Demon Street Blues

by Starla Silver

  Michael averted his brother’s gaze and did not reply, but did nod just slightly. This was Charlie’s subtle way of accepting that he was leaving the Isle. Michael was really going to leave the Isle… “Once we get home I’ll run some tests,” he 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 into the water and out of the cave. Charlie used his underwater breathing spell to swim back to the surface, allowing Eva to use his air tank. 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 leg wound, properly. He was surprised that the cut did not look as bad as he’d first thought.

  He nervously grasped her leg, letting out a relieved breath when nothing out of the ordinary happened. He’d thought about asking Michael to fix her up, but he’d wanted to see for himself that it was all nothing. Just some freak thing that would never happen again.

  “So, do you like being your father’s assistant?” he asked, making small talk while opening a tube containing an antibiotic ointment.

  “Sure…”

  There was an inflection that made Charlie believe otherwise. “What do you think 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.”

  Charlie smirked. “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. I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time.”

  “No. It wasn’t. But I did decide that night 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, daringly, and stroked his bare chest, as he had not put 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 wanted to make it clear nothing would ever happen between them.

  Charlie 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 into doing potentially fatal acts of violence.

  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. They could not protect themselves from him. One bite would change their lives forever if he didn’t accidentally kill them first.

  And for a reason he did not understand, this particular woman was in a lot more danger, as she appealed to his wolf. Something he had never experienced or dealt with before.

  “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 the wolf 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, shaking 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. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

  No. of course not. She was just a girl flirting with him. She had no idea she was flirting with her own destruction.

  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?

  That thought terrified him.

  “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, he’d 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 narrowed his eyes, annoyed.

  “Not lying, Bro. And even with this face around,” he twirled his hand around his own face. “Apparently she likes the doggy paddle.”

  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 fucking twinkle. There is something about her…”

  “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 freakin’ 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?”

  “Not sure exactly. Something is just different this time.”

  “Perhaps William can…”

  “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 dread 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 possible.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  William whis
ked 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. It can go through walls!”

  “Go upstairs,” he ordered. “I’ll deal with this ghostly fiend.”

  Emily raced up the stairs shouting, “It was at the end of the hall.”

  William honed in on the length of the hallway until catching the shimmer of a floating shadow. His eyes narrowed 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 thudding against his chest in 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.

  “Confound it all!” he bellowed, unable to get ahead of it.

  Determined to catch this malevolent spirit, he 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. Drinking the human blood was worth making sure Emily was safe, and Melinda’s dream did not come true.

  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 patter. He remained 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 to discover the spirit’s purpose in this manner. Even if he could keep up with it, there was no way to catch it and force it to reveal what it wanted. It is why ghosts sought out spirit vessels after all; they needed a body to speak on their behalf. They could not speak to the living in spirit form.

  Regardless, he had not succeeded, and proceeded to the main lobby of the bookstore, where he found Emily cowering underneath her desk.

  “Did you find it?”

  “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 apologized 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 me?”

  He wanted to soften the blow, but time wasn’t on their side. Honesty would be necessary. “I regret there is no easy way to break this sort of news, Emily. Melinda and I visited your father, and he explained everything. You are a spirit vessel as was your mother before you.” He paused for a moment, but seeing she wasn’t understanding yet explained, “That ring you wear keeps spirits from possessing your body.”

  Emily leaned back onto her desk. “I’m a what? And spirits want to do 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 father 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. 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, her eyes slid to William… she could think of one dead thing she wouldn’t mind controlling her body. Ugh! Seriously! Enough already! I need to wipe the William dreams out of my memory... she tried to focus on his voice as he calmly explained what had occurred just moments before she’d arrived.

  He cast a fleeting glance in her direction, observing again, that same heart flutter he’d heard earlier that morning. Her skin flushed right after, blood pumping hard to keep up with the flutter. Damn that human blood he’d just drank! His fangs ached like hell to drop. To taste her… an accusatory snarl hissed through his brain. It had nothing to do with the blood he’d just drank, and everything to do with that flutter.

  It enticed him. Invited him to take what he wanted.

  He needed to get to the bottom of that flutter and get her to stop doing it before he lost control.

  With no outward sign of the angst swirling in his mind, he continued seamlessly explaining the encounter with the spirit he’d chased 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 the 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 he’d lock himself away until the craving subsided.

  His emerald green eyes darkened, just a little. He cast a fleeting glance at her neck.

  Without even realizing she’d done it, Melinda reached up and stroked her throat.

  Another flutter, William noted, watching her fingers glide over a pulsing vein. What is this response? It was driving him mad. He needed to understand it.

  Melinda dropped her hand, swallowing a shallow exhale. William was high on human blood, but she trusted him completely. She did not trust herself, however. Oh my God. Just Stop! Stop! Stop! I’m here to help Emily!

  Melinda didn’t recall ever feeling this flustered and worked up. And all over a vampire that was off limits! And in the middle of a crisis!

  “William,” she let out in a huff. “I don’t know what to do. 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 whisked out of sight before she could ask more.

  Melinda blew out a breath, equally relieved and anxious that William was gone. She 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 you read,” Melinda recalled. “We will 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.

  Melinda grabbed Emily, and they slid across the top of the checkout counter ducking down underneath it. Melinda dug into her pocket for her cell phone, dialing Charlie.

  Voicemail. Damn!

  “Charlie! Michael! Bookstore!” she shouted urgently. Before she could hang up, she dropped the phone, she and Emily screaming as a light fixture came crashing down, smashing over them. Glass shattered and flew in all directions.

  The front door swung open and William flew in, screeching to a halt just inside. “I see I’m right on time.”

  Melinda, seeing William, jumped out from behind the counter. She accidentally stepped on and crushed her phone. She did not notice it though as William tossed a small velvet bag into her hands.

  She caught it, and glanced inside.

  Her face lit up. “You think?”

  “It worked on a demon…”

  “What would I do without you, William?” Melinda stepped out from behind the counter, into the store that was now a fury of streaming papers and debris. She emptied the contents of the bag into her palm. Three smooth stones, each with a symbol carved into the top.