Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters: Witch Moon

by D. C. McGannon

  “Um, are you sure he can fly this type of plane?” Darcy asked Marcus.

  “Of course he can!” The butler laughed but offered no other reassurance, or proof, for that matter.

  When it was time to say goodbye, Priest patted her on the shoulder and said, “She would be very proud of you, lass.”

  Then the younger Hunters awkwardly exchanged goodbyes with Aisling and her butler. Nash gave her a hi-five and Darcy gave her a hug before pulling Charlie over.

  “Thanks for your help,” he said dumbly. “Um. Bye.”

  “Bye, Charlie. Take care. Wait!”

  He turned around, questioning. She leaned in, whispering. “There was something my grandmum said to tell you before…before she passed. She said that your monster was innocent.”

  Charlie’s eyes opened wide, and his heart beat faster. He nodded and said, “Thank you,” and nearly ran to the plane. Aisling waved at him as he disappeared inside.

  Liev plucked the girl’s hand from the air and bowed his head to kiss it—Aisling’s cheeks glowed red—before Lisa slapped the back of his head and pushed him to the plane.

  “Seeya around, blondie,” she called from the plane, teasing but friendly.

  Aisling smiled and waved.

  Chen nodded cheerily from the plane’s steps and closed the door.

  Eight hours—and a stop for fuel—later, with the old aviator pilot checking the flight logs for coordinates, the plane touched down to a bumpy landing. The passengers gave their thanks to the kindly old man and rushed out of the plane before he could take off again, terrified for their lives and thankful to be on the ground again.

  Darcy found the nearest payphone to the hangar, which stood on a hill next to the locksmith’s, overlooking Hunter’s Grove. The little town looked serene, a light layer of snow falling through the failing sunlight. Darcy dropped some coins into the machine, and dialed her mother’s cell.

  Charlie ran down the hill with a limp, calling over his shoulder. “I’m heading to my house! I’ll catch up with you guys at the Key.”

  “Charlie, wait!” called Darcy, but then her mother answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Mom!”

  “Darcy? Darcy! Oh my gosh, you’re back?”

  “Yeah, we’re back! My cell is dead. We’re up by the locksmith’s.”

  “Honey, I’m so glad you’re okay. Stay there and I’ll come pick you up. I’m on my way.”

  Even through Elizabeth’s excitement, Darcy could tell something was wrong. Her stomach turned.

  “Everything alright, mom?”

  “I…I’ll be there in a sec, Darcy. Sit tight.”

  Darcy swallowed as she hung up.

  “What’s up?” asked Lisa, seeing the worry on her friend’s face.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  She nodded solemnly. “Listen, Liev and I live on this side of town. We’re going to head home for a second. You know.” She smiled, already getting teary-eyed as she thought of her parents seeing Liev again.

  “Alright,” said Darcy. “Meet up at the Key later?”

  Lisa nodded. She and Liev jogged down much like Charlie had at an awkward pace due to soreness and pain.

  Darcy looked at Nash, Priest, and Chen.

  “Heck,” said Nash, “my parents will probably just meet us at the Key, too.”

  Borrowing a few coins from Darcy—“I wasn’t going to need money in Ireland!” he told her—he dialed his parents and gave them the rundown.

  About that time, Elizabeth drove up in her blue SUV. She got out of the car and Darcy gasped, running to meet her.

  “Mom! What happened to you?”

  “It’s not as bad as it looks,” Elizabeth lied. She hugged Darcy carefully, both of them finding new pains in the hug.

  Elizabeth had stitches in her scalp, just visible at the corner of her forehead, and a black eye. She had a fist-sized bandage over her left cheek, as well as a few healing scabs and bruises over the rest of her face.

  “What did this to you?” asked Darcy.

  Elizabeth sighed, a dark look in her eyes. “It was Dräng.”

  Charlie burst through the front door. “Mom, Dad!”

  His mother spilled her glass of water all over the dining table.

  Mr. Sullivan stood up. “Charlie?”

