by K E O'Connor
Something had grabbed Luna. It was as if it had been waiting for the moment she materialized. But what was it? And why was it so interested in preventing Luna from getting back to us?
I knelt and picked up a couple of the black feathers and tucked them inside my jacket. Maybe they’d help me figure out what had Luna in its clutches.
“Indigo! We need help over here,” Storm yelled. “We’ve got more corpses incoming.”
I raced over, but then slowed as something growled in the darkness.
A huge hulk of a corpse appeared from behind a crypt. Its bony hands were clenched into fists and its teeth were bared as it lumbered toward me.
I backed away. “Nice corpse. You be on your way. I want no trouble from you.”
The corpse kept approaching, and it kept on snarling.
“Back off, unless you want to be a bone pile on the ground.” I sparked warning magic on my fingers, but it didn’t deter it.
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.” I dropped Luna’s things and blasted magic at it.
Although the corpse stumbled back, it kept on coming. Jeez! It was strong, like a skeletal cage fighter.
I grimaced as a hollow ache filled my stomach. I’d already used most of my magic fighting off corpses and Albert, and could feel myself drained. Even my amethyst necklace wasn’t glowing and warm.
I kept backing away. “I’m sure you’ve got a nice, cozy coffin waiting for you. And you deserve a rest. I’m just going to collect my friends and we’ll be on our way.” I lost my balance as I hit a headstone, and the next thing I knew, I was falling.
The corpse attacked, swinging its huge arms at me.
I rolled out of its way as it fell toward me and whacked my head on another gravestone. I was scrambling away on my hands and knees, my head throbbing and my heart pounding, when there was a thud, and bones crunched together.
That sounded like someone just got squished. I rolled over to see Olympus tackling the corpse. He had it in a headlock and they were rolling around on the ground.
I pulled myself to my feet and staggered toward them. “What are you doing here?”
Olympus held down the corpse and blasted it with a spell that shattered its bones. He stood and brushed down his clothes. “I’m watching your back so you don’t get yourself killed.”
“I hadn’t planned on getting killed, but thanks for the save. I don’t know what’s gotten into these corpses. All of a sudden they—” I yelped and staggered back as a huge black blur slammed into Olympus and took him off his feet.
My eyes re-focused, and I stared in disbelief as a huge, drooling black dog pinned Olympus to the ground, its teeth clamped around his neck.
Olympus caught my gaze, and panic flared in his eyes.
“Fire Fang! Get off him.” Storm raced over and attached a sturdy leash to the dog’s collar. “You were supposed to stay home.”
“Does that dog belong to you?” I said.
Storm glanced at me. “No. Well, only temporarily.”
“I didn’t know you had a dog.” Fire Fang still had its teeth firmly around Olympus’ neck.
“It’s a long story. And he’s not a dog, he’s a hellhound.”
“Will you get this thing off me?” Olympus grunted out.
After a brief tussle, Fire Fang let go of Olympus and let Storm drag him away. He was an enormous beast, and must weigh over seventy pounds of pure hellhound muscle.
Olympus gripped his neck and staggered to his feet.
I hurried over to give him a helping hand, but he brushed me away.
“I hope you have a licence for that thing,” he muttered to Storm.
“This thing isn’t mine. And he’s not supposed to be out. I left him at home. He must have followed me.”
Fire Fang’s eyes glowed red, and he growled at Olympus.
“How’s Odessa doing?” I said.
“Not so great. One of the corpses knocked her out,” Storm said. “She’ll be okay.”
I looked around. The corpses were moving away. Although they were still grumbling and angry, they were no longer looking for a fight.
I heaved out a sigh. Albert and his posse had fled, Olympus had been bitten by a hellhound, Odessa was unconscious, and Luna had been spirited away by some unwelcome intruder.
This evening had been full of chaos and failure. And it wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 8
“We need to regroup,” I said. “Figure out this mess and see what our next move should be.”
Fire Fang lunged at Olympus again.
