Chapter 5

Ally had to admit – she had been against all these outsiders knowing about slaying but having backup pedestrians doing research while she and Lilith did the legwork was useful. She did insist on dragging Hahn Adjuk to Yuna’s dorm with them. She was still certain he was their culprit.

When they arrived at Yuna’s dorm though, it was clear right away that something was wrong. Her door was wide open, and they could hear Mark yelling for help from inside. Ally exchanged a look with Lilith, and they both rushed in followed by Hahn.

Yuna was on her bed, coughing up blood. It was a canopy bed, with pink curtains. Hahn yelled in horror and started screaming for help, running up and down the halls, banging on doors. Other students started making their way into the hall, looking around.

“This is definitely a curse situation,” Ally said, assessing Yuna’s state. She was on her bed on all fours, coughing and gagging. Her white sheets were stained with splatters of red. Her blue eyes were wide with fear.

“Barton’s taught me a little about curses,” Lilith said.

“My uncle taught me as well,” Ally said, not to be one-upped. She looked at Mark, who was standing there, looking desperate. “There should be a hex bag in here somewhere.”

“A what?” Mark asked, his voice shaking. Yuna was still coughing up blood.

“It’s a witch or warlock’s talisman,” Lilith explained, already tearing the room apart and searching. “It contains the ingredients for the curse – something like this – making her cough up blood – would probably require a tooth of Yuna’s - like maybe a baby tooth - and some magical items. Maybe a special crystal. We have to find the hex bag and destroy it.”

Ally and Mark started searching as well, opening drawers and looking under books and notebooks. The doorway was now crowded with spectators. Hahn was still running around yelling his head off.

“Could this be it?” Mark asked.

“Yes!” Ally said. Mark had looked in the drawer of Yuna’s nightstand and was holding up a tiny leather sack. Ally snatched it from Mark, digging in her purse for a lighter. She found one and hurried to light the sack on fire. It caught, and Ally held it until the flames reached her fingers. Then she dropped it and stamped on it.

Yuna stopped coughing up blood. A student wearing a badge reading ‘R.A’ rushed in, her mousy face baffled. Yuna was gasping for air. The hall was filled with chatter. Ally, Lilith, Mark, and Yuna exchanged looks, as Yuna sat up, breathing hard.

It took some time to clear everyone out and Yuna was taken to the nurse’s office. Ally, Mark, and Lilith accompanied her. In the nurse’s office, they had to leave Yuna alone with the nurse for a while. When they were at last allowed in, Yuna looked relieved to see them.

“Okay,” Yuna said, sliding down from the medical recliner. “Any doubt I had is gone. Clearly, someone is trying to curse me. What do you guys recommend we try next?”

They had to go to the UC Sunnydale library to print a map of the town. Ally had to admit – she was impressed. The UC Sunnydale library dwarfed the Sunnydale High library. Rows and rows of shelves covered in academic texts. Enormous, luxurious sofas for studying.

It reminded Ally a bit of the library in her father’s mansion in LA. She wondered where the great Orion Müller was now. It had been years since Ally saw or spoke to her father. When the courts took her to live with her mother, uncle, and brother, she’d been devasted.

With time, Ally had learned that her idealized version of her father was just that – an illusion fed by his narcissism. Orion Müller was a very dangerous man. Ally knew that, but she still missed him sometimes. She certainly still missed the glamorous mansion with its sprawling estate and massive library. Did Orion know that his brother and ex-wife were dead? That his son was missing? Would he care if he did know?

Of course – it was foolish to dwell on such things. Once they had printed the map, Ally, Lilith, Mark, and Yuna found an empty classroom. There Lilith recited the spell Alvin had shared with her. It was a lot of chanting in Latin.

When Lilith was finished, a path on the map lit up. They all stared at it, watching the glowing highlighted roads, leading them to an address across town. For some reason, Yuna looked deeply disturbed.

“Yes yes,” Ally said. “Magic is real.”

“First of all,” Yuna said, glaring. “When this is all over – you guys owe me a real explanation. You’re clearly more than just local paranormal enthusiasts. Second of all – I know that address.”

“Well?” Mark asked.

Yuna swallowed hard, staring at the map on the desk. “It’s my father’s home.”

