by Kim Cormack
They were all grinning as they strolled back to the truck as though they had a secret. Kayn’s stomach cramped and it became clear.
Zach cringed as he whispered in her ear, “This is a job.”
She nodded without offering a verbal response. Her stomach cramped again. It wasn’t necessary. It was painfully obvious. She knew it was a job. As they drove into town Frost kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror. There was a time when she would have been afraid or nervous at the very least but she was different now and the idea of being in a fight made her feel almost giddy. She couldn’t stop smiling. She was practically bouncing in her seat as she turned to look at Lexy. Grey was smiling and shaking his head at her. As they drove down what was clearly main street she took in the scenery. It was a rather picturesque little town. It looked like it belonged on a post card. Prefect sidewalks with cobblestone planters full of flowers and perfectly sculpted trees. There was just a hint of fall in the air. It was quite lovely. They passed a man walking out to his vehicle and he had colors surrounding him. It was as though he’d brought a sunset along with him. Melody had told her about colors. All Healers must see auras. She could see them too.
Kayn looked directly at Lexy as she announced, “Now, that’s trippy.”
Lexy chuckled, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Zach twisted around to look at her from the front seat and questioned, “What are you guys talking about?”
Kayn pointed at the man that was now a speck in the distance and replied, “I could see that guy’s aura. I guess I haven’t lost the healing ability yet. It’s been almost a month. I just assumed it would be gone by now.”
Zach glanced back as he answered, “You’ve been on a steady diet of me. Mel and Lexy have been topping me up after every snack. Maybe that’s why?”
Lily squirmed around in her seat and proclaimed, “There it is. That’s the place. Jenna said it was named after a children’s poem.”
Kayn glanced where Lily was pointing. The sign above the restaurant read, Humpty Dumpty’s. That’s original. Frost parked the truck by the side of the road. They all got out and Kayn stretched. She was hungry and not just for food of the mortal nature. Her stomach ominously clenched again and she grinned.
Zach stopped her and said, “Take some of mine if you need some.”
Her Handler was becoming more intuitive with each passing day as far as her needs were concerned. She smiled at him and responded, “I have a feeling you’re going to need every ounce of energy that you have. I’ll be alright.”
Smells like Bacon
When the group walked through the doors without the jingling sound of bells, she was a little bit disappointed. There were only a few patrons dining in the restaurant with visible auras. They were surrounded by a haze of purples and oranges. It was quite beautiful. They looked like they’d been on the road for a long time. She could hazard a guess that they were the drivers of the rigs that were parked down the street. A Healer’s ability was seriously cool. This whole restaurant was amazing. It was all burgundy and a class above their usual dining experience. Why would a nice place like this be open this early in the morning? A waitress appeared from the kitchen area and froze when she saw them at the table. Her aura was different. There was a grey and black smoky looking mist around her. She quickly darted back into the kitchen area. What was she?
Lexy kicked her under the table and whispered, “They can’t tell that we are anything other than normal people unless they see the symbol of Ankh on the palms of our hands. Just play it cool.”
Zach appeared to be confused. He whispered in her ear once again, “What are you two talking about?”
“I’d be willing to hazard a guess that our waitress isn’t mortal. Her aura is all grey and black. It’s a smoky film, not a glow,” Kayn responded. She stood up to go and grab some menus out of the wooden container on the counter. Zach grabbed for her arm. She darted out of the way and chuckled, “I’m just going to go over there to get some menus. They’re sitting in plain sight on the counter. Our waitress appears to be missing in action.” Kayn wandered over to the counter and snagged six menus just as their not so mortal waitress appeared from the back room.
The lady with the smoky aura began to apologize right away and Kayn assured her that it was fine. She was just going to grab the menu’s herself.
“I apologize for the wait. We’re a bit under staffed. Would you all like some coffee?” The pleasant voiced lady asked. She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If she were a normal girl she’d be none the wiser.
Kayn smiled sweetly back at her and answered, “Yes, coffee sounds wonderful. How come you guys are open so early?”
