Paige yawned as she woke. The sun peeked in through the blinds, illuminating the particles of dust floating in the air. The room was still dark, but she could see well enough. Levi’s office looked the same as when she’d gone to sleep, except for the stacks of books that now covered his desk. Many of them were open and laying on top of one another.
She sat up and stretched. It had been nice to have a place to sleep, but the little sofa was brutal on her neck. She stopped in mid yawn, realizing that she’d actually slept. No sex dreams. No monsters. Just blissful nothingness. Another side effect of the spell? Or something else? There was no way to tell without further research. She needed to talk with those other witches as soon as she could. Nova’s brother had been warned, it was time for her to cough up the whereabouts of this coven.
Her foot hit something as she stood. The black bag she’d left in the hotel room sat next to her on the floor, a little worse for wear, but intact. My stuff!
She unzipped it, and checked her gear. Clothes. Book. Photo. Money. Everything was there and ready to go. There was only one feasible way her bag had gotten there. Thanks, Nova.
She didn’t waste any time stripping out of her clothes. They stank of fear and sweat, and needed to be washed—badly.
As the last stitch of clothing fell to the floor, the door swung open. Levi stepped in with a handful of books, one of which he was reading as he walked.
Paige froze, though she didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her in the buff before.
That was in the dream, her self-conscious mind whispered. This is real life.
He closed the door behind him, and didn’t look up until he was almost to his desk. “I think I found some—” His mouth hung agape as his eyes gobbled up every naked inch of her. The desire in his gaze was unmistakeable, but he turned around, once his sense of chivalry caught up with his libido. “You, uh… dropped something.”
The sudden blush in her cheeks spread down and flushed her entire fair-complected body. Her hands darted to the appropriate censoring areas as self-respect finally kicked in. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”
Levi began to chuckle. It was deep and heartfelt. “Meeting you has been one of the weirdest experiences of my life.”
She knelt and rummaged through her bag for clothes, glancing up at him to make sure his back was still turned. “That’s better than bad, right?”
He nodded, still chortling. “Yes, much better than bad.”
Paige blushed again, but found herself pleased to do so this time. He had yet to acknowledge that he’d shared those scandalous dreams with her, but she knew—they both knew that he had. It was nice to see that he found her “much better than bad” in the real world, if not in the dream one.
He waited patiently, increasing the awkwardness. “Where’d the bag come from?”
“Your sister, I think.”
“Ah, of course.” He didn’t sound convinced, but didn’t press the subject.
She pulled on a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a gray t-shirt. “You said you found something?” A change in topic seemed a good idea.
Levi glanced over his broad shoulder. Seeing that the coast was clear, he took a seat at his desk. “I think so, but I need some help going through all these.” He gestured to the piles of books. “You up for that?”
She nodded as she tied her shoelaces. “Yeah, I’m game.”
They spent the morning digging through tomes Paige never imagined herself reading. It wasn’t that she disliked reading, on the contrary, she loved it, but most of these books focused on Native American culture. Back in Salem, she’d spent most of her time nosing around the pages of the British arrival to the new world, and the years of witch-hunting that followed. There had been only brief mention of Native Americans and their culture. Now she was beginning to understand how much history she had been missing out on.
Between the two of them, they had narrowed down the suspects to one nasty customer, The Headless Man. The name came up fairly often in the Native American mythos. The dead giveaway had been the physical description she’d given Levi. The Headless Man stood guilty in the eyes of their research, although, not every accounting of the vicious spirit had been documented as “headless.” Despite those few reports, he was the best match and that’s where they were going to start looking.
“Do you know anyone in your culture that could help us verify what this thing is?” she asked.
“Yes, actually, I do,” he answered. “But I think we have a good idea who, or should I say, what, the culprit is. There are a few more books I’d like to look over before I take this to other people. I want to make sure I know everything I possibly can.”
She nodded. He was still skeptical. She couldn’t blame him. This stuff was so off the wall, she was lucky he was even humoring her with the research.
“Is she here?” he asked.
“No, not right now,” Paige answered. She had no idea where his sister was at the moment, but she hoped the ghost showed up soon.
