Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

"Hey! Has anyone seen my jacket!?"

Lance peeked over his newspaper and watched his son bolt past the kitchen doorway. There was a crash then the sound of multiple things being thrown soon followed. Lance rolled his eyes and went back to reading his paper.

"Its right where you last put it, Nicoli," he called out.

There was one last thud before silence ensued.

"...where did I last put it?"

The newspaper folded over and Lance cocked an eyebrow in the direction he guessed his son was in. He then sighed and shook his head. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked up into the smiling face of his wife.

"It's most likely hanging on your computer chair, Sweety. That's where you always put it," Laura answered him.

There was another pause before the sound of running feet and Nicoli sprinted past the door again.

"Thank you!"

The feet ran down the hall and up the stairs, presumably to the boy's room.

Lance grunted and snapped his newspaper back up.

"Since when has our son been such a scattered brain? I know he didn't get that from my side of the family," he muttered. He winced when Laura flicked his ear. "Ow."

"Be nice. He's just excited about his date," Laura told him and at those words an ecstatic grin appeared on her face.

The sound of running feet came again, only this time they stopped at the door instead of whizzing by.

"It's not a date!" Nicoli protested as he leaned against the door frame. His breathing was heightened from all of his running around and his face was flushed, either for the same reason or because of his mother's words.

"Amelia is just going to help me with my report. Sheesh, Mom, every time I go to hang out with a girl you make it a bigger deal than it is," the boy said irritably as he went into the kitchen.

"Oh but don't you look handsome?" his mother cooed, ignoring his protest. She walked over to Nicoli and hugged him, almost too tight for comfort. "If it's not a date why are you all dressed up?" she asked.

"Dressed up?" Nicoli said in confusion, looking down at himself. He was dressed in one of his better pairs of blue jeans and a gray and blue, short sleeved sweater like shirt that had under sleeves attached to it, making it appear he had an undershirt on. Then his much sought after jacket was slung over his shoulder and pinned to him by his mother's arms.

"You call this dressed up?" he asked in disbelief. "I'll remember that for the next wedding we go to," he muttered with a mischievous smirk.

"Well, it's your nicer, normal clothes and you have your hair up. You never wear your hair up unless it's for a special occasion," Laura rebuked, playing with the short ponytail sticking out behind her son's head. Each strand was pulled perfectly into place, except for his bangs that were left hanging around his face.

"Or when I'm going to be walking a lot," Nicoli huffed, starting to get annoyed. "I just don't want my neck to get all sweaty."

Laura was silent as the two stared at each other before pulling her son into her bosom once more.

"Oh hush, let your old mother dream," she said dreamily as her son struggled against her.

"Mom! Can't breathe!" was Nicoli's muffled cry.

"I'm sure this Amelia is such a pretty little thing." Laura then made an "Oh" noise and put her hands on Nicoli's shoulders to look at him, causing his jacket to fall to the floor. "And just think if she is. Think of the gorgeous babies you'll have!"

"Mom!!!" Nicoli cried out in horror, his face going tomato red. "Amelia's the last person I'd want to have kids with! Besides, I just met her!"

But Nicoli's mother was deaf to the world as she gushed about her fantasy of having beautiful grandchildren and all the wedding plans she could make for Nicoli and Amelia.

"Dad!" Nicoli whined, finally having enough. "Make her stop!" He just wanted to scuttle under the kitchen tile and die of mortification.

Lance meanwhile, had been ignoring the whole scene, hidden behind his protective wall of paper.

"Why don't you just throw another clock at her?" he asked, and the icy tone sounded odd coming from the usually warm man.

That made the other two stop cold and stare at him.

"Lance..." Laura said, her voice low and a full of warning, but also held a hint of worry.

Nicoli stared at his father for a while before disentangling himself from his mother and approaching the kitchen table.

"Are you still mad about that?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.

Lance didn't answer him and continued to stare at his paper, without actually reading it.

"Dad." Nicoli pulled at his father's shirt sleeve. "Dad, come on," he whined softly, like a child who was in trouble and trying to soothe the parent's anger.

When still his father would not answer him Nicoli huffed and threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"I said I'd pay you back for the damn...dang thing," he said in exasperation and quickly covering up his swear.

Nicoli knew his father all too well. It wasn't the act of throwing the clock during his temper tantrum that made Lance be upset with him. Nicoli had explained everything to them after his talk with Amelia and they had forgiven him and gave him all the reassurances he knew they would about Zack and Brittany.

No, what Lance was angry about was the alarm clock itself. The man was a right tyrant when it came to buying things unnecessarily and the destruction of a perfectly good alarm clock was not something to give Lance joy, along with having to buy a new one. That and the nice new dent in the door didn't help matters.

"And what about the door? Are you going to pay for that too?" Lance asked, not looking up at his son.

"Eh," Nicoli murmured with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why fix it? We can leave it the way it is." He grinned when that got his father to look at him, as though his son had gone insane.

"Why would we leave it the way it is?" Lance asked, bewildered.

"It gives the door character," Nicoli answered as his grin turned into a smirk, glad to have roused his father's attention.

Lance was about to argue Nicoli's point when Laura stepped in.

"Lance, just leave it. It's his door; let him do what he wants with it-just don't damage it anymore," she quickly added when her son gave her a wide eyed "Really?" look. She just wanted the incident dropped and forgotten.

Lance glanced at his wife before snorting and hiding behind his newspaper once more.

"And how exactly do you plan on paying me back for buying the new clock?" he asked.

Nicoli rolled his eyes. His father could be just as much a child as him.

