A Patch of Darkness

by Yolanda Sfetsos

“You’re lying, you’d never be faithful.”

  He stepped over Oren. “For you I would.”

  His answer sounded so sincere, but not because he cared about me and was telling the truth. The only reason Mace would consider sacrificing physical involvement with the other girls was because he knew about the benefits of my power. He had to know sexual contact between us would affect him. But the stupid kid who let him in the first time didn’t live inside me anymore.

  What had he gained from me during our brief affair?

  “Really?” I played along. “You’d promise to be faithful to only me?”

  Mace nodded and moved closer. He stood close enough to kiss, which I assumed was going to be his next enticing move. And I was ready. This was going to help me get around him. As he closed his eyes in anticipation and lowered his face to mine, I let him get so close a small grin twisted the edges of his mouth. Just as he relaxed, I raised my knee and smashed it as hard as I could against his groin.

  Mace groaned and doubled over. He cupped himself between his legs as I regained my balance and darted around him, almost tripping on the webbed grass.

  I raced towards the headstone, jumping over Oren and Jackie until I was on my knees and in front of the marble block.

  My fingers were already wrapped around the silver dagger Oren had handed me just before we’d left his 4WD. I slid it out from the waistband of my cargo pants and held it up to my hand. When I sliced across my left index finger, it stung like hell. Warm drops slid from the cut as I squeezed it, dripping like a waterfall of blood I hoped wouldn’t make me pass out.

  Mace growled something behind me.

  I dropped the knife and waved my hand over the ley line leak. The rush of air spurted out in a hurry and a surge of cold slammed against my chest.

  “All it takes to seal the leak is your blood, Sierra,” Oren had said as we’d walked towards the gravesite.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Trust me. Your blood will seal it before anything else gets a chance to slip through.”

  “But why?” I’d asked him. “Why my blood?”

  “I’m pretty sure that your blood would’ve been enough to seal this rift anyway, but since you crossed paths with the one responsible for all of this, you can seal his mistake.”

  His answer disturbed me so much that I hadn’t bothered to ask any more questions—even if I had no idea how he knew about what Roger did to me—because I was afraid of the answers.

  The cold pressing against my fingers intensified, rousing me back to the situation. Was something trying to break through right now? Had Oren been wrong?

  Mace was chanting in another language.

  I crawled away from the cold pressure now spilling from the ley line. Something squeezed through the invisible tear and collected into a translucent bubble I recognized from the past. Gorge was one of the hardest captures I’d ever encountered. His very aura was corrupt, enabling him the strength to overpower even catchers. The force with which he shot out sent his ectoplasmic body into the night sky. He didn’t have any human features, simply glowed like a jellyfish.

  This spook—like the shadows—was one of the few that didn’t stem from a human spirit. He belonged in the ghostly patch, not here. Gorge was an addition to this reunion I hadn’t counted on.

  I watched him twinkle like a meteor, disappearing from sight within seconds. I couldn’t believe Mace’s backup plan consisted of releasing a powerful ectoplasm. They didn’t compromise for anyone. Gorge was a new problem that would have to wait for another day.

  “No!” Mace yelled. “Get back here.” He raised his fists to the sky before turning to look at me with wide, crazed eyes.

  On my knees, I was at a disadvantage, but I refused to back down. “What did you do?” I whispered.

  Mace took only one step before a blur of movement smashed into him. He landed on his face, several gravesites across.

  The blur positioned itself on top of Mace. Now that he was still, I recognized the familiar light-colored wolf.

  Turning back to the ley line, I angled my index finger close enough for the blood to drip directly into it. When I started to feel woozy, I waved a hand over the leaking area several times to confirm it was closed.

  No more hissing or rush of air.

  When I pressed my palm against the sacred ground of the ley line, I felt the strength of a thousand spirits push against me. Would they have all eventually filtered through? The thought made my heart race.

  “You did it.”

  I looked over my shoulder and the world slanted for a second. Oren was still sprawled out on the ground, but he’d lifted his head enough to witness what I’d done.

