Ghostbound (Portland Ivy Book 1)

by J. E. Cluney

  Thankfully we were friends. Somewhat.

  “Well, good luck, sounds like you’ve got some interesting work ahead,” Catherine said as she hurried past me to Danny’s office. She was supposed to be helping him with his files tonight.

  I unfolded the paper and pursed my lips. That bar night would have to wait. I had something more important to do.

  With a brownie in hand, I headed out.

  3

  I circled the old brick home, its modern style should have appealed to potential buyers, and yet it was still on the market. I guess the murders had been big in the news. I hadn’t seen it, watching the news only reminded me of how far gone this world was. I preferred to binge watch TV shows instead. Generally Law and Order or CSI, crime shows were my favorite. Law was what I wanted to learn about, and these shows drove me towards my dream of helping people back when I was a teenager. I’d taken my job with Alex’s firm in hopes of bettering my knowledge and perhaps continuing on into college, but the thought of being a lawyer, after seeing Alex in the courtroom, had not been ideal to me. I’d decided that my position suited me just fine, I helped make a difference in my own way by helping Alex and the other lawyers win justice for their clients.

  I snapped out of my head as I drew in a breath of the night air.

  The moon cast eerie shadows on the driveway, and I stood before the house quietly as I took in its dark, foreboding form against the night sky.

  It was on the edge of town with a fair amount of land, and I could picture Millie playing on the swing that hung from the old oak tree in the front yard, now forgotten.

  Weeds reached through the unkempt lawn, struggling in the night to gain any traction in their desperate stretch for sunlight.

  I focused on the front door, the glass panel in it allowing me to glimpse inside the home as I quietly tested the front door.

  Locked, as was to be expected.

  Nothing I couldn’t deal with.

  I let my body shimmer translucent, feeling the strange sensation ripple through me as my body shuddered and faded away somewhat. It was a strange ability I’d discovered I had, one that had taken me some getting used to. I stepped through the wooden door, feeling the odd sensation of passing through a solid object. It wasn’t like anything I could describe.

  I stood inside the home, turning to peer into the living room.

  The furniture was covered over with plastic and dust lined all the surfaces.

  I sighed as I made my way through the darkened home, using just my phone light to explore the rooms.

  I ignored the kitchen and immediately headed down the hall to the first bedroom.

  Millie’s room.

  I stood in the doorway as my breath caught in my throat.

  Much of the room had been packed away, but the bed was still made with a handful of stuffed toys perched on the pillow.

  A desk was on the far side with a few posters and two drawings plastered on the wall.

  A small bookcase was at the end of the bed, and I found myself walking over to it.

  A single book was on top of the bookcase, its pages dog eared and worn. A tale of adventure in a fantasy world of elves and dragons.

  I opened the front and smiled at Millie’s name sprawled on it, with a note of birthday wishes.

  I held onto the book as I left the room, not liking the twist in my gut at being in her room.

  I moved onto the master bedroom.

  This room was sparse, a king bed, two sets of drawers and a mirrored table.

  A TV hung from the wall as well, and I headed over to the table.

  Everything was in neat order, a thin layer of dust lining the surface of it.

  A bangle rested against a glass of makeup brushes, and I picked it up as I took in the encrusted gemstones.

  It must have belonged to her mom.

  I moved away from the desk as I clutched the bangle, and searched for something belonging to her father.

  “You shouldn’t be here.”

  I nearly keeled over in fright as I spun around, ready to strike.

  A middle-aged man stared at me from his position against the doorframe.

  His brown hair was cut short, and his blue eyes peeked through his reading glasses. He wore a suit, not like Alex’s at all; this was much cheaper and not as well fitting.

  The man crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes at me, and I realized his figure was foggy around the edges.

  “You can see me, so you must be here because of me,” the man said as he eyed me cautiously.

  “Mr Cowan?” I said carefully.

