Trying not to let the media hear about what happened at the Slater residence was like stopping the wind from blowing. Especially when it was not an isolated case. Freakish and obscene behaviour was running rampant and the police were at a loss as to why. Davis tossed another folder onto his desk and then plopped down into his chair with a heavy sigh. "Damn, I miss the days of singular psycopaths... of armed robberies, and bad guys being well...bad guys. This-" he gestured at the pile of folders, "this is like a poorly written horror movie. All blood and gore and no logic."
Indigo nodded agreement. "I gotta admit, there doesn't seem to be any connectivity between the cases. Just people going all whacko - but why? There has to be a common denominator somewhere."
"I sure as hell can't see it," Davis passed a hand over his eyes. "The only thing some of these folks have in common are they're here in Widowsdance." He picked up a file, "Here we've got a total stranger offing a family with wooden stakes, claiming they were vampires. This one," he picked up another, " a guy tied his fiancee up to a stake and burned her claiming she was a witch . By the way, he also claims this is not 2010 but the year, 1692. That mean anything to you?"
"1692? " Indigo frowned. "Wasn't that the Salem witch trials?"
"Yeah...I looked it up," Davis shook his head. "The whole town has gone totally nuts."
DD was having the time of his life. Oh he hadn't managed to put down the demon hunters nor the two women yet - but he and his pals were sure making life interesting for them, weren't they? He scratched the dragon laying by his feet, behind the ears. "The glorious thing about you lot, being dreams and all, is you never need to be fed or watered. Just fed a human's mind now and then." He smiled an evil smile, as the dragon twitched and morphed into a woman. "You can be anything you want as well."
The woman stood and wrapped her arms about his neck, giving him a seductive stare, she parted her lips showing fangs. He laughed and untangled himself. "Hey, none of that now. We're on the same side my pet. Haven't I given you and your friends the entire town to play in? Off you go now. I'm sure there's some minds left to...well nibble upon." The woman pouted at him for half a second before shimmering into nothingness. DD looked about for a second, then spoke to himself,"I think I'll go see what my boyos are up too. After all mischief needs it's human touch." He chuckled to himself as he strode out of the room.
He found his boyos near a deserted alley . They stood in a rough circle around a young woman, taunting her and shoving her roughly about, grabbing her, kissing her, as she fought and tried to escape them. It was like a mad game of red rover as she would throw herself at the edge of the circle trying to break free, ony to be grabbed again. She landed against DD , who grabbed her roughly and pulled her already torn shirt the rest of the way open. The boyos hooted and howled, passing a bottle of liquor around as they taunted the girl. She attempted to pull the shirt, now a rag close around her as she backed back into the center of the circle. Her eyes darted about as she looked feverishly for ameans to escape or for help. He throat was raw from screaming and now she could only utter mewling sounds, as tears streaked her face and she shook her head from side to side. There was no where to go, no where to run.
"Game's over," the voice was quiet. "Let the girl go."
DD turned towards the voice, "Well if it isn't our old pal, Dave. How you doing, Dave?
Where's Georgie? You two are like an old married couple, always together."
"Right here," Georgie spoke from the other side of the circle. " Now turn her loose."
"Why? We're just having a bit of fun. Or are you offfering a more interesting game?"
DD grabbed the girl by the arm and shoved her outside the circle. "Off with you now. We've another game to play." The girl stumbled, almost falling then ran blindly away.
***************
Someone was knocking on the front door, and Elena went to answer it. "Myra!" she threw her arms around the young willowy woman, hugging her tight. "What are you doing here?"
"I hope you don't mind, hun. But I could not shake the notion that you needed me, so I thought I'd just drop in. It's alright isn't it?"
"Alright? It's fantastic! Come in! Come in!"
Michaela surfaced from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Mom, this is Myra, my bestest friend from school."
"Hi, Myra. Glad to meet you. Can I get you a drink? Soda? Water or something?"
"Oh you will stay for dinner won't you?" Elena asked.
"Actually..." Myra tossed her red hair back," I was hoping you'd ask me to stay for a few days?"
Michaela felt a moment of panic. With all that was happening, a house guest might be a bad idea. It might quite literally put everything at risk, including Myra's life. Before she could form a logical explination, Elena had blurted "Of Course!"
Myra reached out the front door and dragged a small battered suitcase into veiw.
She smiled at Michaela. "Don't look so stricken, Mickey - I'm a good witch."
"You're a good what?"
"Witch," Myra laughed a bit, "Elena hasn't told you, I see. Well..cat's out of the bag."
"Wait...did you just call me 'Mickey"?"
"Oh, was I being too familiar? I'm sorry."
"No. No...it just came as a surprise that you knew I get called that."
"I know much, Mickey, and I'm here to help."
************
Over the next few days, Myra gave a show of her powers. Floating objects, casting wee spells. Just enough to prove she really was a witch.
When Michaela expressed doubt Elena chastised her. "Really, Mom! Your living with two demon hunters and a ghost, and find witches hard to believe in?" After that, Michaela just shook her head, wondering what else there was in this world she had thought myth that would become fact.
