Dead and Horny Ch. 19

Tasia wiped a tear away from her eyes. "But just like any family, trouble was lurking. Turns out that the wolf doesn't always claim you right off the bat. Some of us lost our minds weeks after the first transformation, it was all very sudden. Attempts were made to help them recover, but they had gone feral, even worse than a regular werewolf would. They transformed and simply never came back, which meant... when they fully lost themselves, they became far stronger than ever. That strength was enticing to some, and the wolf took them, too. And each time, we came together as a family to hunt them down, and..."

Dana reached across the table and took Tasia's hand. "I get the idea," she said. "You don't have to say any more."

Tasia nodded and sat back in her seat. Dana said nothing, and the two of them sat in silence for a bit until the server came with the check and several boxes. Dana packed everything up and then left a stack of cash on the table. They walked out to the car and stacked the leftovers in the backseat before sitting up front.

Once inside the car, Tasia looked at Dana, then over her shoulder at the backseat. The amount of leftovers they had were staggering.

"If you weren't gonna eat, then why did you order so much food yourself?" she asked.

Dana started the car. "A few reasons. It helped sell the mukbang story. You seriously ate enough food for a family of five. I was also hoping you wouldn't notice the food I didn't eat. Since you were so hungry, this was a good way to get food for later when you get hungry again. Also, I was worried you might be all weird after this morning, and wanted the opportunity to make a joke about a doggy bag."

Tasia snorted. "And people think I'm a bitch."

"It's the kind of comment Lily would have made. I miss her. She's depending on me right now to rescue her ass, and I intend to make good on it." Dana looked at Tasia. "But you get that, don't you? I don't think very highly of the Order, but when you talked about the pack, and how they were family, I realize that you understand how I feel."

Tasia nodded, then turned her attention to the road as Dana pulled onto the main road and headed further into town. Having a full stomach and a car trip was already making her feel sleepy.

"Hey, hold on." She looked over at Dana. "I thought we had an agreement. I tell you about becoming a werewolf and you tell me what your deal is."

Dana scowled. "I won't lie, I was hoping you forgot."

"Only because you let me spend the whole time talking about myself." It had actually felt good to talk about her experience with the pack, but that wasn't important right now. "Trust is a two way street. I should also point out that you had your finger up my ass earlier. I feel like I've earned it."

This actually made Dana smile. "I was born human. A couple of years ago, I was making great progress toward being a college dropout. Then I was murdered by a necromancer."

Tasia scoffed. "If you don't want to tell me, then I'd rather drop it." She clenched her hands and stared out the window, suddenly angry.

"I am telling you." Dana stopped at a red light and looked at Tasia. "When I was killed, the necromancer trapped my soul inside my body so that I would stay intelligent."

"No shit, really?" Tasia stared at Dana in shock. "But that doesn't make sense, because if you're right, that would make you..." The possibilities were extremely limited, but none of them were good.

The light turned green and Dana turned her attention forward. "Please remember how much you enjoyed my finger in your ass," she said as she hit the gas.

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South Beach Public Library looked more like an afterthought in the middle of an upper class neighborhood. It was a squat building that wasn't very close to the beach at all, though it did have a playground outside with a large sandbox and turtle decorations.

Dana pulled into the first spot she could find, then cast a glance in Tasia's direction. The werewolf was staring straight ahead in silence, as she had been for the last ten minutes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching into the backseat to pick up her backpack. Dana had allowed Tasia time with her thoughts for the drive, but if the knowledge that Dana was a zombie had emotionally crippled her, she needed to know right now.

"It's just... the way you are, it's..." Tasia pressed her hands against the dashboard. "It goes against everything we've ever learned."

"How so?" The library had just opened, but a few more minutes wasn't going to hurt. A few parents had arrived with their toddlers, but that was it.

"Neglecting your unique condition, the dead don't come back, not like you. I've heard of people who die and then slowly rot until they pass on, or animated corpses with no will of their own. But you? The closest thing I can think of is a lich, and you miss the number one requirement."

"A phylactery?" Dana thought back to the D&D campaign she had played with Eulalie last winter. The big bad evil guy had been a lich. "I guess my own body is a phylactery."

"No, I mean intent. A lich seeks to prolong their existence at the price of others, but you weren't given a choice. You hardly seem consumed by madness, so what's the difference?"

