Haint Party
“Shall we begin?” Sadie’s hands relaxed, the toxic green glow vanishing. With a theatrical flick of her wrist, the book flew up from the floor and hovered precisely in front of Erin.
Erin accepted the book, which opened automatically to the “Untethering Spell.” She scanned the page. “It’s not a complicated spell. There are words we say… over the blood of the wicked.” Erin looked pointedly at Lizzie, then her eyes darted to Spencer, a sudden, sharp realization dawning.
“What’s wrong, Erin?” I asked, straining to see the ant-sized words on the page. “Do we need Lizzie’s blood and Zora’s blood, or just one of the ‘wicked’?”
Sadie grinned, a cold, hungry expression. “I believe it will work best with the blood of the vampire or the lycanthrope, as by the moon, they are truly the most wicked.”
The entire room went still. Everyone was staring at Spencer, including Erin, who caught my eye just as I failed to look away from him.
“Another secret?” Erin questioned, looking from me to a visibly uncomfortable Spencer. This was a bad look for our resident smut author; Spencer was usually never uncomfortable.
Sadie laughed at our collective shock. Lizzie turned and placed a hand on Spencer’s arm. I did the same. “Don’t worry,” I told him gently. “No one will judge you. Tonight is Secret Santa for supernatural afflictions.”
Spencer looked at Lizzie, utterly bewildered. “How did you know?”
Lizzie fiddled with the cuff of her shirt. “I tasted it,” she admitted, her voice low.
Even Spencer blushed. Our attention was instantly back on Erin, who asked, her eyebrows practically meeting her hairline, “Do I even bother to ask what you are?”
Spencer managed a weak shrug. “Werewolf.”
Erin nodded once, processing the information with surprising speed. “Right. Moving on.” She took it in stride because, frankly, the issue of his supernatural status was still less pressing than the spectral tyrant currently standing in the room. Zora reached out her hand to Spencer, and he took it, squeezing it tightly.
We lined up again, facing Sadie, who looked thoroughly amused. “So many secrets, tsk tsk.” She shook her head, a faint glow dancing along her fingertips as her hands dropped to her sides.
“Let’s begin,” Erin declared, holding the spell book closer. The candlelight flickered across the ancient page. “I need the metal bowl we used earlier. Cleanse it with cold running water,” she instructed. “Lizzie, I need you to get the knife from my purple bag.”
Lizzie nodded without argument and headed for the table. Spencer stopped her. “Let me.”
Lizzie touched his arm, a flicker of concern crossing her face. “I’ll heal from this quicker than you. The knife is silver.”
Erin’s curiosity was piqued again. “Silver hurts you both, but it’s worse for Spencer?”
Lizzie gave a quick affirmation and walked toward the table. Zora, however, veered toward the kitchen sink to empty and meticulously clean the bowl. Lizzie kept her eyes glued to Sadie while Zora handled the task.
Sadie, with a genuinely curious tone, addressed me. “How does a simple mortal keep company with so many wicked creatures?” She swayed her skirt, watching my reaction.
I couldn’t resist the snark. “I’m a good listener.”
Sadie’s laugh was sudden, maniacal, and far too loud for the joke. It stopped abruptly. “There is something about you, dear Dani…” She wiggled a bony, transparent finger in my direction. Her wrist was thin, her appearance momentarily flickering between solid and ethereal. When she realized I was observing her phase shift, she spun dramatically away.
Lizzie offered the silver knife to Erin. Erin took it, then paused. “Wait, we should all go back to the table. This will be easier and less messy.” She led the group back, and we all took our seats one last time. Sadie followed, wandering through the kitchen like a bored dinner guest as we settled in.
Zora sat by Lizzie, their chairs closer than before. Erin sat beside Lizzie and Spencer, leaving me between Spencer and Zora. Erin placed the metal bowl in front of Lizzie. Lizzie took a deep breath.
Zora placed a hand on her shoulder. “Will this hurt?”
Lizzie nodded. “Yes, silver hurts, but that’s not what I’m worried about.”
Zora leaned in, touching Lizzie’s face, finally past all their unspoken barriers. “You’re weak.”
Lizzie was clearly caught off guard by the blunt observation. She shrugged. “I haven’t fed properly tonight, and…”
Sadie leaned between them, her face triumphant. “Perfect! You won’t fight the power then.” She clapped her hands. “It is time to begin!”
“Don’t rush me,” Erin said, her voice tight.
Sadie turned, glaring sternly. “We will not waste another moment!”
Erin whimpered, “Okay!” She settled over the book and began to speak the incantation, her voice regaining its strength. “Take your leave, spirit of neither world. Lay down your unearthly gifts. Speak them out of possession so that they may leave a mark on their intended beneficiary.” She paused, looking at Sadie.
Sadie offered her part with a pleasant, eerie smile. “I give from me to you…” She touched Zora’s shoulder. “A gift with power. You may manipulate earth-bound energy. Use it to keep your garden green and drain fanged foes with a single touch.” A glowing, electric band of green light encircled Zora.
Zora watched the light hover. “I don’t feel any different?”
Sadie pulled back with a sneer. “The spell is not done.”
Zora ducked her head, then braced herself to face the ghost again. Sadie moved to Lizzie, placing a hand on her shoulder. “While you have nearly enough power, I shall share my ability to control preternatural creatures. I believe it will be a gift unique to your kind.” Another band of green light wrapped around Lizzie. Our vampire remained quiet, her head tilted, accepting the strange reality with cold curiosity.
