Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective

by Amsden, Christine

  “What do you want me to do?”

  I dug into my backpack and pulled out the spell book entitled, “Magical Concealment.” Evan raised an eyebrow when he saw the book, but didn’t say anything.

  “First, I need a spell.”

  “Put that away,” Evan said, very quietly.

  My face fell. The quick dismissal, without even asking me what I wanted the spell for, came as a bit of a shock. With trembling fingers, I shoved the book away and zipped the pack. “I’m sorry.”

  Evan shook his head. “You don’t understand. There’s no way in the world your parents are going to let me read that book. I’m surprised they let you take it out of the house.”

  My face flushed, and I shifted uneasily. “Well, technically, I’m not supposed to.” In fact, I never had before, but I had never really wanted to before. It’s just that I knew exactly what I needed, and I couldn’t be sure Evan had access to a similar spell. I wasn’t even sure it would be right to ask him, since it was my favor. Whatever spells he used were his secrets.

  “Come on,” Evan said. “It’ll be easier to talk at Master Wolf’s. And I think he’s out resetting his wards.”

  We drove in silence for a couple of miles, giving me time to consider my approach. He hadn’t dismissed me outright, but he was definitely wary. Well, that was only to be expected. I could work with that. I only hoped he didn’t flip out when he heard the other favor I needed.

  When Evan steered off the road, I thought he was making a wrong turn. I would never have seen the tiny dirt path if I hadn’t known exactly what I was looking for.

  “This is where he lives?” I couldn’t believe it. I had never known anyone with Mr. Wolf’s kind of power to live in such a backward manner.

  Evan nodded. “He believes modern technology interferes with magic.”

  I vaguely remembered my father saying something about that, but the idea seemed crazy to me.

  Evan’s car bumped down the old dirt road, tossing up a cloud of dust that made it difficult to see. After about half a mile, Evan stopped the car and put it in park.

  “Here we are,” he said, stepping out of the car.

  I opened the passenger door and swung both legs out, wincing a bit as I once again agitated the right foot. I started to grab the door for support as I stood, but before I had a chance, Evan put an arm around me and easily helped me to my feet. It didn’t hurt. In fact, it didn’t feel as if there was any pressure on my feet at all.

  Glancing down, I saw that my feet were several inches off the ground.

  “Thanks,” I said, weakly. It had not escaped my attention that Evan had not needed to put his arm around me at all.

  Mr. Wolf’s “house” was an old wooden cabin framed by a narrow stretch of grayish-blue lake. At first, I thought it looked like the lakeside cabins rented out to tourists, but then I noticed the complete disconnection from the modern world. There wasn’t so much as a porch light. No electrical or phone lines fed into the home. Off to the side, a few yards from the house, I saw a building that distinctly looked like an outhouse.

  The porch was friendly enough, though. It was long and wide and had a lovely wooden bench swing. Evan did not release me until he had guided me into that swing.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  For a few minutes, I just enjoyed the cool morning breeze, ignoring the trepidation in my heart about what the rest of the day might hold. One thing at a time, I reminded myself.

  Then Evan emerged from the house, holding a few white candles, some rose petals, and a jar of ointment. In a flash, all the materials flew into place in a circle around the swing. In the same instant, I looked down to see that my right foot was bare, while the tennis shoe, stuffed with a sock, lay a few feet away.

  “Wow,” I said, despite myself.

  Evan didn’t answer. He just began rubbing the ointment into my foot. He took his time, massaging it into the skin in slow, deliberate movements.

  “I didn’t mean to sound harsh earlier,” Evan said, his voice softer than usual, “but you can’t undo any of the enchantments your parents put on their books, and believe me, there are enchantments.”

  I knew there were. My parents had mentioned it before, though they didn’t get specific and always assured me that I could read whatever I liked.

  “I can read it,” I said.

  “Yes, but they told you not to take the book out of the house. I imagine the enchantments are keyed to location.”

  “Oh.”

  “And even if that’s not the case, it’s not right for me to read that book.”

  “Oh.” I knew he was right, and I felt ashamed. I only hoped my parents never found out.

  Evan finished rubbing in the ointment, then capped the jar. “Tell me what you need. I may still be able to help.” He took a seat next to me on the bench swing, and gave me what I’m sure he thought was a welcoming smile, though it only made me more uncertain about my whole mission.

  Taking a deep breath, I plunged into my rehearsed story. “My sister, Juliana, is spying on me. She was crystal gazing, and saw me the other night, when I dropped the love potion on my foot.”

  “So you came to ask for help with a concealment spell because your little sister is spying on you?” Evan did not sound convinced.

  “Sort of.” Now I needed to find a way to tell him about the other thing, and I found I was too anxious to sit. I cast my eyes down, unable to bear the scrutiny. “Um, can I stand?”

  Evan shrugged. “Try it.”

  Tentatively, I put some weight on my right foot. It twinged a bit, but did not hurt, so I stood fully upright. Whatever was in that ointment, it worked as well as anything my parents knew how to make.

  “You may need another treatment later this afternoon,” Evan said.

