by Ruby Raine
Charlie grabbed a pair of boxers and slipped them up over his muscular legs. He turned off the shower and raced down to William’s study. “I just had an idea,” he exclaimed.
“Which is?”
“Could you test the blood underneath my nails? We wouldn’t be able to I.D. whose blood it is, but we could at least find out if it’s mine or not.”
“Let me examine your hands,” said William, motioning for him to come forward.
“Sorry,” said Charlie, as William took hold of his hands to investigate them more closely.
“Why?”
“Making you get this close to blood.”
“This hardly counts as blood.”
“Well, a few weeks ago you did lock yourself away for three days, claiming you needed a cleansing period. To keep your cravings in check. I’d hate to tempt you.” There was a hint of humored reproach in Charlie’s tone.
William lifted his eyes. “This hardly counts as blood,” he repeated dryly. Although after his encounter with Lizzy Deane, and drinking her blood in a lust filled frenzy, even a speck of blood like this would have driven him mad. The cleansing period had been necessary. He simply neglected to tell them the true reason behind it.
Charlie shook his head. Something had happened to William. He sensed a change in the vampire. But he refused to share. It didn’t mean Charlie would stop pressing him about it. After all, it wasn’t fair that his embarrassing situations might soon become public knowledge, and the vampire got to keep his secrets.
After inspecting Charlie’s fingers, William dashed away and returned with a wooden file. “I do believe there may be just enough blood.” He gently scraped underneath each nail and put the blood into three different vials. “I’ll run a few tests. By tonight we’ll know if it belongs to you, along with any other information we can glean.”
“Okay,” Charlie breathed out. “Thanks.”
As he turned to leave, William said, “Don’t spend the morning worrying. I’m sure it will be your own blood. Besides, we have a very important family meeting you need to be alert and present for.”
“Right. The Soul Hunter. I’ll be ready.”
Although inwardly, Charlie didn’t hold the same confidence as William about the blood belonging to him, or that he could lay his worry aside. “I can do it for Dad,” he whispered.
Down in the study, William sighed. Charlie should have realized he’d know right away whether the blood belonged to Charlie or not. William knew the scent of each Howard sibling well. But considering the stress Charlie was under it was no surprise that he’d not surmised this.
The bigger issue however, unfortunately being, that the blood did not belong to Charlie Howard.
EMILY MORGAN STOPPED by during breakfast, which turned out to be a good thing as she kept Michael’s empathic ability from focusing on Melinda; who’d had her ear glued to her cell phone talking to Riley Deane since she’d gotten out of bed.
She and Riley had been dating for a few weeks now, and both Howard brothers had hoped she would lose interest and stop seeing him. Still, the happy energy emanating off his sister was a good thing. It just always came back to, why did it have to be because of a Deane? So far though, the Deanes had proven trustworthy and given the Howards no reason to doubt their presence on the Isle.
After breakfast, Melinda finally unglued herself from her cell and grabbed a coffee refill. She set down the mug and rubbed her temples.
“Headache?” Michael asked.
“Small one. Wacky dreams last night. Tossed and turned a lot.”
“Dreams we need to do something about?”
“No. Just a jumble of chaotic, non-sensical, super vivid dreams. I think everyone I know was in them. We were all chasing something we couldn’t catch, or see, and we were all on the Isle but spread out across it. Then we were all super freaking tall and shouting at each other across the Isle. And it just got stranger from there. The main point being, they were normal wacky dreams. But they seeped into my nerves. Woke up all agitated with this feeling that I’m late for something, and with this stupid headache.”
Emily looked at her inquisitively. “Dreams can be a sign of what we’re feeling when we are awake. Even for gals that have prophetic dreams.”
“It’s odd you say that, Emily, because that’s what stuck with me after I woke up. These recent weeks have been the least stressful and chaotic in ages. It’s been... nice. Really nice.” Melinda shrugged. “I guess even I get to have normal crazy dreams now and then.”
Things between her and Riley were going great. She was spending as much free time with him as possible. Her family was begrudgingly accepting of their relationship... with some cautious distrust and watchfulness from her brothers, but overall, it was the happiest she’d been in a long time.
And things between her and William were going great as well. Perhaps great wasn’t the right way to describe it. Less tense. Less awkward. And much less time spent together. They’d just naturally given each other some space. Well, William had given her a lot of space and she’d obliged the best she could. Things were definitely not the same as before her dreams about him had started and she was beginning to think they never would be again. But she’d give William what he needed. Which appeared to be time away from her.
Michael stretched and yawned. “Let’s just hope that last night’s dream was not a harbinger of doom, Sis. It’s been pleasantly quiet the last few weeks and I’d love to keep it that way.” He grabbed Emily around the waist and pulled her in. “And no one has tried to injure, kill, or turn my girlfriend into anything otherworldly.”
Emily laughed and kissed his nose. “Always a plus,” she agreed. “It would also be nice to celebrate the fourth of July with the rest of the Isle, and all together this year. Just a couple days away.”
“Fireworks, beer, and food are some of the best around, even if the Isle is overrun with tourists.” Michael couldn’t believe he was actually looking forward to it. “We’ll get your dad to come along too. He’s been spending too much time inside lately.”
