Inner Demons (Book Eight of the Silver Society)

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

The Witch City Inn was completely dark. The lack of lights caught Alexander Paxton's eye immediately, but so did the energy radiating from within. Something was definitely wrong.

Skip, get a team to the Witch City Inn, he said telepathically. Something's really off. Hurry.

We'll be there ASAP, Skip replied moments later.

Alex knew he should wait for backup to arrive, but then a horrified scream pierced the air. Armed only with his magick and sheer determination to help, Alex ran inside.

He was no vampire, but even he could smell the blood. Without lights it was impossible to see, but it was clear something horrible had happened there. A great feeling of evil hung in the air.

The scream had turned into quiet sobs. Alex followed the sound until he sensed another person in the darkness. He moved closer to the sound, cautiously feeling his way through the darkness until he was able to touch the person.

She let out a startled cry. "Don't!" She begged. "Don't hurt me!"

"I'm here to help," Alex began. "I'm Alex. Can you tell me your name?"

She sniffled before saying, "Carrie."

"Carrie, are you hurt?" Alex asked.

"No... No, I'm not hurt," she replied softly.

"Can you tell me what happened here?"

"It was just supposed to be a game... I didn't want to play, but my friends insisted."

"What was the game, Carrie?"

"We found a spirit board in one of the shops... Miles thought it would be fun to play, so he bought it."

Oh no, Alex thought. Spirit boards open doors. What the hell did these idiots unleash in the hotel?

"What happened next, Carrie?" Alex coaxed her gently.

"We played," she whispered.

Alex felt a chill move through him at her words. "How many of you were there?" He asked.

"Six. It was me, Miles, June, Jake, Claire, and Lance. We came up from North Dakota. We thought it would be fun..." She let out another sob. "It was supposed to be a break from the college stress... A weekend away in a place full of history and witches and spooky stuff... But it's real. It's all real..."

"Carrie, can you tell me what happened?"

She suddenly struck a match. Alex took a moment to adjust as she unexpectedly lit a candle. He could see her then. Her blonde hair was disheveled. Her green eyes were wide with horror. She was covered in blood. Her white nightgown was soaked through with it.

There were corpses in the room. Several people had been slaughtered. Alex took a deep breath as he watched Carrie carefully.

"You said you weren't hurt," he said cautiously.

"It's not my blood," she whispered.

"Carrie, honey, what happened? Whose blood is it?"

In a detached tone, she replied, "I couldn't stop it... It was like I was watching a movie. First, it killed Claire. She was asleep. She never saw it coming... It made a mess. The blood went everywhere... Then it went for Jake and June... They were too busy making out to notice it until it was too late. Lance tried to run, but it caught him and cut his heart right out of his chest. I didn't even know it was possible to cut a beating heart out like that." She shook her head. "It killed everyone else in the hotel, too... Even the staff. One by one, until everyone was dead... It saved Miles for last... He bought the spirit board. He insisted we play. He brought it here... Miles begged for his life, but it just laughed at him. It needed the blood. It's calmer now. It can take its time..." She started crying again.