Playing With Fury

by Annabel Chase

  I entered the kitchen and followed the sound of their muted voices to the formal living room at the front of the house.

  My father and Sally sat side-by-side at the piano where the vampire was showing him which keys to play next. I sucked in a breath for the inevitable tirade. My father hated to be told what to do under any circumstances. I was still scarred from the time my mother tried to teach him how to make apple pie. It ended in a screaming match and sliced apples all over the floor. He also tried to teach my mother to drive stick shift, which resulted in the need for a new car. Although I wasn’t present for that fiasco, I’d heard the story enough times to make me feel as though I’d been right there in the backseat.

  “Separate your fingers a little more,” Sally encouraged.

  To my amazement, my father did exactly as Sally instructed without a word of protest. After a few keys, I recognized the notes of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star which was Ryan’s favorite song.

  “Try it a little faster now,” Sally urged.

  My father hit a wrong key and moaned. I braced myself for an angry outburst.

  “It’s okay, Stanley,” Sally said in a soothing tone. “Practice makes perfect.”

  “Ryan will know if it’s the wrong note,” my father said. “He’s like his grandmother. That kid notices everything.”

  Sally touched his arm. “He’s a little boy. He’ll be thrilled that you wanted to learn his favorite song so you could play it for him.”

  I couldn’t believe this. My father actually tried again. He and Sally had such a different dynamic from my parents. I already knew this, of course, but seeing it in action like this…It just reinforced what I already knew—that my father and Sally were far better suited for each other than my parents ever were.

  I didn’t want them to know I’d been spying, so I retraced my steps to the back door and knocked from outside.

  My father’s furrowed brow appeared in the window and he opened the door. “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me, Dad,” I said.

  He stuck his head outside for a closer look and I jumped back to avoid a collision. “Where are you?”

  “I’m invisible,” I said.

  “You might’ve led with that,” my father said. “Why are you invisible? Are you hiding from your mother? Trust me, you’ll have to do a lot more than turn invisible to hide from her. That witch has a sixth sense. She can sniff out prey better than a werewolf.”

  It was the closest my father came to a compliment.

  “I’m having an issue and it has nothing to do with Mom. I need to talk to Sally. Can I come in?”

  “For all I know, you’re already in.” He backed away from the door to let me pass.

  “Thanks.” I entered the kitchen and moved to stand next to the counter so that no one bumped into me.

  “Sally,” he bellowed. “My invisible daughter is here.”

  The vampire rounded the corner into the kitchen and stopped in her tracks. “Did you say invisible?”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” I said. I wondered whether he’d admit to learning children’s songs on the piano.

  “We weren’t doing anything important,” my father said.

  “No? I thought I heard music when I was outside.”

  Sally and my father exchanged glances.

  “Must’ve been the TV,” my father said.

  Right. “Sally, I have a random question. Can you tell me anything about digger demons?”

  “Digger demons?” Her fingers brushed across her black pearl necklace. “I don’t think so. Why? Should I know something?”

  “They’ve come here from Otherworld and I want to make sure they’re not a threat.”

  Sally glanced at my father. “Have you heard of them?”

  My father shook his head. “They don’t sound like they’d be a problem with a name like that. A digger demon sounds like a kid’s toy.”

  “The one I met didn’t seem intimidating, but they’re social demons and tend to live and work in a group.”

  Sally opened the refrigerator and pulled out a glass pitcher of iced tea. “You met one here?”

  “Yes, working at a construction site as part of a crew.”

  “Iced tea, Eden?” Sally asked.

  “No, thanks. I need to get to the office and speak to Neville. I only wanted to drop by and ask about the digger demon.”

  Sally placed two glasses on the counter, but my father covered one with his hand. “No iced tea unless I can add sugar.”

  “This isn’t a negotiation, Stanley,” Sally said. “You can have it with lemon or nothing at all. Verity’s orders.”

