by Chris Cannon
I pulled into an open spot and parked. Now what? I opened the backpack of doom and pulled out the three blue envelopes with Bane Industries embossed across the front. Hopefully, these communicated to any drunks in the area that I was here on official business and no one should mess with me.
As I walked across the parking lot, the hair on my arms stood up. It felt like someone was watching me. There were probably security cameras hidden from view.
When I reached the big metal door I wasn’t sure what to do. There was no handle. No buzzer. No all-knowing security guard waiting to let me in. I went with the old-fashioned approach and knocked.
The door slid open about six inches and a young man with old, tired eyes peered out at me. I held up the envelopes which should tell him why I was here.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked.
I pointed at the envelopes like he might have missed them. “I’m here to collect payment for Bane Industries. I’m looking for—”
“I don’t need to know. Get in here before someone sees you.” He stepped back into the dark interior and I paused. Was this a good idea? Damn, Jake. If he’d been here, I wouldn’t be so anxious.
Squaring my shoulders, like I wasn’t a nervous wreck, I entered the establishment and huh…I don’t know what I expected to find, but a bunch of senior citizens mindlessly playing video poker and slot machines while they smoked liked chimneys was not it.
My guide pointed at what resembled a glassed-in bank teller’s station. “Go talk to Beverly. She’ll know what to do.”
Beverly didn’t sound like a crime boss’s name. When I reached the window a woman who could play a grandma in a sitcom gave me a big smile like she was about to offer me a piece of homemade pecan pie and a glass of sweet tea.
“You must be Meena.” She smiled. “I’ll buzz you in.”
She reached under the counter and did something because a buzzing sound filled the air as a door to the left of the window popped open. I grabbed the door and entered into some sort of waiting room.
Beverly stayed behind the glass partition but her smile never wavered. “If you’ll show me the envelopes I’ll scan the names and we can have you on your way in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
I showed her the envelopes and she used a scanner on the bar codes. “Have a seat and they’ll be with you shortly.”
Beverly was a little too happy.
A man with salt and pepper hair came in the door. “You’re from Bane?”
I held up the envelopes in answer.
“Follow me.” He headed for a door on the back wall. “I’d prefer a little privacy.”
So would I, if I’d sold my soul.
The room we entered seemed to be the company lounge. There was a coffeemaker and a soda machine. Mismatched metal chairs sat around an old card table.
“My envelope should say Simms.”
I opened the envelope marked Nathan Simms and pulled out the same type of needle-less syringe I’d seen Nick use at the bar.
“You shouldn’t look so sad, kid,” Nathan said. “This was the best deal I ever made.” He placed the syringe between his eyes. Slowly it began to fill with a pearlescent blue liquid which was part of his soul. Once it was full he held it up to the light. “It’s a small price to pay for having my Gina.”
If this guy wanted to talk I was more than happy to listen. Maybe he’d make me feel less bad about my new job. “Is she your wife?”
He nodded and passed me the syringe. “Alzheimer’s almost took her from me. Bane helped me save her.”
“But he’s stealing your soul.” Okay. I shouldn’t have said that but I wanted to understand.
“It’s not like that,” Nathan said. “Without her my life would mean nothing. You’ll understand once you fall in love. Once that happens you’d give anything, trade anything, to keep that person with you.”
It didn’t look like I’d be falling in love anytime soon. “Why here?” I asked. “Why do this at a casino?”
“Gina hates smoke. It’s the one place I can be sure she’ll never come, so she’ll never find out.” He knocked on the table. “See you next month, kid.” He walked out without a care in the world.
A woman came in next. She didn’t say a word. Didn’t say she was doing this for the love of anyone…just filled the syringe, handed it back to me, and left.
The third customer was one of my favorite librarians. She paused in the doorway. “Meena, what are you doing here?”
“I got roped into working for Bane.” There was no reason to lie. I wondered if she’d be as honest. “What are you doing here?”
“Cancer,” she said. “The same kind that killed my aunt. Ten good years seemed better than endless rounds of chemotherapy that might not work.” She used the plunger and then slumped in her chair for a moment before sitting up straight and shaking her head like she was trying to clear it. After a deep breath she smiled at me. “You won’t tell anyone, right?”
“Of course not.”
“See you at the library.” She stood and headed back out the door.
That was eye-opening. Maybe Bane wasn’t just an opportunistic jerk. Maybe he gave people a second chance. I made sure to secure the syringes in the padded compartments of the backpack as I thought about Bane in this new light. Not that I planned on nominating him for sainthood or anything…
Chapter Eight
Jake
I leaned back on the couch in the television room and rubbed my temples in an attempt to eliminate the headache I felt coming on. Meena probably thought I was a jerk, but I couldn’t be around her until I figured things out with Vi.
“Why didn’t you want to meet with Meena?” the ghostly pain in the ass who was currently hanging out in my head asked.
“Because I don’t trust you.”
“You should. We want this relationship to work.”