  I nodded. The burn ointment would have worked the same way, if Juliana hadn’t interceded and given me a full-body healing a few hours ago.

  “You’re stalling,” Evan said.

  I took a deep breath to prepare myself. “The thing is, I know where to find a vampire–I don’t know if it’s the vampire, the one who turned Belinda, but it definitely needs to be dealt with, or it’s going to kill a friend of mine.”

  His face registered surprise, and perhaps a hint of triumph, though nothing could truly right this wrong.

  “Why didn’t you just say so?” Evan asked. “And what does this have to do with a concealment spell?”

  “The thing is, I want to be the one to kill it.”

  I thought Evan would react badly. I thought he would talk me out of it, or even magically bind me to prevent me from going. I did not expect his bellow of rage.

  “What?”

  I scooted away, until my back pressed against a wooden post. “I-it-well, you see-”

  Evan was up too, so quickly that I didn’t see him stand. He grabbed me by one arm, and spun me around so that my back was pressed against his chest. With one arm around me, holding me close, he gestured with the other. “Do you see that old oak tree over there?”

  He pointed to a proud old oak tree that overshadowed the plant life around it. No other trees grew nearby.

  “Y-yes.”

  With deliberate slowness, he closed his hand into a fist. As he did, the enormous old tree broke apart, creaking and splintering, into a million tiny pieces. I froze, unable to take my eyes off the sight, not even sure if I was really seeing it. The ground shook as the tiny toothpicks spilled to the ground in a massive heap, cascading towards us with frightening force.

  I screamed. Evan’s grip on me tightened, but I didn’t dare move. The tiny splinters of wood stopped well away from the house, but then I had known the damage inflicted by this action would not be physical. For the first time in my life, I had a real glimpse of Evan’s power. I wonder how many people ever had. No one in my family could have done anything like that, not even if two or three of them linked together. The realization left me weak-kneed and trembling.

  “Why did you do t
hat?” I whispered.

  “Because,” he said, “I can. And even I would have trouble against a vampire.”

  If he hadn’t been holding me, I probably would have sunk to my knees. As it was, I leaned against him, irrationally seeking support from my own tormentor.

  “It’s not like I wanted to go alone,” I said. “I’m not suicidal, I just want to be the one to kill it. I’m good with a bow and arrow.”

  “No,” Evan said. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll bring in my uncles and my father.”

  “You don’t understand,” I said. “The vampire is Angie’s boyfriend. She invited him in last night, while we were at the pool.”

  Evan’s grip on my arm tightened. “He attacked you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you escaped?”

  “He didn’t know about the anti-venom potion. He thinks he has me in thrall.”

  Evan loosened his grip on my arm, turning me around so I could face him. His eyes were stormy, and I saw something in them that sent chills down my spine, even though I knew his anger was directed at a vampire, or at an attack he had been unable to prevent.

  “What did he think when you started screaming?” Evan asked.

  “I didn’t scream.”

  “You just stood there, pretending?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That sounds like an academy award performance.”

  “It did hurt like hell. Then he left, and I nearly bled out, but-” I stopped myself just in time. I had never told Evan about Juliana’s gift, and I wasn’t about to let the secret slip out now. “My parents came.”

  If Evan caught the slip, he didn’t say anything. He did give me a skeptical look at the idea that normal healing potions would have helped me get from the brink of death to perfect health in twelve hours, but he didn’t ask.

  “He’s going back for Angie tonight,” I said. “Both of us, actually. He told me to be there. If I don’t go and stop him, Angie won’t have a chance.”

  “Cassie, look at me,” Evan commanded.

  Licking my lips nervously, I looked at him. His eyes weren’t quite as stormy, but they were intense.

  “You don’t have to prove yourself to me.”

  “I know.”

  “You don’t need to prove yourself to your family.”

  “You don’t think I can do it,” I said, flatly. “I have a plan. There are lots of trees to hide in around the pool, and he won’t even see me. I’ll get an arrow in his heart before he has the chance.”

  “What if you miss?”

  “That’s why I need backup. I came to you because my parents would never let me go at all.”

  “Your parents are right.” Evan stepped away from me and folded his arms across his chest.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Look, I know I’m going to sound paranoid, but I do feel like I need to prove myself. There are things I’ve overheard my parents say... it’s hard to explain, but I have a very bad feeling about my mom being pregnant again. We won’t be seven anymore.”

  To my relief, Evan didn’t argue, although what he did say was almost worse. “I hope you’re wrong, but I always thought you had some intuition. If you’ve got a bad feeling, I trust it.”

  I held up my hands to ward off the assertion. He had said it before, and he might even have been right, but as far as gifts go, intuition is slippery. It’s only clearly identifiable in extreme cases, and I didn’t qualify, so I didn’t want to think about it... or get my hopes up.

  “We’ll skip the debate,” Evan said, “but I’m not sure how putting yourself in danger on the off chance you might kill a vampire is going to help.”

  I winced at his phrasing, but held my ground. “I don’t want to be pushed out. I want to prove I’m a part of the protective magic, and if Mom wants to restore it, she’ll have to try for nine of us.”

