In one swift movement, Charlie lifted his arm and swiped his elongated fingernails over her scaly skin, slitting her throat. She gurgled through the blood gushing out of the wound and seconds later, the Sea Hag was dead.
Charlie’s fist pounded into the cave floor next to her head, and he let out a cry that was a blend of both human and wolf. He knew killing her was the right thing to do, but he had not gotten the answers he had desperately wanted.
He angrily kicked her dead body into the water.
One after another, the leeches plopped in after her, seeking out the blood.
“Charlie,” called out Michael.
Charlie gave him a sign that he was okay and just needed a minute to regain his composure. He leaned on the cave wall, resting his forehead against the cool, damp, rock, his breathing still coming out in ragged pants.
Michael turned to Eva. “You okay?”
She just nodded in bewilderment.
“A little more than you bargained for, eh?” Charlie’s human voice asked from a distance. He cast his blue eyes in her direction.
“Something like that,” she replied warily.
“What do you suppose those things were eating?” Michael asked, investigating the walls of the cave more closely.
“Don’t know. Never heard of anything in these caves that any sea creature would find edible,” said Charlie, joining him.
“So those things were once bloodsuckers… leeches?” confirmed Eva.
“Still are. Just much, much bigger than they should be,” Michael said.
“Those aren’t in the lake, are they?” Her mouth twisted downward as she thought about what she was asking.
“I certainly hope not,” said Charlie. Just thinking about it made his stomach turn.
“My guess would be no,” said Michael. “I’m sure there would have been reports of monsters in the lake by now if they were. Which begs the question, where exactly are they hanging out? And just how many of them are there?”
“Better inform the sheriff, just in case,” said Charlie.
“Yeah, good idea,” Michael agreed.
“The sheriff knows about all this crazy stuff too, then?” Eva asked.
“She’s from the Isle, so yes,” Charlie answered, curious as to why Eva would care if the sheriff knew about the supernatural.
Michael ran his hand over the surface of the wall. “What is this stuff?” Rust colored specks spackled the entire cave wall. He scraped bits of the substance into a plastic bag he had stored in his diving suit.
“Whatever this is, I’m guessing it’s what transformed those leeches,” said Charlie.
“They were clearly addicted to it,” Michael added.
“Plus, they can now move on land and in water,” Charlie added. “We’re going to have to keep watch I think, even after warning the sheriff. We can’t have those things showing up on beaches…” Charlie stopped himself. “I meant that I will keep a look out.”
Michael averted his brother’s gaze and did not reply, but did nod just slightly. He knew it was Charlie’s subtle way of accepting that he was leaving the Isle.
“Once we get home I’ll run some tests,” Michael said after collecting what he hoped would be a sufficient amount of the rust-colored leech food. “See if I can figure out what this stuff is.”
After a few minutes, they began the trek back towards their diving gear.
“Do you think this stuff is why our parents were down here?” asked Michael, as quietly as he could, hoping Eva would not overhear.
“No idea. I don’t think we’re going to get the answers we came looking for today. But at least there’s one less Sea Hag to contend with.”
Slowly and carefully, they made their way back out of the cave. Charlie used his underwater breathing spell to swim out of the cave and back to the surface, allowing Eva to use his air tank once again. Once out of the water they headed for the jeep. Michael worked on packing up while Charlie grabbed the first aid kit to clean and dress Eva’s wound properly. He was surprised that the cut did not look as deep as he’d first thought.
“So, do you like being your father’s assistant?” he asked, while opening a tube containing an antibiotic ointment.
“Sure,” she replied.
There was an inflection that made Charlie believe otherwise. “How do you feel about your father’s work after today?”
“Actually, today just made it all quite real. Not that I haven’t always had complete faith in my father. I always believed him.”
“I still remember my first time,” he told her, grinning smugly as he stroked ointment across her calf.
She made a face that begged him to tell her more.
“I was just turning seven. I knew I was a witch, but my parents, they did everything they could to keep us away from the scary stuff. Didn’t want us growing up too fast I guess. One night though I snuck out. Followed my dad into the woods. Let’s just say I got a pretty huge dose of reality and got myself pretty nearly scared out of my wits.”
Eva laughed. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time.”
“No. Not then. But I did know right then that I wanted to be just like my dad. He wasn’t scared at all. Just did his job and headed home like another day’s work was done.”
He finished wrapping a bandage around her leg and put away the first aid kit.
“It’s not quite good as new but a lot better than what it was. You might want to get that looked at by a real doctor though.”
“I can almost guarantee there will be no need. I’m the daughter of a plant expert. My dad will mix up some remedy that’ll have it healed up in no time.”
“You need a ride somewhere?” Michael asked Eva, seeing as she was back on her feet. He was putting the last of their gear back into the jeep.
“Nah. My car is just around the other side of the beach.”
“You sure? Hate to leave you stranded out here, especially wounded,” Charlie said.
“I swear to you, I’m really not the damsel in distress I was made out to be today.”
Charlie smirked. “I’m still not sure I believe you.”