"I still have some money saved up from when I was helping Uncle Red do lawn maintenance back home. And I said I was going to pay for a new clock anyways, you didn't have to go out and get me a new one," Nicoli told his father matter-of-factly.

Lance was silent. The paper hid the way the tip of his ears turned slightly pink.

"Well, you always take too long to get what you need yourself," he finally muttered.

A sigh passed from both Nicoli's and Laura's lips.

"You know, for someone who says not to hold grudges, you're being rather hypocritical,” Nicoli pointed out. His hands rested on his hips and a stern look on his face, looking the picture of his mother in that moment.

The newspaper lowered a bit. Brown and blue eyes locked together in a battle of who could last the longest. After awhile Lance relented and simply rolled his eyes. Nicoli’s stare never had any effect on his mother, but he could beat his dad any day.

“Okay, fine. Your right, I’m being a bit stubborn headed,” Lance admitted with a wave of his hand. “I already accepted your apology for breaking the clock and damaging the door, so I suppose I’ll let it go,” he said. “…at least until you pay me back the money,” he added as the newspaper came up again to protect its master, signaling the discussion was over.

Nicoli chuckled and shook his head. His father would never change.

“Sounds like a deal,” the boy agreed. Nicoli looked up at the kitchen clock and he jumped. “Crap! She’s gonna be here any second! I need to go get my camera!” he exclaimed before dashing out of the room at high speed, bending down to snatch up his jacket in the process.

“Awe our little boy is so excited,” Laura preened as she watched him go.

“Hmph if you think anything is going to happen between them that badly I may have to go give him ‘The Talk’,” Lance said teasingly, earning him a good smack on the back of the head.

When Nicoli finally had himself altogether the doorbell rang, sending a chime throughout the house. To make sure his mother did nothing to embarrass him, Nicoli was quick to reach the door first.

“Hi, Nicoli,” Amelia greeted with that perfect smile of hers.

“Hey, Amelia,” Nicoli returned before turning his head. “Okay, I’m leaving!” he called into the house as he snatched a leash from a hook near the front door. He wasn’t even going to have the chance of his mom getting her hands on Amelia.

“Okay, bye, Sweety. Have fun!” Laura told him.

“But not too much!”

“Lance!”

Nicoli shook his head as he stepped out and shut the door behind him, shutting out the squabbling.

“Parent’s, can’t do a thing with ‘em,” he chuckled.

“Let me guess, they thought this was a date?” Amelia asked with a smirk.

“It was mostly my mother,” he explained. “No matter how hard I tried to convince her otherwise, she hears what she wants to hear.”

But even though it wasn’t a date, Nicoli noticed that Amelia did seem a little dressed up. She was wearing a maroon top with flaring sleeves and white string crisscrossing down her middle. A matching, knee-length skirt covered her lower half and white stockings adorned her legs. On either side of her head were bows with the ends of the ribbon gently laying over her hair.

Amelia giggled then her lips turned into a teasing grin as she held onto Nicoli’s arm.

“Well, I suppose that wouldn’t be too bad. You just may be cute enough to date me,” she said mischievously.

“Har har,” the boy said sarcastically as he pulled out of her grip and went along the front of his house. “Come on, let’s get started on this already.”

“All right, sheesh, you’re no fun,” Amelia pouted as she followed. “I thought I was supposed to be the one showing you around, where are we going?” she asked as they went around the side of the house.

“To get my best friend,” Nicoli answered as they reached the backyard. Once Amelia was beside him, Nicoli lifted his fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. “Here, Beethoven!”

“Ow much?” Amelia murmured, rubbing her ear. “Who’s Beethoven?”

The girl didn’t have long to wait before a big ball of golden fur came bounding out of the doghouse that was next to the house and began running towards him. Beethoven was quick to pounce on his owner and slather any bit of skin he could get with his tongue.

“Good boy, now sit,” Nicoli ordered and the dog immediately settled and obeyed. “Amelia this is Beethoven, Beethoven this is Amelia,” the boy introduced as he scratched the top of the canine’s head.

“Awe, well aren’t you a beautiful beast?” Amelia cooed as she kneeled down and offered her hands for Beethoven to smell. After a few moments of taking in her scent, Beethoven let out a happy yip and jumped up a bit to try and lick Amelia’s face.

“Well, looks like you passed the Beethoven test,” Nicoli said with a grin as the girl giggled and dug her fingers into the fur of the dog’s neck.

“Test?” Amelia questioned as she tried to dodge the wild doggy tongue.

“Yeah, if Beethoven didn’t like you we wouldn’t be able to be friends. He has a really good judge of character,” the boy explained.

“That’s pretty smart,” Amelia said as she stood up. She smiled down at Beethoven when the dog sat at her side and leaned against her legs. “Animals do have the best instincts. My aunt Diane does that with her cats. Doesn’t matter if she’s known someone for a long time, if Mr. Sparkles hisses at them they’re out of the house. So, are you taking him with us?” she then asked as she eyed the leash in the other’s hand.

“Yep, he needs to be walked and this way we can kill two birds with one stone and get both of us acquainted with Whixton…even though I’d rather not,” Nicoli said before patting his leg. “Come here, Beethoven.”

The Golden Retriever’s ears perked up and he trotted over to Nicoli. He barked and excitedly shifted from one paw to another when the boy kneeled to clip the leash to the dog’s collar.

“Looks like he’s about to propel himself out of here with that tail,” Amelia chuckled, seeing Beethoven’s tail wag at a hundred miles an hour.

“He’s good at that,” Nicoli said as he stood up. “All right, we’re all ready. So, where are we going to first?” he asked, ready to get underway.

