Lisa rolled her eyes and threw a shoulder into the door, then kicked it. It was solid, unmoving. She gave up on convention and sent out tendrils of black energy, ripping into the hinges, ignoring the gasps of Caitlin and her friends. A senior member of the football team got too close, trying to grab her by the shoulders. He drew back immediately when his fingers were stung by the black energy. Locks and hinges ripped from the wall, and Lisa gave a final kick to the door, which pushed inward. Smoke poured out, flooding the hallway and sending students running. The school’s emergency fire sprinkler system came to life, adding to the frenzy in the hallways. Alarms buzzing through the school set the entire campus on edge.
“Liev!” Lisa coughed.
Two silver eyes peered at her through the haze, several inches above where she knew his eyes should be. “Liev ... what happened?”
The eyes lost their fury, seemed to gain sentience and understanding and, with it, regret. The beast whimpered and turned, crashing through the bathroom window.
“Wait!” Lisa gave chase through the smoke that rolled through the broken window, and jumped through. She could see him, half human and half wolf, running on all fours toward the trees.
She sprinted after him. For a predator, he was not hard to follow. Scraps of shoes and clothing were scattered along his trail, some of them burnt. Lisa wondered what started the fire.
There were divots in the ground where fingers and toes had grasped the earth, shredding it with momentum. A student who had been running from one school building to another, late for class, now cowered against a tree. Lisa ran in the direction he was gawking, cursing under her breath.
People were seeing too much. Hunter’s Grove did not need this.
The tracks came to an abrupt stop. She almost missed it, the subtle curve of movement on the ground, one direction, and then another. Large paw prints led through an open gate in a layer of sand near a dumpster surrounded by trees. She slowed, carefully stepping around the fence to where she could hear the sound of heavy panting.
A white wolf clung to the shadows, somehow pacing and turning without actually moving from its spot. It whined upon seeing her, ears falling flat.
“Liev, it’s okay. It’s me. Lisa.”
The wolf whined again. He tried to back away as she walked forward, but there was nowhere to go. He snarled, snapping, hackles raised.
“Stop that. I know you won’t. Just ... let me ...”
She reached out to him. The wolf’s shoulders—Liev’s shoulders—loosened. It looked less like relaxing, and more like a droop. Slowly, Lisa sat down in front of him. “Close your eyes. Breathe.”
In an attempt to calm herself, Lisa closed her eyes. She smoothed back the fur over one shoulder, softly taking hold of a paw, avoiding the sharp point of each nail.
Inside the school hallways, the class bell rang. They ignored it, focusing on a wordless understanding that the twins had always known. She was going to help him, regardless of what state he was in, and that was that.
They sat in silence for what felt like hours, next to the school dumpster, in less than favorable weather. Lisa didn’t open her eyes when the claws had retracted, nor when the rough paw and fur were skin again. Instead, she waited.
“What happened?” she eventually asked, in a soft tone to help him continue to relax.
His voice cracked the first time. “I lost control.”
“Why?”
“Everything was too much. I couldn’t help it. I ... Is everyone ...?”
Lisa’s phone buzzed in her pocket. “Stop. Of course. You know you wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“But I don’t know that.”
She shook her head. “There was smoke in that room, Liev. What really happened?”
“I lost it.”
“Yes. You did. But what else happened? Where did the smoke come from?”
Lisa opened her eyes. Her brother crouched in front of her. His eyes were their normal, pale hue again, remnants of clothes hanging off his frame. He looked afraid.
The phone went off again, to her chagrin. And then once more. She pulled it out, wondering what else had gone wrong. It was Darcy.
Charlie did his best not to glare at Donnie during class. A secondary threat, he told himself. That’s all Donnie is. A schoolyard bully with powers. The thought angered him. And the smirk Donnie wore, that Charlie could see out of the corner of his eye was infuriating. He wouldn’t let it get to him.
“Mr. Sullivan!”
