Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

“A weak man has doubts before a decision, a strong man has them afterwards.” �" Karl Kraus

Ronnie

It’s been a few days since I’ve last seen Ace, but we’ve still been in touch.  We’ve talked on the phone for a few hours at night and we’ve texted during the day.  Andie was still as interested in hearing things about him as ever, but I never told her anything.  She’s also been trying to tell me that she sensed something was going on with me based on how I’d react when Corin was brought up.  Apparently, I checked out every time, which isn’t necessarily false.  I’d deny it all the time but truthfully, I tried to make a point that I didn’t want to talk about our ‘plans’ in the future because I really didn’t want to have a future with him.  He actually came over once or twice and he always stayed near me, but I pointedly made it clear that I was interested in my texting, although I never let him see who it was.  I could feel him trying to glance over my shoulder several times but all I had to do was tilt my phone in a way that would hide the screen from his view.  I guess even that would’ve tipped off Andie about my lack of interest, and if I keep denying it, she’ll eventually force me to talk to her, and that’s not fun.  In order to avoid that, I just might have to come clean to her first.

“Ronnie, where are- Oh, there you are.” Andie came walking into my room with a small, interested smile on her face.  She reached up and ran her fingers through my recently straightened hair, resting it over my shoulders and looking at me in the mirror.  Her eyes skimmed over my reflection as she casually overlooked my dark jeans and maroon tank top.  I had on just a little make-up but no necklace, seeing as I lost my only one repelling Accursius. “What time is he picking you up?”

“He should be here soon.  Is Trick still at his parents’ house?”

“Yeah, you should be safe getting out of here with him.  Coming home might be a little trickier but it shouldn’t be a problem.  I won’t tell anyone and if anyone comes home when you’re on your way I’ll try to get rid of them or something.” Andie smiled at me again and gave my shoulders a squeeze before looking away from the mirror and out my window before leaving my room.  I followed her out into the living room and sat down on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest.

“I know what happened to aunt Katerina,” I casually muttered.  Andie stopped taking stuff out of cupboards and looked at me, curiosity filling her features. “Prying isn’t as pointless as you thought, I got answers.  She fell in love with a demon and when she became pregnant, she told everyone, thinking they’d overlook it since she was carrying a baby.  Instead, they abided by tradition and made her go kill the demon that impregnated her and, I guess in that process, he…killed her.  And don’t tell me that a slayer falling in love with a demon is ridiculous because Trick’s parents are proof.” I narrowed my eyes at her when I noticed her getting ready to protest against what I just told her, but as soon as I pulled out Trick’s parents, she stopped and reconsidered.  I didn’t need to tell her that she couldn’t tell anyone.  She knows most of our conversations need to be kept private, and this one screamed ‘confidential’.

“She had the same tattoo you had…and so did Trick’s mom…only hers became gold and black after they stayed together.” She stared at me and I could just see the wheels in her head turning.  Silver and black was the original color of slayer tattoos, but the reason that it changed from gold to gold and black was a mystery, even to me.

“Faustus said that, before Katerina and the demon got romantically involved, she asked him to stop touching her tattoo because it was starting to become…almost painful.  He was the only one that knew about her and the demon until she brought it up to everyone else.  He said he didn’t even try to fight for her and that she looked happy when she talked about the demon and even happier when she was with him.” I looked down and shrugged when Andie didn’t take her eyes off me.  She didn’t say anything at first, but when she did, it felt like eternity had past.  And it was not what I was expecting her to say either.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Andie walked around the counter and sat next to me on the couch, taking my hand.  Now that I could see her face more closely, I noticed that there were two colors swirling in her brown eyes; pink: curious, and gray: worried.

A soft knock on the front door stopped me from what I was about to say but, at the same time, also made me smile a little bit.  I looked at the clock, which read seven o’clock, and jumped off the couch.  Ace was showed up at the exact time he said he would.  Andie slowly got up from the couch and I could feel her eyes on me at the same time I heard her opening the door as I ran down the hall to my room to get on some shoes and grab my black, sling purse.  It wasn’t until I double checked myself in the mirror that I noticed how funny my stomach felt.  I guess I shouldn’t be nervous over just going to the fair with Ace, but for some reason, I was.  Looking closely in the mirror, I saw brown mixing in with my blue-green eyes: jitters, and orange mixing in behind that: excited.  I didn’t move.  I just took a few slow, deep breaths to calm down and shook myself out quickly before tying my shoes.

