7
Terry woke before dawn to the smell of fresh coffee and opened his eyes to find a vampire holding a steaming paper cup in front of his face.
“Here,” said Seb with a grin, “I got you breakfast.”
Terry extended a hand and burned his tongue on the first sip. “Shit, that’s hot,” he cried, placing the cup on the dash and blowing cold air over his fingertips. “I forgot that you guys are impervious to heat.”
Seb looked on with concern as Terry got out of the truck and stretched. “I’m sorry. I told the guy to make it extra hot in case it cooled down on the way.”
Terry glanced over to the coffee shop that stood less than a hundred feet from where they’d stopped for the night. “Maybe in Siberia,” he grumbled, “or if you’d come back through Michigan.”
Seb’s face fell and Terry regretted being rude to the boy. He was clearly trying his best to be useful, but Terry didn’t need an adolescent valet. As he searched for something kind to say, he was distracted by a large black dog who was snuffling through the garbage behind the coffee shop. He could see the animal’s silhouette clearly beneath the store’s security lighting, although the sun had yet to make an appearance.
“Hey,” said Terry suddenly, forgetting all about Seb’s hurt feelings. “I know that dog.”
“Really?” asked Seb, glancing idly at the scavenger. “Looks like a pretty common mutt to me.”
Terry walked closer to where the dog now stood immobile, watching warily as he approached. His tail wagged briefly, but then the animal caught Seb’s scent as the boy followed Terry across the parking lot. The dog raised his hackles and bared his teeth at the sudden appearance of a night creature.
“Stay where you are,” snapped Terry holding out his arm to stop Seb’s progress. “You’re going to scare him off.”
The dog pricked up his ears at the sound of Terry’s voice, and began to walk away from the two men along a narrow path that led into the neighboring park.
“Take the truck and go lie down for the day,” said Terry quickly, throwing Seb the keys. “I’m going to follow that dog. Look for me when the sun goes down, and if I’m not back by nightfall, you can start to worry.”
Seb hesitated just long enough for Terry to give him a small push. Pointing at the truck he said, “Take off. You can do your protector thing later if I disappear, and I’d say you’ve got about fifteen minutes to find a hole to crawl into.”
Reluctantly, Seb headed for the vehicle and watched as Terry hurried to catch up with the dog. He shoved the keys in his pocket and stared grimly at the peeling paint on the wall of the coffee shop. Moving to the back of the truck, he began to methodically empty the large tool locker that spanned the width of the bed. Climbing gingerly inside, he took a last look around before closing the lid. He wasn’t going anywhere.
*
The dog knew he was being followed, but made no effort to get away from his pursuer. Terry had no trouble keeping up with his four-legged prey as he ran at a half-trot along the narrow path. Through the bordering hedges, Terry could see a group of houses and a church with a tall metal spire. A shining black Harley was parked in front of the liquor store, and Terry realized with a start that he knew who it belonged to. Tom Harrison, a guy he’d gone to school with, right here in this village.
Terry’s heart raced as the dog led him away from the park towards a copse of barren maple trees. Through the naked branches he could see a flash of frozen water and soon found himself on the edge of a small lake. The dog raced ahead across the hard ground, but Terry was no longer worried about losing him. He knew exactly where the animal was going.
Everything around him now looked startlingly familiar. The fork in the path, marked on one side by the elaborate carvings of the witch’s coven and on the other by a pile of carefully arranged boulders that denoted warlock territory. He ran past the rocks and ducked instinctively to avoid a low hanging branch spiked with deadly poison needles. The lake looked reassuringly solid, but Terry knew better than to take a short-cut across the ice. The enchanted surface would crumble at the touch of his boot. Smiling, he took the long way around to where a small house stood forlornly on the far shore.
The dog was nowhere to be seen, but Terry knew this had been its destination. He didn’t hesitate as he strode up to the front door and knocked sharply with a fist that trembled with excitement.
Terry heard the dog barking as heavy steps approached from within. The door creaked open just far enough to allow a suspicious eye to peer at the unannounced visitor. Before Terry could think of anything to say, the door was flung wide and a young man stood before him frozen with shock.
“Dimitri,” whispered Terry as the floodgates opened and his lost memories jostled for meaning and position.
“Oh my God, Terry.” The man pulled him into a crushing embrace and Terry felt Dimitri’s familiar lips searching for his own. He was lost in a wave of longing that only intensified as Dimitri ran his hands along the length of his spine. The sound of a woman’s voice calling from the back of the house finally pushed them reluctantly apart.
“Who’s at the door?”
Dimitri pulled Terry into the house, slamming the door behind him. “It’s Terry,” called Dimitri in awe. “Terry’s come back.”
“Don’t be such a fucking jerk,” replied the woman, emerging into the hall. “That’s not funny…” She stopped when she saw Terry and her mouth opened in amazement. “Terry? Is that really you?”
Terry recognized Jill, Dimitri’s sister, and knew that the two of them lived together in this house by the lake where the twin covens converged. The warlocks held their gatherings on the north side, and the witches laid claim to the south. Terry had lived in the village but spent most of his days right here, with Dimitri. It was all coming back.
“We thought you were dead,” Jill finally stuttered. “Where have you been?”
“In the world between darkness and light,” replied Terry. “How did I get there?”
“You don’t know?” asked Dimitri, still clinging to Terry’s hand. “Where’s Alex?”
