CHAPTER TWO

The pub was full of people. Danny and Benny walked in confidently, ready to have a fun night. Johnny followed behind them, more reserved but still smiling. Greg froze outside of the door.

"It's awfully crowded, Mitch," he said nervously. "Maybe we should just go back to our room..."

"Come on, Greg," Mitch protested. "I promised to introduce you to my friends, and this is where they wanted to go."

Greg sighed, but he followed Mitch into the pub. They quickly joined the others at a table. All around them, people were eagerly chatting. It was loud, and it quickly turned into white noise for Greg as he became overwhelmed.

"Gregory... Are you alright?" Johnny asked, realizing that Greg was retreating into his own head.

"I... Yes," Greg replied quickly. "I'm just not used to being around so many people."

"I'm not a huge fan of big crowds, either," Johnny said with a reassuring smile. "Benny and Danny usually have to drag me to places like this."

"Mitch insisted I come with him," Greg admitted.

"Don't worry, Greg. Tonight's going to be fun."

"You say that with such certainty."

"Call it a hunch," Johnny replied mysteriously.

As Greg tried to relax and just live in the moment, he noticed a nearby table that was full of girls. Danny, Benny, and Mitch were watching them with obvious interest, but it was Johnny who was approached first.

"Johnny! Imagine seeing you and your friends here," the redhead said with a smile that lit up her face.

"Hello, Pam," Johnny replied, returning her smile. "This is Greg, and that's Mitch," he added quickly, motioning toward them as he spoke.

"Pammy! I see you've met my favorite lady, Rhonda," Danny said excitedly. He immediately pulled one of the girls into a tight hug.

"I wasn't aware that you two knew each other," Rhonda said with a grin as she kissed Danny's cheek.

"Why don't you introduce us to everyone else, Pam?" Benny asked with a flirtatious smile.

"Sure. That's Lori and Lucy, Devi, Margo, and my roommate, Clarissa," Pam replied.

Benny watched Clarissa with obvious interest, but she made it a point to ignore him. Greg, however, was distracted by the girl with a head of blonde curls and a friendly smile.

Margo, he repeated in his mind. She was beautiful without being intimidating as she looked right at him. He blushed slightly.

"It's nice to meet you guys," Margo said. "Devi and I are both new in town."

"You're the first boys we've been introduced to," Devi confirmed.

"Well, then, let us show you a good time!" Benny said charmingly.

"Jesus, Benny, you're laying it on thick tonight," Lori joked. "You've got all year to seduce all of the new college girls."

"I'm just being nice," Benny replied. He smiled at Lucy, nodding his head at her. "How did your first day go, Lucy?"

"It was alright," Lucy replied shyly.

"And what about you, Clarissa? Did you have a good first day?" He smiled at her, trying to break down her walls with his charm.

Clarissa rolled her eyes and looked at Lori. "I need to use the restroom," she said. She practically dragged the twins away.

"Wow... She really doesn't like you, buddy," Danny said with a laugh.

"She hardly knows me," Benny replied. He turned back to Devi as a song started to play. "Would you like to dance, Devi?" He asked.

"I never turn down dancing," Devi replied. Benny took her hands and led her into the open space that served as the pub's dance floor. They quickly fell into step with each other.

"Let's join them," Pam said eagerly. She dragged Johnny onto the dance floor. Greg watched as Johnny visibly relaxed as they began to dance.

"Come on, Rhon," Danny said, choosing her as his partner.

Mitch sighed before looking at Greg and Margo, the only two who remained. "We might as well join them," he said.

"Oh, no thanks," Greg replied awkwardly. "I don't dance."

"Suit yourself... Margo?" Mitch asked.

Margo looked between them before saying, "I think I'll sit this one out and keep Greg company. He shouldn't be left all alone."

"You don't have to do that," Greg said quickly.

"Sure I do. I'm here to get to know new people." She grinned at him before telling Mitch, "Have fun. We'll join you later."

Mitch nodded and walked away to find someone to dance with. Margo smiled at Greg. "So, tell me about yourself, Greg," she said.