  The sound of another fired shot, followed by the wolf’s cry, made me jump.

  I’d been so focused on the ground that I’d forgotten about Jackie. Had assumed she’d be out cold for a while. Yet, now she stood with the gun still pointed at the wolf.

  Papan dislodged his jaw from Mace’s neck, turned his bloody snout towards Jackie and leaped into the air. He landed paws-first against her chest as she fell back with an audible thump. His claws ripped into her chest, tearing it to shreds, snout digging into all that gore until she stopped twitching.

  The wolf didn’t stop until his fur was covered in Jackie’s blood. He lifted his bloody snout and howled at the moon.

  I looked away, not wanting to see any more.

  Papan had saved my life. There was nothing more to see.

  Well, except for the name etched on the marble headstone. After visiting several times, I hadn’t bothered to look, but now the name stood out, chiseled in capital letters.

  Roger Hocking.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “How much longer do you think he’s gonna be?” Conrad asked, checking his watch for the hundredth time. He tapped his foot against the filthy floorboards with a contagious air of impatience.

  The group stood wrapped in darkness inside the same abandoned building on Wallace Street we’d all met in less than a week ago. The spook catcher, vampire, demon, and werewolf hunters were trying to avoid eye contact. The witch hunter stood in front of the shattered window on the other side of the filthy corridor. Ebony stood between Lavie and me. She was probably waiting for introductions I wasn’t in the mood to hand out.

  So far this meeting wasn’t much of a meeting. It was a waste of time, especially when I considered what happened to Oren and me at the cemetery less than twenty-four hours ago. A dry patch of bloodstained grass on the gravesite beside Roger’s was the only reminder left of Jackie Thompson. I had no idea where Papan took her, but I hadn’t been able to find either of them when I’d gone looking this morning.

  A lot of the details were still a little foggy in my head. Blood loss, exhaustion and confusion probably had a lot to do with it. But I wasn’t giving up on finding Papan.

  Mace Clamber had disappeared after I’d helped Oren. He was still alive, I knew that much. He just made a run for it. Probably back into the safe folds of the Council to lie low for a while.

  Vamp Boy stopped his foot tapping long enough to step in front of Ebony. He extended a hand and said, “Doesn’t look like anyone’s gonna introduce us. I’m Conrad Hicks.”

  She stared at him, her eyes twinkling in the darkness. Ebony placed her hand in his, not making much of a move to remove it. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ebony Aikan.”

  “It’s certainly nice to meet you,” he said with a huge grin on his face.

  Didn’t this guy ever give up on chasing skirts? For some reason, Lavie and I seemed to be the only females he wasn’t trying to hit on.

  Conrad dropped Ebony’s hand but they continued to look at each other. I turned away from the adolescent spectacle to focus on Lavie.

  “Are you sure everything’s all right with you?” I asked.

  She nodded, looking straight ahead. “I’m fine. I just wish Samson could’ve had enough power to remove these from me too.” Lavie lifted her covered arm. I cringed. I still
wasn’t used to those things moving beneath her skin. “But he was so old for a healer.”

  “What do you mean was?”

  She looked at me. “Didn’t you hear? He died in his sleep last night. Hopefully the new healer will do a better job. At least the demon attack has completely worn off and I finally feel like myself.”

  “About that, what exactly happened to you?”

  She shrugged, hugging her backpack. “I was used by a demon just as you were used by a ghost. I can’t remember much about it, but I think the house is too tainted to ever be rid of the demonic presence. Roger Hocking opened a doorway that’s going to be mighty hard to close.”

  I looked up, at Oren. He was staring at me, listening to the exchange. I lifted my eyebrows in a silent question only he would understand. He inclined his chin.

  It looked like I was going over to the Hocking house to seal the doorway with my blood. Whatever demon had attacked Lavie had probably tried to use her blood as a way of keeping the pathway open long enough to squeeze through.

