Fever

by Amy Meredith

  ‘Ugh. Did you know some Russian nomads used to drink the blood of the first enemy they killed in battle?’ Jess asked. She’d clearly been searching for blood drinkers too.

  They all fell silent as they continued to search for anything that could refer to Amunnic. The words had started looking like streams of black ink to Eve, when Luke spoke up.

  ‘I think I found something good,’ he announced. ‘Or not good, but important. It’s about how Amunnic kills people.’

  ‘Don’t we know that already?’ Jess asked. ‘He drains their blood. That pretty much kills anyone.’

  ‘He does drink human blood according to this, but there’s a whole ritual involved,’ Luke explained. ‘First Amunnic uses one claw to—’

  ‘Claw? I hate it when they have claws,’ Eve interrupted. ‘Sorry, go on.’

  ‘The demon uses a claw to open one of its victim’s veins,’ Luke continued. ‘The blood floods out, and Amunnic catches it in a ceremonial ceramic bowl. He has to say an incantation over the blood, and then drink it while it is still warm. The book also says that Amunnic keeps his victims alive for several weeks, taking blood whenever he thirsts.’

  Jess swallowed hard enough for Eve to hear. ‘So this demon basically uses people as living wine bottles. Just keeps them around, and drinks when he feels like it.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Luke rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yeah,’ he said again.

  ‘Keeping his victims alive could be a good thing,’ Eve said. ‘I mean, it’s hideous. But it means that everyone Amunnic has taken is probably still alive.’ She reached across the table and pulled the book Luke had been reading over in front of her. ‘The bowl even says Amunnic on it,’ she commented. ‘How old must that thing be?’

  She looked up and found Luke and Jess staring at her. ‘Where are you getting that?’ Luke asked. ‘The name?’

  Eve tapped the markings around the top of the bowl in the drawing. ‘Right there.’

  Neither Luke or Jess said a word. ‘Oh,’ Eve said, getting it. ‘What do you see around the top?’

  ‘Just a bunch of geometric shapes,’ Luke answered, and Jess nodded along with him. ‘But you see something else, don’t you?’

  ‘Letters,’ Eve replied. ‘A.M.U.N.N.I.C.’ She sank back down onto her chair, a little shaken. ‘I guess it’s a Deepdene Witch thing, huh?’

  ‘Well, this is the second time it’s happened,’ Luke said gently. ‘You could read what was written on the arch leading to the portal, even though Jess and I couldn’t.’

  ‘Part of your demon-fighting arsenal,’ Jess said.

  Eve started to shove the book back to Luke, but a paragraph near the bottom of the page caught her eye. This could be what we need, she thought.

  ‘What? Do you see something else on the bowl?’ Luke leaned close.

  ‘No. But it’s about why Amunnic hasn’t been sighted since approximately 600 BC,’ she told him. ‘Legend has it that around that time Many Faces was weak from hunger. He was so weak, in fact, that an Arabian magician was able to trap him inside a ceramic vessel.’ Eve tapped the drawing of the bowl. ‘This. The same bowl he used to drink blood.’

  ‘It seems like Mr Dokey brought back a really cool souvenir from Egypt,’ Luke said. ‘We’ve got to go talk to him. We have to find out whether he has that bowl.’

  ‘Amunnic’s clearly not in it any more,’ Jess said. She sounded exhausted.

  ‘But he needs the bowl to feed,’ Eve reminded her. ‘Which is pretty much the same as needing the bowl to survive. We find the bowl, we find the demon.’ She stood up. ‘Field trip to the plague ward, anyone?’

  ‘You know what I just realized,’ Jess said on their way to the courthouse. ‘Everyone the demon has taken is around our age.’

  ‘Maybe younger blood is more powerful. Like more vitamins per serving,’ Eve suggested.

  ‘Then why wouldn’t he be taking kids?’ Luke asked.

  A slash of revulsion cut through Eve as she considered his question. ‘Maybe it likes all the extra hormones,’ she suggested. ‘My mom is always telling me how teenagers are raging with them.’

  ‘It could actually be something like that,’ Luke commented. ‘I know you were half kidding, but animals are really sensitive to the scent of hormones. Maybe a demon could be too.’

  ‘None of the people taken were sick, at least that we know of,’ Jess said. ‘I mean, none of them was showing symptoms, right?’

  ‘You’re right!’ Eve exclaimed. ‘So maybe Amunnic can’t feed on people with the plague.’

