After two bites, I said, “Why do you cook for me?” My heart sank unexpectedly and my anger was mysteriously gone.
Salem looked down at the floor and then retrieved the remote. He turned the TV on. “Because doing things for someone is how you show them you care.”
I thought about the salad Cheetoh had made me, how she did more than her chores on the chore chart every week, and how, before she started disappearing, she used to make dinner and we’d eat together when she was home from work.
“Thank you, Salem.”
I leaned against his shoulder and he put his arm around me. I continued to shovel pasta into my mouth.
“Do you miss Rafal?” I asked him.
He was thoughtful and then replied, “He was my friend. We traveled together, took care of one another, but we did not have a pleasant life. It was nothing like this. I hope, wherever he is, that he has found peace. I miss him, but I am also grateful for the life you have given me.”
I swallowed another mouthful before saying, “I’m glad you’re here.”
I don’t know why things were easier with Salem, but they were, and it made the hardships of this life just a little better.
GHOST TOWN
It had been a rough night. Cheetoh made sure to play her music obnoxiously loud and, from the sounds of it, was rearranging her room. I got up several times to threaten her undead existence, but went back to bed to try to ignore it. I would not let her win.
When I woke up in the morning and things were quiet, I pounded my fist against her bedroom door. “You better still be in there!”
The thud of something thrown against the door let me know she was home.
I’d warded the house before I’d gone to bed, to keep my mummy in and hopefully let the draugr out, but I wasn’t a hundred percent on my spellwork. I wasn’t rehearsed in advanced spellwork, just naturally gifted. My mother had kept me from practicing as a child, concerned I’d try something and bring reapers down on our doorstep, but now that I was older, I think she could agree it was time to learn my craft.
After splashing water on my face and tending to some stray pink curls, I went to Salem’s room.
I absently opened the door without knocking. “Salem, do you—” I stopped. All previous thoughts were drained from the void that became my mind.
Salem was standing in his boxer briefs. His hair was messy in an oddly attractive way, and his body—the muscle on muscle...the lean beauty that was his stomach, with a little trail of hair that led below his belly button.
I shook my head. My entire body felt flushed. I stepped back. “Uh...excuse me. I should have knocked. Wha—we—uh, get dressed. I don’t have classes today and we’re going back to the pocket dimension.”
He nodded.
I closed the door and then leaned against the hallway wall. What the hell was that?
I ate breakfast as I waited for Salem. I pretended to read on my phone while squashing the mental image of his body.
He was undead. Salem ate people to keep from rotting. There was no way I was attracted to him. No way.
I mean, he was a pleasant guy, and good-looking, but he wasn’t...he wasn’t...
I stopped the thought before it started.
I heard his door open and stood up. I shoved my phone in my back pocket and met him in the hallway.
“H-hem.” I cleared my throat. “Good to see you ready. I wanted to explore more of the pocket dimension today and maybe locate the anchor.”
I turned and strode over to Cheetoh’s door. I pounded on it again to make sure she was listening. “I’ve got eyes on you. Remember, I’ve got an army of rats and my mother’s hellhounds at my disposal. If you so much as set a toe outside of this house, you better believe the hellhounds won’t hold back. My mother is twice the coldhearted bitch that I am.”
I turned back to Salem and winked. He gave me a nod of approval and then handed me my coat.
I should have worn a tank top. It was forever summer in this pocket dimension and I was sweating in my usual pleather jacket and jeans. I had my coat wrapped around my waist, but it kept sliding off, so Salem offered to carry it. He had his winter coat on and didn’t appear bothered by the heat, but I mean—undead.
We didn’t say much as we walked, though his expression appeared thoughtful.
He often looked that way, and I wondered what went on in that mind of his. He’d already told me he didn’t remember becoming a draugr, and that he had fractured memories from his life and afterlife. I wondered what happened that created such long blackout periods and why he couldn’t remember his previous master.
So many questions. Maybe this was the shit he was always thinking about.
People waved to us as we walked by, and a group of kids passed us on their bikes. I considered approaching any random person and then thought better of it. “Let’s see if we can find Cheryl or the Richardsons. I want to know more about how things work here—and make sure you don’t eat anything they offer us. You might be able to eat human food here, but I’d advise against it. Sometimes, when you eat food from another world, you can’t leave—well, not safely.”
Salem gave me a concerned look.
“I don’t make the rules,” I told him. “It’s weird that ghosts are eating here at all.”
“How many pocket dimensions have you been in?” he asked.
I smiled. “Okay, three, tops.”
“More than most, I imagine. I suppose you are the leading expert?” he replied.
I patted his back. “Oh, Salem. There’s so much you don’t know. My mother is a death goddess, but she’s limited to this plane, the veil, and her hell dimension, but there are gods that are worshipped across dimensions. They are known as travelers—like rifters. They exist through all time and space. There’s still so much for you to learn.”
“I like to learn these things from you,” he said. His hand brushed mine. Whether on accident or intentional, I wasn’t sure.
I stepped aside and thankfully, before anything awkward could happen, Kevin interrupted us.
“There you two are! Settling in, I trust?” he asked with a bag of groceries in his arms.