“Hey.” Ace stood up and smoothed his black hair down with his hand with a quiet, nervous clear of his throat.  He had on his normal dark jeans, black studded belt, and his cross necklace with a black shirt, but over that, he had a baggy white zip-up sweatshirt halfway zipped.  In my peripheral, I could see him slide his hands into his front pockets with his shoulders slightly hunched as his eyes trailed my body.  The corners of his mouth were turning up into a small grin and when his eyes met mine, the grin stayed on his face and his stance straightened up.

“Hi.  Sorry about that.  I had to grab some shoes.” I put my bag over my shoulder and fixed my shirt so it covered everything the way it was supposed to.  Andie was just standing up from the couch where she was sitting next to Ace with her legs crossed.  My thought: she made Ace sit down.  He probably would’ve stayed by the door if it wasn’t for her.

“It’s all good.  We’ve got all night.” He followed me to the door and reached around me, opening it.  I just held up a finger with a smile and turned back to face Andie, giving her a hug.

“Have fun tonight.  Be careful.  Be smart.  Don’t talk to strangers.  Stay together.  Um…am I missing anything?” She laughed with me and turned me around, pushing me to the door. “Oh yeah!  Ace, take care of her or you’ll be answering to me.”

“Yes ma’am.” He nodded at my sister and looked back at me, putting his hand in the middle of my back as I stepped up to him. “You have my word.” The touch of his hand made goosebumps rise on my skin and the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  I could feel his hot skin through my shirt and I had to fight against the urge to shiver.  Because of that, it made the walk to the truck feel like miles, but we finally got there and he opened the door for me.  I was about to get in, but when I saw that Andie was still standing in the doorway, I stopped and poked my head around the door.

“I don’t have my phone on me, just so you know!” Even from this far away I could tell what look was on her face: disappointment and caution.  But she didn’t say anything about it.  She just did her usual thing: shook it off and let it go.

“Alright, thanks for the heads up!  Oh, wait!  What am I supposed to tell Corin if he calls?”

“Just tell him I’m out for the night!” I gave her one more wave before climbing into the truck with Ace’s hand under my elbow helping me up.  He closed the door and jogged around to the driver’s side, hopping in and closing the door in one swift motion.  The loud, thunderous roar of the engine coming to life vibrated the floor and shook the rest of the vehicle a little bit.  I turned in my seat as soon as Ace started pulling away and smiled at him. “You are a charmer, aren’t you?”

“What’d you mean?” Ace rested his arm on the center council and leaned on it, looking at me with a smile.  His dark eyes seemed curious but at the same time he seemed pretty amused.  The warmth of his skin was going through his sweatshirt and into my shoulder on contact.

“You know how to act in front of family.  I was thinking about this last time you were over.  You don’t act all polite and chivalrous when it’s just you and me.  In front of my parents you were so polite…even when Trick was in the room.” I set my purse on the floor and crossed my legs as I leaned against the council even more.  He looked away from me, laughing, and watched as a red mustang with heavily shaded windows passed us.

“Hey, I’ve had my share of practice.  Besides, your folks won’t let us hang out if I acted overly casual with them.”

“Oh, now they’re ‘folks’?” I laughed at him and tried to pull away from him when he tried covering my mouth with his hand.  He didn’t stop grabbing for me, even as I turned completely in the seat so that my back was against the door and my feet on the center council.  I’m surprised he didn’t even try taking his other hand off the wheel in attempt to pin my legs and arms down.  Actually, he hardly took his eyes off the road as he grabbed at me. “What does that make Trick?”

“Same b*****d as before.” He let up on reaching for me and straightened up a bit, giving me the smallest glance as if to make sure he didn’t hit a nerve.  I understand and know for a fact that Trick can be a major dick sometimes, especially if he doesn’t like someone, so I wasn’t offended.  Instead I actually laughed a little at it.

“You haven’t met my brother…what about my sister?  What is she?”

“Scary.”

“Scary?” I couldn’t help but laugh at that.  My sister wouldn’t hurt a fly…outside of a fight.  She’s the sweetest person on the planet. “You came up with that one pretty quick there.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know about you but I sure as hell wouldn’t want to do anything to upset her.” He looked at me with a small grin and his head slightly bowed and laughed quietly when I laughed even more. “I’m serious; I bet she could kick my a*s if I pissed her off enough, and I’m not just sayin’ that ‘cause you guys are slayers.”