"People would say the same about werewolves, right? Hungry rage beasts, looking to pick fights." Dana patted Tasia on the leg. "I'm only technically dead. My mind and soul are still here, I'm just... stuck."

"Do you feed on the flesh of the living?" Tasia looked toward Dana, but didn't make eye contact.

"I have, but it was an emergency and they started it." When Dana saw Tasia tense up, she sighed. "I constantly hover between life and death, which means I'm similar to a vampire in that regard. I am sustained by lifeforce, and require more of it if I get injured. When I run low, I lose myself, much like your pack members did. I'm not really me, because all that matters is the hunger. So when you talk about the wolf, I know what you mean, how it feels to have something bigger than you control your actions.

"Anyway, I'd managed to avoid eating live flesh until the Nirumbi tried to kill me and my friends. I had to choose between going completely feral, or fighting on my own terms. Feeding on them wasn't about giving in to the hunger, but about protecting the people who took me in and became my family. And in case you're worried, I made sure to properly kill everyone I attacked."

"Nirumbi?" Tasia blinked in confusion. "Who are they?"

"Little guys. Tribe of cannibals. Spears and drums." Dana tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, the cries of the Nirumbi manifesting in her head as she ran through the snow, blood dripping down her chin and--

"Hey, where'd you go?" Tasia shoved Dana's shoulder. "You were talking, but you zoned out."

"Ever since I died, I have hyperthymesia. If I experienced it, I have perfect recall. The man who killed me messed with my brain chemistry, which locked off my emotions. My experiences have created a unique situation where I often find myself reliving moments of intense emotional expression at the least--"

"Flashbacks. They're called flashbacks." Tasia rolled her eyes.

"It's dead girl PTSD," Dana replied. "Anyway, whenever I eat enough lifeforce, I get to experience those blocked emotions all at once, and it can be quite... difficult to process them. In my bid to avoid eating people, I've been using a backup substance with a wicked side effect."

"That yogurt stuff?"

Dana nodded. "It's not yogurt, and it makes me dreadfully horny afterward."

"Oh. Yeah, that's weird, too." She looked out the window and pointed. "I'm still thinking all this through, but nothing's changed. Let's go find a witch."

"Let's," Dana replied, then they got out of the car.

The building looked like it was only a few years old, and it was several degrees cooler on the inside. Dana didn't really notice things like the heat anymore, but she heard Tasia sigh in relief.

They walked up to the help desk together, where an older woman with cropped brown hair was busy processing books from a basket that likely came from the return bin. She smiled at the two of them, but it faded. The shift in her demeanor was subtle, but uncanny.

"Can I help you?" False sincerity and a cool tone. What the hell was that about?

"Yes, we find ourselves looking for, uh..." Dana looked at Tasia. She had no idea how to ask for the services of a witch.

Tasia sniffed the air, then tilted her head. "We're looking for a series of books on the occult and are hoping we can read them all in order."

The cryptic phrase generated a response in the woman, who pursed her lips and looked past them. "We don't want any trouble in here," she whispered.

Tasia exchanged looks with Dana, then turned her attention back to the librarian. "We're not here for trouble, we're here for spellwork."

The librarian scowled, then stared down at her hands. She seemed to be undergoing some kind of internal struggle, then took a piece of paper and wrote an address on it before sliding it over. "You can find help here," she said. "Now please leave."

Tasia growled, but Dana grabbed her by the hand and led her away. "Thanks," she called out from the exit, then led Tasia out to the car. Once inside the Kia, she shook her head. "What the fuck was that about?"

"I don't know. Woman smelled like a witch, but they're usually much friendlier." Tasia inspected the paper with the address, which Dana was already entering into her phone. Once the GPS pulled it up, she backed out of her space and called Eulalie.

The phone rang several times before the Arachne picked up. "Hey, you survived!" Eulalie sounded happy. "I was wondering when you would call."

"I've got you on speakerphone," Dana said, letting Eulalie know that Tasia could hear her. "The library was sort of a bust, but they gave us an address. Want to make sure we aren't walking into a trap?"

"Sure thing. Gimme those digits."

