Vic and Maya stared at the building in front of them. The stone was dark from decades of grime building up. Vines climbed the walls and unkept bushes blocked the filthy windows.

“Gross,” Maya said, sticking out her tongue. “Why is an abandoned building the first stop on your list?”

“It’s not abandoned,” Vic said, throwing his cigarette on the concrete below and mashing it with the toe of his boot. “You’re looking at Raven’s Hope Alternative Library.”

“What?” Maya glanced up at Vic with confused eyes. “How did I not know this existed?”

“No advertising. Caters mostly to the supernatural type. And it’s gross. Those ought to cover most of the reasons. Come on in.” Vic strolled inside.

“I think I need to check when I had my last tetanus shot.” Maya scurried after Vic, not to be left behind.

Raven’s Hope Alternative Library wasn’t tall, or very wide, but it sure was long. The thumping of their footsteps echoed off the walls of the dark, deserted hallway. At the end of the hall, a light shone through the windows of a double door. A faint, rhythmic pounding of what sounded like drums drifted from the other side of the door.

“Should we come back later?” Maya squeaked. “It seems closed.”

“It’s open,” Vic said. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing in there that will bite you.” He pushed the door open and guided Maya through.

Once inside, they were greeted by hazy air and the grinding sound of heavily distorted guitars being blasted at full volume through overworked speakers.

Maya pressed her hands against her ears. “Holy cow, that’s chaotic.”

The heavy metal music ceased. A woman, sitting behind an oversized desk, rested her fingers on the volume dial of a boombox. She used her free hand to wave away the smoke—but it was much too thick to completely clear out.

“Vic,” the woman said. “What the hell do you want?”

“To hear your magnificent voice, of course. And I need everything you know about Billy Bones.”

The woman kicked back in her chair and inspected her long, sharp fingernails. “You’re the paranormal advisor. You should be better versed on the subject than me.”

Vic fake laughed. “I’d probably be an expert on him if I had time to waste my day with rock and reefer. But, some of us have to work in this town.”

Continuing to admire her hand, the woman gave Vic a hiss, exposing her fangs.

“Oh!” Maya jumped back. “She’s a vampire.”

“She sure is,” Vic said. “Not the Edward Cullen variety as you can see. Those protruding ridges on her eyebrows and cheekbones aren’t magazine cover worthy.”

The vampire stood and stepped out from behind the desk, slowly approaching, almost like stalking. “You brought me fresh meat, Vic? How thoughtful.”

Maya shrank and squeaked, “I-I don’t think your bumps and ridges are that noticeable. I didn’t even see them when you were farther away. Or your … really large muscles for someone your height. I didn’t notice those from afar either.”

“Maya, meet Alyssa,” Vic said. “She’s the one thing in this room that will bite you. I guess I technically lied before about the library being bite-free. Alyssa, meet Maya Fano, holder of my current paycheck.”

Alyssa placed herself in front of Maya and smirked. “Relax, child. I don’t feast on human blood these days. Unless they are willing participants, of course.” She winked and studied Maya a moment longer, really taking her time. “Your parents wouldn’t happen to be Stoya and Augustus Fano, would they?”

Maya’s eyes blinked rapidly, seemingly stunned. “Yes, those were my parents. But how did you know them?”

Alyssa walked back to her desk and sat on the top. “You look just like your mother. I was sorrowful to hear of their passing. They used to practice witchcraft and sorcery in this very room and when we had grown close enough, they would invite me to partake in seances and psychic readings. I learned many things from them about the thin veils that separate worlds. They were shining examples of what humans can potentially be. If only the rest of your civilization could behave better than packs of wild animals.”

“See,” Vic started. “I told you they kept bad company.”

“I’ll break you in half, elf,” Alyssa stated, folding her arms across her chest, making her biceps look twice as large. “Tell me, Maya, is there any information that you need on Billy Bones?”

“Uhm.” Maya fidgeted with her shirt. “Do you have an occult section?”

Alyssa laughed … more like an annoying cackle. “This whole library is exclusively an occult section.”

Vic yawned. “I hate to put a pin in your library talk, but let’s progress this yapping forward. For being the Giles-type, you sure are slow on the info delivery.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out the skeleton hand, tossing it to Alyssa.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Alyssa caught the hand and rolled her eyes. “Unlike the character on your little show, I don’t need books to deliver my information.” She took a big sniff, dragging her nose across the hand. “Human, with a hint of death courtesy of Billy Bones.”

“Eww!” Maya stuck out her tongue. “You had human remains in your coat this whole time? You know that’s totally morbid, right?”

Alyssa tossed the hand to Maya, who sidestepped and let the bones break apart against the floor.

“Billy Randelson was his name when he was alive … and human. Back in the early nineteen hundreds, Billy was an avid fisherman. He used to take a small boat out on Lake Westfall every morning. One day his boat sank, forever binding him to the waters below where he now hides in the depths. I’m not sure what brought him back to life as a skeleton or what supernatural force confined him to the lake. Perhaps his death was no accident.”

“How do you know all this?” Maya asked, wide-eyed and practically swooning over Alyssa’s smarts.

“Because I was alive when it happened,” Alyssa answered. “It was my pre-vampire days, when I was a twenty-something girl full of wonder and with her whole life ahead of her. Today, I’m still that twenty-something girl with her whole life ahead of her, but the wonder is gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Maya said.

