by Wendy Wang
One.
Charlie opened her eyes and she was no longer in the circle surrounded by the safety of her aunt and cousins. She stood next to Bethany beneath the cover of a live oak tree. A frayed rope hung from one of the high branches and an old rubber tire leaned against the base of the tree, dry rotting. Sticks and branches stuck out where a bird or maybe a rodent had made a nest. Charlie shivered.
"There," Bethany said, pointing to the two-story farm house in the distance. It may have once been white but had grayed with age and was covered in a layer of thick dust. There was a porch beneath a shed roof held up by four square columns. Two wooden steps led up to the porch and two rocking chairs leaned against the wall next to the front door. An old porch swing creaked in the slight breeze rustling across the property.
"Can he see me?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know," Bethany said. "Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe your coven keeps you from being seen. But he can see me."
Charlie shifted her gaze to the spirit standing next to her and for the first time she saw the collar around Bethany's neck. It looked to be made of iron. Her black wings stretched up and out from her shoulder blades.
"Did he make angels out of all of you?" Charlie asked.
Bethany locked eyes with Charlie. "He didn't make us into angels. He made us into demons. Or at least the beginnings of demons."
"How?"
Bethany's lower lip quivered and she looked back to the house. "He's back. And he has a fresh catch."
Charlie heard an engine coming up the long dirt and gravel driveway. The wheels kicked up dust as it passed the tree, heading around to the back of the building.
“Come on,” Charlie said. She took a deep breath and left the safety of the shadows beneath the tree. She blinked and when she opened her eyes, she and Bethany were standing at the back of the house, watching a young man get out of the truck. He headed to the truck bed. Charlie glanced down at the license plate, and caught only part of the sequence of letters and numbers before he opened the tailgate, blocking the plate.
“I saw part of his license plate,” Charlie said aloud hoping that her cousins could hear her. She read the three letters aloud, repeating them once, so if nothing else, she might remember them when she came out of her trance. Jason could at least run a partial through one of his databases.
Once the tailgate was down, a body-like shape wrapped in a green canvas tarp appeared.
“Oh good goddess,” Charlie breathed. “Has he taken another girl?”
“Yes,” Bethany said. The man lifted the petite form over his shoulder and Charlie heard a cry.
“Please,” the woman’s voice said. “Please let me go.”
Charlie’s heart lurched into her throat. She had to do something. Had to stop him. But how? This vision was nothing more than a shadow of possibilities and Charlie felt like Scrooge being led around by the ghost of Christmas future.
“I need to wake up,” Charlie said.
“Then wake up, Charlie girl,” Bunny said. Charlie turned toward her voice and her grandmother snapped her fingers.
Charlie’s eyes flew open and she jumped to her feet. “He has another girl. I have to call Jason.”
Lisa fumbled her phone from her pocket and quickly dialed Jason’s number. “Hey – Charlie needs to talk to you.” She didn’t give him a chance to argue or question, instead she thrust the phone toward Charlie.
Charlie slipped the black tourmaline into her front pocket and took the phone. “Hey – I think I know how to find him. All I have is a partial plate and a make and model of a truck. Will that be enough?”
“Let’s hope so,” Jason said.
“I think . . . I think he’s taken another girl, Jason,” Charlie said.
“Then we don’t have any time to waste. What’s the plate number?” Jason asked.
"What do you mean you don't want me there?" Charlie asked. She stared at the phone in her hand, listening to Jason’s voice over the speaker. "I don't understand."
"Cameron, Beck and I are gonna go check it out. If we find probable cause, we’ll arrest him. Then you can come in and do your thing. But I don't want you there until it's safe.”
"Jason, it's not safe for you,” she said. "You don't seem to understand what you're dealing with."
"Charlie, I think between the three of us we can take him down if we have to,” he said. "And we will have backup there as well."
"Jason, please, just tell me the address. Let us meet you there."
Charlie could hear his hesitation over the phone. Could picture his face, deliberating. Weighing the options. Would it be more dangerous for her to be there? Maybe. Or maybe not.