“Do you know why she hasn’t... moved on?”
“She wanted to make sure you were safe,” Paige replied. “I’ve never encountered a spirit with such power, except for The Headless Man. I think that has a lot to do with you. Her need to protect you.”
Levi rubbed his eyes. “Some things never change.”
Paige might have experienced that same sibling connection had her brother not been kidnapped when they were children. She wondered which was worse: knowing your sibling was dead, or that they had been taken, never to be seen again. The pain of loss had to be the same, his was just more recent. “How long has she been gone?”
“Three months now, though it seems like yesterday she was pestering me to get out more.” He closed the book he was looking at and picked up another one. “Other times, it feels like she’s been gone for a lifetime.”
Paige knew the feeling. Sometimes it felt like she’d never had a brother at all, and sometimes when she thought about him, she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. “I’m sorry about what happened to her. She seems like a good person, a little pushy maybe, but a good person.”
He smiled. “You did know her then.”
“Well, I know who she is now at least, and she’s concerned for your safety.”
He frowned. “I wish she would have been more concerned about her own.”
She wanted to reach out and console him, but stopped herself. They didn’t know each other well enough for that kind of affection, or maybe they did. She wasn’t sure. Could this be a little more confusing?
What she did know, was that it became increasingly harder to be near him as the hours went by. The man practically exuded hotness, and she couldn’t help but breath it in. The longer they researched, the more she found herself studying him instead of the books. His long silky hair, chiseled jaw, and broad shoulders kept reminding her of the photo Nova had given her. Which led back to thoughts of those blissful dreams. She wanted to say something to him about them—she needed to say something, before they drove her completely bonkers...
“Hey look at this,” Levi said, interrupting her train of thought. “It’s the first reference I’ve found that says The Headless Man isn’t strictly a Native American myth.” He leaned closer, pointing to the text.
She glanced at the book, too distracted by his close proximity to really focus on it. “That’s nice.”
He gave her a quizzical look. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She got out of the chair, and paced the small room.
Get a hold on yourself... You’re not a damn cat in heat for God’s sake. Though she imagined this was something similar to what the poor felines went through. “I’m just hungry, I think.”
“We can do something about that.” He got to his feet with the book still in hand. “There’s a footnote in here from another book the university has in the main library. We can stop and grab some lunch on the way over.”
“That’s great, let’s go,” she said, relieved. “Mind if I leave my stuff?”
“Not at all.” He opened the door to his office. “I guess finding you a place to stay is another thing we need to address today.”
The air from the hallway was like a cleansing blast of Spring, washing away the sexual tension in a rush. She took a deep breath. “Yeah, finding a place would be good.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard.” He led her to his car, a 2016 blue, Chevrolet Volt. It was nice, better than anything she’d owned for sure. They hopped in, and headed off. He turned on the heater, then drove in silence.
Paige began to fidget, feeling the urge to pace. “Is it far?”
“To the library? No,” he replied. “There’s a cafe just off campus. Is that okay?”
“They have food?”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
“Works for me.”
The neighborhood around campus had a lot of older trees peppered along its streets. Yellowed leaves had started to decorate the yards and roads. The area was peaceful, despite the large number of people filling the sidewalks.
Levi turned down a small street on the north side of campus. It was packed with little gift shops and restaurants, making Paige think of home. He pulled into a parking lot that appeared to service several of the surrounding establishments. They hurried into the quaint little cafe, placed their orders, and took a seat.
“So, I know next to nothing about you,” Levi began. “And I’m thinking I should.”
She smiled. “I suppose you should. Where would you like to start?”
He spread his hands. “How about where you’re from, and what you do?”
“I live in Salem, Massachusetts.”
His brows rose. “That’s quite a distance away. Nova must have really turned on the nagging.”
Paige couldn’t help but giggle. “She has a way with words.”
“If you only knew the half of it.”
“As far as what I do,” she continued. “I give haunted tours during the holidays, and work in the gift shop during the off season.”
“That sounds like a good fit for you,” he said, earnestly. “Do you see many ghosts on your tours?”