  His parents rushed through the hallway to embrace him.

  “You’re alright,” he said with a sigh of relief.

  “Of course we’re alright!” said his mother. “And so are you,” she said, holding him out and looking him over. “We were worried about you.”

  “It went well then?” his father asked. “You saved the world and all?”

  “For the most part,” he answered. “So nothing happened here while we were gone? Nothing supernatural or anything?”

  Mr. Sullivan sighed. “Well, son…”

  Charlie looked him in the eye. “What is it?”

  “Elizabeth Witherington was hospitalized, and Loch…I don’t know for sure, son. The word around town is that he isn’t doing so well. I’ll drive you up there if you want, but there isn’t much that can be done.”

  Charlie nodded. “I need to see.”

  They were both surprised to see the lineup of cars in front of Hunter’s Key. Even after the event with the Dark Prince, the people of Hunter’s Grove preferred to stay away from the Key.

  Charlie immediately spotted the broken windows in front of the Key, some of them already boarded up.

  “What happened here?” he wondered aloud.

  “Nobody’s saying much,” Mr. Sullivan said. “But whatever happened, people are pretty shaken up about it.”

  They got out of the car and marched up the steps. Inside, the Witheringtons, Fish and Dink, the Vadiknovs, and Nash and his parents were all gathered around, talking. There was a lot of excitement around Liev, and a lot of sadness on the edges of conversation. Loch wasn’t there.

  As Mr. Sullivan caught up with the other parents and greeted Liev with raised eyebrows and a big smile, Charlie slowly climbed the stairs to the second floor. The hallway leading to Loch’s room stretched before him.

  Lisa appeared at his side. At first he didn’t want her there, but he quickly became grateful for her presence.

  “It’s bad,” she told him.

  “Is he…?”

  She shook her head. “He’s alive. But…”

  Charlie moved forward and Lisa let her sentence drop, following him. He found Loch’s door, a door that had always been closed, now cracked open. Putting a hand on the door handle for support, Charlie pushed and limped in.

  Loch was lying in bed, an oxygen mask over his face and several beeping machines by his bedside.

  “It’s a coma,” Lisa answered, saving Charlie the pain of asking. “They don’t know if he’ll wake up.”

  Charlie’s eyes glazed over, turning red, and he looked at Loch with the Sight. A dangerous blend of magic hovered around his teacher—something evil, black and red, while other colors like blue and white covered him like a blanket. Whether those were from Elizabeth or the Key or Loch himself, Charlie didn’t know yet.

  “What do you see?” asked Lisa.

  “I don’t know. It looks like there is a battle going on for Loch’s life.”

  Lisa looked out into the hallway. “There is something else.”

  “What?”

  “It’s Dräng. Elizabeth, Fish, Dink, even the mayor are all saying that Dräng did it. But I can’t believe that.”

  “It’s a trick,” said Charlie. “Before she died, Maurie told Aisling something. That our monster was innocent. Carman meant for me to send him back, so that she could have one of her sons frame him for this. I was such an idiot!”

  “Calm down, Charlie. All we have to do is tell them. It’ll be fine.”
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  Charlie nodded and, with a last glance at Loch, they quietly left their teacher to his sleep, walking back down the hallway and down the stairs.

  “Where is Dräng?” Charlie asked, skipping a step with every footfall.

  “In the dungeon, where he belongs,” Elizabeth said darkly.

  “Well, let’s let him out.”

  Mayor Witherington coughed. “Excuse me, young man?”

  Charlie watched Darcy’s mother and father with concern. “He didn’t do this.”

  “He did, actually. I know you were fond of the monster, Mr. Sullivan, but we never should have taken him in.”

  “Wait, Mr. Witherington, he isn’t responsible for this.”

  “Were you here, young man? Did you walk in to see that little cretin nearly killing your wife with a piece of rock?”

  Elizabeth laid a hand on her husband’s arm.

  “I’m sorry for what you saw,” said Charlie, looking at the mayor’s feet. “It sounds horrible. But it was a trick. The enemy sent someone to trick you into seeing that.”