“Well, not that far, actually,” Amelia told him as she began walking farther into the backyard. “We’re lucky you live on Lakeside Lane, ‘cause that is our first destination.” Amelia pointed to the end of the backyard that ended at a thick wall of trees.

“The forest?” Nicoli muttered, blinking at Amelia in disbelief.

“Yep, Twilight Forest is where we’re going first,” Amelia confirmed with a grin.

Nicoli’s house was located almost on the outskirts of Whixton. It was a nice, open neighborhood with nothing to separate the houses but rows of bushes, apparently no one believed in fences. It was named Lakeside Lane because it was only a couple of miles from Lucid Lake and the forest that surrounded the lake, called Twilight Forest, stretched all the way to Lakeside Lane and enveloped them in a ring of trees.

Nicoli looked from the forest to Amelia skeptically. He wasn’t so sure about wondering in the woods.

“What’s in there that can help me with my report?” he asked, his displeasure clearly showing on his face.

Amelia rolled her eyes and went back to where he was.

“Well, you’re not gonna know till we get there, so come on,” she said, grabbing onto his arm and forcefully pulling him with her towards the woods. When he was still offering up some resistance Amelia turned to him. “What? Are you afraid of the woods or something?”

“Of course not,” Nicoli said offensively. “But people get lost in the woods all the time. Do you have absolute certainty on where you’re going?”

“Oh, please!” Amelia said, her turn to be offended. “I’ve lived here my whole life and Twilight Forest is practically my play ground. We’re not going to get lost, I promise.”

After arguing a few more minutes Amelia won and the trio headed into the lush woods. They were like any other woods with trees and plant life of all sorts. But in a way it was like walking into a whole separate world. Once they were a few feet in all signs of Nicoli’s house or any other piece of civilization disappeared. There was nothing but the tall, majestic trees as far as the eye could see.

Wind danced and weaved through the branches, sending a flurry of leaves to fall and swirl around the new arrivals.

Nicoli stopped to look up as the leaves rained down. It was early October and all of the leaves had turned from vibrant green to golden yellow and crimson red. It sent an odd, warm wave of tranquil peace into Nicoli’s belly as he gazed at the graceful leaves float down to the forest floor.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?”

The question pulled Nicoli back into the real world and he looked over to his red headed guide who was watching him with a comforting smile.

“Yeah,” he answered with his own smile. He felt happy at the moment and he couldn’t explain why. “Fall has always been my favorite season.”

“Mine too,” Amelia said as she held her hands out to let the falling leaves land in them. “The temperature is perfect and the colors are amazing.” The girl then let her hands fall, sending the leaves to finish their descent. “But, we’re wasting time, let’s go,” she told him and turned to continue walking.

“Come on, Beethoven,” Nicoli said to his canine companion who was currently rooting around the ground with his nose. With a soft tug the dog followed after his owner and the two caught up with Amelia.

“So why did you name him Beethoven?” Amelia asked as she watched the dog go from tree to tree to smell it.

“Well, when he was a puppy he was a little terror,” Nicoli explained. “He’d chew on anything he could get his teeth on, pee on the rug, and if something wasn’t bolted to the floor he’d knock it over.”

“Really? He seems so well behaved now,” Amelia said in disbelief.

“Years of obedience school, believe me,” Nicoli told her. “But, anyways, one day my mom wanted to relieve some stress, ‘cause Beethoven had just chewed up her favorite pair of heels and was on one of his ‘Terror Spurts’, so she put in a cd that had a lot of Beethoven’s songs. Well, the second it came on, and I swear to this, Beethoven stopped dead, sat down and just rolled over onto his back, perfectly content. Ever since then, whenever he gets too rambunctious, we just put Beethoven on and he calms right down, so that’s what I decided to call him.”

“Wow, music really does soothe the savage beast,” Amelia giggled. “But I like the name, I think it suits him.”

“Yeah-oh! Damn, I almost forgot.” Nicoli stopped and reached down to his hip. Around his waist was the strap to his protective case to his video camera. He zipped open the pouch and pulled his most prized possession out.

“What’s that for?” Amelia asked quizzically.

“Well, since my memory isn’t so great, I decided to bring this with us to record what we do so I can refer back to it.” Nicoli opened the view screen and turned it on. He then lifted it up and turned it towards him.

“Hey, your host Nicoli Vurkeshaun is here to bring you another episode of “Nicoli’s Life.” As always we have my co-host Beethoven,” Nicoli said, the camera lens turning towards the furry canine who barked up at it. “And today we have an extra special guest.” The camera was then turned to a bewildered red head. “Amelia Fairbrooke is a born and raised resident and specialist on the crazy town of Whixton. Do you have anything to say to our viewers, Miss Fairbrooke?” the boy asked.

Even though she was thoroughly confused, Amelia was quick to fall into character.

“Hello everyone in TV Land, I hope you enjoy our adventures today in the non-crazy town of Whixton,” she said sweetly then blew a kiss to the camera.

Nicoli laughed and lowered the camera a little.

“Not bad, usually when I whip this thing out on people unexpectedly they freeze up,” he said.

“What can I say? I’m a natural,” Amelia told him with a pleased smile. “But what exactly are you doing it like that for?” she asked. “I thought you were just going to record what we do, what’s with the entertainment shtick?”

“Well, for one these are kinda just video journals of my life and two I am aspiring to one day be a talk show host like Jay Leno and David Letterman. So, I’ve been practicing for years on how I would have my show. I’m sure these videos will be worth thousands if not millions someday,” he explained.