“This isn’t a relationship.” I wanted to lay down the law without ticking her off. “You’re more like a temporary roommate. I’m sharing space with you until we can find a better arrangement.”
“You want to get rid of us.” Vi’s tone became slightly evil.
“No shit. I didn’t sign up for this.” Time to tread lightly. “I’m willing to find another place for you. I’m not trying to kill you.”
“Fine.” If disembodied voices could pout, that’s what Vi was doing.
“Promise me you won’t mess with Meena or Aunt Zelda.”
“That’s acceptable. We won’t make trouble as long as you feed us.”
I didn’t want to go down the vampiric road again. “Do you really need blood? What did you survive on before you came through from wherever you were?”
“We fed on each other,” Vi said.
Okay. This had taken an unexpected and twisted turn. “That’s disturbing.”
“The weaker among us gave their life force for the good of the rest of us.”
“Let’s try normal food today. If pizza doesn’t work we’ll try a rare burger.”
There was a beat of silence, and then Vi’s voice came through in a softer tone. “Thank you for helping us.”
“You’re welcome.”
“See. We can get along,” Vi enthused. “What are we doing today?”
“I don’t know.” Could I call Meena back? She was ticked off at me. It’s not like I knew anyone else in this town. I tapped her number and hoped she’d be reasonable.
“Can I help you?” Her tone was frosty.
“I can run errands with you now, if you want.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?”
I should’ve known this wouldn’t be easy. “I had a problem. I fixed it.”
“That’s nice. I went to a casino by myself and now I’m meeting Bane at the library. If you’re there when I’m done seeing him, I’ll consider having lunch with
you.” And then she hung up. I rubbed my eyes. I’d hoped she’d offer to come pick me up because I didn’t have a car.
I ran downstairs and found Aunt Zelda organizing herbs in the shop. “Can I borrow your car?”
“No.” She smiled at me. “But you can use the truck.”
“What truck?” I’d never seen her drive anything but her Old Lady Oldsmobile.
“The one in the garage out back. The keys are in the visor.”
“Thanks.” I headed into the kitchen and out to the backyard. The garage, as Aunt Zelda called it, looked more like an old barn that might fall over if the wind blew too hard. The door squeaked in protest as I pulled it open. The cloud of dust I’d stirred up made me cough. I blinked and stared at the vehicle which could have been a truck in the early fifties. The hood of the truck was blue and it definitely wasn’t original because it didn’t line up right. The cab was painted flat black, like someone had used primer, realized paint wouldn’t make it look any better, and had given up.
I pushed the button on the old-fashioned handle and the door popped open. Inside, the truck was clean. Whatever the bench seat had been made of before, it was now comprised mostly of duct tape. A few black patches showed through between the silver seams. I climbed inside and checked the visor for keys. There were two. One was round and one was square. I tried the round one; it didn’t work. The square one slid in. When I turned it the engine coughed and then roared to life. I put the truck in drive and pressed the gas. The truck moved forward. Good enough.
Aunt Zelda stood on the steps of the back porch smiling at me. I pulled forward and waved. As long as the truck could get me to the library, Meena might be willing to talk to me again. Good thing she was a girl who didn’t care about cool cars.
I took a few wrong turns, ignoring the stares from other drivers, and eventually I ended up at the library. The spot behind Meena’s bug was open, so I pulled in behind her car and waited.
She came walking out five minutes later, carrying a stack of books. I climbed out and gave her a tentative smile. “Sorry about this morning.”
She eyed the truck. “Nice ride.”
I touched the hood of the truck. “If there’s a zombie apocalypse, this baby will still run.”
“Where’d it come from?” she asked.
“Aunt Zelda’s barn. I’m sure there’s a story behind it, but she hasn’t told me yet.”
She opened the back door of her car and set the books inside. After slamming the door, she said, “Why did you blow me off this morning?”
“You remember our ghostly friend from yesterday?”
She nodded.
“Her name is Vi, she’s made up of the spirits of some dark fairies, and she’s living in my head.”
Meena’s mouth dropped open.
I pointed at her. “See…it’s complicated.”
She nodded and turned to climb into her car. “Ride with me. We’ll come back for your truck.”
Once she was driving, I relaxed back into the seat. “It’s a little early for lunch. Do you need to run any non-demonic errands?”
“Not really. How about you?”
“Is there a decent secondhand store in this town? I could use some summer clothes. Most of my shirts have long sleeves.” My mom said there was no point in buying new clothes when people gave away good stuff all of the time. Of course she also didn’t have money for new clothes, but she wasn’t wrong.
“There’s a church resale shop downtown. My sister bought her wedding dress there.”
“I’m not in the market for a wedding dress, but we can see what else they have.”
“Doesn’t your Aunt Zelda collect a bunch of clothes for charity?” Meena asked.
“Girls’ clothes for a women’s shelter. I told her she needs to ask for men’s, too.”
