"We can volunteer for cleanup. That way we have an excuse to stay after everyone else leaves to go set up outside." Lynn suggested as we walked back to the youth group room. "We would also have to go back down to the basement to put away our craft supplies."
"Sounds like a great plan." I agreed. "I hope that we will be able to convince the sheriff to leave."
I thought about the overwhelming sense of self-loathing he had when I felt his soul. I don't know what the enormous black attached to him was, but did I want to know? That thing was connected to him, but I don't know how close that connection was. I had a guess. I shivered again remember that winter cold that swept over me earlier. The mass was feeding off the Sheriff.
"Georgi, are you ok?" Lynn asked grabbing my arm.
"Yeah." I gave a smile. "I'm just thinking."
"Good Afternoon Miss Mary Lynn." I heard a sickening sweet southern accent. "Who is your friend here?"
We both turned to see Mrs. Sarah Newlin walking over to us.
"This is Georgia Jacobs." Lynn introduced me. "We met at orientation this morning. She is moving down here from Montana."
"It is a pleasure to me you, sugar." Sarah Newlin smiled. "Are enjoying your time here?"
"Yes, very much." I smiled. "My church back home is not anywhere near as large."
"Sarah, darling, who do we have here?" The cult leader came from behind his wife.
"Hi, Reverend Newlin." Lynn smiled.
How does she do this? Just puts on a happy face and pretends she believes all this crap. I have been doing it for one day, and I am ready to pull my hair out.
"This is my new friend, Georgia. She is moving her from Montana." Lynn explained. "She will be attending college with me. I invited her to join me to help the youth group set up from tomorrows lock-in. We were sent to get more poster boards."
I lifted my hand to show him.
"Well, it is nice to meet you, Georgia." The brainwashing cult leader greeted me. "If you young ladies excused us, I need to speak with my wife."
Lynn and I nodded. As we walked away, I looked over at her. She just smiled and continued on her way. I mentally thanked her because she waved all suspicions that the cult leader might have had. The captured telepath also helped. With her in the basement, they would expect me to come in and get the sheriff out. That was if he comes, but honestly, he didn't have a choice. I would use necromancy on him to get him out if I had too.
"They creep me out," Lynn whispered. "David is convinced that Reverend Newlin is gay. One time David found gay porn on the computer in Reverend Newlin's office."
"What?" I whispered yelled.
"Yeah." Lynn continued. "I don't know why he was in the office, but the reverend left it up on the screen."
"Do you know who cliché that is? A gay southern preacher?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously, the cherry on top would be him having a fetish for gay vampires."
Lynn laughed. "He probably makes Sarah roll play with a strap-on and plastic teeth."
We both exploded with laughter. Tears rolled down our cheeks from laughing so hard. We calmed down just in time to rejoin the teenage gathering. Lynn said that she found me wandering around the basement lost.
"Well, next time don't let the new girl wander off on her own." I teased.
Lynn and I volunteered to put away the art supplies because we needed an excuse to go back down to the basement. I wanted to go check on the Sheriff and the two nitwits that were captured. Lynn and I decided to split up. She was going to take the garbage out while I put the supplies. I walked down the hallway the telepath and companion were dragged down. I discovered the man sitting on the floor muttering under his breath and the telepath pacing back and forth.
"You really need to go back to kindergarten to get some listening ears." I snapped annoyed. "You seriously fuck up. Not only did you get yourselves caught, but now you both are endangering me and the Sheriff."
"It's you!" She looked happy to see me. "Hurry let us out. We need to find Godric. I heard Steve Newlin think that they were gonna let him burn."
"I really love to tell you this, but you don't give the orders here." I crossed my arms. "You and your friend-"
"He's not my friend." she interrupted me. "Hugo is the traitor."
Shit, why are things getting complicated? I pinched the bridge of my nose and released a heavy sigh. I need him not to say anything if they come back down. Fuck, this is going to ruin everything. I guess I am gonna have to threaten him.