The waitress responded, “We get a lot of truck drivers passing through early in the morning. It tends to be our busiest time of the day. This morning is obviously an exception. I’ll be there in a second with your coffee.” She nodded at Kayn and briskly marched back into the kitchen area.
Kayn strolled back to the table with menus in hand and a knowing smile as she passed the menus out and slid back into her seat with a sweet self-satisfied expression on her face.
Frost started to laugh, “You should have seen the look of sheer terror on Zach’s face when that waitress came out of the back room. It was amazing.”
Kayn glared at Zach and directed, “Mello yourself out my friend. Have a beer or something.”
“It’s six o’clock in the morning. Who drinks at six am?” Zach mumbled as he opened his menu and tried to pretend he was interested in ordering and not the least bit terrified at what she might do next.
Grey had the giggles. Lexy scowled at him and said, “Is something funny?”
“Nope, nothing at all,” he stated as he opened his menu.
Lily slowly shook her head and sighed, “You guys are so whipped.”
Zach looked up from his menu and questioned, “How am I whipped? She’s not my girlfriend or anything.”
Lily grinned, hid behind her menu and teased, “That’s not what I heard.”
Grey must have told her about the kiss, during that first job alone. Oh, wonderful!
“That was just a distraction to get out of a sticky situation with Trinity and then it went a little further than it was supposed to because our Kayn had some amped pheromones and I am…” Zach stopped speaking because Frost looked stricken.
He obviously hadn’t been told. Oh, it’s not like he doesn’t use his ability every chance he gets.
Frost looked at Zach and questioned, “No headaches or anything when you kissed her?”
Zach raised an eyebrow and gave him a strange look as he responded, “No, why would I get a headache?”
“Interesting,” Frost replied as he stared back down at his menu.
He was jealous because he’d been stopped when he’d attempted to have a more intimate relationship with her and Zach hadn’t. It was easy to decipher the reasoning behind it. Zach was her Handler and they were supposed to be forming a close bond but it was Frost that she wanted. This wasn’t her fault.
Frost glanced up from behind his menu and as their eyes met she knew he’d heard her inner commentary. The door to the kitchen opened with a squeal and a groan.
“They should grease the hinges on that door,” Grey noted as he studied his menu.
The waitress made her way back to the table, coffee pot in hand. They passed her their mugs and when she was finished pouring, she added, “I’ll be right back to take your orders.”
Lexy mouthed, “I’d avoid ordering anything that has meat in it.”
Kayn knit her brow. Vegetarian omelet it is.
Lily gave Frost’s arm a squeeze when the waitress appeared and said, “It’s your turn.”
The intimate gesture stung a little.
Frost ordered oatmeal and handed the waitress his menu. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and started to mess around with it. Anything, to avoid looking at her. The door to the restaurant opened and a half a dozen people with ominous smoky
gray and black auras strolled in. Adrenaline pulsed through her. She couldn’t worry about Frost and his wounded ego. She knew this. He would make her weak and instinct told her this was a day that she’d be needing all of the strength she could find.
Lexy kicked her under the table and quietly scolded, “Shut it down.”
Kayn nodded at her fellow Dragon as her stomach growled loudly. So, loudly that everyone at the table turned and looked at her. Every hair on her body was standing on end. She was starving. She could see the energy in the room and it was making her mind come unhinged.
Zach slid his hand over hers as he quietly instructed, “Just breathe.”
“I need to get out of here,” she whispered while trying to pull away. She could hide in the bathroom until she managed to calm her ability.
Frost glared at her and stated, “You’re not going anywhere.”
She looked directly into his eyes as she explained, “I’m going to the bathroom. I need a minute. I’ll get it under control.”
“Just think about something else. Someone else…” Lexy directed.
