Phantoms of the Otherworld (In Spiritu Et Veritate)

by Reed, Zoe

  After only reading for about fifteen minutes Camille shifted, and after a second of looking around confusedly, she groaned. “I got to stop waking up naked.”

  I laughed as I closed the book and set it on the table. “No, you got to stop falling into things.”

  “Oh yeah, that too,” she agreed sarcastically as she sat up and pulled the blanket tight around her. She sat sideways to me and scooted closer to the fire so that half her body could soak up more warmth from it.

  I shook my head and chuckled, glad she felt well enough to be making jokes. “How are you?”

  “I can feel my toes again.” She smiled and gave her toes a wiggle. “What’s happening with the vampire?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I was waiting for you to wake up.”

  She nodded as she looked around, and jumped up when she saw the pile of her clothes that I’d laid next to the fire to get warm. “As curious as I am about how that’s going, I think I’m going to stay here by the fire for a little longer.”

  When she grabbed her jeans she pressed them against her face, grinning at the heat, and then dropped the blanket so that she could get dressed. My eyes darted around awkwardly. Her bare body didn’t bother me when she was unconscious, but when the girl was awake I felt like I should look anywhere but at her. It wasn’t necessarily that I minded. Even with the way things had been between us lately I was still undeniably attracted to her, but anytime I got close the blonde grew uncomfortable. I could only imagine how she’d feel if she caught me staring.

  As Camille slipped her jeans over her feet, I stood. “I’m going to go check it out.” Some of it was curiosity. Most of it was my needing a distraction.

  Without giving her time to say anything I walked out to search for everyone. When we’d arrived with the vampire Wes got help from David and William in securing him in the glass room. As I reached the back of the house I cracked the door and peeked into the glass room to find that, though the vampire was chained to a chair, he was alone. Before he knew I was there, I swiftly turned around and headed back for the entranceway. As I reached it Wes and William were coming down the stairs.

  “How’s Camille?” Wes asked when he reached the bottom.

  “She’s awake. Warming up by the fire.” Instead of stopping there he veered toward the back of the house. Will was following close behind, and when I started to follow them too I eyed the two-foot weapon in his hand. I couldn’t be sure whether to call it a sword or a knife, but I was sure the thin edge could cut through almost anything. “You guys didn’t talk to him yet?”

  “Eli wanted us to leave him alone for a little while,” Wes said, heading though the wide hall with his hands in his pockets. “It’s a scare tactic, makes us seem more unpredictable.”

  I nodded understandingly as we rounded the corner to the back of the house. “Are you going to kill him?”

  Both Wes and William looked at me and, without answering, pushed open the door to the glass room. The vampire’s head twisted to look at us as we entered, and while Wes moved around to his front, William and I stayed behind him. Wes pulled a lighter out of his pocket and while he stood there, staring the vampire down, he distractedly flicked it on and off.

  “Here’s the thing, man,” he started after a minute and put the lighter back in his pocket. “I’m really not in the mood to torture you. Can we do this the easy way?” I saw the back of the vampire’s head go up and down in an eager nod. “You want to tell me what you were doing in our forest?”

  “He told me to watch you guys.” The vampire’s voice was soft and shaky, undoubtedly strained by fear, and I was glad his fear was making him cooperative. “I was supposed to learn your habits, maybe some weaknesses, so it would be easier to…” His voice trailed off, but he didn’t have to finish for us to know was he was going to say. So it would be easier to kidnap us.

  Wes ‘mhm-ed,’ and leaned his back against the glass wall behind him. “Who’s ‘he’?”

  “A vampire, the one who owns the bar in the city,” the vampire told him.

  “And who’s he working for?” Wes asked.

  The vampire shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but we all hear talk. I heard Benjamin’s the one who’s running the whole thing.”

  “Do you know where he’s operating out of?” Wes asked, and when the vampire shook his head, he growled, “Don’t lie to me.”