“That’s a pretty big dream, you sure you can pull it off?” Amelia asked teasingly as they began walking again.

“Of course. What’s the point of a dream if it’s not big and makes you work for it?” Nicoli asked before pointing the camera at Amelia once more. “We’re very happy to have you on the show today, Miss Fairbrooke,” he said. “So, what can you tell us about this Twilight Forest? What gives it its unusual name?” the boy asked.

“Well, Mr. Vurkeshaun, the woods get their name from the odd things that are reported to happen around the twilight hour. That’s when people believe the spirits of the forest come out and play. There have been reports of everything from fairies to orbs of light being sighted during twilight. So, the forest was dubbed Twilight Forest.,” Amelia explained.

“Hmm that is quite interesting; Miss Fairbrooke, a bit unbelievable, but very interesting. I’m sure our viewers enjoyed your enlightening tale.” Nicoli turned the camera to himself. “We’ll tune in with Miss Fairbrooke a bit later for more insight on the things that go bump in the night. Stay tuned.”

With that Nicoli turned the camera off and put it back in its case for later.

“So, let me get this straight,” Amelia spoke up. “When you’re just being you you’re a total dick to anyone that believes in the supernatural, but when you’re ‘Mr. Vurkeshaun’ doing an interview for your ‘show’ you’re nice and tolerant?” she asked.

“Of course,” Nicoli answered without hesitation. “If you’re a dick, as you call me, while being a host, who’s going to watch you? Sure there are some people who might like that, but it’s better to be a fun loving host than a dick host,” he told her.

“Wow…you’re going to fit right in, in show business, aren’t you?” Amelia asked.

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Nicoli replied with a big smirk.

They continued on their journey, stopping every once in awhile for Beethoven to mark a tree as his. When Nicoli was really starting to wonder where they were going the trees parted to let them into a clearing.

“Here we are!” Amelia announced happily.

Nicoli looked around, trying to see what the big deal was.

“Oookay…you lost me,” he said, non-too impressed. “What exactly is ‘here’?”

Amelia sighed and resisted the urge to strangle the boy.

“Not very observant, are you?” she asked as she took his chin between her fingers and turned his head. “Take a close look, host boy.”

Ignoring the almost painful grip on his chin, Nicoli scanned the area for whatever he was supposed to be looking for. A dark brown brow rose when he did see something of interest.

“What the hell are those?”

Around the entire clearing were what looked like circles formed by mushrooms. There were small ones and large ones. Each mushroom circle had tufts of much darker grass than those of the forest surrounding them. What was odder still was that leaves scattered the ground, but not one touched the insides of any of the rings. In all, it was a very odd sight.

Amelia smiled and let Nicoli go.

“You might want to get that video camera of yours out. I’m not going to repeat myself twice,” she warned.

The boy hurriedly pulled the device from its protective case and started it up.

“All right, ready when you are,” Nicoli said.

“Okay, these, my dear Nicoli, are called Fairy Rings,” Amelia began as Nicoli pointed the camera at the peculiar rings. “Legend says they’re made by fairies dancing in circles, causing the mushrooms to grow beneath their feet and, since these are in Twilight Forest, it’s safe to say these dances happen during the twilight hour,” she explained. “They’re not only in Twilight Forest, but in many locations around Whixton. In fact, Whixton is said to have one of the greatest numbers of Fairy Rings in the country. Something we are very proud of and the reason I brought you here.”

Once Amelia was done Nicoli lowered the camera.

“So, people really think these things are made by dancing fairies?” he asked as released the leash and watched Beethoven began sniffing around the Fairy Rings. The dog snorted and shook his head as he smelled one of the shrooms.

“Of course they do. Some even believe these have the power to teleport you to a different place if you step in them. Most likely to another Fairy Ring, but the place is random so you’ll never know where you’ll end up.”

“Transport, right,” Nicoli said skeptically. “Now we’re just getting into a fairy version of Star Trek here. Okay let’s see if these do have teleportation powers,” he said, wanting proof.

Nicoli went over to the closest Fairy Ring and lifted his foot to step into it. He cried out in surprise when arms wrapped around his stomach and yanked him back.

“Are you crazy!?” Amelia exclaimed, making sure her arms were tight around him. “You can’t just step into a Fairy Ring! You have to get the fairies permission first before you can. If you step into one without it really bad things can happen.”

“Like what?” Nicoli asked. He was surprised by how serious she sounded.

“You can get teleported directly into a volcano or the sky or to the bottom of the ocean! Fairies have no patience for humans who don’t respect their rings,” Amelia told him.

“You actually believe in all that?” Nicoli asked, finding it outrageous.

“Yes! It’s not a joke, Nicoli,” she snapped. “Now can I trust you and let you go or am I going to have to drag you out of here?” the girl asked, her arms tightening just in case.

“You believe in it that much?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“More serious than you could ever dream.”

“…and people think I’m stubborn. All right, all right, I won’t try and step into the damn ring,” Nicoli relented.

“You better not or else I’m not going to feel sorry for you,” Amelia warned as she released Nicoli and stepped back from him.

The two stared at each other for a moment, seeing if either would make a move. One toward the rings and the other to capture the first. When they did neither their bodies visibly relaxed.

“You’re a loony. I just hope you know that,” Nicoli told her as he straightened out his jacket.

“A loony that just saved your life,” Amelia quipped, placing her hands on her hips and scowling at him.

Nicoli just rolled his eyes. The girl was definitely crazy.

“Okay, Missy,” Nicoli said, raising the camera that had been recording the whole time. “How do you ask for the fairies permission?” he asked.

