Dark Souls: Box Set: Books 1-5

by E. J. King

  “Cute.” I tried to resist his charm and failed. “One of these days I’m going to stop finding your cockiness endearing.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” He polished off the last bite of his burger and triumphantly tossed his napkin on the table. “I’m fueled up. Let’s get this Hardy Boys investigation going.”

  “Good timing,” I said, visibly cringing as Macy sauntered through the door. This time she only had one lackey following her. “Your girlfriend has arrived.”

  “You know that you’re the only girl for me,” he said with a wink before turning to greet her. “Thanks for coming, Macy.”

  She tossed her hair. “We always come here after school. There’s not much else going on in Silver Lake.”

  “Well something is going on,” Rafe said.

  “Not here.” She looked around quickly. “Follow me.”

  Rafe looked at me and shrugged. Gorman’s was still pretty empty, but apparently Macy didn’t want to take any chances. Either what she had to say was pretty scandalous, or she was a huge drama queen. We followed her to the booth in the back corner, away from everyone else.

  “Sit over there, Tai,” she ordered her friend. Now one of them sat on either side of the booth. Rafe quickly assessed the situation and slid into the both next to Macy.

  I sat cross from him, kicking him hard in the shin. “What’s with all the covert ops?” I asked.

  “I’m not supposed to be talking about this. Especially not to strangers.” She glanced at Rafe to make sure he was hanging on every word. “If he knew that I was telling you about him…”

  “Who’s he?” Rafe read her signal easily, even turning his body toward her.

  Her voice dropped even lower. “Marid. He’s the one that has been helping us.”

  “Marid?” The familiar name caught in my throat. I checked to see if Rafe was following, but his face was unreadable. Then his foot lightly nudged mine and I knew we were on the same page.

  “He came to town a few months ago. I met him at a party. Some of us were just sitting around, talking about different things. Marid asked us about wishes. Like, what would we wish for if we could wish for anything? Stuff like that.” Macy bit down nervously on her pink lip. Her frightened girl act might not have been an act after all.

  “Did you tell him?” Rafe asked.

  “Well, yeah. It was just a game, something to pass the time. But then Marid said he could make those wishes actually come true.” She looked around again, checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping. “All we had to do was perform a little ritual. It was weird, but we were bored. So we did it.”

  I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. “What was the ritual?”

  “We each had to sit facing Marid, holding his hands. He chanted some words and then handed us this potion bottle. We had to take a big drink from it and it was really gross.”

  “What did it taste like?” Rafe asked through tight lips. He clearly was thinking the same thing as me.

  “It was kind of thick. And metallicy?” Macy shuddered. “I figured it was just that one time. I didn’t really expect the wishes to come true.”

  “But they did.” Tai spoke for the first time. “People wished to pass a test or win a game and it worked. Those kids told a few of their friends about the wishes, and Marid agreed to let us do it again. Before long, almost half of the school had done the ritual.”

  I held back a groan. Half the school was a lot of kids. “Did you have to agree to do anything in return?”

  “What like special favors?” Macy made a disgusted face. “No way.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant.” I could tell that she wasn’t really listening. In the course of our conversation she had inched her way closer to Rafe until their arms were touching. “Why would a strange guy do all of this for people he barely knows?”

  “He’s our friend,” Macy protested without much conviction.

  “Word of advice?” Rafe asked. “Stay away from him. I don’t think he’s really your friend.”

  Macy hesitated. “But all of these good things are happening because of him. Why would he do that if he didn’t like us?”

  “It’s like the Godfather. Someday he’s going to call upon you for a favor.” Rafe frowned when Macy gave him a blank stare. “Never mind. Just trust me on this, okay?”

  “But we can’t just stop seeing him,” Tai said quickly.

  “Why not?” I didn’t like the look of panic in her eyes.

  “We have to see him every few days to drink the potion. If we stop, the good luck will stop.” Macy pushed her shoulders back and narrowed her eyes defiantly. “No one wants to go back to the way things were before we met Marid.”

  It was clear that nothing we could say would convince them that Marid wasn’t just a friend being generous with this magical gift.

  “When are you supposed to see him again?” I asked.

  Macy just looked at me. After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Tai said, “Tonight. There’s a party at the old apple orchard after the game.”

  “Tai!” Macy hissed. If looks could kill, Tai would’ve been incinerated on the spot.

  “Since we can’t convince you to stay away, just try to be careful. Please.” Rafe went so far as to touch Macy’s shoulder. She gave him a small smile, but her determination didn’t waiver.

  I waited until we were outside before turning to him and saying, “So we pretty much agree that we’re dealing with a Genie, right?”

  “Absolutely.” He took out his phone. “I’m going to have Ethan start researching ways to kill a Marid Djinn.”

  The motel was only five minute away, in the opposite direction of the high school. Ethan was already engrossed in his computer when we arrived.

  “I’ve never even heard of one of this things,” he admitted. “Genies, sure. But the Marid Djinn?”

  “It’s the most dangerous kind of Genie,” I explained. “A normal Genie grants wishes, but takes something in return. You wish to meet the love of your life and then your house burns down. Wish for a dream job and you get hit by a car.”

