Feeding Frenzy: Curse of the Necromancer (Loon Lake Magic Book 1)

by Maaja Wentz

  “I hope you feel better . . .”

  “Shut up!” Marta strode past to join the ambulance attendants at the side of the road. She told them something Tonya couldn’t hear, but which cracked them up. Still laughing, they loaded the gurney into the ambulance.

  Marta waved them off as they drove away.

  “C’mon,” Priya said, “let’s take the stairs.”

  On the way up to Priya’s room, Tonya tried to compose a rational argument to convince her friend to stay out of the cemetery. Priya was so excited about her art installation, but if she went ahead with the plan to set it up in the graveyard, the whole campus could wind up like Marta. Supernatural curse or airborne disease, everybody who spent time in the cemetery had been struck with compulsive eating. Her need to eat had gotten so extreme, Marta would have choked to death if Tonya hadn’t intervened.

  They went into the room and Priya gave her a hug. “What you did was brave. That ungrateful witch should be thanking you.” Priya’s hug made warning her friend away from the cemetery that much harder but it had to be done.

  Tonya sat on the edge of Priya’s bed and gestured for her friend to take the desk chair. “I have to tell you something important. I think I know what’s happening, to Marta, to Lynette, and Professor Rudolph.”

  “Lynette your roommate?”

  “They’re all eating uncontrollably. Something takes over their minds and, well, you saw the diving team.”

  “Peer pressure at its worst, right?” Priya shook her head. “If Marta told those kids to jump off a bridge . . .”

  “It’s not peer pressure. It’s a curse that spreads like a disease.”

  “A what?”

  “This town hides a lot of secrets. The ground beneath us is full of magical energy. You don’t notice them, but the Old Families in this town are constantly negotiating and fighting with each other to control that power.”

  Priya crossed her arms. “You must be joking.”

  “Magic is real.”

  “Very funny. Nice Halloween prank.”

  “I’m not kidding. This eating problem is coming from the cemetery.”

  “Don’t be stupid. Aren’t you learning anything in first year Psych? People in groups do nutty things. That doesn’t mean they have a magic virus.”

  “So how do you explain Professor Rudolph stuffing his face with fries and bumping into things all the way to the graveyard?”

  “Narcolepsy?”

  “I’m telling you, a magical force drew him to that cemetery.”

  “You don’t really believe that.” Priya stared at Tonya, her eyes a little too wide. She hadn’t told her she was crazy yet, but Tonya figured it was coming.

  “You saw my roommate Lynette. She doesn’t seem the imaginative type to you, does she? Well, she ate four boxes of Halloween candy, for no apparent reason. People are binging compulsively because they caught something in the graveyard.”

  “That’s insane,” said Priya.

  “What if I told you it wasn’t magic? What if I said the cemetery was spreading a contagious disease and the only way to save them was to shut down the cemetery.”

  “I’d say shut down the bakery too. Every time I walk by that place I smell cookies and I want to buy some.” Priya pretended to sniff heavenly baked goods.

  “I’m not kidding.”

  “You’re overreacting.”

  “Can nothing convince you to stay out of the cemetery?”

  “I’ve been building my animatronics for months and you’re telling me to scrap everything? Halloween night is my debut, my one shot. Local TV is going to cover it. I won’t get a chance like this again.”

  “Marta almost died tonight.”

  “She has a problem. The rest is your imagination.”

  “You saw the professor’s face yourself. And I told you about Lynette. She’s binging too.”

  “How do you know the Professor is still sick?” asked Priya. “Maybe he signed himself out of hospital.”

  “Look, I know, okay? People in my family have kind of a connection to . . .

  Priya frowned. She held up her hand, ready to cover Tonya’s mouth.

  How to make her listen? “Something weird is going on in that graveyard. I can sense it.”

  “Good. That makes it even spookier.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “An eating contest is not a virus, and bulimia isn’t a contagious disease. Do you know how crazy you sound?”

  “People here know I’m sane. Loon Lake isn’t like other places.”

  “Right. Your auntie sells herbs and calls it medicine. People in your family believe a bunch of superstitious garbage.”

