Just One Bite Volume 3

by Rachel Carrington, Daryn Cross

  I kicked something and heard it skitter. It was the strange knife that Ezra had been stabbing the beast with. My gun only seemed to annoy it, but this frog poker seemed to really do it harm. I don’t normally believe in magic daggers, but I also didn’t believe in twenty-foot tall fish men so this seemed fair.

  I picked it up and felt a surge of energy rush through me. Even feeling empowered, my plan seemed absurd. But I looked at the prone form of Ezra and knew I couldn’t just let him die. Again.

  I screamed, “Banzai!” and rushed the thing. The knife sunk into its chest up to the hilt, like a knife through hot butter.

  It shrieked and roared. I felt it grab me, wind rushed past me and then there was darkness.

  The cold seeped into my bones, and air forced its way into my mouth. I opened my eyes and in the dim light saw Ezra swimming while dragging me along. Black blood blossomed into the water from his wounds. Along his ribs those scars throbbed like gills on a fish. He looked at me with those dark, dark eyes and I faded away.

  I woke up in an unfamiliar bed. Ezra sat by the bed.

  “Morning sleeping beauty,” he said.

  I could see he was shirtless and wearing white gauzy bandages on his arms and torso. I couldn’t tell if they were stained dark with dried red blood or if they were more black in color.

  “What happened?”

  “You were knocked unconscious. I tried waiting for you to wake up there, but the police showed up. So I took you out a back way.”

  “Underwater?” I asked, remembering the dream.

  He paused with a pained grimace before nodding.

  “But what about the rest that happened? What was that thing?”

  “Humans give it a lot of names. Sirens, undines, selkies, merrow, vodyanoi. The name the underwater race gives itself best translates to ‘deep ones.’”

  “Are you really bleeding black like that thing was? Why did your parents tell everyone you were dead?”

  “The deep ones aren’t human but they’ve bred with humans,” he said. He stood up and limped to look out a window. “The deep one side doesn’t manifest until some time after puberty, if at all. Some people have only a little bit of the deep one blood. A rare few will only manifest part-way. They call us ‘weak-blooded.’ We gain some abilities but we’re mostly human still.

  “My parents never changed and probably never will. They got their hopes up when I got sick in high school. When I stopped changing, they sent me off to live with relatives. I guess they preferred to think of me as dead.”

  “What does this have to do with the missing girls?”

  “The weak-blooded can blend in. They’ve become more secretive as human technology has advanced. I get the job of covering up traces of them and other weird stuff that’s out there. The guy you met today probably craved human flesh and went rogue to get it. It’s my job to notice this stuff and stop it.”

  He stopped talking, so I asked, “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “We could never have a normal life. Any child we might have would run the risk of becoming like me. Or worse.”

  Silence hung between us for a while.

  He cleared his throat. “I patched you up with some stuff I had stashed away for an emergency. It’s not really designed for humans, but it looks like it works. Your car is out front whenever you’re ready to go.”

  “I don’t have to go right away,” I said. “It’ll take me a few days to figure out the lie I’m going to tell my clients. But it would save me some expenses if I could crash here. Maybe a local guide could show me around.”

  “You aren’t freaked out?” he said, turning toward me.

  “If you were a stranger who dropped this on me, I might have jumped out the window. But this is who you were before either of us knew about it. The way I felt then still lingers. I’m willing to stay and see what happens.”

  Purr-fect Timing

  by Kari Thomas

  This was so not fair.

  Just because she accidentally turned the Coven’s meeting place into a cat litter box –during the meeting, no less –didn’t mean she had to be punished this dramatically. This cruelly! What was a witch supposed to do without her powers?

  Abigail (Abby to her friends) Miller shook her head, dropping her suitcase onto the living room floor of the now ‘transformed-back’ apartment she had earlier committed the ultimate spell-mistake upon. She sniffed.

  “Cat’s Meow,” she muttered, “It still smells like a litter box.”