  ‘The curse makes more sense then.’ Luke slowed down a little as he explained his theory. ‘It doesn’t just warn people that the demon is nearby, it makes it a lot harder for Amunnic to feed, which could make him weaker.’

  ‘Maybe weak enough so that magician could trap him,’ Jess offered. ‘The priest’s curse was better than I was giving it credit for. If we’re right, and Amunnic can’t feed on plague victims, maybe that led to him getting weak enough to be captured.’

  ‘Look at these guys,’ Eve said, jerking her chin at Dave and a couple of his buddies – Phillip and Sean – heading towards them, all wearing bathing suits and flip-flops and carrying rolled-up towels. Dave and Phillip each had a grip on one of the handles of a big cooler.

  ‘Party down at the beach,’ Sean announced.

  Phillip released his side of the cooler and it slammed to the sidewalk a couple of metres away from Eve.

  ‘Dude!’ Dave exclaimed, still gripping the other handle. ‘What the hell?’

  Phillip stared at him, blinking. ‘Slipped.’ He clenched and unclenched his hand.

  Eve suspected it was less that his hand had slipped than that Phillip was feeling weak. He was sort of swaying on his feet, like he was on a sailboat.

  Jess moved closer to Eve. ‘I think he might have it,’ she whispered. Eve nodded, taking a step back, as if that would protect her.

  ‘You guys want to come?’ Sean asked. He winked at Jess and Eve. ‘We could use some lovely ladies.’ He doesn’t look that great either, Eve realized. Under his tan, his skin had an ashen tone, and his hair was damp with sweat. ‘You won’t be the only ones,’ he added. ‘Megan and Elisha are meeting us.’

  ‘We severely need some beach time. We just want to hang and not think about anything,’ Dave added. And they all knew exactly what he meant by ‘anything’.

  ‘Maybe later,’ Jess told them. ‘I promised my mom I’d be home by one, and she’ll have a meltdown if I don’t show. Have fun, guys.’ She circled around them, Eve and Luke right behind her. Eve held her breath as she went by, hoping that would protect her, although it felt like the crackling current still whisking through her would annihilate any virus that dared to invade her body.

  ‘Pretty soon the healthy people will be living in the courthouse,’ Luke said. ‘There will be a lot fewer of them than plague victims.’

  ‘Not going to happen. Pretty soon Amunnic will be gone,’ Eve vowed. ‘I’m zapping him right back to hell.’

  ‘I like your style,’ Luke told her as they climbed the courthouse steps. A guard in a hazmat suit was positioned in front of the big double doors.

  ‘No one allowed in,’ the guard told them.

  ‘We’re here to visit my boyfriend, Seth Schneider,’ Jess said firmly. ‘It’s OK if we wear hazmat suits. I did it the other day.’

  The guard gestured for them to stay where they were, and opened the door. ‘This girl says she was allowed to visit a victim,’ he called to a nurse doing paperwork at a long table that had been set up in the lobby.

  Jess moved closer so the nurse could see her. The nurse nodded. ‘She was given approval. She has to get into a suit though.’

  The guard stepped back to allow them inside. ‘Wait. The other two don’t have authorization,’ the nurse said when she saw Luke and Eve following Jess.

  ‘But they’re with me,’ Jess protested.

  ‘Don’t press it, miss,’ the nurse told her. ‘You’re lucky to get in you
rself. The only reason you’re allowed is because my supervisor has a weakness for tears. I don’t.’

  ‘Neither do I,’ the guard said.

  ‘Fine.’ Jess turned to Eve and Luke. ‘I’ll tell him you said hi.’

  Eve and Luke reluctantly turned round and stepped back outside. ‘I want to hear what Dokey has to say,’ Luke said as they walked down the steps.

  ‘Me too. There’s got to be another way in,’ Eve answered. They circled around the building. ‘Fire door,’ she pointed out.

  ‘The alarm will go off it we try to get in that way though,’ Luke said. Eve nodded and kept walking, then she stopped. ‘What?’ Luke asked.

  ‘What if I zap it?’ Eve stared at the door’s DO NOT ENTER sign.

  ‘The door? How would that—’

  ‘Not the door. The alarm. You open the door, and I zap the alarm before it can go off,’ Eve explained.

  Luke raised his eyes brows. ‘It might work. A power surge could short it out.’

