Shadows in the Mist Page 4

  “Okay. You’re right. It seemed like we were going in that direction. But…” Had I strung Ed along? I suddenly felt like a monster. Most of the time I was just trying to convince myself not to have a relationship with Erasmus.

  How’s that working out for you, Kylie?

  “For God’s sake, Kylie. He’s a demon.”

  “I know!”

  Ed fell against a post, hands dangling. “You’ve had more time to process this than I have,” he said quietly.

  I nodded. “I know that, too. But Ed, I don’t have time for you to process it. I need your help.”

  “I…I feel like we need to evacuate the town.”

  “But what would you tell everyone?”

  He swiped his hat off his head and griped it in whitening fingers. “I don’t know.”

  I wish he could. It would make things easier. But I couldn’t help but feel that the creatures would just move toward the next place. Hansen Mills, probably. And with the ley lines—invisible lines of power—running through there, who knew what could happen? It made me realize how much more there was to tell Ed; about my grandfather’s ghost, about the Founders and Ruth Russell, and so many other things.

  “I’m kind of worried about this Andras guy.”

  He straightened, trying to be all business. “So there’s a demon after you.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sent by whom? Doug?”

  “Maybe. With Shabiri’s help.”

  “And Shabiri is also a demon.”

  “Yup. I’d be careful. I think she’s taken a shine to you.”

  “Well, if we’re not exclusive, maybe I should—”

  I slammed him up against the wall. The force of it surprised both of us. Chosen Host skills again. “This isn’t a joke. Don’t get mixed up in this.”

  “But it’s okay for you?”

  “Dammit, Ed. This has nothing to do with…” I stepped back and took a breath. “Look, I’m stuck in this. I have no choice. And yeah, I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Erasmus, but I did. It doesn’t mean you should endanger yourself. Shabiri does not have your best interests at heart.”

  “And Erasmus Dark has yours?”

  “Yes. Yes, I think he does.”

  He stared at me incredulously for a few seconds before shaking his head. “If it helps you sleep at night,” he muttered.

  “I sleep very well, thanks!”

  This was not how I’d hoped this would go. I rubbed my face vigorously to calm myself and looked up at him. “I need your help. If I’m going to survive this—and I really have no expectations as the days go on—you have got to get over this.”

  He took a step closer. “Kylie,” he said softly. “I care about you. I mean, I really care. I…I hoped that you might care for me. I thought we had something going.”

  I softened too. “We do.” I got close to him and rested my hands on his chest. “I know that you called yourself my boyfriend.”

  “And you took your time answering that. Now I see why.”

  Did he mean Erasmus or everything else?

  “I’ll help you regardless,” he continued, “but where does this leave us?”

  He must have seen the look in my eye, because he closed his. “I’m sorry. I guess you’ve got more on your mind right now.”

  I drew away, making space between us. “I do. That’s really great of you. Thanks for understanding.”

  He seemed to gird himself. “How can I help?”

  Now that I finally had his help, I didn’t know what to do with it. “Well…” I laughed. He must have thought I’d lost it at last. “I don’t really know. Be on the lookout, I guess. And help us out when we have to go out on calls.”

  “Calls?”

  “Yeah. Sometimes we have to hunt the creatures. And sometimes we’ve got to stop Doug from whatever it is he’s doing—”

  “Him, I can take.”

  “Okay, just hold on.” I had to physically restrain Ed because it looked like he intended to go out and get Doug right now. “No one does anything on their own. We all work together. We get as much information as we can, and we work as a team. Got it?”

  He paused before a smile formed on his lips. “And you’re in charge.”

  “Yeah.” I poked him in the chest. “You got a problem with that?”

  “No, ma’am,” he said, his smile broadening.

  I couldn’t help but smile back. “I see. Are you…turned on by a lady with a crossbow?”

  “Well, I’m not turned off.” He appeared to think about it for another second. “And maybe just a little turned on, too.”

  I got closer again. “This is so wrong.”

  He slid his arm around my waist. “It is, kind of.” He was leaning in and I was reaching up.