  “Yes, and I take it you’re another one of those annoying ghost hunters? I’ve already encountered one of them. Sort of, he walked through me and then bailed. Some ghost hunter,” he scoffed before turning serious again. “But you can actually see me.”

  “Yes, I’m here because Millie is trapped here,” I said instantly.

  Mr Cowan’s face dropped to one of shock, and he stepped forward, my phone light revealing him in the room.

  “Millie’s here?” he murmured.

  “Well, no, not quite, she’s bound to the mall where your wife took her. I guess it’s a safe place for her,” I said softly, feeling his pain as his face changed to one of misery and despair.

  “So she’s trapped here as well. My wife must be the only one who crossed over,” Mr Cowan sighed as he shook his head.

  “Do you know what’s keeping you here?” I asked. As if he’d know. But it was possible.

  “Unfinished business I guess,” he shrugged, as clueless as I was. “I want to see the bastard who did this burn.”

  “You and I both,” I agreed.

  “Why’s Millie trapped here?” Mr Cowan asked, his voice cracking as he blinked carefully.

  “Well…” I shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to burden him with the details of how she’d had her hair taken as a trophy. “I’m not sure, we’re hoping if we find the killer we can lay her to rest. And you too,” I said as he slumped against the doorframe.

  “So why are you here, why aren’t you out there looking for him?” Mr Cowan waved his hand at the window.

  “Because, we only have a few details from Millie. We were hoping you or your wife could provide more clues.”

  “He was a vampire. Black British, had a sword tattoo on his wrist,” Mr Cowan shrugged.

  “A tattoo?” I raised my eyebrow. Millie hadn’t mentioned that.

  “Yeah, I got a good look at it while he was holding my head still as he tore out my throat and drained me,” Mr Cowan said dryly.

  “I’m sorry,” I sighed, trying not to picture it. “Anything particular you can remember about the tattoo?”

  “It said ‘God is dead’ on the blade itself. I remember thinking how true that sounded,” he gave a dry laugh as he shook his head.

  “Thanks, that’s awesome. We can use that,” I breathed. It was another good piece of information. I’d let Alex know right away.

  “What’s your name?” Mr Cowan asked as he straightened himself.

  “Ivy.”

  “Well, Ivy, thank you. Thank you for trying to help. I hope you can help Millie cross over. I can’t believe she’s stuck here, I’d do anything just to see her again,” Mr Cowan murmured as he looked away, his eyes distant.

  “I’ll do everything in my power,” I nodded.

  “Thank you,” Mr Cowan sighed. “But can you leave my wife’s bangle? I’d rather she stay at peace than get dragged back into this world.”

  “Of course.” I strode over to the mirrored table and set the bangle down back in its place.

  “Good luck, tell her I love her,” Mr Cowan’s voice was distant, and I turned back to find he’d disappeared.

  “Thanks, I’ll need it,” I breathed as I unlocked my phone.

  Maybe with this extra piece of information, Alex could narrow down his search.

  I sat in my car outside the Cowan’s house as I tried to call Maria. She’d be interested to know we wouldn’t
need to summon Millie’s parents.

  I didn’t need my car to get around, but it made me feel normal. Not to mention I had to appear normal to the rest of the world.

  The line rang out and I frowned, it wasn’t like Maria to not answer her phone.

  The phone vibrated in my hand and I answered with a sigh.

  “Alex,” I breathed unhappily.

  “Try to sound more thrilled to hear from me every once in awhile, I am still employing you after all,” Alex grumbled.

  “You killed me, it’s the least you could do,” I sneered.

  “Right.” Silence on the other end. “Anyway, that tattoo you described sounds familiar. There’s a gang of vamps downtown that use that tattoo.”

  “A vampire gang, awesome.” I rolled my eyes. As if vampires weren’t bad enough on their own, now there were gangs.

  “They run underground fighting rings for werewolves and vamps, pitting them against their own kind or each other. Pretty full on sometimes, a lot of money to be made,” Alex explained.

  “Right, and Millie’s killer is part of it,” I groaned.