I had to hold back the temptation to examine the contents. The food thing was so fascinating to me. I did not understand how or why they were eating, but then, Kevin’s outfit was different today, and I had even noticed some lawns and houses had changed since we’d last been here.
Salem smiled. “Yes, it’s beautiful here and we’re feeling much—” He paused.
I followed his gaze and found Agent Kiara Peterson wandering the sidewalk.
She was dead. I could feel her soul from where I stood.
“You okay?” Kevin asked Salem.
“We’re just in shock,” I supplied. “That’s our friend over there. We had no idea she was dead.” A semi-truth couldn’t hurt, could it?
“Oh my god, we’d better get over to her. Listen, I know Bob and Cheryl were a bit much the other day, but how about we take your friend to my neighbor’s house and let her get her bearings? Once she is settled, we can have dinner at my place. I don’t want to push anything, but I imagine a quiet spot and familiar faces will help her.”
“Sure,” I replied. I wanted to get into another house, anyway.
“Great. Let’s go ease her into things,” he said, leading the way.
Salem leaned in. “I saw her last week and she was alive.”
I nodded. “I knew she’d been coming by the restaurant. You told my mom. I didn’t think you had anything to do with it.”
It bothered me that Salem would worry I’d think he’d killed Kiara, but then, I had just warded a house into a prison.
“Kiara,” I said softly.
She paused and stared at the ground. When she looked up and saw us approaching, her expression was troubled.
“I’m dead, aren’t I?” she asked.
I couldn’t meet her eyes. It was Salem who answered, “Yes. I am sorry, Agent Peterson.”
She
nodded, her brow furrowing.
Kevin watched quietly. He seemed to read social situations better than Cheryl and Bob.
“Do you want to go somewhere and sit down?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she replied.
I had wanted her out of town, but I hadn’t wanted her dead. It was never easy, watching someone contemplate their death.
Kiara was quiet as we walked. Kevin led the way and pointed out various houses and people he knew.
I noted the details he shared, such as how their heaven accommodated everyone and provided a home and anything anyone needed by simply appearing. No one worked at the grocery store, but food was always available, and if you had a favorite activity or hobby, that would be provided too.
I didn’t understand it. They would only need to eat if they had bodies, and while they felt physical here, they were not undead, at least not in the way Salem and Cheetoh were.
The more I learned, the more it seemed that this had to be a cosmic accident or the project of another god, but why would a god do this?
Salem touched my shoulder, indicating we’d arrived. I’d been so lost in thought, I’d kept walking.
I wasn’t a car person, but I knew the Ferrari symbol when I saw it. The car was sitting, all shiny and new, in the driveway of a very modern looking home, right across from Kevin and Bob’s house. I wasn’t surprised we were this close to Kevin’s house, but he was subtler than Cheryl and Bob, at least. I had to give him that.
When we got to the front door, a woman with the most incredible messy bun answered. She reminded me of Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus.
She was oddly wearing glasses, but was otherwise as fit and beautiful as everyone else in this new heaven. It seemed “heaven” included your best age and the physical figure of your choice. I’d have to give my belly and muffin top some reassurance later. You know, let them know that I cared, because I was fine with my physical flaws.
“Hey, Kevin,” the woman said, adjusting her glasses and taking everyone in.
Kiara stared at the ground.
“Lizzieee! We’ve got a new friend in the neighborhood and I was wondering if she could stay with you till she gets on her feet? I know you mentioned to Bob and I the other day that you were looking for a roommate, and I thought, why not?”
“Uh, sure. Sure. Why don’t you and your friends come in and we can talk and see how things go?”
DEATH DOESN’T WAIT
We all sat in the kitchen in an awkward silence.
Judging by the book and tea that had been on the table when we came in, and the Ferrari in the driveway, I imagined Lizzie as some badass introvert who knew what she wanted. The house and the Ferrari said it all. Under different circumstances, I felt we could have been friends—introverted friends who mostly texted, of course.
Kiara still seemed catatonic. I wish I knew what to say to her, but I hardly knew her, and Kevin and Lizzie had been doing most of the talking.
“So, I suppose we should get the unpleasantness out of the way. If you’re ready, Kiara?” Lizzie offered a sympathetic smile.
It might have been too soon for Kiara to talk about it, but I was ready to get this show on the road. It was difficult for me to spend this much time with people I didn’t know and had no attachment to.
Kiara tapped her nails on the table and then replied, “Yeah. Uh, I was, uh...I was at my car, getting out my keys, and then a hooded figure came up, and then I was here.”
“Hooded figure, so you didn’t really see them...but can you recall any other distinct features?” I asked Kiara.
Kevin and Lizzie exchanged glances, but I didn’t care and I was not going to explain anything to them.
Kiara shook her head. “No, but I think I remember...a wand.”
A wand.
Wizards.
I took a new, appreciative look around. If this pocket dimension was the work of wizards, I would clap and then feed them to my mother’s hellhounds.
If it were wizards, I wouldn’t risk my mischief, but the hellhounds were from a different dimension and an all but dead religion, so chances were the wizards would have nothing on them magickally—but I was getting ahead of myself.
