MOONSPELL

by

PiperMerlyn

Chapter 5

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

Thursday morning, it was raining--and cold. Joe Hardy hated it when it was cold and wet. It meant football practice would be canceled unless it stopped raining. The coach didn't mind mud but didn't like cold rain. Joe sighed and veered for the library. Third hour was a free period for him and he was determined to check for anything out of the ordinary.  When he walked in, Ms. Harrison glanced up, heaved a very put-upon sigh and went back on working on her computer.  

Joe didn't have to be psychic to know what that meant. Frank had already been in here, probably between classes. Joe grinned and headed for the spot he'd seen whatever it was—he refused to call it a ghost. Instead of his brother, he found the blond twins, black-haired Dyllan and his red-haired cousin Merlyn whispering furiously. The thing was, he noted, they seemed to pouncing on one of the twins because her blue eyes were full of tears and her lower lip trembled.  

Torn between rescuing the girl and eavesdropping, Joe decided on the latter--just long enough to find out what was wrong, and then rescue the girl. He moved to the stack behind them and slipped through. Here he could plainly hear Merlyn say, "I cannot believe you, doing that. Mum went 'round the twist about it."  

"So did Daddy," said the other twin, looking somewhat superior.  

The first twin stuck out her tongue. "Just wait till Daddy catches you, Quinn."  

"He's not going to catch me, Leigh, because I make sure my tracks are covered. You out there in the open, what if someone had seen."  

"Someone did see, that's the freaking point," said Dyllan, also sounding superior. "Uncle Ray won't be happy when he finds out."  

"I just wanted to check it out," said Leigh, looking even closer to tears. "I brought it back."  

Merlyn sighed and shook her head. "This is just so weird. I don't get it."  

"Something's going down," said Dyllan gravely. He frowned at Leigh who was no longer looking at him but at the row of books. Her eyes narrowed and she looked thoughtful. "Leigh."  

"Hmm?"  

"Wake up, this could be really serious. If everything's compromised, we're out of here."  

"No." Merlyn shook her head quite emphatically. "No. I won't allow it."  

"Like you could stop fate," said Quinn.  

"Lay off the attitude, cousin," snapped Merlyn, appearing to be at the end of her patience. "I know you didn't want to come. And frankly, I wish you hadn't." She glared at Quinn, then Leigh. "Less trouble."  

A book fell off the shelf and hit Merlyn in the head. She glanced up at the shelf, then at the book lying on the floor. "Not even funny," she snapped, still glaring at Quinn.  

Quinn shrugged and started for the exit. Merlyn snatched up the fallen book and Joe saw the cover. The Power of the Mind: Psychosis and Mental Ability. "I'm not through with you," said Merlyn, starting for her cousin but Dyllan touched her arm. She shrugged him off, and sighed. "Dyllan, talk to Uncle Sully, make him see reason, so he'll convince Daddy. Something is very wrong here."  

"I'll try."  

Merlyn turned to Leigh. "Leigh--? Leigh, what are you staring at?"  

Joe didn't hear the girl's answer because he realized Leigh was looking straight at him, as if she could see through the binding and paper of the books between him and her. That was weird. He watched the three of them leave, then noticed Leigh was coming back--to where he was standing. "What are you doing?"  

Joe noted she had the same exotic accent as Merlin. "Looking for mysteries. You?"  

Leigh narrowed her blue eyes. "This is the non-fiction section."  

Joe blinked, looked around surprised. "No kidding. Frank keeps telling me the library is more than books and homework. You mean there is a fiction section and a non-fiction section? Ugh, who wants to read non-fiction?"

Leigh studied him for a moment, and then gave him a smile. "Thanks anyway." she said and left.  

Joe frowned. What the hell was that all about? He sighed and left the library. Because of schedules, he didn't see Frank until lunch. "Hey, bro, wait until you hear what I heard."  

"Doesn't it go 'Do You Hear What I Hear'?" asked Vanessa. "Isn't that a totally different holiday?" She winked at Callie who just smirked.  

"I've got bigger news," said Frank, looking quite unsettled. "There was another prank--a big one."  

Callie glanced over at him. "What?"  

Frank took a deep breath. "The Serene Rest Funeral Home was broken into this morning."  

Vanessa wrinkled her nose as she'd caught a whiff of something rotten. "The funeral home?"  

Joe looked puzzled. "Why?"  

"Two caskets were stolen."  

Joe's jaw dropped and he stared at his brother for a long moment. "You're kidding, right."  

Frank sighed. "God knows I wish I was kidding."  

***  

They'd waited until after school to visit the funeral home and Joe had chafed at the delay. He'd known the football practice would be canceled. He tried to tell Frank but his older brother insisted on staying until the last bell. Now they were in front of the funeral home, a low-slung brick building that made Joe think of an insurance company building. From the outside, it didn't look creepy. He got out of the van at the same time as Frank and followed his brother inside. The large room was dim with low wattage sconces on the wall. Faint organ music played in the background, then Joe's eyes adjusted to the low light and he realized all those long rectangular shapes were caskets. He shuddered.  

Frank gave a swift look around and spotted the empty carts that the caskets had sat on.  A tall lean man came over to them, his pale skin looking paper dry. His dark hair  was slicked back from a prominent widow's peak and he looked for all the world like Bela Legosi, thought Joe, minus the cape, the fangs---the cape.  

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he whispered, indeed sounding sorry. "It is such a difficult time for loved ones to deal with so many necessary details---"  

Frank veered for the two empty carts. "What kind were they?"  