Emily’s heart purred. “That’s very sweet, Michael.”
“He did bring the woman I adore into this world.”
“Still, you’ve taken quite the liking to each other the last few weeks. It’s... nice. Ha. Word of the day! But it is nice to spend extra time with him. And you.”
“I have been at your place a lot. And he just so happens to enjoy a good game of poker.”
Emily grinned. “Still, you’re right about getting him out. I’m pretty sure he’s not been feeling so great and just didn’t want to bother us about it.”
Us. Michael liked the ease with which she said it. And he enjoyed hanging out with her father. He reminded him a bit of his own. He let out a low sigh. “Family meeting time, right?”
“Yeah, it is,” said Melinda. She didn’t sound anymore enthused to go than her brother. Emily tossed them both a compassionate frown.
“Sorry, don’t mean to be a downer,” Michael droned despondently. “It’s just that we’re getting nowhere in the search for our father, or the Soul Hunter.”
“Maybe the third time will be the charm,” hoped Emily.
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” said Michael, remembering their previous failures. They had attempted to track the Soul Hunter twice in the previous weeks, to no avail. If it was indeed still on the Isle, it was hiding itself well.
Worse yet, they were running out of ideas. The Deanes had offered to help, but the Howards had turned them down in hopes of doing this job on their own. Melinda might be dating one of them, but the Deanes did not need to know Howard business, especially when it came to magic or protecting the Isle.
Michael and Emily followed Melinda into William’s study, where Charlie was already waiting.
“Good, you’re all here,” stated William.
“Although I don’t really see why,” said Michael, discouraged.
Charlie let out a groan, leaning back in his chair. His brother had it
right, seeing as they’d tried to track the Soul Hunter and come up with nothing. They were no closer to locating it, or their father, Jack.
Melinda peered at William, hopeful he had something new to offer, but even their mentor wore a look of defeat.
“There’s got to be something we’ve missed,” she whispered.
“Yes, perhaps so,” William replied. He didn’t linger in her gaze. He’d done better these last few weeks at keeping his distance. Keeping himself from delving into her mind, or from sneaking a peek into her dreams. Trying so ever slowly to get their relationship back to where it had once been. Friends. Very good friends. Who worked and lived together, and trusted each other implicitly. But it would take time. And a lot of control on his part.
Melinda seemed to be less on edge. More focused. And sadly, happy with Riley. No, it is a good thing, he reminded himself. Everything is as it should be.
“While we ponder the subject of the Soul Hunter,” he continued, “I’ve actually called this meeting to discuss additional concerns.”
They perked up, eager to hear what William had to say.
“In the matter of heightening our security here at the mansion, I’ve decided to make a few purchases on behalf of the family.”
“Of what?” asked Charlie.
“Gargoyles, for one,” William answered.
“We have one in the backyard,” reminded Michael.
“Yeah, and a lot of good it’s done,” jested Charlie.
William’s emerald green eyes gleamed mysteriously. “These gargoyles are a little... different.”
“How so?” asked Charlie.
“They are real,” answered William.
“Real?” the siblings questioned simultaneously. Emily cleared her throat, equally surprised.
“So they’d be like pets or something?” Melinda tried to understand. “Like roaming around the yard and stuff?”
“Not exactly,” William explained. “During daylight they are stone. Gargoyle statues if you will. Only by the light of the moon do they come to life. They live in the shadows, remaining unseen by the unsuspecting eye. And I assure you they are of no danger to anyone.”
“So like really big guard dogs,” reeled Michael.
“Of sorts,” said William. “There will be two at the front of the house and two stationed in the back. At night, they will patrol the grounds. They can sense the supernatural, each equipped to recognize true evil.”
“They can really do that?” exclaimed Melinda.
“So the research claims,” William explained. “It is said that gargoyles can see through any facade. That they can see a person’s true intent. Not unlike Michael’s empathy.”
“Except some people can learn to send out fake emotions, or I can read people wrong,” said Michael. “My ability is not a perfect test of what someone is truly feeling.”
“If what I’ve been told is true, these gargoyles will not have that problem. Sensing out true evil is entwined into their very being. It’s their reason to exist.”
“How do they learn to sense evil?” asked Emily.
“It’s their nature,” William responded. “Gargoyles were bred many long years ago to warn villages of approaching evil.”
“So they are sort of like guard dogs, but made of stone,” said Melinda. “And they only come to life at night. That’s astounding, William.”
He nodded in approval of her sentiment.
“Sounds like we should have done this years ago,” Charlie determined. “We’ll know if evil gets too close to the mansion. I’ll sleep a lot better at night,” he choked on his own words. Somehow, he doubted even gargoyles that could sense evil were going to stop his late night romps across The Demon Isle.
“A warning that evil is close, is the point,” expressed William. “In light of recent events, and warnings from the Guardian, Nina, I think we’d all sleep better at night knowing there’s extra protection around the mansion.”
“You don’t sleep,” reminded Michael.
“And in the past I believed that enough protection,” quipped William, casting a side-glance at Charlie. “I’m not always home. Sometimes I patrol. And even I can be caught unawares.”