Amelia’s sour look turned into a smile, happy that Nicoli was asking more about it and not being an asshole.

“Simple, all you do is ask,” she answered. “In a big, clear voice and you know the fairies give you permission if the mushrooms begin to glow and shimmer.”

“Can we do that now?” Nicoli asked as he swept the camera view around to get another shot of the rings. He really wanted to prove this whole ‘teleportation’ business as a hoax, but didn’t want Amelia to freak out again.

“Well, since you just tried to step in one with no permissiono I don’t believe that would be wise,” Amelia answered. “But we can do something to please the fairies in case there ever is a time we would need to use a Fairy Ring,” she then said with a smile.

“If we need to?” Nicoli echoed in confusion as he lowered the camera once more. “When would we ever need to use a Fairy Ring?” he asked.

“I dunno, in case we’re ever in danger or something like that.”

“Oookay…so how do we go about ‘pleasing’ the fairies?” he asked.

“I have just the thing,” Amelia answered before pulling her top forward a bit and reaching into it.

Nicoli’s face reddened a bit as he watched her root around the inside of her top. He was even more bewildered when she pulled out two thin sticks and held them with her teeth.

“Oh, I know it’s in here,” Amelia huffed as she went searching again before making a victorious grunt and pulling out a lighter.

“Did you - did you just pull that out of your bra?” Nicoli asked, flabbergasted.

“Of course. When I don’t have any pockets I use my bra,” Amelia answered as she took the two sticks out of her mouth, like it was no big deal. “A bra is a girls’ natural pocket,” she then said with a smirk, finding the boy’s reaction quite funny.

“Now, let’s get underway, shall we?” Amelia asked. She offered one of the little sticks to Nicoli, who took it and stared at it oddly.

A familiar scent tickled is nose and he drew the stick closer to his face to smell it.

“Is this incense?” he asked.

“Yep, fairies find the smell of incense quite pleasing,” she said as she used the lighter to light hers. When it caught fire she quickly blew it out. Thin wisps of smoke began to bellow out of the tip of the stick and twisted and turned every way possible. “So, if we walk around with the incense, making sure not to step in any of them,” Amelia said sternly, “then they’ll know we offer nothing but friendship and they may be partial in letting us use their Fairy Rings,” she explained as she walked over to the boy.

Nicoli held out his stick as Amelia made the lighter summon another flame.

“Sounds silly to me, but whatever,” the boy said as smoke began coming from his stick and the smell of roses hit his nose. “Why did you choose the scent of flowers?” Nicoli asked, having noticed the smell of lilacs coming from Amelia’s.

“What else do fairies love more than flowers?” the girl asked, thinking it obvious. Amelia then began to walk around the clearing with a kind of prance, letting the smoke drift through the air.

“Of course, how did I not know that?” Nicoli said sarcastically.

“Okay, enough with the remarks, funny boy, just walk around spreading the smoke and then we can leave. We have a few other places to go,” Amelia told him.

With a sigh and a shake of his head Nicoli began walking around while holding out the incense. He came to one large Fairy Ring and began walking around it. He could feel Amelia watching him, making sure he didn’t try and step in it again. Nicoli ignored her as he brought up the camera to record his trek.

“This is Nicoli Vurkeshaun, walking around a Fairy Ring and feeling like a damn fool,” he muttered to it. He strolled around the ring and left a trail of smoke in his wake. When he returned to his starting point Nicoli stopped.

“Wow, for someone who doesn’t believe this stuff you did it perfectly,” Amelia told him.

Nicoli looked at her strangely as she walked over to him.

“Perfectly? All I did was walk around with the thing,” he said, not understanding.

“Yeah, but you walked around the Fairy Ring holding the incense above it. That’s how they like it,” Amelia explained.

Nicoli stared at her incredulously before shaking his head and handing back the stick.

“I’ll just take your word for it. So are we gonna get going?” he asked, ready to move on.

“Yeah, let me just put these somewhere so the fairies can enjoy them,” Amelia said before walking off to go find a dirt mound.

“Enjoy them, right,” Nicoli murmured before turning and looking around. “Beethoven! Beethoven, where’d you go!?” he called, noticing his canine companion was missing. A few feet away from him Nicoli noticed a big lump of fur. He walked over to it and placed his hands on his hips as he stared down at his dog.

“And what happened to you?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Beethoven was sprawled out on his back in the grass. His tongue was dangling out the side of his mouth and his tail was wagging at the speed of light. Beethoven whined when his owner addressed him.

“Sheesh, I didn’t think it was possible for a dog to get high off shrooms. Come on, you druggy,” Nicoli said as he bent down and picked up the leash. Beethoven rolled over and stood up. The dog then shook itself and barked.

“I can’t do anything with you,” Nicoli chided as he and his companion went back to Amelia.

What Nicoli didn’t see was how the grass around the spot Beethoven had been laying on moved with no wind to help it and he didn’t hear the sound of tiny laughter follow.

**************************

“So where exactly are we going now?” Nicoli asked as he followed Amelia. The boy turned his head to stare at the headstones beyond the gate of the Whixton cemetery. A cold prickle ran along his skin and he shuddered. Nicoli never liked cemeteries much.

“Will you stop asking? You’ll see when we get there. It’s just past the cemetery,” Amelia answered irritably. Nicoli’s impatience was causing her patience to thin.

“I hope it’s not something like those Fairy Rings. I don’t see how that is going to help my report much. I plan on just sticking with the facts, none of this paranormal crap is going into it,” he told her.

“Man, you really are dense, aren’t you?” Amelia scoffed.

“What?”

