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“What is a chupacabra?" Sabrina asked. "And what does it have to do with my father?"
I thought back to what my grandfather had told me. What connection did the new drug have to do with a chupacabra?
"Let's see," I began. "The Chupacabra is also called the goat sucker. It has glowing red eyes and can be dog-like with sharp fangs. The animal stalks its prey and kills quickly, sucking the blood but leaving the meat. When the blood samples of a chupacabra were taken and analyzed, some had human qualities. Attacks attributed to this creature have been at night with no witnesses.” A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.
"What does it mean?"
"I-I don't know. Maybe my grandfather has more information." I sighed and checked my cell phone for the time. "Oh, crap!"
"What?"
"I'm supposed to pick up my brother at school. I've got to get going." I had no time to spare. “Come on. Let’s go.”
"Wait." Sabrina held up her hand. "I need to check this out first."
Thirty seconds through the self-check, the book was in Sabrina’s backpack, and we were out the door. Luckily, the library was ten minutes by car from the high school. I made it in seven. I pulled into a nearly empty parking lot and found my brother leaning against the outside wall, bored, but not angry.
I pulled to the curb and rolled down the window. "Sorry, I'm late. I tried to hurry."
"No problem. Mom and Dad told me you had to run an errand for grandpa." Henry jerked his thumb over his shoulder for me to vacate, and stuck me in the backseat. My brother slid behind the steering wheel and was surprised at seeing Sabrina. "So who are you?"
"Sabrina Stevens."
He glanced over his shoulder at me, a grin playing at the edges of his mouth and raised his brows several times. "What exactly was this errand you had to do for Grandpa?"
I tried to remain vague. "Oh, um, Sabrina and I ran into each other."
"At the hospital," she quickly added. "My father is your grandfather's partner. I went to see how he was doing."
My brother nodded, moved the seat back, put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb, circling the parking lot to the exit, the ride as smooth as Henry’s delivery. "So, Sabrina, are you a teenage witch?" Henry gave her one of his smiles that melted most girls.
She rolled her eyes. "Like I haven't heard that one before."
I grinned.
Sabrina shook her head at me, her eyes darting between Henry and me.
I nodded, smiling, knowing that our mission was confidential.
She faced forward, her shoulders relaxing.
"Are you coming home with us?" Henry asked.
"Home? Aren't we going to the hospital?" I frowned. Didn’t Henry want to see our grandfather? It was bad enough he didn’t visit him during school, but what was his excuse now? Incredible!
"If we go, I can't stay long. I have to be back at school by five for a team meeting before the game," Henry said.
"Is it okay with you, Sabrina?"
"Sure. I can walk home from the hospital."
In a car made for speed, Henry puttered to the freeway entrance and drove below the speed limit, moving into the slow lane. Once he exited, he slowed at green lights until they turned red, wasting more time. What the heck?
My stomach tightened. I wanted to shake my brother. I could have raced him to the hospital pedaling a bike and won! What was he trying to prove?
I led the way into the hospital at a fast pace and paused at the elevator, jabbing the button. Silence lingered in the elevator on the way up. My brother strode off first, spotting my father talking on his cell phone at the corner of the nurse’s station. Sabrina and I caught up.
"How's he doing?" I asked.
Dad, remained on the phone, nodded and pointed toward Gramps’s room.
Grandpa gave me a weary expression while Mom fussed over him. "I hope you're the Calvary!"
I grinned. I got my sarcasm from him. "Mom, why don't you take a break?"
"I’m glad both you boys came. David explained you weren’t able to come earlier because you were in the middle of a test." Mom pulled the sides of her mouth back and squeezed her lips.
Henry glanced at me, and back at Mom. "Yeah. Sorry."
"Oh, no worries." Grandpa flicked his hand. "Tests are necessary. They help you get into a good college." He noticed Sabrina for the first time and waved.
I sidestepped to give Gramps a better view. "Grandpa, this is Sabrina Stevens, Tom Stevens' daughter.”
“I know Sabrina.”
