The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2) (8 page)

"The Mesmers were hiding in Mrs. Patton’s yard, weren’t they?" I gulped. "What are we going to do? Why are they here?"

"They must be looking for the Tulpa, too," he murmured softly, his jaw clenched tightly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense."

I shuddered. First, the Tulpa had appeared, though letting that one loose had largely been my fault. Now, I’d brought the Mesmers here too. “It’s all my fault,” I choked.

His response was immediate. Cupping my chin in his hands, he forced me to look at him. “Absolutely not, Sydney! This is meant to be, never forget that!”

"I'm not brave enough for this." The words caught in my throat. “I’m scared!”

Leaning down, he lightly kissed my forehead. "You are remarkably courageous, little pixie. You’re strong enough, I assure you.” His kiss was brotherly, comforting, and it helped, but only a little.

I reached up and gripping his fingers tightly, stared out the kitchen window behind him.

It was dark outside.

The feeble glow of the streetlight seemed overwhelmed by the surrounding shadows, sinister shadows that I could almost see moving, creeping closer to the house.

I shivered and confessed in a hoarse whisper, “I’ve always been kind of scared of the dark, and now it’s worse because now there really is something awful lurking in the shadows.”

He spun me around to face him. Planting his handsome face inches from mine, he winked and said, "Don't be afraid of the shadows, Sydney, they only mean there's light nearby."

I wanted to believe him, but I could only think of them right now as Mesmer hiding places.

Dimly, I heard Ajax barking and a thumping sound as he bounded onto the porch and with a numb expression, I watched Rafael open the door to let him inside.

The Doberman’s ears were flat and his almond-shaped doggie eyes were wide. He stamped his front paw several times in a clearly aggressive, agitated way.

I knew it didn’t bode well. He hadn’t acted like this after encountering the first Mesmer.

Rafael’s brows lifted and his lips tightened. He placed a long finger on Ajax’s head, and the Doberman disappeared in a small poof of mist.

"What is it?" I asked in a shaky voice as Rafael returned. "Are they gone? Why did they come back? Did they escape? Where did Ajax go?"

I knew I was asking too many questions, but I was nervous and couldn't stop myself.

"You’re quite safe, Sydney, they're gone," he promised, moving to the cupboard. He hesitated a moment, eyeing the iron handle, and then picked up a wooden spoon from the counter and used it to pry the door open.

The gesture reminded me that he wasn't human. He was a Fae and that meant he'd never be able to touch iron.

Oddly, it snapped me out of my rising hysteria.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to think.

Rafael knew a lot more about Mesmers than I did. If he said I was safe, then I probably was. And though it was hard for me to trust anyone, I figured I could trust Rafael. After all, he’d helped me more than once already.

And letting myself panic really didn’t accomplish anything but instead increased the likelihood that I’d make some stupid decision.

Yes, I was scared, but I wasn’t accomplishing anything by wallowing in that fact. And as I didn’t like to wallow in anything, I refocused my thoughts on the task of getting drinks and asked, "Looking for the glasses?"

I moved to the correct cupboard, took out a few, and set them on the counter. We worked in silence, filling the cups with ice, the clink of the cubes sounding unnaturally loud in the silent kitchen.

After a moment, Rafael's lips lift in a genuine smile.

Following his gaze, I spied a black nose sniffing the perimeter of the kitchen counter like a periscope.

It was a relief to smile myself.

Pulling out the Paunchy Poodle Pills from my sweatshirt pocket, I extended my hand. "Sorry, Tigger, but you're stuck with these."

The red-brindled bloodhound padded into the kitchen to inspect the packet of pills. It only took him one sniff before his ears drooped in dismay and his eyes adopted an even more mournful expression than usual.

But he wasn't one to give up so easily on anything.

Shuffling to the refrigerator, he settled in front of it to stare at us, his eyes telling us to get him a hotdog.

Rafael laughed.

It was a low pleasant rumble that I found calming. My smile widened a little, but my improving mood was shattered the instant the front door crashed open and Jareth boldly strode inside with Al at his heels.

Chapter Four – Chupacabras

Jareth swaggered into the kitchen, snapped his fingers in my face, and grinned. "Did you miss me, Sydney?"