  “What does she know?” my father grumbled.

  “She’s a druid and a medical doctor,” Sally said pointedly. “I’d say rather a lot.”

  “I’m tired of everyone messing with my diet. I had a good system going and you’re all trying to ruin it.”

  Sally poured iced tea into the first glass. “Your so-called good system is wreaking havoc with your internal organs. Is that what you want?”

  Reluctantly, my father removed his hand from the glass and let Sally pour the iced tea into the second glass.

  Sally leaned against the counter and took a sip. “So why are you invisible, Eden? Is this a work exercise?”

  “Yes.” The lie slipped out before I could stop it. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to lie to them. Probably ego. I wanted my father and Sally to be proud of me. A glitch I couldn’t control didn’t cast me in a positive light.

  “I guess this is the real reason you canceled your party,” my father said. He cut a glance at Sally. “I told you she wasn’t sick. Eden never gets sick.”

  “I couldn’t exactly tell the humans that I’m unexpectedly invisible today,” I said.

  “Still, the FBM should warn you when they want you to partake in these exercises,” Sally said. “You have a life to live. You can’t be beholden to them all day every day.”

  My father shrugged. “I thought you were just trying to annoy your mother. I know the housewarming was her idea.”

  “I know it might be hard to believe, but not everything I do is designed to annoy Mom,” I said.

  “Then you’re missing out,” my father said. “The woman overreacts to every little thing.”

  “I’ll let you know when I’ve rescheduled the party,” I said.

  “Let me know if you need any sugar-free desserts,” Sally said. “I can whip up a tray of cupcakes at a moment’s notice.”

  “No,” my father bellowed. “It’s a party. I get a free pass in social situations.”

  Sally patted his shoulder, not remotely bothered by his outburst. “You’re right, darling.” Silently, she shook her head at me. “Here’s your iced tea. Would you like a lemon wedge?”

  “Do I look like Thora to you?” My father snatched the glass from the counter. “I don’t like this.”

  “You haven’t even tasted it yet,” Sally said.

  He motioned with the glass in my direction. “No, this. Eden. How can I correct her posture if I can’t see her?”

  “My back is ramrod straight,” I assured him. “I look like someone strapped a broomstick to my back.”

  My father took a thoughtful sip of iced tea. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”

  And that was my cue to leave.

  “I’ll see you later,” I said.

  “And hopefully we’ll see you later, Eden, darling,” Sally said.

  I left the house and immediately spread my wings. It was strange how quickly I’d adapted to being invisible and flying around town the way the gods intended. I only hoped I wasn’t doing any permanent damage. I tended to use my abilities sparingly to avoid adding more to my supernatural plate.

  Chipping Cheddar was wide awake by now. I observed the hustle and bustle of downtown and residents enjoying a stroll along the promenade. It was a picturesque scene from above and a wave of appreciation for the quaint little town washed over me. I wondered whether Alice experienced
the same sensation when she lurked among the living.

  In Pimento Plaza, I saluted the statue of one of the town’s founding pilgrims, Arthur Davenport, and continued to the seedier side of town where the FBM office was sandwiched between a donut shop and a tattoo parlor.

  The door was ajar, so I nudged it open further and peered inside. Neville was scanning the daily report from Otherworld and seemed oblivious to the movement of the door. Some security system we had here.

  “Neville,” I said.

  He lowered the ream of paper and squinted at the door. “Agent Fury?”

  “It’s me.” I sauntered over to my desk and dropped into the chair.

  “May I ask why you’re invisible?”

  “You may ask, but I won’t have an answer.”

  He rolled his chair closer to me. “Did you do this to yourself to get out of hosting your housewarming party?”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

  “Because everyone knows you invited us against your will,” Neville said.

  “Right now, my priority is the fact that I’m invisible against my will.” I rolled my chair a few inches away from the wizard. “Personal space, Neville.”

  “Oh, sorry. I can’t see you.”

