by Simone Pond
***
Outside, Vago took my hand and we padded across campus back toward the coffee shop where we planned to meet Eli and Marlo at noon with an update. But he turned off, taking another path.
“Let’s go this way so we can talk,” he said, peering over his shoulder.
“Are the guards gone?” I asked.
“Yeah. Could you see them?”
“Not a thing. Shadows. But I’ll tell you what I could see … Professor Whitmore. And he is—”
Vago pulled me off the pavement path and onto a dirt one. “Wait till we’re in the clear.”
“Where are we going?”
“Woods,” he said.
He held my hand and helped me navigate over some branches and through some tight spots until we reached another path that seemed less rugged.
“Can we talk now?” I asked.
“I figured from the look on your face when Whitmore came to the door it wasn’t good,” he said
“Unadulterated evil.”
He exhaled. “I bet he has all the girls in class under a spell.”
“Really, Vago? That’s the first thing you think about?”
“Sorry, but it’s just making more sense now,” he said.
“Although I don’t agree with your priorities, I do agree that he’s probably using some sort of mind control or telepathy to enthrall girls. I actually saw him communicating with his two henchmen.”
“Saw it? How?”
“It was some silvery line of communication,” I explained.
“So, what does he really look like? Not all that handsome I’m guessing.”
I chuckled. “Are you seriously competing with a demon? He’s utterly grotesque—half-lizard, half-man.”
Vago smiled and nodded.
“Before you get all too excited,” I said, “we still need to look into this ladies only book signing on Friday night.”
He stopped and cocked his head. I listened.
“You hear that?” he asked.
“Sounds like we’ve got company …”
He stood in front of me, taking an aggressive stance. The sound of footsteps padding over dry leaves grew louder and more rapid. From the darkness, two sets of burning crimson eyes glowed. Evil shifter dogs. Their gurgling growls sounded savage as they approached. My neck hairs prickled. I reached for my baseballs.
“It’s only two of them, but it’s better if you steer clear for now,” Vago said as he hoisted me up, perching me on some tree branches.
I wedged myself between the tree trunk and branches, keeping a close watch on the glowing red eyes heading our way. Vago tore off his clothes and shifted from his human form into his dog form. Now I could only see his blue spirit as he stood guarding the tree. I kept my arm lifted, ready to wing one of my baseballs. All I had to do was aim for their eyes. If they’d stop moving so fast.
The area below became streaks of red and blue, and the guttural snarls were beastly. I gripped the branch with one hand and prepared to throw the ball, but I lost my balance, and the branch snapped under me. I dropped to the ground, landing on my back. The air blasted out of my lungs, and excruciating pain thronged up my spine. I couldn’t move my legs or my arms. Vago barked furiously as he backed up against me.
One of the dogs lunged, but Vago blocked it, knocking it away. I heard the sound of its body thwacking against a tree. The other dog thrusted forward. I could hear his teeth snapping in the air as he bit down. Vicious assholes. Vago must’ve ducked out of the way. Their bodies tussled in the leaves. I started to feel my hands again and patted the dirt for my baseball. It had rolled out of reach. The other dog’s pair of crimson eyes glared at me as he made a slow approach, snarling and growling. My bag was twisted around my waist, and I felt around for another ball, but the pocket was empty. The contents had scattered to the ground when I tumbled from the tree. I forced myself up and combed the dirt with my palms, searching for anything to throw at the evil shifter dog.
A loud yelp rang out behind me.
“Vago!” I shouted.
My fingers touched the leather curve of a ball. I grabbed it, curling it into my palm and leaping to my feet. I pulled back my arm and aimed straight for the fiery red eyes coming my way. When I pulled back my arm, the strangest feeling overtook my limb. Like it was charged with supernatural energy. I could see the power illuminating my hand like a flame. That was new. I winged the ball and it shot through the air like a rocket—faster than anything my human abilities could muster. The electrified ball smacked against the skull of the dog, making a loud cracking sound. The animal dropped.
