Shadows in the Mist Read online

  “Kylie!” Erasmus reminded me as he continued to struggle with it.

  “Okay, okay.” I took aim again. It just seemed unsavory to shoot it point-blank like that. My finger tapped above the trigger. It fed on corpses. Not nice, but not dangerous either. Just icky. But…I guess Jolene said it preyed on children, and I wasn’t sure if that meant live children or only dead ones. Not that either was good…

  “Dammit, Kylie!”

  The crossbow had sagged in my grasp as I argued with myself, but I raised it again. I was about to squeeze the trigger with the full intention of dispatching the ghoul, when I was suddenly knocked aside.

  I tumbled and rolled, losing the weapon even as a sharp pain wracked my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of a shadow swooping down and lots of white feathers.

  Erasmus growled and crouched like an animal, glaring up into the sky. The ghoul saw his chance and ran, disappearing into the veiling fog.

  I felt stupid. I should have just shot it. I would have to eventually anyway. But now my shoulder was screaming in pain, and Andras was circling me.

  He hovered lower, wingbeats blasting me with cold air and throwing my hair back. “You see, Kylie Strange,” he said from above me, “I can get to you anytime I like.”

  I pointed an accusing finger at him. “You’re an asshole!”

  He seemed taken aback by that. “A very crude era,” he scoffed, raising his owl-like face like an aristocrat to a peasant.

  Screw this guy. I lifted my hand, and when the crossbow slapped into it, I aimed and fired.

  The bolt hit him square in the chest. His wingbeats faltered, and he slipped from the sky, landing hard on the lawn in front of me. Erasmus was on him instantly.

  The growling and snarling sounded like a terrible dogfight. White feathers scattered. The crossbow re-armed with another kind of bolt. I didn’t hesitate. I aimed carefully and fired again.

  It hit his neck and he cried out, throwing his head back. He squared on me again, his eyes becoming wide, glowing red embers. He snarled his sharp teeth at me as I fired again.

  Andras stumbled back, releasing Erasmus. Erasmus jolted to his feet, barking, fingers curled into claws, nails grown to talons. He was a fierce beast, not the Erasmus I knew at all.

  Andras’ wings drooped behind him. He reached for the bolts at his chest, neck, side. Black blood oozed from the wounds. He was only weakened. I knew they wouldn’t kill him.

  He tugged at the bolts even as he clumsily unfurled his wings and slowly beat them to lift himself into the air. Erasmus lunged, but Andras kicked out with his taloned feet. Black gore spattered off his skin with each flap of his enormous wings.

  He was so angry he could only spit and snarl at me. Maybe it wasn’t the best course of action, getting the assassin sent just for you really angry. But darn it, he pissed me off!

  He rose brokenly into the sky and soon zoomed from view.

  Panting, Erasmus was back to normal. And he was smiling. “Well done, Kylie. He’s afraid of you now. He thought he had an average simpering human to dispatch. But you are far from average.” I had never been showered with so many compliments from him. He turned to me with bright eyes and a very human smile before he grabbed me.

  The kiss was one of pride, but it morphed pretty quickly into lust and maybe something deeper. I grabbed a good handful of his hair and held him in place, taking what I wanted too. And how I wanted.

  His hands slid around me, fingers kneading, slipping here and there, grasping handfuls of my bottom and bringing my hips in full contact with his. Oh yes, he clearly wanted me, too.

  “Erasmus,” I breathed into his voracious lips.

  “Kylie,” he purred, mistaking the reason why I whispered his name.

  “No, Erasmus…” I didn’t want to stop. I really didn’t. But I pushed him back, pushed hard at his chest. “Erasmus…no.”

  His burning eyes simmered. “No…as in ‘no’?” He still held me but with more space between us now, not every inch of us touching.

  “The time and place is just not…” I slid my gaze toward the flashing police lights in the distance, the tombs and gravestones. Somewhere in the cemetery, a ghoul was looking for lunch. At least, I hoped it was in the cemetery. What if it was out there looking for some new kid to munch on? Yeah, I screwed that up. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  Erasmus looked toward the flashing lights too and seemed to read the rest of my thoughts. He licked the kiss from his lips and let me go. His expression had cooled. There was even a little bit of blame in his eyes, which I felt keenly. Why hadn’t I been stronger? Why did I always have this reaction whenever he was around?

