Episode Five

 

Jumping the Shark

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

 

Humanity drove me bananas; how hard was it to do what a demon wanted? I glanced at the humans surrounding me. They seemed so excited to support my bid for Mayor, after my years representing them on the city council. Of course, they didn’t know I was a demon.

Tonight was a big night for all of us – the final debate before the primary elections in only one week. I was hanging out with my campaign volunteers to show my thanks for their support, but the metal folding chairs in campaign headquarters were uncomfortable. Who ordered these wretched things?

“Barbara, we’ll be getting on the bus in about an hour. Need to leave in thirty minutes.”

The voice interrupted my pointless wandering thoughts and I focused on the young woman standing before me, brown eyes wide behind bright red glasses. “Thank you, Lynn.” I stood and stretched my arms to the side. Taking the form of a middle-aged human somehow brought aches and pains with it. Not cool. “I’ll be in my office. Please come get me when it’s time.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Lynn Fox, my campaign manager, walked away and I watched her confer with two volunteers. I smiled at the volunteers I passed on my way to my office, and closed the door firmly behind me. And sighed. I understood why they wanted the candidates to arrive together; it made for a better visual. On the other hand, that meant extra travel time to meet the bus.

Unlike in campaigns past, this debate had importance. There were four challengers for the position. I normally wouldn’t care, except that, for the supernatural, the head of the city council is also usually the ruler of the underworld. I’d been the unofficial head of the city council because the current mayor was a human, and an idiot. But he was stepping down. I couldn’t risk a supernatural taking his place who might not want to recognize the existing power structure. I wasn’t planning on giving up my status as Ruler of the Supernatural Underworld.

One of the challengers was a popular local actor, Jeffrey Jenkins. He’d been getting a lot of press lately. That made me nervous, though I still expected to be victorious. It was my destiny. I sighed again. I needed to do well in the debate tonight to solidify my position. Polls showed the two of us running neck and neck, with a fellow supernatural a close third. He was an interesting one, Mark Mammon. Though I hadn’t met him yet.

A mist swirled before me and I braced myself. The mist existed only in my mind, and signaled an impending premonition. I closed my eyes and waited. My mind’s eye showed me the bus for the debate tonight. Hmm. As future me walked toward the bus, movement became tortured. I trudged forward, fighting against the feeling of walking through molasses, knowing I needed to get on that bus. It became too difficult. Future me stopped fighting and froze, a weight lifted. I watched the bus doors close and the bus drive away. Part of me felt like I should call after it; I couldn’t not get on the bus. I needed to be at the debate. But, future me felt relieved.

Present me snapped her eyes open in the office. The premonition was over. Now to figure out what it meant. I tapped my fingers on the plastic folding table before me. This could be tricky.

Everything had fallen apart in the past three months. After literally hundreds of years of accurate premonitions, things had become wonky. Only a few months ago, even my minion had been able to break her pact with me. I narrowed my eyes at the thought of Robin Landon’s cheekiness. My premonitions hadn’t breathed a word of that betrayal. More importantly, I’d had a premonition that a witch, Jackson McKee – Robin’s new boyfriend (hard eye roll at that thought) – was involved in a loss of my power, but I’d been unsuccessful in eliminating him. As I admitted to Robin in our last encounter, my precognition was on the fritz. What other explanation could there be for these outcomes?

Thus, my current dilemma. My premonition suggested I shouldn’t get on the bus. Could that be the wrong interpretation? Or maybe the premonition was wrong entirely. I ground my teeth together. A soft knock on the door drew my attention. Lynn poked her head in.

“It’s time, Ms. Knollman.”

I frowned and did not stand.

“Sorry. Barbara.” When I still didn’t respond, Lynn matched my frown. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I won’t be taking the debate bus,” I declared, decision made.

Her mouth dropped open for a moment before she recovered. “I’ll inform the coordinator.” She closed the door. At least she knew better than to question me.

Now to see what happened.