“Nothing like the thing that’s hunting you, but yeah. I see a few.”
“Old witches I assume?” he asked, playfully.
“That’s actually a common misconception,” she answered. “There’s no proof that any of the people that died in the witch trials were actually witches.”
“I wouldn’t think so, seeing as how witches aren’t real.”
She bit back a scoff, letting him have his blissful ignorance for now. “It’s actually kind of sad, and kind of infuriating, why things happened the way they did.”
“Please,” he urged, with a smile. “Enlighten me.”
She eyed him to make sure he wasn’t being a patronizing ass, but found that his attentive features held only genuine curiosity. Determining it was safe, she continued. “The most current theory is that the younger girls wanted more freedom to do what they wanted. You have to remember that Salem at the time was a Puritan society—very religious, and very strict. Anyway, the girls were supposedly tired of the constant teachings of their elders, and wanted to sow some wild oats. The best way to do that was to remove the women watching over them. So most of the women that stood accused of witchcraft were older women that would have corrected the younger ones about their behavior.”
“That’s kinda terrible,” he stated, as their food arrived.
“The best way to do what you want, is to remove the things keeping you from doing what you want.”
“Still, getting people killed so you can ‘do what you want’ is pretty harsh. Heinous, in fact.”
“No arguing there.” She took a sip of tea. Awesomeness. The bittersweet was just what she needed. “Those little girls pulled off a nasty deception for certain, and got a lot of innocent people killed in the process.”
“Thus, no witches burned at the stake.”
“No. No witches, and no burning either. Most of them hung, the others died in prison.”
“You learn something new everyday,” he said.
She nibbled her lip. “Sorry, didn’t mean to go all shop talk on you.”
“I asked, and did learn something interesting. But, you managed to divert the conversation away from you.”
“Not intentionally,” she replied, raising her hand. “I swear.”
“I’m sure,” he replied, dryly.
“What else do you want to know?” For a split second, she hoped he’d ask something not appropriate for a cafe conversation.
“How in the world did Nova find you, so far away?”
“I’m not really sure of that myself,” she replied, somewhat disappointed. “She just showed up on one of my tours. At first, I thought she was another patron. It wasn’t until later that I realized she was a spirit.”
One of his dark brows rose in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”
“Most spirits look a certain way. Mainly, transparent. Nova however, looks like a regular, solid person to me. Never had a ghost do that before.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“My best guess is the belief she has in her purpose,” she answered. “Which is protecting you.”
He nodded, but didn’t say anything. He just sipped his drink in thought.
She began to think she’d killed the conversation entirely, as the silence stretched on. Reminding someone of a lost, loved one had that effect on occasion. Nice, Paige.
“Have you ever lost someone close?” he finally asked.
Maybe the silence was better. Paige cleared her throat, and nodded. “Yeah, I had a brother, Aaron. He was kidnapped, and never found.”
Levi’s eyes widened. “My God, that’s horrible. I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago. I was just a kid.”
“Still...” he paused. “Looks like you and I have something in common.”
“Unfortunately,” she agreed.
“Were you close to him?”
“Not like you and Nova, but I’d like to think we had a bond. We always chased each other in the park. Those are the strongest memories I have of him.”
“That’s good, that you still remember.”
“I suppose. My parents didn’t handle the whole thing very well.”
“I would assume not.”
She ran her finger along the brim of her cup, staring at the little ripples in her tea. “They were pretty absent, after it was apparent he wouldn’t be coming back.” She hadn’t told anyone that, and for some reason she couldn’t stop. “My grandmother ended up taking me a couple of years after the abduction. As it turned out, there was no coming back for my parents either.”
Levi reached out and gently touched her arm. “I had no idea. Again, I’m sorry.”
She smiled, though her vision had blurred with tears. “How could you have known. It’s okay...and I’m suppose to be helping you, not blabbing about my past.”
“For you to help me, I need to know who you are.”
She wiped her eyes. “Hell of a first date, huh?” The words spilled out. She blushed, bright as a radish. It’s official. I’m a complete idiot. She glanced around for a chair to crawl under.
