Full Moon Demon

A killer is on the loose in the City of Sorcery, and Damon Wolfhard, second year resident at Golden Willow hospital, fears it might be him.

Damon keeps having dreams about murders that happen in the city and waking up covered in someone else's blood. Then his father falls deathly ill while visiting the hospital creating new worries for him.

As his father's health grows worse, and the killings in the city become more frequent, Damon learns the real truth about his family's tragedy. Damon enlists his friends' help in a race against time to stop the Full Moon Killer, and despite all his efforts otherwise will end with one of his family members dead.

Full Moon Demon
Chapter One

The nurses of Golden Willow loved his father. He'd only been in the hospital visiting for a day but they kept telling Damon how sweet and handsome his old man was, even the nurses that treated him like a puppy that had peed on the rug whenever he was in their patient space.
"Your kids are adorable, Miss Bailey. Thank you for showing them to me. You'll have to keep me updated on the whole Casserole Affair. You should write a book about your PTA, it's a hoot," said his father, Arthur.
Nurse Bailey blushed and gave his father a little wave before disappearing down the hallway, dodging a gurney on the way to surgery.
"You have lovely co-workers," said his father.
Arthur was built like a concrete barrel and looked like he could have been a boxer, but that was far from the truth, since his father worked as an accountant for a branch of D'Agastine Industries in Kansas City. But that didn't stop him from charming everyone around him with his blue eyes and soft touch, especially when it came to the ladies.
"The nurses are an integral part of Golden Willow's success," said Damon.
Arthur clapped him on the shoulder. Despite the differences in height—Damon had four inches on him—it always felt like his father was taller.
"This isn't so bad, son. We've been here a day and you haven't been called to an emergency once."
Damon led them towards the student wing for Aura Healers. He wanted his father to meet his classmates and assumed some of them would be in their common area.
"It's been a lot calmer since the spring."
His father winked. "It's okay, son. You don't have to make it sound worse than it is. I know you'd work hard no matter the circumstances."
"It's not that—"
The words on his tongue evaporated when his father froze, putting a hand to his temple and squinting.
"Are you okay?"
Arthur waved him off. "It's fine. Headaches. I've been getting them the last few months."
"That didn't look like just a headache. I should get you checked out while you're here."
"Not necessary, son. We're hearty folk. A little thing like a headache isn't to be worried about. I've only been having one or two a week."
"That's why it's a concern. Normal afflictions don't really bother our kind, but when symptoms start showing up, it's a cause for worry. It's part of the Supernatural Ward's handbook."
"But you haven't started yet," said his father, putting up a forced smile even though Damon could see the twitches in his brow.
"We start tomorrow, but I've been reading all the tomes this summer in preparation. There are so many interesting things I've learned already. I can't wait to get started. Did you know that there are at least three different credible origins of werewolves? I was—"
His father was no longer listening because he'd spotted one of the nurses they'd met the previous evening.
"Miss Jackie!"
The heavyset nurse broke into a grin as his father approached, forcing Damon to follow. He'd been trying to show him what he was doing at Golden Willow, but his father kept flirting with the nurses.
"How are the little ones, Jackie?"
Nurse Jackie's face lit up. "Blythe learned a new word last night."
"What was it? Dog, Dad, Mom?"
"I wish," said the nurse, rolling her eyes. "It was moon, which is funny because it's not even a full one yet."
Arthur put a hand on her arm, giving it a squeeze. "I bet Blythe said Mom, but it just sounded like moon."
"I like the way you think, Mr. Wolfhard," said Nurse Jackie with a wink.
"Please, call me Arthur."
"Dad," said Damon. "I'm sorry, Jackie. I can't take him anywhere. In fact, we were headed to the Aura Healers lounge."
Nurse Jackie bunched up her lips. "He's fine. More than fine. You can head out and leave him with me. We'll take care of him." She winked at his father as she licked her lips.
Seeing that his father wasn't going to move in the direction he wanted, Damon said, "Have you called Mom yet this morning? Didn't she want you to check in?"
"Em? No, I did that last night."
Nurse Jackie gave Damon a flat look. "I know your father is married, Damon. We're just flirting is all. No need to get worried." She put a hand on his father's arm. "It's nice to get to visit with a handsome, virile man who isn't lying in a bed from some strange ailment we can't figure out. I get enough of that every day—it's nice to talk with a very healthy werewolf."
The compliments had his father puffing out his chest. Damon wanted to throw up. He'd never seen his father outside of the home. He'd had no idea this was what he was like when his mom wasn't around, which left him wondering what else he didn't know.
"Dad..."
At that moment, Arthur froze again, screwing up his face as if he'd eaten a bucket of sour lemons.
"You okay, Arthur?" asked Nurse Jackie, putting her arm around him.
"Dad. Stop screwing around." Damon put his hand on his father's shoulder. "If you want to flirt, fine, but faking sickness isn't the way to do it."
"I'm fine. I'm fine." He held up his hand, but he couldn't open his eyes yet.