  The bell above the door jangled again.

  Nick stood in the doorway, somewhat abashed by what he was seeing. “The door was open…”

  I stepped past Ed. “Come on in, Nick.”

  “You did say to come this afternoon.”

  “I did. I guess the others will be here soon.”

  “What about…” Nick gave Ed a sidelong glance. Mister Dark, he mouthed, as he stepped into my shop.

  “He’s not here.”

  “But we need him!”

  Ed slapped his hat against his thigh. “Boy, I’m really tired of people saying that about that guy.”

  “He’s not ‘that guy,’” I told him. “He’s a demon. One intimately connected with the Booke. And we do need him. So get over it.”

  “It’s the ‘intimately connected’ that I…” He ran his hand through his hair and smacked his hat against his thigh again. “Okay. Got it.”

  I wanted to tell him that I understood why he felt that way. That I was sorry things were panning out as they were. But you know what? I just didn’t have the energy. And if he liked me, he’d figure that out for himself.

  The roar of an engine permeating through my tightly shut windows made us all look. Speak of the devil… Well, not Erasmus this time. But Doug.

  He and his gang rolled slowly down Lyndon Road, giving us all an unhurried perusal. Ed took three strides to the door and threw it open, standing on the porch like he was challenging all comers. I slid in beside him to watch the spectacle. I had seen their bikes before—all Harleys and all in pretty fine shape. But it looked like they had all gotten new rides and tricked them out too. There was Doug on a black Softail, with chrome-laced wheels and whitewall tires, full-skirted metal fenders, chromed triple headlamps—the works. Trying to get alongside him was Charise Walker, her red hair caught up in a long braid, ring in her nose and scar on her face. Sneering at me, of course. Bob Willis, a farm boy with floppy blond hair, kept his eye on Charise, who only had eyes for Doug. And in the rear position was Dean Fitch, a big bruiser of a guy with an upside-down pentagram tattooed on the side of his skinhead. And who could forget their matching black leather jackets? Each jacket had Goat Guy—Baphomet—emblazoned in all his glory in an upside-down pentagram on the back. The words Ordo Dexterae Diaboli, written in flames, curved around Baphy’s face.

  Doug smiled. I don’t know why I never saw it before, but he was the spitting image of Ed, except with a full dark beard cropped close to his face. He gave me a little salute. Charise gave me a little salute, too, but it wasn’t the polite kind. Doug gunned his chromed engine, which must have been the signal, because they all suddenly peeled out and disappeared into Moody Bog. Marge Todd from Moody Bog Market had been walking along the street and suddenly had to jump out of the way.

  “Damn him,” sneered Ed.

  “Pretty expensive rides they were on,” I said, hoping to redirect Ed’s ire.

  It did the trick. He stopped scowling and moved back into the warmth of the shop. “Yeah. Where’d he get the money for that? My folks never would have leant any to him.”

  “They all had fancy bikes,” I said. “Any banks been robbed lately?”

  It was a joke, but Ed took it seriously. He got on h
is shoulder mic. “George, check the sheet to see if there’ve been any sort of burglaries in the area. Check Hansen Mills, too.”

  “No robberies,” said Deputy George, “but a few break-ins, and some vandalism has been reported out in the willie-whacks. Some pretty strange things been coming in.”

  “Strange things…like what?”

  “You know those folks down there, sheriff. They think everything’s out to get them.”

  “Just what is it they think, deputy?”

  “It’s crazy. If it’s anything, it’s folks dressing up early for Halloween. Are you ready for this? They said Vikings. And skeletons. There’s a little too much boozing going on there, if you ask me. We should check the area for illegal stills or meth labs.”

  Ed gave me a significant look. “Got it, George. Thanks. Keep checking.”

  “Will do, sheriff. Miller out.”

  I flopped into one of my wing chairs. The Draugr. So far, it sounded like they hadn’t hurt anyone. At least most people seemed to be staying indoors when the sun set, since it was colder than you-know-what.