  “Her cures work!”

  “Sorry. No offense to your sick aunt, but before I believe in magic, you have to show me some.”

  “Magic isn’t like card tricks. There will be consequences.”

  “And lame excuses.”

  There it was. Initiating Priya into the magic world was dangerous, but there was no choice. “C’mon, we have to take this outside.”

  Tonya led a reluctant Priya outside and along the path toward the edge of campus. She stopped under a pine tree. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to do this.”

  “Let’s go back, I’m cold.” It was the first thing Priya had said since Tonya hustled her into the elevator.

  “Stand back. I’m untrained so things might get out of control.”

  Priya didn’t move. Tonya walked to the far side of the tree and pulled down a bough by the tip. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the life inside, her mind lighting up with green traceries of sap running through fractal channels like veins. She took a deep breath and willed that life force out through the pine bough, along her arm, and down through her body into the ground.

  “Nothing’s happening.”

  Tonya lost her concentration and had to start again. This time she ignored Priya’s questions and tried to become one with the ground and feel its thirst for life.

  “All things die and return their energy to the earth. I’m just speeding up the process . . .”

  There, the pine needles went crispy dry in her hands. Tonya opened her eyes.

  Priya took the branch from her, turning it over to examine the dead needles. “How did you do that?”

  “I drew out some life force and returned it to the ground.”

  “You killed a branch with your touch.”

  “Now, do you believe me?”

  “Maybe. What did you say? Magic can speed up the natural process of death and decay. But if magic is real and dangerous, that gives me a whole new reason to spread my message. My art scares people. People think art is pretty but pointless. When they walk through that cemetery, I want them to feel primal vulnerability, like their ancestors, surrounded by wild beasts and scared of the dark.”

  “The forest south of campus is creepy too. Why not move it there, just to be safe?”

  “Are you joking? It took me a whole day to install the mounts. Besides, we’ve already handed out the flyers and announced a bonfire in the field just outside Loon Lake Cemetery.”

  “On my aunt’s property!”

  “She won’t mind if we use her empty field. Didn’t you say she was in the hospital? Besides, the swimmers are already bringing wood for the bonfire. If I don’t light it, they will.”

  “Tell Shin to make them move it.”

  “Too late. People are going to show up whether we like it or not.”

  “Make an announcement. Rope off the area and put up signs or something. We can’t lead a hundred people through the cemetery tomorrow night. They’ll get infected.”

  “You can’t prove that.”

  “Isn’t the risk enough to convince you?”

  “Building my creatures has taken years, and preparing them for installation took weeks. I’ve already installed most of the pieces. You can’t tell me to dismantle my masterpiece. I could never move it in time.”

  “There are powerful forces you are mess
ing with, extra-powerful on All Hallows’ Eve.”

  “These forces are all over Loon Lake. You said so yourself.”

  “Something’s changed.” Tonya put her hand on the grass. An extra energy thrummed beneath the earth. “Feel it?” She took Priya’s hand by the wrist and placed it where it vibrated most. “There’s something wrong with this magic.”

  “I don’t feel anything.” Priya snatched her hand away. “You’re tired. It’s late. You’re getting emotional. Go to bed.”

  “Tell me you’ll call it off.”

  “Sure, don’t worry. Now go to bed before you fall over.”

  “So, you’ll do it?”

  “First promise you’ll get your ass into bed.”

  Priya’s half-smile gave Tonya a nagging doubt, but how could she argue with yes? Besides, draining the branch had worn her out, as though some of her energy had flowed into the ground with the tree’s.

  Tonya couldn’t help it. She leaned on Priya’s shoulder as they walked back into the dorm.

  LEGENDARY

  Drake’s phone woke him before sunrise.

  “Priya gave me your number.”

  Like a sleepy Klondike prospector, Drake let the girl’s words pass through his groggy brain pan, but he couldn’t sift out a nugget of meaning. “Who is this?”

  “Tonya. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “It’s 5:30 in the morning.”

  “Talk to the Ninjas for me? I don’t have their numbers, and this is urgent. The art show is canceled and so is the bonfire.”

