Gator Baitin' (The Grateful Undead series Book 2)

by Susan Stec

  I grabbed Babe and chanted like mad.

  Gibbie hovered in front of the shield, screaming at an ear piercing level. "Wait! She's cutting the rope!"

  He broke my train of thought and my eyes danced toward Julie. Erzsebet was softly rubbing the knife across the rope. Her mouth grinned as her eyes danced toward Dorius standing under the tree.

  While Julie screamed for help, Dorius slowly climbed the tree.

  Christopher pulled his fangs from the sorcerer and yelled, "Damnit, do the dog!"

  The sorcerer took the opportunity to send Christopher sailing through the air and he landed in the river. Swimming frantically he paddled toward the shore, a gator at his heels. I watched as the gator grabbed his flailing arm and pulled him under.

  Dorius lay on the limb a few feet from Erzsebet, extending his hand. "Come to me, my love. We can walk away from this together."

  I shuddered, eyes on the tree.

  Gibbie squeaked, wavered, and the next thing I knew he was the Cyclops again. His big feet stomped toward the shoreline.

  The old man hit Dorius with a binding spell. Dorius froze, straddling the tree limb, two feet from Kim's shoes.

  Looking like the possessed demon from Hell that she was, Kim laid the knife across the rope, wickedly smiling at me.

  Mom ran out of the woods and straight for Christopher with an echoing war whoop.

  Jake was back in the air, shooting a trail of steam across the wolf. He turned abruptly toward the river.

  The Cyclops waded thigh deep in the water, watching Jake, one large hand over its eye, shading it from the bright sunset.

  Mom and Christopher both wrapped around the gator, sent splashes of water all over the Cyclops. Jake flew low and laid a spray of steam over them. His wings spread and he glided upward, circling for another pass.

  The Cyclops pumped his arm, let out a roar, moved further into the water, and plucked Mom and Christopher out. The vamp-gator flipped its tail and sank. A ripple on the top of the water followed a path straight toward Julie.

  Mr. One Eye dumped Mom and Christopher on the bank and in a puff of sparkles he was Gibbie again. "Yeah, uh-huh, you both owe me."

  Mom huffed and got up, wet hair dripping in her face, hands on her hips. Christopher's bleeding arm was already healing.

  The sorcerer pointed, fingers aimed at Jake, but the dragon banked into the woods as the old man shot a cylinder of wind into the air.

  I saw the wolf struggling to get up at the edge of the woods. He fell back shaking his head.

  The sorcerer turned to Erzsebet, watching intently as she began to hack at the rope.

  In a reaction that seemed way too slow when measured by the beat of Julie's racing heart, I dropped the dog and leapt for the rifle, the shield disintegrating around me. I put it to my shoulder as Julie's eyes met mine, beseeching me. I laid my eye in front of the scope. I put the cross hairs between her pleading eyes. The rope snapped and time stood still as I gently squeezed the trigger, bullet hitting its mark. With the last beat of her pumping heart, Julie's eyes closed and her lips turned up in a sad smile. The gators fought frantically for her dead body, and she was gone in a flurry of slapping tails and snapping jaws.

  "Nooo!" Erzsebet screamed, throwing the knife at the water.

  "Now, Susan! The sorcerer," Marcus said.

  I looked over at the old man. His eyes searched the sky as Mom and Christopher slowly crept in his direction.

  I threw the rifle on the grass, crawling into the pentagram. Babe jumped in my arms and I began chanting. I pointed at the sorcerer, finished the incantation and Babe disappeared.

  The sorcerer hit the ground.

  Flames ignited the woods behind the dock, spreading like wildfire along the trees behind the cabin.

  Behind me, Zaire and Resi burst from the cabin.

  Zaire screamed, "About fuckin' time!" She leapt off the porch, pumping the mirror in the air as she ran toward me. "Got the friggin' mirror! Make it happen, Mom!"

  "I will kill all of you!" Kim screamed, kicking at Dorius' limp body.

