A Nightmare to Remember (Wicked Good Witches Book 5) (10 page)

“I’m good,” insisted Riley. “We can just skip over this part of the story if you prefer.” It wasn’t like he wanted to share the fact that he’d nearly been knocked out by some short, freaky looking dude. Especially with William, Mr. Vampire Perfection to rub it in.

“So what did you guys see? What did he look like?” asked Melinda.

“Jagged teeth,” started Lucas with a shudder. “A mouth that’s way too large for his head.”

“And he was short. Thin, kind of wiry, but like Lucas said, a really large face with a grin I would prefer to go without seeing again.”

Melinda shuddered. This thing wasn’t only real, but creepy.

“Did you see where he went?”

“No. He was here, and then that smoke exploded everywhere and he was gone,” Riley said. Melinda leaned back against the truck, watching him rub his head.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Does it hurt?” she grilled. “We could stop by the hospital and get it checked out, just in case.”

“Only thing hurt is my pride,” he insisted dolefully. “I’m fine. Really. It doesn’t hurt anymore, just feels weird. Like there’s still something dripping down my head.” He shivered at the odd sensation.

Melinda frowned, hoping he really was all right. If this strange man was what they thought it was, and she was now fairly certain it was, they could be tricky and sometimes dangerous to deal with. She turned to Lucas. “And you’re okay?”

“Me? Fine. Didn’t get that close to me.”

When explaining things to them earlier that day, Melinda had left out the suspicions of what this strange man was... a Feyk. There just hadn’t been a place to fit it into the conversation, and seeing how little Lucas and Riley knew about the supernatural world, she figured they’d never heard of one. She shook her head, troubled.

“If this thing is what I think it is, we could be in for some serious trouble.”

“You mean with my head?” asked Riley.

“Oh. No. Not so much that as just the Isle, in general.”

“What do you think it is?” Lucas questioned.

“If I’m right, and at this point I’m pretty sure I am, it’s a Feyk.”

“Feyk. You mean like Fey... Faeries?” asked Lucas.

“You’ve heard of them?”

“Yes. Read about them actually. I don’t really like magic, but I do read up on it. Historical reading, mostly.”

Riley nodded in agreement. He remembered Lucas mention them.

“Well these Feyks are in the Faerie family, but the worst kind. A Firebrand Feyk. Tricksters. Hired guns of the supernatural community, so to speak. Usually hired to wreak havoc. They don’t normally hurt people intentionally, but if someone gets caught in the crossfire, they don’t really care.”

“Maybe a local hired them, to help keep the whole supernatural mystery alive,” suggested Riley. “You were talking about that news reporter, maybe the station hired them. Or she hired them. Wait, how would they even know about something like Feyks?”

“Hard to say, on all counts, and it’s not impossible, but...” she trailed off.

“But?” pressed Riley.

Melinda bit her lip nervously as she didn’t want to explain what this Feyk confirmation also meant. She sucked in deeply before explaining.

“You guys should know that the last time any Feyks made trouble on the Isle...” she stopped unwilling to say the words.

Lucas shook his head. “When I said historical reading, I should have said, Deane history. I am aware… the Feyk allied with the Deanes during the battle for the Isle.”

Melinda nodded. It looked more like an,
I’m sorry
. “I know it has nothing to do with you guys, it’s just...”

“Really suck-ass timing,” finished Riley.

“Super sucky.”

“So what now? You want us to drop you somewhere? Should we pretend this whole thing didn’t happen?” asked Lucas, half-joking, half-serious.

“No. Let’s head back into town. I’ll try Charlie and Michael on the way, see what’s up. See what they’ve found out. I trust you guys,” she had the sudden urge to say. “They’ll just have to as well.”

Lucas tossed her a kind smile and got back into his truck.

Riley helped her back into the cab and she slid in, sandwiched between them.

Lucas got them back on the road while Melinda left Charlie a message. He didn’t pick up. Neither did Michael. Or William.