“We ran into each other at the—” I stopped myself, realizing I’d almost blabbed where Grandpa had sent me. I hoped my mother hadn't been listening.
"Where did you meet her?" Mom asked.
"I ran into him at the hospital here. I came to see how Mr. Finkleman was doing." Sabrina smiled at my mom.
"Did your father tell you Ashir was ill?" Mom rushed on. “I’m surprised he hasn’t stopped by.”
“He’s busy on a case.” If nothing else, she was quick answering questions and lying. I’d have to remember that for the future.
"So Henry, you have a big game tonight." Gramps, said, redirecting the subject smoothly.
"Yeah, but maybe I shouldn't play," Henry said.
"Henry that’s crazy,” Mom scolded. “You told me the scouts were coming tonight.”
Grandpa frowned at Henry. "I hope you don't think you shouldn't play because of me."
"Well, uh, I—”
"Pish-posh. You play in that game. I'll be listening to it on the radio. I want you to go out there and play the best game of your life. I'll be cheering you on right here from this bed," Gramps said.
"And I'll be here by his side, so he doesn't get too excited." Mom beamed.
Grandpa grumbled, pursed his lips together, and shook his head. "I don't need a darn babysitter."
"I'd better get going, Grandpa." Henry scrunched his face. "I have to be back at school early tonight."
Gramps flicked his fingers in a shooing motion towards the door. "Go. Go. I don't want the star quarterback of the football team to be late."
The muscles on the sides of Henry’s mouth relaxed and formed into a smile. "I'll throw a touchdown pass for you tonight."
Grandpa winked at him.
Henry hesitated, staring at the floor before glancing up. Quietly, he whispered, "Love you, Grandpa." He hurried out, his head downcast.
"Is Dad going to the game?" I asked Mom.
"Yes. You can ride with him."
I turned to Sabrina. "Do you want to go to the game with us? We have extra tickets with my mom and grandpa staying here."
"I'd have to ask my mom, first."
"Okay. Do you need a phone?"
"No. I have my own." She sauntered out of the room.
Now I needed to get my mom out. Grandpa came to my rescue. "Constance. Could you get me some ice?" He handed her a plastic pitcher.
Mom was happy to be able to do something, and probably because grandpa asked her to help him. She strode from the room, a woman on a mission.
One corner of Grandpa’s mouth turned up. "So what did you find, my boy?"
"I found Sabrina there and a matchbook at his table with a number on it. Sabrina and I tracked the number, and it turned out to be a book on Unexplained Mysteries. Does it sound familiar?"
Gramps tilted his head. “Sabrina’s helping you, huh?”
“She made me.”
He chuckled. "Make sure she stays safe.”
I nodded.
“Are you sure it was a book number?"
"We found another matchbook in the book, in the chapter titled, "Chupacabra." I frowned. "Could Mr. Stevens have been reading up on the Chupacabras?”
Gramps released a breath. "Remember it had something to do with a drug?”
“Yeah.”
“In Mexico, they called it pildora magica, Pill of Magic. We at the agency call it Canis, which is Latin for dog and a term of abuse, which fits here. A better name for it is deadly. The drug turns a person into a Chupacabra."
My brows nearly touched my hairline. "The crazy creature they had in the book?” How bizarre!? “Wow!” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t think I’m in Kansas anymore, Toto.”
"And this isn’t the Land of Oz,” Gramps said. “This is my world and now yours, where magic comes to life and threatens people and their lives. As wizards, it’s our duty to protect the average person from harmful magic. It’s why I need your help. I can’t do this in the condition I’m in.” He patted his chest. “My ticker’s left me weak, which lessens my powers. You’ve got to take my place, David. You’re the only one who can. This is what I’ve been training you for since you were three.”
“Gramps, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you. Keep reporting to me. Tom had a lead on the man who brought the drug into the country. He came to the Northwest because the area has thick growth which will keep him hidden when he changes."
"I think if a man-sized chupacabra were running anywhere people would spot and report it, or, at least, the news media would pick it up." I tilted my head.
