This Strange Addiction - Julie Steimle (book recommendations based on other books .TXT) 📗

and cursed ‘im with rats blood, a beatin’, and made ‘im drink a nasty red wine mixed with all sorts of horrid stuff. Then he set ‘im loose.

 “The kid went back to the La Dague, and his brother was mad at ‘im for bein’ late—and he started beatin’ on ‘im.” Bobo shook his head, slowly meeting the eyes of all his listeners across the fire. “And every blow on the kid went back and hit his brother. Knocked ‘im out, includin’ his teeth.”

“What?”

Bobo nodded to them. “That’s right. The blows, the punches, they went back with the same force on the one punchin’ ‘im.” He shook his head. “And worse, other guys grabbed the kid to beat ‘im. And each time they tried to hurt ‘im—all the pain jus’ bounced back and hurt them—until they got black and blue. So somebody, angry and not thinkin’, stabbed the kid—right in the stomach. But did it end there? No. ‘Cause then the man holdin’ the knife, blood sprayed right out of his own stomach, like a fountain. And he was dead. The kid… he sat up, pulled the knife outta his own stomach, and he was not bleedn’ at all.”

Several more breaths drew in.

“Someone tried to shoot ‘im, sayin’ he was demon from hell,” Bobo said. He shook his head. “The bullet went into the kid, but the blood came outta the shooter the moment they tried ta move the kid who had been knocked down. That’s when they knew they could not touch ‘im or they will die.

“The poor kid ended up homeless,” Bobo said. “Nobody in his family would feed ‘im. But whenever he came to people beggin’ for food, if they pushed ‘im away, they were pushin’ themselves—even if they used a stick.”

Silence followed. Bobo did not say more. Just the crackle and pop of the fire and the sound of the wind in the trees and through the tents was heard. There was even a distant animal cry.

“Is that it?” Neil asked finally, glancing to the girls around him. “That’s kind of anti-climactic.”

Bobo snorted, lifting his eyes to Neil. “No. That’s not it. That’s jus’ the beginnin’. Ya see, the kid got hanged, choked, drowned, and even beheaded—and all the dudes who attacked ‘im, died the same way they tried to kill ‘im. They were freaked when they saw ‘im put his head back on. All this went on until both gangs were left with five men, two of which turned themselves over to the police so they could be safe in jail.”

“Whatever happened to the kid?” Jandra asked, her eyes wide on him.

Sighing, Bobo shrugged, though he smiled at her. “Rumor was, the kid was taken away by the government. They put ‘im in a secure place where he could do no harm.”

Breaths drew in.

“How could the government take him away if he could not be grabbed?” Neil asked with his smirk.

Shrugging, Bobo said with a straight face, “They asked ‘im nicely.”

Shivers went down Audry’s arms. She got the impression that Bobo knew that boy—if the story was true at all. She peeked over at Silvia who seemed genuinely intrigued, as if she was trying to figure out how she could create such a spell.

“And he didn’ want to starve—‘cause that was all he had left.” Bobo murmured. “No family. Nuttin’.”

More silence and shivers. Audry snuggled closer to Hogan for warmth. He pulled her nearer with his arm around her.

“Ok, new story,” someone said.

“I’ll tell one.” Silvia raised her hand.

Several in the group shuddered.

“This ought to be good,” Hogan murmured, hugging Audry in his arms.

Audry peeked at him, wondering if he realized the dark things that really were happening in Silvia’s life.

“Ok, this story comes from my hometown,” Silvia said. “I know a few werewolf stories—”

Several people groaned, but it was with relief, as if Silvia had just told a dad-joke. But they all listened in, feeling less creeped out.

“This one is about a witch who really hated this one priest who had slighted her,” Silvia said, her eyes wickedly sparkling. “Now this witch knew that if she wanted to kill him but not have the crime be traced back to her, she had to create an assassin.”

“Create?” Bobo murmured, his eyes narrowing.

Jandra cringed, always getting the heebie-jeebies from Silvia.

“Yes,” Silvia winked at him. “You see, it is a risky curse which is not only a risk to start, but also to complete. Anyway, she decided to catch a wolf. There were plenty in the nearby woods—a full pack—and she knew a few good lures. So she let out in Wolf’s Wood the bait—a live chicken tethered to a peg—and with it, trapped one gray wolf using a special snare only crafted by witches. Then, with several ingredients to enact the spell—which has to be done under the full moon with the presence of honey-drawn lines in the ground, using a silver knife—she transformed that wolf into a man.” She winked at Audry. “A really sexy man.”

 Audry rolled her eyes. So did a few others, though there were some giggling.

“She got him some clothes and sent him on his way to Boston where he had to find that priest, who—by the way—he looked a lot alike on purpose. The people there mistook him for that priest at first glance, which was the point of his human form.”

Her listeners exchanged looks, as this did not sound like a typical Hollywood werewolf story.

“And he, the wolf in man’s skin, went into the church, stalked down that priest into the cloister. And when they were alone, he turned back into a wolf and killed the priest by biting out his throat and mauling him to death.”

“A wolf wouldn’t normally do that,” Jandra murmured, glancing to Audry. “Right?”