When Nurse Jackie shot Damon a look, he knew she was worried too. The nurses had a sixth sense about the seriousness of symptoms from years of experience in the hospital. Dr. Decker told them the best hospital instrument was a long-term nurse.
"How long have you been having these episodes, Arthur?"
"A few times a day."
"Few times a day? You just told me it was only a few times a week," said Damon.
He wanted to say more, but the nurse shot him a look, which reminded him of Dr. Decker's rule about patients always lying. He should have guessed that his father didn't want to be seen as weak in front of his son.
"I wanted him to get tested," said Damon, but the nurse ignored him and focused on his father.
"Have they been getting worse?"
"Slowly. Steadily. But they're nothing to worry about," said Arthur. "As you said, I'm a very healthy man."
"When's the last time you changed?" asked the nurse.
He could open his eyes, but his father was affected by the brightness of the hallway.
"Not recently. Maybe a few months ago. I don't find many reasons to, but I needed to move a pallet of dried concrete and it made sense to change. I did, of course, strip down to my boxers so I didn't ruin my clothes."
"I bet you did, Arthur," said Nurse Jackie with a wry grin. "But did you have any issues with transformation? Any headaches associated with the change?"
"Really, you two, I'm fine. I swear it's nothing."
"Alright Arthur, but if you have many more, I think your son is right. You should do a scan and some bloodwork. I know you're a healthy older man, but things start to break down when we get older. Even for werewolves."
"Come on, Dad. I want you to meet my classmates. We've been through a lot together." He waved to the nurse. "Thanks, Jackie. I guess I'll be seeing you more starting tomorrow."
She extended a finger in his direction. "Don't think just because I think your father's a cutie, I won't be on your ass if you screw up."
Damon saluted. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"See ya around, Arthur. Don’t forget to say bye before you head back to KC," said Nurse Jackie with a wink.
When they were away down the hall, Damon said, "That's embarrassing, you fawning over her like a horny teenager."
"I have to make up for you, since you treated your high school experience like a very large and boring to-do list."
"I wanted to get into Aura Healers," said Damon, defensively. "I needed to do that, because..."
"I know, son," said Arthur. "I know you're trying to make up for what happened, but you should forgive yourself. The loss of the clan wasn't easy on our family, especially not a young man in the middle of puberty, which is always tricky for our kind. That kind of tragedy leaves deep scars. You shouldn't feel bad losing control during that difficult time, and that young man eventually recovered."
Damon looked away. Even after all this time it was hard to think about. He wanted to look at his hands to make sure they weren't covered in blood.
"Come on, son," said his father, tone softening. "Let's meet your friends. I'd like to hear more about your first year in the Halls."
"I'd like that. Come on."
Damon turned, thinking his father would follow him. He took three strides before he realized that he wasn't by his side. A gurgling moan was followed by the slap of a hand hitting the wall. Damon spun around in time to see his father careening towards the tile like a flat plank, cracking his shoulder and head hard.
"Help!"
The words came out of Damon's mouth before he remembered he was a healer in training. He threw himself to his father's side, checking him for a head wound. Blood leaked from a gash in the back and his eyes were nothing but whites. A quiver started in the arms and traveled up his limbs until his whole body was shaking. Damon was going to shout again when he saw Nurse Jackie running down the hallway.
"What happened?" she asked, sliding athletically to her knees and helping Damon cradle Arthur's head. Foam was building up at the corner of his lips as he shook more violently. Damon tried to remember what that meant, but his mind was blank. He kept picturing his father fall over like an inanimate object, over and over.
"Damon. What happened?"
The sharp tone broke him from his stupor.
"I turned around and he passed out."
Nurse Jackie spoke into her phone. "Code Blue. I've got a Code Blue in the 2D hallway just past the nurses station. Bring a gurney and a shot of wolfsbane."
"Wolfsbane?"
"It'll shock his system and hopefully stop the convulsion."
He knew this, but it felt like everything he'd ever read had been wiped from his mind except the meaning of Code Blue. It meant his father was in serious condition and could die unless he received rapid medical treatment.
The gurney and a team of nurses appeared. He knew he should be helping them lift his father, but they shoved him out of the way. Arthur was loaded onto the gurney as a wolfsbane shot was stuck in his arm. The convulsing reduced but his limbs still shook. The look Nurse Jackie gave him when the shot didn't work left his heart in a blender.
"Let's move! Go, go, go!"
In the blink of an eye, his father was rushed down the hallway towards the trauma center in the Supernatural Ward. Damon couldn't decide if he should follow. Code Blue. It was a Code Blue. That's all he could think about. His father had been standing next to him in the middle of the hallway one second, and then the next he was being rushed off for lifesaving treatment. Code Blue. It was just a phrase, a shortcut for information transfer in the busy hospital, but it took on a whole new meaning when it was his father.