Soultaker

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

After school let out, Kelsey hopped in his ancient Oldsmobile and headed for the Rockville Public Library, where he checked out an armful of books, most of them musty, old volumes, everything he could find on demonology and related occult subjects. Old Mrs. Cheever, the head librarian since roughly the dawn of time, clucked over his disturbing taste in literature.

Her always stern expression became even more severe than usual. “Such filth.” Her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled. She looked like she’d caught a whiff of something dead and rotting. “Why on earth are you reading this trash, young man?”

Kelsey was caught off guard by her nosiness and fumbled for something to say. “Uh…I…dunno.”

Mrs. Cheever harrumphed. “What, exactly, is the allure of something like this?”

She held up a copy of a richly illustrated text entitled Succubi: An Illustrated Journey Through the World of Sexual Demons and Possession. The cover depicted a woman drawn in an exaggerated manner similar to the covers of old fantasy novels. Her feminine attributes were emphasized to a ridiculous degree, with wide, flaring hips, a narrow waist, and breasts like melons. She stood against a lurid landscape meant to represent some hideous layer of hell, with little demons and imps dancing in the background. Clad in a ragged animal skin loincloth and matching top, she stirred something primal within Kelsey.

He felt his face go hot with embarrassment. “I…don’t know.”

The librarian made that clucking sound in her throat again. “I suppose this kind of thing must appeal to boys your age. It’s shameful. God forbid you should enrich your minds with real literature.”

Kelsey seethed with rage. This wasn’t school. This was the public library. He didn’t need to be lectured by this snooty old bitch. His reading material was none of her damn business.

“Tell you what. I’ll borrow my sister’s Jane Austen books. That’s real literature, right?”

The librarian’s wary smile poorly masked a deep-rooted suspicion. This was a woman who clearly did not like young people. At all. “Well…yes. But-”

Kelsey grinned. “Good. I’ll enrich my ass with brilliant prose. And by that I mean I’ll wipe my shit-encrusted bumhole with the pages. And I’ll be thinking of you the whole time, Mrs. Cheever.”

The librarian shoved the stack of books across the counter. “These are due back in two weeks. Enjoy your drivel, you worthless delinquent.”

“Right. Have an excellent day.”

Kelsey scooped up the books and got the hell out of there.

Mrs. Cheever summoned young Bethany Haines to the front desk and retreated to her office for a break. She settled into the plush leather chair behind her desk, put the phone to her ear, and made a call.

The beloved voice of a certain delightful young woman answered on the second ring: “Who the fuck is this?”

Mrs. Cheever shivered with pleasure at the sound of the voice. “This is your humble servant, Ellen Cheever of the Rockville Public Library. I believe I have information of interest to you.”

Kelsey parked his Olds in the driveway, behind his sister’s tan Volvo. It was four o’clock. His parents, still at work, wouldn’t be home until after five. He entered the house through the front door, moved rapidly through the foyer, and rushed up the stairs to the second floor. The memory of the unpleasant exchange with Mrs. Cheever was still fresh in his mind, and he didn’t want his sister subjecting him to a similar interrogation about his choice of reading material.

And she would, given the opportunity.

If anything, she was even more of a literature snob than Mrs. Cheever.

Upstairs, he walked softly past the closed door to her room. Low moans and a squeak of bedsprings emanated from the other side of the door. Kelsey frowned and edged closer to the door. The muffled sounds of passion continued. He first thought she might be watching Internet porn, but then he heard a hoarse voice call out her name.

The voice then beseeched God.

Then called out her name again.

And so on.

Definitely not the Internet.

The voice was so faint he wasn’t able to figure out which of Melissa’s many male acquaintances was putting it to her in there. What he did know absolutely for certain was she would kick his ass if she caught him playing aural voyeur. His sister was nearly six feet tall and was a former member of the Rockville High girls’ basketball team. And anyway, listening to his sister fuck some guy made him feel kind of like a sleaze, so he continued down the hallway and closed himself up in his room.

