Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

by Alexie Aaron

  “Did you get what you needed?” he asked.

  “More. Did they fool you with their bag of junk?”

  “No, instead, I asked them for a decent bar of soap. Strong enough to wash the scent of the old ones away.”

  “So, they gave you what? Irish Spring?”

  “They tried. I declined and came out here to wait.”

  Mia reached up and put her hands through Ted’s auburn curls. “You look like a pirate without your hat.”

  Kevin and Fergus approached.

  “Come, let’s walk back, and I’ll tell you where Stephen is right now. There are too many ears here, and I smell demon.”

  “I thought you smelled like a demon,” Ted said.

  “No, an old one. To Kai, this means fallen. Demons have the scent of sulfur about them. Acrid like a match.”

  “What do the fallen smell like?” Ted asked.

  “No matter how they try to cover it up, the smell of burnt angel feathers comes through. You see, as they fell, each feather burned. The pain had to be excruciating. Not even crashing through the earth’s crust would have erased the memory of this pain. And if they were fortunate enough to survive the fall, the odor remains to remind them of it. To human noses, burnt angel feathers smell like frankincense.”

  “Kevin smells like whisky,” Fergus said.

  “It’s better than despair,” Kevin fired back.

  “Speaking of despair, what was the pit like, Mia?” Fergus asked.

  “For each individual, it’s different,” she hedged.

  “That isn’t an answer,” Fergus said.

  “If the source of your despair is, let’s say, slugs, it would be full of slugs. You would have to endure slugs until the keepers feel you have been punished enough.”

  “What was the source of your despair?” Kevin asked.

  “I’d rather not say,” Mia said. “Plus, mine was compounded because I brought Ruax with me. It could have been what Ruax wanted me to see.”

  “Tell us,” Kevin begged.

  Ted stopped walking and took her hand. “You don’t have to tell us.”

  “But we’re never going to stop asking,” Fergus promised. “What is it that you, Mia, despair of the most?”

  “The color pink and insecure males whom I have to take care of. There, are you satisfied?” she snapped. “Ruax was clinging to me and afraid of everything that came out of the pink fog. Soon, my escort also became insecure, and I had to sort that out. The fog made all but one insecure, and it took forever to leave it.”

  Ted was quiet. Mia knew, he knew, partly, it was about him. Mia had assured him over and over. He had no reason to be insecure, and rationally, he agreed with her.

  “Why do they do that?” Kevin asked.

  “You’re going to have to be more specific,” Mia said.

  “Why do they put you through it? Is it just for punishment?”

  It took Mia a moment to realize that they were the keepers and not the insecure men in her life. She answered, “I think it is, but maybe it could help me to think about why I despair over the color pink and work it out so I don’t anymore.”

  “So, are we going to see you in one of Sabine’s pink cashmere sweaters?” Kevin asked.

  “No. I still hate pink. But I did learn that I don’t really despair of taking care of insecure males.”

  “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be going to fetch my son,” Kevin reasoned.

  “What was Abigor like, insecure?” Ted asked.

  “Dangerous. He was going to kill Sticks for making me smile.”

  “Who the hell is Sticks?” Fergus asked.

  “Let me answer,” Ted begged.

  “Alright, but be kind.”

  “He’s a teenage demon who seems to be made of wood. He haunted the big trees in New Orleans. Mia sent him to the Pit of Despair. He’s also the demon who Mia got herself engaged to when she was there.”

  “A demon!” Kevin exclaimed.

  “It was a misunderstanding. I had him break the engagement,” Mia assured him.

  “How?”

  “He dropped me out of a tree on my head.”

  The ghosts howled with laughter.

  “He saved Murphy and me. The guy may be a demon, but he’s also a hero. You see, what I’d like you to understand, if the two of you are going to haunt this world, is to not judge any individual by their race, their government, or if they were stupid enough to marry me.”

  It was Ted’s turn to laugh.

  ~

  Murphy walked along the deck. He passed the night watch and nodded his head.