“Dang it! What is it with people not picking up their damn phones today?”

No one answered her calls.

She glanced at Riley, he was staring intently out his window.

Lucas stared straight ahead, his face hardened and deep in thought.

“Are you sure you guys are okay? That whole thing was pretty weird for you, huh?”

“What?” said Riley. “Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a minute.” He reached down and grasped her hand.

Lucas glanced over. “Not freaked out at all. Could use some processing time, it’s definitely a new experience, but not freaked. So no one picked up your calls?”

“No. I left messages. Just head towards town and I’ll try again in a few minutes.”

“You worried something’s happened to them?” asked Lucas.

“Nah. Probably just busy, or already on the phone, or in William’s case, he most likely doesn’t even have his turned on. Never mind he can’t
ever
figure out how to answer the damn thing.”

“And Lizzy’s with him!” added Lucas with a coarse laugh. “They’re not going to be answering
any
calls. I guarantee you, she’s ten times worse than your vampire friend when it comes to technology. She’s got a pretty good excuse though.”

“She does, yes. William, though, is so smart and moves so fast. I can’t believe he’s so bad at things like answering a cell phone.” Melinda let out a chuckle. It was a funny thought. She mocked them trying to answer a call, getting Lucas laughing even harder.

“Lizzy
has
only been human again for a few weeks,” Melinda said. “But William’s been around for hundreds of years and you’ve never seen anything like it. He can move at lightening speed, literally fly to my side in a flash when I call for him… but if you could see him try to type!
Oh. My. God!
He uses one finger. One. And has to search for each letter and hit the keys one at a time. It’s completely ridiculous.”

“Also a very funny thought,” agreed Lucas, casting a glance in her direction. But rather than a smiling Melinda, he caught the gaze of a glaring Riley.

Melinda felt the ease disappear, replaced with tension.

She’d brought up William again. It was just funny talk though.

“You two are getting nice and chummy,” Riley stated in a jealous tone.

“Um, what?” Melinda replied, confused. She’d have thought he’d be thrilled she and Lucas were getting along. She assumed he’d be upset that she brought up William again.

Lucas cast him a confused side-glance but ignored his brother.

“And is it possible for you to have a single conversation that doesn’t revolve around your
bloodsucker?
”

And there it is...
“It was a joke, Riley. I can’t keep him out of the conversation all the time. He’s a part of my life. You need to accept that and get over whatever weird ass jealousy you’ve got going on.” She didn’t mean to lay into him but it was getting on her nerves, these sudden turns in his mood.

“It’s like you can’t go ten minutes without talking about him. Oh William. He’s so grand. He’s perfect. We’re just the best of friends,” he mocked poorly.

Melinda folded her arms, no other response except anger and irritation.

“Riley, that was uncalled for,” stated Lucas in her defense. “I wasn’t hitting on your girlfriend, and it was a funny story, plain and simple.”

“Yeah, however you want to play it,” Riley threw back.

“Excuse me?” said Melinda hotly. “I think that Feyk hit you on the head harder than you thought.” Her anger turned to hurt, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Stuck in the middle of two Deane brothers was suddenly the most uncomfortable place she could be. Maybe asking them to assist was a bad idea after all.

Riley sighed, rubbing his head. He let out an irritated grunt. “Melinda, God, I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from. Maybe I do need to get my head looked at.”

She unfolded her arms but wasn’t ready to forgive him.

“Sorry, Lucas,” Riley added, leaning forward to see his brother. Lucas waved him off with a shake of his head.

Riley grabbed Melinda’s chin, gently turning it so he could look her in the eye. “I didn’t mean it. I’m really sorry. It
was
a funny thought. I don’t know why I reacted like I did.”

She wanted to say because you’re being a childish, jealous guy. But instead, she caved. “Are you absolutely sure you’re okay? We could stop by the hospital and have a doctor take a quick look at your head.”