  Resi ran beside Zaire, a long dagger in her hands. She glared at me as she headed for the river. "Kill her, for Christ's sake! What the hell are you waiting for?"

  I reached for my dagger, but the dragon hit the river in front of us and a wave of water rushed over the bank, followed by two loud explosions.

  My head jerked in the direction of the vans. Marcus hissed.

  Resi did an about face and sprinted into the woods behind the cabin. Zaire stopped dead, mirror gripped in both hands.

  Gibbie zipped into the air, heading for Erzsebet, who had Dorius' head in her lap, her hands wrapped around his throat, manically squeezing. Her hair covered half of her snarled lips as she rode the tree like a bull.

  The dragon's head erupted from the water, tail lashing out, sending a shower of fury drenching all of us.

  My eyes searched for the sorcerer. He was still on the ground, Mom straddling his chest. A New York thread of street trash burst from the old man's mouth. "Get the fuckin' hell off me, ya hear me?—before I bite ya in the ass, bitch. You're worse than your stupid fuckin' daughter!"

  Yep, that was Babe.

  The dragon thundered from the river, a red-eyed gator clutched in its mouth. His head thrashed back and forth, wings flapping as he took to the sky.

  "Get away from me, fairy!" Kim kicked at Gibbie as he hovered in front of her, sword swinging.

  Christopher was by my side, lifting the rifle. I heard the click of the trigger. He hadn't chambered a round. I pulled my knife, aimed, and threw it, embedding it up to the shank in Kim's chest, inches above Dorius' head. Kim grabbed for Dorius as her body rolled from the tree, but she couldn't get purchase—another meal for the snapping gators below.

  Gibbie flickered like a light bulb about to burn out and turned into a big black bird, claws extended. Talons spread; he grabbed Dorius by the back of his shirt as he limp body slid from the tree. Huge wings flapped, churning the leaves on the branches. Jaws snapped as the bird dipped dangerously close to the water and then flew to the bank by the tree, dumping Dorius on the shore. The hawk-like creature dissolved in a shower of black sprinkles and Gibbie shot off toward the sorcerer.

  Mom screamed, "Don't you frigging bite me again, Babe! How the hell was I supposed to know you were in there?"

  Zaire let out an anguished scream as the mirror burst into flames, sailed through the air and landed by Mom and the sorcerer. "Dorius, I will come back! And I will kill you next time!" The countess' hollow warnings of retribution reverberated from the mirror.

  I frantically lit candles, spilled blood, chanted, and poof, a ball of white fur erupted from the sorcerer. Babe lay still on the grass.

  I turned in the direction of the shed. "Rafael, I summon you!"

  Gibbie landed in front of the mirror. He strutted up, peering into the glass.

  The sorcerer grabbed Mom, holding her in his arms. She wasn't moving.

  "Where the hell is Rafael?" I screamed, heading for Mom.

  Marcus bolted ahead of me.

  Zaire shot in front of me, grabbing the rifle from Christopher. He chased after her, both of them headed for the sorcerer.

  The old man started to wiggle his fingers, pointing them at the mirror.

  Gibbie squawked a summersault a good three feet in the air.

  The wolf hit the old man's back, teeth clamped around the sorcerer's throat. Zaire skid to a stop in front of them. She hit the old man in the head with the butt of the rifle. He staggered back, Paul still attached. Christopher jumped on his chest and they fell to the ground.

  Mom landed on her knees in front of them, shaking her head.

  Zaire pulled Mom up, arms cradling her.

  Resi and Jeni burst from the woods, JoAnn at their heels, screeching, "Tootles! My baby! Oh Toot's!"

  As much as I was glad to see them, I gritted my teeth. "Everyone, back up! Rafael, I command you to get your randy ass out here now!"

  Ma
rcus jumped into the cluster-fuck, yanking Christopher and Paul away from the sorcerer.

  JoAnn fell to her knees in front of the dog, crying. She picked Babe up and cradled the dog in her arms, rocking, crooning softly.

  I heard Dorius behind me. I glanced at him as I hit the grass, heading for the rest of the team.