  “No, but you can see the chair I’m sitting in.”

  “Yes, of course. Apologies.” Neville scooted back toward his desk. “Before I forget, someone dropped off an envelope for you earlier.”

  I glanced at my desk to see a thick manila envelope with my name written in black marker and ‘Otto Munsen Properties’ stamped in the top left corner. Nice. The wizard was true to his word.

  “Did you open it?” I asked.

  Neville straightened. “Should I have?”

  “No, I was just wondering if you were as nosy as my mother.” Beatrice Fury wouldn’t have bothered to steam it open so she could reseal it afterward. She would’ve simply torn it open unapologetically and then complained when the contents weren’t as scintillating as she hoped.

  I ripped open the envelope and dumped the paperwork onto my desk. As promised, there was a letter from the Division of Supernatural Labor, a special branch of FBM headquarters, permitting Otto to employ a team of digger demons for the purpose of expediting the construction of his motels nationwide. According to the document, the official name for a digger demon was fodiens daemon.

  “Ever hear of a fodiens daemon or digger demon?” I asked.

  Neville drummed his chubby fingers on his desk. “Vaguely. I think it’s on the app.”

  “It is, but there’s not much in the way of details.”

  “As your able assistant, I would be more than happy to research the species.”

  “Can we talk about me first?” The question reverberated in my head. “Wow. I did not mean to channel my mother just then.”

  “No worries. You’re obviously dealing with an issue.”

  “I’m not dealing with it. That’s the problem. I woke up like this and I have no idea why. Grandma thinks it’s a glitch.”

  Neville chuckled. “You’re not a game, Agent Fury.”

  “That’s what I said!”

  He maneuvered his chair in front of his computer. “Fury. Inadvertent invisibility,” he said, as he typed the words into the search bar.

  “What does it say?” I asked.

  He spared my chair a glance. “Computers may be fast, Agent Fury, but you still need to give the data a chance to compile.” He scrunched his nose as he read the results.

  “You’re making that bunny face. That means bad news.”

  He scrunched his nose even more. “Bad news?”

  “Bunny equals bad,” I said. “I’ve watched you react to enough negativity to recognize bad news.”

  “No bad news. I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”

  I reviewed the rest of the paperwork from Otto. Everything seemed to be in order, although there was nothing about the digger demon’s Otherworld history.

  “There’s nothing noteworthy in a general search,” Neville said. “Only a brief descriptive summary. Let me try different search terms.”

  I wheeled over to his desk. “Anything yet?” I paused for a split second. “How about now?”

  “Are you sure it’s only invisibility you’re suffering from?” the wizard asked. “No signs of…regression, perhaps?”

  I puffed out my chest. “I’m the same fury on the inside. Only the outside’s been affected.”

  “How many cups of coffee have you had today?”

  “Not enough.”

  His computer bleeped and his gaze shifted to the corner of his screen. “I’m afraid research will have to wait. There seems to be an incident that requires your attention.”

  “What kind of incident?” I craned my neck to read the incoming alert.

  “Vampires have been spotted congregating at a construction site on Asiago Street.”

  According to the paperwork, that was the location of Otto’s second motel.

  “A nest?” I asked. That would be highly unusual in Chipping Cheddar. Most local vampires had homes of their own and respectable jobs.

  “Three vampires were seen entering the vacant building carrying a heavy load of some kind. There’s concern it could be a human victim.”

  “Maybe they were making a delivery,” I said. “If Otto uses demons, it makes sense that he also has vampires on the payroll.” I tried to read over his shoulder. “Who’s the source?”

  “Anonymous,” Neville said. “They used the tip hotline.”

  I rolled back to my desk. “Okay, fine. I’ll check it out.”

  “Shall I accompany you?”

  “It’s nothing I can’t handle, especially when I have the upper hand.” I could peek inside the building, confirm the presence of non-threatening vampires, and be on my merry invisible way without insulting anyone.