The manor that belonged to Albert Popov, Yuna’s father, loomed before them. It was by now late afternoon. The day was still warm, but the massive Victorian-style mansion before them blocked out the sun. Yuna looked paler than before. All throughout the bus ride, she had been very quiet.

Lilith put a comforting hand on Yuna’s shoulder. Yuna gave a rather forced smile. Lilith, Yuna, Ally, and Mark walked up to the mansion’s front door and hesitated. They hadn’t really talked about what to do when they got here.

“What exactly is the plan here?” Mark asked, voicing what they were all thinking.

“Well,” Yuna said. “My father won’t be home. He’ll be at his law firm, working, until later.”

“Okay,” Lilith said. “I say we take this chance to investigate. See what we can find. If he has a spellbook, maybe we can destroy it?”

“That’s a start,” Ally said. “Then we take this monster down.”

Yuna looked alarmed. “Take him down?”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Ally said. “Did you need that spelled out? We kill him.”

“Kill him?” Yuna asked, horrified. “He’s my father!”

“He did light you on fire and make you cough up blood,” Lilith said. “Yuna, do you have any idea why he would do something like this?”

Yuna sighed, looking down. After a moment, she looked up, her expression sad. “He was very against me going to college. He wanted me to marry someone respectable – like maybe his business associate’s son, Hahn. But I really thought he’d accepted this.”

“Clearly not,” Ally said. “Let’s go.” Ally was about to kick the door down.

“Wait!” Yuna said. She dug under the front mat, picking up a key.

Ally looked vaguely disappointed, which Lilith was trying not to find cute. They were going to have to have a serious talk about the destruction of property when this was over. Lilith herself had been responsible for many hundreds of dollars in damages to the school, the cemetery, and everywhere else she’d found herself fighting evil. She did try to minimize it when she could though.

In the mansion, they split up to look around. Yuna and Mark went upstairs. Lilith followed Ally to the massive living room, where there was a fancy fireplace.

“Well, the guy sure does well for himself,” Lilith said.

Ally nodded. “That he does. I wouldn’t be surprised if the selfish bastard was making deals with demons for some of this stuff. Look at this.” Ally held up a crystal. “An orb of thesuluh. These are incredibly rare.”

“What a creep,” Lilith said, glaring. “Poor Yuna.”

They both froze when they heard a scream from upstairs. Exchanging a look, they rushed for the spiral staircase. They made it to the top where they found Mark and Yuna sitting down on the floor. Mark had an arm around Yuna, comforting her. She was crying and sniffling.

“What happened?” Lilith asked, kneeling. Yuna just started crying harder.

“See for yourself,” Mark said, shooting a disgusted look down the hall.

Lilith and Ally hurried toward the open door a few feet from where Mark and Yuna were sitting. They both froze. Beyond the doorway was a disturbing sight indeed. Lilith felt a little sick to her stomach. She glanced at Ally and saw nothing but cold anger in Ally’s amber eyes.

There was a black cauldron in the middle of the room, lined with shelves of magical items and spellbooks. Hanging from the ceiling by its ankle was a doll with bleached blonde hair in the same elaborate buns and braids Yuna wore. The doll was wearing a blue dress, not unlike what Yuna had on today.

“I knew he was a bit – well – on the controlling side,” Yuna said, having stood to join Lilith and Ally in the doorway. She was done crying, though her voice was still shaky. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her cheeks were smeared with mascara tear stains. “But I didn’t realize he’d take to the dark arts just to have his way.”

“Oh didn’t you?”

Everyone turned to see a man with long, dark hair glaring at them. He was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, which he dropped. Lilith exchanged a look with Ally. They both stepped protectively in front of Yuna. Mark hurried to join them.

“Who are these people, Yuna? What are they doing here?”

“Tell me it isn’t true,” Yuna said.

“What isn’t true?”

“Don’t play dumb, old man,” Ally said, getting into a fighting stance.

Albert closed his eyes. Then he was chanting in a foreign language. The hall started to fill with a swirling wind. Yuna screamed, hugging Mark.

Lilith and Ally both took action. Lilith kicked Albert in the chest, sending him flying backward. The wind stopped. Albert was back on his feet in an instant, but Ally was already upon him, grabbing him by the neck. She had him pinned to the wall before he could make another sound.

“Wait!” Yuna screamed. “Don’t kill him. Please.”