“Don’t you get it? Mr. Turnic didn’t give you this assignment for you to spit out historical facts at him,” Amelia said.

“…he didn’t?” Nicoli muttered as they came to a stop at a crosswalk. He observed Beethoven as the dog barked excitedly as a car zoomed by with another dog in it.

“No, he didn’t,” Amelia continued. “Mr. Turnic gave you this assignment so you could look more into why people here love all of the stories and legends this town is steeped in. It’s what makes this town fun,” she explained as the light across from them turned green and they crossed.

“So he’s expecting me to talk about fairies and ghosts and all that kind of nonsense?” the boy asked, that feeling of aggravation weighing down on him again.

“Now you’re starting to get it,” Amelia said.

“But I don’t believe in that stuff!” Nicoli exclaimed. “I’m not going to write a paper on something I don’t believe in.”

“Just fake it,” Amelia retorted. “Who cares if you don’t believe in it? If you want a good grade just give the teacher what he wants.”

A growl came from Nicoli and his shoulders tensed up.

“This is so annoying,” he grumbled.

“Life is annoying,” the red head supplied. “You just have to deal with it. Oh, here we go,” she suddenly said. “This is where we’re going.”

Amelia turned off the sidewalk, going down a dirt road.

Nicoli stared after her before looking down at Beethoven.

“I wonder what she’s going to show us now,” he said and the only response he got from the canine was a head tilt.

Nicoli chuckled before hurriedly following after his new friend, who was getting further away.

The trio followed the path for a short time. The buildings began to thin out until the town died away all together, leaving an open field.

“Whoa…” Nicoli breathed out in astonishment.

The beginning of the field had long, brown grass, dying from the changing weather. But further out the grass suddenly stopped and all that was left was sickly looking ground. A few trees sprouted around the area. Those outside of the dead ground was alive and had patches of leaves still hanging on here and there. The trees inside the ominous area were bare and the bark was splintered and looked devoid of all life. This deathly area spanned for many feet all around.

“What-what is this place?” Nicoli asked.

“Get the camera out and I’ll explain,” Amelia said softly. The place seemed to even have an affect on the girl. Her demeanor was sullen and withdrawn, nothing like the girl from before.

Nicoli quickly got his video camera out. He watched Amelia step out from the grass and to the dead earth. The boy moved to follow her, but was suddenly jerked back.

“Hey!” Nicoli turned back to see Beethoven at the edge of the barren land. His paws were dug into the dirt and he was resisting the pull of the leash. “Beethoven? What’s wrong boy? Come on.” Nicoli tugged on the leash but Beethoven didn’t budge.

In fact the dog stepped back instead. Beethoven’s golden body shook and his tail tucked itself between his legs. A pitiful whimper came from the dog as he ducked his head down.

“Beethoven?” Nicoli murmured. He’d never seen the canine act so strange before.

“Most animals won’t come near this place.”

Nicoli jumped and turned to see Amelia right behind him.

“Uh-wh-why not?” he asked, starting to get a bad feeling about this.

“Because animals are smarter than most people,” she answered. “Just leave him here, it’ll be okay.”

Nicoli nodded and looked back to Beethoven.

“Okay, you don’t have to come with us, Beethoven. Just be a good boy and stay here,” he instructed before dropping the leash.

Beethoven whimpered and took a few steps back before sitting down.

“Come on, he’ll be fine,” Amelia encouraged, tugging on Nicoli’s arm.

The boy relented and followed Amelia until they reached the center of the dead land.

“This…is very creepy,” Nicoli murmured, unease creeping into every pore of is body.

“Yes, the aura here has always been like this for hundreds of years.” Amelia made a motion with her hand, signaling for Nicoli to start recording. When the boy had the camera on she continued. “Salem was not the only place to hold witch trials. They were fairly common during that time. Whixton never had an overabundant amount of trials. Only one, in fact.”

“There was a group of four women held in contempt of witchcraft. They were accused of bewitching a group of young men of the town into doing unspeakable acts: Adultery, murder, rape, all sorts of things. The reason they found the women guilty was because they found odd trinkets in their possession: A flute that would play such sweet music it would make the coldest man cry, a chain that would not severe under the sharpest blade, a stone that was unlike any form of rock that had been produced from the earth and seemed to have it’s own life to it, and a ring that would guide the wearer home.

“The people of Whixton found these items to be undisputable proof of the women’s witchery and they were sentenced to death. Here, on this very spot, a great pyre was built. The four women were tied to the very middle of it and the pyre was set on fire.”

Amelia had been gesturing throughout her story, letting her hands help tell the tale. But then her hands dropped and she went still.

“The women were killed that night. The blaze devoured them whole and the field around them that you see now. Since that horrible time the grass has never grown and the trees withered and never grew new leaves. All life in the area the women were burned has been sucked away and I doubt it’ll ever come back.”

Amelia finished her story and turned to Nicoli. Her expression held no joy or her usual smile. It was like the life was drained from her much like the land around him.

Nicoli lowered the camera and glanced around. He tried to imagine the scene: The pyre, the women…the fire. But when he did anger swelled in blistering waves.

“It’s so stupid,” he grumbled.

“What?” Amelia asked, confused by the statement.

“You ask me why I hate people who believe that the supernatural exists, that it’s real. This is one of the reasons, this right here,” Nicoli said through clenched teeth. “People who hurt others, kill them, because they think they’re something they’re not. So the four women had odd items, so what? That made them dangerous? Because those-those idiots thought witches were real, they killed four innocent women and who knows how many more that were never talked about. That’s one reason I think people who believe in this shit are morons.”

