by Unknown
Lexi didn’t know what hanging around outside Albert’s house was going to do for her. She was hoping that maybe she would see something – anything – that would help lead her in the right direction. Lexi was convinced that the reason she had ended up in this time period, in the same town as the witch and Albert, was because there was some sort of clue here. Maybe, if nothing else, she could figure out what was on the missing page of the book that she had read just before it had sucked her and Dan in and dropped her off in this time period.
“I’ve retrieved the garlic, Belinda.” Lexi glanced above her head. The window was open, which allowed her to hear everything that was being said inside the house.
“Wonderful! Simply wonderful!” The woman’s harmonic voice, which must have belonged to Belinda, was dripping with excitement. “This should keep those pesky vampires away.”
Lexi felt her jaw drop. The witch was using garlic to keep away vampires? Did that method even work? She wished that Gabe was here so she could ask him.
“Did you finish the pendant?” Albert asked. His voice sounded distant, like he was in another room now.
“I created the mold with clay I pulled from the river, but I couldn’t complete the pendants without the garlic,” Belinda explained. “Now that you’ve gotten that for me, I should be able to finish the spell by tomorrow afternoon. I will need some of your blood for the brew.”
“Of course,” Albert replied, closer now. “You may prick my finger whenever you are ready for my blood. What shape is the pendant?”
Belinda laughed; the cackling sound that escaped her throat made every fairytale about witches that Lexi had ever heard about seem true. “I chose to mold the pendant into the shape of a bat. I thought, how humorous would it be for the shape of the pendant that would protect you to be in the shape of your predators in their night form? I made two pendants, just to be on the cautious side.”
Lexi reached for her neck. She had noticed for the first time that the bat pendant that her father had given her, which prevented vampires from being able to detect her scent, was gone.
Chapter 5
****
“I don’t know how good your idea is,” Gabe said. “We already know that he’s in New Jersey. It seems pointless to go back to Long Island.”
“We just need somewhere to stay,” Austin replied, his eyes still glued to the road as he drove. “It’s not like Long Island is that far from New Jersey. We’ll just hang out at Ben’s bed and breakfast for a few more days . . . or until you have a vision that lets us see where Ben is.”
Gabe gritted his teeth. He had a feeling that Austin didn’t just want to stay at the bed and breakfast because they needed a place to stay. He probably just wanted a weekend (or however long) getaway with Anna in a locale that was more romantic than a sleazy, 2-star hotel in New Jersey.
When they arrived at the bed and breakfast, Manny, who worked the front desk, greeted them. His warm expression quickly turned worrisome. “Have you figured out where he is yet?”
“No, but I think we’re getting closer,” Gabe replied, hoping that was the truth. He had been anxious enough to see Lexi and work through their problems as it was; it made it even worse not knowing if she was okay – especially since wherever Lexi was, she was with Dan, who had already proven in the past that he couldn’t be trusted. Gabe just hoped that she would be okay.
“Well, then, what is it that you’re here for?” Manny asked, a confused look crossing his face.
“We need to stay here again if that’s okay,” Austin said. “Are there any vacant rooms?”
Manny clicked a few buttons on the computer before shaking his head. “No, I’m sorry. It looks like everything’s booked.”
“Damn,” Austin muttered.
Gabe tried to hide the “I told you so” smile that crossed his face. “I guess we’ll have to look somewhere else then. Sorry to bother you.”
Manny gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m terribly sorry. I know that Ben wouldn’t be happy about this. I’ll give you a call if anything becomes available for any reason.”
“Don’t worry about it. Thank you anyway,” Gabe replied before leading Austin, Anna, and Craig out the door of the reservation office. He glanced across the street. There was a hotel called the Starlight Inn. “Let’s try there,” Gabe said before darting across the street.