"If," Jason sighed. "And it's a big if . . . if I let you come you absolutely have to stay out of our way. The last thing I want is for you to get shot or worse."
"Nobody wants to get shot," Charlie said. "That is not part of the plan."
"All right then, promise me," he said.
"What?" Charlie said.
"You heard me,” he said, not amused. "Promise me that you will stay out of our way."
Charlie pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at the phone. "Fine, Jason. I promise. On one condition. If you and your merry band of brothers get in trouble because, well, you know, it’s a demon, you will back off and allow us to do our work."
Silence. Charlie frowned. "I can hear you breathing. I know you're still there."
"All right, fine. Deal,” Jason said. "Just so you know, the only reason I'm making that deal is because I don't believe he’s possessed by a demon, at least not how you mean."
"We'll see,” she said. "Address please."
Jason rattled off the address and Charlie dug in the center console for a pen and piece of paper. An old grocery receipt and one of Evan’s nubby pencil’s was the best she found. She quickly jotted down the name and address and hung up the phone. She turned to Lisa in the passenger seat. "How's it going?"
Lisa sat with the book of shadows from Jen's box across her lap. Concentration lined her face and she didn't look up.
"I think I found a spell that will work," Lisa said. "I wish there was a way for us to test it first."
"I guess there’s nothing like trial by fire," Charlie said.
Lisa nodded and flipped the page. "We're going to need a few ingredients."
"Well, hopefully Jen will have them. Lord knows, she has everything else in that bag of hers," Charlie said.
"Let's hope so," Lisa said. She reached in her purse and took a blank piece of paper from her leather planner and stuck it inside the book as a bookmark. "Where are we going?"
"A little south of Ravenel," Charlie said. "Can you text Daphne and Jen this address please?" Charlie handed Lisa the receipt and pulled out onto Highway 17.
"Up on the right," Lisa said, pointing to the orange reflector on the side of the road. "That's your turn."
Charlie's heart beat hard in her throat as she braked and flipped on her turn signal. "I sure hope Jason's here already."
"What do you want to do if he's not?" Lisa asked.
"I don't know," Charlie said. She glanced in her rearview mirror to make sure Daphne and Jen were still behind her. Evangeline had to return to the restaurant. But that was okay. The four of them still made a strong team. Charlie had no doubts that she and her cousins could take down this demon.
Charlie’s stomach flip-flopped when they drew closer to the house and she saw the oak tree. It looked exactly like it had in her trance. The frayed rope swung in the breeze and the old rotting tire leaned against the trunk. Charlie's fingers thrummed with anticipation. He was here. She could feel him. Feel the darkness. Feel all the pain and suffering he had caused, emanating from the house. There was no sign of Jason yet. Charlie put the car in park and stared at the front door. She saw a curtain move in an upstairs window.
"He knows we're here," she said.
"What do you want to do about it?" Lisa said.
Charlie looked in her rearview mirror. Daphne h
ad parked her black SUV behind her. "I want to confront him."
"Charlie," Lisa said. "I know that you feel responsible. Especially since we think he's taken somebody else, but we don't even know if Jen has all the ingredients we need to banish him. Maybe we should wait for Jason."
Charlie looked up at the house. She saw one pale hand on the curtains and a silhouette of his head and upper body. She could feel his eyes on them, watching, wondering.
"We don't have time," Charlie said.
"Charlie, you promised Jason,” Lisa said. "I heard you. You break that promise and he may never trust you again."
A scream shattered the still quiet air. The sound of it cut through Charlie's heart. "That's just a chance I'm gonna have to take."
Charlie opened the door and got out of her car. Lisa scrambled after her and Jen and Daphne joined them.
"Did you hear that?" Charlie asked.
"Yes," Jen said. She reached inside her messenger bag and retrieved her wand.
"Hang on," Lisa said. "You sure you want to do that? This place will be crawling with cops soon."
"I know, but they’re not here yet,” Jen said. "I'm not going in there unarmed."
