Don't Open That Door - GoM 1

BW - 6

Soon they were sitting with Mark out there at the porch, with beers and snacks on the coffee table, and Blue Öyster Club playing through the open window.

Mark started some casual small talk, but soon he tried to lead the conversation to what the Corbans were doing in town that morning. Alex played along like it was the most normal thing to talk about, hoping to find out how much the brothers knew.

"So you couldn't find the old woman," the boy said.

Seeing the way Claire blushed and stuttered every time she talked to him, Alex stepped in, to save her niece from tripping into a full-out confession about how much she fancied him.

"Nope, but they say she's been a loner and a bit nuts since the dawn of time. However, everybody agrees she's completely harmless, just the local freak to scare the kids."

"Go to bed or Goody Campbell is coming to get you," said Mark.

"Pretty much."

Claire pulled herself together enough to tell him what she'd learned at the library, instead of asking him to marry her. Mark didn't hide his surprise.

"The librarian told you all that? How did you get her to speak to you at all?"

"Bet you let your charming brother do the talking," Alex said.

Mark frowned. "Well, yeah, why?"

The Corbans traded a look, chuckling.

Like he'd heard them talk about him, Aidan walked out of the brothers' cabin. Claire waved him over before Alex could help it.

Mark saw his brother's predator smirk as he strolled their way, phone to his ear. Ten to one it was Doctor Paulson at the other end of the line. And twenty to one that Aidan was talking her into meeting with him to discuss the autopsy reports.

"See you tomorrow, then," they heard him say as he came up the porch steps.

It was Mark's turn to chuckle, seeing the way Alex rolled her eyes. Aidan greeted them with a nod and accepted the beer Claire handed him. The boy decided to resume their conversation before Aidan opened his mouth and got in an argument with Alex.

"And d'you guys have any idea what that symbol means?"

Alex looked away to reply, "It's a curse."

Mark sat up, taken aback. "A curse? What d'you mean?"

She glanced at Claire. "Would you bring the book I was reading, please?"

The girl was back in a heartbeat. She gave the book to Mark and pulled her armchair closer to his, to read with him. Aidan came closer too. The boy opened the book on the only page marked.

"First I found that butterfly charm," Alex explained in a gloomy voice. "Some hippie crap for harmony with Mother Earth, good vibes and good luck. Turn the page."

Mark did and the three of them gaped up at her.

She grimaced. "Breaking the butterfly's wing makes it evil. They used it for black-magic curses in this area."

"Black magic?" Mark repeated, his eyes moving over the page.

"Looks like they used to have a good bunch of serious witches here. So if you wanted to mess with someone, and you'd had a good day at the gold mine, you could hire a witch for a nugget and give her the name of the person you wanted to mess with." Alex kept a calm tone, as if she were telling them about something that had nothing to do with them. "The witch would carve the Broken Wing-the symbol on the pendant-on a headstone, to bring a spirit back from the other side. Next, she would draw the Broken Wing on your enemy's place. Bound to the symbol, the ghost would haunt anything bearing it, making your enemy's life a true nightmare. But for two or three nuggets, she'd trick your enemies to wear the Broken Wing, which would draw the ghost to hunt them down, kill them and feast on their hearts, not necessarily in that order."

A thick silence followed her explanation.

"And you think...?" Mark mumbled.

"I didn't see the bodies, but bet their hearts were torn out. Am I right?" The brothers stiffened when she turned to Aidan. They didn't answer and she allowed herself a bitter smirk. "So yeah, I think Goody Campbell got herself a ghost pet, and she sells those bonny pendants with the Broken Wing to make her pet kill whoever is fool enough to wear it."

"C'mon!" Aidan let out a dry scoff. "You can't believe all that bullshit about ghosts and curses!" The other three gawked at him. "Seriously! The police are trying to catch a dangerous killer on the loose, and you come up with this voodoo crap?"

"Didn't you see the Broken Wing painted in blood where Nancy and Doug died?" asked Claire, giving Aidan a chance to come clear.

"Don't waste your breath, kiddo," Alex said, a cold glower fixed on him. "This jerk thinks he can fool us."

Mark jumped to his feet, landing between Alex and Aidan with the excuse of grabbing the empty bowl of snacks from the coffee table.

"I'm getting more peanuts," he said, feeling the burn from the crossed glowers.

"And we're running outta beer," said Claire.

They fled the hot zone at the speed of light, seeking shelter from the incoming nuke inside the cabin. The moment they were gone, Alex raised a hand to cut Aidan off.

"Shut your hole. I know what you guys are and why you're here."

Aidan took a moment to digest the insight, then he leaned in a little toward her with a smartass smirk. "Then stay the fuck outta my way, 'cause it's your sorry ass I'm trying to save."

She sprang up to her feet to growl, "Spare me, Batman. We're better off without you around."

"Are you willing to gamble your niece's life to it, Wonder Woman?"

"Nothing's gonna happen to her in my watch."

They glared at each other, loathing each other's guts.

Until Aidan's eyes slipped down to Alex's lips. He looked back up again right away, to find her outraged scowl. He flashed an apologetic smile and Alex looked away, snorting. Aidan couldn't help a soft chuckle that made her smile against her will.

A heartbeat later, they were laughing out loud.

Until Alex stepped back and her eyes fell on the quiet lawn. Across the neat strip of grass, under the first trees, she spotted two white figures. She was sure one of them was Ann Campbell. The other one was a girl in a dragged wedding dress, her head covered by a tattered veil with a crown of dead flowers. Alex didn't have to think hard to guess who that was.

Aidan saw Alex grab the handrail and heard her muffled growl. He glanced back from over his shoulder and only saw the lawn, the trees, the other cabins.

"What is it?" he asked.

Alex didn't answer. Ann was smiling at her, a smile that sent an awful chill down her back.

"Hey!" Aidan whispered. "What!"

"The Campbells," Alex muttered, nodding ahead slightly.

Aidan looked back again, frowning. "Where?"

"Right ahead."

Aidan spun on his heels, scanning around, grunting because he couldn't see a damned thing there ahead.

But Alex wasn't paying him any attention. Ann kept smiling, and her creaky voice sounded clearly in her ears.

"We're coming for your little one, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I'm gonna fucking kill you," she growled under her breath.

The light touch on her arm distracted her, and when she looked again, the Campbells were gone. She set her jaw and met Aidan's eyes, finding his concerned frown. Claire and Mark were coming back out, chattering and giggling. A quick nod was enough for Alex and Aidan to agree: they wouldn't tell the other two about what had just happened.