"Say one word Hugo," I raised one finger at him, "say one thing. One little tiny word, literally anything at all. Not only will I bash your face in, but I will curse you to suffer from a lifetime of nightmares. Where you will dream of your flesh rotting from the inside out, maggots crawling out of every orifice of your body, and the smell - the smell. You will smell your putrefying flesh every time you close your eyes. You will have that scent follow you even when you are awake."
The man had a slight tremble as he looked up at me. He opened his mouth.
"No!" I stopped him before he could utter a single word. "Remember what I said. One word and I will curse you."
"Well, look what we have here."
I jumped a foot in the air at the sudden voice. I turned around to see bald gorilla man standing behind me. Literally right behind me. My heart rate shot straight up, and I could hear the blood rushing in my ear.
"Another fang-banger. Here to save the day?" He trapped me against the fence.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I looked around me trying to find anything I could use as a weapon. "I'm just found these people. I'm down here putting the art supplies away. I'm here with the youth group. We were making signs."
He had his arms crossed, and his head wrinkles folded in a glare. I looked at him, but I didn't move. I felt my phone in my pocket vibrate which meant that Lynn pulled her truck to the back. She was ready.
"Gabe, she working with the vampires," Hugo revealed.
"I don't know what this weirdo is talking about." I defended myself. "Ask Lynn Smith. She's the one I am here with."
My phone in my pocket vibrated. Lynn must be in position.
Gorilla-Man reached out to grab me, but I did what most women would do in my situation. I kicked him in the groin - hard. The ape-like man doubles over cupping himself. He also called me a very colorful word that I particularly did not appreciate. I told him exactly how I felt about the word by grabbing his bald head and brought my knee to his face. Blood spurted from his nose and cover my feet. Gross! I can feel his blood in between my toes.
"Resigno," I whispered waving my hand over the lock.
The gorilla grabbed my hair pulling it tight before throwing me against the metal shelf. One of the shelves hit directly in the diaphragm, and I fell to the floor gasping trying to catch my breath. The impact left me breathless, and no matter how hard I tried I could not get air into my lungs. I rolled to my side and kicked the side of his leg right at the kneecap. He lost his balance but did not fall over like I was hoping. I didn't hit the fucking gorilla hard enough. He reached down and grabbed my leg, and my response was to kick him in the face. I hear a loud crunch. I broke his nose.
"You fucking bitch." He sputtered through the blood oozing down his face.
He held on tight to my ankle and yanked me down and straddled my hips. His hands wrapped tightly around my throat. I felt his blood dripping onto my face, neck, and chest. I'm gonna need to get my hepatitis booster shots. I dug my nails into his hands trying to get him to let me go, but he wasn't at all phased by it. Enough of his blood dripped onto my neck and chest to where the blood was trickling down my neck and into my cleavage.
"Teach you to fuck with me, girly."
Bright flashing orbs clouded my vision, and I waved my hands indiscriminately in the air trying to claw this guy's eyes out. His arm's length exceeded my own. My mind released I could do nothing to get this gorilla off me much slower than what should be considered normal. I struggled under his hold, and if I struggled more, he would squeeze tighter. My eyes watered. If I could quite breathe before, I sure couldn't now. The more he crushed my windpipe, the more my eyeballs wanted to pop outside my skull. I desperately tried to breathe but the air would not enter my lung. My lungs demanded air. The fire ripped through my lung as the flashing lights dissipated into black dots.
I am a witch. I should be fighting like one, and not just throw punches around. I focused as much as I could, but all I could think of what wanting to crush this asswipe's hand so I could breathe. I thought "elido" to myself over and over again hoping.
"Elido." I choked out with the last bit of air I had within me.
My vision darkened, and I was just thought about my mom and Star.
I gasped and coughed as air entered my lungs again. Tears ran down my face. It took me a brief moment to realize the gorilla was squealing in pain. It worked.
"You little fucking bitch! What did you do?" he held his mangled hand to his chest.
Blood covered his hand, but it could be from his broken nose. It was difficult to tell. The hand twisted in a sickening direction and flopped around when he moved it.
"I'm going to kill you."