  “I’m sorry.” I couldn’t help but say it.

  He ignored me. “Would you pursue Andras or the ghoul?”

  “Um…ghoul.”

  Without another word or glance, he leapt forward and started running through the cemetery. It took me half a second to wake up and realize what he was doing, and then I was running too.

  I saw a figure in silhouette up ahead near one of the crypts. I slowed and lifted the crossbow, taking a bead down the flight groove. When I got just a little closer, something felt wrong. For one, the crossbow hadn’t armed itself. And for another…it just wasn’t right.

  The figure rose and turned toward me. A light gust of wind ruffled the shading trees. Moonlight peeked between the leaves just enough to illuminate that face.

  “Ms. Strange?”

  I whipped the crossbow behind my back. “Ruth? What…what are you doing here?”

  Chapter Five

  Ruth Russell, Moody Bog’s own socialite, Founder descendent, and keeper of all things genteel and noblesse oblige, glared at me. Her pruney mouth frowned into a deep scowl. She was dressed as she always was—a conservative sweater/skirt combination, with a jacket thrown over in deference to the weather. A glint of jewelry peeked through the jacket.

  “What am I doing here?” She merely glanced at the crypt. I looked, too. It said RUSSELL across the top in chiseled uppercase letters. Oh. Her husband. She had just placed some flowers in the oversized urn next to the crypt’s locked gate. “What are you doing here?” she asked me in an accusatory tone.

  “Me? Well, I…”

  “Kylie!” called Erasmus from somewhere behind us. “It’s over here.”

  “I-it is?”

  “Yes,” he said coming into view. “Your grandfather’s grave.”

  I looked at him with such gratitude that he turned and stepped aside, slightly embarrassed. I could see the blush of his cheek, despite the falling light.

  “Listen, Ruth, maybe you should get back to your car. Night’s falling and…you just never know.”

  “You’re here.”

  “But I’ve got Erasmus.”

  She looked his way and narrowed her eyes. “So you do.” She knelt and picked up something—like a little pouch—before closing it up and stuffing it in her purse. But she was still staring at me, studying me. “For a moment, I thought I saw you…carrying something.”

  I kept the crossbow pressed to my back and skirted around toward Erasmus, sliding my feet to keep my back away from her prying eyes. “Flowers,” I lied.

  “Cemetery’s almost closed. As you say, night is falling.” She didn’t make a move to leave the crypt. Just kept glaring at me.

  “Well. I gotta go. I hope to see you some time. At the shop.”

  “I sincerely doubt that.”

  “I don’t know. I think we may have a lot to talk about. Mutual ancestors and…such.” I kept shuffling away from her.

  “That isn’t very likely, now is it?”

  “I’m inviting you, Ruth. I think we really should talk.”

  She adjusted her purse’s strap over her forearm and lifted her head. “Have a good evening. Be careful out here. The sheriff seems to have discovered some sort of trouble.” She didn’t so much as glance his way. But she dismissed me with a flick of her head and made her way toward the road that wound througho
ut the cemetery. Her car was parked there in the shadows.

  I hurried through the hedges to meet up with Erasmus. “Thanks for that. That was quick thinking.”

  “Except that I truly did find your grandfather’s grave.” He gestured away from the path.

  Curious now, I followed him. In a quiet spot near a tree, two tombstones stood side by side. I took out my phone and shined the flashlight on them. One said Josephine Hampton Strange and the other Robert Stephen Strange. My grandparents.

  I glanced around. A secluded spot. Maybe that’s what Grandpa wanted. Away from the hustle and bustle of crypts like Ruth’s husband’s. But I also realized that no one likely visited their graves. Ever. A spell had been cast on my grandpa’s house to make everyone forget he ever existed, that the Stranges ever existed in Moody Bog. Even the local historians had conveniently left them out of the history of the town’s Founders. I hadn’t known—or hadn’t remembered—that I’d spent my summers here as a child. But now that magic was fading. And that, too, was my fault. It seemed the more you mentioned the forgotten history to people, the more they remembered it. And maybe it wasn’t such a good thing for people to know about me and my ancestors.

