Reveal (Cryptid Tales)

by Brina Courtney

  “Oh yeah,” he looks sheepish, “I forgot about that.”

  “Yeah, way to go.” I smirk at him.

  He reaches for me after my top is back on. Hugh stands and runs his fingers through my long hair. “You are so beautiful, do you know that?” he whispers in my ear.

  I look over my shoulder to smile at him. “Only when you tell me.” I pause as he nestles his face in the thick dark strands. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

  “Night Shay,” is all he says as I make my way to the door. I take one last look at him wrapped in his white sheet standing in his bedroom when I turn the knob and wave goodbye.

  The next day at school I feel like it’s written all over my face. I don’t want to tell the whole world, but I do want to tell one person, Olivia.

  I pull her into the senior lounge before school starts. She’s texting and hardly sees me when I grab her by the coat sleeve. Even though it’s getting warmer out you can always find Liv in the latest fashion trend. Currently it’s canvas jackets and skinny jeans with matching boots.

  She spins around on me in a second “Yo! What are you… Shay? What’s going on? You’re never here this early.”

  “Valid point, however today I had to see you before school.”

  She beams at me and turns her head slightly, “Why?”

  “Because,” I look around afraid another senior will hear us, “because I, well see, Hugh and I we…”

  Liv looks at me and winks. “Come on, let’s go talk somewhere more private.” She moves toward the door, making sure to give a flirtatious smile to some of the football players. One gives her a fist bump as we pass. She always did make friends easier than I could.

  As soon as we’re out into the empty hallway she starts to gush, “Oh my God, oh my God, I want to hear all about, details now!” She starts bouncing, I love to see her this excited. We go to the girls’ bathroom where I hash out every single move, all the way to the calming spooning afterward. She stands listening, smiling the whole time. I love that about Liv, she never judges or asks inappropriate questions.

  Just then my phone buzzes. I already have it on vibrate to be ready for school. It’s Hugh.

  I need to see you NOW-H

  Another one comes in just a second later.

  Shay I need you, please meet me at the orphanage.-H

  My jaw drops and my hand starts to shake. Hugh never sends me texts like this, actually he hardly texts me while I’m at school. He knows how strict our teachers are.

  “Shay, what’s wrong, who is it?” Olivia asks concerned.

  “It’s Hugh, he needs me. I have to go.” I turn away from her and start running down the hall. The bell is close to ringing so I’m running straight into a crowd trying to walk the other way. I bump into people as I rush through.

  She yells after me, “I’ll cover for you, don’t worry. Hope everything’s OK!”

  I get to my car and speed to the orphanage. I try calling Hugh over and over again but he doesn’t respond, it just keeps going to voicemail. On the fifth time I slam my phone on the wheel. Damn it Hugh, why aren’t you answering?

  It only takes me ten minutes to get to the orphanage. I see Hugh’s truck parked near the front of what’s left of the house. I turn the car off but leave the keys in the ignition. I run inside to the first floor yelling Hugh’s name the whole time.

  “Hugh where the hell are you?” I’m getting annoyed. He knows I don’t like games.

  Finally I hear a noise in the dining room at the back of the house. It’s a construction zone in here. I guess they finally decided to make it a museum after all. I step around a couple of wooden horses with a two by four lying on top of them.

  I get to the dining room to see a figure sitting at the head of a table with their back to me. I’m surprised to see they’re already filling the place with furniture since they’re still doing construction.

  “Hugh why are you dressed so weird? A black hoodie? I mean it’s not even that cold.” I reach him and pull down his hood. Hugh is taped to the chair with duct tape across his mouth. His eyes bulge as he sees me.

  “Hugh! What happened to you?” I rip the tape off of his mouth as I speak.

  He whispers as soon as I remove the tape, “Shay get out of here, it’s a trap!”

  “Why yes it is,” another voice says.

  I spin around to see a dark man standing at the other end of the table. He’s tall, he stands as straight as possible in order to make himself appear even bigger than he already is. He has black hair like mine, but kept short and neat. A man and a woman both dressed in black flank his shoulders, though slightly behind him. I recognize the woman immediately, she’s the one from my dream about Wendy, Erika is her name. The man is new to me. He’s young, not much older than myself, he’s features aren’t like ours, he looks like he may be of Asian descent. Looking at him I notice they have something wrong with their eyes. They’re all a misty black. It takes my breath away just looking at them.

  “Hello Shay,” the man in the middle says with a disgusting smile. His teeth appear to be rotted and blackened.

  I stand next to Hugh, who’s still taped to the chair and I try to think of what to do.

  I muster up as much confidence as I can, “Malsumis, so good to finally meet you. I don’t really get why we’re here though. You have my father and now you want my boyfriend?” I pause and then continue, “Obsessed much?” I hope that by sounding tough he’ll think I am tough.

  He growls and his manly form shifts slightly at the edges. Well that’s going to be fun to fight. He stretches his neck and says, “Had. I had your father, I no longer do.”