  “If I didn’t know any better, Agent Fury, I’d say you’re actually enjoying your current state.”

  “It was weird at first, but there are worse things in the world than hiding in plain sight.”

  “Would you like me to continue research on your invisibility or the digger demons?”

  I stood and stretched, feeling more relaxed than I had in ages. “You know what? Let’s leave it for now. That monthly budget isn’t going to reconcile itself, is it?”

  Neville shook his head. “Certainly not.”

  “How much more do you have to do on it?”

  “There are a few discrepancies I need to track down, but I see it as a puzzle. I simply need to find the correct pieces and connect them.”

  “I usually see my job as a funhouse mirror.”

  Neville stared vacantly at my desk. “That explains a lot, Agent Fury.”

  Chapter Seven

  The shell of the motel was in place, as well as a blinking neon sign promoting the Welcome Mat Motel. Cute name. From the number of cars outside, it seemed like the place was already open for business—except for the absence of glass in the windows. Pop music blasted from inside and I recognized Take On Me by a-ha.

  I opened the door to what would eventually be the main entrance and surveyed the interior. It was starting to take shape—much further along than the site where I encountered the digger demon.

  I wandered past the metal beams, following the sound of the music until I reached the alleged nest. The room was littered with kegs. A group of vampires huddled around one of the barrels, holding their friend upside down while red liquid traveled along a tube from the spout to his mouth. Each keg was marked with a label—A, B, O, AB. Not a nest.

  A party.

  “Well, well. What do we have here?” I asked in a casual tone.

  No one heard me. They were too busy chanting ‘chug, chug’ in support of their friend.

  I cleared my throat and tried again. “I repeat—what do we have here?”

  The vampires stopped chanting and looked around.

  “Who’s there?” a redheaded vampire demanded. He wo
re a denim shirt buttoned all the way up to the collar and a pair of dark sunglasses. Inside.

  “I heard this is where the action is,” I said.

  Their upside-down friend returned to his feet and belched. Charming.

  “Are you a ghost?” another vampire asked. His floppy blond hair dipped over one eye and I fought the urge to hand him a comb.

  “Where’s a ghost?” another vampire asked. “Dude, you didn’t tell us this place was haunted.”

  “How can it be haunted? It hasn’t even been built yet,” a third vampire remarked.

  “Have you never heard of the movie Poltergeist?” the floppy blonde asked. “They moved the tombstones, but they didn’t move the bodies.”

  “You’re a vampire, Blaine,” the redhead scoffed. “Get it together. We’re no more afraid of ghosts than we are of crosses or garlic.”

  Blaine rubbed his arm in a nervous gesture. “I’m a little afraid of crosses.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Can we focus?”

  The redheaded vampire scanned the empty air between us. “I would, but I don’t know where to look.”

  I grabbed one of the kegs and held it in front of me. “Pretend this is me.”

  “Who is me?” Blaine asked.

  “Agent Eden Fury with the Federal Bureau of Magic,” I said. “You’re trespassing on private property and I suspect you’re also in possession of illegal substances.” I shook the keg. “Where did you get all this blood?”

  “How are you lifting that?” the redhead asked. “It weighs like a million pounds.”

  I suspect someone had trouble passing the segment on weights and measures in school.

  “I’m very strong,” I said. “Do as I say and no one gets hurt.”

  The vampires exchanged looks.

  “Isn’t that what the bad guys are supposed to say?” the floppy blonde asked.

  I exhaled loudly. “Where did you get the blood? There’s enough here to service the whole hospital.”

  “We intercepted a shipment,” the redhead said. A proud grin accentuated his fangs.

  “We didn’t plan it,” Blaine said. “We saw an opportunity and seized the moment.”

  “And this motel was sitting empty, so we decided to put it to use,” the floppy blonde added. “Out front it says ‘Welcome Mat,’ so we took it as a literal sign.”