  Evan didn’t answer for a long time. He stared off into the distance, at a spot somewhere over my shoulder that I couldn’t see. I had to resist the urge to turn around and follow his gaze.

  Evan let out a long breath. “I understand that you want revenge, and that you have something to prove to your family, but I think you’re selling yourself short. You’re intelligent and compassionate, and your family has to see that.”

  Blindsided by his flattering assessment, it took me a while to respond. “I think they do, I just don’t think they see it as important as other qualities.”

  “Do you?” he asked.

  I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to analyze my feelings right then, so, taking a deep breath, I offered him one last word. “Please.”

  “If I let you do this, you have to promise me one thing.”

  My heart started to beat faster. Was he really considering letting me help? “What?”

  “You do what I say at all times. I’ve got a couple of escape ideas in mind, if all else fails, but I need to know you’ll cut and run if I give the word.”

  I nodded, and held my breath.

  “Then let me see how you handle a bow and arrow. I won’t make my final decision until then.”

  19

  I SPENT THE DAY WITH MY bow, while Evan spent the day brewing potions. It didn’t take long for my arm to become sore, but apparently, one of the first potions Evan decided to brew was to increase endurance. He brought it out to me as I sat on a bale of hay and rubbed at my aching shoulder.

  “I’m also working on strength and speed,” Evan told me after I had finished the foul-tasting endurance concoction.

  My stomach rebelled at the idea of taking two more potions, but I nodded.

  “I just have to tweak them a bit so they won’t cancel one another out,” he said.

  “Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of me being the one to kill it?” I asked.

  He set his face in a grim line, and I knew I had said the wrong thing. I needed to watch it, because he still hadn’t given me his final approval.

  “You’re not doing this alone, you’re doing it with me. I’m not sure what you thought my role in all of this would be, but I’m sending us both in there with everything I’ve got. I only wish we had time for me to brew stronger versions of these potions.”

  I didn’t say anything, but I held my breath while Evan studied the target I had been aiming at. Ten arrows formed a tight pattern, obscuring the bulls-eye painted over a straw man’s heart.

  “You’re good,” Evan said, “but don’t get too cocky. There are a lot of things that can go wrong.”

  I wiped sweat from my brow and nodded. “I know, I’ll only have one shot.”

  “Not exactly,” Evan said, his brow furrowed. “If you miss the first time, he’ll be on you in a flash. I can hold him, but only for a few seconds. Vampires can’t be held by telekinesis the way others can. He’ll break free.”

  “You could always shove a stake through his chest,” I suggested.

  To my surprise, he shook his head. “I can be fast or I can be accurate, but I can’t do both at the same time. I’d be more likely to hit him in the eye.”

  “What if you aimed for the eye?”

  He ignored me, which was the right thing to do. “You can get off another shot or two while I hold him.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?” I asked.

  “I’ve got one more trick,” he said. “A crystal that traps sunlight. It doesn’t last long, which is why I want to hold it in reserve, but we might have five minutes to get out. The speed potion will help with that, and my car won’t be far away.”

  “Will he be able to follow?” I asked.

  “Only if he knows which way we went, but even then, it’ll be hard. I checked some of Master Wolf’s references a little while ago, and vampires are insanely fast over short stretches, but they can’t sustain the speed. They can’t follow a car for long.”

  “So are we doing this?” I asked.

  “Probably, but I reserve the right to change my mind until sunset.”

  * * *

  He didn’t change
his mind. I was in position well before the sun set, my back leaning against a tree, all my senses straining for the smallest sign of a demonic presence in the woods with me. Evan lurked nearby, a few trees away, but we didn’t speak, and as the sun began its descent, I had trouble seeing him.

  When the sun disappeared entirely, I strained against the dim glow from the porch light and hotel windows to find my target. He had come in through the gate the night before, but all I saw there were more trees and more dark.

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw two tiny pinpricks of light that reminded me of the vampire’s hypnotic stare, but they turned out to be from a car driving down the road. They grew steadily larger, shining light on the nearby trees, until they stopped in the hotel parking lot. I hoped whoever it was got inside quickly.

  A few minutes later, Angie came out, wearing the same white robe she had on the night before. I had a sick sense I knew what she had on underneath, but I did not wait for her to disrobe. Instead, I scanned the woods around me more frantically. If she was here, then so was the vampire.

  “Luke!” she called.

  My heart hammered. Was he already here, in the woods? Had he seen me? I had purposely chosen a spot away from the gate, which was the direction he had entered from the night before.

  A wind rustled the leaves above my head. I had my arrow cocked and ready.

  “Luke!” Angie called again. “Come in, the water’s great.”

  Then I saw him once again, at the south end of the property near the gate. He jumped over the fence in one smooth, fluid movement, landing directly beside Angie, but he did not touch her. He was looking around, and I knew exactly what he was looking for.

  “Where is Cassandra?” the vampire asked.

  “We don’t need her,” Angie replied.

  He growled, a low, bestial sound. It reminded me, though I did not need a reminder, that Luke was not human. He might look human, but whatever humanity had been in him disappeared the night he turned.