And oddly, the information didn’t discourage my curiosity about the wizard school. If anything, I was more interested.
Lizzie pushed a mug of hot tea over to Kiara. “I’m not sure what happened or whether we can ever fully understand our deaths, but the important thing is that you are here now and you’re at peace.”
“We were all in shock at first and now... Now we’re living our best lives in paradise,” Kevin added.
Kiara’s face didn’t look like she was at peace. She was smart, a government agent, and she knew bullshit when she saw it—and that my being there was a problem.
I felt a tug on my pant leg and looked down. Tanner was sitting at my feet.
I checked to make sure no one else had noticed him and then watched him scurry down the hallway. Tanner had never left my jacket without reason.
“Excuse me, do you have a washroom? I’m just feeling a bit...emotional. It’s still all fresh for me, and seeing Kiara... Well, I’m sure you understand. I just need a moment alone and to freshen up...” I was going to say I had to pee, but then I realized that in fake heaven, ghosts probably got to eat and drink and didn’t have to deal with all the unpleasantness that follows. At least that’s how I would have designed it.
No one seemed to care as I stood up. Salem glanced my way as I left, and I gave him a smirk.
Once in the hallway, I followed Tanner’s gray little body as he ran along the floor. He stopped in front of a closed door. He stood up and pressed his paws on it, gazing up at the handle and then back at me. He then passed through the door and waited for me on the other side.
I checked the hallway and then blew out a breath.
I tried the handle and the door opened. As I stepped in, I was surprised to find someone asleep. Tanner was on the nightstand beside them, staring at them curiously.
As I moved closer, I couldn’t help but reflect on how Kevin and Lizzie hadn’t mentioned she already had a roommate.
An unsettling feeling washed over me.
When I looked at this ghost, they resembled a living person dying. They were pale, thin, and fragile-looking.
I attempted to move her hand with my powers and was met with resistance, as if it were weighted down.
My eyes met Tanner’s and I stepped up to the bedside. I placed my hand tentatively on her shoulder and tried to wake her.
She was cold, but still physical.
I tried again and was startled when her eyes shot open. Not because I had woken her, but because of the white, iridescent eyes that stared back at me. I knew in my soul that it was not a ghost who looked at me.
Her face contorted into an expression of pain. Her lip trembled. “Help me.”
Despite her anguish, her voice chimed in the air. It was a rifter reaching out through the shell of this ghost.
“Where are you? What’s going on?” I asked it, my heart pounding.
It stared at me, but I could see its consciousness fading. The light in its eyes dimmed and I was staring at a dying soul again.
I took an uneasy step back and stared at Tanner as if he’d have the answers.
He floated over and sat on my shoulder. I might have considered rifters annoying know-it-alls, but seeing one in pain disturbed me on a deep level.
I came back to the kitchen a little more anxious than I’d intended. Seeing me, Salem started to get out of his chair, but I shook my head.
I sat down and did my best to pretend I was fine. I could see that Kiara was actively listening to the conversation now but remaining silent. I didn’t miss her glance my way, though. Salem too seemed overly interested in my behavior. Was I really that terrible at hiding my emotions?
Conversation lagged, so I put the feelers out. “Lizzie, how long have you been looking for a roommate? Have you had one before?”
> Lizzie sipped her tea and then put her mug down. “No, actually. No roommates since I came here. I mostly stick to myself, but as new ghosts kept coming in, I realized I wouldn’t mind helping someone out and providing companionship. I know how jarring and upsetting it is to wake up in this place.” She smiled at Kiara.
Interesting.
I decided to try something else. “And, uh, what about sleep? I’ve been having a tough time sleeping since I got here. How about you guys?”
Kevin answered this time. “Oh, no. I sleep like a log and so does Bob! In fact, I’ve caught him napping recently and noticed him sleeping in. Not sure what it is, but heaven for him has been naps lately—and that’s fine. It’s not like we ever need to clean the house, so it doesn’t bother me one bit.” He laughed and Lizzie joined him.
My mind was turning. Everyone slept...but my necrosense was tingling. Could Bob sleeping more be an indication that he would eventually become like the forgotten soul in the bedroom? Would that eventually happen to all of them?
Trapped rifters and sleeping ghosts... It was time to talk to my mother.
We stayed long enough not to look suspicious, but I needed to get the hell out of there. I’d known this place was too good to be true, but now I had evidence and needed my mother’s goddess knowledge.
Salem and I were out the door, and I was ready to spill everything to him when Kiara unexpectedly caught up with us.
Shit. Shit. Shit. You’re dead. You don’t need to keep spying on me.
I really hoped all of that wasn’t written on my face, but if it was, maybe it would deter her.
Kiara was uncharacteristically shy as she walked. I had hated her cocky attitude in life, but I couldn’t imagine what it was like to be dead or what she was going through. I’d be lying if I said the sight of her broken spirit didn’t make me sad.
“Cecile, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yyyes.” I gave Salem a look and then followed Kiara.
“So...how are you doing?” I asked and immediately chided myself for being stupid.
Death Made Me Do It Page 6