  “I can get into the fights and look around, see if I can find the man we’re looking for,” Alex said, his thick Australian accent making me grin. He really didn’t fit into this city.

  “And if you do? What then?” I queried, curious as to what he’d do. File a case against them for a crime we couldn’t prove? All we had were the words of two dead people.

  “I have my ways,” Alex said, his tone deadly.

  The image of James Daven popped into my mind and I cast it aside. I’d seen the news today, police had found his body in the river, no suspects as of yet, but they believed it was a vampire murder.

  Great police work, it wasn’t like his throat had the obvious signs of a vampire killing. I’d been curious to see if they’d found him so I decided to watch the news for a change.

  “Will you be safe?” I asked, wanting to immediately take back my words as I practically felt his charming grin through the phone.

  “Why, you worried about me?” his voice revealed his piqued interest.

  “No,” I snapped.

  “Well, I do think it’d be best if you came. Stay out of sight to them and see what you can find out,” Alex said, although I could still hear the smile in his voice.

  “Of course you do,” I said through my teeth. Although as much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point. Vampires had keen hearing, but I could go places he couldn’t and find out things by being a fly on the wall.

  “I can head there tonight after my last meeting. Should be finished up within the next hour and a half. Meet me at the office,” Alex said.

  “Right, got it.” I hung up the phone, ignoring his muffled goodbye.

  Guess my bar night was definitely not happening now.

  I had a quick stop to make though before meeting Alex.

  “Millie?” I called out in the darkness as I stood in the parking lot of the mall.

  “Why did you bring that monster?”

  I turned to spy her standing beside my car, the streetlight illuminating her still dirty dress. Her hair had kept its new clean look; I’d had my doubts it’d remain once she flitted away.

  “He’s different. He wants to help. He thinks he might know the monster that hurt you,” I spoke softly as I walked towards her.

  “Why would he want to help?” she frowned, eyeing me carefully as I stopped in front of her.

  “They’re not all bad. They were people before they became what they are, some of them are still quite… human, I guess,” I smiled reassuringly as I knelt down before her.

  “He’s not from here,” she stated.

  “No, he’s from a country called Australia,” I nodded.

  “Where the kangaroos are?” Millie’s eyes lit up.

  “Yes, exactly. He moved here quite some time ago though, but he still sounds Australian,” I reached out to touch her arm gently.

  “So you will find the man that did this? With his help?” Millie frowned.

  “We will. I promise,” I said firmly.

  If there was one thing I knew, it was that I’d make this my mission now. I had to help this girl.

  I had to help free her. If I didn’t, who would? Would she continue to wander here, slowly becoming vengeful and dangerous? Losing herself to what she’d become? The thought pained me, how such a small, helpless girl could be left here, with no one to help set her free. If I’d ended up like her, I had no doubt I’d want someone to set me free. And right now, I was the only one who could help her.

  “Okay. I just want to see my Mom and Dad, I miss them,” Millie sighed as she looked down at her bare feet. She scrunched her toes up as she sniffled.

  “You will see them again.” I promised. “I know they both love you dearly and would want you to know that,” I added, remembering what her father had asked me to do. I didn’t want to tell her that he was around, to get her excited even though she couldn’t see him.

  “Mom used to push me on the swing, every time we came here, she’d always make sure I had a turn on the swings,” Millie smiled softly as she eyed the swing. It moved gently in the cool night air.

  “Would you like me to push you?” I asked.

  Her eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly, and my heart swelled as I followed after her.

  “You feel like you’re a bird,” Millie said excitedly as she climbed onto the swing. “It’s the best thing. We had a swing at home too that Dad always used to push me on. It was the best.”

  “That must have been nice,” I smiled softly.

  “Yeah, I miss it,” Millie’s face dropped.

  I pushed her on the swing for quite some time, wanting to make her happy again and distract her, even if only for a short time. In only moments she was begging me to push her higher with gleeful laughs, and I obliged. She was such a sweet young girl. Why this had to happen to her pained me. She didn’t deserve this.