“Yeah you’re probably right,” I laughed. “I guess that means you really do have to take care of me tonight.” I situated myself back in my seat so I was sitting right and looked over at him as I leaned my elbow on the council.  He looked at me as if he was considering if he was planning on doing that or if he was planning on just letting me take care of myself.  Could I?  Of course.  Did I want to tonight?  No, not really.  To be honest, I didn’t want anything to do with demons tonight when, on any other night, I’d be up for dealing with them.

“Damn.” The sarcasm was easily detectable in his voice and when he looked at me he kept a fake, disappointed expression on his face. “Was not planning on doing that…”

“Oh, okay.  Good to know.” I gave him a small grin and then looked down when I heard a phone going off.  Ace jumped a little but quickly started looking for where it was coming from.  I started to help look for it and I found it on the floor near his feet, but as soon as I started reaching for it, he quickly reached down and snatched if before I even got my fingers close to it.  He looked at the caller ID and the expression on his face darkened.  I noticed his thumb hovering over the button to answer but then it moved over and he declined the call then turned off his phone, tossing it in the back seat.

“My sister’s been trying to call me all day just to see what I’m doing.  It’s getting pretty annoying.” He shrugged and looked out his window as he pulled the truck into the fairground’s parking lot.  It was packed with more people than there was last year.  Every parking space that was close to the entrance was taken, some cars actually making their own parking spots so they didn’t have to park so far away. “We’ll have to park a ways away from the entrance unless you want me to squeeze into a spot between cars.”

“You can pick, I’m in no hurry either way.” When I saw the smug expression that flitted across his face, I wanted to tell him that I meant that the fair would be there all night, but in a way, I meant it the way he took it as well.  He didn’t say anything more as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street.  His music was back up, some sort of rock song that I haven’t heard before.  I picked up the CD case that was lying on the floor in the center and examined it.  Avenged Sevenfold.  Flipping it over to the back, I skimmed through the songs on the back, and when I didn’t see any familiar ones, I set the case back down.

Ace

If it wasn’t for Ronnie’s sister, uh, Andie, I think, I would’ve been able to snoop around and see what I could find.  I could have found something Accursius would have found interesting, thus possibly getting the little…babysitters he sent after me off my back.  I don’t know what it is that’s making him start doubting me…maybe it’s the fact that it’s been a few weeks and I haven’t really gotten him any date or time for any form of ambush.  Whatever the reason, he’s getting anxious, and Andie’s presence kept me from the opportunity to change that.  I could’ve killed her…but then that would have been completely obvious and I’d probably be dead.  Actually, I probably will be later anyways, seeing as I ignored Zona’s call.  She’ll hunt me down later to get an answer for that and hopefully, it wouldn’t be tonight.

After finding a good spot to park, a couple blocks from the fairgrounds, I got out and walked to the other side, beating Ronnie so I could open the door for her.  She smiled and shook her head at me as she used my shoulder to steadily drop herself to the ground.  Her grip was light and remained so even as her fingers started to trail down my arm as she gradually let go of my shoulder.  She didn’t try to reach for my hand, or even keep her fingers lingering around mine, but for some reason, I wished she would have.  I wanted to say something about the fact that she was wearing a tank top, especially since it was supposed to get cold later, but I guess that if she’s around me, she’d stay fairly warm.

“Have you been to one of these?” She didn’t even look at me as we crossed the street, approaching the parking lot.  Her shoulder was against mine, her fingers hooked behind her back like she didn’t know what to do with her hands.  A smile grew on her face as a couple up ahead held their toddler by the hands, swinging her in between them.  The little girl was squealing with excitement each time her feet came off the ground, fading into tiny giggles when they touched.  I wished she was looking at me so that I could see what her eyes showed that she wasn’t telling me.

“Come every year.  I usually participate in scaring people in the haunted woods.” What’s the left out portion of my answer?  I participated in the supposedly fake disembowelment of people.  We always used real people and actually did cut them open, but no one’s ever noticed because the smoke and exhaust masked the scent of flesh pretty well.  If anything, humans got just the slightest hint of the smell but associated it with part of the act, along with the screaming.

Her sister’s home alone; here’s your chance.