“Don’t be.” Alyssa strolled to a shelf of books, grabbed one, and blew the dust off the cover. “Barring a wooden stake through the heart, I’ll wander this world forever, continuously learning and observing everything I can. I consider it a gift.”

“I guess there’s a happy ending to every dark beginning,” Maya said with some pep. “Is there anything else we should know about Billy?”

Alyssa gave the old, tattered book to Maya. “Someone with your heritage will find this useful to read later. But, yes. Much like in his human life, Billy has been friendly and avoidant of others during his afterlife. Until recently, that is. There’s been thirteen abandoned vehicles along Westfall Lake Road as of late—with thirteen missing persons reports to coincide with them. It seems something has happened with Billy, because there have been telltale signs of the supernatural and it’s his playground area.”

“Seventeen,” Maya said.

“Come again?” Alyssa asked.

“There’s been seventeen disappearances now at Westfall Lake.”

“Make that eighteen,” Vic said, finally getting a chance to speak during the briefest of breaks in their nonstop chatterboxing. He pointed to the bones scattered across the floor. “Saw this guy at the Moondial last night. He left on a moped, and I found it sitting at Westfall Lake this morning, along with his hand. Officer Carlsberg was on the scene, but seemed none-the-wiser about what had happened. I have Maya’s diary, journal, or whatever the hell it is, and she’s done a deep dive on all this shit. So I picked her up and now we’re here trying to figure out how to take out Billy Bones.”

Maya turned to Alyssa. “It’s my investigative journal. I started a podcast, also. You should subscribe to it … if you, uh, like it. You totally don’t have to if you’re not into technology. I’ve been studying all the disappearances, violence, and murders in Raven’s Hope this past year and I’ve discovered that it is all linked. I think everything stems from a handful of people and locations. Do you believe in The Nines?”

Vic saw Maya searching Alyssa’s body language the world over, seeing if she was into the conspiracy shit as well.

Alyssa looked at Vic and said, “I like her.” She turned her attention back to Maya. “Not only do I believe in The Nines, but I know for a fact that they exist. I haven’t the evidence to expose them, nor do I know who is all involved, but I am positive the group has members in Raven’s Hope’s government—high up. You’d be surprised at the garbage that humans don’t see. They’re too consumed with their materials and devices to notice what is going on in front of their eyes. Some might be aware—but they’re too afraid to admit a darker world exists in the shadows of their precious little town. Humans—such simple-minded creatures. But it appears that you’re one of the special few on the path to awareness.”

“Are you for real?” Maya moved quickly toward Alyssa, causing the vampire to take a few steps back in alarm, a true sight to behold. “I think I know a few of the people involved. Who do you think is in—”

“Enough, enough, enough.” Vic stepped between the two girls. “I’d rather drink motor oil, than listen to a game of celebrity gossip, until you’ve guessed all the members of this quite possibly fictitious group. I’m starting small with taking Billy by force and making him spill his guts. Depending on what we learn, maybe then we can start to play with the idea of a mysterious group. How strong is Billy? Think I can take him?”

Alyssa considered the question for a minute. “Billy is likely similar in strength as you, or slightly stronger. He is seemingly immortal, which would prove an issue if you were to fight him. Your best case would be to ambush him, ask your questions, and let him go. I still feel like he is a gentle soul who is caught up in something beyond his control.”

Protect Billy? Vic thought. The skeleton has potentially killed eighteen people and the vampire wants me to treat him like a long lost friend. That he’s only caught up in a nefarious scheme that he accidentally stumbled into. Whatever. I’m gonna handle him how I see fit—by getting the info I want and then disposing of him and making the town somewhat less deadly.

“Fine,” Vic huffed. “I’ll see what I can do. I’m gonna need some bait for an ambush.” He looked at Alyssa, who flipped him off. Then he looked at Maya, who immediately shook her head. “Thanks for the help, fellas.”

“I’ll be the bait.”

All three of them jumped and Alyssa snagged a man around the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“Who are you?” the vampire hissed. “What business have you here?”

“GACK!” the man choked out. Alyssa loosened her grip slightly. “I’ve been here for like a half hour looking at books. I walked right by you and waved when I came in.”

“Oh.” Alyssa let go and let the man drop to the floor.

He rubbed at his throat and cleared it a few times. “Thanks for not killing me. Appreciate it. I’m Pete Peterson, and I’d like to play the role of bait.”

“Pete, please don’t make yourself a statistic,” Maya pleaded.

Vic stepped close to Pete and stared him down, just trying to strike some fear in him, if Alyssa hadn’t scared it all out of him already. “Give me a reason why I can trust you.”

Pete itched the back of his neck. “I’m in between jobs, so I don’t really have anything better to do. And if I show you that I’m the best bait around, it might make me feel important.”

Vic shook Pete’s hand vigorously. “Say no more, that’s a good enough reason for me to put your mortal life in grave danger.”

“Vic, are you serious?” Maya asked

“Maybe it could lead to gainful employment?” Pete shrugged.

“Start those dreams off low, Pete,” Vic said. “Let’s go make you important.” Vic nudged Maya and Pete toward the exit. “Thanks for the help, Alyssa. I owe you a drink. I’ll buy you a beer sometime.”

“No you won’t,” Alyssa said, taking a seat behind her desk and cranking the rock music up to eleven.