Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
Iextend my hand, using magic to push open the tall, metal gate that leads to Camp Dogwood.
Xavier watches, looking both proud and turned on from me using magic.
A little pressure builds right behind my eyes from the concentration it takes to bend energy to my will.
I’m going to have to put in hours of practice to really get telekinesis down.
The gate slowly creaks back, opening up so Xavier, Devon, and I can walk through.
“You know,” I say as we start down the long, gravel driveway leading to the camp. “All things considered, this place is nice.”
“It has that stereotypical summer-camp vibe,” Devon agrees. “And makes a good setting for a horror movie.”
“I should have sent you here,” Xavier says. “Would have been cheaper than the summers you spent at Lake Geneva.”
Man, it’s so weird to think about Xavier always looking the same while watching Devon grow up. That’s probably the real reason why Xavier never sees any new vampires he creates as equals. Despite them not having powers vampires only get with age, they are still children in his mind.
We could all benefit from so much therapy.
“Remember,” I tell them. “If you think you hear someone calling your name…you didn’t.”
“I don’t know if I believe in skinwalkers,” Devon replies and I come to a sudden halt, giving in an are you fucking serious look. He motions to Xavier. “He’s lived in this area for how long and hasn’t seen one.”
It’s a fair argument, I’ll agree, but it doesn’t mean shit.
“They don’t typically wander into populated areas.
So unless you have some sort of secret cabin hidden in the woods, the chances of Xavier coming across one are slim to none.
Plus, I don’t think they’d go after vampires.
You’re, uh, already dead and they kinda feast on the living. ”
“Death has pens.” Devon shrugs and then we all fall quiet as we get closer to the campsite. The place is all lit up just like it was before everyone went missing. I read through the police report twice and then scoured the internet, looking for anything I could find.
There’s a Facebook group put together by the family members of the missing. Everything seemed fine; all the counselors and camp workers settled in, got a day of training beneath them, posted on the camp’s Instagram about how excited they all were, and then things were radio silent.
Most of the workers are college students who attended the camp themselves in their youth. They’ve been missing for three days, and if they’ve been possessed by demons, they are either dead or don’t have much time left.
Healthy, young people who have a strong faith—in anything—make it harder for demons to take over. Demons prey on the weak, though it only takes one moment of despair to agree to let one in.
The camp is eerily quiet, absent even the sound of crickets. When animals and insects don’t want to be somewhere, it’s a pretty good sign something evil is here.
“Can you hear anything?” I ask Xavier. We come to a stop right outside the first building, which consists of the kitchen, mess hall, nurse’s station, and a couple little offices.
“Nothing,” he says back. “There is no one alive in there. What do you sense?”
“I feel like we’re being watched. I can’t tell from where, or if it’s even from this realm.”
“Stay close.”
I just nod and pull my dagger from my belt.
It’s been a while since I’ve sunk this into any demon, and I’m so glad I took it when Xavier and I went to the Russo’s compound.
The blade is sharp and made from stainless steel, but has silver and iron inlays, making it effective against many types of monsters.
The front doors are unlocked, just as they were when the police arrived. Xavier goes first, slowly pushing it open without making a sound. The lights are off, and there’s not enough windows in here to have this place be lit up by natural light. Was no one in here when they went missing?
Maybe they were snatched out of their bed in the middle of the night?
The circle of dead birds is in the center of the lobby, behind two tables that were in the process of being set up to welcome and sign in campers. I shine my flashlight over them, quickly trying to take in every single detail.
Nothing is out of place.
“Is this how you summon a demon?” Devon asks, stepping next to the sigil.”
“It’s one way to,” I answer, joining him. Crouching down, I look at the birds. Some of them have cracked beaks and bloody faces. Turning, I shine the light on the windows on the side of the room.
“They crashed into that window,” Xavier says, able to see in the dark. “The glass is cracked.”
“Does that help narrow down what demon it is?” Devon asks.
“Not off the top of my head. Wild animals can act really weird when demonic forces are nearby. They panic and can act erratically.”
There are thirteen birds; twelve are common finches, and one was a beautiful crow. The sigil is messily drawn, and there are little drips of blood on a few of the birds. They were here first and the sigil drawn after.
Standing back up, I shine the flashlight around the rest of the mess hall. Most of the tables and chairs are still pushed up against the walls. The silence is deafening, as if this place is holding its breath, determined to win this game of hide and seek.
A heavy, wrongness starts to creep over me.
A normal person would call this a bad feeling, and if they were smart, they’d listen to what that feeling was telling them and get the hell out of here.
I’m far from normal, and the more I feel like I need to turn and run, the closer I know we’re getting to finding something.
“There’s blood on the floor,” Xavier says from a few yards over. He’s standing at the start of a hall that goes to the nurses’ station.
“A lot?”
“No,” he tells me and I join him, shining my light on the tile floor. I don’t see anything. “Just a few drops. It’s human. And fresh. Maybe only a day or two old.”
“So someone was here recently.”
Xavier meets my eye and nods. The hair on the back of my neck prickles and I switch the flashlight to my left hand, putting my dagger in my dominant hand. Devon follows closely behind, walking without a sound.
“How can twenty-seven people just disappear?” I shine the light around the faculty lounge.
All personal items were left and are still in place.