“And sometimes you’re locked in the basement, for a cleansing period,” challenged Charlie. “Suffering from... withdrawals?” He lifted an eyebrow in the vampire’s direction.
William cleared his throat. “Or quite simply need to keep my cravings in check, now and again,” the vampire responded evenly. He knew Charlie was fishing for information but there was no way in hell he was going to admit what he’d done with Lizzy Deane.
Michael, Melinda, and Emily tossed inquisitive looks back and forth. What had they missed? They were aware William had spent a few days in his cell claiming he needed to voluntarily monitor his blood cravings...
Melinda’s breath caught in her throat. William had never done that before. She wondered why? Wondered if it had anything to do with what had happened between them. He had been his most distant since coming out of his cell.
“Times are changing,” exclaimed William sternly.
Melinda’s focused gaze returned to the vampire, listening intently.
“We must change with them whether we like it, or not. Safety is a primary concern, and one we no longer have the luxury of taking lightly.”
Charlie sighed. “I cannot disagree, William. When you’re right, you’re right.”
The vampire’s eyebrows raised in a gesture of agreement.
“Okay, so gargoyles guarding the house,” said Charlie. “Sounds like a solid plan in the making. When will they arrive?”
“In about a week.”
“Okay. So what else?”
“The gargoyles will only give the mansion security at night. We need to add additional security during the day,” William paused, hearing the Mack line ring from in the kitchen. The direct phone line between Mackenzie Briggs, the sheriff of The Demon Isle and the Howard Witches.
Charlie raced to grab it, speaking, “hello” as he reappeared back in William’s study. Everyone waited to see what supernatural trouble was brewing now, but to their surprise, Charlie beckoned them to follow him back into the kitchen.
William, thanks to his super vampire hearing, overheard what Mack was saying to Charlie and darted into the kitchen ahead of everyone, turning on the TV. He flipped the stations until he’d found the right one.
“I’ll call you right back,” said Charlie, hanging up. “Mack said we need to tune into the local news. Says we have two potential problems on our hands.”
They turned and watched a local news reporter already in mid-conversation with a man, apparently a tourist.
“Welcome back. I’m Courtney Jessup, and if you’re just joining us, we’re about to speak with witness Thomas Kinney, on what’s turning out to be a fascinating first day on the job as Channel Four’s new Demon Isle Supernatural Investigator. The D.E.S.I. Report, for short,” she added with a wink. “Channel Four is now being broadcast across the entire tri-state area. Yes, that’s right folks. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.”
Courtney’s hair was dark blonde, tied in a ponytail, and she wore a summery, above the knee skirt with a sporty jacket of bright red. It matched the color of her lipstick and shoes. Dark rimmed glasses lined her face, accentuating her dark blue eyes.
She was obviously not a local. No local would have picked her shoe choice; way too high spiked heels, on cobblestone. She’d be lucky not to break an ankle her first day on the job.
But it was the subject of her report that had the sibling’s mouths gaping. The D.E.S.I. Report. This Courtney Jessup was investigating the supernatural. They listened closely. Did this reporter have any idea that it was real? Or was this just to drum up business for the Isle? This could definitely pose a problem, regardless of the answer.
“Mr. Kinney, Thomas,” Courtney began in a calming tone. “You mentioned a strange and frightening looking man, where did you see this man?”
“On the beach, just over near the ferry landing. I was waiting for the ferry to arrive early this morning. It was just before sunup, and that’s when I saw him. And then he saw me,” he explained excitedly.
“Did this man speak to you?” asked Courtney.
“Oh, he more than spoke to me!” the interviewee replied with gusto. “He walked right up to me. Wore this crinkled looking top hat, which he took off his head. His ears were taller than anything I’d ever seen, and I swear they were pointed! He took a bow and said, ‘Good morning’ and then he smiled at me,” Thomas finished with a shudder.
“And what was so scary about a greeting and a smile?” questioned Courtney.
“His teeth. They were jagged, almost like they’d been filed down to look like daggers.”
“Daggers, for teeth? And what happened after that, Thomas?” asked the reporter eagerly.
“He told me to have a nice day,” the man said, now sounding confused. “Can you believe that? But it got even weirder! He put his hat back on and just,” the tourist clipped off his words, shaking his head in disbelief.
Courtney raised her left hand (her right hand curled around a microphone), and gently touched the man’s arm, encouraging him to continue.
Thomas nodded. “In total honesty, the man vanished. I blinked, and he was gone. Couldn’t see him anywhere. Just gone.”
“Truly, a fascinating tale. Thank you for sharing, Thomas.” She turned back to the camera. “And there you have it folks,” she spoke with conviction. “You heard it here first on Channel Four.”
She took a few steps towards the camera, her crew zooming in on her face.
“When I first agreed to take this job, I have to admit I was skeptical. But I think I’m going to enjoy my time here on The Demon Isle. Consider me your new eyes and ears to everything strange, crazy and unexplainable. If you have something you want to share, call the D.E.S.I. Report tip line, or send us an email; both are scrolling the bottom of your TV screens right now. You can also check out our new blog for the latest news, the link is on Channel Four’s website.”