“So you’re summering on the Isle again?” Michael asked Eva.
“Yes. My father rented a place on the shore, just outside of town near the Mermaid Point Lighthouse.”
Her feelings made more sense now. Eva wasn’t scared seeing Charlie because she had known about the supernatural side of the Isle. Still, she had amazing recovery for being in a near death experience. And her father was on the Isle too... Michael wondered if he might get to meet him.
Charlie cleared his throat, saying, “This is all quite interesting,” although his tone clearly meant the opposite. “But we’re losing the day. We should get a move on.”
He tried to pass off his doubts as purely paranoia, but something nagged at the back of his mind. Something about this woman was not trustworthy. And the sooner they got out of the cave, the sooner he could be done with her.
“So where are you headed?” Eva asked them.
Michael smiled, taking out the crystal.
“We are heading that way,” he pointed, as the crystal turned and lit up once again toward the darkness of a cavern not too far ahead. They jumped back into the water and swam to the embankment of the cavern. Once out of the water, they unhooked their flippers, leaving on shoes that were flexible and waterproof. Eva wore the same style flipper. They left the flipper parts behind and carefully headed into the cavern. The crystal grew brighter and the cavern was surprisingly easy to walk through. The brothers had expected the terrain to be more difficult to negotiate.
Then, quite unexpectedly, the crystal’s light went out, plunging the trio into complete darkness.
Up ahead, voices echoed. They were not alone in the cave.
THREE
William and Melinda reached Emily’s house. They located her father in the garden out back.
“William Wakefield and Melinda Howard. Well, I’ll be! What brings you two out my way?” He motioned for them to have a seat under a gazebo in the center of the garden.
“It’s good to see you Mr. Morgan. You look like you’re getting around better,” Melinda noted, although she had not seen him since his last visit, with Emily, for dinner a few weeks prior at the Howard Mansion.
“That I am. That I am. Doc finally got the pain meds right and my back has never felt better! Just you two wait until you’re this age….” he trailed off.
Melinda took a sideways glance at William. Aging. Something he would never experience.
“Mr. Morgan,” began William, “we actually came today to speak with you about something rather urgent.”
“Oh. I see. What can I help you with?”
“It’s about Emily, Mr. Morgan,” William continued.
“Emily!” His eyes widened. “Is she okay?”
“Um. Well. We are hoping you might be able to tell us if she is okay,” Melinda said.
Emily’s father looked confused.
“Mr. Morgan, what can you tell us about Emily’s ring?” William asked, getting right to the point.
At the mention of the ring, Mr. Morgan’s face turned ashen and he lost all vigor.
“It was a gift,” he said. “I gave it to her years ago, but it once belonged to Emily’s mother.”
“But does it have any special purpose?” Melinda prompted.
Mr. Morgan still did not answer.
“Look, Mr. Morgan. I hate to be blunt, but time is not on our side. I am sure, after living on The Demon Isle these last years, that you must be aware there are things on this island that are not … normal,” she rambled hurriedly.
Mr. Morgan stood and paced the gazebo.
“I am quite aware,” he divulged with complete seriousness. “It is the reason I moved my family out of Georgia and to The Demon Isle in the first place.”
William and Melinda listened intently.
“It took me years to locate this place. I tracked rumor after rumor, following clue after clue. I needed to bring my family to a place where magic could be strengthened and it was rumored that The Demon Isle was such a place. Of course, it was also said that because of this, many terrible things were attracted to the Isle. It didn’t matter though. I needed strong magic to save Emily from a life of pain and fear. It was her mother’s dying wish that I bring her here. She lived just long enough to see it through.”
He paused taking a hoarse breath and continued, his voice sure, but sad.
“You see, Emily takes after her mother. She was a spirit vessel. So is Emily.”
William’s eyes brightened with understanding. “The ring, it blocks the spirits?”
“Yes. We gave Emily the ring when she was a little girl. As I said, it was once her mother’s ring. But when Emily started exhibiting signs that she also had the gift, her mother took off the ring and we gave it to Emily. Taking off the ring left Emily’s mother vulnerable to spirits. Normally, she was prepared for this. She had taken the ring off before and allowed spirits to enter her body willingly. There was a time she helped many lost souls pass along messages and move on.”
“It is not always as easy as that, however,” William realized. “Is it?”
“No. It is not. Her mother came into contact with an evil spirit. I don’t know how much you understand about spirit vessels, Mr. Wakefield, but some spirits, if strong enough, can possess a living, human vessel. It is nasty, hard work to get them back out once you let them in. One such spirit tricked my wife and possessed her for weeks. Emily was still young; she just thought her mother was ill. Not long after, I gave Emily the ring. Her mother did not want her to experience such things at such a young age. You both know my Emily,” he said, gazing at them. “She’s so sweet natured, so lost her in books and studies.”
“She’s also super smart and quite strong willed when she puts her mind to something, Mr. Morgan,” Melinda added confidently.
He nodded in worried agreement. “She is. Now. She had to become strong after her mother passed away.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “You see, before we came to the Isle, the rings power had started to weaken. We feared what would happen if the ring failed completely. We just wanted Emily to have a normal childhood. A normal life.”
