.
“Okay...” she agreed hesitantly, and Mallory beamed at her.
“This is going to be amazing,” Mallory gushed. “I will bring everything we need tonight—midnight is best. So I’ll come set up around eleven.”
Harper walked out of the shop on rubbery legs and climbed into the truck with Jasper. Jasper looked up at her sharply when he sensed her erratic pulse.
“What’s the matter?” he demanded, and Harper shrugged weakly.
“Mallory is coming over later. We are going to summon Gran to help me with my magic.” Harper looked up in time to see a big smile spread across Jasper’s face.
“It will be nice to see her again,” he said softly as he started the truck and steered them towards the house. “And you could definitely use the help!” he added, unable to resist.
Harper resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. She was both intrigued and terrified. She had no idea what to expect.
Chapter Eight
Harper’s stomach was in knots by the time Mallory knocked on the door promptly at eleven. She opened the door, her eyes widening when she saw the array of things the vampire had shoved into an enormous cardboard box. “Do you want me to give you a hand with that?” Harper offered politely, making Mallory laugh.
“I’m a vampire, remember?” she smiled. “This box would be much harder for you to carry.” Harper nodded, blushing a bit for misremembering such a simple thing, and Mallory shifted the enormous box to one hand just to show off.
“What do you have in there, rocks?” Harper asked with a joke, and Mallory nodded.
“Yeah, basically. I have crystals for the séance.”
Harper motioned Mallory into the living room where Jasper sat waiting. He had insisted on pushing the furniture out of the way earlier, and Harper had allowed it, even though she had no idea why.
“Hey, you already cleared a space,” Mallory approved as she set her box down in the middle of the floor and began to pass Jasper all sorts of different stuff that he seemed to know exactly what to do with. Harper sat back, feeling useless, and watched as they arranged a ring of large crystals in the very center of the floor before turning to her. Mallory held out a small burlap bag.
Harper’s fingers shook when she took it. “What is this?” she asked, hating how little she knew about all of this.
“Salt,” Mallory said. “It burns our skin, so you’ll have to do the honors.”
“Just sprinkle it inside the ring of crystals, but be careful the circle doesn’t have any gaps or spaces.”
Harper started to sprinkle the salt thickly, careful that the entire circle joined. Contact with the salt tingled her skin, but didn’t actually hurt. “What happens if there’s a gap?” she asked.
“The salt keeps spirits contained inside the circle. If there are any breaks, they could escape.” Harper looked at the two vampires, her jaw slack.
“It isn’t a big deal usually, unless we accidentally summon an evil spirit. Summoning them could allow them to cross over into our dimension,” Mallory told her, and Harper began heaping on the salt, just in case.
“That sounds…terrifying,” she admitted to them, and they both nodded. “It can be. There have been a lot of problems created from people summoning the dead without the proper safeguards,” Mallory explained.
“Humans usually,” Jasper interrupted her with a snort, shaking his head in disapproval. “That’s how you get all the demonic possessions and poltergeists.”
Harper’s mind flew to every horror movie she’d ever seen, and she pinched the bridge of her nose as she remembered all the head spinning and demonic vomiting.
“It’s alright,” Mallory said warmly as she took Harper’s hand in her own cold one. “We know how to do this right. Everything will be fine.”
Harper nodded. She was so tired of feeling weak and terrified. It wasn’t who she was, granted in her old life it had been things like having bigger balls then the men at her firm, and not being squeamish about the dark, but still... she needed to shake this weak woman complex. “Okay, let’s do it,” she said, mustering a grin, and Mallory beamed.
Harper’s new resolve faltered when Mallory pulled out a ceremonial dagger and took her hand. “Why does everything need blood?” she asked with a groan, and Jasper grinned as he used his fangs to nick his own wrist and let his blood fall into the wooden bowl in Mallory’s hand.
“All participants must have a connection to the person we are trying to summon, and each person must make a blood sacrifice.” Mallory handed the knife to Harper and then bit into her own wrist.
“You can’t do it?” Harper asked, eyeing the sharp knife gripped in her fingers, and Mallory shook her head.
“It has to be by your own hand. If I take the blood, it’s not your sacrifice,” she explained.
Harper took a deep breath and slid the cold steel across her palm—whimpering a little at the bite of the blade for the second time that day. She saw Mallory’s nostrils flair as the vampire held out the bowl and Harper squeezed her hand into a fist over the bowl, making her blood run down in rivulets.
Mallory sprinkled in some crushed crystals that started the gory mixture sizzling and then she tossed the blood across the salt barrier, into the center of the circle. Harper winced when the blood landed with a splatter on the floor.
“We need you for this part,” Mallory muttered, watching
the circle avidly. “Just repeat after me.” She cleared her throat and then spoke in a booming voice that was quite surprising for someone as petite as Mallory. “I call forth the spirit of Elizabetta Jones.”
Harper took a deep breath when Mallory turned towards her and nodded. “I…I call forth the spirit of Elizabetta Jones,” Harper said and then held her breath to see what would happen. Jasper stepped forward and repeated the same thing, and then all three of them were staring at the circle, waiting.
Harper thought she saw the smallest wisp of smoke, but it was gone in the flash of an eye, so quickly that she thought for sure she’d imagined it. A loud pop exploded from the center of the circle, making Harper jump.
“Gran?” she asked hesitantly, stepping back suddenly when a dark shape began to form.
“No,” a gravelly, masculine voice answered her, and Harper felt a stab of fear. What had they summoned?
The image solidified to reveal a man standing in front of them. There was something familiar about him.
“You don’t recognize your own Grand-Dad?” the man asked with a chuckle, and Harper squinted at him harder. He was young looking and dressed in a tight pair of slacks, a white shirt, and dark suspenders. The clothing era seemed almost 1920’s. Harper took a curious step forward before remembering that her grandfather had also been a demon, and she stopped.
“Hi,” she managed to get out, feeling tongue tied as she recognized him from the photo her gran had always kept beside her bed. The man…demon…in front of her grinned, showing off pearly white teeth, his dark brown eyes flashing like there was a live fire behind them.
“You are more beautiful than Lizzy described,” he said, looking at her in admiration, and despite the fact that he was a ghost, and her grandfather—Harper blushed.
A swirl of smoke stirred beside him and then a young woman, probably around Harper’s own age, stood beside him. “You’re embarrassing the poor girl,” she scolded before turning her beautiful smile, with her plump cherry lips, on Harper. Harper’s jaw dropped.