The resale shop had an interesting selection of John Deere T-shirts and jeans. I held out one of the shirts. “Do you think people would realize I was wearing this ironically?”
“Nope,” Meena said. “You’d blend in with all the other guys.”
I put the shirt back on the rack and kept searching until I found a few plain T-shirts that didn’t have logos on them. Meena handed me an old concert T-shirt for the Rolling Stones. “This is kind of fun and retro.”
I added it to the pile. By the time I checked out I had six new shirts for six bucks. My kind of shopping.
“I was thinking pizza for lunch,” Meena said on the way back to her car.
“Works for me.” I planned to be as agreeable as possible for the rest of the afternoon.
“We can go to Pam’s Pies on Main Street,” she said. “They have pizzas and pie.”
“Weird combination.”
As we drove back the way we came, she said, “It’s the one place where you can order a whole pie and eat it by yourself and not be judged.”
“You’ve done that?”
“Maybe.” She grinned.
The parking on Main Street was surprisingly slim. She drove around behind Pam’s and parked in the gravel lot. We entered through the back door and walked past all the tables which gave the people already seated plenty of time to gawk at us.
The hostess up front sat us at a table by the picture window. Once she’d handed us the menus and walked away, I leaned closer to Meena and said, “What’s with all the staring?”
She played with her straw wrapper. “Two reasons. One, you’re still new. And two, people may have heard about my fabulous new summer job.”
I glanced at the other tables. About half of them were looking our way and whispering. Not very smooth. “Do you think the people on the payment plan all know about each other?”
“Maybe.” She held up her arm. “I’ve seen people checking out my bracelet. Maybe they know it means I’m involved with Bane. So tell me more about your new friend.”
“Well, she’s a collective of dark siren fairies that snuck through when my aunt was communing with spirits. And now she’s hitched a ride in my body without my permission. I hear her voice in my head. Her name is Vi,” I added because the situation couldn’t get much weirder. Unless I told her about the blood, which I had no intention of doing.
“Maybe your aunt could perform an exorcism.”
“That’s not a good idea,” I said. “Vi has promised to lay low until I can find her someplace else to live.”
“Do you think someone is going to volunteer to be possessed?” Meena asked.
“Maybe.” The waitress brought us water and we ordered a large thin crust pepperoni pizza.
“Want a slice of pie while you wait for your pizza?” the waitress asked.
I was about to say no when Meena said, “Yes. I’ll have apple heated up with ice cream.”
“And you?” the waitress asked.
“No thanks.”
After the waitress left, I gave Meena a questioning look. “What’s with the pie before lunch?”
“It’s one of the few traditions I like in Crossroads.”
…
Meena
After lunch I felt a lot better about why Jake had blown me off. Still, he could have told me the truth. Then again, he didn’t owe me anything at this point.
“Why do you have that look on your face?” Jake asked.
“What look?”
“Like you’re trying to solve an annoying puzzle,” he said.
I laughed. “Well, honestly, I was wondering why you didn’t share about your new friend when I called this morning.”
He stopped walking. “So I’m the annoying puzzle?”
I laughed. “Those are your words. Not mine.”
He rolled his eyes. “Right. How would you describe me?”
Feeling playful, I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward my car. “Let’s see. Interesting and confusing and dangerous.”
I smiled up at him. “I let you inside my bubble. Normally it’s just me, a few family members, and my cats.”
“You have a bubble?” Was he teasing me, or did he not understand?
“I have a personal bubble. Most people are not allowed inside, but you came out of nowhere. We bonded over demon drama, so I let you in.” Hopefully, confessing this wouldn’t make him want to turn around and walk away.
The corners of his mouth turned up. “I guess something good came from all the demon weirdness.” And then he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. Happy warmth filtered through my chest. I wasn’t normally a public-display-of-affection kind of girl, but Jake was changing my mind.
After he kissed me, Jake rested his forehead against mine. “Want to come back to Zelda’s? We can check out more of her books.”
“Sure.”
I drove him back to his truck. Things between us felt right again. Thank goodness. I wanted to ask him more about Vi, but that could ruin the happy vibe we had going.
As we pulled out of the gravel lot, I noticed Jake staring out the window with a look of concentration on his face. “Jake?”
He blinked. “Sorry. Vi said she liked the pizza and next time I should order pie, too.”
That was odd. “So she’s always awake and experiencing what you’re experiencing?”
“I guess.” He shrugged the question off like it wasn’t a big deal.
From my point of view, he had an internal stalker. Shouldn’t he be freaking out about this situation more than he was? Maybe Vi was manipulating his brain in some way so he wouldn’t panic about it. “I could ask Bane if anyone would be willing to take on a guest.”
“How would that conversation go?” Jake asked.
“Strangely. I’m sure.” And then I had a thought. A disturbing thought, but it might be worth investigating for Jake’s sake. “What if Vi went into someone whose soul was almost gone. After Bane ate some guy’s soul and right before he died, maybe his body would be like an empty house she could move into.”