They were in luck. The Starlight Inn had vacancies. There were two rooms available. Once they paid for the rooms and got the keys, Gabe looked at Austin. “Am I rooming with you?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think so, man,” Austin replied, pointing his chin at Anna. Gabe caught on right away; Austin didn’t want Anna to room with Craig. Gabe knew that if Lexi were here, he would feel the same way – which was partly why he didn’t want to room with Craig himself. It seemed like an incredibly awkward way to try to catch a vision.
Gabe saw the future (and the past sometimes, too), but it didn’t happen at his own will. He had to wait for his visions to come – which could sometimes take days or weeks. When Gabe was in stressful environments, it made it even more difficult to see into the future. “Well, how about I stay in the room with you guys? It’s not like we need to sleep.”
“Anna needs to sleep,” Austin replied, reminding Gabe that Anna was still a human, not a vampire. “Besides, I thought we could have some alone time together for once.”
Gabe sighed. There was going to be no way for him to win this argument. He headed to his hotel room, which he, unfortunately, was going to be sharing with Craig.
Once they were inside, Gabe sniffed around. The room had that musky scent that hotels near the beach sometimes had. Glancing down at the floor, he noticed that there was also sand caked in the carpeting. Gabe wondered who went to the beach in the middle of December. He’d never understood the concept of the beach really. It probably didn’t help that he couldn’t go even if he wanted to. Sunscreen offered vampires enough protection to go outside during the day without burning to a fatal crisp, but it also didn’t allow them to bask in the blazing sun like humans did.
Gabe turned his attention to Craig, who had sat down on one of the double beds. “Look, the whole reason we’re here is because I need to see into the future. I won’t be able to do that while you’re around. So, it would be cool if you could maybe hang out with Anna and Austin as much as possible.”
“I understand,” Craig replied, nodding knowingly. “I don’t want to disturb you.”
“You already have,” Gabe muttered under his breath.
*
Austin placed his duffel bag on the floor next to Anna’s before lying down on the bed. He had to admit that it was pretty comfortable for a hotel bed. Even the pillows weren’t too firm or too soft; they were just right.
“So, why didn’t you tell Mary-Kate that you were in her house today?” Anna asked slowly. “I mean, she’s your girlfriend. Don’t you trust her?”
Austin shrugged. “I don’t know . . . it’s hard to explain. I want to trust her. Deep down, I don’t think I do, though. And I also don’t want her to be my girlfriend anymore, either, to be honest with you.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “Did something happen? I thought you two were so perfect for each other.”
Austin smirked at the sarcastic emphasis that Anna put on purpose. He knew that was what he had told Anna when he had first met her. At the time, he might have even believed it himself. After all, he had been Briar Creek High’s quarterback, and Mary-Kate was the head cheerleader. All of his friends thought they were perfect for each other, but there was more to Austin than what met the eye. He actually found that he was happier when he was around Anna. “We were far from perfect for each other,” Austin replied. “It just took a while for me to see that. Nothing really happened. Not with me and Mary-Kate, at least . . . I just fell for someone else.” Austin met Anna’s dark eyes, hoping that she would realize that he was talking about her.
Anna’s cheeks turned a shade of pink and she turned away from him. Au
stin smiled. She had definitely figured it out.
“So, umm, this place has an indoor pool,” Anna said, pointing at a brochure on the nightstand. “We should go swimming. Vampires can swim, can’t they?”
Austin laughed. “Yes, we can swim. Did you bring a bathing suit?”
Anna reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a black frilly bikini. “Surprisingly, yes.”
Austin raised an eyebrow. “You just happen to be carrying a bikini around with you in winter?”
“This bathing suit cost a lot. I wasn’t about to leave it behind for one of the girls at Huntington to snatch up,” Anna replied.
“Hmm,” Austin said, tapping his temple. “You never seemed like the high maintenance girl with expensive bathing suits to me.”
Anna sat down on the bed. Her tone turned serious. “I’ve changed a lot since I came to Huntington. Did I ever tell you that I used to play field hockey at my old high school? I bet you never would have guessed that.”