"Jen's right. Get your wands," Charlie said. She opened the back door of her car and dug through her purse for her wand. She removed it from its protective box and held the carved piece of elm tightly in her hand by the leather-wrapped grip. Evangeline had helped her make it. The feel of it against her palm sent an electric current up her arm into her chest. When they met between the two cars, the witches held their wands. Ready to do battle, if need be.
“So what is the plan here exactly?” Daphne asked.
“That’s a good question,” Lisa said. “What is your plan, Charlie? We can’t just charge in without some sort of reason.”
“We’re not the police, Lisa,” Charlie argued. “We are not going to arrest him. And we don’t need probable cause.”
“No, what we need is a little charm,” Jen said.
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.
Jen reached into her messenger bag and pulled out what looked to be an inventory sheet. She stood up and handed the page to Daphne. “Work your magic. Make it look like a list from the Women Voter’s League.”
“Okay,” Daphne said, her voice full of uncertainty. “I can do that but I’m not sure what the point is.”
“We’re just four concerned citizens making sure that our rural residents are registered to vote,” Jen said.
“Okay,” Daphne said, looking down at the page. She brushed her blue-tipped bangs from her forehead. “There’s not an election for months.”
“I know that. But it’s the only thing I could come up with off the top of my head. I don’t have any food with me to use as a charm,” Jen said.
“Can you do it Daphne?” Charlie asked.
“Of course I can,” Daphne said. “I can make anybody see just about anything I want them to.”
“Wonderful,” Lisa said wryly. “Then let’s make him see a list of potential voters that need to be registered.”
“You got it,” Daphne said. “We don’t know his name though, right?”
“Lisa do you still have that receipt I gave you? With the address?” Charlie said. Lisa nodded. She’d tucked it into the front of the book of shadows, which she still had in her hands. She handed Charlie her note.
“Gabriel Curtis,” Charlie said, reading his name.
"You got it," Daphne said. She touched her wand tip to the paper and whispered an incantation. Charlie watched as the letters rearranged themselves to form the document that Jen wanted. When she was done, Daphne handed the paper back to Jen. "One glamorized document, as requested."
"Thanks," Jen said. "Come on Charlie, you're with me."
"Wait, what are we doing?" Lisa asked.
"Why don't you and Daphne go around back," Charlie said. "But stick together."
"Come on Lisa, we've got this,” Daphne said. Lisa rolled her eyes.
"Don't do anything until we've actually made it inside the house,” Jen said.
"I just want to make sure that my objections to all of this are on the record," Lisa said. "We should wait for Jason."
“So noted,” Jen said.
"Jason will forgive me," Charlie said.
"Not if you’re dead," Lisa said.
"Gosh, you're morbid," Jen said.
"Don't worry. If I'm dead I'm not really gonna be worried about his forgiveness,” Charlie said. "Come on Jen."
Jen and Charlie walked to the porch. Charlie focused on the front door, trying to ignore the wave of nausea going through her. The darkness inside the house had a heartbeat. A steady rhythm that pounded inside Charlie's head the closer she moved to the place. Charlie touched her hand to her belly trying to get control of her feelings. She could not let them overwhelm her. Too much was on the line. Jen glanced sideways.
"Charlie, are you all right?" Jen said in a low voice as they climbed the steps.
"I'm fine,” Charlie said. "I'll be fine."
"We don't have to do this," Jen said. "We can wait for Jason." The door opened startling them both.
"Hello. Can I help you?" the man asked. He wasn't very tall, but he had an athletic build that reminded Charlie of Scott. Of course he would be fit. How else could he overpower and lift a 125-pound woman like a sack of potatoes? Charlie’s stomach turned. His wavy brown hair was chin length and he had it tucked behind his ears. Something about his pale blue eyes was haunting. Vacant. That was the word that played on the tip of Charlie's tongue. He had a vacant look about him. No one was home. Which made sense in a way, if he was being inhabited by a demon.
"Hi," Jen said stepping forward. She thrust her hand out. "My name is Jen Holloway and this is Charlie Payne and we’re with the Women Voters’ League.”