  Whoever her killer was, he had to pay. And I’d make sure he did.

  “So, I’ve never really asked, but what’s the ghost realm like? How do you access it?” Alex asked as we drove.

  I cocked my head at him as I pondered the question. He’d stuck to normal conversations ever since what happened, as if asking what being dead was like was insult to injury. Which it was, I guess, at first. But to have him finally ask was a pleasant surprise, and I found my usual snarky response didn’t come out. I wanted to talk about it with someone who might understand. Only Maria knew the full extent of what I was.

  “Imagine a world without color, where spirits roam. When I go invisible, it’s like I only put one foot into the ghost realm, just to access its powers. When I jump, I step right in, and I can move through it with ease. I imagine a place, and then I’m there. I try to avoid the other spirits there, as they’re not exactly charming.”

  “I’m sorry, if you don’t want me to ask questions, just say so,” he murmured, his dark eyes rolling over me.

  “It’s okay. Maria has asked plenty,” I shrugged. Besides, a conversation with Alex wasn’t terrible. I did sometimes avoid him, but considering I was his secretary, it made it difficult.

  “You eat, but only every few days. Do you get hungry?”

  “No, I get odd cravings, but I don’t ever get hungry per se. I just enjoy food.”

  “And you don’t sleep?” he frowned as he came to a stop at a set of red lights.

  “Nope, haven’t been able to. I can rest if I’m exhausted, just lie there, and I seem to recover. But sleep isn’t possible. I’ve tried. Dreams, I miss them,” I sighed.

  “Dreams. We do have them, surprisingly enough,” Alex murmured.

  “Really? But you guys sleep, why would it be strange to dream,” I frowned.

  “Vampires are by all means, dead. We shouldn’t function, and people who don’t know us always want to know things. How our bodies work, what happens if we eat, can we dream, how do we have sex, can we even have sex if our blood isn’t
pumping, those sorts of things,” Alex said.

  “Well, Danny has made it obvious that vampires can have sex,” I said softly. I was trying not to imagine Alex, with his charming smile as he unbuttoned his shirt. I certainly knew vampires could do the deed, I’d excited Alex plenty of times when we were dating, and I’d seen his arousal in his pants.

  How our last and final date could’ve gone if I hadn’t panicked. Would we have had sex? What would he have been like? I wouldn’t lie, I had thought about it. Even though I knew I shouldn’t.

  He shifted uneasily as he kept his eyes on the road. Was he wondering the same thing? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was.

  “You can’t feel hot or cold? What about foods?” he changed the subject.

  “No, I mean, I guess I can get some sensation of it if I’m touching someone, but I can’t feel a cool breeze or the warm sun. But if it’s skin contact, I can sense what they feel like, but at the same time, not feel it. It’s hard to explain,” I said. “As for foods, it’s the taste, I still have my tastebuds surprisingly. And it’s the same as with touch, I can tell it’s meant to be hot or cold, maybe from memory, but I can’t actually feel it. I never get brain freeze or a burned tongue.”

  “So, if you touch my arm, you know it’s cold, but you can’t actually feel it?” he asked, a slight wrinkle of confusion evident on his brow.

  As if to clarify, I reached over and pulled the cuff of his suit back to touch his wrist.

  “Yes, I know it’s cold, but I can’t actually feel it,” I nodded.

  Alex had stiffened at my touch, and I withdrew my hand.

  “And sex?” he asked the question hesitantly.

  “I can still have it and enjoy it,” I said as my mouth curved up in a sly smile.

  The nerve along Alex’s jaw ticked, and I could see as he tried to control himself. But his eyes flicked over to soak me up, to glide over me lustfully. Something I’d caught him doing in the office on occasion. It did spark me, and the thought of being with him, testing out just what a vampire was like, exploring Alex and what we could’ve been… I pulled the thoughts up short. I couldn’t toy with the idea. Not after what had happened, no matter how my body reacted to him.