“So you moved here,” Melinda confirmed. “So the Isle’s magic would strengthen the ring’s power.”
“Yes. Once we were here, and my wife knew that the ring would protect Emily, she passed on. She had been sick for some time. Cancer. She stuck it out long enough to know Emily would be protected.” He paused again and shakily continued. “I was terrified when she left to go to college, but the power from the Isle seemed to hold, especially since Emily came home to visit nearly every weekend.”
William, again, spoke to the point of the matter.
“Mr. Morgan. With the full realization of everything you have gone through to protect your daughter, I fear I must inform you that something is trying to use Emily as a vessel.”
“I feared this day might come,” Mr. Morgan whimpered grievously. “I have never even explained to Emily what she is. What her mother was. She has no idea.” His face pleaded for their help.
“William,” said Melinda in a tone that pleaded, please go protect Emily.
He sped instantly away toward the bookstore.
“Wh-where did he go?”
Melinda sighed. She spent the next several minutes explaining to Mr. Morgan that she and her brothers were witches and that William was a vampire. She continued to explain her prophetic dreams, including the one she’d had about Emily. She purposely left out the part where Emily died at the end, fearing his reaction.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Morgan. Now that we know what Emily is, we have a far greater chance at helping her through this.”
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked, suddenly looking old and worn.
“Honestly, I think this is better handled by us. This is what we do, and William is quite knowledgeable. If anyone knows how to stop a spirit from entering a vessel, it will be William.”
##
Charlie, Michael and Eva Jordan stood in the darkness
of the cave.
Eva nearly tripped, clutching Charlie for support. He grasped her, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness.
“You steady?” he asked in a low voice.
“Fine. Really not normally this clumsy,” she insistently whispered.
He looked at her incredulously.
“I swear it,” she mouthed.
He could not resist a low chuckle. He might not trust her, but she was attractive, and clearly had a keen mind, regardless of her clumsy missteps. He let go, his hand swiping down her arm. Her skin felt like cool satin underneath his rough fingers.
That nagging feeling returned. What was it he could not trust about her?
He turned and stepped forward cautiously, until light drifted in from up ahead. They stopped, listening, trying to decipher if the sounds they heard were friend or foe.
“Eat. Eat it all,” a cringing cackle reverberated through the cave.
They listened closer and heard odd sounds.
Sucking sounds.
Slurping sounds.
“I am thinking hostile,” Michael muttered, stepping closer.
“Does this sort of thing happen a lot around here?” Eva asked Charlie.
He leaned down, just an inch from her ear.
“Welcome to the real Demon Isle,” he replied in a sarcastically frightening tone. He grinned, at the same moment inhaling. As he did so, an unexpectedly overwhelming aroma filled his nostrils.
Instantly heavenly and captivating, it broke down his guard, making him forget completely that he was on the job, standing in a dark, underwater cave with an unknown assailant just a few feet away.
He could only stare dreamily at Eva, mesmerized by her.
Words would not formulate, his mouth unable to make the right movements to create speech. He stumbled over his own feet grasping Eva in attempts to stay upright. His hand splayed against her back, pulling her closer.
“You okay?” he heard escape from her lips, just inches in front of his own. Her eyes radiated amusement over Charlie’s sudden inability to speak or move correctly. She didn’t pull away. Her eyes firmly locked on Charlie’s.
Then it vanished.
The sudden intoxication lifted.
Charlie stepped away, although clumsily tripping as he did so.
Michael glanced back, grimacing, but said nothing.
“Sorry,” was all Charlie could muster as he turned away from Eva. He tried to make sense of what had happened, but could find no logical explanation. He stepped up beside his brother, having difficulty shaking off the strange occurrence.
“What was all that about?” mouthed Michael. “Like I need to ask,” he added under his breath. “Could feel it all the way over here.”
Charlie didn’t want to know what Michael’s empathic ability had felt. Sometimes, having an empath for a brother proved to be a pain in the ass. It could come in handy, but at times like these... If only Michael could learn to shut it off or tune it out...
Having a brother that knew when you were turned on, not on Charlie’s list of favorite things. Nor was it on Michael’s for that matter.
“No idea what that was,” Charlie mumbled. “Can we just focus on the now. I think it’s time to crash this little party.”
“Yeah, let’s,” agreed Michael.
The brothers wasted no time, rushing forward, only to freeze in their tracks once out in the open. Horrified disgust washed over their faces. Eva came up behind them, equally horrified.
“What. The Hell. Are. Those?” she choked.
Michael tried to answer. “Those are the sickest… most disgusting…” he was cut off by Charlie.
“Sea Hag!”
“A what?” Eva shouted, her eyes bulging.
The brothers did not reply to her question.
Michael stretched out his right hand, his palm facing the Sea Hag.
The Hag turned to face Charlie and Eva, hissing at them through jagged teeth. Her eyes were a milky white and her skin, scaly, and covered in a thin layer of greenish slime.
Eva stayed hidden behind Charlie. He almost laughed when he saw her face. She may have known about the supernatural, but she had clearly never seen anything like a Sea Hag before.
