Perverse Thirst: A Ghost Walkers Prelude

Chapter 6

At the rate Pilo's thoughts were alternating, it gave him a headache. Having the veil slowly lifted off his eyes upset him. To keep Demini calm, he tried to keep his emotions to himself. His thoughts rotated on a loop consisting of questions like: where was the focus of the Counsel, was he still on the same page with them, were they using him, was he expendable, was he accepting of their actions, did he still want to be affiliated with the Counsel, did Demini want this kind of life, was she content with being on the run throughout the streets of the city, would she want to go back to being mortal, is the witch double crossing him, would she really teach him new powers, and did the tether ring really work. Episodes like this used to make his heart race as a human, now they just gave him a headache. Any distraction at this point he greeted with open arms.

"So, what are we going to do," Demini asked during the descent to the hotel.

"We're going to kill us some witches," he answered.

"What about the Counsel?"

"I'm not sure about the Counsel anymore. It's hard to trust them. What are your thoughts?"

"I think they're a bunch of creeps. I believe they were creeps before, and now that they have a little power, they're even more creepy."

"I agree," Pilo responded as he came to a stop on the stairs. He turned to Demini to get serious. "You don't want that life? You don't want to be a part of this?"

"A part of that," she asked, looking over her shoulder toward the mansion above them. "No. I don't want to be a part of anything they have to offer. It all comes with a price." She brought her head back around and looked Pilo in the eyes. "All I've ever wanted was to be with you. No matter what. No matter where...Us."

"Good, because we might have to break ties with the Counsel," he said before continuing the rest of the way down the stairs. "Especially when they find out what we're about to do."

They exited the stairwell, and continued walking out of the secret room. Pilo led Demini to the kitchen of the hotel. He didn't pay her any mind as he rummaged through the storage of food items. Red pepper, salt, a bag of beans, alcohol, and matches were all placed on the counter. Reaching for the last item, a large clever, he took it off of the rack. After inspecting its blade, he placed it with the other items. Taking a step back he assessed his stock.

"Is this going to be all we need," she asked.

"I think so," he answered. "We're also going to need to get you a longer dress...and a head covering...And luggage."

Demini hands shook. Without any experience in hunting the supernatural she had a fear of making a mistake. Pilo assured her he would do all the heavy lifting, and her purpose would be to get them inside, be a diversion, and to watch his back. They stole a large brim hat for Pilo, and a long grey dress, and a white bonnet for Demini.

Feeling rather prudish, Demini walked beside Pilo on the way to the church. Both of them carried suitcases they stole from the hotel. Once all of the contents were dumped out, Pilo filled them with his hunting supplies; except for the bag of beans. In his right arm, he tucked away the bag of beans, covering the hole he cut into the corner, with his hand.

Shadows were fat at this time of night around the church giving it a dark gray appearance. Two torches on opposite sides of the door gave the only light in the street. Exiting the darkness, they walked up to the large wooden doors of the stone church building. A large wooden cross hung above the doors. Pilo looked Demini in the eyes, gave her a nod, and knocked on the door. While they waited, Pilo gave Demini a nudge on the back of her head to direct her to look at the ground. It took several pairs of knocks to gain the attention of the convent living inside. A set of loud metal clicks echoed off the street walls before the door opened. Poking her head around the corner, a surly old women in full nun garb gave them a scowl.