“You know, maybe we should. Is that okay, Lucas? I’ve got the wickedest headache all of a sudden.”

“Of course,” replied Lucas, speeding up. “Better safe than sorry.”

“I’ll try my brothers again, see if they answer,” Melinda added in frustration. She purposely left out calling William, hoping not to upset Riley again.

Did
she really talk about William that much? She’d promised to keep it to a minimum, but maybe around Riley she needed to keep it to herself. Nevertheless, William was a part of her life. She didn’t know how to leave him out of her conversations completely.

Melinda peered at Riley. His mood swings were becoming a little more of a rollercoaster than she could handle. She liked him. A lot. A super lot. But her life was already a rollercoaster ride and she wanted Riley to be her solid ground.

She pleaded silently with anyone in the cosmos in charge of such things, to let it be so.

CHAPTER SIX

William strode towards Emily Morgan’s store, Harboring the Book. Lizzy wasn’t far behind, but she strolled along, forcing him to slow his pace.

The streets of The Demon Isle were buzzing with tourists; the weather was sunny and warm. It was also buzzing with discussion of the strange sightings, another of which had been reported on the new D.E.S.I. Blog just minutes ago. It was hard to tell whether people were afraid they might see this strange man, or whether they were excited and hopeful they would see him.

The sun beamed down, but did not warm William’s skin. Thanks to the potion the Howards made him, his skin did not burst into flames. The sun, to a vampire, was basically like having an allergy. The reaction to it being to burst into flames. But only after blistering and getting very crispy first. It wasn’t an instant death. It took a long and painful few minutes to finally burst into flames. And then burn to death, just like any other body burning to death. It was not like the movies where flames erupted and then
boom
. Ash pile.

The potion blocked this reaction though, just like taking allergy meds for hay fever. As long as he was on time drinking the potion, the sun did not hurt him.

William wondered how long Lisbeth Deane’s vampire fiancé stood on the cliff before finally burning enough to plummet to his death and turn to ash before hitting the water. It had to have been excruciating. He sighed. He did feel bad for her. He just didn’t want to deal with her. They’d had their moment. His moment of weakness… it was enough.

He glanced up at the sun. The potion provided protection from it, but the sun did not give him any warmth. It did not soothe his muscles or seep into his bones. It did however, seem to clear his head, his thoughts suddenly apparent and obvious. He spun around, effectively stopping Lizzy in her tracks.

“So that we are both perfectly clear, it will not happen again.”

“Oh, so you have been thinking about me,” she replied with a naughty grin.

His face was stone.

“Look,” she started with a
whatever
tone. “It was a one-time thing. I guess technically it was more than once.”

William stared fiercely, unwilling to give in.

“Oh, get over yourself, William! It was something I needed. Something I wanted. I had it. You
obviously
needed me that night, you can’t deny that fact. It was what it was.” She shrugged. “I’m not some crazy psycho chick that’s going to call you every fifteen minutes begging you to
take
me again.”

“Very well,” replied William, clearing his throat. “I am the only vampire on the Isle… I just thought perhaps you had a thing for vampires and…”

“Thought I’d be chasing you around like a lovesick teenager?”

He lifted an eyebrow in a
perhaps
response.

“Please. Give me some credit, William. Sure, I kinda have a thing for vamps. But I’m not a one-track-mind kind of girl. And to be honest, now that I’ve had a few weeks to get used to being in my body again, I’m happy. And ready to move forward. And you helped me get there. So… thank you.”

He sighed. “You’re welcome. And I’m sorry. I did not mean to be rude.” He saw then that he’d been a fool. A fool who’d let his imagination get away from him. That his thoughts had fallen into a very human minded way of thinking. The more he thought about this the angrier at himself he became.

“Don’t worry about it. But since we’re being honest, I should probably tell you I sort of lied. Just a little...”

“About?” he growled.