Tasia read off the address and Eulalie went silent. In the background could be heard the clacking of keys, followed by a grunt. "Okay, looks like you're headed to a rental. Small apartment at the edge of town, let me see... shit."

"What happened?"

There was a crackling sound, followed by static. "Spilled chips on my keyboard."

"Snacking at your keyboard? Have you been sleeping?"

"Nope!" Dana could almost picture how wide Eulalie's eyes were based on her response. "My best friends got abducted by a demon and a werewolf and I have NOT been okay for hours. Speaking of, Lily is being moved."

Dana felt her emotions budge just a little, but not enough to react. "Do we know where?"

"We don't. Also, that building is owned by a company that does nothing but buy a ton of shitty real estate and rent it out. The address is pulling up several people, previous tenants is my best guess. Looks like the rental agency doesn't keep their records online, either, so I can't crack in and tell you who's living there now. It'll be a surpriiiiiiise."

"I'll call you once we're untagged." Dana ended the call and looked at Tasia. "Sorry about her, she's kind of a mess right now."

"Aren't we all? So what is she, a mermaid?"

That actually made Dana laugh. "Not too far off base, but that's her secret to share, not mine." If they were going to emotionally cripple the poor werewolf, they needed to do it one monstergirl at a time.

It wasn't long before they pulled the Kia into a parking space just outside of an apartment complex that had been painted a hideous shade of white that made the dirt in the corners stand out. Each building had a letter on it, and when they found the right one, they climbed three flights of stairs to get to the top floor.

Tasia sniffed deeply and frowned.

"They've got mold," she said, sniffing the air again. "Really bad."

"I don't smell anything." Not that Dana would, but even her normal sense of smell was usually sensitive enough for it.

"It's under the smell of the paint, kind of like how you can smell the stink in a bathroom just past the air freshener. My guess is they painted within the last month."

"They teach you that in werewolf school?" Dana wasn't particularly worried about being overheard. The statement itself was fairly ridiculous.

"As a matter of fact, yes they did. We learned how to identify different types of fungus by taste, touch, and smell." Tasia made a gagging sound. "But only after we passed the class about chasing our tails."

Dana smiled, happy that Tasia had made a joke. Revealing her undead status to the werewolf had made her extremely uneasy, but Tasia had been correct when said that trust was a two-way street. Perhaps it was easier to accept because their experiences shared so many parallels, or maybe it was because Dana had fucked her this morning.

Either reason worked for her.

The apartment they wanted was at the end of the hall. Outside was a gorgeous pink cruiser bicycle with a basket on the front and rainbow streamers. Fresh flowers had been woven into the basket, and the bike had been locked to the metal balusters of the railing. It was the only spot of color on the entire floor, and the doormat nearby said Hocus Pocus, Motherfucker.

Dana and Tasia exchanged a glance.

"Lily is gonna be so mad she missed this." Dana knocked on the door. When nobody answered after a minute, she knocked again. "Maybe nobody's home."

"Somebody is." Tasia turned her ear toward the door. "I heard someone pause their show after the first knock."

"So why didn't they answer?"

The werewolf shrugged. "Maybe they're hoping we'll go away."

Dana knocked again. "Hello? The library sent us."

"Really?" Tasia lifted an eyebrow.

"What else did you want me to say?" Dana heard the floor creak on the other side of the door, followed by a deadbolt being turned. The door opened a crack, revealing a security chain up top. A woman with green eyes and dark hair pressed her eyes into the gap.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"The library sent us." Dana jerked a thumb at Tasia. "A demon is tracking her and we need the spell popped."

"Shit," the woman responded, then shut the door. They heard her fumble with the security chain, then the door opened to reveal a hallway full of plants. "Come inside before you get tracked to my doorstep."

They stepped inside and the door was shut behind them. The woman walked in front of them and let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that," she said, setting a baseball bat down by the door. "Let's sit at the table. Would you like some tea?"

"I'm good. Tasia?" Dana looked at Tasia, who shook her head.

"Just water for me," she said.

The witch was wearing leggings with an oversized shirt that draped off her shoulders. Her face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. When she saw Dana staring at her face, she looked away.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting company. Go ahead and sit at the table. I'm going to check my wards."