She reached out her hand and stroked his bare chest, as he had not thrown on a new tank top after tearing his into pieces to dress her wound in the cave.
“Sorry about that.”
“Just a shirt,” he answered, grasping her hand and gently pushing it away from him. He had already let the wolf out enough today. Plus, he still had no explanation as to what had happened in the cave, the intoxicating smell that had nearly hypnotized him. And if Eva was responsible for that smell, he could not trust himself around her. Being with a human woman was too dangerous. They were too frail. To breakable.
“I’d be more than happy to replace the shirt for you,” Eva insisted. “I mean, you saved my life, it’s the least I can do.”
Charlie lingered in her gaze for a moment, ignoring her request. Something in her eyes tugged at him, begging his wolfy side to come out and play. Worse, he felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to lunge at Eva, pin her to the ground and sink his teeth into her luminous skin.
He took an uneven breath, bringing himself back into the moment. He said nothing, his fierce blue eyes flashing flustered confusion.
Eva’s mouth twisted in a mysterious smile as she backed away. “Bye, Charlie,” she mouthed.
He said nothing in return. What about this woman made him want to literally, devour her? Was it even her? Or something about the upcoming full moon? Was the wolf getting stronger?
“You know, Michael,” said Eva, as she turned away from Charlie. “My dad and I are here for the duration of summer. If you’d like to meet him, I know he would get quite the kick out of meeting a real witch.”
“Actually, I’d love to meet him,” Michael replied. “I could spend hours talking about his book.” He made a face when he realized his geeky side was making an appearance again.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you around then.” Eva laughed,
waving. She walked back onto the beach and around the corner out of sight. Charlie noticed she didn’t seem to be limping. He hoped that meant her injury wasn’t as severe as he’d first thought.
Michael shot Charlie a knowing smile.
“What?”
“She’s so into you, dude.”
Charlie just looked annoyed.
“Not lying, Bro. And even with this face around,” he twirled his hand around his own face. “She’s totally all about Mr. Wolfy.”
Charlie still said nothing.
“Ah, C’mon. I saw that twinkle in your eye.”
“No twinkle,” Charlie insisted solidly. “Believe me, there was a complete lack of twinkle. There is something about her, though…”
“She’s attractive, only here for the summer, which is your kind of fling, and she knows about the seedy underbelly that is our everyday world. Even better than attractive, if you ask me.”
“That’s the thing, though. Her knowing about magic… us finding her… something about it just seems…”
“Perfect!” Michael shot back. “Don’t be so paranoid all the time. Some people are just that. People.”
Charlie shook his head. “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded. “Still, she’s a human woman. You know that doesn’t work for me. Especially not this close to a full moon, and especially not this full moon,” he found himself admitting.
“What do you mean?” asked Michael.
“Don’t know really. Something is just different this time.”
“Maybe William…”
“He’s already working on it,” interrupted Charlie. He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped when his cell phone buzzed from inside the jeep. He picked it up. There was a message. As he listened, his face turned grave.
Michael didn’t even need to ask. He could feel the concern etching its way through every fiber of Charlie’s being. Michael jumped in and started up the jeep. Charlie hopped in and they sped back toward town as fast as they could.
FOUR
William whisked into the bookstore to find it empty.
“Emily,” he called out calmly. There was no reply. He listened intently.
Screaming. In the basement.
William dashed to the basement entrance where Emily crashed into him, in an attempt to escape.
“Oh, William! I don’t know what it is,” she cried out. “It’s been chasing me. I don’t know where to hide ‘cause it can go through walls!”
“Go upstairs,” he ordered. “I’ll deal with this ghostly fiend.”
Emily raced up the stairs while shouting, “It was at the end of the hall.”
William watched closely, until catching a glimpse of a moving shadow. He concentrated only on the shadow, his eyes narrowing in excitement as he readied to give chase. “I have always wondered if I could outrun a ghost.”
If he’d still had a living heart, it would be racing with anticipation. William took off at full speed, gracefully maneuvering around, below, up or over any obstacle in his path.
The spirit had the advantage, however, of being able to move through objects, as William needed to propel his body around them. The spirit was also faster than William. Nevertheless, he was able to keep up as they darted through hallway after hallway and book stack after book stack.
William, determined to catch this malevolent spirit, did something reserved for necessary moments only. Not missing a step, he reached into a pocket and took out a blood pack filled with human blood; the only thing that could potentially make him fast enough to catch this spirit. With a ferocious snarl, his fangs dropped, tore open the pack and he sucked it dry.
His breath drew deeper as the blood raged through his body, invigorating him with newfound stamina. His speed increased just enough to stride alongside the spirit. At the least, William hoped to see a recognizable face in the ghost’s silhouette.
The spirit had no intention of slowing down, however. Streams of white flew by William as the spirit sprinted past him. William swore he heard laughter emanating from the spirit, almost as if it were toying with him.
He made a final attempt to catch up to the spirit, and when nearly upon it, thrust his body into the spirit’s essence, hoping to catch it off guard enough to give it pause.