Myra had been born a witch, and over the years had honed her craft. She had met Elena in college and they had become fast friends. Although Elena had not voiced it, she knew that she was deperately needed here. She had felt the forces of evil growing in this town. As she reached out with her mind, to Elena she could feel her friend's worry and fear. There was nothing she could do but come.
She had tried skrying for DD's hideout, but it was not specific enough.
They sat around the kitchen table discussing the matter. Dave and Georgie had come up with a plan, Michaela declared it too risky, but couldn't offer an alternative.
So it was that , when they stumbled upon DD and his boyos in the alley, they decided the time was now.
As the girl stumbled/ran away, Georgie remarked that he liked the odds of three against one. "Considering the way they fight, that seems fair," Dave said across the semi-circle of boyos. Suddenly there was an eruption of fists and feet flying. Dave tended to box, but Georgie had no qualms about picking up a length of pipe and using it as a staff. Two grabbed Dave from either side, and held him while DD punched him in the stomach and face. Dave rocked back raising both both legs and kicked DD in the chest knocking him to the ground. At the same time he grabbed the men holding him by the groins and sqeezed. Ensuring instant release of their grips.
Georgie pivoted with the pipe, striking this one across the head and landing the butt of his makeshift shaft in the stomach of another. Someone hurled a garbage can half-full of rubbish at him, bowling him over. The boyos swarmed pinning Georgie to the ground, punching and kicking him senseless. Dave never saw who struck him over the head from behind.
They woke on a cold hard floor. In the dim grey light of a lone hanging bulb, they could see the space was quite small, a large closet perhaps. The door was locked from the outside, and solid. A shimmering light occurred and Jamie was appeared. "My God, you two look awful."
"Yeah, but it worked," Dave whispered back.
Outside they could hear voices raised in rowdiness and the sounds of partying.
"Celebrating our capture, no doubt," Georgie moved gingerly. "You know where we are?" He looked towards Jamie, who nodded.
"I'm off to fetch the calvary," he said as he vanished.
Jamie appeared in the living room of Michaela's. "It's time. You three ready?"
The women nodded and stood close together holding hands. Myrah griped Elena's and Jamie's. Jaimie held Michael's other hand as she clung to Elena's. The circle formed, Myra said, "Hold tight, " and the group shimmered out of sight.
They teleported just outside the building where Dave and Georgie were captive. Jamie went in and unseen unlocked the door to the closet where they were held, whispering "Wait for the singnal." He then went back to the women. "It's done." Myra held her palms towards the door and knocked it inwards with a power blast, as she, Michaela, and Elena walked over it and into the lair of DD, with Michaela yelling "Now!"
Chaos broke loose as the men bolted from the closet, and a free-for-all erupted. Jamie wasted no time in entering Michaela, giving her all his military training and strength. Elena drew the demon hunters' daggers from her belt and got them into Dave's and Georgie's hands, with Myra staying close to her sending off energy bombs, knocking her a clear path. Caught off gaurd, the boyos and DD scrambled to meet the challenge.
DD tried to flee, but found himself trapped between Michaela/Jamie and Georgie. As Michaela lunged forward and Georgie, his knife flashing, tried to grab him from behind, he lept sideways causing Michaela to impale herself on the knife. Georgie grabbed her, a look of disbelief on his face. He sat down on the floor craddling her. "No. No, Mickey. Come back. Come back! Don't you die!" Tears choked him, as her blouse turned crimson. Laughing DD scrambled up and out.
Things quieted, the boyos were all prone now, fallen in the battle. The bodies were in various stages of disentigration, so corrupted were they by evil. Elena knelt sobbing by her mother, holding her hand, her face buried in her mother's chest. "No. It can't be. Mama? Mama?" Myra lifted her friend gently, and gave her to Dave to hold. She felt for a pulse in the neck, but there was none. She pulled a cell from her pocket and dialed 911. Georgie laid Michaela down as gently as he could, stroking the face he had grown to love as dearly as any mother and closing her sightless eyes.Tears bathed his face, then he saw a strange thing. "Dave?"
"I see it. She's..she's glowing!"
Elena lifted her face from Dave's chest and looked. "What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure," Myra whispered as the glow intensified.
Michaela's mouth opened and a shimmering mist rose. None of them had ever seen Jamie exit Michaela's body before. He stood outside her now,obviously weak, yet she remained glowing. She coughed, and stirred as if from a deep sleep.
"Mama? " Elena knelt. "Mama?"
Michaela's head turned towards her, and she smiled weakly. "Don't cry, baby. It'll be ok."
The group with the exception of Elena who kept staring at her mother, looked questioningly at Jamie.
"It wasn't her time. I convinced them of that. "
"How?" Dave asked.
"Easily enough. Just traded them a pair of wings is all."
************
Indigo visited Michaela in the hospital. He did so every day she was there, and then continued to do so after her release.
The town returned to a resemblance of normalacy over the next few weeks. Elena and Myra returned to school, but Dave and Georgie stayed on to help Michaela with the house.
Jamie spent his time watching over the lot. He had all of eternity to do that now, he supposed.
Michaela, herself didn't believe that it was over. After all, DD was out there - somewhere raising another band of boyos. Evil was not gone, it was merely licking its wounds. It would be back, and she would be ready.