Amelia stared at him for awhile, studying him. Suddenly she smiled and Nicoli had to balance himself when the girl’s arms were thrown around him.

“Uh…” Nicoli was quite bewildered by the hug and wondered what caused it. “Amelia, what are you doing?” he asked.

The red head pulled away, but the smile was still on her face, giving back some of her cheery disposition.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” she answered. Amelia then took Nicoli’s arm and started pulling him back the way they had come. “I’m getting hungry. Let’s get some ice cream to raise our spirits before we go anywhere else,” she suggested.

Amelia dragged the still perplexed Nicoli after her to rejoin with they’re faithful companion, leaving the sorrow and the memories of the past behind them.

************************

Nicoli and Amelia spent the rest of the morning and well past noon exploring the town. Amelia pointed out most of the important landmarks. The house the first mayor of Whixton lived in, said to have had help with his leadership by ghosts, the sight where the first railroad was put in, but had to be shut down because mischievous imps kept taking apart the rails and so on.

“Oi, I think we have enough, don’t you?” Nicoli asked as he rested against the wall of a family owned grocery store.

“What, getting tired?” Amelia asked teasingly.

“Well, yeah, we’ve walked from one side of the town and back about a dozen times going to different places. I think I have more than enough for my report,” the boy said, patting his video camera case. “And besides, look at Beethoven, he likes walks but he’s dying.”

The said Golden Retriever was sprawled out on his side against the wall. His tongue was flopped out and the dog was panting heavily.

“All right, all right,” Amelia giggled, showing pity. “We can stop the history gathering for today.” The girl blinked when her stomach rumbled and she laughed. “Uh, maybe we should go rest somewhere where we can eat,” she suggested.

“I like that idea, let’s go with that,” Nicoli was quick to agree.

“I know a good place to get some good old greasy fast food, wanna go there?” Amelia asked as Nicoli stood up and got a reluctant Beethoven to his feet.

“Yeah, nothing beats a double bacon cheese burger,” Nicoli said with a grin.

Happy with their choice, the two set off towards their food destination, a tired Beethoven trotting after them.

“What do you want to do after we eat?” Amelia asked as they walked.

“I dunno, is there any place to play arcade game-” Nicoli abruptly trailed off and stopped in his tracks.

“Nicoli, what’s-ah!” Amelia squeaked as Nicoli pushed her into a nearby alleyway and Beethoven yelped as he was pulled to it.

“Uh, Nicoli…what are you doing?” Amelia asked, her voice a bit strangled as her body was pinned to the wall by Nicoli’s.

“Shhh.” The boy put a finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. He then moved so he could peer around the corner of the building. “It’s him,” he said in a hushed whisper.

“Who?” Amelia asked, slipping in under Nicoli to take a peek.

“It’s that Ethan guy, the one I told you about,” the boy answered.

“Where?”

“Over there, he’s getting a newspaper,” Nicoli said, pointing at a near by newspaper stand.

“Which one? There’s a lot of guys over there,” Amelia asked.

“He’s the only one with an umbrella.”

“…oh,” Amelia mumbled, a bit embarrassed she couldn’t deduce that on her own. “Nicoli?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are we hiding?”

“I…honestly don’t know,” he replied; now feeling a bit embarrassed himself. “Ew,” Nicoli suddenly said.

“What?”

“He’s wearing the exact same clothes he was wearing on Wednesday,” Nicoli told her.

“…I guess he’s traveling light.”

The hiding teens watched as the blonde haired man took a newspaper from the owner and waved as he started walking away.

“Hey, let’s follow him,” Amelia said.

“What!? Why?” Nicoli asked.

“How often do you get to follow a vampire and see what they do during the day?” she inquired.

“He’s not a vampire,” Nicoli snapped.

“Says you, now let’s go before we lose him.”

With that Amelia ran out from their hiding spot and started going after their prey.

“Amelia. Amelia!” Nicoli called after her, but to no avail. “Oh the things I get myself into, come on, Beethoven,” he said to the Golden Retriever and the two ran after their wayward friend.

Nicoli caught up with her as she stopped behind a fruit stand.

“Man, you’re way too loud,” Amelia hissed once he got to her. “I could hear you stumbling down the sidewalk the whole way.”

“Well excuse me for not being in stalker mode,” he retorted. “What the hell are we going to do, watch where he goes all day?” Nicoli then asked, glancing at the black umbrella that had stopped at a crosswalk.

“Why not? We have nothing better to do,” Amelia said with a smirk. Just then the light turned green and the group Ethan was with began to move. “Hurry, let’s go,” she said. Amelia left the cover of the fruit stand and, this time, calmly walked across the street.

“This is so stupid,” Nicoli grumbled, but pulled his faithful dog with him as he trailed after Amelia.

The teens followed Ethan for what seemed like an hour or two. They had to constantly hide behind anything available, whether it was because Ethan would stop or appear to look behind him.

Nicoli still thought the whole idea was stupid. The man only seemed to be walking around Whixton aimlessly. The only noticeable stops the man made were the library - why Ethan would go back Nicoli wasn’t sure - the museum and the police station. Other than that there was nothing of interest in Ethan’s wanderings.

“We are the worst spies ever,” Nicoli muttered.

He and Amelia were currently behind two trash bins they had dove behind. Though the hiding spot wasn’t full proof since one of Amelia’s feet was sticking out and Beethoven was in plain sight. Nicoli’s cheeks flared red as people walking by gave them funny looks.

“Shhh,” Amelia shushed him.

“Where is he going now?” Nicoli whispered.

Amelia peeked around the trashcan and had to hold her breath from the smell.