“Actually, it doesn’t surprise me. Field hockey players are fierce. They can kick ass. If I had to peg you for any sport, it would be field hockey,” Austin said. “Or maybe dance because you’re also pretty graceful.” He paused, staring at a painting of a lighthouse that hung from the egg-colored wall. “What made you change?”
Anna looked down at her boots. “When my mom was murdered, I just . . . I felt so out of control. I’m not going to lie. I was a spoiled, high maintenance bitch before my mom was killed. After it happened, I realized how much I took everything for granted. All the designer clothes, lavish parties . . . none of it could ever take the place of my mom.”
“So, you just became this cute punk rock chick because your mom was murdered? Not that I’m complaining, I think it’s pretty hot. I just don’t get it,” Austin said, trying to meet her eyes.
“Back then, I was this preppy, spoiled girl. I hate who I was then. I wanted to become the total opposite.” Anna looked up at him. “I’m happier with who I am now, though. There are no crazy expectations on me to look or act a certain way. I feel like this is the real me.”
Austin nodded, admiring the way her dark brown eyes had flecks of green and gold when the light reflected against them. He normally liked girls with a natural look and wasn’t a big fan of a lot of makeup, but somehow, all of the makeup and crazy hair colors looked right on Anna. “I’m glad you’re happy now. For the record, I like you no matter what you’re like.”
Anna blushed again. “Shall we go for that swim now?”
Austin nodded. Even though Austin knew they had to find Ben soon, he kind of hoped that he and Anna would at least have a little more time together. Austin knew that wherever Lexi was, Dan was taking good care of her.
Chapter 6
****
As the night grew darker, Lexi tried to make sense of what was happening. She had gone back in time to May of 1822. It had happened because she had read from the Hunter family book. Albert Hunter and the witch who had casted the spell on the town of Briar Creek were in the house that she was leaning against. Belinda had wanted garlic to keep vampires away, and she had molded two bat pendants out of clay to protect Albert from his “predators” – AKA vampires. Lexi’s own bat pendant was missing, which had to be because Belinda hadn’t even created it yet. Those were the things that she was certain of.
What she didn’t know was why. Why was she here? There had to be a reason Lexi had ended up in this town and time period, but she couldn’t figure out what it was or what she was supposed to do. She only wished that she could figure out what that page had said before she and Dan had been sucked into the book. Lexi had a feeling that whatever was on the page – which had obviously been torn out – would have given her a clue as to how to get out of here. Without that knowledge, she was beginning to lose hope.
Lexi tried to figure out what she was going to do for shelter. Should she just knock on the door and tell Albert she was one of his relatives who had come back from the future? No. They would think she was insane and try to have her arrested. Her best bet was going to be to sleep outside, but where?
Scanning the yard for somewhere to sleep, Lexi spotted a pile of hay at the side of the yard. Hay would help keep her warm tonight, and block her from Albert and Belinda’s view if they happened to look outside. As she walked over to it, Lexi heard a grunting sound.
Panicked, she crouched down so that whoever it was wouldn’t see her. Just as she grabbed a fallen tree branch that she was planning to use as a weapon, she heard the whinnying from a few feet away.
Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. It was a horse. Why hadn’t she noticed that Belinda and Albert had a horse in their backyard earlier? Probably because she had been so wrapped up in listening to their conversation that she hadn’t even paid attention to her surroundings.
Even in the moonlight, Lexi could tell that the horse was a beautiful shade of black, its hair as dark as coal. As she took a few steps closer to the horse, it whinnied louder, obviously startled by her presence.
“Shh,” Lexi hissed softly. The last thing she needed right now was for the horse to somehow let Belinda and Albert know that she was camping out in their backyard. Grabbing a handful of grass and what felt like clovers, she held it out to the horse. “Shh,” she whispered again soothingly.
The horse inched its way over to her, reluctantly sniffing at her hand. After a few moments, it gently took the grass from her, its muzzle grazing over the palm of her hand. “You’re a dainty one,” Lexi whispered, remembering one of Violet’s old neighbor’s horses, Midnight, who had bit her fingertips when they’d gotten in the way of the graham cracker she was feeding him. Lexi had cried, and her mom had hugged her, laughing, and told her that Midnight hadn’t tried to be mean.