Charlie looked up from under his hoodie to where his history teacher was adjusting pince-nez glasses. “Yes, Mr. Hornsby?”
“What year did Shays’ Rebellion take place?”
Charlie squinted as if remembering, but really he was trying to hide the Sight as he looked through the teacher’s eyes to the textbook in his hand. “1786.”
The teacher nodded, frowning as a sudden ache pounded at the back of his skull. “Very good,” he muttered, moving on to his next point on the board.
“Nice going,” whispered Donnie from two seats away. “You think you could help me with some cheating, too?” Classmates within earshot started to whisper.
“Is there something I should know about?” asked Mr. Hornsby, his book snapping closed with a puff of dust.
The classroom door flew open, a teacher’s assistant burst through in a panic, handing the teacher a written note.
Charlie glared at Donnie in the meantime. He was frustrated, but at the same time he knew Donnie was right. He had just used the Sight to cheat in class.
But right now something else demanded his attention. The way Donnie’s smile grew more mischievous, along with Mr. Hornsby’s worried expression as he read the note, and the handful of students and teachers jogging by the classroom door told him something more sinister was at play. Charlie could smell something burning as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.
Charlie sat up in his chair, feet planted firmly on the tiled classroom floor. “Is there something wrong, Mr. Hornsby?”
“What? No. No, nothing for you to worry about.”
Donnie snickered. Charlie stood up in a flash.
“Mr. Sullivan, is there something I can help you with?”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Mr. Sullivan, sit down in your chair this instant.”
Charlie’s jaw clenched as he kept himself from saying something stupid. He kept walking, with Mr. Hornsby continuing to call out behind him. The sound of other students standing up, chairs and desks scraping the floor, followed him as he exited the room.
Charlie followed his nose at first. Others were gathering down the hall, around a corner. He felt something gather in his stomach. A twisting, sick feeling.
Turning the corner, he saw Darcy, texting frantically. Nash ran from the opposite direction, his phone in hand as well.
“Where is he?” asked Nash.
“Lisa is with him. They’re okay.”
“That’s not who I was talking about.”
Charlie jogged the last few steps, looking through the crowd to where a door had been ripped away from its hinges, and the last few ribbons of smoke drifting out of a broken bathroom window.
“What happened?” Charlie asked.
Darcy jumped, spinning around. “It’s Liev.” She looked around, making sure Nash and Charlie were the only ones listening. “He changed.”
“Where—”
“He’s okay now. He’s changed back. Lisa is with him.”
“Why the change?”
“Why do you think? Or rather, who?” muttered Nash. Charlie could see the anger bubbling in Nash.
He shook his head, not understanding.
“It was Donnie,” said Darcy.
“But, he was in class the entire time. I was there. He ...”
Charlie turned around, feeling a prickling sensation along his neck. At the end of the hallway, Donnie stood next to the man in black, who blew out a long stream of smoke—only, there was no cigarette or cigar. The demon turned an
d disappeared deeper into the school, Donnie following him like a puppy. Charlie bolted forward.
“Wait,” said Darcy. “Charlie, stop! Nash?”
Nash quickly overtook his friend, and the two took a sharp turn into the next hallway. Donnie was already at the end of that one, alone now, leisurely strolling out of sight. They ran the length of the corridor, but Donnie was already at the far end again, pushing through the double doors into an empty cafeteria.
“Coward!” screamed Nash, as they continued to pursue him.
A surge of heat blasted through the hallway, and suddenly Charlie and Nash each felt a hand on their back. With a violent lurch, they flew forward several feet, sliding through the cafeteria doors, which slammed shut behind them.
Sirens screamed in Charlie’s ears, and his head was fuzzy as he tried to stand. Nash was up, throwing an overhand swing, which Donnie dodged with a simple side step. With the bully behind him, Nash brought his elbow up and around, but Donnie blocked it, pushing Nash away with ease. Donnie laughed at how easy things came to him; how elementary, yet effective, his movements flowed.