  I chose not to say anything more. I didn’t feel comfortable talking about the ghost invasion. I was reliving it enough in my sleep. Where I could hear Roger’s voice talking through me, heard the words he muttered to save his wife from something he’d opened the path for in the first place. It might not be the demon he’d initially summoned trapped inside that house now, but just like his gravesite, it was being used as a pathway.

  Why couldn’t he have spent all his time on the Goddess of Nature thing, instead of wreaking havoc in other areas that weren’t his business? Most of the details were still a bit sketchy, but I knew the split in the fibers had been Roger Hocking’s fault. And now, because of his invasion into my body and the realization of my witch power, my blood was the only thing able to seal the tear.

  “It’s good to have you back, Lavie.” I smiled, and genuinely meant it.

  “Thanks,” Lavie said.

  I wondered if a different demonic head was packed tight inside her backpack tonight. Her red hair was its typical frizzy mess, long dress stained at the hem. “Are you back into the swing of the demon hunting already?”

  She squeezed the bag and nodded. “Have to drop this off after the meeting.”

  “Meeting? It’s not much a meeting if you ask me.” Vixen—aka Anna Smith—decided to speak up. She was in a corner, sulking, and looking bored enough to be picking at her red nail polish.

  Our eyes met. She was still angry with me but I didn’t give a damn. I was glad she didn’t know where Papan was. Thanks to him, both Oren and I made it out of the cemetery alive.

  My heart skipped a beat whenever I thought of Papan, which was something new. Although I hated to admit it to myself, it was stupid not to. I cared about Papan and I would keep looking until I tracked him down. We needed to sort this out, and I wanted to help him stay clear of Vixen.

  She obviously didn’t look at the world through the same eyes the rest of us did. Just because it was our duty to handle malicious and wicked creatures of different kinds, it didn’t mean we had to eliminate all of them.

  Just like with humans, there were good and evil in every kind.

  “Ah good, you’re all here. Sorry I’m late this time.”

  I turned to find Burr struggling up the stairs with someone trailing behind him. Burr was dressed in the same monotone suit he wore the first time we’d met, and sweat beads clung to his bald head. He wiped them away with his jacket sleeve before a wide smile spread over his lips.

  The more I looked at him, the more I realized something wasn’t quite right about him. About the way he was put together. Actually, that was the problem—there was nothing natural about him. He looked like a human fabrication.

  “I’m glad you finally showed up, I was about to split!” Vixen called.

  Ebony looked at her. She seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to the dual personality thing with the woman she knew as plain Anna.

  “Yes, and I come bearing great news,” Burr said, bouncing a little on the spot. “I thought this meeting would be a time for further strategy into the problem we’ve been having with the fibers, but it looks like—” He stopped in midsentence to stare at Ebony. “Why, who do we have here? I didn’t realize you’d decided to bring your apprentice into all of this, Sierra Fox.”

  “She’s one of us. Ebony deserves to know,” I said with a shrug.

  Burr nodded. “Yes, I think you’re right. Welcome to the group, young Ebony.”

  “Thanks.” She got so giddy when someone actually called her apprentice. I noticed she also exchanged a smile with Conrad.

  “What were you saying about the fibers?” Oren asked, stepping closer. A bandage was strapped tight underneath his black shirt, but no one else knew about it. I’d pulled out the bullet, cleaned up the wound and wrapped the bandage around his chest and shoulder myself. By the time I’d started wrapping it, most of the bullet wound he’d taken for me was gone, but I’d kept covering and didn’t ask any questions.

  Oren had amazing healing powers. I hope I get some of that.

  Burr shook his head. “Yes, sorry, so much news to share. I’m pleased to announce the fibers appear to be sealed. The leaks, which were starting to affect ley lines all around the world, have also been closed.”

  “Your organization did this?” Lavie asked.

  “No, I’m afraid we can’t take credit. We’re not sure exactly how it happened, just know that as of this morning, all activity ceased.” He glanced my way but I looked away. “We’d love to thank the person responsible but no one’s come forward.”