Frost’s leg touched hers under the table as the waitress appeared with their breakfast. She placed the omelet in front of her. It looked delicious and the sight of the real food instantly stifled her need for the spiritual kind. Kayn politely thanked the waitress as she grabbed the hot sauce and dumped a disgusting amount of it on her omelet. She took a burning mouthful and felt a touch of relief. There it was… the reason for always wanting the hot sauce on everything. She closed her eyes and embraced the relief. With each bite the tension within her drained away. She took a drink of her piping hot coffee and felt his eyes on her. He was still stewing on the fact that she’d kissed Zach. She suspected it wasn’t that she’d made out with her Handler, it was the lack of repercussions. The last time they’d tried to take things further, they hadn’t been allowed. She was intuitive enough to know that everything happened for a reason. She still recalled the conversation with Winnie in the in-between. She was supposed to be discovering who she was and what she was capable of but with her twin sister’s soul fully merged with her own, all roads led back to Frost. There used to be a tug-of-war between Chloe’s desire for Frost and her own for Kevin but since the Testing, the scales had tipped in Frost’s favor. Her attraction to him was beyond reason and logic. It was an instinctual pull. She still wanted him even after experiencing his ability and knowing the trouble it could cause. She understood him more now. She peered up from her coffee cup to find him staring at her again. He smiled and she knew he’d been listening to her internal dialogue once again. It bothered her less now when he listened without her permission. Perhaps, it was because a part of her wanted him to know everything she was thinking.
“I think there’s something wrong with this bacon. It smells off. Should I tell the waitress?” Zach complained as he scowled at his almost untouched plate.
Zach was eating meat. Oh no. He hadn’t seen Lexy’s warning against ordering anything with meat in it. Kayn had been so off in her own little world that she hadn’t noticed what he’d ordered.
Kayn picked up one of Zach’s pieces of bacon and sniffed it. She’d smelled that scent before. Where had she smelled that scent before?
Lexy hadn’t bothered to stop him from eating it. She’d been intently observing him and waiting for his reaction. Kayn’s eyes widened as she recalled where she’d smelled that scent. He’d only taken a small bite but he’d swallowed it and it would surely come right back up if she told him what it was.
Lexy slowly moved her head from side to side and she mouthed the words, “Don’t tell him,” to Kayn.
Kayn whispered in Zach’s ear, “It’s probably gone bad. Don’t eat any more.”
Zach grimaced and mumbled, “That was a waste of money.”
Please don’t notice what it is. Please don’t remember.
The waitress popped back to refill their coffee and Zach said, “Excuse me but I think there’s something wrong with my bacon. It’s gone bad or something.”
The waitress gave her token response, “I apologize. We serve thin strips of moose meat as bacon not pig. I keep telling them they should have that written on the menu somewhere.”
That seemed to pacify Zach’s need for an explanation. He sniffed a piece and took a bite of it, right in front of the waitress.
No, no! Don’t do it Zach! He looked at her and she had to look away from him. He’d heard her thoughts and she knew he couldn’t react to them. The waitress smiled as he chewed it up and swallowed it. She wandered to the next table to refill their coffee. The restaurant was now completely full and everyone was surrounded by the black and gray smoke. If she said anything, Zach would cause a scene. It felt so wrong allowing him to eat bacon that was made from people. Her emotions had led her to make rash decisions in the past but she was different now. She kept repeating, brains before brawn, in her head, until he was finished every last bite of the people meat on his plate.
“Let’s go buy some toiletries and clothes. Then we’ll find somewhere to stay for the night,” Frost announced rather loudly, just as the waitress walked past their table.
She paused and said, “There’s some really great cabins with a lake view a few blocks away. You’ll see the sign. It says, Eagle Perch. Those are really reasonable.”
Frost nodded, smiled at her and said, “Add an extra ten dollars for the tip.” He handed her his card.
She thanked him and replied, “I’ll be right back with your receipt. She ran it through the machine up front and brought it back to the table. They all rose from their seats and made their way out of the restaurant.
Kayn caught up to him and whispered, “So, what’s the plan here? Are we really spending the night in a town full of...?”