  He looks at me his eyes completely black but clouded gray with age. “Trust me dear, I have no interest in these simple men. Just you. So yes I guess you could say I am slightly obsessed.” He moves closer to me with speed I never expected. He takes a chunk of my hair between his two fingers and runs them down the end, just missing the side of my chest. “Can you blame me?” he whispers in my ear. I can feel his hot breath on my cheek as he speaks. I stand totally still, my fear has paralyzed me.

  I don’t even have time to block his first strike. Malsumis backhands me across the face. It stings terribly but I don’t fall. I won’t break that easily. Hugh yells for him to stop and tries to break free from the chair. He fails and is forced to watch me stand beside him trying not to cry.

  Malsumis and his followers laugh, it’s a sickening cackle that sets my teeth on edge.

  “Is that all you’ve got half breed? I thought the prophecy couple was supposed to be the strongest cryptids alive.”

  “WE ARE!” I yell as I stomp on his foot and grab him by the throat with both of my hands. Unfortunately I’m just not fast enough. The woman, Erika, pulls me off of him and grabs me around the waist. I try to fight her off but the Asian man is too swift, he punches me hard in the chest. I hear a snap before the pain comes. It’s agonizing and I fall to the floor as soon as she lets me go.

  Malsumis comes over to his people specifically speaking to the Asian man, “Now, now, Timothy, I told you, I want the pleasure of killing her.”

  The man, Timothy bows his head to Malsumis, “Yes Master.”

  I look up from my place on the ground to see two small shadows in the corner. But Malsumis only sees one. “Ahh Wendy my dear. Thank you for your help in getting the girl here. Your information regarding their encounter last night fortified the truth that these are the two we’ve been looking for.”

  Wendy looks shaken up. “Can I have my daddy back now?” she says quietly, but hopeful.

  “What, you didn’t like how I made you feel when we made him leave? He told you that you killed your mother! You should hate him for that.” He gets very close to her face, but he still doesn’t notice Jeremy standing right beside her. I’m guessing he can only see ghosts he controls. Jeremy silently moves over to Hugh and while The Darkness and his groupies are focused on Wendy, he silently rips apart the tape keeping Hugh still.

>   Wendy is trembling, “I don’t hate him. He didn’t mean it, you made him say it. And then you made me push him. But I didn’t want to!”

  “Erika!” Malsumis yells at the woman, “Why is she remembering? You told me your control was permanent!” He acts as though Wendy can’t hear him.

  I watch from the floor as the woman steps back with her head bowed, “I thought it was Master, I don’t know what could have broken the power I had over her.”

  He takes another step closer to her, she backs away slowly. “Well you better get it back, shouldn’t you?”

  She nods, “Yes Master of course.” But before she can convince Wendy to come to her, the little ghost speaks again.

  “I’m going to Alo, he will help me find him. And you can be sure I’ll tell him you have his son.” She stands there exuding authority with her words slicing through the morning air like a knife.

  “Try and stop me.” Just as quickly as she had arrived, Wendy totally disappears.

  Malsumis and Timothy both turn to Erika, eyes full of hate.

  “Well go find her!” Malsumis shouts at her.

  Erika turns on the spot and also vanishes into the air.

  He turns to Timothy. “I knew she wasn’t worth anything. I told Erika to find one of those little brats I killed in the fire here at the orphanage. They would be more powerful at the place where their blood was spilled. Blood magick is by far the strongest.”

  I can’t believe it, he killed Jeremy, he’s the man in the black coat I’ve always heard about. As my mom would say, life really does come full circle.

  He sighs, “I guess it doesn’t matter though because by the time Alo and Chenoa come to find their beloved son, he’ll be dead, along with his mate.”

  Timothy stands with his back to where Hugh is sitting, or maybe I should say was sitting.

  “Doubt it.” Hugh says standing behind Timothy. Before the man has the chance to turn around and defend himself, Hugh takes a knife he was concealing near his ankle and jabs it into the side of Timothy’s throat. Blood flows freely out of the open wound as Hugh removes the knife. The man grabs his throat but falls to the ground. He hardly stirs as he dies. I try to stay focused even as the rust taste fills my mouth. The blood covers the floor boards where he lays. It pools around him and his head is directed towards me. His face is angled directly towards me. For the first time I see his eyes are completely black. I feel like I can see the life die in his eyes. Once he passes his eyes turn a dull brown color. It makes me think, what kind of spell does Malsumis have over these people?

  I look for Jeremy, but he’s moved away and I can’t see him anymore. I hope he’s gone to Alo though. We’re going to need all the help we can get.

  I stand up to help Hugh with Malsumis. He’ll be a lot harder to handle than the other weaker opponent. Hugh runs at him with the blade forward, but The Darkness is rapid in his movements and turns quickly into his favorite weapon, mist. The black mist chokes us. I struggle to breath and out of nowhere I feel the hit.

  The final blow is to my head and it hurts, terribly, way more than the broken rib. Suddenly I’m back on the floor and I can feel the blood seeping out of my head and sticking to my hair. My eyes close, the pain is excruciating. I simply can’t stay awake.

