Death's Shroud

by Robbie Cox

  “What the hell do you mean, she left without you?” Tricia asked, moving to Nazareth’s other side. “She never left. Neither did you for that matter, until you went flying across the room. What the hell is going on?”

  Nazareth glanced down at the dead body; except she wasn’t dead, not completely anyway. Her eyes glanced up at him. He nodded once. Laci was inside. She actually did it. “Do you have a cremation chamber?” he asked as he stared down at the body. Emma’s eyes went lifeless again. His brows furrowed, knowing Laci would have no way of knowing when to leave the corpse.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” the medical examiner asked, her body trembling with her fear and anger.

  Nazareth turned to her, worried they would run out of time. “Tharon is inside this woman’s body. Laci is keeping him there. We need to destroy this body before he escapes to keep the killing from continuing.”

  Tricia’s eyes popped wide. “You cannot cremate this body. The parents haven’t asked for that to happen. I’ve still got an autopsy to finish. There are procedures, protocols.”

  “We don’t have time!” Nazareth snapped. “Laci is in there right now, keeping the revenant distracted. This is our only chance. I don’t have time for permissions and procedures. Go fire up your chamber. Now!” He turned to the detective. “If the witches were here, I could have them do it, but they’re not. This is the only way. We’re running out of time. However Laci is holding him inside, it won’t last long, and then we’re right back where we started, only worse; he’ll know to kill the witches.”

  “Witches? What the hell are you talking about? First, you tell me about faeries and demons, and now you want me to believe in witches?” Tricia moved to block Nazareth from the body, but Mark reached around the other man, taking Tricia’s arm as he nodded to Nazareth.

  “Can’t you touch Laci, like you touched Emma, and travel there that way?” Mark asked. It was clear on the man’s face he wasn’t comfortable with the way things were going, but they were out of options.

  “I would if I could, but Laci’s alive. I can’t communicate with her like we would a dead person. Now, go. We’re wasting time.”

  “Come on, Tricia,” Mark said as he pried the medical examiner away from the table. “We have to do as he says. I’m sorry. We’ll worry about procedures later.”

  The woman argued as Mark pulled her toward the door. Nazareth scooped Emma’s body up, bracing a moment before he lifted her into his arms. Laci, I hope you know what you’re doing. With a deep breath, he stood straighter, the dead weight almost more than his weakened body could carry.

  Stepping out into the hall, he followed the sound of Tricia’s protests to the crematory. Mark was inside, turning dials, the door open as Tricia stood there arguing about what they were doing, about how they would explain it to Emma’s family.

  Nazareth laid the body on the slab, taking a moment to touch the woman’s brow. “You deserved better,” he said to the corpse. “I’m sorry for this.” He took a deep breath, the heat from inside the chamber already building to a stifling inferno. He took a deep breath as he stepped back, shoving the body inside the chamber and closing the door behind it. “We’ll make it up to her family, but right now this is the only way to stop the killings.”

  “Because there’s a demon inside of her,” Tricia said with a shake of her head. “You’re crazy if you think anyone will believe that. I can’t put that in a report.”

  Nazareth stared at the glass door as the flames rose higher. “They don’t have to believe it.” He turned to the medical examiner, his lips down-turned. “I know you don’t understand, and I’m sorry this has to happen, but the revenant inside that woman was about to kill three other people. Hell, he was about to kill me. This is our only chance to stop him.”

  “What about Laci?” Mark asked. “You said she was still inside the body. How is she going to know when to get out?”

  Nazareth pressed his lips together as he shook his head. “I don’t know to be honest. I only hope she does.”

  “Mark…” Tricia started and then stopped, her arms back over her chest as she glared at the two men.

  Nazareth stared at the glass door, praying for the young necromancer stuck inside as Mark walked over to Tricia, his hands going to her upper arms. “Come on,” Mark said as he turned the other woman away from the cremation chamber. “Let’s go check on Laci. She might need our help when she gets out of this nightmare.”