  Forcing her to move in here for her one night exile was only one of the punishment requirements. The other was too horrific to think about.

  “It’s not my fault Janice hadn’t shaved before the meeting,” she mumbled. “Everyone has teased her once or twice about those cat whiskers of hers. How was I supposed to know she’d put a rebuffing spell on anyone around her if they said something about the extra hairs?”

  And what a rebuffing Spell it was! As soon as the words “Janice, you are the cat’s meow today,” left her mouth the whole room suddenly spun in a whirlwind of multi-colored dancing stars. Then, poof! They were all left standing in a huge boxed-in room, with all the signs of it once being a –eeeww—used cat litter box!

  It took the Coven’s Mistress only two minutes to announce her punishment and the rules. She’s had it in for me since day one. I can’t help it if I’m a bit of a mis-fire witch.

  Okay, so she probably deserved the “You are to live in this stench until midnight Halloween,” part of the punishment. But she certainly didn’t think it was fair to be stripped of her powers and left with an ultimatum she couldn’t possibly fulfill.

  “If, at the stroke of midnight on Halloween, you have not found your mate then you are forever banned as a witch. Your powers will not return.”

  Holy cat’s meow! How cruel was that? She loved being a single woman. It was fun. She could come and go as she pleased, date anyone she chose, and never have to worry about relationship responsibilities. And what was that ’mate’ idea, anyway? She wasn’t a shapeshifter or a vampire. She was a witch. They didn’t need mates!

  She recalled the Coven Mistress muttering, “If we chain you to a mate, maybe you will be less destructive. We can let someone else take over the responsibility of keeping you in control. Mother Goddess willing!”

  “Ha!” Abby muttered. “If by some miracle I succeed in this mission before tonight’s stroke of midnight, then I’m going to show her a thing or two. No man is going to dictate to me what I can or can’t do.”

  Brave words, but she was forced to admit she was scared. How was she supposed to find a mate when she was bound to this house the full night and left without her powers to even use a summoning spell?

  Abby walked over to the large picture window looking out onto the courtyard of the apartment building. The Coven owned the top floor of the building and used it for their meetings, etc. Below, people milled about in the courtyard, children running, playing, dogs and cats mixing in among the crowd.

  Was he there? Was there a chance her potential mate lived here and even now she was looking at him? She narrowed her gaze on the few men present. Not the fat one. He looks like he could sit on an elephant and squish it. Not that too-skinny fashion plate either. He’d probably have a stroke if one hair ever got out of place.

  What about that nice looking guy sitting on the bench? Ooops. Nope. He grins too much at the children.

  Hmm. That tall man looks interesting. Darn. Five bucks says that’s his wife or girlfriend he just kissed.

  It was beginning to look like she might be out of luck. No doubt the Coven knew she’d fail in this and they were just sitting back waiting for the verdict tomorrow.

  She wanted to wallow in self-pity. But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t give up until that last midnight stroke of the clock. There had to be a way!

  “I don’t suppose standing in front of the picture window naked would help any?” She grimaced. “No. There’s no telling what I’d attract!” Just the though
t made her shiver. After all, it was Halloween.

  Her favorite holiday –and she was probably spending it as ‘the first day of the rest of her life’ as a powerless witch.

  She unpacked her suitcase and decided to start her usual Halloween tradition of watching all the scary movies in her DVD collection. There was nothing more fun than scaring herself silly while watching the shows in between answering the door to all the trick-or-treaters. Before starting the first one, she changed into her typical Halloween costume (the outfit she wore to the Coven meetings) of a long, flowing, form-fitting gown in pale blue silk and her matching pointed hat. Slippers to match donned her feet. She left her long, unruly-curled blonde hair down; loving the dramatic effect it gave the romanticized costume. Dressed, she then sat out the large bowl of candy treats next to the door. It was getting dark outside and the children should be arriving soon.

  Determined to not think about the Coven Mistress’s ultimatum about finding her mate, she sat down on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and started the first movie.