Ally did not seem to hear Yuna. She was glaring at Albert with more hate than Lilith had ever seen in her before. She was still holding the older man by the neck, and his face was starting to turn red. Lilith rushed forward, horrified. She yanked Ally back. Albert gasped and sputtered for air.

“I’m sorry,” Albert managed through his coughs. He was hunched over, looking directly at Yuna. “I just wanted you to take the path that was best for you.”

“I think she can decide what’s best for herself,” Mark said, glaring.

“Let me guess,” Albert managed, at last standing up straight. His voice was still hoarse. He looked from Ally, who was still standing in a threatening position to Lilith, who was ready to back Ally up if Albert started chanting again. “Vampire slayers? I heard there was a new one in town.”

“You’re going to listen very carefully,” Lilith said, glaring. Albert nodded, his expression nervous. “You’re going to leave your daughter alone. And if you don’t?” She paused, glaring into the man’s eyes. “You’ll have us to deal with.”

“I promise!” Albert said. He fell to his knees, starting to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Yuna.”

Ally glared at Albert a moment longer. Then she spat in his face. He started crying harder. Ally kicked him in the chest and he fell to the ground, sobbing. With that, Ally turned to leave.

Lilith, Mark, and Yuna were left alone in the hall with the old man, stunned into silence. Albert was still crying. Yuna looked ready to cry herself, but instead, she just stared at her father, her breath shaky. After a moment, she turned to Lilith.

“So,” Yuna said at last. “Vampire slayers, huh?”

“I commend you both on a job well done,” Barton said. “It sounds like this was a very sick man.”

Ally said nothing, still glaring. She hadn’t said a word the entire bus ride back here. Mark had agreed to take an emotional Yuna back to the UC Sunnydale campus.

Now Lilith and Ally were sitting in the library of Sunnydale High. Barton, Jenny, Tiffany, and Alvin were all sitting at a table with them. Lilith kept giving Ally questioning looks but getting nothing back.

“We couldn’t have done it without you all researching that locator spell,” Lilith said.

“Well, it meant I got to skip Spanish, so win-win,” Jenny said, grinning.

“I’m just glad we were able to help,” Alvin said.

“I’m with Jenny,” Tiffany said, laughing. “If skipping class is heroic, call me a hero.”

“Well well well. So it wasn’t just two future jailbirds skipping today – but five.”

Everyone turned to see that Principal Snyder had entered the library. He was glaring at them all with a wrinkled nose. Lilith made a face. Jenny and Tiffany’s laughter faded. Alvin looked scared. Ally was still glaring, apparently unphased by Snyder’s entrance.

“Barton, how do you explain this?” Snyder asked.

“I um – I had no idea any of these children were skipping,” Barton said. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to Lilith.

“Enuaraq,” Snyder said, sneering at Lilith. “This isn’t your first offense.” He turned his hateful scowl on Ally. “And I see if you’ve decided to include your new friend in your delinquency. Miss Müller, is skipping on your second week really the kind of impression you want to make?” Ally did not respond. Lilith couldn’t blame her. “You’ll both be helping plan parent-teacher night next week,” Snyder said. “How it goes will determine whether you’re both suspended or not. As for the rest of you? Detention.” Snyder paused before exiting. “Oh, and Lilith? You made the cheer squad. But this little infraction has convinced me you can’t keep up with the responsibility of an extracurricular. So you can throw out your pom-poms.”

Snyder disappeared from the library, looking smug. Ally hadn’t moved or changed her expression once. Lilith was starting to worry that something was wrong when Ally, at last, unfroze and wrinkled her nose, looking toward the exit of the library.

“I really hate that man.”

“Oh, we all do,” Tiffany said.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more use covering,” Barton said, sighing. “You must understand-”

“We know Barton,” Jenny said.

“It’s your job, you have to make nice with your boss,” Alvin said, nodding.

There was an awkward pause, then Ally turned to Lilith. “I’m sorry about cheerleading. I admit I didn’t understand it. But I’m starting to see that there’s a lot about your methods that makes no sense and seems asinine to me that clearly works for you.”

“I’ll try to take that as a compliment,” Lilith said, rolling her eyes. “And it’s okay – I think maybe waving pom-poms wasn’t for me after all. Sacred duty and all that.”

“So,” Ally said, grinning. “Patrolling tonight?”

Lilith returned the smile. “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”