Diggin up crones, p.44
Diggin' Up Crones, page 44
“They were made with magic, but they’re running on their own fuel,” Evan volunteered. “Now that they’re here, they’re on their own.”
“The zombies seemed to change course when we interacted with them,” Gunner said. “They all did it at once.”
“It’s possible she can send them messages,” I hypothesized.
“Okay.” Bay licked her lips. “You must have some idea what we’re dealing with.”
“I keep circling back to witch or demon. When I talked to Poet, she reminded me of someone we encountered as teenagers. A witch who could bend reality. She couldn’t get it to hold, though.”
“Where was this?” Graham asked.
“Detroit. We were fifteen, dreaming of running away from our group home. We had just found each other and knew we weren’t alone. We had grand plans to get away together.” I managed a weak smile.
“I can already tell I won’t like this story,” Graham grumbled.
“Things didn’t go as we planned,” I acknowledged. “It’s sad, but we found each other as adults.”
Graham folded his arms across his chest and gave me a defiant look.
“Okay then.” I shook my head, then rubbed my forehead. “We were just hanging out, having a chat, and dreaming about what freedom would look like. We saw magic in the parking lot and went to check it out.”
I had to search my memory hard for the specifics. “She showed us that she was trying to shift between realities. She brought a shark of all things into the park, but it wasn’t substantial. You couldn’t touch the things she conjured. She wasn’t strong enough.”
“What happened?” Bay asked.
“She basically told us she was still working on it. Then she said that we would fight together at some point. Looking back, she seemed to know things. She told us that we wouldn’t be staying together, but I didn’t realize it at the time.”
Under the table, Gunner patted my knee to offer solace.
“So, the big question is, do we think it’s the same witch you met that night?” Terry asked.
I shrugged. “She seemed to know what we were. To know what was to come for us. She left to take on an approaching gang so we wouldn’t have to.”
“She protected you,” Bay said.
“Yes.”
“Why would she protect you as a child but come after you as an adult?” Evan pushed. “That doesn’t seem right.”
“None of this seems right.” I held out my hands. “Not only do we have monsters and something bigger controlling the monsters, now we’re going to have the feds darkening our doorstep. The whole thing is mind boggling.”
“It won’t be as bad as you think with the feds,” Bay said. “They’re good people. It might work out in your favor.”
She meant it, but I wasn’t as naive. I already understood that things were about to spiral out of our control.
21
TWENTY-ONE
I’d met Landon’s boss previously. As far as I could tell, Steve Newton was a nice man. He was, however, a federal agent.
We still had hours in front of us, and rest was a long way off. I had to play more than one game tonight.
“He doesn’t know what you are,” Bay said as she appeared at my side.
I glanced over at her. “What?”
“Steve. He’s likely figured out that you’re paranormal, but he doesn’t know the specifics.”
I nodded. “That’s good. I guess.”
“You don’t have to answer his questions. This is your show. If you want, I can take him somewhere else in town and you can go where you want.”
She was struggling and I wanted to make her feel better. “Bay, the fact that they’re here shouldn’t be a surprise to me. The others are right. News is spreading. There’s no stopping it at this point. Honestly, the fact that they weren’t here the first day feels like a small miracle in hindsight.”
“But?”
“I spent my whole childhood hiding what I was. You know, when I first figured out I was magical, I imagined that was the reason my parents gave me up.” I shot her a rueful smile, mildly embarrassed.
“Scout, that is why your parents gave you up.”
“I know, but back then, it was ridiculous to believe. All the kids in the homes imagined these elaborate scenarios for why nobody wanted them. That was the worst thing.” I paused a beat. “Actually, that wasn’t the worst thing. It was worse for the kids who knew why they were no longer with their parents.
“Some of them were taken away, and even though as an adult I can see that there were good reasons as to why some were removed from unsafe environments, back then I felt for them,” I continued. “They didn’t have the same hope the other kids did because they’d already seen the worst the world has to offer.”
“Now I understand why Graham gets worked up when you tell stories about your childhood,” she grumbled.
“The only thing I knew for certain when I was younger was that nobody could find out what I was. I had to be very careful with my magic. Then I found Poet, and my life took a turn. Together, we were bolder about our magic. And then…”
“She was taken from you too.” Bay looked sad. “I’m sorry about that. It’s not fair.”
“It’s not, but had our plan come to fruition—had we managed to run away as teenagers—neither of us would’ve ended up where we are now. She wouldn’t have joined the circus, and she needed that to happen. I wouldn’t have joined the group, and I need that.”
I licked my lips. “The thing is, that witch kind of told us that,” I continued. “She said that we would fight together, but we wouldn’t always be together.”
“And now you’re wondering if your meeting in the park wasn’t accidental,” Bay surmised.
“It doesn’t feel accidental,” I admitted. “I’ve dreamed about that witch a few times over the years.”
Bay cocked her head. “What does she say in the dreams?”