  “The enemy that was in Ireland?” asked Mrs. Witherington.

  Charlie found himself speechless. Darcy’s mother knew about ley lines and ley line travel. It should be simple for her to understand.

  “Mom,” Darcy began, but Charlie interrupted her.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Witherington.”

  She waved him aside. “It’s all a mess. I don’t blame you for being confused. But now that you mention it, has anyone else seen that little boy? The one dressed in black? He was here, that night.”

  “No, not since that night,” said Fish, his voice tired and cracking. “We need to keep an eye out for him, though. And there is something else in town, too. I don’t know what it is, but it’s wrong and cruel, and it left a trail that stopped at Donnie Wickle’s house.”

  Mr. Witherington cleared his throat. “Donnie? What does that boy have to do with all of this.”

  “I can’t say for certain, Mayor. Only that we need to watch him.”

  As the group of friends and Hunters further discussed the recent and distressing matters, a very bothered Charlie took his leave. He backed away until he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Is everything alright, son?” Mr. Sullivan whispered as the others took up conversation again.

  Charlie watched the Witheringtons, carefully using his Sight so as not to get caught. He saw the black mists that hung in front of their eyes and over their ears and understood. This was not simply deception, but a magical filter skewing their world.

  Hopelessness sat on his shoulders as he realized he didn’t know how to lift the spell on them, or even where to start looking. Dräng would be labeled a murderous monster. Charlie didn’t want to think about it.

  “No,” he said, answering his father. “But I’m going to make it alright.”

  Charlie snuck into the dungeon that night. Dräng wasn’t hard to find; he was a miserable mess in a long line of otherwise empty cells. And likewise, it wasn’t hard for Dräng to spot him.

  “Charlie, Charlie, please! You must believe me!”

  “Hush, Dräng!” he whispered harshly. “No one can know I’m here right now. Listen, buddy, I know. I believe you. This is Carman’s doing.”

  Dräng nodded sadly, clinging to his prison bars. “I tried to tell humans that. They don’t believe me. Dub messed up their minds.”

  “Do you know what exactly it was that he did to them?”

  Dräng shook his head. His eyes were pleading, and they hurt Charlie to look at. He sighed in frustration and pulled a key out of his pocket. Elizabeth, and possibly the other adults, would not trust him after this next moment, but Charlie couldn’t let that stop his hand. He looked at Dräng seriously.

  “I’m going to let you out. But the next part won’t be good, Dräng. You’re going to have to run, and you’re going to have to do it fast. Get as far away from here as you can.”

  “Will I ever come back?” Dräng asked in a small voice.

  Charlie started to tell him that he hoped so, but he stopped. Reaching through the bars to grab Dräng by the shoulder, he said instead, “Yes.”

  Dräng smiled at him sadly. Charlie unlocked the door, grimacing as it groaned on its hinges, and stood aside. Dräng limped out of his cell—Charlie hated to think what he had been through while they were still in Drakauragh—and took one last look toward the Main Lobby.

  “It was nice,” said Dräng. “Not being hated by humans. Maybe again, one day—”

  “Count on it.”

  Dräng nodded at Charlie and ran.

  Charlie sighed and watched him go. He closed the cell and slipped the key back into his pocket, walking back the way he came. His heart skipped a beat when he opened the door and Elizabeth stood there, a bucket of milk in her hand.

  “Charlie. What are you doing in here?”

  “I was…I went to see Dräng. I already took him some milk. It, um….” Charlie felt horrible as the lie formed in his gut. “It still hurts to think that he went bad. I just can’t believe it.”

  Elizabeth sighed. “I know, kiddo. I wanted to believe it was possible. But a monster is still a monster.”

  Charlie looked at her in disbelief, but had to hide his shock quickly. “Here,” he said, pointing at the bucket. “You still look pretty bad, like you need to sleep it off. Why don’t you let me take that back to the kitchen for you. Since I already brought him milk, I mean.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed and she looked past Charlie, and for a single, horrible moment he thought he was caught. But she exhaled tiredly and handed the bucket.