Audry nodded, though she stiffened. She recognized the events in the story though she could not remember from where. Was it from a novel? She used to read supernatural fantasies when she had dated Harlin, but she had quit them as they were a guilty pleasure and she really needed to be grounded in reality. Besides, her roommates had made fun of her for saying Twilight was not all that bad and she had enjoyed the movies. Besides, after rooming with a self-proclaimed witch, Audry wanted to steer clear from such things as it messed with her head. Still… she was sure she had heard this story before or read it online somewhere. Here at the fire, hearing it from Silvia’s mouth, it gave her shivers.

“When the wolf finished killing the priest, the curse satisfied, he became a man again. He saw what he had done, washed his face, put back on his clothes, and walked out of there—unsuspected of the crime that had just taken place.” Silvia then gazed hard on Neil. “The thing was, being a human, the wolf began to realize, had its advantages. And though the curse beckoned him home back to his native forest, the man who was really a wolf wanted to stay a man. He liked it.”

A peculiar image came to Audry’s mind, the story still so familiar. A priest reported dead by wild animal mauling. An offended witch. Was it a folk story from somewhere?

“But the witch was waiting for him back home with a silver knife covered in garlic oil and honey, prepared to stab the wolf to end the curse upon it. And this is what happened,” Silvia said, now glancing at Bobo. “The wolf-man came back. And as the man-wolf saw her, he knew he had to kill her or he would die, and he didn’t want to die. So there it was, wolf versus witch—and the wolf pounced. The witch cut—but she failed to stab him as he bit into her neck. He hung on until she bled out and was dead.”

For some reason everyone drew in a breath.

“But that’s not the end of the story,” Silvia said. “Because being human is also extremely complicated. All the perks came with a price. He had to get a job. He could not just kill and eat his food. He had to have a home. And after a while, the man who was a wolf felt drawn back to the scene of his crime. And realizing with a human conscience that what he had done was a crime, he confessed to the local priest, expecting retribution.”

Everybody was hanging on to each word now. Audry could feel for certain she had heard or read this tale before—but she still could not figure out where.

“But instead of turning the wolf-man into the authorities, the priest forgave him, understanding that the wolf had been used, and gave him a new life—including a name.” Silvia met everyone’s eyes. “And the name he gave him was the flip of the priest whom the wolf had killed.”

Breaths drew in as they knew Silvia was going to reveal the name.

“Howard…”

Quickly more breaths came, as some in the crowd already figured it out, including Bobo.

“Richard…”

Audry drew in a breath, chills going over her. Now she remembered.

“Deacon.” Silvia grinned as the rest of the group either gasped or shook their heads in a moan at her for spreading that old rumor that the Deacon family were werewolves. But Audry remembered at last where she had read this story. It was online. She had read it when she finally decided to research the rumors about Rick and his family—just to know them. The online tale was different, told from the point of view of a skeptic.

“And werewolf’s descendants are still roaming the world to this day,” Silvia said.

A wolf cry split onto the air right then.

Everyone shuddered, looking around.

“Are there wolves around here?” Jandra asked, glancing to Audry.

She shook her head, leaning off of Hogan. “Nope. Coyotes and foxes maybe. Bobcats sometimes. But wolves are mostly extinct here.”

Bobo peered at Silvia, rising from his seat. “Well, I’m beat.” He stretched and smiled at Jandra who also rose, walking with him away from the fire.

After Silvia’s tale, most people split off either to their tents or as couples. Audry decided to take a walk with Hogan. She had promised him a night hike. They decided not to wander too far from the camp, though the moon was high and everything was well-lit under the sky. The werewolf story had given them all mild chills, though most considered it silly.

Silvia watched them as they walked off, though she went to her tent… declaring herself exhausted. Her eyes revealed resigned acceptance that she was to let this relationship alone.

“So… why is she is so clingy?” Hogan asked once they were out of earshot.

Heaving a breath, Audry thought for a moment about what would be worth saying on this subject. Their secret would creep most people out, and after that last story, Audry was not sure what she could tell Hogan. “Alright, here’s the thing, remember when I told you Silvia had been a witness to a crime? Well, what I didn’t tell you is what kind of crime.”

Hogan seemed to hold his breath, listening.

“She is a key witness to a string of murders,” Audry explained.

He stared. “What?”

Nodding, Audry said, “Remember when Daniel said there were people after her? We moved apartments to keep them off the scent. She’s been holed up there the past few weeks.”

“Then why is she out here? With us?” Hogan protested, shivers going down his arms.

Shrugging, Audry then brightened with a thought. “Because Bobo is here as a bodyguard. And Silvia is getting serious cabin fever, besides. She’s been inside all day since we moved in, you know. She’s starting to feel like Anne Frank.”

“No one can feel like Anne Frank except Anne Frank,” Hogan retorted peevishly. He took Audry’s hand and strolled a little slower with her down the path. The moonlight reflected off their path as they went along. “Anyway… Audry, I was thinking, we really should start house hunting. I know we were going to do it just for fun before, but now we really need to get serious.”

“I agree,”