“Just snippets of conversation. I didn’t think much of them at the time because I always have weird dreams. Now, though, when my dreams have started turning more real, I have to wonder if I missed a really big clue. The odds seem long that this is her, but I can’t rule it out, and when I think about it for more than a few seconds, it feels right. Improbable, but right.”
“Okay,” Bay said. “Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think she was in the park that night specifically waiting for you and Poet?”
“She seemed surprised to see us, but not by who we were or what we could do. She was amused. She asked if we were supposed to be out on our own.”
“No offense, but if I saw two teenagers in a Detroit park in the middle of the night, I’d wonder the same thing. Maybe it’s not her.”
“Maybe,” I agreed.
“But you’re starting to lean in that direction,” she guessed.
“I don’t see another direction to lean in. Maybe I’m just remembering her because I have absolutely nothing else to focus on.”
“What happens when you strip it down?” Bay used her most reasonable tone. “Why would she meet you as a child and come here when you’re an adult?”
“Maybe she’s been watching me this entire time.”
“Doesn’t that freak you out?”
“When you juxtapose it with the possibility that there’s a different monster out there who somehow picked up on my love of horror movies, it really doesn’t. At least I’ve met her. If it’s someone else…”
She nodded. “You have a point.”
“I always have a point.”
Bay laughed, then sobered. “What do you want to do? Do you want me to take Jack and the others elsewhere?”
I glanced over, to where Steve, Spencer Brisco, and Cam Riddle—only three of them had come for the evening—were talking with Graham, Landon, and Terry. “No,” I said. “They’ve been doing a lot of research. Maybe they can help.”
Bay hesitated. “Their idea of research is vastly different from ours. They don’t really understand the paranormal world yet. They’re trying, but they’re just not there.”
“You’re saying I can terrorize them if I press the right buttons.”
Bay’s mouth was a hard, firm line. “That is not what I’m saying.”
“And yet that’s what I heard. Weird.”
“Scout Randall.” When her hands landed on her hips, she reminded me of her mother, and I burst out laughing.
“It will be fine,” I said. “We might as well do it as a group. I have to get familiar with them at some point.”
“You don’t have to,” Bay countered. “It’s not as if someone is going to force you to work with them.”
“Well, I have no intention of abandoning you, and you work with them.”
“Yes, but... Our lives are full of twists and turns, aren’t they?”
I bobbed my head. “Something tells me things are about to get more twisted.”
EVEN THOUGH WE’D MET BEFORE, we had to go through the whole rigmarole of introductions yet again. I was about to suggest we head for the woods—I was determined to find Jason Voorhees—when a man appeared at the end of the street. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
“Is that the sort of thing we’re supposed to be looking for?” Steve asked. He seemed nervous as he looked away from me. I really couldn’t blame him. He was interested in the paranormal world, but he didn’t understand it. I had the same feelings when I watched Little House on the Prairie episodes. It seemed like a sweet little world, before technology and online bullying was a thing. I would never have survived living in that world, though.
I turned to see what had garnered Steve’s attention. A block down, right on the corner, stood a man in a slicker.
“That’s not some perverted serial killer from one of your movies, is it?” Graham asked. “He’s not naked underneath that coat?”
“Yeah, that’s not why he’s wearing a slicker,” I replied, torn between delight and annoyance at who we were now facing. “It’s a fisherman’s coat.”
“That’s called a slicker,” Gunner said.
“He’s got a hook,” Steve said, a muscle working in his jaw. “A big, angry hook. What’s he going to do with that?”
I wanted to laugh at the absurd question given what we were dealing with.
“We’re stuck in a horror movie town, and he has a hook,” Evan said blandly. “What do you think he’s going to do with it?”
“I’m trying not to think about it.”
Evan’s eyes flicked to me. “I Know What You Did Last Summer, right?”
I nodded.
“That’s a movie?” Graham asked.
“From more than twenty years ago.”
“What’s the general plot?”
“Four kids are out partying the night of their high school graduation. They accidentally run over someone on the road. Rather than turn themselves in when they realize he’s dead, they throw him in a lake.”
“Sounds like a cheery movie,” Graham drawled.
“I actually liked it.”
“You have terrible taste in movies.” Graham held out his hands in supplication. Despite his words, he was on our side. “Finish it.”
“A year later, things begin happening at the start of summer break,” I said. “People begin dying. The kids are stalked by a menacing figure with a hook in a slicker. Turns out, the guy they hit didn’t die. The twist is he was coming from killing someone else that night when he was hit, so he wasn’t a good guy.”
Graham blinked. “So no superpowers?”
“None,” I confirmed.
He let out a breath. “That’s good.”
“Not all horror movie killers are supernatural. I bet if you broke it down, more often than not, the killers are human.”
“Great.” Graham gave me a wide-eyed sarcastic look. “That’s awesome. Now, how are we going to handle this?” He gestured to the man in the slicker.
“He shouldn’t be that difficult to take out,” I replied, starting forward. “He’s only human.” The words were barely out of my mouth before a figure barreled out of the insurance office alcove to my left and tackled me.