  “You know, supernatural pranks,” Rafe said.

  “And the Marid?” Hope was awake now and looking much stronger.

  “The Marid grant your wishes, but they take your life force in exchange. Each wish you make brings you a little closer to death.” I tried to remember anything else I had read about them. “There’s no way out of the deal either. Once you make your first wish, you’re pretty much powerless to stop. It’s almost like being compelled.”

  Ethan cringed. “Sounds pretty bad.”

  “It is.” I dug in my bag until I found a thick leather book. It was one of my favorites from the Hunter Chronicles since it was essentially a dictionary of all supernatural creatures. “That’s why we need to kill it as soon as possible.”

  “And you think you have the answer in that book?” Ethan looked doubtful.

  “Here.” I found the page devote to Genie lore. “Normal Genies can be killed with an oak stake through the heart. The Marid needs a skewer and then a barbeque.”

  “Stake and fire.” Rafe nodded. “That sounds easy enough.”

  “A little Genie kabob,” Ethan agreed. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

  I was still confused about one thing. “Why does he have them drink the potion?”

  “That’s not part of the ritual?” Rafe asked in surprise.

  “No. According to this, just the holding hands and wishing part is all that needs to happen for the contract to be entered into. There’s no mention of a potion.” I read through the entry again just to be sure.

  “It’s probably just a stylistic thing,” Rafe guessed. “Just trying to put on a good show for the kids.”

  “Maybe.” I didn’t think it was that simple though. “I guess we can always ask Marid before we kill him.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Rafe pointed to the chair Ethan was sitting on. “Does that look like oak to you?”

  CHAPT
ER SIXTEEN

  It wasn’t hard to track down the old apple orchard. It was the only one in a sixty mile radius and conveniently was just on the outskirts of town. We had to wait for the game to end and Rafe insisted we might as well actually watch the game while we were waiting. I was a little nervous about taking Hope around a school gym full of a walking blood bags, but Ethan gave her the second vial of his blood to help curb her cravings.

  “So this is a school basketball game?” Ethan said in wonder. “It’s just like they depict it in television shows. Except the cheerleaders aren’t being played by women in their mid-twenties.”

  “And the star player isn’t fighting an addiction to pain killers,” I said, playing along.

  “But the school principal is clearly having an affair with the guidance counselor,” Hope added.

  “What kind of television do you people watch?” Rafe looked at us in horror. “That sounds like a terrible way to spend an hour.”

  I disagreed. “It’s way more entertaining than this actual game.”

  It was hard to understand how people hadn’t figured out that something strange was going on at Silver Lake High. Every single player on the team was sinking their shots with little to no effort.

  “How is it even fun to play when the other team doesn’t stand a chance?” Ethan looked bewildered. “Is winning really that big of a deal?”

  Hope laughed. “Wow. You’ve definitely never been a normal teenager.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that anyone who actually went to high school knows that teenagers can only focus on petty things like winning and being the best. In the case of the guys, they also focus on getting laid.” Hope pointed to a group of girls in the stands that couldn’t take their eyes away from the players. “I’d say it was worth it to the guys that made the wishes.”

  “It’s almost a shame that we have to ruin their fun,” Rafe said.

  I elbowed him hard in the side. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Sure.” He quickly changed the subject. “Why do you think he’s been targeting the teenagers? It seems a little strange that he would limit his pool of victims demographically for no reason.”

  “The life force. It’s stronger in the kids.” I didn’t bother pointing out that the teens were also highly more trusting than most adults would have been. “The game is almost over. We should head out to the orchard.”

  The deserted property was nicer than I thought it would be. It was also big.

  “We’ll need to split up,” Rafe said.

  “This is pretty exciting.” Hope practically bounced in her seat. “This is my first official hunt. Any tips?”

  “Try not to get killed.” Rafe handed her a rough looking stake made from the motel chair frame.

  “Am I the only one that remembers the time I saved your life?” she asked.

  Rafe didn’t bother answering. “Here comes the party.”

  A dozen cars pulled into the empty lot. Groups of teens flocked in the direction of the old barn, laughing and carrying cases of cheap beer. More cars trickled in after that and we joined the group as casually as possible.

  “You and Ethan should take the cheerleaders. Hope and I will find the jocks.” I figured we might as well play to our strengths. “Text if you find Marid.”

  “Be careful,” Rafe said, unable to resist.

  “Watch out for the point guard,” Ethan advised with a grin. “He had quick hands.”

  Rafe glared at him and both Hope and I laughed.

  “I think this might be my first official high school party,” I said as we circled the barn. “You’ll have to let me know if I’m not blending in well.”

  “You need a few more drinks, a short skirt, and you’re going to have to start giggling.” Hope pointed across an empty stretch of land. “Do those look like basketball players out there?”

  I nodded. “How are you feeling?”

  “My memories haven’t come back yet if that’s what you’re asking.” She cast me a sidelong glance.

  “I wasn’t. Swear. I just really wanted to know how you are feeling.”

  “I’m doing okay. Ethan’s blood has helped.” She kicked a large twig out of the way. “Being with you guys again is helping, too. I didn’t realize I would miss you so much.”