Spreading my arms wide, I snorted and replied, "This is my space, Jareth. Don't step in it."

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and pivoted to face Rafael, his smile hardening into a mask of animosity. "Al has something to show us," he said abruptly.

I held my breath, my mind instantaneously flooding with questions. Had Jareth told Al they were fairies? Had Al believed him? Had the Mesmers followed them, too?

I watched Al drop the plastic bags and PVC pipes onto the kitchen counter before turning to give me a conspiratorial wink as he patted his pocket holding the neighborhood watch notebook.

"What is it?" I asked, unable to bear the suspense. "What’re you going to show us?"

"Oh,
that!
" Al's face lit, and his blue eyes twinkled with excitement. "We heard it on the police scanner while we were giving the fans the slip."

I shot a quick glance at Rafael. He stood with folded arms, watching Al with a clearly intrigued, yet amused expression that strangely made me feel better. Catching my eyes on him, he flashed me a warm smile and politely inclined his head in my direction.

"Concentrate!" Jareth snapped, his voice thinning with irritation.

Oblivious to Rafael and Jareth exchanging hostile glares, Al began to explain. "They called a couple of cops to check out a strange animal carcass in the shopping center parking lot we'd just left, so we swung by again to have a look on the way home. You kids come here to Betty's computer, and I'll show you a few pictures."

Rubbing his hands together, he waved us into the living room filled with Betty’s cardboard boxes.

We followed.

"We must’ve just missed it,” he said as he sat down on the white plastic chair in front of the computer. “Can you believe it was right next to where we'd parked the truck, Sydney? We got a good look as they loaded it into the van. They're going to have a vet inspect it."

I shivered, understanding all at once that he was talking about the Mesmer.

Rafael's demeanor changed instantly. He was now tense, alert, and his eyes had narrowed.

"I was telling Jareth here that it's a real
chup-a-cab-ra
!" Al continued, exaggerating each syllable. He wiggled and flexed his fingers as if he were a maestro preparing for a concert instead of someone simply getting ready to type on a computer keyboard. "Jack's sent me pictures of them before," he said as he began to peck at the keyboard with one finger. “Never heard of them coming this far north before though. Maybe Jack knows something about that. I'll give him another call."

We fell silent.

The sounds of laughter from the TV in the other room mixed with the soft clicking of the keyboard as Al laboriously hunted each key to spell "chupacabra", mouthing each letter with a satisfied smile when he found it.

By the time he hit the letter ‘P’, Jareth visibly seethed with impatience, Rafael's jaw had hardened, and I found myself struggling with the temptation to snatch the keyboard away and type the letters in myself.

Finally, Al finished and hit the enter key.

"There!" he announced triumphantly, pointing to the computer screen.

The image made my stomach twist into a knot.

It was some kind of hairless and shriveled animal, resembling something half rat, half dog, but with long claws and a row of spikes along its spine and tail. Its mouth was shrunken, twisted, and pulled back to reveal long fangs on a distinctly gargoyle-like face.

I knew it could only be a Mesmer.

A quick glance at Jareth and Rafael confirmed it. They stood very still, their eyes riveted on the screen in outright alarm.

“This must be contained, and quickly!” Rafael murmured, fingering the golden bracelet on his wrist.

"Says here that they're really coyotes with mange," Al summarized, trailing his finger down the words as he read the article. He gave a skeptical humph and absently rubbed his chin. "Never heard of coyotes with spikes. Jack said just one look in their red eyes can make you nauseated. That don’t sound like a dog to me."

I didn’t have the spirit to remind him to say “doesn’t” this time. I was too scared that I was going to panic again. Already, I could feel the first rumblings of terror surging back to life.

"And how long have these chupacabras roamed the Earth?" Rafael asked softly, his jaw hardening even more.

"Oh, twenty years or so," Al replied offhandedly, tapping the monitor with his thumb. He was clearly lost in his own conspiracy theory, oblivious to the reactions around him.

I shivered, wishing in vain for the days when I'd believed fairies and other such creatures existed only in books. "Maybe it’s really the mange. It could’ve mutated and spread from coyotes to bobcats or something," I said, my voice wavering a little.