"There's not much to tell," Greg replied awkwardly. "I'm a geology major..."

"So you like rocks?"

"I like nature," he replied. "And science. I also like mathematics and literature, but science is my passion."

"I love nature. I grew up on a ranch in Colorado. It's really different here, but I'm making friends pretty quickly." 

The more Margo talked, the more Greg was put at ease. Her bright smile and kind tone made her much less intimidating than everyone else.

"What's your major?" Greg asked.

"History. It was always my best subject in school."

"If you like history, Salem's definitely the place for you," Greg said enthusiastically.

"That's part of why I came here. Between witches and pirates, and its proximity to Boston, Salem's history is absolutely fascinating," Margo replied eagerly.

"Hey, Nerds! Come dance with us," Danny called, waving at the two of them.

Rhonda whacked his arm. "Be nice, Danny," she scolded him. "I know it's a foreign concept for you, but give it a try."

"Sorry," Danny said as he moved closer to Greg and Margo. "This just isn't the time to nerd out over history. We're here to have fun."

"How did you know what we were talking about?" Margo asked. "You couldn't have possibly heard us over there, especially not over the music."

Danny was about to answer when Rhonda quickly said, "He reads lips."

"Right," Danny agreed. "It's not like I have super strong hearing or anything." He seemed highly amused by his own comment.

"It's okay if you want to dance, Margo," Greg said awkwardly.

"I'm enjoying your company," Margo replied. "We can keep talking, or if you want to join me, we can dance."

"I really don't know how to dance," Greg said as he blushed.

"You just move your body to the music," Margo replied, "and don't care what anybody else thinks." She offered him her hand. "Do you want to try?"

Looking into Margo's trusting eyes, Greg nodded slowly. "Okay," he replied. "As long as you promise not to laugh at me."

"I'll never laugh at you, Greg," she promised.

Greg took her hand and allowed Margo to lead him onto the dance floor. His dancing was as awkward as the rest of him, but she seemed to be having fun anyway, and he eventually stopped focusing on the fact that people might be judging him.

Clarissa, Lori, and Lucy returned from the restroom. Lori pulled Clarissa and her twin closer to the others. She pushed Lucy, causing her twin to stumble right into Mitch's arms. Lucy looked mortified, but Mitch quickly put her at ease as he started dancing with her. Clarissa and Lori danced together, trying to top each other as far as whose moves were wilder.

For the rest of the night, the new circle of friends danced, laughed, and drank together. By the time things began winding down, Greg was more relaxed than he'd ever been in his life. He didn't want the magickal evening to end.

"Thanks for making me do this, Mitch," he said softly.

"No problem, Greg," Mitch replied. "It was fun. And there will be plenty more nights like this one, I promise."

Greg smiled as he replied, "I hope so."

~*~

After everyone returned to the dorms, Clarissa snuck out so she could handle her slaying duties. Lori and Lucy were off for the night, so she was on her own. She didn't mind, as it gave her a chance to clear her head.

She headed to her assigned location for the night, the woods near campus. She sensed she wasn't alone almost immediately.

Clarissa spun around, ready to fight, but then she saw who was there. "You shouldn't sneak up on another slayer, George," she pointed out.

George Zimmerman was one of the slayers Clarissa had trained with as a child. She considered him a good friend, although she wasn't as close to him as she was to the twins.

"Sorry, Clarissa," he replied. "I figured it might be a good idea to familiarize myself with the immediate area in case there are any issues."

"You do always like to be prepared," she said with a laugh.

"Well, we might as well patrol together, right? Since we're both here."

"Makes sense to me. Come on." Clarissa led the way deeper into the woods.

They reached an area where the air was too still. It was silent, and not even the insects hummed. Clarissa felt the hair on her arms standing on edge. She looked at George and knew he felt it, too.

What's going on? She wondered.

A scream pierced the air nearby. Clarissa and George immediately raced toward the sound. What they discovered was the dismembered body of a girl who was probably about their age.

"Clarissa... There's no way she screamed," George said.