“About, I have no idea how we’re going to find anything about the Soul Hunter at Emily’s store or on that web thingy. I just wanted to get you alone and clear the air. I don’t like tense air. The taste is bitter. And it was obvious you were avoiding me, and for no valid reason other than making yourself miserable with crazy delusions.”

William exhaled, his temper flaring again. “Fine then, Lisbeth. If you want
clean
air… you should know that I do not date humans. So don’t get any ideas.”

“I thought we already cleared this up. Besides, I wouldn’t call what we did dating,” she replied with an impish grin. “Oh look, I’d almost swear you were blushing.”

“I do not blush.”

“Look, I may have been a ghast for far longer than I’d care to remember, but I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re a vampire.” She said it a too loudly, getting the attention of a young girl not far away. Lizzy shot her a wink and giggled as if to say,
joking
.

William was growing more agitated by the minute, regretting his choice to accompany Lizzy, and leave Melinda in the hands of the Deane brothers.

“Can we continue to the bookstore?” he asked. “Although I don’t see the point now.”

“Oh, you never know, it might turn up something. Besides, the walk will do you good. Maybe if you stand in the sun long enough a few of those rays will sink into that exquisite pale skin of yours and get you in a better mood.”

William closed his eyes, grimacing.

“You’re such a brooder,” Lizzy stated dramatically.

His eyes opened wide, swimming in a look of perplexed irritation. “I do not
brood
.”

“Oh. My. God.” Lizzy stated. “I’ve seen some brooders in my day and you are the worst!”

“Am not,” he retorted hotly.

Lizzy got to her tiptoes and smacked one straight on his lips. “Are too,” she whispered devilishly.

William pulled away, his nostrils flaring.

Lizzy laughed.

“People let you off the hook far too easily,” she said decidedly. “You mope around all like,
I’m the only vampire on the Isle
.
I’m all alone. But I won’t date human girls...
and then you wallow and brood about how miserable you are.”

William’s fangs dropped and he flashed them with a snarl.

Lizzy didn’t bat an eye, unimpressed by his display.

William, horrified that he’d just flashed his fangs in public and in broad daylight, spun around, staring at the wall of a building until they’d retracted. Why did Lizzy get on his nerves so? It was as if she enjoyed pushing every button and somehow knew what would agitate him the most.

He turned back around, his human self again, only to see Lizzy grinning in a manner meant to say,
I totally won that round
. He resigned to dealing with her until their task was completed. Which shouldn’t be much longer seeing as visiting Emily would most likely prove a waste of time.

Lizzy wrinkled her nose, biting her lip. “I want to tell you something but I think it’s going to make you angry.”

“Too late,” he retorted.

“I used to follow you,” she revealed anyway. “When I was a ghast. I realized what you were, knew you’d be interesting to watch.”

“You spied on me?”

“No. Never
spied
. Just followed now and then, during many of your late night strolls around the Isle. You often talk to yourself, out loud. I enjoyed listening. You have the most interesting conversations with yourself.”

“Private conversations,” he stated emphatically. “Why did you never speak to me? You had the ability.”

“I’m a Deane. You’re sided with the Howards. I thought it might be
awkward
. Honestly, I felt a little outnumbered until Lucas and Riley showed up. I had been betrayed before and I couldn’t chance it again.”

“I suppose I understand that, but why admit this now?”

“Because I know you, William Wakefield. Better than you think. Better than you’d probably like me to. I know what you love. I should say, whom you love. And I know it’s never going to be me and I have no long term interest. But I also know you can’t have
her
. Or won’t because you’re too damn stubborn.”

She stepped closer, looking closely into his emerald green eyes, which were half lidded in inquisitive contemplation. He should be furious with her, and yet, he wasn’t.  

“What I’m trying to say, William, is let’s be friends. It must be so exhausting for you, day after day, doing what you do, having no one to
really
talk to. To connect with. No one here understands where you come from. The many years and lives you’ve lived. What you sacrifice. Frankly, I think they all take advantage of you.”