Grandpa shook his head. "They can turn back to human form when they want. But what they can't control is right after taking the drug; they’ll turn when they become angry. Turning into a chupacabra is a real high. People get addicted quickly. It makes them powerful, fast and their senses are heightened."
"So what do we do?"
"We don't know how many people have been changed and if it's permanent. We also don't know who our culprit is. Tom found some vital information, and I was meeting him at the café to get an update."
"So you don't know what information he had?"
"Nope. It's why I need you to find Tom."
I frowned. "Do you think he's in danger?"
Grandpa's thick graying brows came together. "Might be."
This wasn't good. Drugs, turning a person into an ugly creature. And worse, they wanted to turn into this ugly beast.
“We’re sure the man who brought the pills here is a powerful wizard, who worked on creating them, so he has to know chemistry, and he’d have to have a lab accessible to him.” He paused. “We think he’s in your high school.”
Mr. Otto jumped to mind.
Gramps continued. "Whoever takes these pills will develop animal-like characteristics."
Mr. Otto growled when he graded our papers, and he had the jowls of a bulldog. "Such as?"
"Quickness, agility; they crave animal blood, mainly goats."
"Has there been a rash of goats missing in the area?" I chuckled.
Grandpa's mouth formed a hard, grim line. "Yes."
My smile faded. "You're kidding?"
"Nope. It was what first tipped us off. Out in the rural areas, not far from the city, goats were found with their blood sucked dry. The meat was left to rot."
"Have they ever attacked a human?" I asked.
"I haven’t heard of it yet, but I don't see why not." Grandpa sighed as if tired.
"I'll keep searching." I didn’t know where to go from here.
"There's something I need to give you." He pointed to his jacket lying on the back of a chair. "Get me it."
I crossed the room and handed it to him. He dug into the pocket and pulled out his unique wizard ring. "Here. Take this."
"I can't take your ring."
"Take it. It's for your protection. You're going to need it. It'll block energies meaning you harm. I use it all the time on cases."
"Really?" I handled the band, a silver dragon on a bed of black onyx between my finger and thumb. It weighed in my hand. I placed his coat back on the chair.
Mom whisked into the room.
I curled my fingers pressing the ring into the palm of my hand.
"Here's your ice, Papa. I had to go clear to the cafeteria to get it." Mom shook her head.
“Thanks, Constance. I’m parched.” Gramps winked at me.
I had a hard time suppressing the grin on my face.
Sabrina came to the door opening and waved me over. We strolled into the waiting room. "My dad is still not home, and he hasn’t called my mother, but she said he could be deep in a case. I can go to the game with you. So, tell me, why it’s important I go to this game with you tonight."
"It isn't. I thought you might want the distraction."
She tilted her head and pushed her mouth to one side. "What did your grandfather say?"
"Not a whole lot. Your father was close to finding the identity of a drug dealer, who moved to this area."
She drew her light brown brows together. "Drug dealer? My father doesn’t work drugs. He works with the strange and unusual cases; you know, vampires, werewolves, witches, wizards turned bad, those kinds of things."
Should I tell her the truth? Ugh! I shrugged. "I have an idea."
"What?"
"Bring the library book to my parent’s magic shop tomorrow. I’d do it tonight, but I’d have to get the key from my mom, and she’d ask a million questions. It would not be a good idea if my parents knew I was helping my grandfather. But I've got an idea on how to figure out if your father was the last one to use the book."
"Why don't we ask the library who checked it out last?" Sabrina blinked.
"What's the fun in that?" I showed her a toothy grin. "Plus, what if your father hadn’t checked it out of the library?”
“And you know how to figure out who read it last in the magic shop?”
“Yes, I do. The book is the only clue we’ve got."
"True. Okay. What time do you want to meet?"
"Eight. Before the shop opens." When she crinkled her brows together, I added, "It’s better to work in privacy."
"Oh, okay."
"Don't worry. We'll find him." I left out the part he might either be dead or have turned into a chupacabra.