From Darkness Comes: The Horror Box Set (17 page)

She backed up a
few steps. As things had begun winding down, she started returning to her human-looking likeness…the pretty one without all the yummy skin flaps and maggot-filled sores. Right now she was pointing at Lisa like the girl was a poisonous snake.

“This little thing?” Lisa flashed her Templar secret decoder ring or whatever she wanted to call it.
Adrianna winced and took another few steps back.

“How is a Templar in league with a ghoul?”

I looked at Lisa and we both shrugged. I returned my attention to Adrianna. She was caught in this sickly in-between transformation that was in reality quite hideous. Still perfectly firm and perky breasts…bitch.

“The Templars practically wiped out all the ghouls centuries ago. That is why I was so surprised to meet you and discover what you were.”
Adrianna now seemed way more worried about Lisa than she did about me. “To see one working
with
a ghoul is unheard of.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Lisa said. “And I really haven’t been involved with the Templars for very long.”

“This just keeps getting better,” Adrianna muttered.

“Thank you, miss,” the girl gasped and rolled off the table after Lisa unbuckled the final restraint.

“Not a problem,” Lisa said, reaching to help the girl steady herself on her feet.

“Not you,” she said in a surprisingly nasty tone as she backed away from Lisa and wiped at her skin like it might be contaminated or crawling with bugs. “I meant
you
.”

I had to look over my shoulder. I seriously did not think that she could be talking to me. After all, I hadn’t really done all that much…except take a few nibbles on The
Queen of the Zombies and discover that I could talk around my sharkmouth. My head was suddenly spinning with all that had just taken place. It was pretty amazing for a Thursday night.

“Uh…you’re welcome?” I wasn’t sure what this was all about. Then I realized that I still did not have a clue as to what this ‘girl’ might be. “And just for my own curiosity, what ma
nner of supernatural are you?”

“A siren, miss,” the girl said.

Now, here is the scene. It is the middle of the night. I am standing with a wanna-be Templar, The Queen of the Zombies, and now apparently a siren—whatever those are—who is as naked as the day that God put her on this earth. And she does not seem bothered even just a teensy bit about the whole standing-naked-in-front-of-strangers thing.

Of course, she has perfect skin, amazing red hair, another damn set of perfect little boobies…and lookie here….somebody likes to keep the playground free of grass if you know what I mean.
And then there is that cute little accent. I was going to step out on a limb and guess Irish.

“Okay, fill in the stupid ghoul…what is a siren?” I had to ask.

“We sing on the waters, miss,” the girl said like that explained everything. Fine, I could look it up later.

I have so much crap to learn. I think I am going to go to a hobby store and by one of those silly
Dungeons & Dragons
books. I bet at least that way I would have a list of monsters to start looking up.

“Ava!” a voice called, sounding frantic.

Seems that I had forgotten all about Jeremy in the fuss. He was walking across the graveyard with a very cranky look on his face. Then he reached the group and froze.

“Is that a…” his voice trailed off as he stared first at Lisa, and then at
Adrianna, and finally the siren. Which reminded me…

“Hey?” I touched the siren girl on her arm. “I don’t eve
n know your name.”

“It is Aoife, miss.”

“Eye-fa?” What kind of name is that?”

“Gaelic, miss.”

“And stop calling me ‘miss’, my name is Ava.”

“Yes, m—” she paused. “Yes, Ava.”

“Now, one thing at a time. Jeremy, I told you I didn’t need your help. So go home…or wherever it is you sleep. Lisa, we can talk about what the Templars may or not have up their little sleeves later…alone. And after I have words with Morgan. Aoife, you are free to go, but I have a question, was that you who made the sky do that flash thing?”

“No.” She looked confused as to what I was talking about. So if it wasn’t Lisa, and it wasn’t Aoife, that left—
“It was me,” an old woman said as she stepped out of the shadows.

“Betty?” Boy was I confused.

“You know my name?” the old woman asked as she walked up beside Adrianna, casting a very nasty look her way.

“Well, you did call me that one time, plus, I was sort of eavesdropping outside of you
r house the other night,” I admitted.

“Then you know what this little whelp did to my Horace?”

“If you mean the whole turn him into a zombie thing? Yeah, I know about that.”

“Well I demand to have a say in the dealings with this one.” She cocked her head towards
Adrianna. There was something about this old woman that oozed power. I have no idea why I hadn’t picked up on it earlier.

“Nothing has been decided yet,” I said with a shrug. “What do you have in mind?”

As Betty began to speak, there were a few gasps and one very pathetic moan from The Queen of the Zombies. Lisa’s jaw dropped once or twice and Aoife was oddly silent, showing absolutely no emotion. She did however continue to simply stand there naked like it was no big deal. And you can bet that I noticed each and every lingering glance that Jeremy shot her way.

When it was all over, I at least had a plan. I didn’t think that Morgan was going to like it, but she was in no position to co
mplain. I’d discovered a few things in the past few hours that changed the dynamics of our relationship.

Lack of Communication

“And who do you think you are
, making demands and conditions to
me
!” Morgan was about to bust a gasket.

“How about you answer my question?” I was trying hard to control my anger. I could feel my fingers and toes starting to ti
ngle.

“Yes, I suggested that she speak with the representative from the Templars. They excel at defense and if that child is g
oing to continue to tag along despite my warnings, and if you don’t have the ability to make her stay home when she has no business being with you, then it is my belief that she could use some help. Help that you could not provide.”