“Vago?! Are you okay?” I shouted again.
The patter of paws came over to me, then a few wet licks across my cheek.
“Shift back so you can help me find my stuff. I can’t lose Esther’s books.”
Vago returned to his human form and put his clothes back on. “That was freaking badass.”
“What?” I rubbed my right arm, which was still buzzing with electric pulses.
“Your arm. The ball. It was like … I don’t know. A comet.”
“Are they dead?” I asked.
He chuckled, patting me on the back. “Are they dead? Let’s just say Whitmore will need to recruit some new lackeys.” Vago slipped my messenger bag over my shoulder with the contents safely returned.
“Did you get everything?”
“Yeah. But that one ball you lobbed is smoked. Thing was in flames. Looks like you got yourself some new powers.”
My cheeks heated up with excitement. It was nice to have something to contribute other than my ability to see the unseen.
Chapter Twelve
Sibyl
Wednesday evening, the four of us went back to Eli’s house to regroup. The atmosphere in Esther’s library felt compressed. And everyone seemed a bit angsty, or maybe it was just me feeling anxious about the pending blood sacrifice and Whitmore’s evil glare. I sat in one of the armchairs, the late afternoon breeze sifting through the open doors where Eli stood, staring out into the yard. Vago was on the couch, biting on his thumbnail. Marlo’s turquoise spirit flitted around the room; she was the most unsettled of the group.
Eli turned to me. “Sounds like an intense morning. A lizard demon and a dog attack.”
“Yeah, but it was almost worth discovering this new power,” I boasted, holding up my pitching arm.
Vago sat forward, grinning. “And Whitmore really isn’t that good looking, or charming.”
Eli leaned against the door jamb, the breeze lightly blowing his hair. “This blood sacrifice couldn’t be happening at a worse time.”
“No shit,” Vago said with a chuff.
I laughed. “Maybe we can contact Whitmore and ask him to push it back a few weeks?”
Eli turned and walked over to me. “Sorry. I’m just stressed.”
“Me too,” Marlo blurted. “My classes are incredibly demanding.”
Vago stood up and looked to be massaging Marlo’s shoulders. “Sibyl and I can’t begin to understand, but a bunch of girls might get slaughtered.”
She pulled away and paced back and forth, her spirit trailing behind her. “Trust me. I know, first hand, nothing is more important than helping them. This is a lot to take in. And I don’t even know how to use my powers.”
“I’m working on it, Marlo. I’ll help you figure it out,” I said.
“But we don’t even know what we’re supposed to do.” Her voice quavered.
“You’re right,” I replied. “But the signs are pointing to Whitmore and this invite-only book signing on Friday night. If I’ve learned anything, it’s to pay attention to the signs.”
My heart stood still, waiting for Marlo to say something. I empathized with her, knowing what it feels like to think your gift is more of a curse. So I didn’t press. She’d reach acceptance when she was supposed to. That’s how things worked. I sat back against the soft cushions of the armchair, letting my body sink deeper into the folds.
“I think
I’ll walk home. I need to do some thinking,” Marlo finally said.
“Of course,” I said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
I got out of the armchair and gave her a hug. “No apologies. We’re all overwhelmed. Except Vago. He seems pretty thrilled.”
I glanced over to Vago. He was standing on the patio with his head cocked to the side. Without a word, he stripped out of his sweater, designer jeans, and underwear, then darted into the blackness.
“Wonder what’s up,” I said, stepping outside to hear the symphony of howls coming from the distance. The call of the pack. “I’m gonna take a walk myself,” I told Eli.
“What?”
“I need a minute.”
I ambled across the grass, using the rich creamy scent of jasmine twirling in the air as my guide. I was going to the gazebo. Or rather, the gazebo was pulling me in that direction. The structure had been thrashed when Eli’s bolt of lightning split the thing in half, but it wasn’t completely unusable. Eli and Vago planned to rebuild it at some point. My watch beeped, letting me know I was approaching the wreckage. I extended my hands, feeling for the railing. I sat on the steps, which were still intact, and recalled the many mornings I spent with Esther. This is where she taught me to use scents, sounds, and touch to navigate my new life.
