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Chapter 7

The Revenge of Johanna Newes

Thaddeus stepped through the front door. The thick leather soles of his boots echoed off the wooden planks of the porch. “Ah,” he said. “There you are. I have been searching for you.”

Hugo couldn’t pull himself away from the window to acknowledge Thaddeus exiting the house. Hugo needed to see what they did to him. He wouldn’t dare hide away in the bathroom and draw Thaddeus upstairs to violate the sanctity of his and Alice’s bedroom. The porch window would have to serve as a makeshift mirror.

In his faint reflection, Hugo caught a glimpse of their ultimate plan—his potential fate. Two black circles encased his eyes. The first part of the transformation had begun.

“It does not look bad,” Thaddeus said. “It gives you character.”

Hugo touched his fingers to the black circle. It wasn’t painted on; it had become a part of him. A part of who he would become. A vampire who became a banshee’s ghoul.

A sensation coursed through Hugo’s body. Cold. Biting. Agonizing. He shook and trembled. His eyes grew heavy, like he wanted to sleep. The sensation of a hand piercing his bodytugged and dragged him down. It ate away at him, gnawing at his soul. Hugo froze, unable to move his arms and legs. He could only clench his fists and grit his teeth. The sensation pulsated through him. He wanted to scream, but he was rendered silent. Hugo begged for it to stop.

“Let it pass,” Thaddeus said. “It will stop.”

As if on cue, the sensation relented and Hugo regained control over his body. “What was that?” Hugo asked, turning around.

“The curse of the banshee’s wail,” Thaddeus replied. “It is pulsating through you. It is trying to turn you into one of them. It is up to you if you let it. The sensation will get worse.”

“How do I stop it?”

“You can fight it, but only if you are strong enough.”

Hugo turned to face him. Thaddeus’ bulky size slouched to one side as he placed his left hip on the railing. His eyes were intent and focused on Hugo. A smirk appeared on his mouth, grinning nearly to his left ear.

Hugo asked, “Did you fight it off because you were . . . strong enough?”

Thaddeus gave out a wicked, manic laugh. “No. No. I was never like you . . . Thankfully.”

“Why?” Hugo asked.

“Well . . .” Thaddeus’ voice trailed off as he jostled his tricorn hat into a better position on his head. “Long story.”

“We seem to have all the time in the world. You know about my history. What about you? What about her?” Hugo stood upright, his shoulders pulled back and arms crossed. “Talk.”

Thaddeus stood upright. He clapped his meaty hands together. The sound was drowned out by the crash of lightning illuminating the sky. The dark clouds rolled overhead. The three knocks echoed throughout the land.

“Alright,” Thaddeus said before wiping a hand over his mouth. “It was not always like this here. It was rather peaceful and serene, not too bad for being a place of banishment. It was all white. A blinding white light. I would call out, and no one would answer. Sure, panic set in at first. I mean, who would want to be locked away with no one to talk to for who knows how long? No one to interact with. You did not know if you were floating or flying or falling.”

Thaddeus slashed his arms across his body, splaying out the fingers of his hands for emphasis. “There was . . . nothing.”

“Nothing?” Hugo asked.

“Yep. Nothing. Time lost all meaning. It was an instant. A lifetime. An eternity all at once.” Thaddeus’ voice lowered. “Then she arrived.”

He glanced toward the carriage and said, “A darkness appeared in the white light. I investigated and found her with a few of her companions. She had a book and recited from it. The white nothingness turned into this hellscape. She transformed into a banshee, calling forth the dead with the sound of her wail. Those tormented by despair in life are easy to manipulate.”

Hugo gulped and shook his head. “That isn’t me.”

Thaddeus turned back to Hugo. “Are you sure?”

“No. I mean it was, but . . . but then I changed. I was no longer tormented when I died. I was a different man. I was a happy man. I was whole again.” Hugo paused. His eyes caught a shambling ghoul wandering in the yard of a house across the way. “Then how did I still end up here?”

Thaddeus shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe you are special. Maybe she chose you. Maybe you have something to offer her. Something you did. We do not get many vampires here. Maybe she took a keen interest in your pointy teeth.”

Special.