Accursius was able to get my thoughts if I threw them out to him, and he was able to throw his out to all of us to give orders.  We just preferred to use phones.  In my case, I decided not to use my phone because that’d just be rude.  Just the slightest feeling of pride washed through me when I let Accursius know that, but as soon as I said the last word, I had second thoughts.  Thankfully they didn’t last very long, but they were still there.

“I didn’t know that.  Why didn’t you do it again this year?” This time she looked up at me, her earlier smile fading. “I mean, it seems like it’d be a lot of fun…why stop?”

“Because I came with you instead.” I gave her a grin and watched as her expression faltered before she ducked her head, the corners of her mouth turning into a small smile.  Keeping my hands in my pocket, I bumped my shoulder into her lightly and looked up as we stepped into the fair.

All the rides were already running with full loads and had long lines waiting to go next.  The kids waiting were laughing and pushing each other, some dancing to the music provided.  Those that were on rides were screaming at high pitched levels that hurt my ears.  Some were cheering at the game stands and some where trying to motivate themselves.  Carnies were blowing horns and shouting, trying to convince people to play their games.  Little kids were running ahead of their parents to reach the animal barns and mini petting zoo.  Lights shown brightly from both the rides and the tents, flashing between red, blue, and green.  Not only did they illuminate the night sky, but they also illuminated the dark dirt under our feet.  The smell of deep-fried foods and cotton-candy flooded my senses, along with cigarette smoke.  Couples were walking hand in hand laughing and sharing food �" some were standing in line for the Ferris Wheel.  In the back there was a line of teenagers and young adults by the entrance sign for the haunted woods, trying to guess who’s going to freak out the most, defending their pride when they were accused.

Ronnie and I went on several of the faster rides together and made our way to the Ferris Wheel.  On it, and between every other ride, we talked about nothing and everything at the same time.  Her eyes showed the same story she was telling me, so there was no need to bring up how she looked like she felt the opposite of what she said.  We asked questions that caught each other off guard, her best being triggered by a group of girls giggling when I glanced over at them �" how many women have I been with? �" and mine just being of curiosity �" how did she feel about having to be betrothed to that guy…Cory or something.  Either way, they caught both of us off guard and we each had a hard time answering.  We even became competitive with each other on the games.  I tried to discretely let her win at them but when I tried, she seemed to notice and, after laughing, made me go hard on her.  Needless to say I beat her but she was an excellent sport about it.  She just laughed at gave me high-fives and became more determined with each round we played.  Every time she got ready to start I noticed her gaze shift to a giant brown bear hanging from the top of the stand.  The light gleamed off her skin and I could finally see her eyes with complete clarity.  For the second time since I’ve met her, they were pure.  No color mixed in with her original.  She wound up winning a small dog stuffed animal, but when she saw a little boy crying to his dad about how he couldn’t win anything, she went over to him and gave him the dog, making him give her a big, teary eyed smile.  It even made me smile to myself a little bit.  When she snuck off to the bathroom I turned to the carnie at our game and traded him our winnings for the giant stuffed bear.

“I know this is really cheesy, but this is for you.” I held the bear out to her when she came out, and seeing the smile on her face was all I really needed for reassurance.  She took it from me and admired it before reaching up and wrapping her arm around my neck.  At first, for the first time in my existence, I really didn’t know how to react to it, so I just stood there for a second.  Then I just casually wrapped my arm around her shoulders and chuckled when she thanked me.  A quick glance around and my body tensed.

I can’t believe I didn’t sense them.  My thoughts have been so focused on Ronnie and trying to figure her out that I didn’t even notice all the other demons around.  Demons that I knew that also knew me and could easily cause me some trouble.  I could’ve either kept my arm around her and risk one of them seeing it, which would put me in a tight spot, or I could let go of her and risk leaving her just the slightest bit vulnerable to getting picked off.  As strong as the need to keep her safe was, for some unknown reason, I needed to think about how it’d affect my job first; if I got caught screwing up or showing signs of ‘getting close’ to the slayer, not only would I be sent straight back to Hell and face my boss, but I also wouldn’t be allowed to see her anymore.  So, I dropped my arm and stepped back, clearing my throat and putting my hands in my pockets.  It comforted me a little when Ronnie stepped back and cleared her throat too.  As soon as space was created, the surrounding demons started glancing over at us, some sly expressions, some knowing, and some appalled.  Needless to say that, when I saw Zona, I noticed that she was the only one that looked utterly pissed off and ready to kill someone.  Well, I guess that meant that she’d be participating in the maze tonight.