She would never be able to hug her mom again.
Would her mom even be able to visit her in this time period? If Lexi was right – and, judging from the fact that the witch was making the bat pendant right now and her own pendant was missing – her mom hadn’t even died yet. Her mom wasn’t even alive. She wouldn’t be born until 1976. It would all depend on whether or not ghosts could visit other time periods, but for some reason, Lexi seriously doubted it. If her mom knew she was here – and how scared she was – she probably would have visited her already to tell her what to do.
Once she was sure the horse was going to be quiet, Lexi settled herself down behind the bales of hay. It was bad enough that she had to sleep outside; the idea of sleeping in the woods freaked her out. Plus, as long as she stayed beside the house, she would be able to listen to Albert and Belinda when they woke up the next morning.
Lexi rested her head against one of the bales of hay. She wrapped the dress that she had stolen from the clothes line (and had yet to change into) around her tightly as a blanket to shield her from the coldness of the night. Lexi felt so alone and, now more than ever, she wished that Gabe were with her.
*
The next morning, a loud banging sound startled Lexi awake. She had dreamt of the people who she wanted to get back to: Gabe, Austin, and her mom. Mary-Kate had also been in her dream, reminding Lexi that as soon as she got back to Huntington, they could focus on being sisters.
A loud humming came from inside the house. Lexi realized right away that the humming belonged to Belinda. She hadn’t heard Belinda sing before, though she knew her voice would be hypnotizing. Belinda’s voice drifted out of the window as she said, “I combine these ingredients to keep my Albert safe from the evil predators who hunt him. Cedar and patchouli oil.” Belinda paused and although Lexi was too afraid to peek in the window, she imagined the woman dumping the ingredients into a cauldron. Belinda continued. “Seven hairs from a black cat.”
Lexi heard a hissing sound coming from inside the window. She assumed that it was the sound of the cauldron rising and not the cat hissing as Belinda plucked the hairs from it. “Cloves of garlic. And finally, five drops of Hunter blood.” The hissing sound resumed, and there was a long pause.
/> The scent of peppermint filled Lexi’s nostrils. She quickly realized that the witch had lit incense for her spell. Belinda began speaking again, this time, her voice loud and powerful. “Shavings of cedar and oil of patchouli, scents of the earth, mask Hunter blood from the creatures of the night. Seven hairs of a feline, black as smoke, gatekeeper of the Afterlife, provide protection from all evil who tries to cross his path. Cloves of garlic mix with this blood to repel blood-suckers. Protect Hunter blood from the vampires who wish to take Albert’s life!”
Lexi heard the hissing sound again, but it was much louder this time. Moments later, she heard a loud swooshing sound, and Belinda laughed her cackling laugh again. “This is wonderful, simply wonderful, Winston! It worked! The spell worked!” There was a soft meow, and Lexi realized that Belinda must be speaking to her cat.
“How do I know the spell worked, you ask?” Belinda said, as though the cat had actually responded to her. “I can feel it in my bones . . . I can feel it in my veins. There’s a positive energy in this room!” The woman’s voice was filled with excitement. “The pendant is going to keep Albert safe, Winston. Those wretched vampires won’t hurt your father.”
Lexi felt a pang of sympathy. If only the witch knew that her spell wasn’t going to work.
*
As it grew dark out, Lexi curled up against the bale of hay, trying to come up with a plan. It wasn’t like she could just stay here hiding out on Albert and Belinda’s property. Eventually, they were going to find her, and what would they do with her then? Call the police probably.
Plus, there was also the issue of clothing, bathing, and eating. Tonight, she had been fortunate enough to sneak into the garden and grab a tomato and a cucumber to eat, but she had no idea what she was going to do tomorrow. She didn’t even have money or know what currencies were and weren’t used in the 1800s. Did they have pennies or nickels? Twenty dollar bills? Lexi had no idea.