Page 26 of Dead End

“Yum, cherry.” I grinned at him, but my smile faded away slowly as he just stood there, not saying anything as he stared at my mouth. His normally sky-blue eyes were suddenly navy.

“Can you guys believe this place?” Maddie rushed up, grabbing my shoulders as she bounced with excitement.

You couldn't help but pick up on her overwhelming energy. Looking around at the impossible things, I finally understood why my aunties had always taught me to look for the magic in everything. My mom had told me it was nonsense, but I get it now. Being faced with the reality of staying here forever was starting to seem like a bad thing. It wasn’t like I had a plan in the mortal world.

There was literally magic in everything, like the child in the far corner, surrounded by three friends as she ate a piece of hard candy that looked kind of like butterscotch. When she opened her mouth, a high-pitched, realistic meow came out. The girl and her little friends burst out laughing, and the next one to try it reared her head back and howled. I studied the girls closer, realizing something didn’t quite look right about them. At a glance, you’d think they were nothing more than human children, until you noticed the canines poking out of their mouths.

“Werewolf pack. Don’t want to mess with them; they mostly keep to themselves.” Jessica was acting like the tour guide again, and I could tell she was loving it as she shouted, “Freddy, take notes!”

His head swiveled our way, and a confused frown puckered his brows. A moment later, he’d forgotten entirely, rubbing his hands together as he stared at all the caramel apples lining the glass display.

“Oh goodie! Poison apples!” said a teen boy standing next to Freddy, licking his lips as he passed two silver coins to the cashier. The boy whispered something under his breath once the apple was in his hands, and we watched in fascination as the apple grew to the size of the boy’s head before he turned and walked out, whistling like it was nothing. Freddy groaned in apparent pain as he continued to stare at all the candies, not knowing if anything was safe to eat.

“Don’t even think about it,” Norman said suddenly, grabbing Freddy by the collar of his shirt. “Let’s get out of here before one of you turns into a pumpkin.”

He strode towards the door, dragging his brother with him, all the while ignoring the group of four incredibly pale college-age women standing in the darkest part of the store, where the frozen chocolates were displayed. They stood there without moving or blinking, their eyes shifting slightly to watch Norman leave.

“Don’t worry, he wouldn’t go for the vampire chicks,” Jessica whispered in my ear. “Vampires don’t drink each other's blood, and yours smells so much better anyway, all spicy and delicious!” She crawled into my hair and ignored my wide-eyed stare as I watched Norman leave.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, but he just scowled and headed outside without a single word. Auntie Fe came to my side, wrapped her arm around my shoulder, and squeezed gently, letting me know without words that she had my back. She called over her shoulder to Pip and Maddie, who were giggling like schoolgirls by the cotton candy machine.

My eyes bugged out when I spied what was responsible for the hype. A spider sat inside a glass sphere, weaving colorful candy with her web. Jessica muttered in my ear, too low for me to make out, but I could have sworn I heard her grumble the words “Slave labor.”

Shaking my head with a grin, I began to wonder if this strange new dimension was simply a product of my bestie’s imagination, because she really seemed to be stepping into her comfort zone. Now that the clowns, the fog, and the creepiness were gone, she actually seemed to be handling all of this pretty well. That was one of the reasons I loved her to pieces—she just went with the flow, smiling no matter what.

“We’ll be at the potion shop, ladies!” Auntie Fe called across the store and waited until they both waved over their shoulders without looking away from the spinning webs of purple cotton candy.

The guys were standing in the middle of the town square under a massive banner about some sort of festival coming up, but all I could do was stare at Norman. Billie was circling around his head, almost blending in with his dark hair as he landed, nuzzling at him repeatedly. Norman’s eyes were closed as he leaned against a lamp post, the flame casting his face in shadows. He looked worn out, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

“Auntie, what’s going on with Norman?” I asked, picking at my chipped black nail polish, nerves eating me alive. I tried to keep my voice down, knowing Norman didn’t want anything to do with me anymore.

Even after the shit the guys had put me through this last year, I couldn’t stop worrying and caring about them, even when my heart told me it was dangerous.

Fe snapped her fingers and said, “He needs to pay a visit to the blood bank! Yikes, I completely forgot he’s probably starving.” She rushed over to him and spoke in a soft voice for only him to hear, but whatever she said caused his fangs to slip out. He suddenly looked pained.

I wanted to go to him, but I held myself back, knowing he didn’t want or need my help.

Freddy watched his brother, grimacing as if he too could feel Norman’s discomfort. His brother looked back at him, and Freddy nodded firmly. Norman shook his head and whispered something back to my auntie, who smiled kindly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, change of plans,” she announced. “Wait here for Pip and Maddie, and we’ll be right back.” With that, she spun away in a flurry of colorful robes. Norman, looking uncomfortable, followed closely, placing his hands in his pockets.

“Jessica, can you go with them just to make sure he’s okay?” I asked quietly. She responded with a four-legged salute before hopping off me and skittering after them.

They walked a ways down the street, coming to a building that looked like it belonged in the eighteenth century. It had a gothic vibe with the towering gray columns, turrets, balconies, and huge steel doors in front. A sign on top of the building said Blood Bank. We all knew what was happening and what went on behind those doors, yet none of us spoke, realizing that Norman was going to have possibly the hardest adjustment.

“There you are!” Auntie Pip called out, coming our way. “We were just heading to the Witches Den for some potions. I've been having a bit of a pest problem with gnomes in the garden again. But this is nice, too. Where did Fe run off to?” She was still chewing on mouthfuls of sickly-sweet spiderweb candy. I cringed just looking at it.

“Uh, blood bank with Norman.” I pointed over my shoulder and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear when three angry gazes swung my way, as if it were my fault yet again.

I mean, it kind of was, but I didn’t like the look. It was just a reminder of how I’d fucked up their lives. Well, at least they had lives, thanks to me. Maddie slid to my side and looped her arm through mine, grinning around a mouthful of purple cotton.

“This place is crazy awesome, like a real-life haunted attraction all year round!” She was beaming. “This place is right up your alley, Tobs. Have you even looked around you yet?”

She was completely right. I felt oddly at home here, but I’d been afraid to voice that, thinking maybe it would be just one more reason for them to blame me for all of this.

In every direction I looked, there were shops full of extraordinarily odd things. Some of the buildings looked straight out of the Renaissance, with their decaying dark wood and stained glass windows. Some buildings seemed to be leaning slightly sideways, while others were tall and slender with curved chimneys reaching up towards the double moons. Fairy lights were strung up between the shops and arching over the street, where there were virtually no cars, just people walking around.

I spied a cute window full of books belonging to a place called The Wicked Quill. A small wooden door led into the shop, with planter boxes hanging off the front, filled with lavender stalks. Evening primrose flowers were planted along the inner walkway, giving it a homey feel. I adored reading, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to get inside and find a good book to curl up with.

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