  “Grandpa, I wish you could appear and give me a little help.”

  “I’m certain if he were to appear, his spirit would most likely be attached to his house.”

  We’d met his spirit, but then he’d gotten on the wrong side of Shabiri and she had sent him away. I hoped there was a way to get him back. That is, if he wanted to come back.

  He’d given us a message right before he was forced to leave. Village in danger. Door is opening. I hadn’t liked the sound of that.

  “I’m glad you found this, Erasmus. It’s good to know it’s here.”

  “You needn’t worry. No ghoul will disturb their graves. They’ve been too long dead.” Harsh words but still reassuring. I had begun to worry about that. I didn’t like the idea that my grandpa or grandma would suddenly appear on the streets to threaten me or anyone else.

  “Also, it wouldn’t go amiss to take some dirt from his grave. It can be useful for incantations.”

  “What? That’s like desecration. I’m not going to do that!”

  “Well, that’s what that Russell woman was doing.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “I don’t ‘kid.’ I saw her. She had the pouch on the ground. She picked it up and put it in her purse.”

  “She did?” I looked back, but she was long gone.

  “I suggest you do the same.”

  I didn’t bother asking any more questions. I didn’t have a convenient grave dirt pouch like Ruth, so I used one of the gloves in my pocket to scoop up some of the softened dirt from atop his grave. “Sorry, Grandpa,” I whispered. When the glove looked more like a disembodied hand, I folded the top and put it back in my jacket.

  “Is it worth pursuing the ghoul or have we lost it?”

  He sniffed around and squinted into the dense fog. “It’s gone. You’d be better off getting a good night’s sleep.”

  It was probably just as well. The emotional ups and downs had been more exhausting than the running. Erasmus teleported me back to the shop, and we walked in together. Doc was pacing and explaining something to Nick, who was typing into his laptop. They both looked up when we came in.

  “Well?” said Doc.

  I shook my head. “It got away. And it was trying to eat Dan Parker.”

  “Good God.”

  “And Andras made another visit, too.” I rubbed my sore shoulder and sank into one of the wing chairs, dropping the crossbow beside me. “Where are Seraphina and Jolene?”

  “I sent Seraphina to take Jolene home. But Jolene left this note for you.” He handed me a piece of paper.

  Draugr can’t be summoned.

  “Huh. So…does that mean the Ordo didn’t bring them?”

  “It doesn’t sound possible.”

  “And they aren’t from the Booke. Then…where did they come from?” Someone thrust a hot mug of tea at me. “Thank y—”

  Erasmus was trying to look cool and relaxed while also trying not to sneeze.

  “Did you make this?”

  “Yes.”

  I looked into the mug. He had tossed perhaps a handful of loose tea into a mug of hot water. It would be mud and full of tea leaves. I drank a gulp of it anyway, trying to surreptitiously chew the tea leaves so that Erasmus wouldn’t see. Boy, was he trying hard. “Thank you, Erasmus,” I choked.

  He shrugged and turned away, examining a tea cozy as if it were the Holy Grail.

  When I looked up at Doc, he was giving me a very withering look. I sipped the mud tea nonchalantly, before finally setting it down. “And I also ran into Ruth Russell in the cemetery.”

  “This late?”

  “Yeah. She was collecting grave dirt from her family mausoleum.”

  Nick sprang from his chair. “What?”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the glove, laying it carefully on the side table. “And I got some of my own. From my grandfather’s grave. Erasmus thought it might be useful.”

  Nick picked it up delicately between two fingers and made a face. “This is a little gross.”

  “But can it be used for spells and stuff?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Pretty powerful ones. And you say Ruth-Stick-Up-Her-Butt-Russell was doing it too?”

  “Now, Nick,” admonished Doc.