I was hit hard enough that everything hurt. It took me a moment to recover, and when I did, I recognized the creature on top of me from a completely different movie.
“Vampire,” Evan said as he zipped to my side and reached for the creature that was going for my throat.
I fought back with magic, but the vampire slashed at my chest with long, black fingernails. Evan grabbed the vampire by the front of his shirt and gave him a terrific heave. The vampire, much like a cat, managed to flip and land on its feet, crouching low. Blood tinged his lips and his eyes were wild.
“Is that thing from the same movie?” Graham demanded. “You didn’t mention vampires.”
“It’s from a different movie,” I replied as I sat up.
“30 Days of Night,” Evan said. He kept close to me, but his focus was on the other vampire, as if he expected it to attack. “It’s about a town in Alaska that doesn’t see the sun for a month. Vampires attack and kill most of the town.”
“Lovely,” Graham drawled. “Why are they together?”
“Everything is starting to coalesce,” I replied as I rubbed my elbow. Neither the vampire nor the fisherman were moving. They were waiting for us. “It might have started as vignettes, but it’s turning into one big fight.”
“How?” Steve’s voice was shrill. “And how did you manage to throw that thing as far as you did? That must be thirty feet.”
It took me a moment to realize he was talking to Evan. I darted a look toward my vampire bestie, then at Bay.
“It doesn’t matter,” Bay replied. “He’s part of our team.” Her tone was no nonsense as she stared at Steve. “They’re on our side. That’s all that matters.”
“He threw him like a sack of potatoes,” Steve sputtered. “Actually, he threw that vampire farther than I could’ve thrown a sack of potatoes.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bay snapped. She started toward me, her eyes full of concern. “Are you okay?” She motioned to the arm I’d banged into the ground.
“I’m fine,” I assured her. I mostly meant it.
Steve’s gaze bounced between us. I could practically hear the gears in his mind working. He’d been curious about me since the day we’d met. Who wouldn’t be? I didn’t do anything the polite or pragmatic way. Evan, though, had his attention today.
“I told you that I was on your team,” Bay said in a strained voice. “When something like this pops up, I will definitely be part of your team. Today, we’re helping their team.” There was grit to her voice. “You don’t get to ask them questions.”
Steve swallowed hard. “Of course not. I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen anything like that before.”
“Well, it’s about to get worse.” I rolled to my feet and stared down the vampire. It was that strange part of day between afternoon and total darkness. The sun had already set, but there were still hints of light. We would be plunged into total darkness soon.
“Listen, I get that you’re actually trying to do a good thing,” I said, drawing Steve’s attention. “I don’t get a bad vibe off you. It’s obvious you’re putting forth your best effort. But people like us don’t trust people like you on principle alone. You’re going to have to suck it up and let us do our thing. In return, maybe—I stress maybe—you’ll be able to ask questions down the road.”
Rather than be offended by my words, Steve smiled. “I can live with that.”
“Great. Now stay here.” I marched forward, Evan and Gunner on either side of me.
Evan, lightning quick, moved to intercept the vampire. The vampires in 30 Days of Night were not the seductive ones in so many current television shows and movies. They were blood-thirsty monsters. They were also powerful.
Evan was more powerful.
When the vampire launched itself at Evan, my best friend deftly caught him in midair, his fingers wrapping around the creature’s throat. When Evan slammed the vampire to the ground, the same muck we’d grown accustomed to from the other beings exploded like a geyser.
“Oh, geez!” Evan threw his hands into the air, his entire face and shirt covered with vampire goo. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would’ve let Gunner handle it.”
“That’s what you get for being a hero,” Gunner teased.
I ignored their banter and focused on the fisherman. He hadn’t moved. “Are you going to do something with that hook?” I challenged him.
The laugh that escaped from beneath the hood—I still hadn’t seen his face—was not what I was expecting. The tone was higher and, well, it was girlie.
Confused, I looked at Gunner. He’d fallen behind, convinced I could handle the fisherman myself, but he looked up now.
“Another gender swap?” I asked.
Two hands emerged from beneath the slicker and pushed back the hood. It wasn’t the craggy old man from the movie staring back at me, but I recognized the face.
In fifteen years, she hadn’t changed. Not a single iota. Her hair was dark and wavy. Her eyes were almost black. She wore no makeup and had skin the color of bone china. She was beautiful and terrible.
“It is you,” I said.
She laughed again. “It took you long enough to figure out.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came for you, Scout.”
I extended my hands on either side of me, prepared. “Well, then come and get me.”
That only made her laugh harder. “We’re not there yet,” she said. “You’re not ready.”
Bewildered, I shook my head. “Ready for what?”
“If you have to ask, you have to wait. Don’t worry, you’ll get there.” She sent me a sunny smile. Then, she raised her hand.
I knew what she was going to do before she did it. I wanted to stop her, but she disappeared in a poof of magic before I could even open my mouth.
22
TWENTY-TWO