She disappeared down the hallway toward a pair of rooms while Dana and Tasia sat at the table. The whole apartment was overflowing with houseplants, making the home feel more like a greenhouse. The television was on, but Dana didn't recognize the show. There were half-empty moving boxes scattered throughout the apartment.

"None of this is how I pictured a witch." Dana pulled out her phone and sent Eulalie a quick text saying they had made it. "But maybe that's the point. It wasn't that long ago that none of this was real to me. The closest brush I had with magic was a girl in college who kept burning candles to get good grades."

"And did she?"

"Nope. Maybe if she had attended class instead of trying to harmonize with the universe in the quad, she would have actually passed freshman year." Dana put her phone aside and set her elbows on the table, leaning toward Tasia. "How long do you think this will take?"

"Why? Are you in a hurry?" The witch had reappeared, holding a tray with some candles, a crystal, a silver bowl, and a glass of water for Tasia. She sat down between the two of them, handed Tasia her drink, then rubbed her eyes. "If you're worried about the demon, don't. The wards will scramble the spell on your soul. They can track you to within maybe five miles or so."

"The demon is only half the problem. It has a vampire working with it." Tasia held out her hand. "I'm Tasia, by the way. That's Dana."

The witch took her hand and shook it, revealing a tattoo of a butterfly on her inner arm. "Aileen Durant. Part-time librarian, full-time witch." She turned to Dana and did the same.

"Only part-time?" Tasia frowned. "I thought witches who got placed were given full-time work?"

"Tell that to Madame Ogna." Aileen saw the confusion on their faces. "Head librarian of the South Beach branch. She's the one who sent you, 'cause she's the only other witch."

"She didn't seem the friendliest. Kicked us out as soon as we got there." Dana crossed her arms. "Not that I blame her. We're not your typical clientele."

"Yeah, Ogna's a real piece of shit." Aileen pulled out a small black grimoire and started digging through the pages. "That's why I'm part-time. She only schedules me to work when she isn't."

"To be fair, you all probably don't want a werewolf hanging around your building." Tasia grinned, but her smile faded when Aileen paled.

"Oh, I doubt it's because you're a werewolf." Aileen sighed and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Though that explains the weird vibe I get off the two of you."

"Then why did she kick us out?" Dana asked.

"Probably because your auras are tangled. It's the reason I got placed at this branch. Ogna is a master at aura work. I can see them, too, it was Goddess' gift to me." Aileen rubbed her eyes again. "I'm sorry, I'm going through a tough time."

Dana thought back to the security chain and the bat by the door. Pieces were falling into place, but the puzzle was not yet complete. "What does it mean that our auras are tangled up?"

"You two totally fucked," Aileen answered. Tasia was mid-sip of her water, and ended up spraying it out of her nose. "Ogna is an incredibly talented witch, but very close minded when it comes to people from a certain community. It's why I get to stay at home and figure out how I'm gonna afford food and rent."

Tasia looked angry, but said nothing. Dana didn't know what else to say, so just sat there.

"Those are my problems, sorry. Need a better headspace before I do this." Aileen scowled at the silver bowl. "But if you're a werewolf, a vampire shouldn't be a problem."

"This one was. It kicked our asses."

Aileen lifted an eyebrow. "Tell me more."

Dana and Tasia took turns sharing details of their fight with the vampire. Aileen nodded to show she was listening, but spent her time prepping whatever ritual she was about to perform. The candles were arranged in a certain order on her tray, and she added water and some sort of oil to the bowl. When the tale was finished, she sat back in her seat and made a face.

"You might be dealing with an old-world vampire," she concluded, then looked at Tasia. "I can break the tracking spell, but you're on your own with the vampire."

"What do you mean, old world?" Dana remembered that the vampire had said something about his blood being old.

"Think of vampirism being like a pyramid scheme," Aileen said. "Every time it gets passed on, a vampire only gives a fraction of its power to the next one. Maybe it's ninety percent, maybe only fifty. Vampires today are largely watered down versions of the monstrous beings who once roamed the land. Most of the originals were hunted down by the Order, but you should know that."

Tasia nodded. Dana didn't bother correcting Aileen.

"If you're being hunted by someone on the OG vamp crew, I definitely can't help you. Those bastards are scary powerful. Daylight weakens them, but won't kill them. The only solution is the tried and true practice of a stake through the heart, followed by a beheading."