Demon's Doorway

by Glenn Bullion

  "I already talked to Cindy. She's cool, don't worry."

  Jack laughed. "Been married a few hours, and already has to clear things with the warden."

  Alex glared at him, and shot a questioning look to Victoria. She nodded sympathetically.

  "We haven't really done introductions. Alex, Kevin, you know each other already. This is Jack Kursed, a man I consider family. You'll probably have to ignore half of everything he says."

  Jack nodded at each of them. "Alex. Glinda. Hey, did you have a good time with Alicia? I was right, of course. She digs you."

  Kevin said nothing, and Victoria gestured to the living area. Alex sat in the recliner, Victoria and Kevin next to each other on the couch. Jack chose to stand in the corner, leaning against the wall.

  "Okay, I won't run my mouth too much. I know some of us have places to be."

  "Alex," Jack said, leaning away from the wall. "Tell me. I can't quite get a read just from watching her. Cindy…does she like the wings? You know, when you're poking her?"

  The two young men traded looks, amazed at Jack's gall. Victoria wasn't surprised in the least. Alex's cheeks turned crimson, and not because of his demonic powers.

  "She does, doesn't she?" Jack said, a smile on his face. "Oh, man. And I thought Erica was a freak. Hey, me and you have to swap stories—"

  "Jack!" Victoria said. "You said you'd behave."

  "I'm behaving. I just asked the man a question. We're bonding, here—"

  "You're being an asshole."

  He smirked. "These two haven't begun to see that side of me."

  Victoria sighed and lowered her head. "Anyway, I want to talk about what happened today. We can't just sweep it under the rug. I got a call today at Alex's wedding from Bradley, an old friend of mine."

  Jack huffed in disgust. "Bradley."

  "He told me someone very dangerous was getting off a plane, and from what we dealt with at the office building, I'd say he was right. Now, about that building—" She pointed to the TV behind her, at the muted news report. "I've got people that know me at the stations, already casting little seeds of doubt about what happened today. Kevin wiped half their memories. I don't know what the end story will be, but trust me, it won't be about demons."

  Alex waved his hand. "Hey, uh, did they get any video—?"

  "No, Alex. There's no video out there of you flying."

  "Okay, so, what do you know about the guy?" Kevin asked, looking at Alex and Jack. "We saw him, just for a minute, at the airport. You said he was a vampire, right?"

  "Yes, he's definitely a vampire."

  Jack watched as her jaw tightened, only for a second, and she switched her crossed legs. She wasn't being completely honest.

  "There's gotta be more than that," Alex said. "What was that sphere, and the demons showing up?"

  There was a new voice, at the top of the basement stairs.

  "The name he's going by now is Anatol Grigori. He is indeed very dangerous, and it really is a shame you couldn't stop him at the airport today."

  Everyone turned to the stairs, and Jack frowned at the familiar voice. He hadn't heard it in nearly one hundred fifty years.

  Bradley joined them in the basement. He looked exactly as Jack remembered him. Bradley always dressed nice, and had the snobbish look of someone born with everything. He carried that everything from his mortal life to his vampire life. Bradley and Victoria were close, but Jack never got along with him. Of course, Jack didn't get along with nearly anyone.

  Bradley studied everyone, giving extra attention to Kevin. Jack knew the vampire was smart, and was tearing everyone down. The witch, the half-demon. He smiled at Victoria, stepping forward for an embrace and a kiss of the hand. His reaction to Jack was the complete opposite. He scowled and made no false presentation.

  "John," he said, his tone laced with venom.

  "Call me Jack, Bradley. How long has it been?"

  "Not long enough."

  "Hey, come on, now. Did someone piss in your blood?"

  Bradley ignored him and approached the muted TV. A reporter stood in front of the office building, with the camera focusing on the holes on the second and ninth floors.

  "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Victoria said.

  "This was important enough to move quickly. Believe me, it's very embarrassing, hiding from the sun in a box. But, I have my own private plane and hangar. We've been tracking Anatol for a long time. As you can see, he's…formidable."

  "He had a potion on him," Kevin said. "It created some kind of magical sphere. And he walked in the day. Is he working with a witch, like me?"