The man frowned as he looked from Frank to Joe. "You're too young to be cops."  

Joe stepped forward. "I'm Joe Hardy, that's my brother Frank. We heard what happened and came to see if you needed help."  

The man's demeanor changed, less obsequious more natural. "I see." He turned to Frank. "To answer your question, they were the Mercedes of the line. The Cadillac if you will." He gestured to the caskets in the room. "These are your standard issue, nothing fancy."  

Joe frowned. "Only the best--but for what purpose?"  

Frank turned to the man. "When did you notice they were gone?"  

"This morning when I unlocked the front door."  

"Any signs of a break-in?" asked Frank.  

The man frowned. "I already answered all these questions for the police."  

Joe gave him a friendly smile. "Please?"  

The man sighed. "No sign of break-in."  

Joe looked around. "I've heard of mummies breaking out, not in. You think she was tired of that old smelly sarcophagus, Frank?"  

The man looked mystified. "Excuse me?"  

Frank started for the door, grabbing Joe's arm in passing. "Don't mind him. He's just babbling, always does. It's the rain. Thanks for the help."  

Joe let Frank haul him out of the funeral home. "Babble, do I? Just you wait. When I'm Freddy Krueger, you're going to have horrible nightmares."  

"The guy thought you were nuts mumbling about mummies."  

Joe glanced at the funeral home. "That guy is nuts. He works in a funeral home, for Pete's sake."  

Frank sighed and got behind the wheel of the van. "Come on, little brother. Let's go." After his brother was in the vehicle, he pulled out of the parking lot. "Who on earth would steal coffins?"  

"Maybe Ankhara wanted a new resting place."  

"But two?"  

"A winter home and a summer home?" suggested Joe.  

Frank rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You're hopeless."  

Since it was on the way, they swung by the mall, mainly to see if any of their friends were there. It was no surprise that most had congregated at Mr. Pizza, talking about the strange things happening. As Joe and Frank walked up to the large booth where everyone was sitting, they overheard Chet say, "It has to be because it's so close to Halloween. Normally, this stuff doesn't happen here."  

"I think he's right," said Frank.  

Everyone turned to say hello and Callie got up to give him a hug. "What did you find out?"  

"Ankhara wanted to update her traveling arrangements, so she got one for the summer, one for the winter," said Joe as he sat down next to Vanessa.  

Vanessa swatted his arm. "You are horrible."  

Joe grinned. "What other reason could there be." A sudden thought crossed his mind and his smile faded. "Frank, what you said last night about that lady--the vampire chick."

Chet's brown eyes went wide. "V-vampire?"  

"Relax, Chet," said Biff. "No such thing."  

Chet didn't look convinced.  

"What vampire chick?" asked Vanessa, trying not to too sound too curious.  

"Rowan Trance, she's this goth rocker, always wears black leather," answered Frank. "But that's still just one person, Joe. Why would she need two?"  

"One for the mummy, one for the vampire," answered Joe. "Simple arithmetic." He sat back in the booth, slung an arm around Vanessa's shoulders, looking smug. "Case closed."  

Frank shook his head as Tony brought over two pizzas. "Not by a long shot, little bro. Not by a long shot."  

Callie sighed. "Okay, with that on hold for now, we need to discuss location, assignments and such."  

"I talked to the realtor handling the property at Birch Road Cemetery," said Liz Webling. "He didn't sound too keen on the idea until I explained the party would be contained within the structure. He says it's safe. I told him I'd let everyone know there would be no wandering around the cemetery."  

Callie grinned. "Great. I think. Everyone okay with having it there?"  

"Well, the atmosphere will be great," said Vanessa. "I checked the almanac. We should have cloudy skies and a big full harvest moon."  

Joe winked at her. "Perfect."  

Callie pulled a notebook out of her book-sack. "Okay, guys, you'll do the decorations."  

Biff grunted. "We always do the decorations."  

"It's because you're strong and manly, you know how to nail things up and climb ladders," said Callie, not quite condescending. "One of us will supervise."  

The guys seated around the table just grunted. Callie ignored them and turned to Liz. "So you'll tend to sending out invites?"  

Liz nodded and Callie turned to Sara. "You want to do supervision on the decorations?"  

Sara nodded. "Sure."  

"Karen, you can see about getting drinks for us. The spookier and ickier the better."  

"I have just the recipe," grinned Karen, Biff's girlfriend.  

Callie glanced at Vanessa. "That leaves you and me with snacks and stuff."  

"Sounds good."  

Joe sighed, bored. "So it's all settled?"  

Callie gave him a look, then nodded. "Yes. We'll probably have to decorate this weekend, so it's not too long before the party."  

"Fine."

Everyone else agreed and set to work eating the pizzas. An hour later everyone was gone but Frank and Joe and their girlfriends. Joe was talking quietly with Vanessa, snug in the far corner of the booth. Callie glanced at Frank as she checked over her notes. "You're still bugged about the coffins, aren't you."  

"It's a stupid prank, Callie. And a sick one."  

Callie gave him a puzzled look. "I know I wouldn't want to lay down in a casket but what are you getting at?"  

"I was just thinking. Even though hazing is illegal, fraternities and sororities still do it on the sly. Sometimes Pledge Week falls on the last week of October."  

Callie went pale. "You know, it makes sense, Frank. But what could they do with two coffins? Why two?"  

Frank sighed. "I intend to find out."  

Let the author know what you think of this story

Home   Library   Authors   Rogue's Gallery   Vehicles   Chums   Message Board  Rap Sheet  Links  Contact

Disclaimer