  Dorius ran around the back of the dock, toward us.

  Jake roared overhead and dive-bombed the area in front of the cabin. He landed; the ground vibrated as he headed for the woods.

  Dorius sank his fangs in the sorcerer's neck, eyes hooded as he drank.

  I heard Rafael's manic laugh and I turned, looking for him. The mirror vibrated, shooting flames in our direction. Everyone hit the ground.

  Babe barked rapidly. JoAnn yelped and started laying kisses all over the dog's face.

  The atmosphere crackled and my hair whipped about my face. I looked up.

  Rafael floated above us, his arms spread in victory. "Lord Rahovart, tormentor, companion of Satan, give me a portal!" He pointed at the sorcerer. "Come with me, all that is mine!" he shouted.

  The ground under the sorcerer shook, and began to crack with a loud sucking noise.

  Dorius jumped from the sorcerer and backed away quickly, rubbing blood from his lips. Everyone else back peddled with him. Well almost everyone.

  "JoAnn, get away from the sorcerer and the damn mirror!" I glared at the demon. "Rafael, I command you to take them the hell out of here!"

  With a loud pop the ground spread, sucking JoAnn, the sorcerer, Babe, and the flaming mirror into a black pit. Rafael shot in after them.

  I ran for the hole—Marcus yelling for me to stop—and leapt into the air, family's screams echoing in my ears. But the hole closed under me and I hit the earth with a thump and a roll, spitting dirt as Marcus reached my side.

  Rafael's laughter echoed around me.

  Dorius stepped up, sneering at me as I got to my feet. "Susan, you commanded him to take 'them', and you certainly got what you asked for. Don't blame the demon for your incompetence. You were not specific."

  I rolled my lips back and dropped my fangs. "Look, you piece of—"

  Dorius leapt at me. Marcus' fangs slid from his gums. He had Dorius by the hair, fangs at his brother's throat.

  "You don't want to do this right now," Dorius hissed.

  Mom pumped her fist at the ground where the portal had been. "Rafael, you bastard! Give me back my idiot daughter and you can keep the damn dog!"

  Marcus let go of Dorius' hair; his fangs retracted. He turned to me, and with a soothing voice, said, "We'll get JoAnn and the dog back, darling. I will personally make sure of it."

  Before I could make a comment, Resi suggested, "Let's find a mirror and summon JoAnn like the sorcerer did with Erzsebet."

  "What? Come on! Can we talk about this first?" Christopher huffed, as I pulled myself off the grass.

  "There will be no summoning," Dorius snarled, earning another glare from Marcus.

  "F’n'-A! It's worth a try!" Zaire spat, totally ignoring Dorius' warning. "I'll go get the spell book and rip a mirror off the Burb."

  "Both vehicles are a pile of molten metal," Jeni stated. "The book probably went up in flames."

  "We can get another one on Amazon.com," Resi suggested.

  Marcus smiled at her. "Let me take care of getting another spell book. I believe I know just were to purchase one."

  "Son-of-a-bitch! I'm summoning Rafael as soon as we get the book, the prick," I shouted, stomping a path to the dragon for a ride home. "JoAnn wasn't part of the pact!"

  Marcus rumbled. "Not like I didn't mention loop holes, Darling." He walked beside me. I ignored him.

  Dorius asked, "And what, pray tell, will you bargain with this time?"

  "There is that," Christopher said.

  "Screw that!" Zaire snapped. "Maybe this time we should pay the sucker a visit."

  I'm in," Christopher said.

  "Was the sorcerer dead?" I asked Dorius.

  "Yesss," he answered.

  "Oh yea! A trip to Hell," Resi sang. "Do you think they have shopping malls there?"

  I rolled my eyes so far back in my head I almost fell on my ass.

  ~~~~

  Blood Sweat and Demon Tears

  An excerpt from book 3—fall 2012

  ~~~~

  Mom dropped her fangs, hissed at Marcus, and turned on me. "Call your sister, goddamnit, and talk her into making a visit."