  Nick kept pushing the curtain aside to search up and down the street. Fortunately, it wasn’t dark yet, though the fall sunlight was slanting awfully low through the trees. A golden trail shone along the street for the rolling leaves to follow.

  “When are the others coming?” he asked nervously.

  I glanced at the clock. Jolene would be coming soon. It was her after-school job. And Seraphina would swan in whenever she liked, with Doc not too far behind. “Pretty soon.”

  “Do you want me to make some tea or something?” said Nick.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Hey, barista extraordinaire here. I can do both coffee and tea if it is so desired.”

  I smiled at him. He bowed and headed toward the kitchen. If he stayed busy, he’d be less nervous. But after hearing a lot of clanking and clattering coming from the kitchen, I decided to help him out.

  “I got this,” he said when I pushed open the door.

  “I’ll help.”

  We began working in concert. I prepared tea—a spicy ginger breakfast blend because I could really use the wake-up—while Nick made the coffee. He kept stealing glances at me until I finally faced him. “What? It looks like you want to ask me something.”

  “Well…I was wondering. Since the sheriff knows now, I’m wondering if I could…you know, tell George.”

  I sighed. “I know you and Deputy George have a thing, but do we really need more people to know about all this?”

  “The more creatures get out of the book, the more it’s going to get noticed. I don’t know how long the sheriff can divert people’s attention.”

  “Hmm. Maybe that is a good role for him.”

  “S’cuse me.” He waved his hand in front of my face. “We’re talking about me right now.”

  I touched his arm. “He means a lot to you, huh?”

  He busied himself with the grounds in the filter. “I’m into him, yeah. Even as stodgy as he is. It’s kind of…cute.”

  “It’s the mustache.”

  He laughed. “What?”

  “I sort of have a nickname for him. Deputy Mustache.”

  “Oh God!” he howled. “Don’t ever say that in front of him. He is alarmingly proud of that thing. I think it needs its own zip code.”

  We shared a laugh before Ed poked his head in. “What are you two laughing over?”

  “Nothing.” I pushed him toward the door. “Here. Make yourself useful and take this tray out there.” I thrust a tray with cups, a sugar bowl, and creamer at him. He grabbed it awkwardly and went through the door, looking back at me.

  “He’s a much better choice,” said Nick, using his eyebrows to gesture toward Ed.

  “We’re not discussing this.”

  “Oh? So you can impugn my secret boyfriend’s mustache, but I can’t tell you that Ed’s a better deal than a demon?”

  Clutching the teapot, I shoved the door open with my rear end. “Yup.”

  It wasn’t long before the rest of the coven showed up, with Jeff trailing in too. He sat sullenly far from everyone else. I felt bad that he was, well, depressed. Once everyone had a cup of something in their hands, I sidled over toward him.

  “Jeff.”

  “Kylie.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, you mean besides being a freakin’ werewolf?” he hissed.

  “I’m sorry, Jeff. I can’t even imagine how difficult this must be…”

  “No, you can’t. And you know what else is hard? Standing around, watching you juggle two guys when you were once mine… And knowing that I screwed it all up.”

  I had nothing to say to that. I was crouching by his chair, looking at his blond hair. When he wolfed out, his entire body was covered with that same silky blond. Surfer wolf.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything.”

  “Jeff…”

  “Your coven wants you.” He shrugged toward Doc, who was clearing his throat to get my attention. I left Jeff there. He had a lot to work through.

  I went to the door to flip the OPEN sign over to CLOSED when I noticed a little girl standing in the middle of the road. She was looking down toward the village.

  Even though there wasn’t likely to be much traffic at this hour of the afternoon, standing in the road probably wasn’t a good idea. I unlocked the door, opened it, and stuck my head out. “Little girl! Hey, honey! Come out of the street.”

  She didn’t look at me.

  I stepped out to my gravel parking lot. “Hey! Little girl! Come away from there.” I searched around and didn’t see any adults nearby. And the sun was going down. That meant that the Draugr would be out soon. I race-walked toward her and leaned over to touch her arm. “Honey, let’s get you to the shop and see if we can call your parents.”