  I had no intention of coming forward. This wasn’t the sort of thing I wanted to brag about. What happened in Bayview Cemetery had to stay in the cemetery, and hopefully would never be spoken about again.

  “So everything’s back to normal?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Pretty much.”

  “What about the ghosts affected by the shift in the fibers? Are they lost forever?” I swallowed the lump in my throat, waiting for his response.

  “Not all of them. Some were swallowed by an unknown energy source and ceased to exist, but others are just lost,” Burr answered. “I will contact you at a later date with any and all information I can gather. I know you have a personal interest in this.”

  “Thanks.” He knew I was concerned about my grandparents. I cradled my sore arm.

  “Who’ve you got hiding there?” Conrad asked.

  “Oh yes, how rude of me,” Burr said with an apologetic smile. “I know we’ve made it out of this rough patch relatively unscathed, but I’m afraid something like this may happen again. So, I’d like to suggest we all continue to meet once a month to discuss disruptions or oddities in this world of ours, just as they did in the old days.”

  “What’s that got to do with the mystery shadow?” Vixen prompted.

  “I was getting to that.” Burr cleared his throat. “You all suffer the risk of sustaining serious injury while performing your given duty, and my organization has access to new awakenings—”

  “What’s a new awakening?” I interrupted.

  “Ah, a person whose powers suddenly awake for one reason or another.” He shook his hands out in front of him. “Please, no more interruptions. Let me finish. We suffered a great loss. Our local healer passed away in the early hours of this morning.” He hung his head. “I know it may be hard for all of you to comprehend, because your own skills hit pretty early in life, but some people die without ever having their skills awakened. This here is the newest recruit to our group. If any of you require healing, don’t be shy and visit him.”

  The person stepped out of the shadows and I nearly swallowed my tongue.

  “Jonathan?” What was he doing here? Thoughts of what Travis had said to me about Jonathan and everything else I’d pieced together but wanted to avoid dealing with, suddenly surfaced. Had our sexual contact really done this to him? And why would he tell the freaky brothers about it?

  “Yes, Jonatha
n Wells is our new healer.” Burr motioned for him to take center stage. “I believe you may have a bit to do with that, Sierra.”

  I rubbed my clammy hands on my jeans. Somehow, having it confirmed didn’t make me feel any better. Had Jonathan known this would happen all along?

  “What’d you know, huh?” Jonathan said with a shrug, meeting my gaze.

  Lavie stepped back as he approached. The frown on her face confused me and I couldn’t help but wonder why she’d reacted this way.

  “Hey, is everything okay?” I whispered.

  She nodded but didn’t look fine at all.

  “So, what do you guys say to meeting on the last Friday of every month just before midnight?” Burr asked.

  I joined the chorus of yesses and nods, too shocked to say anything more. As the now familiar nosebleed dribbled down my top lip, Oren was there to offer me a tissue.

  Just when I’d thought the universe had lost its slant, this had to happen.

  “What’re you doing?” I asked, surprised.

  “Making sure this house is completely blocked off to anything that isn’t human.” Carleen looked down at the lighter in her hand, staring at the flame until she had to shake her head to concentrate on what she intended to do.

  “It may not be a good idea, when they investigate—”

  “No one will be investigating. I paid a lot of money to make sure of that.”

  “What about the surrounding houses?”

  “By the time you and I leave, the fire brigade will already be making their way over. No one’s in danger. I’ve packed all the things that meant anything to me, but everything else has to burn.” The flame of her lighter hovered near the bottom of the curtain. “I had a priest bless the place, a rabbi stopped by and I even had a priestess over. I know that doesn’t cover all faiths, but I think more than one was needed for this occasion. Now that you’ve also sealed it I think we’re safe to leave.”

  “We’re? You’re not referring to the demon—”

  “No, I’m referring to my husband.”

  “Right…of course.” Roger Hocking materialized beside her, a smile on his face as he pulled me into his personal space. At least talking to him now didn’t involve entering the dark patch. All the craziness seemed to have left his system but goose bumps still raced along my body.