  Nazareth ignored the other two as they walked out of the room, his arms over his chest as he watched the flames envelope the body. “Come on, Laci,” he whispered. “Get the hell out of there.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Tansy watched as Sherri/Regina took a sudden gasp of breath, her arms stretching out as she clutched the edges of the couch. The blond woman jerked around, searching the witch out. “They’re gone,” Sherri/Regina said. “Laci took Tharon somewhere; I don’t know where. Nazareth went to find her. The giant dogs vanished, as well.”

  “The hellhounds were inside there with you?” Jayden asked, her eyes wide. “How the…?”

  “Mom?” Reggie said as he knelt down beside Sherri.

  The blonde pursed her lips together as she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m Sherri. Your mom was hurt during the fight.”

  “Is she..?”

  Sherri shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think she’s just hurt pretty badly and needs time to recuperate. I’ll keep an eye on her. I cast a protective spell around her in case Tharon returns.” She glanced over at Tansy. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen, though. One minute they were all there, and the next, Laci and the demon just vanished. It was like a hole or something appeared and swallowed them up.”

  “Amazing,” Famallumi said.

  Jayden shot the elf a dirty look.“Where would she have gone?” she asked, looking at Tansy for answers, answers the leader of the coven didn’t have. “Would she have taken him to the Summerlands? Can we follow her somehow? We have to help her!”

  Tansy reached out, placing a hand on Jayden’s arm. “We will, sweetie,” she promised. “Just as soon as we figure out where she went. Why don’t you try calling the detective, see if he knows what’s happening? Laci was with him last we heard.”

  Jayden nodded, her hands clenching and unclenching in tight fists.

  Tansy watched as the young girl pulled her phone out of her back pocket. Tansy then turned back to Sherri. “How are you feeling? What can we do?”

  Sherri shrugged as she spun around into a sitting position. “I’m battered, but it feels as if most of it’s internal. As for what to do, I have no idea.” She glanced over at Reggie. “Your mom saved my life. Again.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Reggie said, blowing out a frustrated breath. “How is my mom inside of you?”

  Tansy looked up at Cynthia, the woman shaking a little from everything she just witnessed. Tansy didn’t blame her. “Cynthia, do you think you could help Wanda get us some hot tea? I’m sure we could all use something to drink while we talk.”

  The woman was about to protest, but Reggie turned to her and nodded. The woman scowled, but led Wanda into the kitchen to fix the requested tea.

  “I left a message at the police department for Mark to call me,” Jayden said as she started pushing more buttons on her phone. “I’m going to try calling Laci’s phone. Maybe he’ll answer it.”

  Tansy just nodded as she motioned Reggie to take a seat. Sherri sat on the couch, her hands clasped together in her lap, her body still trembling slightly. Tansy reached out, placing her hand over the other woman’s and squeezing. “Just take your time. Slow, deep breaths. Focus on the elements around you, call them to you. They’ll replenish your strength.”

  Sherri just nodded as she closed her eyes.

  Turning back to Regina’s son, Tansy smiled and took her own seat. “This isn’t exactly how your mother wanted to do this,” she said. “As you can see, things aren’t exactly as they seem.�
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  “They seem crazy as hell,” Reggie said, running a hand through his dark hair.

  Lips pressed together, Tansy nodded. “They are, actually. I’ll tell you what I know. Your mom will have to clarify things for you when she wakes up. Have you ever wondered about your mom’s death? Or for that matter, your father’s remarriage?”

  Anger flashed across Reggie’s face. “I don’t talk to my father, haven’t for several years. I got out of the house as fast as I could. It was just too…weird.”

  Tansy nodded. “I can imagine. Having your aunt as your stepmother can’t be normal.”

  “How did you know about that?”

  “Your mother,” Tansy replied. “She figured it out. Your father and aunt were having an affair, and your aunt became pregnant. We believe they killed your mother, so the two of them could be together. We just can’t prove it, yet.”

  “They said she died of natural causes,” Reggie said. “A heart attack or something.”

  Tansy shook her head. “Your mom knows that’s not right. She believes it was poison. Or they suffocated her. We need your help to prove it, though.”