I rolled onto my back to look up at the man. He stood over me lifting his leg ready to kick me. Godric suddenly appeared and grabbed the gorilla. He said something like Godric it's me, but I didn't care. Godric twisted his hand, and I looked away. I didn't want to see the dead body fall to the ground. It was one thing to hear a neck snap. You can pretend it a nose or another bone, but it was another thing to see a dead body. In this lighting, Godric looked very pale - sickly pale and not vampire pale.
"You should have left, little enchantress." Godric stood next to the body I refused to acknowledge.
"Well, I really can't just leave you here." I carefully stood to my feet. "The king would disapprove."
"I could not care-" Godric stopped. "You are covered in blood."
"What?" I looked down in confused shock at all the blood. "I'm covered in blood? When did this happen?! It probably has nothing to do with busting the fucker's nose open or anything."
My sarcasm hit an all-time sarcastic tone. It was not my fault because I am trying not to think about the body at my feet.
"Holy mother of God!" Lynn gulped. "Why is there a dead body? Georgi! You're covered in blood!"
"Yes," I crossed my arms. "Thank you, captain obvious. I decided to let my inner Countess Bathory out and get a beauty treatment."
"What?" Lynn asked confused. "You know what, never mind. Let's get out of here. My truck is at the loading dock over here."
I turned and opened the gate, and I looked at Sookie.
"What kind of name is Sookie?" I demanded.
"Is this honestly the best time?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Probably not, but if you excuse me," I stepped out of her way to allow her to pass by, "I need to punch this mother fucker in the face."
I pushed past Sookie, and with a little force behind my punch, I knocked Hugo on his ass. I stood over him and placed my hand on his head.
"I curse you, Hugo. I curse you to live a life of never-ending nightmares. You will dream of maggot eating your flesh. The stench will follow you. It will follow you until you die, and then, the smell will continue in death."
A chill rushed into the room. My magic swirled around Hugo and I as the curse I cast over him settled him, and by the look on his face, he smelt something foul. Hugo fell into a deep sleep to complete the curse. I looked at him without an expression on my face. I did warn him of the consequences if he opened his mouth. I don't plan on making idle threats.
"The next time a witch threatens you to do something, I suggest listening."
I turned to face the others, and they said nothing. I bet that they were probably in shock, but what was a girl to do? All of a sudden screaming and shouts come from upstairs.
"Bill!" Sookie said hopeful, but Godric corrected her.
"No," he closed his eyes, "I'm here, child. Down here."
Blondie appeared in the doorway.
"Godric." He looked relieved as he walked into the room kneeling at his feet.
I realized how freakishly tall he was. Even on his knees, the top of Blondie's head came to Godric's shoulders. I looked at Sookie and Lynn, but they watched the interaction between the two ancient vampires.
"You're a fool for sending these humans in." Godric looked down at his vampire child.
"You gave me no choice, father." Blondie looked down at his knees. "These savages seek to destroy you."
"And you believe that I am unaware of that?" Godric demanded gripping Eric's chin forcing him to look up. "I know of what they have planned."
An awkward silence ensued. It's not like Godric admitted to suicide. Well, he did just not in so many words. I broke that silence.
"Hugo here is the traitor." I pointed behind me.
"He's with the fellowship. They set a trap for us." Sookie explained, but Blondie did not seem to be interested in that tidbit of information.
"How long has it been since you fed?" He questioned.
"I require little blood-"
Loud alarms sounded throughout the church along with flashing light. I looked at Lynn.
"Someone set off the vampire alarm," Lynn explained.
"You guys have a vampire alarm?" I stifled my giggle. "Please tell me it's a big red button that says 'Press in case of a vampire attack.'"
Lynn chuckled.
"We have to go." Sookie gave us a little glare.
Right. Now is not the time to be laughing.
"Safe the humans and go," Godric instructed.
"I am not leaving your side until I kn-."
"I can take care of myself."
"We really need to go Georgi." Lynn grabbed my arm. "This is the first place they are going to look."
"Go, I can't leave the sheriff alone." I looked at Godric but spoke to Lynn.