I sounded as scared as I felt.

Immediately, Rafael's comforting arm slipped around my shoulders.

Al stood up and gave me an affectionate cuff on the arm. "Don't worry, Sydney. Those chupacabras are pretty rare. We probably saw the only one that made it this far north. And you're safe here. Tigger’s not going to let anything near you!"

I swallowed and nodded, not feeling the slightest bit relieved.

"Well, I'd better be getting back to work. You kids stay out of trouble now!" Al warned jovially, threading his way through the maze of boxes back to the kitchen. Collecting his bags and pipes, he began to whistle as he disappeared into the garage, carefully locking the door behind him.

"We must find out how they appeared and where they’re coming from," Rafael remarked quietly once Al had gone. “They've clearly been here at least twenty
years
.”

"I've been unable to find a reference to them from before then, or at least that particular form." Jareth nodded in curt agreement. "The chupacabra legend originated in Mexico. It would be valuable to—"

Abruptly, he fell silent, but before I could ask why, he charged to the front door and violently flung it open.

Rafael was behind him in an instant, peering over his shoulder. "What’s the problem?"

"Don't you hear it?" Jareth hissed, holding his hand up and leaning forward as if straining to hear something. "There it is again!"

I held my breath, but the only sound I heard was that of faint laughter coming from the TV in the other room.

After several long moments, Rafael shook his head. "I fail to—"

"Silence!" Jareth made an angry, slashing movement.

Rafael gave him a long, measured look and said, "Perhaps you've heard the arrival of the Protectors. I summoned them, just moments ago."

I wondered how he’d done that, and then recalled him fingering his bracelet. Apparently, that bracelet could do a lot. I glanced down at the one still circling my own wrist before Jareth’s angry voice recaptured my attention.

"You think I'd not recognize our own Protectors?" He practically snarled.

"What's a Protector?" I asked, moving closer to Rafael. I felt safer near him.

Jareth whirled on me, obviously more than a little irritated. "Sydney, can you really not hear them?"

I didn’t like the sound of that. Suddenly, I felt like I was caught in the middle of some horror movie. "Them?" I swallowed. My fingers gripped Rafael's arm of their own accord.

Jareth's dark eyes bore through mine, and through the open front door, I saw several tall, dark shadows detach themselves from the pine trees in the front yard. They moved so quickly that I didn’t even have time to scream before three Fae stepped into the circle of light surrounding the porch.

The first one was Melody, swathed in a dark cloak from head-to-toe and with her blonde curls woven tightly around a silver circlet.

Behind her stood two male guards, one fair and one dark, both dressed in glossy black body armor and both with a creature at their heels resembling a white spotted leopard with sharp, pointed horns.

Melody's chilling gaze swept over me, lingering a moment on my hands glued to Rafael's arm. And for the briefest of moments, her piercing eyes held the most disturbing of expressions. But then she tilted her head at Jareth and asked without preamble, "What is it?"

“Nothing. My mistake,” Jareth replied curtly, snapping his mouth shut.

Rafael stepped around him to give Melody a formal bow. “He wasn’t aware the Protectors had arrived, my mentor,” he inserted smoothly.

There it was again. They were both lying to her.

I wondered what was really going on. With the level of distaste they carried for one another, it was more than strange that they’d keep covering for each other like that.

Perhaps I wasn’t the only one who found her creepy.

“Al is quite creative. He dabbles in surveillance and shouldn’t be underestimated,” Rafael was saying to the two Fae Protectors with their horned cats. “His equipment is rudimentary but effective. Be certain he doesn’t capture your image.”

“Yes, my prince,” the light-haired guard smacked his arm diagonally across his chest in a kind of salute.

The dark swarthy guard faced Jareth, apparently awaiting orders.

But Jareth scarcely spared him a glance. He was staring at Mrs. Patton’s yard across the street. Every muscle in his body was as taut as a bowstring.

It clearly had something to do with the Mesmers, and it was all I could do to keep from shaking him and demanding right then and there that he tell us what was going on.

Only Rafael had the presence of mind to send the Protectors away. “You both may go.” He bowed politely, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.