“Who?” asked Terry in confusion.
Jill and Dimitri looked at each other uneasily as Terry writhed in frustration. “Why don’t you sit down,” said Dimitri, guiding Terry to the living room. “I’ll get us a drink.”
Jill sat on the edge of an armchair as Terry sank into the couch, overcome by the sudden reappearance of his former life. He had a million questions and waited impatiently as Dimitri poured them all a measure of bourbon to calm their nerves, and threw another log on the fire.
“Talk to me,” Terry finally demanded when he couldn’t contain himself any longer. “What happened?”
“You died,” said Dimitri slowly, speaking to Terry as if he were a child. “Don’t you remember?”
“I hardly even remember who I am,” cried Terry with mounting impatience. “Things are starting to fall into place, but I only have pieces. Just tell me.”
“It was almost exactly three years ago,” Jill began, taking over from Dimitri as he seemed at a loss for words. “We were all getting ready for the equinox. You and Alex were working on a new spell, something that would counter a freezing charm.” She hesitated and gave Terry a questioning look. “Do you remember Alex?”
“Yes, of course,” answered Terry slowly. “He’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”
A pained look crossed Jill’s face but she pushed it quickly away and went on. “That’s right. Anyway, the two of you came over here to show Dimitri what you’d discovered. You’d spent weeks throwing freezing charms at each other and had finally figured out how to block the spell. It had something to do with projecting a holographic image just as the charm was cast, so that it would attach to the image instead of the target.”
Being put under a freezing charm was distinctly unpleasant, as Sebastian’s witches could certainly attest. Terry wondered why he and Alex had been so eager to experiment on each other, but he didn’t want to interrupt Jill now that she was finally talking.
“I was home that day as well, so I saw the whole thing. You were both showing off, arguing about who would be the first to demonstrate your brilliance. In the end, Alex asked Dimitri to cast the spell on both of you at once. You’d never tried that before, and I guess none of us considered what might happen.”
Jill broke off and Terry could see tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She turned away and buried her head in her hands.
“So what did happen?” asked Terry, looking wildly at Dimitri.
“You both projected your holograms at exactly the same time.” Dimitri’s handsome face was lined with pain as he struggled to finish the story. “Alex conjured a troll and yours was a big hairy werewolf.”
“A werewolf?” asked Terry in surprise.
“Yes. The idea was that the freezing spell would attach to the holograms but something went horribly wrong. Instead of stopping the images in their tracks, the charm seemed to give them real life.” Dimitri stopped as if unsure of himself.
“You’re saying I was killed by a hologram?” asked Terry in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”
“I know what I saw,” said Dimitri shortly. “I watched that troll beat you to death right here in this room. Look.” Dimitri pointed at the ceiling and Terry could see deep gauges in the wood above the fireplace. “That’s where his club just about knocked the roof off.”
“And what about Alex?”
“Your werewolf ripped him apart in a heartbeat. It was over before Jill or I could even move. When you and Alex died, the holograms just evaporated.”
Terry sat in stunned silence, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. It just didn’t seem possible.
“What did the elders say?” asked Terry. “Surely warlocks can’t be murdered by their own visions?”
“You were dead,” said Dimitri uncomfortably. “There was nothing anyone could have done to bring you back, and we knew we were both facing banishment if the elders found out we’d been fooling around with barrier charms.”
“So you didn’t tell them?” Terry was floored. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“We were practically still kids,” said Dimitri defensively. “One minute you were fine and the next you were dead. We’d been lovers since high school and you were everything to me. Do you at least remember that part of your life?”
Dimitri looked at Terry, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. Yes, Terry could remember this man’s touch and the breathless thrill of discovering love when they were still young enough to believe it was all that mattered. He knew then that Dimitri was speaking the truth. There was nothing he wouldn’t have done to save him, and nothing to be gained by sharing their tragedy with others.
“So what did you do?” asked Terry calmly.
“We wrapped you in the sacred cloth and buried your bodies under the great oak. Jill spoke the words of everlasting rest beneath the full moon, and we marked your bones with a peace stone.”
Terry shook his head and tried to force the macabre scene from his mind. “And then?”
“And then, nothing. The elders thought you and Alex must have run off together. He had a girlfriend in the village, and she told them Alex had always talked of leaving the coven. You were obsessed with your father’s death, and they thought you might have gone looking for the shapeshifter who killed him. You and Alex were always a bit wild, so it made sense at the time.”
“What about my mother?” asked Terry suddenly. “Is she still here?”
“No,” said Dimitri sadly. “After you left, she went back to be with her people in the mountains. There’s no one left here for you now except us.”
They spent the afternoon together, moving carefully over their history, returning tentatively to the subject of death before moving quickly to happier times. Relaxed and finally at ease with Terry’s sudden return, the three friends found the hours tumbled rapidly towards evening.
When the weak winter sun had moved over the far horizon and the temperature began to drop, Jill moved to the couch and clasped Terry’s hand. “We never forgave ourselves for what happened to you and Alex,” she said quietly. “Dimitri’s never so much looked at another man, and…”
Jill’s words were cut off by a crashing sound outside the window and Dimitri shot out of the room towards the back door. Terry heard a sharp cry as his former lover returned, dangling a limp form by the scruff of his bedraggled black cape.
Terry had forgotten all about Sebastian.