Page 47 of Coven of Corpses

Cody made a face and looked down. “Sorry, old timer. No offense.”

Demetrius approached the stones of the foundation, and Cody followed. The charred trunk of what might have once been a massive tree leaned nearby. He noticed two large, flat stones that lay within the line of trees. They appeared to have been purposefully set in place, and a smaller, more rounded stone butted up against the nearest flat-topped one, leading to the line of stones they’d previously looked at.

Cody stood beside him. “I see the pattern now. Those two larger, flat stones would have been the cornerstones.”

Demetrius gave him an impressed look. “How do you know that?”

Cody smiled. “I listened in class sometimes.”

“Uh huh. Did one of your ex-girlfriend study buddies drill that fact into your brain?”

He leaned down for a kiss. “Actually, it was you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We were studying for an American History test.” He leaned in for another kiss. “I wish you would have drilled me.”

“Oof,” was all Demetrius could manage as a number of extremely graphic scenarios ran through his mind.

“Anyway, it looks like we have, indeed, found the good parson’s church.” He looked back across the clearing. “And the gravestones that go with it.”

Demetrius took in the clearing. Cody had taken his hand, but the contact did little to dispel the chill crawling up his spine. The sunlight still felt off. It was dulled, but also too sharp, too selective in how it illuminated the broken gravestones and casting odd, angular shadows around them. He glanced at a patch of wildflowers growing defiantly between two of the larger remnants of gravestones and watched as they suddenly stilled, despite him being able to feel the breeze. A drop of sweat traced his temple as he realized that what really disturbed him about this place was how the wilderness hadn't been allowed to fully reclaim it, despite having had decades to do so. It was as if the woods were reluctant to touch whatever lingered here.

Cody squeezed his hand. “For a place where a church used to be, it’s pretty damn creepy out here.”

“I agree. Do you suppose the witches are buried here?”

Cody frowned. “In a church graveyard? Pretty progressive for back then, don’t you think?”

Something moved off in the trees. Cody tightened his hand around Demetrius’s, and they both looked over their shoulders.

“You heard that, right?” Cody said.

“Yep. Who’s out there?” Demetrius called.

“And there goes our element of surprise,” Cody said.

“Do you honestly believe we ever had the element of surprise going for us?”

“You could let me dream.”

A figure stepped out from behind a tree. It was several yards away, but from what Demetrius could tell, it was the same man they’d seen in the woods the day before. He wore that same black hoodie, the hood up and pulled down to cover the top half of his face, black jeans, and black boots. Though he was a little shorter than Demetrius and didn’t appear to be very muscular, the way he stood and looked at them without reaction gave him a threatening air.

“Who are you?” Cody released Demetrius’s hand and took a step forward, putting himself between Demetrius and the new arrival. “Show your face.”

The man stood still for a moment, simply looking at them. Then he reached up and pulled back his hood. It took a moment for recognition to kick in, and then Demetrius said, “Oh, hi.”

“You know him?” Cody said.

“Yeah, he’s a past client of ours.” Demetrius moved up beside Cody. “Baron, right?”

Baron was in his mid-twenties, and he’d hired Demetrius to clear some chipmunks from the hall closet of his big McMansion in the Hollow Hills subdivision out near the high school. He’d said he was a video game developer and had moved to Parson’s Hollow because of its history of paranormal incidents.

Baron watched them a moment, his face expressionless and body very still. Then he gave a single, slow nod. Gone was the stoner dude persona Demetrius remembered. Now Baron appeared more than a little threatening.

“Yes, I’m Baron. And I’m glad to see you’ve found your way back to this special place.”

“Son of a dolphin fucker,” Cody said, hands on hips. “I am getting really sick of these power hungry assholes coming into our town and cozying up to us for months and months, and then all of a sudden turning out to be dicks.”