  “Sorry, but it’s true. If she was doing that, then she knows just a little more about Wicca than she’s willing to admit.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. Looks like I’m going to have to grill my dear cousin on what she might know.”

  Doc rubbed his chin. “Kylie, I wouldn’t go doing that just yet. We don’t know what Ruth might be up to. It could very well have been her who put that pentagram in the church.”

  “Or ritually murdered Dan Parker,” said Nick with a little too much relish.

  I was surprised when Doc didn’t deny it. “We’ll just have to see,” was all he said.

  Crap. Who knew little ole Moody Bog would turn out to be such a D&D session?

  I sighed and pulled out my phone. I didn’t know if Ed was done with the crime scene, but I supposed I’d have to tell him about Dan Parker’s grave, too.

  “Kylie,” he said in a clipped voice.

  “Hi, Ed. Um…I was just at the cemetery—”

  “Just now?”

  “Yeah. We went back looking for the…the thing, the ghoul. Looks like it goes for any recent burial, so you might want to take a look at Dan Parker’s grave too.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. And speaking of which, his murder. It was no ordinary murder. Someone did it for a ritual. You might want to readjust your investigation accordingly.”

  “You mean like my brother?”

  “Maybe.”

  He sighed over the line. “Looks like I have to readjust a lot of things.”

  “I’m really sorry.”

  “Look, Kylie. Maybe…” His voice got quieter. I could picture him walking farther from the techs and putting his hand over the phone. “Maybe we’ve been moving too fast, you and I. Maybe we should take a break. Just till it all blows over.”

  I was momentarily speechless. A tightness suddenly clutched at my chest. “I see,” I finally managed.

  “It’s been a lot to take in.”

  “You don’t have to explain.”

  “I feel like I do.”

  “You don’t.”

  “I mean that Erasmus guy…”

  “Is that really what this is about?”

  He paused. I could hear him breathing. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not as modern as I thought I was. I’m not much interested in sharing my girlfriend.”

  “Why does it have to be so…so…”

  “For me, it just does.” He sighed. “I need to think about things.”

  I gripped the phone hard. “Fine. When you have more info, give us a call.”
I clicked it off, cutting off his, “Kylie.”

  Not entirely unexpected. But it still hurt. Like Jeff-running-around-with-other-women hurt. But maybe I was doing the same thing. I somehow felt that I’d failed Ed and myself. It made me want to kick something. Or shoot something with my crossbow.

  It was Nick who asked, “Is he coming over now?”

  “Sounds like he’s too busy.” I clutched the phone, turning it face down on my thigh.

  “Kylie has dealt with enough tonight. It’s best you all go home.”

  All three of us looked at Erasmus with surprise. He stood in the kitchen doorway with the harsh light behind him. His duster clung to his legs, and his expression was grim—as usual.

  “Mr. Dark,” said Doc. “Do you plan on staying here?”

  “I’m guarding the book.”

  “Kylie doesn’t need you to guard the book.”

  He stepped into the shop’s main room and stood over me. “I’m also guarding her.”

  After a long, tense moment…Doc patted Nick on the shoulder. “All right, then. Good night, you two.”

  Nick’s head was ready to spin off as it wrenched between Erasmus and Doc. “You’re not just going to leave him here, are you?”

  “That’s what I’m doing. Let’s go, Nick.”

  “Doc!”

  “Nick,” I said. “Good night. I’ll be fine.”

  Nick threw his hands up and stalked out the door that Doc was holding open. I could hear the crunch of gravel as they both got into their respective cars. Soon, two sets of headlights were sweeping over my windows and then disappearing down Lyndon Road.

  Everything suddenly fell quiet.

  A low growl sounded—one that wasn’t coming from Erasmus. I spun, ready to grab anything I could use as a weapon.

  Jeff rose out of the shadows in the corner. “I guess everyone forgot again about old werewolf Jeff.”

  I took a calming breath. “Doc should have—”

  “Doc’s got a lot on his mind,” he said, walking past me with tensed muscles. He stood in front of Erasmus. “I’ve got your number, dude.”

  “My number?”