"Fascinating." Jimmy was keeping a mental log of everything that magic could do. He added sealing doors to the list.
Jimmy was impressed. Magic was totally cool: scary as hell when wielded by a psycho like Lucy, but still, he couldn't wait to learn more. Sure, Lucy's threat spooked him a little, but if there was an entire magic society, there had to be someone more reasonable he could talk to, someone he could lodge a complaint with, some sort of law enforcement that Lucy would have to answer to for all of things she had put Jimmy through. She had basically tortured him.
Jimmy grabbed a Yoo-Hoo from the fridge and pressed the cold glass against his cheek. He was pretty sure Lucy had given him a sunburn, or whatever the magic version of a sunburn is called. He walked into his bedroom. He was exhausted from the night's activities. He kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the bed.
He screamed when the bed moved and something brushed against his back.
He tumbled off the bed, spilling his Yoo-Hoo and falling head first into the wall ending up in a heap on the floor. Jimmy bounced to his feet, spinning to face this new attacker.
Jimmy's mouth fell open.
Dahlia was sitting in his bed, the sheet pooled around her naked body.
"Hi, Jimmy," she said, licking her lips.
For the third time that evening, Jimmy felt his knees start to buckle. He was going to pass out. At the last moment, he was able to wedge himself back against the wall. He couldn't stop staring at Dahlia's full, perfect breasts.
"How . . . what . . . Dahlia, you're in my bed," Jimmy sputtered.
"I've been waiting for you."
"How – how did you get in here?"
Dahlia pouted and arched her back, pushing her breasts toward Jimmy. "You can't expect me to reveal all my secrets," she said, patting the mattress. "Why don't you come sit on the bed next to me?"
In that moment, Jimmy realized just how wrong the love spell had gone. Dahlia and Tinkerbelle, along with every other woman except for Maddie, was supposed to be immune to the effects of the magic. And the effects of the magic weren't supposed to cause women to jump naked into his bed. Jimmy was in big trouble.
"Dahlia, I don't know if that's a great idea. I think the spell might have—"
"Poo-poo the spell," Dahlia cut him off. "This isn't about magic; this about you. When I saw you naked last night, during the ritual, I realized how silly I've been to ignore you. I want you, Jimmy."
Jimmy's resolve was starting to crack, "I thought – I thought you were into, you know . . . girls?"
"Jimbo, I'm fluid, baby," Dahlia cooed. "Now get in this bed," she commanded, an edge to her voice.
Jimmy knew it was the love spell. Jimmy knew that if he went through with this, it was basically a form of rape. Jimmy knew all of these things, but he just didn't care. He started pulling at his clothes; he couldn't get them off fast enough.
Dahlia scooted forward on the bed, hands out. Jimmy moved forward, and she started unbuckling his belt.
This was going to happen. He was going to have sex with Dahlia. Jimmy realized he was giggling but had no ability to stop it.
The doorbell rang.
Dahlia's fingers froze. Jimmy looked in the direction the front door.
"Ignore them," said Dahlia, continuing to work on Jimmy's pants. "They'll go away.
Jimmy knew the door was spelled shut. He couldn't open it even if he wanted to, but he wondered who it could be. Nobody ever visited him.
"Jimmy!" a voice called out.
Dahlia's fingers froze again.
"Jimmy! It's Tink, sweetie. You're not asleep, are you?"
"What the hell is she doing here?" Dahlia sounded pissed.
"I have no idea," Jimmy answered.
"Well, just ignore her," Dahlia commanded. "I want you. Now." She emphasized her words by yanking Jimmy's pants down.
The doorbell rang four more times in quick succession. Tinkerbelle wasn't giving up.
"Jimmy, I've got a bottle of Vodka with our name on it. I want to get sloppy drunk and ride you till morning," Tinkerbelle shouted through the door.
"Go away, you bitch!" Dahlia screamed.
"Dahlia! What are you doing here?" Tinkerbelle had given up on the doorbell and now started pounding on the door. "Open this door, Jimmy! Right now!"