  Bradley looked down at Kevin. "I don't believe anyone was speaking to you."

  Jack held in a laugh as Kevin's eyes shot open.

  "Where the hell did that come from? I'm just trying to help—"

  "Kevin," Victoria said, giving a look of warning.

  "Anatol is a vampire," Bradley said. "And he's also a half-witch."

  Jack crossed his arms, impressed. "Really. No shit."

  Kevin glared at Victoria. "You knew."

  "No. I suspected. The scent…." She looked at Bradley. "How is that possible?"

  "Who knows? That's like asking how that young man over there made friends with demons."

  "They're not my friends," Alex said, frowning. "Just because I named one or two—"

  "Maybe he was born a half-witch, and simply had the blood to handle the change," Bradley said. "Or maybe it was a spell gone wrong. I'm sure present company can understand how that would go." He eyed Kevin.

  "This isn't good," Victoria said. "How old is he?"

  "Old enough."

  "Why does age matter?" Alex asked.

  Victoria stood and put her hands on her hips. "A half-witch is already very strong. But…give one a few centuries to dream up spells and potions, and he could do some very bad things."

  Alex shrugged. "Like what? What's he want to do?"

  "I don't know," Bradley said. "But I'm sure it involves a lot of mortal deaths."

  "Do you know where he might have made a base for himself? He could be states away right now."

  "No. I'm afraid not."

  Jack pushed himself away from the wall. He'd been quiet until then, but he'd had enough.

  "Okay, everyone, now you know a little more of what you're up against. Of course, Bradley here can't tell you the master plan, or where he went, or anything remotely useful. But hey, at least you know one of his many names, right? Anyway, there's something much more important happening here. Namely, me."

  "Jack," Victoria said, stepping toward him. "This isn't the best time. Everything's changed—"

  "I'm tired of waiting, Victoria. I've waited two centuries."

  "You said you didn't know if you were ready. Well, Kevin might not be ready—"

  "Glinda, I need a cure. I need you to dig into your bag of witch crap and pull out a cure for immortality."

  Victoria put a hand to her head in frustration as Kevin searched everyone's faces, just for a clue. The only sympathy he saw was from Alex, who was just as lost as he was.

  "Me?" Kevin asked, then looked at Victoria. "Immortality? What's he talking about?"

  Jack spoke before Victoria had the chance.

  "A witch cursed me, almost two hundred years ago. A full-blooded witch, like you."

  Bradley smirked. "Perhaps you should have been more careful as to who you invited in your home."

  "How did you phrase it?" Jack asked, nearly snarling. "Oh, yes. I don't believe anyone was speaking to you, Bradley."

  Victoria approached Jack and gingerly put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's not do this now. We can sit down later, the three of us, and talk about this."

  He ignored her. "I need this immortality gone." He tried to keep his voice from cracking. "I can't die. I can't sleep. Only a full-blooded witch can cure me."

  "How?"

  "I was hoping you could tell me."

  "Wait a minute," Kevin said, putting his hands u
p. "You're telling me, if I wanted to, I could curse someone? Make them not die?"

  "Is it so much of a leap?" Bradley said. "You gave Victoria immunity to the sun, cured a werewolf. I'd have thought you'd figured it out by now. Witches are stronger than any of us. It's a big reason why I'm not fond of them."

  The color left Kevin's face. He took a step back, almost afraid they'd attack him at any moment. Victoria wanted to say something, but between the discovery of a witch that was also a vampire, and the arrival of Bradley, her own thoughts were swimming.

  Kevin said nothing. He simply turned and walked up the basement stairs.

  "What's his problem?" Jack said. "What's he got to be upset about?"

  Bradley shot him a look. "He's too young to be trusted."

  "Victoria," Alex said. "Are these the kind of people you hang out with when I'm not around?"

  "Everyone, shut up!" Victoria shouted. She looked at Jack. "You still have no idea how to talk to anyone."

  "Well," Bradley said. "Maybe if he—"

  "And you, quiet." She glared at Bradley. "I'll be back. You boys try not to kill each other while I'm gone."