  “How is any of this even possible?” He fell back into his chair, his shoulders slumped, hands hanging limply over the arms of the chair. “How are you even able to talk to my mother?”

  “That’s another reason we believe she was murdered.” Tansy leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she clasped her hands together. “Sometimes, when a person dies in such a horrendous manner, their soul doesn’t move on to the next journey. That’s what happened to your mom. Her soul turned into a dybbuk, a ghost basically. She roamed the city, watching you, tormenting your father according to her, and her sister.”

  “How did she wind up inside of this lady?” His head cocked to the side as he glanced at Sherri, the struggle to believe apparent on his face.

  “Body possession,” Tansy said. “Revenge motivated her, and in that mindset, she took over Sherri’s body to try to kill your father.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Did she..?”

  Tansy shook her head. “No. Your father is still alive. We promised your mom to help her get justice for her murder, so right now, she’s sharing Sherri’s body.”

  “She actually saved me,” Sherri said, opening her eyes as she smiled over at Reggie. She told him about her past and how Regina’s possession of her body drove the drugs out of her system, how the woman’s quest to learn magic straightened Sherri out and gave her hope for the first time in her life. “It was because of what she did that I wanted to help your mother. She’s really a great woman.”

  Reggie smiled as he nodded. “I miss her.”

  “Can you help us?” Tansy asked. “We need to exhume her body to test for the poison.”

  “I wish I could, but I can’t,” he said, frowning.

  “But why not?” Sherri asked. “You have to believe us.”

  “I do, but that’s not the problem,” he said, sitting up straighter in his seat, his face shifting to a mask of anger. “My father had Mom cremated. There’s no body to exhume. He spread her ashes over her rose garden in his backyard.”

  “Damn,” Tansy hissed as she sat back on the couch. She glanced over at Sherri. “This isn’t good.”

  Sherri smiled as she looked at Tansy. “Not for the justice part, no, but she did get to talk to her son. Someone besides us knows the truth now. I think that’s the main thing Regina wanted.”

  “Here’s some hot tea for everyone,” Wanda said, carrying a tray loaded down with a teakettle and cups, a scowling Cynthia following behind her.

  “Perfect,” Tansy said, just as Jayden’s phone rang. Tansy cast a quick glance at the youngest Valentine before turning back to Reggie. “Wanda swears by a good cup of hot tea to settle the nerves and help you focus.”

  “Well, they only had the kind in bags,” Wanda said, her nose turned up in distaste. “But bagged tea is better than no tea in times like these.”

  Tansy rolled her eyes before turning back to Reggie. “I’m sorry. Wanda is sort of a tea snob, as well.”

  Reggie laughed as he reached for one of the teacups. “No problem. I’ve never been a big tea drinker, to be honest.”

  “Oh dearie, you don’t know what you’re missing,” Wanda said as she helped pass out the cups.

  “What do you mean, she’s being cremated?” Jayden practically shrieked into the phone. “What the hell is that man doing to my sister?”

  Everyone jerked their attention to Jayden as she stood, frozen in the middle of the room. Tansy glanced up at Wanda. “Tea will have to wait.”

  Wanda just nodded as she reached for her purse.

  Tansy turned back to Reggie. “I promise we can prove things, but first we need to finish what started here.”

  “Stop him!” Jayden screamed into the phone. “We’re on our way.” She turned to the others. “Apparently, they have Tharon trapped inside a corpse and are burning the body. Laci’s still inside with the demon.” Tears filled her dark eyes. “Nazareth is burning my sister alive.”

  Twenty-Nine

  “You know, I could be of assistance here,” Famallumi said, stopping the others at the door. He shrugged. “It is part of my magic, remember?”

  “You have magic?” Sherri asked, her brows pinched together. She hadn’t spoken to the strange man before. She only knew him as the odd man who hung around Tansy’s store and loved lemon tarts.

  Tansy stopped and stared at the strange man for a moment. She then glanced over at Wanda. “What do you think? You’d have to stay here with him.”