“Wanna go through the haunted woods?” Her eyes were a mix of their usual blue-green and bright sky blue: enthusiastic.  She was looking at me from over the head of the bear I gave her with a small smile.  I didn’t want to say no to her, but at the same time, I knew Zona would be in there and she’s probably raging.  Taking her through there would practically be putting her in danger.  And there’s no way she’d do any good carrying the giant bear along with us. “Unless you’re too scared,” she dared, her sweet smile turning to a sly, accusing one.

“Ha!  Scared?  I don’t know the meaning of the word.” I leaned closer to her with a grin, close enough so her nose was almost touching mine, and I could hear her breath catch just the slightest bit. “Sure, let’s go.”

“Excuse me.” A quiet voice came from my left, catching both of our attention, making us look down.  There was a little girl tugging on Ronnie’s shirt, looking up at her through a pair of glasses.  She smiled and started playing with her hair when Ronnie knelt down, keeping the bear from touching the ground.

“Hi sweetie, what’s goin’ on?”

“My mommy can’t go on rides and I wanna go…will you go on one with me?”

“Well, where is your mommy?” At Ronnie’s question, the little girl turned around, her pig-tails whipping around, and pointed at a woman through the crowd that seemed like she was about to go hysterical. “Does…she know where you are?”

The little girl shook her head and bowed it a little bit.  I grinned at her chances of coming across a slayer instead of a demon, who would take her away the instant they knew her location was unknown.  Honestly, that’d be something I would’ve done too if I wasn’t with Ronnie, or had never met her.

“Go ahead, I can take this to the truck while you’re on the ride so you don’t have to carry it through the forest.” I grabbed hold of the bear as she stood up, loosening her grip on it. “I’ll meet you back here when you’re done.”

“Okay, thanks.” She smiled at me before turning her attention to the little girl, taking her hand. “Let’s go let your mommy know you’re okay before we do anything, alright?”

I walked towards the entrance, and once I got to a spot where there were no humans, I shimmered out of the grounds and reappeared by my truck.  As soon as I opened the door to the backseat, I had a rush of tension shoot down my spine.  I let out a frustrated sigh and set the bear in the backseat, slamming the door shut before turning around to see who was around me.  Verrine.  He was dressed in dark clothing, the hood of his black sweatshirt hiding half his face.  He must be on a break from the haunted woods…or just out hunting for someone to use in it.

“Hey there Vince.  How are the woods this year?” I leaned against the side of my truck, not in any particular hurry since it only took me a few seconds to get out here.  Would I like to see how Ronnie is with kids?  Yes I would.  But I can’t just ignore a fellow demon to go running back to a slayer without raising suspicion.

“Best year yet; we’ve been scaring the s**t outta people all night.  If you were participating, well then people would be a thousand times more terrified.  You’ve always been the best at scaring people.”

“Well no s**t; I’m the Prince of Death.  I have to be scary.  But aside from scaring people, why are other demons here keeping an eye on me?  I’m working on it and besides, I told Accursius her sister was home alone after we left.  That should’ve been proof enough I’m still positive I can do this.”

“Ah yes, and she was when we got there, but we couldn’t get anywhere near the house and as soon as a few demons showed up, they had to leave because other slayers started returning.  However, others have been monitoring you and this girl all night and Accursius is getting concerned you may be losing track of your duties and would like you to be reminded that he can easily withdraw you from this which will result in consequences.”

“Yeah, I know.  I’m not losing sight of anything.  He just needs to be patient; it’s more difficult to read her since her eyes aren’t giving anything off for me to pick up on.”

“Well then maybe you can’t rely on just your charm with her.  You may have to result to other tactics other than just flirting.”

“Like what?  I’m already freaking hanging out with her.  What else am I supposed to do?  Sleep with her so she’ll tell me stuff?  Downgrade myself to an Incubus?” The look on Vince’s face after I said that made me hesitate and then look away from him.  Honestly, I haven’t thought of sleeping with her.  Just kissing her.  I didn’t really know what to say to that and just wound up clearing my throat a few times like an idiot.  And Vince was not stupid.