  I’m not going to worry. She wasn’t really serious. She just wants to make me suffer tonight, that’s all. Tomorrow she’ll forgive me and let me back in the Coven.

  I hope.

  She always started out watching the usual movies first. “The Wolfman”, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, and then went on to the hard-core stuff from Stephen King’s collection. She saved her absolute favorite, “Pet Sematary”, for last. No matter how many times she watched it she still got so scared she’d scream in all the right scenes. Gotta love a movie that can pull that kind of fear and emotion out of you!

  The first group of trick-or-treaters arrived halfway into the first movie. Delighted, she jumped up from the sofa and paused the DVR before going to the door.

  Five costumed children stood on her doorstep. There was a witch, a pirate, two vampires, and a zombie.

  And a cat.

  Abby looked again. Sure enough, standing behind the children was the largest minx cat she’d ever seen. His huge green eyes stared into hers without blinking. For just one moment she lost all coherent thought. She felt a sudden tingle of awareness skitter down her spine. Whoa. First time I’ve reacted that way to a cat. It can’t be an allergic reaction–I’m a witch for Goddess sakes!

  Unnerved, she glanced down at the apartment door’s built in doggie-door. The Coven cats used it to come and go. She mentally reminded herself to make sure she closed and locked it for tonight. WHY, she couldn’t even explain to herself.

  She filled the children’s bags and congratulated them on being scary, all the while keeping her eye on the strange cat. When the kids thanked her and left, the cat went with them.

  She shrugged away the warning vibes pushing into her thoughts. It had to be stress, that’s all.

  Stress or not, it just plain freaked her out that the darn cat showed up with every group of children for the rest of the night. No matter how many groups came by, no matter how many short minutes in between each visit, that cat was right there with them. And he stared her down like he was issuing some kind of mental challenge.

  It’s official. I’ve scared myself for this Halloween. Abby just hoped no one in the Coven heard this embarrassing story! Who would ever believe a witch would be unsettled by the presence of a cat!

  After another round of children, she settled back on the sofa and tried not to look at the grandfather clock in the corner. She knew it was getting later –but as long as she didn’t watch the clock then she wouldn’t be so antsy.

  Or… as long as she didn’t think about that spooky cat.

  It was finally time to watch “Pet Sematary”. Abby hesitated for a moment before putting the movie into the DVR player. After all, it did have the scariest scene –ever –in it…about a cat.

  She laughed softly, her eyes darting around the dark room. She’d purposely left off the lights for that perfect Halloween ambiance. For just a moment she thought about turning on a lamp.

  “Cat’s meow,” she mumbled, “I’ve scared myself silly this year.” And it was that darn cat’s entire fault. She shoved the unsettling fear away and started the movie.

  As always, she screamed in all the right scenes. Right at the part where she always covered her eyes and choked down scream after scream…

  A strangely light creak on the wooden entryway floor made her jump in sudden fear and pause the movie. She listened again. Creak! It sounded like footsteps of some kind!

  Shaking, Abby stood and faced that direction. Surely I’m just imagining this because of the movie. I locked the door. No one could break in without me hearing it.

  But what if? And she was here… alone… powerless.

  Her first impulse was to do a revealing spell. But realization hit and her next instinct was to panic. That lasted all of five seconds. Witchy powers or not, she wasn’t going to be a victim.

  Raising her chin, she marched to the entryway, purposely stomping as she went. “Who is there? I have a weapon, so show yourself now!”

  She reached the entryway and flipped on the hall light. No one was there. And the only way into the rest of the apartment was the direct route she’d just come.

  Okay, so it was my imagination. Thank the Goddess. She re-checked the door and made sure it was securely locked before going back into the living room. Feeling silly, she re-started the movie. Within minutes she was hugging a sofa pillow and suffocating her screams into it.

  Creak! Creak!