“It looks like he’s going into a store. God, let’s move, the stench is getting to me,” she told him and quickly stood up to run to a different spot.

Nicoli waited a few seconds before following, a less than happy Beethoven padding after him. The boy met up with Amelia at the side of the building Ethan had gone into.

“Hey, I know this place,” Amelia said.

“Well I’d hope so if you’ve been living here your whole life.”

A smack to the head followed the smart ass comment.

“This store is called Precious Gem,” she finished.

“Precious Gem?” Nicoli echoed, rubbing his head. “What do they do here?” he asked.

“It’s kinda like an appraisal shop. They appraise jewels like emeralds and rubies and inform the person of the gem’s worth. But you can also buy them here too,” Amelia told him.

“So…he’s buying a rock?”

“Or getting one appraised,” she corrected. “It’s funny; this stop seems out of place compared to all the other ones.”

“What do you mean?” Nicoli asked.

“Well, think about it: The library, museum, even the police station, you go there to get information and knowledge about events or people. Then he stops here, a place to get information on jewelry, it doesn’t make sense,” she said as she looked back at him.

“Yeah…I get what you mean. But maybe he’s just looking to pick up something for his girlfriend or family member,” he suggested.

“Maybe…” Amelia murmured, but didn’t sound convinced. When she turned around she gasped. “Crap! He’s already left the store!”

Nicoli’s head whipped up just in time to see the end of an open umbrella turn around the other corner of the building.

“Shit!”

The two scrambled out of their hiding place and dashed across the front of the store. Nicoli was first to reach the other side and skidded to a halt.

“I don’t see him!” he said as he looked around at all the people milling about, but couldn’t see the black umbrella top in the crowd.

Amelia reached him a second later and also looked, but became dejected a second later.

“Damn, we lost him,” she said in defeat.

“Well that was a whole lot of nothing,” Nicoli grumbled, kicking his foot across the sidewalk, though he wasn’t sure what he had expected to get from stalking Ethan. “Let’s just go, I can really go for some food no-ack!” Nicoli yelped as something slammed into his back and caused him to tumble to the ground, yanking poor Beethoven with him.

“Nicoli!” Amelia cried out in alarm.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there, boy,” a voice said above him.

Nicoli rolled over onto his back to see who the asshole was who plowed into him. His eyes widened. He might as well have been smacked by a mountain. The man who had run into him was tall and a fine development of muscles showed through his clothes. Thick brown hair stopped just above the man’s wide shoulders and a goatee decorated the strong chin. His expression added to the man’s intimidating prowess. His brows were knitted forward and his jaw was tense, like he didn’t know what a smile was.

“Uh it-it’s okay,” Nicoli stuttered. “It was my fault.”

Oh God, Mr. Goatee could squash me like a bug, Nicoli thought.

The man seemed to disregard his apology and looked over the boy, into the throng of people Nicoli had been staring at. Mr. Goatee then grunted in annoyance as he looked back down to Nicoli.

“No need to be sorry, I ran into you,” he said as he held out his hand. Even though his words were kind his voice was like cold steel.

Nicoli stared at the hand before reaching out to take it. But before he could grab Mr. Goatee’s hand, Beethoven suddenly snapped at it.

The man’s hand recoiled before teeth could dig into his flesh. He stepped back as the dog then began to bark and snarl at him. Beethoven’s hackles raised and he growled and barred his teeth at the stranger.

“Beethoven!” Nicoli cried out in shock, holding tight to the leash still around his hand. “Beethoven, heel! Stay!” he ordered, but no matter what he said the dog didn’t listen. “Amelia, grab him!”

Amelia, just as surprised by the reaction, lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the animal’s neck, keeping him back.

“Beethoven, calm down, its okay,” she tried to reassure the canine.

Nicoli scrambled to his feet and looked from Beethoven to Mr. Goatee.

“I’m really sorry,” he apologized. “He’s usually a really good dog.”

The man glared at Beethoven then looked back at the boy.

It was then Nicoli was shocked once again by the color of someone’s eyes. Mr. Goatee’s right eye was a normal, deep green, the color of a newly grown plant, but his left eye was a brilliant golden yellow. Something Nicoli had never seen before.

“It’s fine, boy,” the man said, drawing Nicoli back from his observation. “Don’t worry about it.” With that the man brushed by Nicoli, heading the direction he had stared intently at before.

Nicoli stared after him as he disappeared into the crowd, dazed at the experience.

“Are you okay, Nicoli?” Amelia asked, her arms still around Beethoven, who had calmed down the second the man was gone.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, before looking back at the other two. “Who was that?” he asked.

“I have no idea, Amelia answered with a shake of her head. “I’ve never seen him before. But whoever he was…he was a bit scary.”

“You’re telling me,” Nicoli muttered as he looked down at Beethoven. “I have never once, in my life, seen Beethoven try to attack someone.” That was what rattled Nicoli the most. The violent reaction his gentle Beethoven had towards someone.

“I was just as surprised,” Amelia said as she stood up.

The second Beethoven was released he trotted over to Nicoli and licked his owner’s hand.

“Something tells me that we should stay away from that guy if we ever see him again,” Amelia said, looking in the direction the man had gone.

“I second that,” Nicoli agree.

“Well…our prey has gotten away, what say we go calm ourselves with some burgers?” Amelia said, trying to brush off the encounter.

“Yeah, I concur,” Nicoli said with a shaky smile. He gripped Beethoven’s leash and he and Amelia headed the opposite way both Ethan and Mr. Goatee had gone. They had had enough run-in’s with mysterious men for the day.

========================== Ch. 4 End