  She turned her head toward me then. Her eyes, round and clear blue, looked me over. She was maybe six or seven, wearing a plaid dress with red tights. Too young to be out on the street at twilight.

  I smiled, trying to look friendly and nonthreatening. “I have tea. And maybe I can scrounge up a cookie while we phone your folks. Shall we do that?”

  She looked up at me placidly. And then she opened her mouth and screeched an unearthly sound.

  I stumbled back.

  Her teeth were covered in blood and her eyes suddenly glowed yellow. And then she fell forward, got down on all fours, and bounded away.

  Chapter Three

  “Did you see that?” cried Nick from the doorway. Everyone had gathered when they saw me go outside. All their faces were white and stark. I was willing to bet they hadn’t seen anything like that before either.

  I turned my attention back to the creature quickly disappearing into the rising mist. My instinct was to scream, but I started fiercely trembling instead.

  Ed was at my side. “What the hell was that?”

  I shook my head. Couldn’t speak. Would scream if I tried. But something else took over—those damned Chosen Host skills—making me take off and run after her.

  She was far ahead, and I wasn’t gaining on her, even going full pelt as I was. While her strange gait—butt in the air, running on hands and feet—was freaking me out, I had to keep her in my sights. Something told me to raise my arm; the familiar whistling sound of the crossbow coming toward me gave me a smidgen of confidence. When it slapped into my hand, I clutched it hard. I glanced quickly at the bolt in the flight groove and knew I’d never seen it before.

  She was still galloping down the street when she made a sudden turn at the church. She ran past it and toward the dark gates of the cemetery. Don’t go in, don’t go in, I chanted in my head. But when had anything gone my way lately?

  She leapt right over the closed gate. I slowed, my boots slapping the wet pavement as I came up to a halt in front of the gate and clutched the cold metal bars in my hand.

&nbs
p; Nick and then Ed came up on either side of me, breathing hard. “What the hell was that?” Ed asked again.

  “Call me crazy,” I said, “but I’m betting that wasn’t really a little girl.”

  “But I know her,” said Ed. “And…Jesus.” He loosened his tie and his collar. “A few days ago— It’s Lexy Johnson.”

  Nick snapped his head toward Ed. “Lexy Johnson? You mean…the little girl who…who…”

  Ed nodded. He stepped up to the gate and peered through, scanning the tombstones and monuments.

  “She what?” I asked Nick, then Ed. “She what?”

  Nick finally answered. “She died. She fell off the roof of her house three days ago. Her funeral was yesterday.”

  “She wasn’t a ghost.” I checked the crossbow. It wouldn’t need to shoot a ghost. This bolt was designed to kill something from the Booke. “But she’s dead. And she’s not a Viking.”

  “Wait,” said Nick. “You mean she’s a zombie?”

  “I don’t know. Hey,” I turned, looking back down the street. “Where’s the rest of the coven?”

  Nick’s eyes were wide, scanning our surroundings. He licked his lips. “Ed told Jeff to stay and tell the others when they arrived.” Nick couldn’t seem to help himself from looking behind him again. “I left before I realized what I was doing.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here.” I girded myself, securing the loaded crossbow in my hands. “I’m going in.”

  Ed’s hand wrapped around my arm and squeezed. “Kylie, no.”

  “Ed.” I lifted the crossbow to show him. “I’ve got this, and it armed itself. That means I’m up.”

  “You’re serious about this? Jesus. Let me do it. Hand me the crossbow.”

  I snatched it back. “Don’t you get it? This is my mission. It’s mine.”

  “But…” He didn’t know how to argue it.

  I could see the pain on his face, and I wanted more than anything to kiss it away from him.

  “Then have my back,” I said gently.

  I saw the change in him immediately. He straightened and had his gun in his hand so fast it seemed a blur.

  Nick raised his trembling hand. “Uh…third banana, here. Without a weapon, I’d like to remind you all.”