I wanted to be alone for a minute to consider the substantial burden set before us. Eli and Marlo were overwhelmed with their classes, and Vago was distracted with the female anatomy. But I felt like I was holding back a deluge of fear that was ready to strike me down and liquidate my insides. I couldn’t stop thinking about the destroyer of all things, Abaddon. He seemed to be looming just over my shoulder, waiting for a moment to swoop down and carry me off to some new hell. I also couldn’t erase the image of Professor Whitmore’s jagged lizard appearance and those baleful yellow eyes. I needed something more than my own force of will to get through these next few days. I needed help.
I climbed up into the gazebo and sat on the bench, resting my head on one of the pillars. The boards under my feet vibrated with a faint electrical buzz. That was weird. I knelt down and placed my hands on the platform and through the shroud of blackness, I saw a blueish-green glow. I tried to wedge my fingers into the cracks to pry up the plank, but the wood was lodged in place. I thought for sure my new power would be able to rip the floorboards apart, but I couldn’t get the wood to budge a single inch.
“What are you doing?” Eli’s voice came from behind me.
I jumped up. “Damn! No sneaking up on blind people!”
He laughed, stomping his way into the gazebo. “What’s going on out here?”
Kneeling down to the platform, I pointed to where the glow had emerged, but it was gone. “I thought I saw something. A glow of some sort.”
He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me up into an embrace. “Well, it’s gone now. Maybe it was a passing spirit? You know this property is full of wandering souls.”
I nodded, smiling. “I don’t know. Seemed like something else. You and Vago might need to start tearing this thing down sooner than you planned.”
Kissing my forehead, then my cheek, he said, “Sure. In between chasing lizard demons and studying for exams.”
Warmth spread through my chest and trickled down my legs. I loved kissing Eli. We hadn’t spent much time alone since classes had started, and I missed our private moments. He kissed me, softly and gently. I pulled him closer against me and kissed him harder. Much harder, letting him know it was okay. His hands glided up my waist, stroking my bare arms and rippling against skin. I moaned, tilting my head back. His lips moved down my neck. I rubbed his strong back, feeling his body quaking. I wanted to go inside … up to his bedroom. I wanted to experience all of Eli Townsend. But … we had a blood sacrifice to stop.
“Hey,” I said, tugging on his shirt and pulling back.
“Hmm?” He continued kissing my lips and neck.
“We need to stop.” I lightly pried away.
“I know you’re right, but you feel too good.” He reached out and stroked my hair.
“Priorities,” I mumbled.
Eli nodded, stepping back and releasing a long exhale. “Priorities.”
“And everyone is so stressed out. I get it. But we need to get the band back together,” I said.
He brushed his hand through the perfect swoop of blond hair dipping over his forehead. “You really know how to kill a moment,” he teased.
“If that were a supernatural power, I’d be golden.”
“You ready to go back inside? I can help you with that book on teleportation. We can figure out Marlo’s power together,” Eli said, taking my hand.
“I’m feeling better about it. The information is in my head, I just need to sort it out in a way that will make sense to a scientific mind,” I explained.
“If anyone can give guidance it’s you, Sib. You have the gift.”
He took something out of his back pocket and handed it to me. It was a small leather-bound book. One that I could see! I hadn’t seen a book in a very long time.
“What’s this?” I asked with a burst of excitement.
“Something that fell onto my lap while you were out here sulking,” he said. “It literally fell onto my lap. So I figured it was important. Although, I can’t read it.”
I opened the book and flipped through the musty pages. No wonder he couldn’t read it. The pages were blank.
“I can see why you might have trouble,” I said. “And I wasn’t sulking. I was pondering.”
