is dead? The mist broke his neck while it possessed him.”
“Fuck,” Finn swore, suddenly aware of the lifeless body next to the altar.
Footsteps pounded down the aisle as Rita ran towards us carrying a spray bottle in each hand, the kind used for cleaning products. I sputtered a manic, involuntary laugh at the sight of her, but my humour evaporated when a brick came crashing through one of the stained glass windows, shards shattering to the floor all around us.
Several people came barrelling into the church, all of them clearly possessed by mist.
“Never a dull moment,” Finn muttered.
“What should we do?” I asked as Rita shoved one of the spray bottles into my hand and pulled another out of her bag for Finn.
I saw a cloud of mist moving towards Finn’s arm, so I dove forward, squirting the liquid at it. It emitted a strange squealing sound and disintegrated into nothing. The sound was awful. It made my ears pop, but at least the mist was gone.
“What a horrible noise,” Rita exclaimed, voicing my sentiment.
“There they are,” one of the men who’d just come inside the church shouted. “Get them!”
“Ah, shit.” Finn pulled a gun from the holster beneath his coat. He aimed it at the group headed our way. “Back the fuck up, or I’ll shoot,” he warned in a steady voice.
The one who seemed to be the ringleader laughed at the threat, and they continued coming at us. I was still staring at Finn in shock that he had a gun. Normally, I saw him with a stake or a bow and arrow for killing vampires, but I guessed there was nothing better than a good old-fashioned gun when it came to fighting humans.
I only realised that more of them had come in through the back when a woman crept up behind Rita and brutally yanked her hair, calling her a tramp.
“Get off her,” I yelled, lunging forward and squirting my spray bottle at her like the world’s least scary chaos killer. The woman shrieked when the spray hit her face, and she backed away, her hands curled up in front of her like claws.
“Ow! I think she pulled some hair out from the root,” Rita whined, rubbing at her scalp.
On the other side of me, Finn had his gun in one hand and the spray bottle in the other. I’d laugh at the sight of him if I wasn’t so scared. He held the gun out while simultaneously spraying at the men who were trying to attack him. I paused, hearing a weird, melodious cackle coming from somewhere up in the chancel where the organ was kept. Scanning the room, I counted four men and three women altogether.
“That’s it, I’m going to get the mist out of them,” I said, determined.
“But how?” Rita asked, now standing behind me. Somehow, we’d found ourselves standing back-to-back while Finn stood in front of us.
“Something came to me earlier,” I explained. “If I put my hands to their chests, the mist leaves their bodies. Come to think of it, you should be able to do it, too. It’s a witch thing, I think.”
Rita’s eyes lit up. “Really? Let’s give it a try then. Finn, watch our backs and don’t hesitate to shoot the fuckers if they try to jump on us.”
“Right you are,” Finn replied, keeping an eye on our adversaries.
I held the spray bottle out in warning to one of the women, and she cowered away from me. Then I rushed forward and pressed my hands to her chest, while Rita did the same to the man beside her. Immediately, the mist evacuated, gushing out through their mouths.
“This is nuts. How did you figure out how to do this?” Rita asked as we moved toward the next couple.
“I’ve been getting these visions lately,” I said. “A book opens in my mind and presents me with the answer I’m looking for.”
The man I was approaching grunted and swung for me, but he stumbled back when I sprayed him in the face. I put my hands to his chest and again the mist flew out of him.
“You lucky bitch. That’s a rare one.” She sounded both envious and impressed.
“A real turn up for the books,” Finn added humorously, having been listening in. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“I’m seriously starting to think that you sold your soul in a past life so that you’d get all the best magic in this one,” Rita quipped.