Frost lifted one finger and pressed it against his lips, to signal that she shouldn’t say what she was about to say out loud.
They got into the truck and as they started to drive around to scope out the town, Frost began his explanation, “We’re going to go and rent a cabin. Then we’re going to stop by every business in this town and make sure they know where we’re staying and that we’ll only be here for one night. They’ll come for us and we’ll show them what two Dragons are capable of.”
It’s kind of funny how things change. She wasn’t the least bit nervous. Truth be told, she was stoked. The idea of letting her inhibitions go completely and seeing what she was capable of was exciting.
Zach asked the question that she’d been curious about the whole time they’d been sitting in that restaurant surrounded by people with ominous auras, “What are they? How many of them are there?”
“This is a demon infestation,” Frost replied. “The sign as we arrived said the population was two hundred and seven.”
This was going to be so much fun! Kayn couldn’t stop smiling. It was like Dragon Christmas.
Zach’s lips were still parted. He was stunned. He stated, “There’s no way we can kill two hundred demons, it’s impossible.”
Frost laughed and sparred, “You just survived the Testing. Nothing is impossible.”
They pulled down the long dirt road that led to the cabins the waitress had told them about. Lexy glanced at her and they grinned at each other. This was going to be an awesome job. Frost parked the vehicle and everyone got out of the truck.
He wandered over to the office and hollered, “Wait here you guys. I’ll be right back.” He winked at her.
That cheesy horror movie line had been directed at her. He knew she loved that stuff. She stretched her arms above her head and cracked her neck. This was going to be epic.
Frost came back with a key dangling from two fingers. He grinned as she explained, “I told them we needed some privacy. So, they’ve put us in the cabin down by the water. Everyone hop back into the truck. It’s a bit of a drive.”
They all got into the vehicle and pulled out and continued to drive down the long narrow road. There wasn’t room for more than one vehicle.
If they met someone coming in the opposite direction, they’d be screwed. They drove for quite a while through the lush greenery of the forest before Frost pulled down one of the numbered driveways. He parked in front of a rustic looking log cabin that reminded her of the cabin they’d once attempted to stay in together. Grey got out first. He climbed into the back of the truck, unlocked the plastic storage box and hauled a case out of it. He lugged it to the door as Frost unlocked it. He glanced down at the welcome mat and lifted it up. There was a key under the mat. He grinned as he held it up and said, “So, this is how they planned to get inside.” He strolled into the cabin and Grey followed him hauling the obviously heavy case.
Zach was right behind Grey. He whispered, “Tell me this isn’t going to be a blood bath. Our blood bath.”
Grey grinned at Zach and stated, “We probably won’t even have to leave the cabin. Lexy and Kayn are going to enjoy this one. It’ll be a cake walk for them.” He opened the case. It was full of ten pound bags of salt. He instructed, “Grab one and start circling the room on the inside.
Lily grabbed one of the bags and joined them. She piped in, “Don’t worry about it Zach. This is just a small town where demonic souls have possessed the entire population. There won’t be any of those big scaly ones or any of that sedating mist involved. These are just strong shells. We’re just going to send them back where they came from. The Aries group will clean up after us.”
Lexy walked over the threshold with a hard plastic case in her hands. She laid it on the bed and opened it. Inside of the case were a half dozen silver daggers with the symbol of Ankh on them. This was something new. She noticed Kayn staring at her and she explained, “These daggers will send them to where they are supposed to go without having to mark them with our blood and say anything. We’re only supposed to use them when the job is as big as this one.”
Kayn wandered around the cabin and noted that it reeked of bleach. This must be the routine. Somebody comes into the diner and they suggest the cabins. One narrow road in and out. There would be no way for a mortal to escape. These demons have quite the sick and twisted little operation going on here. She laid down on the bed, noting that the sheets reeked of bleach just as badly as the walls and the floors did. They probably opened the door with the key from under the mat and killed the travellers in their sleep, then served them up in the restaurant...Gross.