  “What are you doing out of your bunk? I would think you would be bone-tired,” the watch said.

  “I am, but the calm sea is disturbing me more than the waves did.”

  “That’s because you’ve already learned that the calm always precedes a storm. Storms on the sea are harrowing.”

  “They can be on land too,” Murphy said. “There are dead that walk just in front of the storm. They carry away unwatched children and drop them miles away. They, also, will fight you and carry your dead soul with them. They are called Wanderers.”

  “Sounds like a fierce mob,” the watch said. “Tell me more.”

  “Then comes the hail and, sometimes, a cyclone. They call them tornados. They rip up everything and kill without conscience. They just drop out of the sky.”

  “I read a book about a cyclone. The Wizard of Oz, it be called.”

  “I’ve read the same book.”

  “Then you and I have something in common. Riff’s the name,” the watch said, holding out his hand.

  Murphy looked at the man, dressed in black from the bandana covering his head to his boots, before he shook his hand. “My name is Stephen Murphy. Folks call me Murphy.”

  “Murphy, I heard about you. You’re our first farmer.”

  “Riff, can I ask, why are you dressed so darkly?”

  “I only work at night. The black doesn’t absorb the heat, and it’s hard to see me. An intruder won’t see me before I have him.”

  “You’re a smart man.”

  “It’s a skill I learned from the last night watch.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “The Peacock stole him and five others.”

  “What’s the Peacock?”

  “It’s a slaver. It steals sailors and sells them to the other ships. Ships that will work a man to his death.”

  “It seems I’m fortunate to be picked up by the Devil’s Pride.”

  “It depends…”

  “Depends on what?”

  “If Crocker can make a good profit on you. Crocker isn’t a sentimental man. He’d sell his mother to a whorehouse if his asking price was met.”

  Murphy took this in. “So, your best advice is to be valuable to the captain, but not too valuable.”

  “Yes. I wish you well, Murphy.”

  “And you too, Riff.”

  Riff disappeared into the darkness, leaving Murphy to his thoughts and the beautiful star-filled sky.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Mia ran her hand along the Sea Witch, a fourteen-meter Hatteras 46 power boat, and smiled. “She’s a good boat, and I trust her to take care of us, but what about the crew?”

  “Douglas and Brothers reporting for duty,” Seaman Douglas said, popping up from where he’d been checking out the engine.

  Seeing the two Coast Guardsmen again brought joy to Mia’s heart. “I’m so glad to see you. But doesn’t the Guard need you?”

  “We’ve been put on indefinite leave. Something we said bothered our commander. He ordered us to take two weeks sick leave and comeback with a better story that didn’t include sea beasts,” Brothers said.

  “Ted found us wandering the docks, looking for work,” Sanders said. “He told me you were going to hunt down a ghost ship. After I smelled his breath and found it free of alcohol, I agreed to help you find it. What are you wearing?”

  Mia smoothed the front of Abigor’s page’s
uniform and smiled. It’s a uniform of a sort. I’m hoping to fool the captain of the Devil’s Pride that I’ve been sent by this fella,” Mia said, tapping the emblem of a man riding a flying black horse, “to purchase Murphy. Murphy’s the guy who liberated the world of the kraken and most of Lucifer’s Lip. You need to get me close enough to cross over into the GSD, wait around for a few days, and hopefully pick me up.”

  “The weather is supposed to be good,” Brothers said. “How will we find the entrance to this place?”

  “My husband has already downloaded three possible places to cross. I will caution you, if I can cross into this dimension, the tall ships can certainly cross into ours. The one flying a peacock flag is a slaver, and they aren’t too particular who they take or how.”

  Mason arrived carrying supplies. “I hope this gets us through a few days. Not having Gerald’s favor mill in operation, things get expensive.”

  “I hope that’s not on your credit card.”

  “Nah, Ted said, as long as we film this, then we can charge it to PEEPs.”

  Mia turned to look at her husband. “Way to go, partner.”