He laughed. “Yeah, it is.”
She knew he was trying to make her feel better, but his efforts only intensified the humiliation.
“It’d be okay if this was a date, right?” he asked, sobering.
She looked at him, a bit shocked. The fact that he even humored the idea was a forgiving gesture she appreciated, but for him to mean it...that was something else entirely. “I...yeah.”
He grinned, melting something inside of her. “Good. Lunch is on me.”
“Now wait a—”
“No,” Levi interrupted. “I insist.” He waved the waitress over and paid the tab, leaving a generous tip.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. Now, off to the library?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
They got in his car, and headed back into campus. The buildings were typical of those built in the early 1900s; basic red brick with a gothic flare. There were newer buildings as well, but the old ones were the coolest. The library had a mixture of both. The newer additions were obvious, but not out of place—the builders had at least tried to match the brick, if not the architecture.
“The campus is quite beautiful,” Paige said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this.”
Levi laughed. “Oklahoma has been a state for some time now. We don’t live in huts anymore. Well, most of us don’t.”
She felt like a heel. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“No need to apologize,” he interrupted. “I was joking. Besides, the university was actually built before the state became a state.”
“Well, you learn something new everyday,” she said, giving him a sideways smile.
“Funny how that works.”
They entered the library through the “newer” part, and walked over to one of the computer terminals. Levi took a few minutes to punch up the book he was looking for, while she took the place in. The main entrance had a business complex feel to it, which, for a university, was okay, but not the ideal setting she would have gone for. It was large and grandiose with its multi-storey vaulted ceilings, and yet, there were no books in sight.
“It’s in the stacks,” Levi stated, still focused on the computer. “The book we’re looking for is up in the stacks.”
“What’s that?”
“An older part of the library,” he answered, and headed off deeper into the complex. “This way.”
As they moved further inside, the library began to look more and more like a library. Shelves filled with books, appeared at every turn. Tables and sitting areas sprung up around every corner. This was the place of study she’d imagined, but there weren’t a lot of people inside.
The weekend, she thought, almost forgetting that it was Saturday. She herself had never studied on Saturdays; it was like an unwritten rule of the universe or something. Sleep was too important.
Levi climbed a flight of stairs, and entered an area in the library that looked like something straight out of a Frankenstein flick. The “Stacks” was a multitude of levels, made of exposed metal framework, and ornately-worked bookshelves. Large blocks of clouded glass provided the flooring for the narrow passages, as well as for the low ceilings. The place was cramped and dark, and not a desirable location for anyone who’d been attacked by a phantom recently.
The hairs on the back of Paige’s neck stood on end. “Are you kidding me? You want to go in there to find a book?” Flashbacks of the hotel elevator rifled through her mind.
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
“I’ll wait.” She planted her fists on her hips.
Levi continued to laugh, until he saw the look on her face. He quickly composed himself, and took on a more serious tone. “I’m sorry, it is a bit creepy. I’ll get the book, and be back in a second.”
“Works for me,” she stated, not moving a muscle. The idea of him going alone didn’t appeal to her, but she was having a mini panic attack at the moment, and needed a second to get a grip on herself.
Levi disappeared into the labyrinth of books and metal grating, which made Paige even more anxious. She didn’t know why the Headless Man hadn’t found him yet, but she also didn’t know how long that would last.
I hate this shit.
Nova suddenly appeared in the stairwell, and walked right past Paige into the stacks.
“Wait,” Paige called after her. She shook her head, remembering that the necklace prevented Nova from hearing her too. Stupid.
Unfortunately, there were questions that needed answering, namely, where the other witches were. Only Nova could provide that answer, and of course, Paige couldn’t talk to her.
She looked down at her necklace in indecision. It was daytime, and ghosts rarely came out when it was light. Surely she could take it off for a few minutes. Famous last words, in pretty much every horror flick ever made. Nope, she was keeping it on. I’ll find her first, then maybe, I’ll take it off.
She took a deep breath, and headed for the dreaded stacks.