  “No, it isn’t. We’re set to start in twelve hours.”

  “Priya promised.”

  “When?”

  “Last night.”

  “Funny, we were on the phone past midnight, running down her checklist. The installation opens tonight.”

  On the other side of the room, Zain groaned. “What in the name of Bruce Campbell!?”

  “It’s Tonya.”

  “How dare she wake me! I was dreaming of zombies.”

  “Go back to sleep. It’s a mistake. She thinks we have to cancel the installation.”

  On the other end of the phone, Tonya’s voice shot up. “You have to stop people from going. There’s something evil in the cemetery air. It made Professor Rudolph sick and Marta and the diving team. If you go into those woods, you’ll get sick too.”

  “I walk by the cemetery all the time without even sneezing.”

  “I’m not talking allergies. Stay out or you’ll end up like Professor Rudolph.”

  If he hadn’t seen Rudolph with his own eyes, Drake would think Tonya was crazy. Cute but crazy, and prone to strange headaches, but he had seen Rudolph, which made Tonya’s early morning call seem less insane.

  “I get that you’re worried, but Priya isn’t. The Ninjas aren’t.”

  Zain staggered over and grabbed the phone out of Drake’s hand. “What’s this about?”

  Zain listened, eyes widening with every word until Drake got so curious he wanted to snatch the phone back.

  “You can’t cancel the movie.” Zain started doing his Godfather voice. “It would kill Priya and then I’d have to kill you, and all your little friends, except you won’t have any friends because you want to kill our movie!” Zain handed back the phone and flung himself on his bed.

  “Zain! Zain?” Tonya shouted into his ear.

  “It’s me again. I agree with Zain, except for the killing part. Are we done here? I want to go back to sleep.”

  “Sorry. Go back to sleep. I’ll come see you later.”

  Drake was concerned about recording Priya’s event, but not for Tonya’s reasons. The university installed surveillance cameras without student protest, so Zain argued that nobody would mind a harmless recording of Halloween hijinks. He swore he would only use footage of people disguised by their costumes. It was already an ethical gray area, but what if Zain got too enthusiastic and crossed the line? He could jeopardize everything.

  “Hey Zain, you awake?”

  “No.”

  “I was thinking. Maybe we shouldn’t film people in the cemetery tonight. Tonya says Professor Rudolph visits his wife’s grave there all the time.”

  “So? We won’t run into him Halloween night.”

  “It isn’t respectful.”

  “You can’t change your mind now. Screaming students and Priya’s monsters will make priceless footage. This is our chance to make the Great Canadian zero-budget horror movie we’ve always wanted.”

  “But—”

  Zain got up and started pacing the room. “This is our big break.” He conducted invisible orchestras with his hands. “Priya’s concept is brilliant. Using a centuries-old graveyard will give our movie a look you can’t find anywhere else.”

  “Or residents could complain, and the cops could take our cameras.”

  “Don’t be stupid. Tonight will launch our careers like a rocket, leaving YouTube stars moping in the cinders as we rise into the galaxy of pro film. Want me to leave you behind, or will you be flying Ninja Spaceways?”

  “Beam me up, I guess.”

  “Good.” Drake clapped him on the shoulder. “When I’m big in Hollywood I might need a pre-fame friend.”

  Hours later, Drake finished loading his car with cameras, tripods, and brackets. He also had spare pieces of wood, clamps, an electric drill (sorry trees) and rolls of duct tape. It might take hours to rig, but people’s reactions would make it worthwhile. Zain was right. By daylight, Priya’s animatronic monsters were fascinatingly creepy. Tonight, when they leaped out of hiding in a centuries-old graveyard, the students would feel legendary terror.

  GONE

  Tonya found herself in a dark forest. A hidden assailant had cut off her friends’ legs at the knees. Tonya rushed from victim to victim, twisting tourniquets onto their thighs to stop the bleeding. The leafy earth beneath her shoes puddled with blood. She ran but slipped on gore. She felt herself falling backward when someone grabbed her shoulder. She lashed out to save herself from amputation.