“And so you sent her to the folks who tried to
completely wipe out every ghoul in existence,” I growled, stepping way inside Morgan’s personal space. It was a statement, not a question. And after speaking with Betty, I had a few other tricks up my sleeve, but I could save them for later.

“That was half a
millennium ago!” Morgan’s voice had gotten just a touch louder.

Considering the fact that she had shown almost zero em
otion in all of our dealings, this was the equivalent of a nuclear event. So far, she had sputtered twice, stammered once, raised her voice, and the cherry on the sundae—a scowl.

“I am supposed to be exti
nct,” I said. I could feel sharkmouth coming. Now it was time to see if I had actually learned anything last night. I looked at Morgan and tried to let my mind wander.

“History is full of mistakes made by groups who thought that they were operating in the best interests of society. What would it be like if everybody still equated this country with its use of slaves?”

I remembered sitting on my living room floor when I was little. Everybody was all excited about this mini-series called
Roots
. I tried so hard to watch it, but I was only in third or fourth grade. I never stayed awake for a whole episode…

“We are talking about genocide.” I was really proud that I had remembered the word Betty used. The problem now was that I couldn’t tell if the look on Morgan’s face was from my use of that word or from something else. I very casually went to tuck my hair behind my ear. I felt this odd leathery stuff where my cheek was supposed to be, and then I brushed one of the jagged teeth. Yay!

“W-w-what are you doing?” Morgan actually looked to turn just a touch paler. That was a stretch considering how she was already the color of bleached ivory.

“I am asking you a question,” I said, trying my best not to smile
. I’ve seen my smile with sharkmouth going, and it is not something that puts me in my most flattering light.

“Don’t play games with me, Ava Birch.” Morgan stood straight and
seemed to draw all of the emotion that she’d just been displaying back into her body and erase any evidence of its prior existence.

“You have been keeping me in the dark, Morgan. I have been learning all sorts of interesting things the past day or two. So, the way I see it, you need me. In fact, having me in your di
strict is quite a little victory for a psychic. From what I hear, I am worth more to you than you have been letting on. And since I now know a few things like what happened to Solomon’s treasure and the vast wealth once kept in vaults under the Vatican, I also know that you can afford to pay me better and supply me with things when I go on these little clean-up missions for you.”

Morgan didn’t say a word; she just stood there glaring at me. Funny thing is that just about forty-eight hours ago
something like that would have mattered. Unfortunately for her, I had discovered a few things. It is not unlike being the lone brain surgeon in a hospital…I have a special skill that very few possess—as well as some that I don’t think that I have discovered yet. After all, until last night I didn’t think that I could talk with the sharkmouth in effect.

Also, according to Betty, I have the ability to compar
tmentalize my mind. She said I am like a computer in that I can actually do multiple things in my head at once. That is what makes a ghoul so dangerous. Apparently we can overcome just about any type of magic.

A ghoul has a few things that happen aut
omatically—kind of like a store-bought computer with a bunch of software. That is why vampires have no effect on me with their gaze or mind control. Our fingers and toes becoming weapons, and the sharkmouth. However, there is apparently a great deal to learn.

I also discovered that Morgan actually can read minds to a certain extent. Howe
ver, a ghoul is like white noise. Part of what makes us so valuable is that we can operate independently and actually put the regional psychic in check should the need arise. Apparently there is a council of psychics, and Morgan having me in her region makes her a bit more powerful, because I can actually enter another district undetected. It was a group of psychics that apparently hired the Templars to wipe us out.

That brought to mind a few questions. Was she
keeping tabs on me through Lisa? Also, what better way to keep tabs on the Templars than to have somebody close, and then later she could poke around in her brain? That Morgan is a slippery one. I will have to keep on my toes. And who knew that the supernatural community had so much drama attached to it? It is all about power plays and one-upsmanship.

So, a few words about Betty. It seems that she is related through blood to
Adrianna. She does not delve in zombies, though. She is a little hazy on her actual background, but I think she is pretty damn powerful. The way that she shut Adrianna down in the graveyard, plus the things that she did actually tell me—more than Morgan has in all the time I’ve known her—leads me to believe that she would be a good person to have as an ally. For now I am keeping her my own little secret.

But, Ava, you might be asking yourself, if Morgan can read Lisa’s mind, what is to keep her from finding things out that way? For one, that little memory wipe ability that The
Queen of the Zombies used on me…apparently it is a family secret. Lisa doesn’t remember a thing about Betty. Even better, I could tell her all about Betty right now and it would be like pouring water through a sieve. It would just fall right back out. Pretty cool, huh?

“Enjoy this moment for now, Ava,” Morgan was standing in the doorway. Obviously she was leaving. That made me wonder what I had just missed because Lisa looked just a little pale…like something had her spooked.

“Don’t threaten me anymore, Morgan,” I said as I stepped to the door and prepared to shut it. “I know more about my worth now…you better come with a new tactic when you are dealing with me.”

And then I shut the door. I was not going to let her have the last word. I turned to say something to Lisa about how f
reaking awesome it was to have the last word for a change, but she was gone. I homed in on her and discovered that she had gone to her room.

Oh well…I don’t need an audience. I feel pretty damn good about things
. I just wish that Betty had given me a few more words of advice and instruction. I wasn’t terribly fond of having Adrianna confined in my basement.

Titles From May December Publications

The Dead Series

Dead:The Ugly Beginning

Dead: Revelations

Dead: Fortunes and Failures

Dead: Winter

Dead: Seige and Survival