As she was about to pass the threshold, the sound of footfalls in the stairwell ushered the arrival of a young man in his early twenties. His gait wasn’t quite right as he lumbered up the steps and turned to ascend to her platform. When he looked up, solid black eyes glared hungrily in her direction.
She slammed her back against the wall in fear. It’s come for me!
The possessed man sniffed the air as he came up onto the landing. His mouth opened, exposing blackened teeth and gums. Dark saliva spilled from his gaping mouth as he hesitated in front of her, searching.
Paige squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, waiting for the death blow. A ripple of cold touched her skin, but no assault came.
She peeked an eye open.
The creature hissed in frustration, but shambled off into the stacks. The cold ebbed away, as he left.
She was panting by then, unable to control her emotions. Holy shit! She swallowed the dryness in her throat, along with part of her fear. It’s not here for me. I’m safe, it’s not here for me.
Her breathing slowed a fraction, and she peeled herself away from the wall. She could almost see the trail of vileness the creature had left in its wake.
Why is it here? The question itself brought her an answer. Levi!
They had run out of time, and luck. The Headless Man would be coming, she could feel it in her bones.
Paige sprinted into the stacks. She didn’t know if was a good idea to scream or not, but she did anyway. “Levi!” The surrounding shelves and books suppressed the echo of her call. “Levi, they’re here!” She continued to run through the small pathways, desperately searching for him. “Levi!”
Finally, a muffled yell returned. The call sounded like “Paige,” but she couldn’t be certain. It had come from above, so she headed for the back wall where she’d seen a fire escape type of stairway. She rounded a bookcase at full speed, only to come to a sliding halt behind the possessed man.
He lingered for a moment, then clambered up the stairs like an enraged gorilla.
Paige had never felt so powerless. She knew it couldn’t sense her, and that she herself was safe, but she also couldn’t do anything to stop the monster.
“Levi, run!” She charged up the metal stairs after the possessed man. As fast as she climbed, she couldn’t catch the creature. It moved with haunting speed that far outpaced her.
Three flights she climbed, before she ran out of stairs and breath. Adrenaline kept her on her feet, otherwise she’d have been kneeling in cardio agony.
“Paige,” Levi yelled. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she wheezed. “Are you?” She couldn’t see him, but knew he was close.
“I don’t know yet.”
Oh, shit. What the hell does that mean? She continued through the stacks, peering down every aisle. The air began to cool as she searched, getting colder as she moved forward. Then she found them.
Levi was backed against the wall, while Nova crouched in front of him, facing the possessed man. The creature sniffed the air and growled.
“Look, man,” Levi began, “Let me get you to a doctor. You’re not looking so good.”
“You can’t reason with it,” Paige said, as she came up behind the monster. “He’s possessed.”
“Get out of here, Paige,” he ordered. “Go call the campus police.”
She shook her head. “They can’t help with this.” She took hold of her necklace. “But I can.”
“What are you doing?!” Levi’s smooth demeanor cracked. He looked on the verge of charging the hissing man that stood between them.
Nova shifted to one side suddenly, and the creature tracked her movements.
“Wait!” Paige commanded Levi, holding up a hand. She narrowed her eyes at Nova. “I don’t think it’s after you.”
As if on cue, Nova took off, running straight through a bookcase. The possessed man leaped after her, only to slam into the shelving. Books showered to the floor as he clawed at the barrier. Finding no success, he spun around, and raced toward Paige.
She pressed against the books, nearly getting bowled over as he tore by her, snorting and slavering on all fours. The crazed man continued his chase back down the stairs, until the noise of his pursuit faded into the soundless depths of the stacks.
Paige breathed a sigh of relief. Damn, that was close.
Something touched her shoulder, and she almost leaped out of her skin. “Geez!”
“Sorry,” Levi said, raising his hands. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied, as she began to tremble.
He stepped closer and slowly wrapped his arms around her. His touch was warm and strong. She buried her face into his chest, and clung to him.
“Do you believe me now?” she managed before the sobs struck her.
His strong hand rubbed her back as he pulled her closer, but there was no answer to her question.