The vampire somersaulted through the streams of white, landing on his feet with a soft thud. He looked statuesque, his eyes and ears watching and listening for any clue as to who or what the spirit might be.
His maneuver, however, did not faze the spirit even for a moment.
It simply dissipated, vanishing, giving William no hint of its identity.
“Pity,” the vampire whispered, not even winded.
Perhaps it wasn’t possible though. It is why ghosts sought out spirit vessels after all; they needed a body to speak on their behalf. They could not speak in spirit form.
Regardless, he had not succeeded and proceeded to the main lobby of the bookstore, where he found Emily hiding underneath her desk.
“Did you find it?” she asked in a petrified voice.
“Find it, yes. Capture it, no,” he answered dryly, assisting her out of her hiding place.
“Oh, um… you’ve got a little blood,” she pointed.
William’s eyes opened wide. “Sorry,” he said, earnestly wiping it away. “I didn’t mean for you to see that.”
“Oh, please. You’re a vampire.”
“Still, it is most unseemly.”
Emily made a funny face and grabbed a tissue, dabbing at his chin as he had missed the blood completely.
“Thank you,” he said.
Emily sighed. “What was that thing, William? And what does it want with little ‘ole me?”
William could be nothing but honest.
“I regret there is no easy way to break this sort of news, Emily,” he began. “Melinda and I visited your father and he explained everything. You, Emily, are a spirit vessel, as was your mother before you.”
He paused for a moment, but seeing she wasn’t understanding yet added, “That ring you wear keeps spirits from entering and possessing your body.”
Emily leaned back onto her desk. “I’m a what?”
William continued patiently.
“You have the ability to permit the dead to speak, through the use of your body. Normally, these spirits are friendly and simply want to pass on a message to a living relative so they can move on. However, on occasion, there are malevolent beings that wish not only to use your body to speak, but to possess and control. To use as they wish.”
“Use my body as they wish,” squeaked Emily. “Oh dear. That doesn’t sound fun at all.” She gazed at her ring, the only thing keeping the spirit from taking over her body. “Why didn’t my daddy ever tell me this?”
“I imagine he hoped the spirits would not discover what you are, therefore allowing you to live your life as you see fit, Emily.”
She nodded, obviously still in shock.
Melinda bounded through the front door.
“Emily, thank God! You’re okay.” She took a relieved breath. “Did William explain what’s happening?” She took a glance at him and knew before Emily answered that he had done so.
“Yes, and I don’t really understand it all,” Emily said. “But I’m quite sure I don’t want any dead thing controlling my body.”
“Yeah, I don’t really blame you,” Melinda replied, agreeing with her. Although, she could think of one dead thing she wouldn’t mind controlling her body. Again! Ugh! Enough already! I need to wipe the William dream out of my memory... she tried to focus on William calmly explaining what had occurred just moments before she had arrived.
He cast a fleeting glance in her direction, observing again, the same heart flutter he’d heard earlier that morning. Her skin flushed right after, blood pumping hard to keep up with the flutter. With no outward sign of the angst this caused him, or the ache his fangs endured by denying his need to taste her, he continued seamlessly explaining the encounter with the spirit he’d c
hased and nearly caught.
Melinda breathed out heavily as he finished.
William had downed human blood to help Emily. It hadn’t done much good in the end, but he was willing to go any lengths to make sure her prophetic dream did not come true. Melinda sent him a compassionate shrug, understanding how this would affect him later, when the thirst for human blood would become overwhelming and possibly even dangerous.
Without even realizing she’d done it, she reached up and stroked her throat.
Another flutter, William noted, watching her fingers glide over a pulsing vein. What is this response? He wondered. It’s... new. Different. And much too inviting...
Melinda caught William’s eyes grazing her throat and dropped her hand, clearing her throat. William was high on human blood but she trusted him completely. She did not trust herself however. He’d bitten her last night...not for real, but it had felt real. Shockingly real. Pleasantly real. Okay! Enough! Remember we’re here for Emily! Melinda didn’t recall ever feeling this flustered and worked up. And all over a vampire that was off limits!
“William,” she started in a huff, “I don’t know what to do. Maybe it’s time to call Charlie and Michael. I should at least let them know what’s going on at this point.”
“There’s nothing wrong with admitting you need help, Melinda, and I agree. I think we’ll need both of your brothers before this ends.”
“I’ll make the call,” she told him.
“There are some things I need to fetch from my study,” he abruptly said, whisking away before she could ask more.
Melinda stepped over to Emily. “This is a lot to take in all at once, huh?”
“You could say that,” Emily’s voice wavered slightly. “It’s all so very strange. And I don’t think there are any books about spirit vessels. If there are, I’ve never read them.”
“And you remember everything that you read,” Melinda recalled. “We’ll figure it out, Emily. I’m sure your father can explain it better. He must have information to help you understand this power. But, for today, no matter what, keep that ring on.”
At that moment, a furious whirlwind of white ravaged its way through the bookstore, accelerating toward Melinda and Emily. It thrashed everything it came into contact with, leaving behind a cloud of books, papers and furniture.
Witches of The Demon Isle Box Set, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 Page 7