  “Are you and Ethan…together again?” Just before Hope had taken off with Lincoln to find help for her blood addiction, she and Ethan had been skirting around the idea of becoming a couple. Leaving town had pretty much put a kibosh on that plan.

  “Honestly, I don’t know.” She sighed. “I don’t know if that’s a very good idea right now.”

  She was probably right about that.

  “Hey guys.” I tried to look normal as we approached. “Can we have a beer?”

  “Ladies. Of course.” The tall guy handed us each a can. I remembered him from the game.

  “Good game tonight.” I quickly looked at each of the four guys to see if any of them looked like they might be a centuries-old Genie. No such luck. “But I guess you are used to that by now.”

  “We can’t stop winning,” he agreed with a flirtatious smile. “Our hard work is finally paying off.”

  “Hard work?” Hope asked lightly. “Are you sure you aren’t getting a little help from an outside source?”

  Tall Guy’s smile vanished. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  He was clearly lying, but we didn’t have time to argue. We needed to find Marid. Fortunately, Rafe was having better luck than us.

  “Thanks for the beer. We need to go.” I showed Hope the text Rafe had sent. “Nice talking to you.”

  We could hear annoyed grumbling as we hurried away. I suspected Tall Guy wasn’t too happy that a couple of outsiders knew his secret. We needed to move fast.

  Rafe and Ethan were in the corner of the barn, seated on some bales of hay with Macy in between them. The guy across from them looked slightly older than everyone else at the party. He had to be Marid. The rest of the barn was empty.

  “Kaylie,” Rafe said as we approached. “This is Marid.”

  I shook hands with the Genie, surprised by how friendly he seemed. Most supernatural creatures preferred to be brooding and mysterious.

  “Nice to meet you.” I took a seat on the other side of Rafe. “I’ve heard about your generosity.”

  “Yes, I like helping people.” His smile hinted at irony. “Your friends were just starting to tell me their wishes.”

  “Looks like I’m just in time.” For a second, I thought about how interesting it would be to hear what Rafe would actually wish for if he had just one wish. Sometimes I still felt like there were things about him I didn’t know. “How do we do this?”

  “It’s very easy, Kaylie. We hold hands, you make a wish, and it comes true after you drink the wishing potion.” He held up a blue frosted bottle. “Any questions?”

  I tapped Rafe’s foot with mine and he took the hint. “Macy, could you get me a beer? I think I’ll need something to wash down the potion.”

  She looked unhappy with the request, but she left.

  Now we could get down to business.

  “I have just one question.” I leaned forward, letting the wooden stake slip down the arm of my jacket until the point was showing. “What’s really in the bottle?”

  Marid saw the stake and flinched. I could see him quickly assessing the situation. He saw that the others had stakes as well and knew there was no way out.

  “Hunters?” He nodded slowly. “I guess it was only a matter of time.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “You didn’t really think I would?” His head tilted in surprise. “I’m a monster after all.”

  I stood, doing my best to look imposing. “Here’s the deal, Genie boy. You can refuse to answer questions and we can stake you. But we both know you won’t die until we burn you to a crisp. Instead, we could take our time. Stake you, unstake you. Stake you again. Lather, rinse
, repeat. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

  The smallest flicker of panic lit his eyes. “Or?”

  “You can tell us the truth about what you are doing here.” Rafe stood next to me. “We can make your death quick if you cooperate.”

  He stayed quiet for a long time. Then he said, “Fine. The potion is actually blood.”

  “Blood?” I looked at it in confusion. “Why?”

  “Up until a few months ago, I wasn’t a free Genie. I was bound.” He looked to make sure we understood what that meant.

  Genies are a low rung on the supernatural ladder. It’s possible for other creatures to drink the blood of a Genie, thereby binding that Genie to do its bidding. They effectively become that creature’s good luck charm and slave all at once.

  “What were you bound to?’ I asked.

  “A Soul.” He grimaced. “A very powerful one at that.”

  “How did you get freed?” Somehow, deep inside, I already knew the story he was about to tell.

  “That Soul offered me a deal. He would unbind me if I agreed to carry out a mission. He wanted me to find a town and start entering into wish contracts with as many people as possible. As part of that contract, I would have them drink the Soul’s blood.”

  The pit in my stomach grew. “You’ve been feeding these kids Soul blood?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t sound remorseful. “I was willing to do anything for my freedom.”

  “I don’t get it,” Hope said. “Why would the Soul want you to do that?”

  “Because now dozens of kids are one snap of the neck away from becoming vamps.” I had already connected the dots a long time ago. “What is the Soul’s name?”

  Marid smiled at me coldly. “Benton.”

  * * *

  An hour later, we stood next to the car watching the barn burn to the ground. Rafe had taken care of Marid while we had gone outside to make sure none of the partygoers would interrupt him.

  No matter how far I ran or where I hid, Benton always managed to find me.

  “I still don’t get it,” Hope confessed. “Why would Benton do this?”

  It was clear now that Benton was working on a much larger plan than just killing me. It was something he had been working on for years.