by Ruby Raine
They did recall her.
“Thought she was pretty,” said old Freddy Collier. He had helped the Howards when they’d freed Lizzy from her ghastly condition a few weeks prior.
“She might be pretty,” started Mack, “but also deadly. I have the unfortunate duty to inform you all that this Eva Jordan, murdered Emily Morgan’s father.” They gasped, shocked over this news. “She is to be considered armed and dangerous. Should any of you see her, or happen across her, call me at once. At no time, should you attempt to interact with Eva Jordan or try to capture her. She might look like a normal woman, but she’s got extra talents.”
She waited until they’d each confirmed with her that they understood.
“The same goes with the Feyk. You will recognize them as the strange looking men that have been reported across the Isle. I guess they come from some Fae line... I don’t pretend to understand what I’m talking about here, but the point bein’, they ain’t your friendly neighborhood faerie with wings. Should you witness one of these men, report it directly to me. Do not engage them. We do not yet know their intentions. But for the sake of understandin’ how dangerous they can be, it is possible they have captured and are holdin’ prisoner, Melinda Howard, Emily Morgan, Lucas Deane, and the vampire, William Wakefield.”
Shocked gasps and worried cries echoed through the café.
Mack raised her hands to calm them. “Don’t make me regret lettin’ you guys in on what’s going on. I do not say this to cause a panic. Only to impress upon you how serious this situation has become. And why we are seekin’ out your help.”
“What about my wife and children?” asked a man. “Should I have them leave the Isle?”
“No. I do not think it will come to that.”
Michael took over.
“The supernatural community prefers to remain a secret. Regardless of what you’ve seen on the D.E.S.I. Report the last few days,” he added. “The Demon Isle is a special case, because our world here is more open to these things existing. But they don’t actually want the real world to know they exist. You are all perfectly safe. Unless... tonight goes badly,” he admitted. He started to wonder if everyone on the Isle was in much more danger than any of them had thought. He couldn’t think like that. Even during the Deane war, the locals had remained. But the Isle had a much smaller residency back then.
Mack took over again. “What I am suggestin’ is that you keep your families close, at home, or if you’re out, stay with a crowd. I would avoid venturin’ out alone. Our goal, and what we’re hoping you guys can help us with, is settin’ up a distraction that will cloak the sounds of the battle. At the same time, the big fireworks show downtown will keep the tourists busy.”
She saw a few people texting and making urgent phone calls. She raised her arms, gathering their attention.
“I’m not trying to start a panic here, guys. But this is the first time in over seventy years we’ve been under this kind of attack. I simply want you all to be aware, be mindful, and more than anything, be careful. We are going to let the Howards do their job. Yes?” She again waited for each of them to show their compliance.
Michael sensed the rush of alarm subside just a little.
“So what exactly do you want from us?” asked a man he recognized as his old school bus driver, Rob Tebow. Far as he knew, he was still driving kids to school.
“Tonight’s battle is taking place in White Pines,” explained Michael.
“What we’ll need for starters,” began Mack, “is a few of you willin’ to be lookouts to stop pesky tourists from sneakin’ into the park. We’re all aware how stubborn the from-aways can be,” she added with a wink.
Everyone agreed. The tourists, a.k.a. from-aways, often refused to heed warnings and rules on the Isle, often to their own detriment.
“I, myself, will stand guard at the park’s main entrance. I’ll have it taped off and before all this I’ll come up with some excuse as to why... bear sighting, or some such thing.”
“We don’t have any bears,” noted Michael.
“Tourists don’t have to know that,” she returned.
“Touche.”
“And as for the rest of you,” Mack continued. “The battle might get loud. So we need you to celebrate the Fourth of July. Do what the tourists already come here to do, but in the loudest most obnoxious manner possible. We need you to put on the largest, most kick-ass fireworks show this dang Isle’s ever seen!”
“But it’s got to be timed just right,” warned Michael. “We need it to start precisely when we need it to. A lot of the tourists will already be starting their celebrations early, heck some of them already have, but we can’t count on them or their consistency.”
“How will we know when to start?” someone hollered. “How often do we set them off?”
“We are going to alert Mack, and she’ll let you know when to begin,” explained Michael. “As per how often, as often as you can without running out before the big show kicks off.”
“Seems easy enough,” summed up Freddy. Everyone agreed.
“So what if things go badly tonight? What then?” It was Michael’s old bus driver again.
“You’ll hear every air horn, from every lighthouse on the Isle, blaring. And if that happens...”
“Get the hell outta dodge,” finished Grace, gruffly. “What a thought. That it could come to that.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“It won’t,” assured Michael. He realized that without even feeling it, his emotions had turned back on. The numb block that had gone up after finding Emily’s father dissolved. He sensed the local’s fears and needed to say something to allay those fears from turning into panic.
“We won’t allow that to happen. My family has been protecting this Isle for hundreds of years and we’ve never lost a battle yet. We won’t lose this one either.” He sighed, revealing to them, “We can’t lose, because even though a few of our members are currently prisoners of the Feyk... we have a secret weapon.”