Charlie pushed his Sight into Donnie’s mind, but was quickly overcome with a presence so hateful and thick with malice that Charlie was the one who became disoriented and nauseous.
“Like what you see, loner?” he heard Donnie taunt, as Nash kept up a steady barrage.
Nash’s scream brought Charlie out of his stupor. It wasn’t a scream that was natural for his friend—pain didn’t drive Nash to such responses. Charlie pushed himself off the ground and saw Donnie’s hand smoking with heat, grasping Nash’s shoulder. His fingers looked like they were melting through his skin, deep into his muscles.
“Stop.”
Surprised, Donnie let go of Nash and turned to look at the man in black, who was reclining in a plastic chair, his boots kicked up on a table.
“But ...” Donnie began.
The demon stood, cutting him off, and walked up to Nash. He brushed some soot from the hunter’s shoulder and Nash shivered, cold sweat running down his neck.
“It isn’t their time yet,” the demon said, although he seemed to be speaking more to Charlie and Nash than to Donnie. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go.”
Donnie pouted, shooting Charlie and Nash spiteful looks before turning to follow the shadowy figure, slamming through the double doors.
Nash stood, holding his shoulder, and made a movement to go after them. Charlie stopped him.
“Don’t.”
“But what about Liev?”
“Liev is alive. We’re going to need some help to deal with Donnie. He’s more of a threat than I realized, and I think we’ll need our energy and all our wits for what’s coming.”
Chapter 5
Lisa dragged her brother to school the next day. He was still catching up on extra classwork from the time he was thought dead, and she knew what type of rumors would continue to spread if he skipped.
Of course, rumors didn’t need any help spreading. They were already in play. Drug deals in the bathroom, and a goth with a love for fire starting; witchcraft in the halls, and rituals in the classroom ... or according to one student who had seen something first hand, galloping across the school lawn: monsters. The Vadiknov twins always were freaks, after all. Students avoided them, but the day carried on without any extraordinary events, beyond Liev having his John Lennon shades confiscated during first period. His bloodshot eyes did nothing to dispel rumors of drug-use and all-night escapades in the woods.
It affected the others as well. Darcy’s influence with her classmates waned. She smiled and waved it off when the other girls gave her the cold shoulder and moved seats, but people knew the smiles were fake, and the icy behavior really did bother Darcy. Charlie and Nash became known as the loner-rebels of the school, especially after Charlie’s complete disregard of his teacher’s warning on the day of the “Bathroom Fire Incident.” It was unwanted attention. Charlie, while much more fit and ready for a fight than the year before, had no interest in becoming the next top dog of the hallways, and Nash wondered how he got stuck with the role of the sidekick.
The group’s celebrity status as local heroes wasn’t fading, but had taken a hard twist. And not in a good way.
On a strange, but silver-lined-cloud note, Donnie was absent. No one asked where he’d gone, although they all kept waiting for him to pull another stunt. Without him around, they ended up breathing a little easier by the final bell.
Then, a few days later, Darcy told everyone not to go to the Key.
“What, why?” asked Lisa. “We need to be there. Me and Charlie are still working on Loch.”
“Charlie and I,” Liev corrected, picking up a spoonful of cardboard-textured mashed potatoes with a sulk.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Mom just texted me,” Darcy told the others. “Wotan Gregory just arrived.”
“Who’s that?” asked Nash. He smashed an empty can of soda, questioning to himself, “And who the heck names their child Wotan?”
“He’s a council member.”
The group froze.
“What else did she say?” asked Charlie.
“Nothing. Just that we should come tomorrow. Not today.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t say.”
Charlie leaned forward, putting his fork down. He’d lost his appetite.
Lisa caught up with Charlie. “Where are you headed?”
“The Key. What are you doing?”
“Coming with you.”
“Don’t. It’ll be easier if I go alone.”
“What happened to you, Charlie? You used to be so bright-eyed.” She poked his shoulder playfully, and then tried to ignore the muscle she felt beneath the shirt.
Charlie shrugged and kept walking.