  Ted saluted his wife. He liked pleasing her, and he knew when he exerted himself as one of the partners, it made her happy.

  “Puttin’ the screws to PEEPs,” Mia sang. “Come on, Mason, sing along.”

  “Puttin’ the screws to PEEPs,” Mason echoed.

  The two riffed on the theme as they put away the supplies.

  “Is that where we saw you before?” Sanders asked. “Are you guys part of PEEPs?”

  “Behind the scenes PEEPs. Mia’s been out in front of the camera some, but she doesn’t like it,” Mason said. “Although, if you ever caught any of the Bodacious Beach Bod contests on YouTube, you may have seen her.”

  Mia groaned.

  “Are you the Ice Queen?” Sanders asked.

  Mia turned to Mason and glared.

  “No one was more surprised than me when I saw your poster online,” Mason said.

  “I’ve not seen that poster,” Brothers said. But I swear, Mia, you’re the spitting image of the girl in the Dark World videogame.”

  “K.”

  “Guys, leave Mia alone,” Ted warned. “She can’t help being overexposed.”

  “Oh, now that’s helping,” Mia scolded. “They’re really going to take me seriously now.”

  “Don’t worry, Mia. Any girl that can speak kraken has my respect,” Sanders vowed.

  “You know that Anders guy swore he said you lured the demon out of him and took him to Hell,” Brothers said, positioning the skiff at the back of the boat.

  “That’s pretty much what I did.”

  “The Feds didn’t believe him.”

  “The lead Fed should know better,” Mia said, casting off.

  “Ted, can I tell them?” Mason pleaded.

  “Mason, if you do, I’ll geld you,” Mia threatened.

  “You heard her. If she doesn’t want the guys to know she used to date the freak then…”

  “You sonofabitch!” Mia said, her face incredulous. Mia threw up her hands and went down below.

  “Someone’s in trouble,” Mason said. “And it’s not me.”

  Ted knew that Mia wasn’t as mortified as she acted, but he didn’t give her away.

  Brothers and Sanders were professional seamen, but still, Ted wanted them to know just how precious their cargo was.

  ~

  Sabine yawned as she got out of bed. The farmhouse was quiet during the night. After the meal, Cid took Maggie with him when he left to stay in his apartment over the PEEPs office. Nicholai was convinced to stay in the aerie instead of flying home after dinner.

  Sabine missed her girls, yet she was enjoying just being a woman instead of a parent. She caught herself cutting Nicholai’s meat at one point. She blushed cherry red. He took it good-naturedly, but Cid couldn’t help teasing both of them.

  Sabine liked Cid a lot. He was so smart and fun. But Audrey warned her that he was notoriously slow when it came to picking up clues from lady kind.

  “Tonight, I have a date with Tom,” she said aloud. She should really go into the city to pick up some of her clothes, but she didn’t want to. Somehow, returning to her apartment would bring into focus all she had to do, and then the vacation would be spoilt. Instead, she ransacked Mia’s closets. She didn’t find any cashmere aside from a maternity dress. “Who doesn’t have cashmere?” Sabine asked the empty room.

  “Mom is more of a Gap girl,” Dieter said from the hallway.

  “Dieter!” Sabine called. “I’m so happy to see you. You’ve got to help me.”

  Dieter walked in with Mark.

  “Mark, you’re here. Have you seen Luke Stavros yet?” Sabine asked, dropping the clothes she had been holding.

  “No, ma’am. Why?”

  “I don’t want to say anything until after you’ve seen him. Maybe we can go over tomorrow. That is, if you don’t have anything planned.”

  “I’m not available for a few days,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ve got practice.”

  “I’ll arrange something for the day after tomorrow,” Sabine said, distracted. She looked around her and frowned. “I have to find something to wear. I have a date with Tom Braverman.”

  Dieter and Mark looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

  “Audrey dresses more like you. Maybe call her and see if she can loan you something,” Dieter suggested.

  “Why didn’t I think of this before? I swear, I can’t seem to hold on to a sane thought these days.”