He dropped the stack of books on his bed, kicked his shoes off, and settled down in front of his television, folding his legs beneath him Indian style. He switched on his X-Box and put in the latest version of Halo. Ten minutes into the game his cell phone rang. He pushed the pause button and flipped open the phone. “Yeah?”

“Dude!”

It was Will.

“Hey, man. I got some real interesting books from the library. Maybe you could-”

“You are not going to believe what I just heard.” There was a frantic edge to Will’s voice, an almost jittery tone utterly unlike him. “It’s just fucking insane.”

“Okay. What’s happening?”

“Trey’s mom was arrested. My brother’s girlfriend just called him. Trisha. She lives just down the street from Trey. She saw all the cops show up and everything.”

Kelsey was flabbergasted. “Holy shit.” He felt like he’d been whacked over the head with something heavy. “Why’d they nab that crazy slut?”

Will laughed. The manic undertone was still there. “Trisha says a bunch of the neighbors wandered out to the scene when the cops showed up. You know how those rednecks are. She doesn’t know all the facts, but she did see Trey’s dad get carted out on a stretcher and put in an ambulance. She even got a look at the sorry motherfucker before they took off. And this is the really fucked-up part. She said all his fingers were gone. Now, maybe my memory’s off, but I’m pretty sure the last time I saw that asshole he had all his fat fucking fingers.”

Kelsey whistled. “Goddamn.”

He didn’t know what else to say, so he said it again. “I mean, goddamn.”

Will snorted. “Yeah. It’s freaky as shit. Jolene was taken away in handcuffs. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but it’s pretty clear she did something pretty fucked-up to Hal.”

Kelsey couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. “Well…”

Will was on the same wavelength. “Right. The motherfucker deserved it. No question. Still, you can’t sweep something like this under the rug. Jolene’s not getting out of jail anytime soon.”

Kelsey had a disquieting thought. “Shit. What’s gonna happen to Trey?”

The manic edge seeped out of Will’s voice and was replaced by a quiet but obvious unease. “I don’t know. I think he’s being questioned by the police right now. You know that older brother of his? He’s there with him.”

“Jake? I thought he was in Minnesota.”

“Yeah, well, he’s here now. And unless Trey gets charged with something, I guess he’ll have temporary custody.”

Kelsey nodded. It made sense. “Do we know where Jake’s staying?”

“No. But we fucking need to find out, man.”

They agreed to make some calls and get back to each other. Kelsey searched his memory, trying to recall whether Trey had ever mentioned names of Jake’s old friends. No specific names came to mind, but the one thing he kept coming back to was a general awareness that Jake was a big drinker. So, say Jake gets into town feeling a little thirsty-where would he go?

Well.

If you weren’t into the whole redneck karaoke douche bag scene, there was only one real alternative.

The Good Times Bar & Grill.

Kelsey leaped to his feet, grabbed his shit, and hurried out of the room. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard his sister call his name. He halted. The door to her bedroom stood open. Frowning, he turned and peered into the room. Melissa was alone in the room. There was no sign of her mystery lover, but this barely registered. The shock he felt now exceeded what he’d felt when he heard Will’s astonishing news.

She was on her back in her bed, head and shoulders propped on a pile of colorful, plush pillows, and she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on. Her long, curly blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and covered the tops of her large breasts. She extended a hand to her brother and beckoned to him with a hooked finger. “Come, Kelsey. Come in and shut the door behind you. I have some things I want to show you.”

He’d seen his sister naked before, of course, but they’d been little kids then.

Innocents.

Melissa wasn’t a little kid anymore. Not even close. She was a full-grown woman.

A beautiful full-grown woman.

