Salem moved toward me. “Cecile, I—”
“No.” My anger, sadness, and whatever else I felt, created a venom in my voice.
I grabbed my coat and stormed past him.
GHOST TOWN HELLHOUND
We were doomed to suffer. All of us. Cheetoh, Salem, and I could never have normal lives or relationships. We would always have to live apart from everyone else, just like a ghost trapped on Earth with no real connection to life. As long as I was a necromancer, this was my life—unless being a wizard could somehow change that for me. It was the last shred of hope I had.
Tanner floated up to my shoulder. I could feel him, but it took me a while before I could speak. As I walked to Riverview Park, I let my anger out through my steps. When I’d finally walked far enough, I opened up.
“What are we doing here?” I asked him.
I knew he couldn’t reply, but it was comforting to know someone was listening.
I shook my head. “The government is coming, there’s a pocket dimension that’s hoarding souls, and too many people are getting involved in our lives. We’re at risk. Kiara was able to follow Salem to the funeral home. It’s only a matter of time before someone else does—and I don’t even need to tell you about my and Cheetoh’s tempers. One of us will mess up and get reported—you know, assuming she doesn’t kill Jaxa and her children first.”
I was in the park and getting ready to cross the bridge when I added, “That sucked. That really sucked, but that’s what happens when we stay somewhere too long. We meet people and we get attached and bad things happen.
“It’s definitely time for us to move on, but when? And do we risk Toronto? I thought we could help those ghosts. I thought we had time...but now I’m not so sure.”
I glanced at the little guy riding my shoulder. He nestled in close and I knew he understood. I loved the feel of his soft fur and energy. I loved that I could touch him, that I had a friend that couldn’t die.
I stopped on the other side of the river and briefly debated on which direction to go before deciding that I’d left Kiara alone long enough. I headed for the pocket dimension and promised to visit Gobo another time.
We needed to leave, and yet there I was, on my way to the pocket dimension like an idiot, because for some reason, despite my fears, I still cared.
Passing through the barrier, a calm settled over me. I felt focused and went with it.
Tanner dipped back into his patch on my jacket as I surveyed the sunny pocket dimension. Everything appeared relatively normal, so I removed my winter coat, tied it around my waist, and put my game face on.
I hoped Kiara was where I’d left her, otherwise I’d have no idea how to find her, not without a hellhound. I felt guilty for leaving her for as long as I had, but to be fair, I had a lot going on.
I smiled at people as I walked by, trying to keep on the facade that this was heaven for me too, but I felt like crap. Several people waved to me and then looked unnerved. My smile must have been scaring them, so I stopped.
There was no sign of the Richardsons or Cheryl and I was relieved. I just wanted to talk to Kiara and start figuring this place out, and as luck would have it, I didn’t need to go far. Kiara was walking down the street, tapping a notebook thoughtfully with a pencil.
“Kiara!” I called out.
She spotted me and headed over. “Cecile. Hey.”
Judging by how Kiara looked, she was adjusting well, but I didn’t know how time worked here or how many days had passed. Her clothes were the ones she’d died in, but she’d changed her hair by adding a couple braids on one side. It made her curls pop.
“Hey,” I replied.
“Glad to see you. I didn’t expect you back so soon, but I’ve been busy while you were away.” She came up beside me and we walked together.
Kiara reviewed her notes. “So, what I’ve concluded is that the longer I am here, the less I notice and remember.”
“Go on,” I said with interest.
“At first, I saw the ghosts you were talking about. In fact, everyone here is so complacent and easygoing, I’ve been able to break into several homes without a problem. The coma-ghosts are in beds all over this neighborhood, and no one notices them or talks about them. As time has gone on, I’ve forgotten about them and don’t always see them. I have to keep looking at my notes or listening to my recorder.” Kiara produced a recorder and showed it to me. It seemed she too could create what she needed in this world.
I nodded and continued to listen.
“It’s possible that in time I will completely forget the coma-ghosts or even to look at my notes. Additionally, I’ve asked several people how they died and then asked them again the following day. The cause of death changes daily. I don’t think anyone here knows how they actually died. In fact, according to my notes, I was killed by a magick user, and yet... I remember dying in a plane crash.”
“Huh.” I scratched my pink head. “I guess that explains why none of you are violent.”
Kiara’s chestnut eyes studied me, waiting for an explanation.
“Oh, that’s why ghosts get dangerous. Over time, as the world moves on without them, it’s just a ghost and their death. They end up reliving it, over and over, until it consumes them and they’re full of fear, anger, and sadness. As a daughter of a death goddess, I’ve helped some ghosts move on. If everyone here can’t remember how they died, they’re not stuck in their trauma. It’s why everyone’s so happy.”
I realized Kiara may not understand the mechanics of the afterlife, but she kept her focus.
Looking back over her notebook, Kiara added, “Everyone’s age and when they died is varied. There is no correlation between the ghosts, other than location. They all lived in and around Silverbrook. And lastly, I found something at the center of the town. I don’t know what it is, because I can’t get past this weird barrier.”
I stopped and stared at her. “Take me to it.”