“Whoa, don’t tell me you don’t want to.  You never don’t want to sleep with a pretty girl.  Unless…you’ve got the hots for this slayer…”

“F**k no!  It just wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do with Trick being like family to her.  The second I lay a hand on her he’ll open his mouth and then I’m dead and then Accursius is out on all options of getting the information he wants.  I’m just trying to be smart about this.  I’ll tell you what, when she and I are done with the woods we’ll go out on the town and if you guys show up around there then I won’t make a big deal about it and you can sit in on our conversation and hear everything we talk about and get the information first hand.” I stepped away from my truck, figuring now would be a good time to get back to Ronnie.  She and that kid are probably just about done with their ride and I don’t want to keep her waiting. “I’ll talk to you later and maybe see you later tonight.  I gotta go.” I waved over my shoulder, knowing from experience it’s not the smartest move to turn my back to another demon, but I couldn’t care less.  If anyone wanted to get in my way right now they could risk it themselves, and Vince was smart enough to not try.  However, now his comment about me having to use something other than my charm on her is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the night.

I shimmered into the men’s room in the fairgrounds and after figuring out no one else was in there, I walked outside.  A group of little kids ran out in front of me and I almost walked into them but thanks to my reflexes, I stopped in time.  I probably would not have helped them up if they fell, and it’s a good thing I stopped because Ronnie was walking towards me and if she saw me not help up kids that I knocked over, well that might not score good points with her at all.  Her hair was windblown and her tank top was sitting kind of low.

I liked it.

“Sorry about that,” she sighed, running her hand through her hair with a smile.  She had her shoulders kind of hunched and by the time she was close to me, her arms were crossed loosely over her torso.  It probably wasn’t meant to mean anything but I saw it as her being cold, although she probably wasn’t meaning to show it.  I couldn’t tell if the temperature dropped seeing as I’m always so freaking warm, but the breeze picked up and we have been here for a couple hours.

“How was the ride?” I casually started to unzip my sweatshirt and grinned down at her. “Here, take this.” Draping it over her shoulders, I stepped closer and my eyes picked up on the very, very slight shaking of her hands as she slid her arms through the sleeves.  I zipped it up for her so she wouldn’t have to take her hands out of the sleeves and chuckled when I heard her audible sigh.

“It was fun.  She took me on the Cherry-Go-Round and she made me spin it the entire time.” She put the hood up and shuddered with a comfortable smile. “This is really warm…are you sure you won’t get cold?”

“Positive.” I winked at her and jerked my head, putting my hands in my pockets. “Still wanna go to the woods?  Or you too scared?” Turning my back on her I started walking away and looked over my shoulder and back at her.

“Oh no, we’re still goin’.” She laughed and jogged after me, pushing into me from behind and laughing even more when I hardly budged.

We continued walking, not really planning on stopping since there weren’t any others in front of us, but we were stopped under the rickety, metal archway by someone dressed in black robes who looked like an old, creepy woman with long, stringy gray hair.  She kind of reminded me of that one evil lady in the movie where the girl lives with seven little people and eats a poison apple.  I looked up at the archway and noticed the metal was bent, giving it an old, aged look.  The separate wires were all rusted in some parts, and part of it had small holes where they were cut.  Whoever set it up, they weaved dead vines and leaves so they crawled up the side and along the top.  Looking over the head of the woman in front of us, I peered into the woods but the smoke made it a little difficult for my eyes to make clear images.  In the distance, I noticed quick flashes of green and red lights that were followed by blinding strobe lights, all of which showed how thick the smoke was.  It was difficult even for my demon eyes to see, so I didn’t think she’d be able to see anything but darkness.  The screams echoed loud enough to hear over the prerecorded demonic laughter, which was actually pretty impressive.  The laughter was recorded by me a long time ago and it actually even made some weaker demons nervous since they knew what I could do to them.  The cool thing about these woods is that the workers are allowed to touch the people going through it.

“Why hello…what a precious couple you two are,” the hag sneered.  The make-up was incredibly realistic, all the way down to the teeth.  They were crooked and stained yellow, empty spots along both the top and bottom row showing where other teeth were lost.  Her gums were made to look swollen and disease ridden.  With a bony, shaky hand, she reached out and touched the side of Ronnie’s face and then her hair, letting it slide through her gnarled fingers.  Her voice became raspy and mysterious, followed by a hacking laugh as she stepped back and gestured for us to continue. “It would be a shame if one were to go missing along the trail.”