  “I’m not,” the vampire said desperately. “I’ve never even met him. I was just having a drink in the bar and the owner offered me this job.”

  So the vampires really weren’t stupid. They were doing a good job of hiding and they weren’t going to risk sacrificing anybody who knew their whereabouts. They’d even enticed a nobody to do their dirty work. I almost felt bad for the guy.

  Wes shook his head in disbelief. “What in the hell could convince you to pull a job on Pack territory?”

  “Free drinks,” the vampire chuckled nervously. “And he said if I found out anything that could help, then every vampire would benefit.” Wes remained quiet as he watched the vampire, waiting for him to continue. “He said there would be an endless supply of food, a feast. We’d all be set for life. That’s all I know, I swear.”

  Wes watched him carefully for another ten seconds, judging if the vampire was telling the truth or not, and then looked at William. When William lifted the sword with two hands I made for the door. I ducked out just in time to miss him finish the swing he was taking at the vampire’s neck.

  I smiled bye to Camille as she got off on her dorm floor, and then hit the button to close the elevator doors. It was Saturday afternoon and we’d just finished training, so now I was looking forward to getting a nap. Wes had us working on the blood connection every training session, and it was more exhausting than running all day. The elevator doors opened up at the end of the hall, and I got off of it right as Abby was coming out of her dorm room.

  The girl grinned when she saw me, and began to follow me down the hall. “You just get back from training?”

  I nodded, chuckling when as I opened the door to my room Abby walked right in to sit on my bed. “Make yourself at home,” I told her with teasing sarcasm.

  “Don’t mind if I do,” she smirked as I took off my jacket and draped it over the chair at my desk. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

  With a shrug I dropped into the chair. “I don’t know. Eat, sleep, homework.”

  Abby pointed her finger down her throat and made a gagging sound. “Boring.”

  “Oh yeah?” I laughed and playfully kicked her foot. “What are you doing?”

  “I was actually going to run an errand for the Council. They’ve been having me check up on certain supernaturals to see what they know about this whole vampire thing.” Abby paused thoughtfully for a second before her eyes lit up with excitement. “You want to come with me?”

  I couldn’t hide that I was slightly shocked at the invitation. Abby’s father wasn’t shy about not being fond of werewolves, and no doubt he’d be mad if he found out I went along on an errand. “Is that allowed?”

  She shrugged apathetically. “I always go by myself. Who’s going to know the difference?”

  “Uh huh,” I mumbled thoughtfully, and then gave a coy smile. “What’s in it for me?”

  Abby laughed, watching me with a sporty glow in her eye. “Besides getting to hang out with me?” I nodded. “What if,” she started, pausing to study me thoughtfully, “I buy you some fast food?”

  “Alright deal,” I said instantly, and got up to tug my jacket back on.

  Abby got off the bed with an unsure giggle. “That was easy.”

  I pretended to swoon, and said in a teasing but romantic voice, “You had me at fast food.”

  “Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” she snorted with laughter and pushed me out the door.

  After I closed it behind us I followed her out of the room and back down the hall toward the elevator. “I finally get to see what you do for the Council, huh?” Abb
y nodded like it was no big deal. “Do you ever get in fights? Or have to chase them down?”

  The elevator whooshed as it began to take us down, and Abby characteristically leaned against the wall with a chuckle. “Not usually. They have more powerful supernaturals for the more dangerous jobs.” I was about to ask what kind of more powerful supernaturals, but Abby must have heard because she answered before I could ask. “Like shape shifters, telekinetics, telepaths who aren’t the director’s daughter.”

  “Are you saying you want the more dangerous jobs?” I asked as we got off the elevator and I followed her out to her car, not in the least bit surprised given Abby’s headstrong personality.

  “It’s not that I want them,” she started thoughtfully, pulling open the driver’s door and getting in. “All the jobs are important. But if I was anyone else who’s been doing this for as long as I have, then I’d be getting the more dangerous jobs and I’d do them well. My dad’s just hoping I’ll get bored with fieldwork because he wants me on the board.”