He knew exactly what to say. Exactly what they needed to hear. What would give them the confidence and hope they needed.
“Our father, Jack Howard.” Michael shook his head, hardly still able to believe it himself. “Our father is alive. And he’s back.”
It was the exact reaction he expected.
Mack winked at him. She liked the move. It proved smart.
Everyone on the Isle loved Jack and his wife. They trusted them with their lives. They wanted to know how he’d come back and where he’d been, but Mack raised her arms to stop them again.
“All in good time, folks.” She turned to Michael. “I can take over from here. Why don’t you get home now? I’m sure they need you there. Good job,” she tossed at him in a whisper.
“Thanks.” He started for the door. Each step capturing the emotions hanging in the room. It overfilled him. It didn’t exactly please him. He’d hoped the break would have lasted longer. It was nice to have only his own feelings rolling around in his head. He’d started to forget what it even felt like.
The emotions pouring out of the townsfolk ran the gamut from worried and nervous, to eager and excited to help, to emitting sorrow and empathy for the task ahead, to excitement and confusion that Jack had somehow returned from the dead.
Michael wanted to say something, but found he could not find the right words. He slipped out and worked through the crowd toward home.
“OKAY, THEN. NOW THAT Michael’s gone. There is one other topic that must be addressed. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of him.” She looked at a young man named, Alex. “Would you mind parkin’ your ambulance outside the park entrance and hang out with me tonight?”
“I’m supposed to do my shift downtown, near the fireworks. Someone always blows off a finger or a hand.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me. Anyway, I’ll make sure that’s covered,” said Mack. “You’re the only one here with medical knowledge and I’ll tell you right now, it’s the first time I�
�ve ever feared it might be needed. I’ll give you all their blood types; you can make sure to have enough, just in case?”
“Absolutely.”
“You really think it’s going to be that bad?” asked Grace.
Mack sighed. “I’ve never been so certain of it in all my life,” she answered frankly. “I do feel secure in our plans. And the Howard’s plans. And I’m not gonna call for any evacuation of the Isle. Michael was right when he said that supernatural types do prefer to remain hidden from the outside world. But...”
“You’re not sure the Howards will come out of this unscathed,” Grace finished.
“No. And I want to be prepared, just in case.”
“Better safe than sorry,” said Alex, stating the obvious. “You can count on me.”
“Good. Now, everyone else. I’ll let you talk amongst yourselves, if any few of you are willin’ to be lookouts as I was discussing earlier, let me know, otherwise, I need you all to follow me to the police storage unit. A few at a time, I don’t want to raise any suspicions. I’ll load you up with all the fireworks you can carry.”
Mack then proceeded to give them all a robust reminder on firework safety.
Hearing all she needed to, the reporter, Courtney Jessup left the alley, debating whether to follow Michael Howard and see if she could learn more, or head directly into White Pines. She didn’t want to get involved in a battle she knew nothing about. It wasn’t why she was here.
“The witches are scared. The locals are scared. But Stricker is just a few miles from here, and I’ve never gotten this close.”
She wanted his name crossed off her hit list.
Courtney glanced down at her high heels and mini-skirt suit. It was no outfit to wear for a stroll through a national park.
MICHAEL JAUNTED UP the porch steps, stopping for a moment to ponder at the gargoyles, currently in perfect statuesque stone sitting atop their perches at the front steps.
“That’s going to take some getting used to.”
He found his father, Charlie and Lizzy in the kitchen, still prepping. It still caught him off guard to see his father inside their house. “Also going to take some getting used to,” he muttered under his breath.
“Michael,” said Jack upon seeing his son enter. “How did it go?”
“Good. The locals handled the news of the impending battle as well as could be expected. Mack’s got them readying the firework’s distraction. Sorry it took so long though. I thought I’d be home hours ago and here it is after three already.”
“No worries, Son. I knew you’d do a good job.” Jack didn’t press for more, just tossed his son a proud smile. “And never count the local’s out; they’re good people, for the most part.”
“Actually, I never realized it until just now,” returned Michael. “But they are.” He grabbed a coffee, having a difficult time to set his mug down as every inch of their kitchen counter was covered in potions and supplies. “Oh, um I checked the weather update. No rain in the forecast,” he advised. “It’s turned cloudy and the heat subsided a little, but not supposed to rain.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” muttered Charlie. He imagined a battle in the rain would be ten times as hard.
“So what do we got going on in here?” Michael asked.
“More potions than any of us can carry,” said Lizzy, proudly.
“Silver,” pointed Charlie. “For Eva.” He picked it up, his father inhaling anxiously as he did so. “It’s the ring, Dad,” Charlie reminded.
“What a thing to be given.” He stared at the black ring with great reverence and pride. The fact that a Guardian chose to sacrifice her own life to give one of his sons such an incredible gift... he was appreciative and proud beyond words.
“The ring allows me to handle the silver without any pain,” explained Charlie. “Which I’m hoping will catch Eva off guard. I don’t think she’ll expect that.”