Sadie moved to me, placing her hand upon mine. The green light pulsed across my fingertips. “You will feel this… but gain my ability to influence the mind, not unlike your vampire.” She slid her hand up my arm, but the light stayed at my fingertips. My breath caught in my throat; a spreading heat started in my chest and surged through my hands. She let go, but my whole body continued to tingle.
Sadie walked away to Spencer, who was unnervingly still, hiding in plain sight. She toyed with him by placing a cold hand on his neck.
I watched her closely. Her ethereal glow seemed to be fading; she was looking less like a ghost and more like a corpse.
She looked at me. “You see me, don’t you?”
I nodded. “Yes.” I whispered, surprised that others weren’t seeing the change. I started to ask, but she spoke first.
“You, Dani, have clear sight. It is a rare ability. Perhaps that is why you have collected such a menagerie.”
“I’m an orphan,” I said, not owed an explanation, but desperate for information.
Sadie paused, her ghostly expression softening, then hardening again. She curtly offered, “You may have my spell book. It will explain.”
Turning back to Spencer, Sadie shook him gently. A green magic line crept around his shoulders, and he sat very still, watching the light. “Like a leaf, you twist in the wind, but with my control, you will find peace with the beast.” He was scared, motionless.
The green light of magic swirled faster around everyone as she approached Erin. Erin was breathing rapidly, her last recipient.
Running her hand over Erin’s shoulders, Sadie grabbed her arm. “Breathe, girl, this spell requires you to be alive.” Erin shook awake. “You must have more power to perform the spell and incantation if this is to work.” She shook Erin’s hand. The green light snaked around her arm, then circled Erin. The light grew and sparked as it finally left Sadie and fully embraced Erin, circling us all.
Sadie was left in the dark. Erin looked down at the book and spoke: “When you have bestowed your gifts, you must… sear the witch’s mark upon the souls of five. Only then can you be free.” Erin looked up at Sadie. “Sear, does this mean—”
Sadie strolled around the table, looking less fearsome, but I knew not to trust it.
Lizzie tried to ask, “Wait,” but Sadie cut her off by clapping her hands over her head. A wave of electricity poured through us. The five magical green rings instantly converged into one massive ring surrounding the table. It shocked us, then came a searing, shocking pain in my wrist. I looked down. On my right wrist was a burning, glowing mark: a circle with lines in it. She branded us. Smoke rose from my skin.
“Stop this!” I yelled, watching Sadie, who looked ghastly—like the living dead, her eyes dark and skin sallow.
I looked at everyone. “Erin, what do we say?”
“You cannot stop this now. Say the words together, and I will leave you.”
Erin took a deep breath and began: “Be the specter freed of unearthly gifts; each of the five must recite the following.” She cleared her throat. “I remove your earthly chains and set you free, Sadie.” The light around us grew brighter.
I repeated the line, my voice quivering. Spencer, then Zora, recited the line, each sounding stronger than the last. That left Lizzie, squinting into the blinding light. She spoke carefully, with finality: “I remove your earthly chains and set you free, Sadie.” The light was blinding. I couldn’t see Sadie anymore.
Just when I thought the light would sear into my vision permanently, it vanished. We were left blinking into absolute darkness, not even the candles flickered. My hands were free.
Then, Erin’s voice came from the dark. She held her phone’s flashlight over the book. “Sadie, you have been untethered from this realm. Walk now freely to your afterworld.” She tossed the book, grabbed Lizzie’s hand in one swift movement, and sliced the silver knife across Lizzie’s wrist. Lizzie let out a low growl of pain as her blood bled freely into the metal bowl.
There was a final, blinding flash of light when the blood hit the bowl. We looked up. Sadie, looking strikingly human, lingered in the sunroom doorway. She glanced our way for a second before walking straight through the wall toward the deck. Curiosity overwhelming caution, we followed. Sadie walked across the porch and down the beach walkover.
The sun was just beginning to rise. Sadie stepped onto the sand, walked toward the sunlight, and disappeared gradually. But that was not the end. The moment we lost sight of her, a wall of wind, a sonic boom of released energy, knocked us on our asses. It stole our breath and our voices. We heard Sadie’s triumphant laughter echoing across the wind before it died away.
We lay there on the steps, winded. I shook my head, my ears ringing again. Spencer motioned for us to go back inside, and we stumbled up.
Inside, we bypassed the messy table and collapsed onto the couch. The living area was bright now with morning sun. Zora, taking charge, led Lizzie, who was bleeding steadily, straight to the first aid kit.
Erin tested her voice. “Was that real?”
Sitting down as Zora began bandaging her, Lizzie answered, “Yes, it was. Do you feel different?”
“I don’t know,” Erin said.
I looked down at my arm and touched the searing, permanent mark. Erin watched me, then looked at her own; it was identical.
Spencer shook his head and laughed, a mix of disbelief and exhaustion. “Bex said no tattoos…”
I stopped him. “It’s not a tattoo… but maybe when she hears the story she’ll… be okay with it.”
“Who is going to believe this?” Erin asked. I shrugged.
Silence settled, then I snickered, unable to hold back the hysterical relief. Zora and Spencer joined in, followed by Erin. Lizzie just shook her head, smiling. We laughed until we were quiet again, the shortest bout of the night. We were utterly exhausted.
Erin glanced at her phone. “It’s 8:15 am.”
I blinked, gasping for air. “Oh shit! We have less than an hour to get ready and get to the wedding!” We scrambled for our bags. Mine was still packed; my clothes were going to be a wrinkled mess. We were in so much trouble.
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