  I looked at Marcus. He smiled. "Go ahead, it wouldn't hurt. We can establish a rapport—let her think we accept her choices—and when the time is right, we'll make our move."

  I plucked the Earth to Abyss cellphone off the kitchen counter and flipped it open. "I have never had a rapport with my sister." I pushed the purple button.

  A few seconds later, JoAnn appeared in front of a large copper tub with a purple sponge in one hand and her phone in the other. We could see Lily's head above the tub. Bubbles covered her cute face as she laughed and splashed the water all over the place.

  "Now is not a good time, Susan. Lilith, quit splashing. You're getting everything wet." JoAnn shouted over her shoulder, "Ralphie, come and bathe your kid—I have a phone call!"

  I stood mouth open, staring at the phone with the rest of my family hanging over my shoulder.

  A minute later, the demon grinned into the phone. "Ah, my little immortal witch. I hope the evening finds you in good health. I suggest you leave a message next time. Can Jo-Jo call you back after Lily's bath?"

  JoAnn slapped him. "If I've asked you once, I've asked you a thousand times. For the love of Satan, call my child Lilith!"

  I sucked in a breath while there was still air left in the room.

  Rafael laughed, took the purple sponge, and pushed JoAnn away. The scene changed as JoAnn walked into a room with red walls covered in gold plaster adornments. A human depiction of Satan flashed across the screen, horns and all.

  JoAnn must have sat down because all we could see in the screen was her face and a lot of black leather. "So, how's things?" my sister asked.

  In our family we're all quick-tempered and just as quick to forget the last argument. I mean who the hell can keep up?

  "Good, good." I was trying real hard not to get all snarky about the 'Ralphie/Jo-Jo' thing or the devil hanging on the wall. "We miss you, though, and Mom would love to meet Lilith. She's beautiful."

  Mom shot me her stupid Italian eyes again. I ignored her.

  JoAnn's smile spread across the whole screen. "She is, isn't she, and I have to admit, you guys are all Lilith can talk about lately. She wants to meet you too, and all she can think about is what it's like down there. Of course, I'd want to bring her daddy with us."

  "Up here," I corrected my directionally challenged sister. I could feel the tension in the room mount with the mention of Demon-Daddy paying a visit.

  "Oh, sorry. So what did you call for?"

  "Do you think just you and Lilith could come for a visit?" I tossed a little meekness into my voice.

  "I doubt it." JoAnn pouted. "Rafael is very protective of Lilith. I can hardly go anywhere without him. And it's gotten worse since you called the first time."

  I bit my lower lip. "That's terrible. Did you tell him we're all very close and you need us?"

  JoAnn nodded her head, a tear rolled down her cheek. "I cried for days after you called. He doesn't care. Men. Demons. Whatever. They're all the same. He can be such a pain sometimes."

  Marcus pushed his thoughts into my head, Tell her it's all right, you will call more often. We need to make sure Rafael backs off. We can't nab her unless she is alone with the child.

  "It's okay JoAnn, we can talk on the phone every day and maybe he will let you and Lilith come home for Christmas. It's only a few months away."

  Marcus' laughter erupted in my head.

  "Blasphemy for breakfast. Damnation for dinner." Hand over mouth, Christopher giggled around the table and into the kitchen.

  ~~~

/>   From the author

  ~~~

  I live with my husband and three King Charles Spaniels on 50 acres of woods, fields, and streams in upper Michigan—hunt whitetail with my Ruger or crossbow, paint watercolors, and sculpt stained glass.

  Watching my grandsons pick wildflowers on a sunny spring morning always makes me smile.

  The antics of five crazy vamp-women, a foul fanged tyke, fairy, troll, werewolf, demon and several sexy immortals that live in my head never cease to amuse me.

  ~~~

  Favorite quote: One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead~~Oscar Wilde

  ~~~

  Connect with me online:

  https://twitter.com/Suesan0814

  https://www.facebook.com/GratefulUndead

  http://www.thegratefulundead.weebly.com/

  http://thegratefulundead.blogspot.com/

  http://pinterest.com/stecsusan/