“And if not, you can always just rip out her heart,” stated Lizzy evenly.
“That is always a viable option,” agreed Charlie.
Michael shook his head, the room suddenly clouding over in an abundance of emotion pouring out of his brother. It wasn’t emotion he expected though. It told him that for whatever reason, suddenly Charlie would agree with anything Lizzy Deane suggested.
“What the heck happened while I was gone?” Michael mumbled. He hadn’t meant to say it aloud and cleared his throat. Charlie heard him though and shot him a severe stare.
“And what about the Feyk?” asked Michael, changing the subject. “How do we kill them?”
“They’re easy enough to kill,” informed Jack. “Bodies are similar to humans in that regard, but that’s only if you can catch them. They’re fast. They can pop out in a flash and pop back in behind you a blink later. Their popping out gives off a smokescreen for cover. We were actually just trying to find some sort of spell, or potion, that might slow them down. Give us a better chance.”
Charlie’s phone beeped, buzzing at the same time.
“I can hear it. I can’t see it.” He rifled through the mess trying to find it.
He couldn’t believe he’d let it get so buried when they had so many people they were waiting to hear from. Charlie found it, read the screen, time halting instantly.
“It says it’s from Eva,” he exclaimed breathlessly.
Everyone froze, wondering if Jack Howard would be proven correct, and Eva and the Feyk were finally making contact with their demands.
“It’s another video,” he advised them. Charlie hesitated to push play.
The previous one she’d left, next to Emily’s dead father, was horrific and candid.
How did they prepare to watch this? Even aware that what they were about to witness might be disturbing, there was no preparing for it. Charlie and Michael both felt great doubt that they had waited, rather than just rushing in to save those held captive.
“Stay strong, no matter what you see,” warned Jack as firmly as possible. “We cannot allow them to get into our heads. They will try to goad us into hasty action.” He looked at each of them, waiting for their agreement. “Push play, Charlie.”
He held his breath and obeyed.
Melinda’s form came onto the screen, shaking, dirty, frightened, with her hands bound behind her back, her legs wobbly, her eyes swollen from sobbing, a look of utter terror filling her eyes... falling to her knees... Charlie thought he might crush the phone, and Lizzy had to reach up to soften his grip.
When Eva turned the camera to William...
“Oh. Fuck.” Lizzy fled to the sink, doubling over.
Michael fled the room unable to manage the emotions raging out of everyone. It filled every part of him to the point of bursting. If emotions could blow up, he was about to.
Charlie dropped the phone onto the island.
His mind could not digest what he was seeing. His brain shut off for a moment. Incapable of any reaction other than utter petrification.
The video played out.
He barely heard Eva’s warning.
The world slammed back into his mind all at once. Too many emotions manifesting themselves simultaneously.
“We shouldn’t have waited.” He braced himself against the counter afraid he might fall over. “We shouldn’t have waited,” he repeated breathlessly.
They should have attacked last night. Prepared or not.
Instead, they’d pussyfooted around like fucking idiots, and now... the cost...
William...
Melinda...
Fuck...
Fuck...
Fuck...
I’m going to break Eva Jordan’s neck.
No, I’m going to tear it off with my fucking teeth, one excruciating inch at a time.
And where were Emily and Lucas? They were not included on the video.
It was so much worse than any of them imagined possible. They knew Eva was capable of great evil, but this... this was sick. Twisted. And sadistic.
Jack reached out to Charlie but dropped his arm before it reached his son, complete doubt taking over. He’d made the wrong choice. He’d doomed his dearest friend and his only daughter to suffer terribly and die.
He should have just given in and gone to White Pines and opened the door. He should have known when they’d not responded as expected, they’d do something to retaliate and force them into taking action.
Still, in all his days... never something like this.
Fury welled up inside Charlie, begging for release. Both the wolf and the witch consumed with violent intent. He wasn’t sure even the Guardian’s ring could rein it in.
He stumbled through the back door stumbling down the stairs into the grass, clambering up to his knees.
The pain and anger was too much. Too massive. It expanded, stretching him to his limit. He lifted his head peering into the afternoon sky, silver storming into his eyes. Wrath building with every heave of his chest.
“I will kill them all,” he gushed venomously. “Every last fucking one of them.”
The wolf tore out of his skin. With a snarl he was on his feet and threw his head backwards into the air, an incensed howl erupting.
His torment bellowed hauntingly across the entire island.
At the police storage locker, Mack nearly dropped a box of fireworks. The locals went silent, listening to the dreadful cry.
“I think we’d better hurry,” she stated.
Something terrible had happened. She could feel it in her bones.
She looked down at the locals. At this moment, looking frightened, but still resigned.
“I ain’t sure fireworks is going to be enough,” declared Grace.
Mack was afraid she might be right.
IN WHITE PINES, EVA Jordan lifted a brow and grinned. “Message received.” She spun around eyeing the Feyk. “Hope you’re ready, Stricker. Because they’re coming. And I do believe this is where our agreement comes to an end.”
“You’re leaving us then?”