“I’ll have that creature taken to the pound and destroyed if you can’t keep him under control.” Olympus eyed the hellhound warily.
“He’s fine. He just gets high-spirited when he meets new people. Or people he doesn’t like, or people who breathe. Basically anyone,” Storm said. “Don’t make eye contact and he probably won’t bite you.”
“He almost chewed through my throat,” Olympus said.
Storm shrugged. “It’s his way of saying hello. And he only broke the skin. You got lucky. He was reacting to you being so close to Indigo. He knows when someone is trouble.”
Olympus sucked in a breath.
I held up a hand. “Let’s gather everyone up and go back to Olympus’ office. It’s the closest place to here. We need to sort through what just happened. And I don’t want to hang around in the cemetery any longer than needed, in case the corpses are just taking a rest and regrouping.”
Storm and Olympus nodded, although they still glared at each other.
I dodged past a few corpses, who seemed content to amble around the cemetery again and not launch any unprovoked attacks on us. But something had stirred them up. Could that something have been Albert and his gang? And Albert was often around when trouble happened. I needed to look into that when I had a moment to think straight.
I hurried over to Odessa. She was face down in the dirt, her hair splayed out around her. A corpse was sitting on her back.
“You need to find somewhere else to rest that bony behind.” I helped the corpse up, and deposited it a good distance away from us, before returning to Odessa. I rolled her carefully onto her back and brushed dirt off her face. She had a huge red mark on the side of her forehead.
“Hey, how are you doing? Ready to wake up?”
Odessa groaned, and her eyes flickered open. “I always say that being too thin is bad for you. The corpse who got me was clearly starving. He took a bite out of my arm.” She held up her wounded arm.
“Let me deal with that.” Although I was exhausted from pumping out so much magic, I wasn’t leaving Odessa in pain. I placed my hands either side of the bite and evoked a healing spell.
“Did we get Luna?”
“Nope. We were close, but something took her.” I gave Odessa a rundown of the chaos. “And just after Luna was taken, this awful smell appeared.”
“You mean from all the dead bodies racing around?”
“No. This was something else. Apart from the corpses, did you smell anything funky before you passed out?”
Odessa shifted up onto one elbow. “Was it like something dead had been warmed in the sun?”
“Yes! Just like that.”
“I got a whiff of something gross when that corpse was chewing on me. I thought it was him, but it hit me like a wave and then vanished. What was it?”
“If the smell was anything to go by, nothing good.” I looked around. “Maybe it was a side effect of the magic Albert was doing, but it blasted out just after Luna was grabbed. I thought it might have been from the red mist.”
Odessa lifted her nose and took a big sniff. “It’s definitely gone now.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come back.”
It took a good ten minutes for my healing spell to work, but the wound was knitting together, and soon, only a red mark would be left.
I sank back on the ground, my head pounding. I needed a break from doing any more magic or I’d also pass out.
Olympus, Storm, and Fire Fang had joined us, and so had my familiars.
Russell held a bone between his beak and kept squawking and making it whistle.
I eased it gently from his beak and used what little magic I had left to return Hilda to normal size. “Great job, everyone. Those corpses really had it in for us.”
“They’re not the only one.” Olympus glared at the hellhound.
“Who’s this?” Nugget said, walking over and sniffing Fire Fang.
“Be careful,” I said. “He’s not friendly.”
Nugget jumped on Fire Fang’s back. “He doesn’t seem unfriendly to me.”
Fire Fang looked uncertain as he glanced over his shoulder at Nugget, but he didn’t bite him, so I took that as a good sign.
I helped Odessa to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Let’s get out of here, before the corpses take another shot at us.”
My mud-smeared, bloodied group stumbled out of the cemetery and over to Olympus’ office.
“So what’s with Fire Fang?” I said to Storm. “You’ve never been into having pets.”
“He’s not a pet,” Storm said.
“He is. And he’s a wonderful pet,” Odessa said.
“Where did you get him?”
“Oh! Let me tell the story,” Odessa said.