  When I come to I keep my eyes shut. I need a second to think. I don’t know how long I’ve been out, it seems like an hour but I can only guess that mere minutes have passed. The cold wood floor feels good against my skin and I focus on the relaxing feeling it’s giving me. I need to think and fast, how am I going to get us out of here? And that’s when I hear Hugh’s voice. He’s pleading with him, telling him to let me go.

  “Take me!” He says. “Take me and leave her alone. The prophecy is wrong; I’m the one you want. I’m the stronger cryptid.”

  Wait, this all still has to do with the prophecy? I bide my time while I listen.

  Malsumis’s voice is sickening. “No, the prophecy has always been correct. It’s the girl I need. She is the key. If I rid the world of her, the Mosi race will fall. And you will fall with it. A consolation prize if you will.”

  He laughs, it’s cold and dark.

  “I knew it was the two of you I needed to destroy when Wendy told me you consummated your relationship. Never before has it gone so far between two cryptids from such different tribes. No, it’s the girl I need, she will finish you all.”

  So that’s what ties this all together? The fact that I’m not a virgin anymore? I need to think, I try to take deep breaths without being noticed.

  I start to think about everything Hugh, Emina, Alo, and Chenoa told me about the Mosi. I remember Emina explaining to me how to shift. I wonder if Malsumis knows that some of us can shift. I don’t even think I can change my appearance. I tried so hard in Kentucky with no luck, but I think it’s our only shot out of here. The element of surprise could be our only chance. I hear him hit Hugh.

  Hugh doesn’t respond, but I know the sound of flesh hitting flesh. I shudder at the thought of him being hurt, especially to save me. I need to focus, I see myself in my head as a cat. I think about the feeling of flying, even though I never felt it when Emina described it I can almost feel it now. I center my mind on a small domestic black cat. My head hurts but I push through the pain. I breathe in through my nose and out of my mouth, just like Hugh taught me during yoga. Today it seems to work, I feel more open. I begin to think about becoming a cat again. I’m a Mosi, I can do this. I focus on the feeling of flying, the breeze in my hair. I need to help Hugh; we must get out of here. I touch my bracelet as I concentrate.

  Suddenly, my whole body tingles. I feel my hair shorten and my body change. I continue to think about being a cat, retaining my thoughts and being able to control my actions. When I open my eyes I feel stronger, more powerful, and suddenly like a natural born hunter. My vision is clearer and the smell of the leftover blood is almost appealing to me. I look down at my paws with amazement and I realize I’m no ordinary cat, I’m a big black cat, maybe even a jaguar. This worked out to my benefit, especially when I see a second large cat in the room, it’s Hugh. My change must have triggered his as well. And the plan has seems to have worked. Malsumis stands there shocked facing two enormous angry cats.

  Chapter 28

  “B… but how?” he stammers and for the first time he looks truly scared. He tries to back away but he hits a wall. There’s nowhere for him to go. Hugh takes a swipe at him and catches him across the stomach. Malsumis doesn’t become the fog and I can’t understand why. Until I see the children, all twelve of Jeremy’s friends are surrounding the room holding hands. I can hear them speaking, but it sounds like a different language. I don’t know what they’re saying; all I know is it’s stopping Malsumis from escaping, for now. Hugh nods at me; his big cat eyes glowing with hatred for the man with the cut stomach.

  I nod back and pounce, directly over the table and crash on top of Malsumis. He screams in agony as I bite down on his arm. I want this to hurt. My head is still pounding, but I focus all of my energy on killing him. I take his arm totally in my mouth and I rip it off. Blood runs down the floorboards and the ghosts disappear. I can feel the current I used to feel with Wendy vanish. As the feeling goes away, I watch Malsumis focus all his energy on me.

  He only says one thing, “You won’t find him, you know.”

  Instantly, he’s gone. There’s just black fog under me as my bloodied paws land on the floor.

  I look to Hugh, he growls at me and I know it’s over, for now. He turns back into a person with ease, but it takes me time to think about being Shay again. Shay with dark hair and blood running down my forehead. Shay who has ten fingers and toes. Shay who stands up on two legs, not four. Finally I succeed in looking like my old self, but I’m exhausted and I need to lie down. Hugh moves to steady me but now that I’m human the blood no longer appeals to me and I immediately get sick on the spot where Malsumis just laid.

  Jeremy returns as Hugh holds me. We’re sitting on a chai
se lounge in the parlor now. I needed to get away from the smell of blood. His caretaker is with him.

  Jeremy comes over to me and holds my hand. “Shay,” he says earnestly, “you’re going to be alright. Madame is going to help you alright?”

  The older woman nods and comes over to me. “Child, you tried to save us all. Your kind keep us safe from The Darkness. We owe you our souls.” She takes her two old frail hands and touches my head. A cold tingling ripples through my body. I snuggle closer to Hugh for warmth and I rub my bracelet. I take deep cleansing breathes before I open my eyes and then I feel better. Not healed totally, but definitely better. I sit up on my own.

  “Wow, thank you!” I rub my head and the wound is gone. There’s still blood on my hands and face though. My rib is also mended. I lift my shirt to see remnants of a bruise, but its light green and it looks like it will totally fade in just a couple days.