  ‘Let’s try.’ Eve did a guard check. There wasn’t one in sight. She and Luke hurried over to the door.

  ‘On three,’ Luke said. ‘One … two … three!’ He shoved the door open. Eve darted through, spotted the alarm box, and thrust her hands towards it. She hit it with so much power that it melted before it could give a peep.

  ‘Nice,’ Luke told her.

  The hallway was empty. They started opening doors, just a crack, looking for suits.

  ‘There are a bunch in here in a big cart. Looks like they’ve already been worn and need to be sterilized,’ Luke said as he peered into the third room on the right.

  ‘Good enough,’ Eve said. ‘Face it. It’s not like we both haven’t been exposed to the plague multiple times already.’

  They ducked inside and suited up. No one would question them now, Eve thought. They looked as official as anyone once their clothes were covered and the masks were obscuring their faces.

  ‘Let’s find Mr Dokey,’ Luke said as they returned to the hallway.

  ‘And Jess,’ Eve added. She strode over to the next room and cracked the door. ‘Score!’ She waved Luke over and led the way inside. A computer sat on the desk of the small clerk’s office. ‘Bet they’re using it to track patients and treatments,’ she said.

  Luke was at the keyboard before the last word was out of her mouth. ‘Dokey’s in room two-o-seven. They have him listed as patient zero. That means he was the first one with the plague.’

  ‘Get Seth’s room too,’ Eve said.

  Luke typed in Schneider, Seth. ‘In courtroom A, bed sixteen.’

  Eve had to stifle a gasp when they found the courtroom and stepped inside. Cots lined the walls and aisles between the wooden benches. So many people, all so sick. Eve was thankful for the thick plastic of her visor. It made everything seem a little distant, a little less real.

  She didn’t need to use the bed number to find Seth. Eve quickly spotted Jess standing over him. Her shoulders were heaving with sobs. ‘This way,’ she said to Luke, then rushed over to join her friend.

  ‘He doesn’t even know I’m here. I can’t even tell him I’m sorry I ran off the other day,’ Jess cried when Eve put her arm round Jess’s shoulders. Seth’s eyes were open, but glazed. She didn’t think he was seeing anything. Was he even conscious? Jess seemed pretty out of it too, not even stopping to question how Luke and Eve had made it into the courthouse. Eve knew that seeing Seth in that state was more than her bestie could handle.

  ‘He knows you’re with him,’ Luke told her. ‘People always know, even if they can’t show it. He knows and it’s helping him.’

  Luke was so good at giving comfort, Eve thought. Maybe it was because his dad was a minister and Luke had spent a lot of time going out on calls with him. ‘We need to get to Mr Dokey,’ Eve said gently.

  ‘I don’t want to leave him.’ Jess rested her gloved hand lightly on Seth’s chest. His lips parted slightly, as if he was about to speak, but he didn’t utter a sound.

  ‘The best thing you can do for him is help us find Amunnic,’ Luke reminded her.

  Jess sucked in a deep breath. ‘OK, yes, you’re right.’ She blinked rapidly to clear her eyes of tears. There was no way to wipe them through the mask of the hazmat suit.

  ‘He’s in room two-o-seven,’ Eve said. She linked her arm through Jess’s and guided her out of the ward and over to the stairs.

  Luke held up one hand when they reached the first floor. He backed down a few steps, Eve and Jess following his lead. ‘Guard in front of the door I think is Dokey’s,’ he said softly.

  ‘I got it,’ Jess said.

  Eve didn’t have a chance to ask what she meant. Jess threw herself up the stairs, screaming. ‘Seth! He’s dying! Somebody has to do something.’ Eve could tell the hysteria in her friend’s voice wasn’t completely put on.

  Luke and Eve crept back to the top of the stairs. Jess had the guard facing away from them and had managed to pull him several steps away from the door. Now or never, Eve thought. She darted towards the door and slipped behind. Luke shut the door as soon as he followed her inside.

  ‘Oh my God,’ Eve whispered. ‘Is that him?’ The figure on the cot that had been placed to one side of the desk in the judge’s chambers didn’t look like Mr Dokey. It didn’t even look human.

  Cautiously Eve moved forward. Now she was able to make out a nose almost eaten away by the necrosis and lips that were raw and oozing. The mouth was open, revealing a thick puffy tongue, bright angry red, except for where splotches of rot like damp black fungus had sprouted. The eyes were shut. Eve was grateful for that. She didn’t want to see what the plague had done to the eyes.