  This time there was no doubt it was some kind of footsteps! Abby jumped up, shivers shaking her whole body. Was this really happening? She’d never been this scared in her life. I think I’ll write Stephen King a note and complain about his too-vividly effective horror scenes. Yeah, that sounded good. Right after she faced whatever was in the apartment with her…

  Hands shaking, Abby turned on the lamp by the sofa. She choked back a scream. A dark shadow, fast enough to be blurry, ran across the room!

  She hoped it was a mouse. But with the Coven cats normally roaming around, she was sure that wasn’t a possibility. And I’m not even going to think about its size. Rats never get that big, do they?

  She looked around for some kind of weapon. The first thing that popped in her head was a broom. She bit back a hysterical giggle. What’s a witch without her trusty broom?

  Avoiding the side of the room where the shadow disappeared into, she ran to the kitchen and grabbed the broom. Holding it like a sword she slowly walked back into the living room.

  “Come out,” she coaxed, her voice shaky. “No need to hide. I’m not going to hurt you.” Okay, so that’s a lie. It’s you or me, buddy.

  Cautiously she approached the too-dark corner of the room she’d seen the shadow run to. Her heart raced and cold rivulets of sweat fell from her neck, coating the back of her dress.

  Taking an aggressive stance she forcibly shoved the broom into the corner and yelled at the top of her lungs, “HA! Got you!”

  The broom’s end hit up against the solid wall. There was nothing there.

  Her knees shook so hard she almost collapsed on the floor with the sudden rush of relief swamping her. It had to have been a rat. And he’d found a way out somewhere. Mystery solved.

  If this had been one of those ‘hidden camera’ shows, she’d be really embarrassed. Abby groaned, wallowing in self-pity for a minute. “Haven’t I been through enough punishment already?”

  After consoling herself with two caramel apples and two sweet sodas, she felt calmed enough to settle back down and finish watching her favorite movie. Although, after tonight, I just might decide another movie is my favorite. Who’d ever thought dead cats and zombies could be so scary?

  The Finale was coming. Horror leered at her like it did the people on the screen. Shaking, she bunched up on the sofa, arms wrapped around her knees, as the “Pet Sematary” Finale played out in delightfully gruesome details.

  ”Ohmygosh, ohmygosh!” Her voice was hoarse from screaming but she still managed to get o
ut a good squeak when one particular scene –the scariest in her opinion –played out in all its shocking glory.

  And then…

  The huge black shadow jumped from the floor and straight onto her lap!

  Abby screamed louder than she’d ever done in her life.

  The shadow screamed too.

  As one, both of them fell over themselves as they tumbled off the sofa and raced off in different directions…still screaming!

  Above her own screaming, Abby suddenly heard a guttural male voice exclaim, “Why the hell am I running?”

  She stopped, shocked and unable to move. She had to remind herself to breathe. This had to be a nightmare! That would teach her to over-eat all that sugary junk before watching a scary movie.

  In the following silence she was about to convince herself none of it had happened, but then the male voice spoke again.

  “I can’t believe I screamed like a freaking girl! Dammit. If the guys ever hear about this one, I’ll never live it down.”

  Huh? Abby inhaled, then exhaled, trying desperately to calm down. Squaring her shoulders she forced herself to go back to the living room. She didn’t know what to expect but she was suddenly determined to face it with as much bravery as she could.

  It wasn’t what she expected. Nowhere near that. Her over-active imagination had conjured a zombie, a demon, a ghost, or even a vampire. But instead, she found herself staring at the most gorgeous, naked man she’d ever seen!

  This time her “Huh?” was said aloud.

  The gorgeous, naked man smiled, his lips lifting in a sexy, predatory grin. Abby gulped in reaction, her stomach feeling like a mass of butterflies had been turned loose in it.

  “What –how –did you get in? Who are you?”

  In a flash almost blinding her the man suddenly turned into a large minx cat. The same cat that had been with the children all night! Abby choked back a cry of surprise. Shapeshifter!

  Moments later he returned to his human form. In all his naked glory. She could get used to looking at him like that…!