It sounded like Tinkerbelle was kicking the door. "Open. The. Door."
The banging stopped.
"I told you she'd go away," said Dahlia, turning her attention back to Jimmy, her hands sliding up and down his body.
"You thieving whore!" Tinkerbelle screamed, pounding on the door again. "You think you can keep me out with magic? You are seriously mistaken!"
Apparently, Tinkerbelle had discovered Lucy's spell and assumed it was magic Dahlia had stolen. Jimmy had a bad feeling things were about to spiral out of control.
He was right.
Something that sounded like a small explosion shook the entire apartment. Jimmy pushed Dahlia's hands away and, with his pants around his ankles, waddled into the living area. Tinkerbelle had blown the hinges off the front door and pushed her way into the apartment.
"People always forget to spell the hinges when they seal a door," Tinkerbelle said, smoothing back her hair.
"Get out!" Dahlia screamed, running past Jimmy toward Tinkerbelle.
Jimmy wasn't so completely in shock that he didn't take notice of Dahlia's naked body; she was pretty hot for a Goth chic. Nor did he miss that Tinkerbelle had forgone her usual silk wraps for a thin V-neck t-shirt and a pair of tight leggings that accented the fact that she had chosen to go commando for the evening.
Tinkerbelle and Dahlia were standing toe-to-toe, shrieking obscenities at each other, and the screaming quickly devolved into a shoving match. Jimmy couldn't believe two sexy women were standing in his kitchen, fighting over him. Sure, there was the love spell factor, but a part of him believed that both women must have harbored some sort of feelings for him. Why else would they be so angry?
Jimmy jumped when his computer started to ring. He looked at the screen; someone was trying to make a Facetime call from a number he didn't recognize.
Jimmy hit the accept button. "Hello?"
Lucy's face appeared on the screen. Jimmy wondered where she'd gotten a phone from.
"Tinkerbelle's not home, Jimmy," Lucy fumed. "Is there any place else I can look?"
It was then that Jimmy noticed the room behind Lucy. She was standing in Tinkerbelle's living room, which meant she must have been using Tinkerbelle's laptop.
"I asked if there's anywhere else I can look?" Lucy asked impatiently.
"Yeah, my apartment."
"Your apartment?"
Jimmy spun the laptop around so that Lucy could see the two women in his kitchen who were yelling, shoving, and slapping at each other.
Jimmy turned the computer back around and explained. "Dahlia was waiting in my bed, and then Tinkerbelle showed up. You forgot to put your magic lock on the hinges."
"I can barely hear you. Step out of the living room," Lucy demanded.
Jimmy did as he was told and stepped into the bathroom. He swung the door partially shut, trying to block the sexy girl fight so I didn't distract him – it kind of worked.
"Jimmy, listen to me. You're in serious danger. People can go completely insane under the influence of love spells. You need to—"
Three sickening crunchy-thuds pulled Jimmy's attention away from screen and what Lucy was saying. The apartment had become eerily quiet. Jimmy pushed the bathroom door open with his toe to reveal a horrific scene in the kitchen. Tinkerbelle was standing over Dahlia, who was lying on the floor, blood pooling beneath her head. It took Jimmy a second to figure out what happened.
"Lucy," Jimmy said, voice trembling. "Tinkerbelle just beat Dahlia unconscious with a Vodka bottle."
"Who are you talking to?" Tinkerbelle demanded, wiping a spot of blood from her cheek.
"I'm on my way," Lucy assured Jimmy. "Hand her the computer and try to stay out of
her reach."
Jimmy held the computer out to Tinkerbelle. "It's for you."
Tinkerbelle frowned, set the Vodka bottle down, and grabbed the laptop. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Lucy's face on the screen. "Who are you?" she snapped.
Jimmy could hear Lucy talking, but the fear coursing through his body was playing havoc with his ability to interrupt what she was saying. Her voice sounded muffled and far away. But he could see Tinkerbelle's face, and he watched as it went from cold indifference to white hot rage.