  ‘Mr Dokey?’ She was still having trouble believing it was her teacher. ‘Mr Dokey?’ she said more loudly. No response.

  Eve reached out and laid her hand on Mr Dokey’s. Through the glove, she felt the skin on his hand slide. Bile splashed up in her throat when she raised her gloved fingers to her eyes and saw the greenish-black smear. A piece of Mr Dokey’s skin had peeled away at Eve’s gentle touch.

  Chapter Seven

  Eve’s eyes jerked back to Mr Dokey’s hand, and she caught a glimpse of white bone where his skin had peeled away. She heard a low whimpering sound and it took her a moment to realize it was coming from her own throat.

  Luke stepped up beside her and grabbed her hand. Even through two layers of gloves she could feel its warmth, and it helped steady her. ‘Mr Dokey!’ she exclaimed. ‘It’s Luke Thompson and Eve Evergold.’

  ‘From school. Can you hear us?’ Luke added.

  Mr Dokey’s eyelids fluttered. When they opened, oily-looking black strands connected the upper and lower lids.

  ‘Hi. Hi, Mr Dokey. It’s good to see you,’ Eve said, forcing herself to treat him as the person he was, even though he looked like a monster. She wondered if he could see her or anything at all.

  Jess slipped up beside her and Luke. ‘I got rid of the guard, at least for a little,’ she said. Her body stiffened as she took in Mr Dokey’s appearance. ‘Is that going to happen to everyone?’ she asked softly. ‘I can’t even— Can you even see a patch of skin that isn’t … that isn’t covered?’

  Eve shook her head. ‘We have to stay focused.’

  ‘We wanted to find out about the bowl,’ Luke said loudly. ‘You brought a bowl back from Egypt, didn’t you, Mr Dokey?’

  Mr Dokey’s frail body spasmed, and he muttered some words that Eve couldn’t make out. She wasn’t even sure they were in English.

  ‘The bowl. The ceramic bowl. Where is it?’ Jess urged.

  Mr Dokey gave another spasm, one so hard it lifted his spine off the bed. ‘I did this. Me.’ His voice was thick and muffled. He twisted his head back and forth, and Eve saw pieces of skin appear on his pillowcase.

  ‘Calm down, please,’ she begged. ‘You’re hurting yourself.’

  ‘Warned!’ Mr Dokey cried out. ‘Warned. Didn’t— Wouldn’t. My fault.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ Luk
e told him. ‘It’s going to be OK, Mr Dokey. We just need to know where that bowl is.’

  ‘We can save everybody!’ Jess added.

  ‘She’s right,’ Luke said, enunciating each word clearly. ‘We can stop this. All of this.’

  Mr Dokey blinked, frowning. His eyes seemed to lock on Luke’s face. They were full of pleading. ‘You know where,’ he rasped. ‘You know.’ Then his eyes shut again, and his body went limp. It was as if he’d used all the strength he had.

  ‘He didn’t— He’s not dead, is he?’ Jess asked.

  Luke shook his head. ‘I think he just exhausted himself. We’re not going to get any more out of him. But it seemed like we were right. He knew what we were talking about when we brought up the bowl. It’s here in Deepdene.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Eve agreed. ‘And he said you knew where.’

  ‘I hate this!’ Jess burst out as soon as they left the courthouse. ‘I just hate it. I want something to punch. I’m so mad about everything. About Seth getting sick, and your dad, Luke. And about there being another stupid demon in our town.’

  ‘When we find stupid Amunnic you can punch him,’ Eve told her. ‘I’ll use my zaps to hold him still for you.’

  Jess shook out her arms. Eve could tell she was trying to let go of some of the tension in her body. ‘So what do you think Mr Dokey was talking about? Why would you know where the bowl is?’ she asked Luke.

  ‘All I can think of is the church,’ Luke answered. ‘That’s the only place that I’d know that you two might not, right?’

  ‘I don’t know if he even realized what he was saying,’ Eve replied. ‘All that stuff he was saying about a warning – what was that supposed to mean?’

  ‘The demon couldn’t go in the church, could it?’ Jess asked. ‘Not with the gargoyles.’

  The Deepdene church was filled with gargoyles, hundreds of them, all sizes and types. They’d discovered the stone monsters had been placed there to keep the church safe from demons.