  “I see.” I pulled on my seatbelt and then turned to face Abby, who was looking over her shoulder to pull out of the parking spot. “You don’t want to be on the board?”

  “No, absolutely not.” She put the car into drive and started for the main street as she vigorously shook her head. “I don’t agree with any of the decisions my dad makes, and he doesn’t like being told otherwise.”

  “Don’t you think you’d have more influence if you were on the council?” I asked as I watched the road. I’d been expecting us to head into the city, but Abby turned onto a back road heading east.

  “Not really. My dad’s been the director for a long time, so most of the members respect him too much to cross him. All the ones who don’t respect him as much fear him even more. I wouldn’t be able to sway a single thing my way. The way I see it, I have more influence in our relations department.” At ‘relations department’ Abby gave a wink.

  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” I agreed, and then looked around curiously. “Where are we going anyway?”

  “We’re going to see the owner of an occult shop in the woods backed up to the mountain. He’s the most legitimate dealer around here, so we want to see if he knows anything,” Abby told me and turned onto a smaller unpaved road.

  “And by legitimate you mean?” I asked curiously.

  “Not touristy,” she said with a shrug. “Doesn’t make his biggest sales off of crystal balls and love potions.” A minute later she made another turn onto a narrow dirt trail. Whoever this guy was, he lived in the middle of nowhere. “And there’re a couple things you should know before we go in. He’s old and senile, so he’s kind of unpredictable. Sometimes he couldn’t be happier to help, and others he’s really unpleasant.” She pulled in front of a small house and put the car in park. “Also, he’s a terrible psychic, but he thinks he’s incredible. If we want him to talk at all you got to let him think he’s incredible, or else he’ll get really grumpy. So, no matter what he says, just agree with him. Okay?”

  I laughed at the absurdity of the request, but nodded anyway. “Okay.”

  “Also,” she added as she opened the door to get out, “Don’t drink anything he offers you. You’ll be higher than cloud nine before you could even say cloud nine.”

  I followed Abby’s lead and got out of the car. “You learn that the hard way?” I asked with a chuckle, catching the bit of recollection in Abby’s warning.

  “That’s a story for… never,” she said with a scowl, and the glare I got made me laugh.

  We both walked up the four steps to the front door on the porch, and Abby held it open as I walked through. The counter was on the right side as we walked in, and shelves with various bottles, herbs and ingredients covered the rest of the store.

  When the old man behind it saw Abby he suspiciously shoved a book he was reading under the counter. With a glower he pointed a withered and bent finger at her, “Hey, I ay bin makin’ no o’ that mergic munshin, you hear?”

  “Of course you haven’t, Harold. The Council asked you not to,” Abby said with a smile on her face, then turned her head so only I could see and rolled her eyes.

  Harold scanned me, and then looked back at Abby. “Who friend der? She shunatral too?” His voice was deep and shaky, and his speech was hindered not only by the fact that he had no teeth, but also because he was slurring so bad I could barely understand a word he said. I would have thought he was drunk, especially after the mention of what I thought sounded like ‘magic moonshine,’ but his stance was steady and his eyes were almost too alert.

  “That’s right,” Abby answered, calmly passing me a look that reminded me to agree with whatever he said.

  To my confusion, in the blink of an eye Harold’s slur disappeared. As whatever was causing him to slur wore off his eyes gained a wild, confused look. It took him a second to catch up, but when he glanced from Abby to me, as if for the first time, he seemed to recall that we were having a conversation. “Yeah, I know a succubus when I see one,” he said, laying both his long, thin arms on the countertop and directing his attention to me.

  I grinned excitedly and nodded, even though I could vaguely even recall what a succubus was. “How’d you know?”

  Harold’s scowl disappeared behind a successful grin. “I can practically feel you draining my energy from there. You keep that mojo off me. Come in back, I need a drink.”