  “Hey, it’s me! Calm down.”

  That didn’t sound like a serial killer. Tonya opened her eyes.

  Lynette stood over Tonya’s bed, her hair a golden halo in the morning light.

  “Shouldn’t you still be sleeping off Friday night?”

  “Roberto’s missing,” said Lynette. “We were supposed to meet yesterday but he isn’t answering texts or calls. The guys on his floor haven’t seen him. Nobody has.”

  “Maybe his phone died.” Tonya rubbed her eyes. Things were coming at her too fast. There was something she had to do. Something urgent . . . Oh yeah, she had to stop Man vs. Nature from happening in the cemetery, or a lot of people could end up like Professor Rudolph.

  “He should have borrowed a phone and called. I’m worried.”

  “He probably had a few drinks and crashed at a friend’s place.” For all she knew, Roberto got tired of Lynette. Tonya had.

  “He texted me that he wasn’t feeling well. He was supposed to call when he got home.”

  “Lynette, when you were pigging out on candy, did you ever feel the urge to walk to the cemetery?”

  “What?”

  “Or to go to the Ash Tree?”

  “You’re even weirder than I thought.” Lynette spoke slowly, enunciating every syllable. “Roberto is missing.”

  “Tell campus police.”

  “They said he hasn’t been missing long enough to report. Help me?”

  What a choice. She had to help Lynette look for Roberto, but that would leave her less time to stop the art installation. If she refused, Lynette would probably kill her in her sleep.

  “You don’t need my help.”

  “Please.” Lynette crossed her arms, her pretty face crumpled in a scowl.

  “Why don’t you wait and see if he shows up in an hour or two?

  “I want to look now.”

  Tonya sighed. “Let me throw on some clothes.”

  They went to the cafeteria to grab co
ffee. Students in line gossiped about a fire at the Herbal Healing Shop. Tonya shivered. The shop was full of dangerous items that posed a threat to the ignorant if her aunt wasn’t there to supervise . . . but what if she had been there?

  “I still haven’t heard from my aunt and that’s her store.”

  “Roberto texted me he was going there last night.” Lynette’s bottom lip trembled.

  “I’ll call the hospital to check for Roberto while you drive us to the shop.”

  Tonya had Loon Lake Hospital on speed dial. She called on their way out to the parking lot. During the short drive, Tonya waited on hold until a chipper voice answered and told her Roberto wasn’t there.

  “You sound familiar. Do I know you?”

  “Doubt it, hon. Goodbye!” The connection clicked off.

  Minutes later, Lynette drew near the Herbal Healing Shop. Tonya expected a painful repeat of yesterday’s ward incident so she dry-swallowed a couple of aspirins. Her aunt might use magic to repel her, but a headache was physical, right? And painkillers prevented physical pain. That was her theory, anyway. She braced herself as they got close. Even ice pick stabs of pain couldn’t keep her from investigating.

  “Did Roberto do any binge eating?”

  Lynette hesitated. “I don’t know. He’s an athlete. He eats a lot, all the time.”

  Not good. He sounded sick too.

  When they pulled into the parking lot, Tonya anticipated knitting-needle-through-the-head agony. They parked near the store, but the pain never came. That worried her even more. Did her aunt have to be nearby to keep up her wards? Tonya didn’t think so. Did she need to be alive?

  Lynette opened the car door and ran across the parking lot which was littered with broken glass. She picked up something gray, a fine wool scarf patterned with geometric condors. “This is his!” Lynette held the scarf to her face.

  “I’m sure he’s okay.” Tonya came up behind her.

  “I’m not.” Lynette slipped the scarf into her pocket.

  Tonya put a hand on Lynette’s shoulder. “We’ll find him.”

  Aunt Helen lived above the shop, part of the massive two-story log cabin she had inherited from Tonya’s great-grandparents. It was drafty in the winter, and attracted mice in fall, until Aunt Helen resealed the outside walls and modernized. As a child, Tonya remembered walking through the gutted building, asking her aunt why she didn’t just tear it down and build a new one.