Witch Doctor

CHAPTER 2 | return to salem

📎A/N. Hello my lovelies. I hope your weekend is going well... Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the first chapter. It was so very heartening to find so many of hopping on their broomsticks to join us on our journey..

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"This is so cool," Marcus declared with excitement as they exited the cab and stood in front of their hotel.

Keira paid the driver and glanced in the direction he was pointing. The busy street, filled with tourists, was similar to its sister - Bourbon Street, New Orleans, only louder and with a lot more variety of crazy.

"We aren't here on holiday," she reminded him. The uneasy feeling that had begun the previous day had increased the closer they got to their destination. Keira was no longer sure whether it was because of her history with the place or if it was a warning of things to come.

"I know," he said, "but with my student debt, I'd never be able to afford to come here."

Keira rolled her eyes and reached for her luggage. "Just be careful. You know the rules."

Marcus scrunched his nose. "I know. You spent the majority of the six-hour flight time reading me the riot act. I'm just looking forward to being free of my contacts for more than a few hours at a time."

Once they had checked in, Keira left Marcus to his own devices and headed out to meet with Deacon Kincaid. Mayor of Salem and bearer of bad news. The question was – how much did he really know?

It was early evening, and she had to swerve more than once to avoid the oncoming pedestrian traffic. There were families with young children, college students, young couples, old couples. She had to give the city credit, they managed to attract every demographic to flock to them and spend their hard earned money. Many of them had donned elaborate costumes and more than once, she found it hard to distinguish between the locals and a tourist.

The city had changed somewhat since she left. The town she remembered had grown into something no longer recognisable. The feeling, however, hadn't changed.

After a couple of wrong turns, she stood outside the narrow colonial brick building and looked up at the giant billboard plastered across most of the frontage and couldn't help but let out a small groan. The ground floor of the structure housed a blood bank, and, based on the number of people queued inside, it wasn't short on customers.

How can Naturals be that gullible? she wondered, referring to the non-Supernatural population.

She entered the building and was surprised to discover it looked very much like a typical doctor's practice; with the exception that the female nurses were dressed up as the brides of Count Dracula.

Keira took her place in the queue and waited her turn to speak to someone behind the counter. While she shuffled forward, she took the opportunity to glance around the room. The reasonably sized foyer housed comfortable chairs and couches which were dotted around the space. Navigating through them were over made up pale-faced men in smart suits who checked on those who had newly donated. It took all her will to not laugh out loud at the stereotype vampires as they mingled with their 'prey'.

A flash caught her eye, and she spun her head around to notice a family having a photo taken with another overdone vampire whom she recognised from the billboard. She had to admit, this one was gorgeous and reminded her of a suave James Bond.