"You found another witch?" Tinkerbelle said softly to Jimmy. "You think you can replace me? I will never allow that to happen."
Jimmy could hear that Lucy had started shouting, it didn't matter anymore. He needed to escape or Tinkerbelle would hurt him; he was sure of it. He began to inch sideways toward the door. He knew if he could get to the hallway, he had a good chance of making a run for it.
"Who do you think you are?" Tinkerbelle screamed at the laptop. "I dare you to try, little girl!" Tinkerbelle slammed the computer to the ground, jumping up and down on it with both feet.
Jimmy was out of time. He grabbed the Vodka bottle from the counter and, as Tinkerbelle turned to him, he swung it with all the force he could muster. This time, the bottle shattered when it connected with Tinkerbelle's skull. Vodka splashed into Jimmy's face, stinging his eyes and blurring his vision. He dropped the broken bottle, stumbled out the blown-out door, and ran for his life.
CHAPTER 14
I poked at the monster-zombie in front of me. It was still out cold. It was hard to think of the thing as human, not with the wicked talons curving off its fingers. But it was a student: that much I was sure of. Just some poor dude out for a night of fun. The guy had dropped face down when I bonked him, so I carefully turned him over. A closer look revealed dark veins spider-webbing across his face. I gently lifted one of his eyelids – a black demon eye stared back at me.
"I'm not sure this guy is curable," I said to Wyatt through the comm spell. "Tell Cynthia that his eyes and his hands are completely transformed."
Lucy had instructed me to stay with the guy and give a full description to Cynthia.
"Where are you?" I'd asked her.
"Just pulling up to the gypsy witch's house. I need to concentrate, so I'm going to switch off."
"Be safe," I said.
That had been ten minutes ago. In that time, Wyatt had located Cynthia and we were struggling to have a conversation, with Wyatt playing operator.
"Cynthia says that the back-up team is close, maybe thirty minutes away."
"Thirty minutes is a lifetime when dealing with a zombie outbreak," I said. "You watch the Walking Dead, you know what I'm talking about. Every person turned by an imp bite is probably going to start biting other people – it becomes exponential."
"Cynthia says it's not a zombie outbreak." Wyatt didn't sound convinced. "The priority is to close any portals that are open and to do your best to stop new ones from opening."
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," I snapped.
"Right. She agrees with you that until we know what exactly is happening with the turned student's physiology, we have to assume they are curable," said Wyatt.
"What are you talking about? It's a freaking zombie outbreak, dude." I was getting frustrated with this conversation.
Wyatt continued in the calm tone he'd been using. "Yes, debilitating the infected is the best course of action. Just try your best not to kill them."
I whacked my ear in frustration. "Is this damn spell working? Wyatt can you hear me?"
"Affirmative," said Wyatt. "Stop the portals, destroy the imps, but minimize civilian casualties.
"You tell Cynthia the—"
"Dude! You must chill," Wyatt shouted, causing me to wince. "Did you really think I was gonna say any of that crap to Cynthia? Have you lost your mind? She's like the queen of grumpy grandmas!"
Wow, the kid was pissed.
"Okay, okay. But please stop shouting. You're making my brain hurt," I said. "I take it she's gone?"
"Yeah. She and a bunch of other Council members are running around trying to find any historical mention of what you guys got going on up there. But I agree with you. It sounds like a classic zombie plague."
"Thanks for having my back. I'm feeling a wee bit stressed," I said.
"No problemo. I think we need to save the juice on these comm spells. You're starting to sound fuzzy, and Lucy said they could cut out any time."
"Yeah," I agreed.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Hunt imps, I guess. I have no idea how many are running around, but I can hear a ton of sirens and lots of screaming. It's bad."
"Thirty minutes and you guys will have help," Wyatt reminded me.
"Yeah, thanks again for your help."
"Be safe," Wyatt said, and then he was gone.
I pulled the unconscious monster-zombie out of the street and tucked him back behind a small hedge. It was all I could do for him. I really hoped the Council could figure something out, and soon.