“Watch out, Charlie,” Michael warned as the Hag advanced toward his brother. Michael pushed his arm forward as if pushing something away from his body. Something appeared in his hand: a round, surging energy ball, which he thrust at the Hag. She ducked and it missed, the energy ball smashing into the side of the cave. Slivers of rock fell to the cave floor.
The Sea Hag skittered closer, her slimy webbed feet easily clinging to any surface. Then, what had only a moment ago looked like stiff quills covering her head, started to shift and wriggle, like snakes swimming in water. Each quill-like strand was much longer than it had initially appeared, and each one took on a life of its own, striking out at Charlie and Eva. Each strand came to a sharp, thorny arrow-like point. Something the brothers knew contained a toxin that could easily incapacitate them in seconds.
“Eva, stay away from those things on her head,” warned Charlie.
“Don’t intend on getting that close,” she retorted.
Charlie handed her three vials.
“These are potions that will blow up just about anything,” he explained. “If something happens and we’re knocked out… throw them at whatever’s coming at you and get out of here!” he ordered.
She nodded and glanced at her hand in awe of what she now held.
Charlie egged on the Sea Hag, trying to keep her attention, while Michael positioned himself for a straight shot at her.
The Hag bared her teeth, a rattling hiss emanating from her mouth.
“Howards,” they heard her speak, in her hissing tongue.
“She knows who you are,” Eva said, surprised.
“Most creatures around here do,” Charlie replied. His concern for their safety, as well as the desire to find out if this Hag knew anything about their parents’ deaths, sent his emotions into overdrive. Charlie let out a primal snarl that seemed to catch the Hag off guard, sending her back a few feet to rethink her approach.
“Why are you in this cave? What are these …things?” Charlie interrogated.
Behind the Hag, wretchedly bloated, charcoal colored creatures that the brothers had never seen before sucked the walls of the cave, as if addicted to whatever substance they were sucking.
The Hag did not answer Charlie. Instead, she turned to the wall-sucking creatures and spoke to them. “You eat enough, pets.”
To the brother’s surprise, the bloated creatures listened to the Hag and stopped sucking, convening around her, as if she were their mother.
Eva stepped back, watching wide-eyed as Charlie’s human face shifted into the wolf-like one she had seen earlier. Her stare lowered to his hands, as jagged nails grew long, extending outward from his fingers. He snapped his head, his fierce silver eyes shooting warnings at Eva. “Stay back,” he snarled.
Eva pressed her back against the wall.
Charlie leapt closer to the Sea Hag. “What are you doing in this cave?” Charlie asked in an ill-tempered growl. “Answer now or you will die!”
“You killed my kind before,” she rattled, her eyes blazing with anger.
Michael raised his arm to the Sea Hag, his palm pointed toward her, ready to strike if she attacked.
“Come pets, now you kill!” the Hag ordered, her voice a loathing purr.
Their bulging bodies, thick with whatever substance they were sucking, moved deceptively easy skimming over the rocks and cave debris, as if the surface was smooth, like glass.
“Are those?” started Michael.
Charlie finished. “Leeches… really big ass leeches.”
“Never really been a fan of bloodsuckers before, but now…” added Michael, disgusted.
“How did they get so big?” asked Eva, gagging as she spoke.
There was no time for discussion as one of the leeches approached Charlie. When
it was about five feet away, it did something even more surprising. It stopped and stood up, leaning on its backside, as if trying to walk.
Its intention, however, was not to walk. As it stood, the contents of its body shifted, as if everything inside the creature just sank to the bottom. The head of the creature elongated and swung out in a circle, ready to knock over anything that got in its path.
Michael focused on this one, as it was the closest to causing harm and pushed his palm forward, as if forcing energy out of his hand and toward the leech.
A shimmering force field pushed through the cave, knocking the creature over. Michael turned and did the same to two other leeches that were climbing the cave walls, over Charlie and Eva’s heads.
These leeches also slammed down to the cave floor. However, in seconds, had up- righted themselves to attack again.
“Use more, Michael,” ordered Charlie.
“If you say so. This could get messy,” he warned.
“No choice! Do it!” Charlie shouted.
Michael pushed out another energy ball, this time it surged across the cavern and upon impact, ravaged the leech, blowing it into bloody bits. The others, smelling the blood, stopped their attack and raced to the blown up bits, gorging on what was left of their comrade.
“Stupid pets,” the Sea Hag rattled.
Charlie saw his opportunity and lunged forward, knocking the Hag flat on her back, pinning her to the ground. “Did you ever kill any Howards?” he demanded viciously.
“Kill…” she croaked under his tight grip. He ducked out of the way of her poisonous quill-like strands.
“Answer me!” Charlie ordered. “Did you ever kill any Howards?”
She flailed like a fish out of water, opening her mouth as if to speak. At first, Charlie heard nothing. Then, a high-pitched noise pierced his ears. A second later, Michael and Eva heard it too.
“She’s going sonic!” Michael realized. “Stop her now, or we’ll have more company than we can handle!”
Witches of The Demon Isle Box Set, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 Page 6