Logic told William to stay away. To distance himself. The reasons that had led him into Lizzy’s arms a few weeks prior, kept him from doing so. She was not only annoying and pushed every button, but she was right. Not so much the taking advantage part… it was his job to protect the Howards. But sometimes, more often nowadays, he did worry that he’d failed in training them properly. Had been too soft on them after their parent’s deaths. That he ran to their aid more quickly than he should.

Still… a friend. With Lizzy? Someone that wasn’t a Howard. That wasn’t in his charge. Could he? Dare he?

“I need time to think about this,” he told her in a hushed tone.

“I figured that’s what you’d say.”

“How so?”

“Because you want to say yes, but don’t want to admit it.”

He surprised her by saying, “You are correct. But I’m still going to think about it.”

“You’ll eventually say yes.”

“So sure of yourself.” William replied, at the same time knowing she was right again. A thin smile etched across his face. He had to give her credit. She drove him crazy, but she matched him in wit.

Lizzy wisely said nothing. Only grinned victoriously.

They started toward Emily’s again, when Lizzy grabbed his arm, stopping him. “William, your pocket is vibrating.”

“What?”

She reached into his pocket, taking out his phone and handed it to him.

“I forgot to turn it on. I don’t know why they insist on making me use this... oh, it says I have messages.”

“Neat, from who?” asked Lizzy.

“I have no idea.”

“Well how do you find out?” she asked, grabbing the phone out of his cool hands, aimlessly pressing buttons.

“Give me that!” he barked, grabbing it back. “It is my phone.”

He made another useless attempt at retrieving his messages.

“Nope, no, that’s not correct.”

William had managed to get the volume turned on and suddenly a flat voice was speaking out of the phone. “What can I help you with today?”

Lizzy gasped, backing away. William held the phone away from him as if it had suddenly caught fire. He spoke loudly, hoping the voice could understand him.

“I would like my messages, please.”

“Great! You would like to schedule a massage. There’s three locations near you. Two with appointments open today.”

“No, no,” said William, as the voice kept speaking and asking questions, none of which got him any close to hearing his messages.

“I can’t figure those things out. The very idea that you use such a little
box
to talk to people, who aren’t here...” The thought seemed to overwhelm her. “I mean, how does that work? How does someone’s voice travel between two boxes? Are they using magic? I don’t get it.”

William found this humorous and laughed. The sound startled him and he shook his head and stopped. 

“You
can
laugh.”

“It’s not unheard of,” he lied, evenly. Although it was the second time that day. But the first day in many a moon.

“Well, don’t even start on me about not being able to use that thing,” she retorted. “You can’t use the damn thing either!”

“Touché.”

“Perhaps we do need Emily’s expertise after all?” Lizzy suggested. William agreed and they continued to her store. A little bell dinged as they entered and Emily looked up, grinning when she saw them come inside. They greeted each other and Emily listened to them explain their quandary, biting her tongue to keep from laughing.

“What I’m really trying to ask is can you help me listen to the messages?” William finally got out, his tone defeated.

“Of course I will,” said Emily kindly. “Hand me the phone. You know, maybe you two should take a class.”

“A class?” questioned Lizzy.

“Yeah. They teach people how to use all the new tech. Like the internet and phones, and apps and that sort of stuff.”

“Hm, neat. I might just have to do that. Probably not a bad idea for you either Mr. Vampire.”

William did not relish the idea of taking a class, but graciously handed Emily the phone. She turned the speaker on and pushed play, letting the messages play aloud.

“More sightings,” Emily sighed as they listened. “And a confrontation... that’s never good. At least Melinda and your brothers are okay though.”

“Feyks,” William spoke to no one in particular.

“I take it Feyks are not like the faeries you read about in fantasy novels?” said Emily.

“Depends on the novel,” answered William.