Kelsey’s jaw dropped. “Um…”

She laughed. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered, little brother. I’ve always liked that about you.” She giggled. “Among other…things. You’re looking good these days. Fit. You’ve finally lost the last of that baby fat.” She looked him up and down in a frank, disconcerting way. “Mmm…”

Kelsey’s face reddened. “Um…”

Melissa swung her legs over the side of the bed, planted her feet on the floor, and stood up, posing for maximum effect. “See anything you like?” She giggled again and the motion of her body made her breasts bounce. “Of course you do. Let’s stop playing games. Time to admit the truth. You want me, and I want you.”

Kelsey was shaking his head before he even realized he was doing it. He felt light-headed, like he might pass out at any moment. This was crazy. It couldn’t be happening. “No. You’re wrong.”

She smirked and took a step toward him. “I’ve never been so right. Now come over here and fuck me.”

Kelsey moved back a step as the initial shock passed. “This is insane. You’re my sister. What’s wrong with you?”

The smirk deepened as she continued to advance on him. “I’m horny. And so are you.” She laughed. “You naughty little boy.”

Every bit of Kelsey’s essence rebelled against this. It was wrong on a very basic level. It was obscene. Christ. He loved his sister. Adored her, even. But that love had always been a pure thing, absolutely untainted by the ugliness of incestuous desires. He wanted to scream. To cry. When his sister drew to within a few feet of him, he backed out of the doorway, psyching himself to run out of the house.

There was just one problem with that.

A large man was blocking the way to the staircase.

Not just a large man, but a very tall, very muscular man with a black hood over his head. Except for the hood, the man was nude. His cock stood erect and glistening, pointing at Kelsey. Kelsey yelped. His mind was close to cracking. The world had gone nuts. He felt as if he’d fallen through a crack in reality, or as if one of his most hellish, psychotic dreams had materialized into reality.

Melissa put a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, Kel. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’ll see that soon. You don’t know how lucky you are.” Her hand massaged his shoulder. “This is the best day of your life.”

The hooded man took a step toward him.

The surge of terror Kelsey experienced broke his paralysis. Before he could think about what he was doing, he rushed forward and swung a foot toward the man’s exposed genitals. The man didn’t have time to react. His pained shriek was astonishing. He wobbled and stumbled backward. Kelsey pressed his advantage, kicking the man again. The hooded behemoth tumbled down the stairs.

Melissa screamed.

Kelsey rushed down the staircase, leaped over the man’s still body as he reached the floor, pulled open the door, and staggered outside. He wobbled but managed to stay upright as he made his way to the Olds. Then the keys slipped from his hands and he knelt to pick them up. As his shaking hand closed around them, he heard footsteps pounding down the driveway. He got to his feet and saw his still-nude sister streaking toward him, a hand clutching a large kitchen knife raised high above her head, her face contorted in an awful expression of pure hatred and rage.

Through some miracle, Kelsey’s fingers found the correct key right away and he unlocked the Oldsmobile. He slipped in and pulled the door shut, slamming the lock down just as Melissa arrived at the driver’s-side window. She pounded on the window and screamed at him. Kelsey started the engine, tore out of the driveway, and raced away from his home at a reckless speed. A few blocks away, his hands started shaking again, this time so badly that he was swerving all over the road.

A glance at the rearview mirror revealed no sign of his sister.

He pulled over and waited for the shaking to subside. And as he waited, an image floated into his head: the sneering, sadistic face of Myra Lewis. Despite a lack of evidence, he felt certain Trey’s girlfriend was responsible for whatever had taken over his sister. It was a gut feeling, an emotional reaction, but he was convinced.

She’s a demon.

Fucking hell.

Somehow, Myra had sensed he might be a threat-a threat she needed to eliminate. Kelsey groaned. This was more than he could handle alone. How could he hope to fight something so powerful? People needed to know there was an evil loose in Rockville, something insidious, something that was slowly taking over, but he couldn’t imagine anyone believing something so crazy.

Jake McAllister. Maybe.

And Will, of course.

Kelsey froze and stared through the windshield at the empty road ahead.

Fuck.

He had to get to his friend before they did.

His hands steady now, he restarted the Oldsmobile, pulled onto the road, and sped out of Washington Heights.