Here’s the final part of my new Damon the Demon story, Cemetery Blues…Read from the beginning here.
By the time they had returned to the cemetery, the witching hour had fallen. The bones were returned to where they needed to be. For the Jennings and Newcombe families, that meant re-interring them within their respective tombs in their family mausoleums. The identification was done with help from the owners, as everyone knew their own when they saw them. The tombs were then tidied up as best as they could be, and plans made to have the damage fixed and put right so that they would eventually be as good as new again.
Then it was time to go and see Shelly. On the way, they stopped at the tomb of Dr Moran. His services would be required that night, and he was eager to oblige.
When they arrived at the bone house where Shelly had been resting, a small crowd had gathered. A cheer went up. Jabez bowed appreciatively at this recognition. Tabitha curtsied. Damon nodded but refrained from any further acknowledgement. After all, he was only doing his job.
Inside, Littla Ada was holding the gloved hand bones of Shelly.
‘She’s been awfully brave, hasn’t she, Damon,’ the girl said.
With the other hand, Shelly wiped a tear that no-one could see from her eye. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me down,’ she whispered to Damon, visibly emotional and relieved. ‘And you’ve brought Dr Moran too! How wonderful!’
‘Well, I thought, the sooner we get you fixed up, the sooner you can be back up on them pins.’ He grinned down at the skeleton.
‘How bad is it, doctor?’ Shelly asked.
Dr Moran lifted the Damon’s coat which was still draped over the skeleton, to evaluate her injuries. ‘Nothing we can’t repair. Don’t worry, Shelly, you’ll be up and about again in no time.’ To the others, he said, ‘Can I ask you all to step outside while I perform the surgery.’
They all did as they were bid. A few hours later, the doctor exited the mausoleum to give them the good news that Shelly’s surgery had been successful. However, she was exhausted after all she had been through, and he had taken the decision to keep visitors away while she rested for a day or two.
The crowd dispersed shortly after, leaving Damon, Jabez and Tabitha alone.
‘Well, that was an interesting few days,’ Jabez commented. ‘Hopefully I’ve fulfilled my obligation as your deputy and can now be released from any such commitments in future?’
‘Of course. Thank you.
‘We couldn’t have done it without you,’ Tabitha chipped in.
Jabez’s undead eyes sparkled with interest. He took up Tabitha’s hand and kissed it. ‘My fair lady.’
She grimaced. That was not what she had intended.
‘You better head on home,’ Damon said to the revenant, seeing how unhappy Tabitha looked. ‘And you look exhausted,’ he said to the witch. ‘It’s been a hard twenty four hours for everyone.’
They all went their separate ways, Tabitha muttering to herself as she went, promising to wash her hand before it touched and contaminated anything else. Damon returned to his mausoleum, feeling bone tired.
He made himself a hot chocolate and changed into some loungewear. Wrapping himself in his second favourite poncho (the first was still wet from the soaking the night before), he decided to sit on his porch and look out over the cemetery as he unwound.
‘Hello, Mr Damon,’ a voice suddenly said from out of the darkness at the side of the bone house.
Damon sat up sharply, recognising the voice of Mortuatus.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said in that strangely gentle way of his. ‘It was not my intention to startle you.’
Damon invited Mortuatus up on to the porch. He knew not to invite him inside, just in case he was a vampire.
‘I hear the bonestealers have been dealt with.’
‘Yes, that’s all sorted now.’ Damon sipped his hot chocolate. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘Well…you know…When we spoke earlier, I mentioned to you that I had returned to novel writing.’
‘You did.’
‘Well…’ Mortuatus sounded nervous. ‘I haven’t told anyone else yet. Just you…It’s been so long and I might be a out of practice. Anyway, I was wondering if you would do me the honour of having a read of manuscript and let me know what you think.’
‘Of course.’ Damon enjoyed a good tale. ‘What’s it called?’
‘A Story To Die For.’
The End
Written for: 13 Days of Samhain vol iii: Day 13: The Witching Hour
My thanks to everyone who has read, liked and commented on this story. Your encouragement has been well-received, I can assure you 🙂 And I have had so much fun writing it.
My thanks also to those who have joined in with the prompts. If you haven’t already, head over to the main prompt post (link above) and find the links in the comments to some truly amazing writing by some truly talented writers and poets. I’ve had as much fun reading these stories and poems as I had writing my own contributions.
And that’s it for another year. I hope you all had a Blessed Samhain,
Sammi x
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Sammi Cox 