  “You’re right. These painkillers are about to knock me out. Thanks, Charlie.”

  “No problem, Mrs. Witherington.”

  He watched her go and relaxed, just barely, taking the milk to the kitchen and putting it in the fridge.

  “Is he gone?” asked Lisa.

  Charlie turned around, not even surprised anymore. “Yeah. He’s gone.”

  She scratched her eye and her cheek and Charlie knew she was hiding a tear. “I’m going to miss the little guy.”

  “Me too. But we’ll bring him back. And we’ll help Loch recover, too. I need your help figuring out what type of magic we’re dealing with, though. We have a lot of work to do.”

  Lisa nodded. “Tell me what you need.”

  Prologue: Rumors of the Gathering Storm

  The familiar sounds of plastic trays sliding across the aluminum rail in a school lunch line were both welcome and, for once in their lives, calming. Forks, spoons, and knives clanged brightly against each other. The sounds and bustle of the school cafeteria bounced off the painted concrete walls and tiled floors.

  Charlie, Lisa—reunited with her brother, Liev—Darcy, and Nash were together for the beginning of a new school year. A history of uncertainty, fatigue, and facing certain death was not too far behind them. The excitement and newness of their first year in high school just ahead of them.

  They sat and grinned at each other, realizing just how happy they were to be sitting there, in the school cafeteria of all places. Nash especially, as he gobbled up what was on his tray, then began asking if others were going to eat this or finish that. For the first time in recent memory, they felt like normal teenagers.

  Well, sort of.

  They could feel eyes on them from every corner of the concrete cafeteria. Only this time there were no monsters lurking in the corners. Students were whispering and staring, gawking really. Rumors of every kind circulated about what had happened and where they had been.

  And with new seating arrangements among the Hunters, new rumors began swirling about who liked who and who was going out with the other. And…wasn’t Liev Vadiknov supposed to be dead?

  It was a cacophony of social media chatter, texts, raised eyebrows,
hush-hush, and speculation.

  Realizing all of this, the group of unlikely friends grinned a little longer, sharing knowing glances. After the Dark Prince, the Sagemistress, werewolves, and an old witch goddess, they could deal with the speculation of their peers.

  Maybe even needed it. This was going to be a fun year at school indeed.

  “Chocolate or white?” scripted the lady sitting at the cash-register.

  “Got any soda back there?” quipped the student at checkout.

  “Honey, what do you think I am, some kind of dealer? You know we don’t serve soft-drinks at this school. Now, you want chocolate or white?”

  Clearly reprimanded, the student sheepishly requested, “Chocolate, please.”

  “And don’t ask me for soda, extra cookies, or anything else for that matter for the rest of the year, you hear?”

  Other students ducked and hurried to their seats thankful for chocolate or white, but none other dared request any sort of secret stash held by the lunch attendant.

  The Hunters each took in the scene in its entirety, turned to look at each other again, and belted out a collective laugh.

  Completely oblivious to the reason for their outburst, the lunchroom launched a chatter of even more whispers, rumors, posts, and texts.

  “It’s good to be home,” Charlie stated.

  “Yeah, no doubt,” agreed Nash. “You gonna eat your cake?”

  Charlie pushed his tray toward Nash, offering him his perfectly proportioned school cafeteria dessert square.

  “Yes!” whispered Nash with a fist pump.

  “Totally glad to be sipping this,” chimed Darcy throwing back a gulp of her caramel macchiato. “I definitely missed these.”

  “Yeah, but it’s still not the same. You guys know this, right?” reasoned Liev. His eyes grew dark.

  The group froze and, considering the horrors that Liev had been through recently, braced for what he was going to say next.

  “I mean, what if…” he diminished to a whisper, leaning in to the table, drawing the rest of the group in with him, “…what if I changed into a wolf for school pictures right before the photographer snaps the pic?”