Storm gestured at her. “Go ahead. It’s not exactly exciting.”
“Do you remember, Storm got a job to find a missing hellhound? His owner thought he’d been kidnapped because his puppies fetched a lot of money.”
“I remember,” I said. “Is this the hellhound?”
Storm shook her head. “No, I got him back to his owner.”
Odessa swatted her arm. “I’m telling the story.”
Storm held up a hand and smirked at me.
“There were more dogs that had been stolen,” Odessa said. “I’ve got several at my farm, but we found owners for the rest. Apart from Fire Fang.”
“He was a stray?” I said.
“I guess so,” Storm said. “And he’s a mixed breed. He’s part hellhound and part I’m not sure. He sometimes does weird things like levitate.”
“We couldn’t abandon him,” Odessa said. “And if we’d given him to the supernatural pound, they’d have put him to sleep.” She glared at Olympus.
He nodded. “It’s what happens to all dangerous animals. And the ones without owners go first. The place is overrun at the moment.”
“Exactly. The poor little guy wouldn’t have stood a chance if we’d handed him over. So Storm adopted him.”
“No. He’s not adopted. He’s on a very short term foster with me until I figure out a permanent solution for him.”
Fire Fang looked up at Storm and licked her hand.
I smiled. “He looks pretty settled to me. You should rethink not keeping him. You’ve never settled on a familiar. Maybe Fire Fang could fill that gap. And the company would do you good.”
“I like my own company well enough. And I’ve got no room in my life for a slobbering great hellhound who floats and steals from my cookie stash.”
“I like him. Especially since he doesn’t mind me riding on his back,” Nugget said.
“Then you adopt him,” Storm said.
Nugget looked up at me, a hopeful glint in his eyes.
I shook my head. “You don’t want me to share custody of Monty, which means we don’t have room for Fire Fang.”
“Monty is different,” Nugget grumbled. “He’s so full of himself with all that glossy fur and big fangs. He’s such a show off.”
“Just like his owner,” Storm said.
The comment earned her another glare from Olympus, but he didn’t say anything.
We arrived at Olympus’ office, and he let us in. Everyone collapsed on the chairs or lounged against the desk, all too exhausted to move or speak.
I dragged myself into the back room, switched on the kettle, and hunted around for food. I needed feeding up and rest after that magical battle.
Olympus joined me, silently putting out mugs for everyone.
“Are you sure that hellhound bite is okay?” I said.
“I’ll live. I’m not sure that thing should though.”
“It was an accident. Maybe Fire Fang just needs better training. And he’s the perfect attack hellhound. Give him the right guidance, and he’d be unstoppable.”
“That’s my concern.”
I made strong coffee for everyone, despite the late hour. We all needed a jolt of energy. “Have you got any cookies?”
Olympus hunted around, and found a couple of packs of cookies, and we headed back to join the others.
Monty and Fire Fang were eyeing each other with great interest. Nugget was still perched on Fire Fang’s back with a smug look on his fuzzy face.
“If he gives you trouble, you have my permission to bite him,” Nugget said to Fire Fang.
“No one is biting anyone,” Olympus said.
Monty wagged his tail. “I love having all these new friends here. Even the spider doesn’t seem so scary now we’ve been properly introduced.” He licked Hilda.
She tumbled over and rolled away, leaving a trail of leopard spit behind her.
I scooped her up, dried her on my jacket, and settled her on my shoulder. Monty could be clumsy, and I didn’t want Hilda getting stepped on.
No one spoke for several minutes as we gorged on cookies and drank coffee.
“We got one thing right tonight,” Odessa said. “Albert failed. He didn’t get Luna’s magic.”
“But something took Luna’s energy. I’d almost reached her when she was whisked away,” I said.
“Tell me what you saw,” Olympus said.