"I agree," Clarissa replied. "She's been dead for at least a couple of hours." She hesitated as she realized that she didn't smell any blood, and only a few stray drops were on the ground.

"Was this a dump site?" George asked.

"No, she was killed here," a voice said, making them both jump.

"Benny!" George said in surprise. "You scared us."

"Speak for yourself, George," Clarissa said firmly. "He doesn't scare me."

"Sorry," Benny said with a smirk. "Anyway, I was exploring and sensed death... It comes with being a Reaper. This girl died here. Someone harvested the blood."

"Was it a sacrifice?" George asked.

"Probably, Georgie... It feels like warlocks. The poor girl didn't stand a chance. I'd cross her soul over, but she's not here."

"She probably crossed on her own," George said.

"I don't think so... Whatever they sacrificed her to took her."

"Then we need to get her back," Clarissa said sharply.

"I can't do that if I don't know who has her."

"You're not a very good Reaper, are you? Whatever. I'll find her myself." She started to walk deeper into the woods.

"Clarissa, wait up!" George called, chasing after her.

Benny followed them, but his path was blocked as a very large demon manifested in front of him. He immediately flew into action, ready to smite it, but then the demon manifested the soul of his victim in front of him.

Benny hesitated as he looked at the terrified spirit. "Help me..." She whimpered.

He didn't realize he was moving closer to the spirit and the demon until Clarissa started shouting in Latin. The demon turned toward her looking furious as George knocked Benny to safety.

"Are you okay?" George asked.

"I... I couldn't risk hurting her," Benny replied, embarrassed at his situation. Benny Phillips was the one who rescued people, not the one who needed to be rescued.

As the demon focused on Clarissa, she stared it down fearlessly. "Is that the best you can do?" She demanded as it sent an attack of fire toward her. She easily deflected the attack and hit him with one of her own.

"Get the girl away from him, idiot!" Clarissa shouted at Benny as the demon struggled to recover from her attack.

Benny tried to grab onto the spirit, but she seemed to be tied to the demon by an invisible force.

"She's bound to him," Benny said.

"So break the spell!" Clarissa replied.

"Oh, sure. I'll get right on that!" Benny replied dryly. "I don't know what they did to bind her to him!"

"Do I have to do everything around here?" Clarissa demanded. "You're awfully useless for such a respected slayer, Benny."

She shifted away from the demon and added, "George!"

"I'm on it," George replied, distracting the demon with an intense physical assault.

"What do you need me to do?" Benny asked.

"Just stay the hell out of my way," Clarissa replied. She started casting several spells to break up the binding spell. It was going well until she cast the final spell. Her magick slammed into a counter attack that flung her through the air with tremendous force.

"Clarissa!" George screamed in horror.

Just as she was certain she was going to slam head-first into the nearest tree, strong arms caught her and pulled her against a muscular, chest. Clarissa's momentum slammed Benny's back against the tree, breaking her fall. He didn't release her even as he took the impact.

Clarissa took a moment to recover before she shifted to face Benny and check on him. He smirked at her and said, "Sorry for getting in your way, but it seemed like you might need a hand."

"I had it handled," she said sharply before softening slightly and admitting, "until I didn't..." She sighed. "Maybe you're not quite as useless as I thought."

"That was almost a compliment," Benny said with a laugh.

"Hey, guys? A little help?" George called.

"Oh, right... Sorry, Georgie," Benny replied. He released Clarissa. She pulled him out of the hole his back had put in the tree. The two immediately raced to George's side.

Working together, the three slayers launched an attack so strong it nearly knocked all of them unconscious. As the combined spell hit the demon, he shattered into hundreds of pieces.

The spirit looked at them with sad eyes, but her relief was clear. "It's alright now," Benny said gently. "You're safe. He can't hurt you anymore."

"It's starting," the spirit said softly.

"What do you mean?" Clarissa asked.

"The awakening. It's starting. The storm is coming." She looked toward the sky and seemed to see something. In an instant, she crossed over.

"Well," Benny said after a moment, "that doesn't sound good."