I had figured out that the imps showed up in the magic spectrum much clearer than they did when viewed with normal vision. Their nasty little bodies bloomed bright, kind of like a heat signature in the infrared spectrum. It made spotting the things much easier even if they were behind a car or a tree or something. They also had a distinctive smell, like rotten eggs. And if all else failed, I could just follow the screams.
I shifted into beast-form because I didn't want to run around naked with my junk hanging out, and my bear form was too big to hide easily if I needed to avoid being spotted by cops or other first responders. I was leaving a trail of imp bodies behind me as I ran through the streets. It was a good thing that they turned to dust, or anybody or anything would have been able to follow me.
I slowed to jog when I spotted a group of three people up the block from where I had just found and dispatched a cluster of imps. The small group was moving in jerks and stops – very unnatural. When they passed under a streetlamp, my worst fear was confirmed: all three had been turned.
We must destroy the dark ones.
No, that's not the plan. We need to knock them out, that's all.
It is foolishness to leave enemies at our back.
They are victims.
They are lost—
The debate is over. Now, shut up.
The problem was debilitating them without causing any permanent damage. I was built for pure carnage, not for treading softly. Also, I wasn't sure if I was immune to the zombie plague. I did not want to become a rampaging psycho. I already had one of those living inside of me, and he didn't need any company.
A straightforward frontal attack seemed like my best bet.
Strike first.
Strike fast.
I ran full speed toward the monster-zombies. When they spotted me, they howled – not in fear, but in delight. The things stood their ground and waited for me with open, grasping monster claws.
I don't think so.
At the last second, I rolled to the right of the group. I was behind them before they realized where I had gone. I opened my mouth and shrieked. My weaponized beast-form roar dropped the monster-zombies where they stood. Man, that never got old. As the three infected people rolled around on the ground clutching at their ears, I balled up my clawed hand and punched each of them in the head.
I shifted into human form to verify that they were like the first guy. Yep, talons, creepy eyes, and those weird veins on their faces. All three of them were breathing rapidly, their clawed hands twitching.
"I sure hope I'm not causing permanent brain damage," I said, as I pulled each of them up onto the sidewalk.
Another wave of magic energy crashed into me – another portal had opened.
It was quickly followed by a second wave.
"Oh, come on."
I turned in a slow circle, letting my senses stretch out, that way, toward campus.
Huh?
I real
ized for the first time that the portals were following a pattern. They were opening closer and closer to the center of Stanford. The question was why?
I shifted back to beast-form and ran, keeping alert for any more monster-zombies. I located the first portal; it was in one of the student parking lots, slowly churning above a row of cars. And, sure enough, a bunch of imps were dancing around it, like moths to a flame.
That clinched it for me. The imps were most definitely helping keep the portals open . . .
Maybe if I—
An ear-piercing, human-like cry sounded from inside the portal. I had heard that kind of crying-shriek for the first time yesterday, outside the In-N-Out.
It was a troll.
I growled. I could handle a troll.
The troll's battle-cry was quickly answered by a small chorus of battle-cries.
There was more than one troll.
Good.
Good?
It is beyond time for us to begin our cleansing.
I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm fully on board if it includes killing these trolls.
Let me loose, boy.
I didn't have a choice. I'm a surfer kid from Sierra Madre. I'd only been training for a month. I needed any edge I could give myself.
I let loose the rage that I normally kept safely locked away deep inside myself.
And it filled me.
It was a rush.
Another troll shriek blasted through the portal.
I answered back with my own roar. The imps around the portal collapsed in pain. I grunted with pleasure.
The trolls stalked out of the portal one by one, snapping their nasty jaws at the closest imps. I guess there was no loyalty among the Low Creatures.
A total of three trolls stepped through the portal from the void beyond. As they stood before me, I quickly realized that the troll Lucy and I had fought at the In-N-Out must have been the runt of the litter, because these three were easily twice its size. Normally I'd be considering how bad my odds where, but not tonight. Tonight I was Ollphiest, and I would spill the blood of these creatures—
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