“It was a red mist. And it’s not the first time I’ve seen that mist in Witch Haven. When we were attacked and put on the pyre, the mist was floating through the crowd. It felt stronger tonight, and it was aimed straight at Luna. The mist enveloped her, and then they vanished, leaving behind a load of feathers and a foul smell.” I reached into my jacket and pulled out the feathers I’d picked up.
Russell squawked. He flew at the feathers and yanked them from my fingers.
“What’s wrong with you?” I said.
Russell dropped the feathers, then blasted magic at them. They exploded in front of us.
Hilda tapped my cheek. “He thinks there was something bad about them.”
Russell continued to caw and flap around.
“He said they’re not safe to be around. They were full of darkness,” Hilda said.
“I guess that’s no surprise, given where they came from,” I said. “They’re not connected to Albert. Although... has anyone else noticed he’s always around or involved when bad things happen?”
Odessa chuckled. “You can’t think sweet Albert Black is at the heart of this village’s problems? He’s a cuddly, harmless old baker.”
“Is he? Could that be a disguise? Albert was the first to discover Luna gone from the hospital. He drugged us and almost got us burned, and now he’s trying to get his hands on Luna’s power.”
Storm shook her head. “I’m with Odessa. Albert is being used. He’s not masterminding these troubles. He’s not smart enough, or powerful enough. His power lies in creating the perfect cream puff, not apocalypse zombies and rancid mist.”
I didn’t disagree. Albert was so... ordinary. “What if he tries to take Luna’s power again?”
“Maybe the chaos in the cemetery has put him off,” Odessa said. “With the weird magic whizzing around, the corpses running about, and then you attacking him, he won’t be keen to go back there again.”
“You attacked Albert?” Olympus glared at me.
“I know. I should have kept hidden,” I said. “I almost blew my cover.”
Olympus gave me a pointed look, but didn’t say anything.
“I still can’t figure out why the corpses turned evil?” Odessa said. “One minute, they were happy to do a bit of moaning and groaning, and then it’s
as if someone flicked a switch. They started grabbing us.” She rubbed the spot on her arm where she’d been bitten.
“Something triggered them,” I said. “Again, I’m going to come back to Albert. Did he set them off?”
“It’s not Albert. Maybe they activated when a certain spell went off nearby,” Storm said.
“Or they felt threatened by something,” Olympus said.
Everyone was quiet as we mulled over the corpse problem.
“Did you get close enough to Luna to speak to her?” Odessa said.
“I didn’t, but she looked confused to me. That’s no surprise, given what Albert was doing.”
“So we’re back to square one,” Storm said.
“Not quite. Albert didn’t get what he wanted,” Odessa said. “And no one died. I call that a bonus.”
If it was a bonus we survived the night, then we were all in trouble.
I looked at my familiars. Fire Fang and Monty were snuggled up together. Nugget was lounging on Fire Fang’s back, and even Russell was getting involved, and snuggling down on top of the furry heap.
I yawned and rubbed my eyes. I needed rest, too.
Olympus nudged me. “How about we call it a night? No one’s in any shape to do much more tonight.”
I wanted to figure out our next move when it came to Luna, but my head was aching and my eyes were blurry. “How about we meet here tomorrow morning? We could all do with a recharge. We get sleep and then figure out this mess.”
“That sounds good to me,” Storm said. “I’ll walk you back to the farm, Odessa.”
“No, you’re good. I’ll summon my boys. They can escort me home.” She leaned out the door and let out a piercing wolf whistle.
Storm extracted Fire Fang from the pile of slumbering familiars, and we said our goodbyes before they headed out.
I turned to Olympus. “Since the cat is pretty much out of the bag about who I really am, I may as well go back to Magda’s house. There’s no reason for me to stay here.”
His forehead wrinkled, then he nodded. “Of course. If you don’t want to stay.”
“No, it’s not that. I just don’t want to get in your way. This is a small place, and I’ve already overstayed my welcome.”
“Here they are,” Odessa said brightly. “My handsome escorts to take me safely home. I think I’ll get them to carry me. My legs won’t hold out for much longer, I’m so shattered.”