  The elderly witch looked over at Reggie before turning back to Tansy. “I think it’s prudent to leave some of us here, anyway, just in case Tharon returns. We could use that time for Famallumi to help Regina. Do you think you two will be all right without us?”

  Tansy shrugged. “It’s not like we’ve been able to do much so far.” She gave a curt nod as she turned to the odd man. “Do your stuff, but let’s try to keep your true nature a secret for now.”

  “Wait. His true nature?” Sherri asked. What else didn’t she know about these people?

  “I will do my best,” Famallumi said as he turned back toward Reggie and his wife.

  “Good luck,” Wanda said, giving Jayden’s arm a slight squeeze.

  Tansy and Jayden left for the city morgue, leaving the others behind to help Famallumi convince Regina’s family of the truth. “I’m still not sure how you prove something like a ghost,” Cynthia sneered. “Are we just to take you at your word that this isn’t some magic show?”

  Sherri had no idea how they would ever get this woman to be quiet long enough to hear Regina out. Cynthia seemed hellbent on tossing the small group out on their asses and far away from her husband.

  Famallumi stood, his hands clasped behind his back. “Oh, no, not at all,” he said, and Sherri thought he showed a little too much excitement over whatever he was about to do. “Showing you the truth of things is part of my power.”

  Cynthia stared at him, her mouth slightly ajar. “You’re a witch, as well? Or are they called warlocks?” She shook her head. “This is all ridiculous.”

  “Cynthia, please,” Reggie said, still holding his cup of tea. “Let him talk.”

  Famallumi shook his head. “No, I’m not a warlock. That would be amazing, though. I’m actually a Lore Master Apprentice. Part of my gift is to make people see the history around them.”

  Cynthia opened her mouth to spew something else negative out, but Reggie held up his hand forestalling her. He turned back to Famallumi. “You’re a historian?” Reggie shook his head. “My mother’s murder didn’t make the papers. There’s no history for you to repeat.”

  Famallumi glanced over at Wanda, and Sherri could see the unasked question in his eyes.

  Wanda stared at the tall man for a moment, then nodded. “I think they need to know the whole truth,” the older witch said. “It’ll help them believe.”

  “But Tansy said…” />
  Wanda held her hand up. “I know what Tansy told you, but I think it’s for the best. She’ll understand.” She turned to Reggie and then glanced at Sherri. “I hope we can trust your discretion. What you’re about to hear and see, we kind of like to keep a secret.”

  “That doesn’t sound ominous at all, does it?” Cynthia spat as she fell back in her chair, glancing over at her husband.

  “Cynthia, please,” Reggie said with a sigh. He turned to Famallumi. “You have our word. Whatever you tell us stays right here. Now, how can you prove my mother is actually in this woman’s mind?”

  Famallumi shrugged. “As I said, it’s part of my magic as a Lore Master Apprentice. You see, I’m an elf.”

  Cynthia barked out a snort of laughter. “An elf? Are you serious? You look nothing like an elf. You’re just a middle-aged fraud.” She turned to her husband. “Now, can we please kick these theatrical people out of our house? I’ve had…” Her eyes went wide as she stared at Famallumi.

  The elf stood before her, hands still clasped behind him as he lowered his glamour, his blond hair lengthening, his ears poking through. His face shimmered, his middle-aged features shifting to his normal youthful appearance. Smiling at Cynthia, he said, “I assure you, I am not a fraud. I am an elf from the Land Under.” He turned to Reggie. “And I promise you, I do have the magic to show you exactly what happened to your mother the night she died. All I need are her memories.”

  “Holy shit,” Sherri whispered. “You… Uh, your ears, they kind of… You’re a frickin’ elf? How is that even possible?” She jerked her attention to Wanda, her eyes wide. “Did you know?” She took a deep breath. “Of course you knew. How could you not know?” She turned back to Famallumi. “How is this even possible?”

  Wanda reached over and patted Sherri’s knee. “It’s possible, dearie. Now please, focus. We need to help Regina. There will be time for answers later.”

  Sherri pressed her lips together and took a deep breath in through her nose. Clasping her hands tighter to keep them from shaking. “What do you need from me?”