  As he turned to go through the door next to the counter Abby let out a snort of laughter just loud enough for me to hear. She even took it so far as to hold her stomach and point at me in a giggling fit before following Harold into the back. Why was she laughing at me? I thought Harold’s odd behavior was funnier than whatever she could be laughing at.

  When we walked through the door Harold was pouring a hot, clear liquid into small teacups on a table near his couch. We both walked over to the couch and sat down, but as Abby had warned, neither of us touched the drink. I tried to get a whiff of whatever was in the cup, but instead of smelling like alcohol or any other kind of substance, it just smelled citrusy and sweet.

  Harold pushed over a small wooden chair and sat across from us. “What you here for, Joann?”

  I glanced over at Abby curiously, wondering if Joann was a name she’d made up as a cover, but now wasn’t the time to ask. “You’ve got quite the customer base. I was just wondering if lately that might include vampires?”

  Harold’s eyes were the only things that betrayed his surprise while the rest of his exterior remained unmoved. He picked up a teacup and took a couple sips before answering. “They count on me.”

  “I know,” Abby said reassuringly, though I wasn’t sure whom he was talking about. “But you see, this is really important. I need to know if you sold anything to a vampire recently that might be dangerous.”

  “Abby,” Harold started, and I was surprised to hear him use Abby’s real name. Before continuing Harold looked to his right, pointed a finger and glared as if scolding something invisible, and then turned back to us. He paused after he took in a breath, like he forgot what they were talking about, and then said, “Everything.”

  Abby sighed softly, but she wasn’t ready to give up completely. “Harold, the Council is pretty sure that there’re some vampires trying to do something really bad, and if they do then we think a lot of humans could get hurt. I just don’t want anybody to get hurt, you know?”

  Harold nodded, picked up one of the other cups he’d poured and sipped on it slowly. Even though he nodded his understanding, he sat there quietly, still refusing to tell us anything useful, and I was pretty sure we were already losing him to the drink.

  “Could you at least tell me if you’ve had any vampire customers lately?” Abby asked.

  Again Harold looked to the side, to whatever he thought he was seeing. “’Gonna tell her.” Then his eyes met Abby’s. “One.” A small smile spread across his lips before he started counting in a whisper, “Two, three, four bottles.” Like he’d said so
mething he shouldn’t have, he shushed his invisible companion and clasped his hands over his mouth. “One,” he said again.

  I wasn’t sure how Abby had the patience for all this nonsense, but it made me glad that she was the one asking the questions. Knowing she wasn’t going to get anything else from him, she stood, with me quickly doing the same. “And you aren’t still accepting ingredients for magic moonshine as payment, right Harold?” she added, almost jokingly as the old man followed us back to the front of the store.

  “No,” he told her matter-of-factly and resumed his place behind the counter. He reached into his pocket and held out his clasped hand, as if he was handing her something.

  She reached out for it, and when Harold put whatever he was holding into it, she opened it to examine the item. I couldn’t say I was surprised that her hand was empty, but the girl thanked him anyway. “Thanks Harold.” She pulled the door open for me and waved to the old man. “We’ll be seeing you. Thanks for the drink.”

  He nodded courteously and waved. “Bye-bye, Joann.”

  Abby let the door close behind us and got into the car with me. “Joann is my mom’s name, I know you were wondering.” I made an ‘oh’ face and nodded understanding. “She used to be the one who dealt with Harold all the time. He always liked her better than most the others the Council would send.”

  “And because he’s senile he calls you that sometimes?” I asked, to which Abby nodded. “What’s with the magic moonshine?”

  “It’s this concoction he makes. Sort of like absinthe, but stronger, and it’s got a magic quality that makes you hallucinate things from the future. That’s why he thinks he’s psychic. Naturally that kind of stuff started causing problems for the Council, so they asked him to stop making it,” she told me.