  “Talk to her about us visiting and let us know. We’re going to the aerie to watch some football films.”

  “Nicholai is there,” Sabine said. “Or he was last night.”

  “We’ll keep it down,” Dieter said and left.

  ~

  Murphy followed the boatswain up the mast. He was going to show Murphy how to inspect the sails and the riggings. It became evident that Murphy was not used to gravity’s pull as he pulled his body upwards.

  “What’s the matter? It’s easier than climbing a tree,” the boatswain complained.

  “I’ve been dead. I haven’t felt gravity in a hundred and fifty years,” Murphy told him.

  “Ah, here’s where being a land death-ghost is wearing on you. That and you’re losing weight. You’ve got to choke down the food or you’re going to be of no use to us.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We do have a feast after a good trade. Maybe then you’ll develop an appetite.”

  “When will that be?” Murphy asked, clinging to the mast.

  “Soon. For some reason Harley - he’s our navigator - is sailing us close to the veil’s edge. He’s got a hunch there soon will be birdman activity.”

  “Birdmen?”

  “The captain loves to hunt these guys. Some of them have a wingspan of sixteen feet. We used to get maybe one every few years, but there has been so much activity lately. We’ve taken down three in a month.”

  “Do they attack you?”

  “No.”

  “Are they your enemies?”

  “No.”

  “Why then?”

  “They are valuable. They bring us gold. The Risen will pay in gold. The captain likes gold. We like keeping the captain happy.”

  Murphy added this information to what he had obtained from his interview with the captain. He didn’t abide with killing for sport’s sake, but he didn’t seem to be as disgusted by it as he had been previously. Birdmen in the past had distracted Murphy from farm matters and took Mia’s attention away time and time again. He started to see why ridding the sky of birdmen may a good idea. When he thought of Mia these days, there was no warmth in his thoughts. Mia was valuable to him, but he was confused as to why?

  Mia wore a video-recording and transmission device that Ted did his best to disguise as a black button. To make it a piece of jewelry, it could draw a pirate’s eye to it, and she could have it taken from her.

  Kevin
had decided to brave the sea and join Mia and Fergus on the small boat. Before they boarded, Mia pulled the two aside and said, “From what I have learned, as soon as we cross into the GSD, the two of you will be alive. You’re going to be thirsty, hungry, and you will feel pain. If you die here, you cease to exist. Also, the longer we are here, the more you will lose extreme emotions like love and hate.”

  Mia waited for this to sink in before continuing, “They hunt birdmen, so I’ll be keeping my wings to myself, unless we have our backs against the wall. I’m handy with a sword and will use it. Also, when you refer to me, you’ll call me Emissary Cooper or just Cooper. Our goal is to return with Stephen.”

  “What if he wants to stay?” Kevin asked.

  “Then he stays, we leave,” Mia said. “I just want to know that things are his choice, don’t you?”

  “Yes. Can I ask you why you’re going to all this expense and risk?”

  “You don’t know us that well, so I understand you asking,” Mia said. “Your son has been looking out for me since I was a teen. We have been partners in all things paranormal since PEEPs first came to the hollow. I care about what happens to him. He’s part of my family. I’m going to have a hard time existing without him, but I will as long as I know he’s happy.”

  “Thank you for being candid. I know there’s more, but I also know you’re wary of your audience,” Kevin said.

  “If you guys are done whispering, I think we need to get aboard,” Fergus said.

  Mia waved Ted over, and he filmed her with his cell phone.

  “Hi, I’m Mia Martin from PEEPs. I’m going to attempt to cross over to the Ghost Ship Dimension.”

  Ted nodded and stopped filming. He leaned down and kissed her soundly. “That’s so you’ll come back for more,” he said.

  “And to get the rest of us nauseous,” Mason called out.

  “Good luck. If you don’t find him in two days, come back. I’ll be waiting,” Ted said.

  “Yes, Ted. Watch out for the Peacock. She’s not above ramming a boat and drowning the crew just so she can meet a quota.”