“Okay, pondering. Anyway, maybe you can do what you did with the other book and read it with your hands? I don’t know … Either way, it’s for you.”
I slipped the book into my messenger bag next to the other two books. My load was getting heavier by the day. We held hands and walked back to the house. The night air was colder than usual. I shivered. Maybe a storm was moving in?
“And don’t worry, Marlo will come around,” Eli said.
As soon as he said that, a shrill scream pierced the night.
“Marlo,” I said.
“Let’s go!”
Eli grabbed my hand, and we ran together to go find Marlo.
Chapter Thirteen
Vago
The pack’s call resonated through the trees and reverberated all the way down to the pads of my paws as I dashed through the woods. I came upon a shadowy clearing where my chocolate-brown brothers sat in a semi-circle. A glistening halo of silvery white light hovered just a few feet above. Esther was visiting. A mild breeze ensconced me with her familiar motherly scent of jasmine and pine. I considered shifting back into my human form so we could have a “normal” conversation, but I sensed from my pack leader—the large Labrador stationed nearest to Esther’s gleaming light—it was best to remain in my dog incarnation.
Woof!
“Hello, Vago,” she said in a voice as gentle as the breeze.
Woof!
“It’s good to see you too, my dear. It’s good to see all of my darlings.”
A reassuring warmth spread over my coat as if her hands were petting my backside. I lowered down onto the cool dirt and rested my snout on my front paws.
“I need all of you to listen very closely. Our enemy is planning for another blood sacrifice. Vago is already aware of this.”
Woof!
“Since the last one was thwarted, Abaddon is taking things up a few notches. They are planning for a virginal sacrifice during the Blood Moon this weekend. Abaddon has spawned a new breed to execute the ritual. A man who is hidden in plain sight. A professor of the obscure.”
Esther loved using surreptitious and clandestine language—it was part of her cagey charm—but Sibyl and I had already done enough investigating to know she was referring to Professor Whitmore. He was the new breed created from the belly of that beast to murder these innocent virgins. Normies wouldn’t suspect someone with his celebrity status to be involved i
n something so horrifying. Because most people didn’t want to believe such evil existed. Whitmore was the perfect executioner of Abaddon’s diabolical plan. He had the allure and means to make it happen without arousing suspicion.
“All of you must work together to stop this ritual. We must not allow Abaddon to succeed, or he will gain a greater foothold.”
Esther seemed to be finished doling out her half-baked information. But we still needed the location of the book signing event.
Woof!
Her halo of light drifted above. She was leaving the tactical details to us.
“And you mustn’t forget the Holy Rock …” Her voice whispered in the wind.
After Ester left, the pack broke up and we went our separate ways. I wondered where they went after they shifted back into their human forms. Maybe some of them remained dogs and lived in the woods. Or lived as family pets. Or maybe—
Something shifted in the wind. I lifted my snout upward and sniffed. A cry sounded in my soul.
It was Sibyl’s call …
Chapter Fourteen
Vago
By the time I reached Eli’s house, the sky was dark blue and the pearly moon was the only thing illuminating the property. All the lights were off like everyone had left in a big hurry. I sniffed the air, catching traces of lemon verbena and vanilla. Eli and Sibyl had been in the gazebo. But they were gone now. I darted down the driveway, following their scents. A pungent metallic odor mixed with honeysuckle hit my nose.
Marlo was in trouble.
Woof! Woof!
I followed the trail of aromas to the end of the driveway and onto the main road. The metallic scent of fear grew stronger as I approached a patch of trees. A streak of lightning careened down from the sky and cracked into one of the pines, spilling branches and needles all over the place like confetti. Loud barks and growling rose up. I burst through the bushes to face the ruckus.
Marlo was cornered by another one of those evil dog shifters, its sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. Sibyl stood off to the side, winging flaming rocks at the monstrous beast, warding him off. But he dodged each power-packed volley with supernatural speed. Eli held his hands to the sky, contemplating calling down more lightning.