  Jack shrugged. "He can't kill me."

  "I wish I could," Bradley said.

  "A year ago, I would have said the same thing."

  *****

  Kevin sat on the same couch on Victoria's deck where he was only ten minutes ago. What a difference ten minutes made. Alicia was long gone, probably on her way back to her apartment. Any sense of normalcy floated away like one of his magic feathers.

  He didn't know how he felt. The most overwhelming single emotion that kept coming to him was fear. He was afraid of Jack, afraid of Bradley, afraid of the demons that nearly killed him. Most of all, he was afraid of himself.

  He tried to focus on Alicia, because of the simple fact that she made him feel good. She knew nothing about him, but liked what she saw across the dining room. She was the one who approached him. He tried to take comfort in that, and pictured her smiling at him.

  Then Jack rushed in to replace her.

  Immortal.

  "Can you cure my immortality?" Kevin whispered to no one, doing his best impression of the gruff Jack. "Sure, no problem. Let's just a take a little blood sample here. Are you allergic to anything? Like, maybe, snake blood, goat's milk, or the tail of a donkey?"

  The door opened, and Victoria stepped onto the deck. She smiled, not saying a word, and gestured to the spot next to him. Kevin nodded and scooted over, making room for her.

  "I know I'm not as pretty as Leese, but hopefully you don't mind my company."

  They were quiet for a moment. Victoria put an arm around his shoulders, giving him a squeeze. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. The wind had a cold chill to it as it blew through his shirt. Victoria wasn't bothered at all.

  "So," he said. "You brought me here to remove an old spell from Jack."

  "No. I brought you here to relax." Victoria laughed quietly. "Although I think I've failed miserably. I'm really sorry, Kevin."

  He managed a small smile and nod of the head. "Will I ever have a normal life?"

  "Normal is overrated. Who wants normal?"

  "It's just that…." Kevin had trouble forming thoughts into words. "Has it ever seemed too big for you? I mean all this. Vampires, witches, ghosts."

  "Of course."

  "When?"

  "The day after I was made into a vampire."

  Kevin held Victoria's gaze, and she could tell he was waiting for more.

  "It's actually pure luck I'm even alive," she began. "I woke up in the middle of the day, among what was left of my family. The sunlight came in through a window and a hole in the roof, but never found me. I tried to leave, but got a few third degree burns for my trouble. I thought I was in Hell. I didn't know what I was. I tried to eat food, and threw it all up."

  "How did you get through that?"

  "A family friend finally came to visit. I was almost at bloodlust at that point. I attacked him without even thinking, but thankfully I didn't kill him. It's safe to say I thought the world was a little big then."

  "A witch can make people immortal? As in not dying? I never thought I'd say this, but I can see why Bradley wanted me dead."

  "Hey!" Victoria's face twisted with anger. "I never want to hear you say anything like that again."

  "Come on, Victoria. You thought the same way, not too long ago."

  "And I was wrong. The world is a better place with you in it. My life is better with you a part of it. I'm not speaking for every witch. I'm sure a few are out there that need to be dealt with, Anatol being one of them. But you're not it. You're my friend. Period."

  Kevin leaned back at Victoria's passion, and was humbled. She made him feel better, but there was one more thing he had to say.

  "I'm sorry I let you down today."

  "What the hell are you on about now?"

  "I kept second-guessing you, and I hesitated at the office. I just…panicked."

  She hugged him and kissed his cheek. He shied away like a young child, and the vampire laughed.

  "Kevin, forget Jack, forget Bradley. Let me try to put what happened today in perspective for you. We got lucky, I won't argue that. Demons don't like to kill quick. They like to maim, to torture. But you saved everyone. We didn't lose a single mortal. When it came time to step up, you did exactly that. Today would have went much differently if you weren't there."

  Kevin sighed, trying to hang onto her words. Victoria was a four-hundred-year-old creature. She'd seen and done it all, and everything she said carried weight.

  "Do you feel better?" she asked.

  "I think I'm getting there."

  "Good. Let's go back inside. We're getting ready to call it a night."

  "I'm sure Alex is ready to go."

  "You should have seen the look Cindy gave me walking out here."