“It’s like they just up and left.” Using the dagger, I flip open the lid on a pizza box.
There’s still half a cheese pizza left, and two phones are on the table next to it.
“College students don’t go anywhere without their phones. ”
There’s a backdoor to the lounge that goes into another hall.
From there, you can either go outside and take a path to the cabins, or turn right and go into the kitchen.
We check out the kitchen first. There are lights on in here, and several shot glasses and a nearly-empty bottle of tequila on one of the countertops.
Xavier picks it up and sniffs it, shaking his head to let us know he doesn’t smell anything out of the ordinary.
Next to it are ingredients to make cupcakes, and someone went as far as opening the box mix and dumping it into a big metal bowl.
It would take a very powerful demon to compel everyone to just stop what they’re doing and turn and walk away.
Nothing is overturned from anyone leaving in a scramble. Nothing has been bumped into and scooted out of place by people running in fear. I can see why this case has stumped the police, that’s for sure.
“There are a couple more rooms to check,” I say, automatically taking on the role of lead demon-hunter. What can I say, it’s a habit. “We should split up.”
“You’re not going anywhere on your own,” Xavier immediately replies.
“I’ve been doing this for years,” I remind him.
“You haven’t been my wife for years,” he counters. “I’m not risking it.”
“Fine. You go check out the nurses’ station and we’ll check the office. Whatever was here, isn’t here anymore. But we have to clear the building.”
“Do not let anything happen to her,” Xavier tells Devon and then speeds out of the room. I shine the light over the rest of the kitchen, opening a few cabinets just to be thorough.
“You have a hold on him,” Devon notes. “I get why Theo is concerned. You’re a liability, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Until you came along, Xavier kinda had nothing to lose.”
I look over my shoulder at him and shake my head. “He won’t lose me.”
“You can’t promise that.” Devon’s blue eyes cloud over. “You can’t promise any of us that.”
“You’re right. I can’t. Just because I haven’t been killed by a monster doesn’t mean I’m impervious to it. Hell, I could get in an accident the next time I get behind the wheel.”
Quietly, I close the cabinet door and we go back through the hall we came in to check out the other offices. Like the rest of the building, nothing is out of place. Xavier regroups with us and we walk outside together.
The staff cabins are the first and last in the row, and there are six rather large cabins.
Something feels very off as soon as we get into the first one.
There are several bunkbeds, all made up with different colored sleeping bags and pillows.
Each cabin has one tiny bathroom, and the light has been left on, illuminating this room just enough for me to see around.
“She was aware,” I say, closing my eyes.
“Who was?” Xavier asks.
“Someone in this room.” I tip my head, hearing echoes of voices in my mind.
“Female…maybe named Amanda. I’m picking up on a lot of apprehension.
Like she knew something was wrong but it didn’t make sense.
I think she’s dead.” I open my eyes. “I wouldn’t be getting her memories like that if she wasn’t. ”
“Holy shit,” Devon says, holding up a name tag. “Amanda Perkins.” A chill runs through me as I see her smiling face on the lanyard. “Will this work?”
“Definitely.”
“Can we do the spell in here?” he asks, swinging his backpack off one shoulder.
“We can,” I reply and shine the flashlight on a table against a wall.
“Start setting up,” Xavier says. “I’ll check the rest of the cabins.”
“Be careful,” I tell him and he looks at me as if what I said makes no sense. He speeds out of the room and Devon and I start setting up to cast the locator spell. Now that I know I can locate anyone—dead or alive—I’m going to do the same spell I did that took me to my parents’ graves.
Devon clears the table, pushing a paper bag full of groceries onto the floor.
Then he spreads a map of the area down and I put a hematite stone on each corner.
He sets three lodestones on the map and gets out the herbs.
I mix them together, crushing them in the mortar and pestle.
I sprinkle it on the map and write Amanda’s name on a bay leaf.
“Here ya go,” Devon tells me, unfolding a piece of paper with the spell. I had changed the original to specifically call someone from my bloodline.
“Thanks,” I say and pick up Amanda’s lanyard, looking at her face. She couldn’t be any older than nineteen and looks so happy in this photo. I’m sorry I couldn’t have saved you, I mentally say to her. I close my eyes, taking the next few moments to ground myself until Xavier comes back.
I hold the bay leaf with Amanda’s name on it in my hand. “Ignis.”
The bay leaf catches on fire and I hold it until most of the leaf is burned.
Then I drop it in the stone mortar. I mix the ashes with the herbs, dump it into my hand, and chant.
“Ad te clamo. Te ipsum revela. Ostende mihi locum tuum. Ad te clamo. Te ipsum revela. Ostende mihi locum tuum.” I drop the herbs onto the map and they start to vibrate and move.
“It’s working,” I say, but my words are drowned out by a harrowing screech that reverberates off every wall of this cabin, shattering the glass in the front windows.
The door flies open and a man with dark eyes and graying skin appears. The rot in his aura is suffocating. He takes a step in, gaze latched on me.
“He doesn’t want me to complete the spell,” I rush out, holding my hands over the map. “Ad te clamo. Te ipsum revela. Ostende mihi locum tuum!”
Xavier runs toward him, hand outstretched, going to punch his fist through his chest so he can rip out the heart. But his hand passes right through.
Oh shit.
We’re not fighting the demon, but an evil spirit who serves him.