"Go." Godric left no more room for argument.
Blondie held out his hand to allow both Lynn and Sookie go ahead of him. He glanced at my expecting me to follow, but I remained in my spot. I shook my head and repeated my previous statement. I am not leaving Godric alone. Blondie accepted this and followed behind the other two.
"I want to take another look at your soul real quick." I reached out to touch him. "I will be a little bit better prepared now that I know what to expect."
"Why are helping me, little witch?" Godric grabbed my outreached hands. "I am what nightmares are made of."
"Pssf." I rolled my eyes. "I've had scary nightmares about forgetting tests."
I pulled him to sit on the floor with me. I smiled at him. I kinda like that I can boss this ancient around.
"It's going to feel a little strange." I shifted a little to get more comfortable. "I want to get a closer look at you and the thing."
I pushed my conscious into Godric. His soul must have recognized me from me for because it (well the best way to describe it) embraced me. It held onto me tight and hug me? I stayed here around him for a few moments longer absorbing his warmth because I know what is to come.
"You feel warm." I looked at him. "It feels like I have been laying out on the beach all day."
Godric said nothing.
"I want to say it's like a ray of sunshine, but that's a little cliché."
I closed my eyes again and moved on from his grasp and gently probed the entity feeding on him. I lost all the warmth. When looking at souls, different witches read souls in different ways. It boiled down to how a witch imagines a soul. My mother told me my father pictured orbs of light, and Oplina pictures a map of the human body with light emitted from the heart. I pictured ghost projections overlaying the person's body. It worked well for me considering my affinity for spirit and necromancy magic. I saw that the entity is attached to his left shoulder.
"I think this thing is causing some of your depression." I tried to see how deep it embedded into him, but I couldn't.
I needed to cast a circle to help focus my energy, but I believed Godric might have been cursed. This doesn't look or feel like a demon possession. A curse made the most sense. I told Godric my thoughts.
"I have not had hostile interactions with witches since the last witch war."
That was back in the 1800s. That was a long time for this thing to be here, but it attests to Godric's strength. He lived 200 years with this.
"Are you almost done, enchantress?" Godric asked. "It seems my underling is creating trouble. I must step in now before people die."
"Huh?" I opened my eyes. "Oh yeah, we can be done."
"We can finish later. I pretty sure I can detach it."
"Come," he held his hand out to me as he stood, "let's take care of this before blood is spilled."
He wrapped an arm around my waist and carried me at vampire speed to the sanctuary side door. He told me to remain there before disappearing again. I heard Lynn scream, and I disobeyed Godric's orders. I burst into the room to see the vampire had fangs at people's necks.
"Enough." Godric stood on a balcony in the front of the room.
Who knew that Godric had so much theatricality?
"You came or me I assume." Godric addressed the bedazzled asshat directly by saying. "Underling?"
"Yes, sheriff," Asshat growled.
"These people have not harmed me. You see, we can co-exist. I do not wish to create bloodshed when it is not called for. Mr. Newlin will you help me set an example. If we leave you in peace, will you do the same?"
"I will not negotiate with sub-humans." The good reverend glared.
Well, it's that a little racist.
"Kill me." Newlin loosened his tie. "Do it. Jesus will protect me."
"I am actually older than your Jesus. I wish I could have known him, but I missed it."
He disappeared from the balcony and had Newlin by the neck. Godric was a bit dramatic. I kinda liked it.
"Who here will die for this man's madness?" Godric demanded of the room.
No one did.
"Shocking," I muttered under my breath.
"Go home, everyone. We are done here." Godric demanded.
The vampire released their hostages and slowly began to file out. I rushed over to Lynn who had a pretty looking vampire standing next to her still.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"I am." Lynn nodded. "This is Ida Johnson. She's David's maker."
"Hello," I stuck my hand out, "it's a nice to me you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well." She shook my hand. "If you excuse us, I need to speak to Lynn privately before the welcome back party for the sheriff."
I watched as Lynn was led away.
"Come, little witch." Godric held his hand to me.
I took his hand and followed him out.