  *****

  Kevin took a deep breath as he walked down the basement steps once again, trying to prepare himself for whatever waited for him. Jack waited in the corner next to the TV, standing in the shadows with his hands in his pockets. Bradley was on a phone call near the office desk.

  "Hey, Alex," Victoria said. "Cindy's upstairs waiting—"

  Jack quickly stepped forward, a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Our little pet bat is sleeping."

  Victoria laughed as she looked over the back of the couch at Alex. Cindy and he had both fallen asleep on that same couch many times. He turned on his side, dead to the world.

  "Victoria," Bradley said. "Can I talk to you in private?"

  She glanced at Jack and Kevin, pointing a menacing finger at Jack. He smiled and held his hands up, preemptively proclaiming innocence. Victoria and Bradley disappeared up the stairs.

  Kevin said nothing, just watching Jack. He felt uncomfortable knowing that Jack had probably dissected everything about him, just by looking at him. Watching Jack's observational skills at the reception was impressive, but now that he was the subject he didn't feel quite so good.

  "Glinda, I'm saying this to honestly try to help you. You're a good-looking kid, you seem okay, with a good head on your shoulders. Alicia wants you, but she isn't gonna fall for a crybaby."

  Kevin nodded and sat down in the chair across from Alex. "Can we talk? No sarcasm, no weird shit?"

  "I'll…try."

  "So, immortality."

  Jack took a deep breath. "Yup. I let this woman stay at my home. She was rumored to be a witch, but I didn't believe it. It turned out she was rather obsessed with me. She made me drink this potion, told me we'd both live together forever. Before she could drink it herself, my town tried to hang us. They…didn't succeed, at least with me. I'm not just immortal, but I can't be killed."

  Kevin frowned in confusion. "Is that a bad thing? I mean…vampires live forever, right? They seem to enjoy it."

  He sighed, visibly irritated. "It's not living forever that's terrible. I haven't slept since the curse, Glinda."

  Ke
vin said nothing, trying to imagine what that was like. Jack held up a hand.

  "Here. Let me demonstrate, give you a peek into my world," he said.

  He walked up to Alex and slapped him across the face. Alex jumped on the couch. Kevin sucked in a breath as Alex's eyes turned red, and his face turned a light shade of brown, looking like he belonged in a horror movie.

  "Would you stop waking me up, you dickhead!"

  Jack laughed, and Alex's features went back to normal. He was embarrassed that he'd lost control.

  "There. Did you see that?" Jack asked.

  Kevin blinked. "Uh, a jerk doing a jerk thing?"

  "No. Alex here is angry. He's angry because he wants to sleep, and he can't. Something is stopping him from resting. Sleep is almost magical by itself. The body recharges, the mind refreshes, problems go away, fresh starts happen. That's all been taken away from me. Try to imagine what that's like. Imagine what happens when you take a mind, and keep it active longer than it was meant to. You get something twisted, unnatural—"

  "You get you," Kevin said.

  "Exactly. You get me. I haven't even rested in so long. I can't sleep, can't rest."

  "Are we done here?" Alex asked. "Victoria, and that other vampire guy. Where are they?"

  "We're done here," Jack said. "Let them argue it out. You're free to go make love to your beautiful bride, who happens to like the wings."

  Alex blushed. "Shut up. Kevin, I'll catch you later."

  He left, and Kevin walked across the basement, heading for his suitcase. Jack watched him curiously.

  "What are you doing?"

  "No rest," Kevin said. "You said you can't rest."

  "Yeah, only about fifty times."

  Kevin pulled out his spell-book and set it on the desk. He flipped through the pages, trying to remember a spell he'd read many times, but didn't truly understand.

  "Do you…have something in that book of yours? A cure?"

  "I don't know. I just thought I remember seeing something about…."

  "About what?" Jack nearly shouted.

  Kevin barely heard him as his fingers found the page. It was an older recipe, recorded by his grandfather on his mother's side, with some very strange ingredients. The blood of a goat, grave-dust from someone who had been buried at least a month, a single potato, a nail clipping from a dead wolf, along with a few other disgusting items.