“Hello,” he said.
Jen glanced down at the paper in her hands. “You’re Gabriel Curtis, right?”
His feet shifted, and he blinked, long and slow. “Yes.”
“Well, Gabriel, we go from house to house, especially in rural parts of the county, making sure that people who are eligible to vote, can. Are you registered to vote?"
"Excuse me?" He asked as if he had not been listening. He kept staring past Charlie toward Lisa and Daphne.
"I said are you registered to vote?" Jen said. "I know people think the elections are months away and there's plenty of time. But time is one of those things that just always seems to slip away from us."
"I'm not very political." He waved her off. His soft voice bordered on creepy. It gave Charlie the shivers despite the June heat. He pointed toward Lisa and Daphne. “Who are they?”
Jen glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, they’re with us. Women Voters’ League.”
“Hmmm,” he said. “Pretty.”
A scream filtered down from the top floor of the house, spreading like a dark mist. Charlie and Jen stood frozen, staring at him. He seemed unfazed by the blood-curdling sound.
“T.V.’s on upstairs. Didn’t realize the sound was up so loud,” he said casually. His lips tugged up at the corners but there was nothing natural about the smile and it never touched his eyes.
"It didn't sound like the T.V." Charlie said, holding his gaze. The wand in her left hand vibrated and she kept its tip pointed at the ground, trying to make it as inconspicuous as possible. A loud banging noise from the second floor rattled the house.
The man raised his eyes skyward and began to shut the door. "I have to go."
Charlie stuck her foot in the door. "Not yet."
Energy pulsated through Charlie as she raised her arm. A blast of red light exploded from the tip of her wand. The door flew open, splintering the wood and knocking Charlie on her butt. The man jumped back and held his hands up. Jen stepped in and held her wand up while Charlie recovered from the recoil.
"What the hell is this?" He said.
"Where is she?" Charlie asked dusting her backside off.
"What are thos
e?" He said. "They're not guns. What are they?"
"Just hush," Charlie said. She stepped on the porch and waved Lisa and Daphne inside. Within a couple of minutes they joined Charlie and Jen in the depressing little living room. An old brown couch with a ripped arm, set in front of a T.V. Beer cans littered the top of a dusty old coffee table, and the smell of rotting meat permeated the air.
The witches encircled him. His gaze swept over them, sizing them up, as if he were trying to determine whether they were a real threat or not. The sound of weeping and a ragged call for help echoed through the house.
"Jen, why don't you go upstairs and free her," Charlie said. Jen nodded and headed to the staircase. Charlie watched her cousin ascend the steps from the corner of her eye.
"Wait a minute," he protested and took a step forward. "You can't just come in here. It’s trespassing. I should call the cops."
"Why don't you do that?" Charlie pulled her phone from her front pocket. "Here, you can use my phone."
He narrowed his eyes. A smile played on his lips, this time it was more natural. More true to his nature. More evil.
"I know what you are," Charlie said.
"And what am I?" he asked. His face lit up. He was playing with her.
Charlie’s jaw tightened. She didn’t like to be trolled. "You know exactly what you are. A demon."
"Looks like you got your wish." Lisa glanced over her shoulder and watched as Jason's black Charger sped up the gravel driveway followed by two sheriff 's cruisers with their lights on. “The cops are here.”
His gaze shifted to the open door. His eyes widened and he looked around at the witches as if he was trying to determine whether to fight them or run. He grabbed a heavy book from a nearby shelf and pitched it at Charlie then turned and ran down the hall alongside the staircase.
Charlie held her hand up to deflect the book. It fell to the floor. “Dammit. He’s getting away.” Charlie started toward the hall and Lisa grabbed her arm yanking her back. “Let me go, Lisa.”
“No,” Lisa said. “He is a serial killer. Let Jason handle it.”
Charlie jerked her arm out of her cousin’s hand. "You’re wasting time. You saw that look. He's possessed by a demon. I thought you were going to help me."