She crossed her arms and kept up with him, pouring on the serious. “I remember when you brought us all together. Because you believed we could do something great together. You inspired us.” She blushed. “You inspired me.”
“Well, this sucks now, okay? It’s not fun anymore. At first it was cool. It was new and exciting. Now I’m just tired. All the time.”
She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a halt. “Then stop trying to do it alone. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking Loch needs to wake up, and Mrs. Witherington needs to have whatever curse is on her head taken off, and Donnie needs to be put in his place, and Chen needs to be found.” His eyes danced all over the place as he spoke, his mind spinning in circles.
She smirked, and placed her hands on the sides of his head, forcing him to be still and look at her. “And where do you plan on starting?”
Charlie felt his stomach dance. He wanted to stay in that moment, everything seemed okay right then, but he knew he couldn’t and pulled away. “With Loch. He would know what to do with everything else. Where’s Liev?”
“Home, sick. He doesn’t want to be out any more than he has to right now,” Lisa sighed as Charlie went back to walking, business mode.
They went up the old way, through the woods. Charlie kept his eyes open for any threat as they climbed. Soon they felt the welcoming presence of the Key’s protective wards, but, sadly, it wasn’t enough to comfort them.
“Reminds me of the first time we snuck up here,” Lisa said.
Charlie pushed the gate open, grimacing at the creak. “If only it were just Loch waiting for us, like last time.”
“Remember how he scared us?”
“Not much. I blacked out, remember?” She laughed, and he let loose a little bit of a smile. “After you.”
Lisa’s cheeks turned a slight shade of red. She gently raised her shoulders. “Thanks.”
For a moment, Charlie savored the subtle invitation of her perfume as she walked passed him. As oblivious as he sometimes was, he knew that he deeply cared for Lisa, and he cherished the moments he had with her. Those moments seemed too few and far between. The air charged between them, an
d they both felt it.
He pulled the gate closed behind them, scurrying to get off the dirt road and back into the cover of trees. The towers and gargoyles were in sight, probably watching as the two teens crept over what seemed like a minefield of sticks and dead leaves.
“Which way?” asked Lisa.
He could see inside the Key. It knew him, and let him pass through its protective wards and defenses. Two people were in the parlor—Elizabeth Witherington and the newcomer. Charlie sighed. The parlor would have been the easiest way to get in without setting off any of Loch’s crazy security systems. He rubbed his forehead and started to look through other places, trying to think of where else ...
In the kitchen, there was a small figure. Charlie’s first thought was of their little monster friend, Dräng, but that was impossible. Dräng was on the run, in hiding. And this figure was not decrepit enough. The proportions were too much like a human child. He could see a vague and erratic magic around it, and something about its shape was unsettling.
In Charlie’s vision, the form was blurry. It was not quite like looking through an infrared camera, but similar enough. And yet, he could see the shape, whatever it was, turn and look directly at him.
“What’s wrong?” Lisa asked, and Charlie realized he was gripping the bark off a tree. He blinked, and the thing was gone.
“Something else is in the Key. Come on.”
There was a secret entrance into the Library. It was a hollow wall that could be moved with a spoken command—permoveo–and hidden in layers of magic. It was a risky hole in the Library’s design, built to be a fortress of last resort within the castle-like mansion and could not be opened from the outside once locked down, except for this one passage.
They came in behind a bookshelf that was set askew, a feature hardly noticeable in a multi-story coliseum cluttered with hundreds of other shelves and stacks of books.
Lisa tugged on his elbow. “Hang on. I left something here earlier.”
“Is it really that important right now?”
“Aren’t we doing everything we can for Loch?”
She ran up the stairs to the next floor, leaving Charlie alone with his thoughts. He kept looking through the Key, watching the two in the parlor and for any other threats that might appear again. It made Charlie wonder what the unknown figure was, and why it had not activated any of the Key’s defense mechanisms. He jumped as a hand brushed up against his elbow.
Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters: Council of the Hunters Page 4