Kiara and I walked in silence through the happy ghost town. Everywhere I looked, people were smiling, playing, and laughing. We knew better—but we didn’t know each other. She had been an agent investigating me, and I was a walking reminder of the life she’d lost, so silence marked the distance between us.
The sun was warm and the palm trees green, but as we got closer to what I assumed was the center of the pocket dimension, there were fewer people outside, until there were none. The ghost town began to reflect its title.
I glanced at windows and driveways, and no one was there, but I felt souls within every home. When I reached out, it was like hitting cement bricks in each bed I found.
Whatever was happening here seemed to be expanding outward to the rest of the pocket dimension. I briefly wondered if the dimension’s borders were growing to take in more ghosts, and if so, to what purpose?
Kiara nudged me. “It’s just on the other side of this house.”
I nodded and followed her. When we turned the corner, my eyes widened. Before us, a massive mercury-like sphere the size of building sat silently, reflecting the sky. It was pretty damn awesome.
Without hesitation, I stepped up to it, but stopped short of touching it. I followed the silvery surface all the way to the ground and found what I was looking for: magick symbols. There was an intricate network of lines connecting a combination of symbols from various languages—Greek, Egyptian, and Sanskrit. It was interesting to see them all working together like this.
It had to be wizards—those sneaky devils. A god would have stuck with spellwork from their home turf, and fairies didn’t use language or symbols in their magick.
“What do you make of it?” Kiara asked, keeping her distance.
“Have you tried to touch it?” I looked back at her.
“I can’t. I can’t get farther than I’m standing.”
I nodded. “It’s spelled. I’m not surprised. Whoever it is, is trying to keep out nosy government agents.”
A poor attempt at teasing, but Kiara grinned in response.
I stepped back and looked up, but couldn’t quite make out the top. “I think it’s housing the anchor to this dimension—the power source that’s creating it and connecting it to my reality. Shall I go in?” I waggled my eyebrows at her.
“Is that safe?” She looked genuinely concerned for me.
I smiled back. “I’m not a god and not a human—I get to play outside of the lines.”
I raised my hand and touched the water-like surface. The silver waves of the sphere surrounded my hand until I could no longer see it. I looked back to snicker, but Kiara was distracted. “Cecile, I think... I think I hear something.”
I pulled my hand back and turned. A massive creature stepped out from behind the closest house. Kiara had been hearing its garbled growl.
“What the hell is that?” I shouted stupidly.
Kiara tentatively looked back and then screamed. She had every right to be terrified. It was insane looking.
As she bolted to the right, I took it in. It was some bastardized version of an undead chimera. The thing had tentacles. There were hooves and two claws, and I think its head was a moose.
I raised my hand and tried to grip the invisible strings of its undead life force. I grasped them, but the beast reared and fought me.
“Kiara!” I shouted, hoping she’d hear me. “Get out of here!”
I had no idea if it could harm her—she was a ghost—but if I could touch her, maybe this thing could too.
It pulled back and to my dismay, pulled me toward it.
I reached out with my other hand and took more strings, but it resisted harder. I planted my feet into the ground and put everything I had into it, but I was fairly certain it was about to break free.
I wasn’t wrong.
I felt the invisible force connecting us snap, like a thousand strings suddenly being cut, and stumbled backward. It clawed the ground and then grunted as it lunged for me.
I was helpless and, in those brief moments, wondered if I would die and if I would see Darren when I got to wherever it was I was going.
My melancholy was replaced with surprise when a force pummeled into the chimera and knocked it over. It gave a horrible metallic shriek as it tried to recover.
A shadow, with glowing icy blue eyes and elongated teeth and ears, heaved with anger between the creature and me. It was Salem, fully transformed into his feral form.
I guess I still had an ace up my sleeve, and my heart swelled with pride as I looked at that softhearted, brave idiot.
The creature was up again and seemingly unharmed. It was massive, and while I knew Salem was strong, we really could have used a powerful mummy.
Salem engaged the creature again, tearing into it with his claws. It roared and attacked him, attempting to grab him with its mouth.
Trusting Salem to handle the chimera, I turned and searched for Kiara. If she was who I thought she was, she wouldn’t have listened to me—and I was right. I spotted her signaling me over from behind a car.
I had jogged halfway to her when I heard Salem cry out. The sound struck me and I whipped around.
The chimera was pulling Salem’s arm back with a tentacle and biting his midsection with its massive head. On impulse my power surged and I flung my hand up to grab the tethers of its unnatural life again. I yanked as hard as I could and forced the creature to let him go.
Salem got away, though not unscathed. I could see obsidian liquid trailing behind him in the grass.
I yanked again and the creature flailed. I thought maybe this time I could hold it, but another monster snarled from within the mercury dome.
“We need to get out of here!” Kiara yelled.
I hated to give up when we’d gotten this far, but she was right. I was barely managing one, and I didn’t think I could take two.
I searched for my undead and found him stumbling toward me.
“Will you be able to run?”
He nodded.
I was going to have to fling the creature as hard as I could, and then we would make a run for it, but before I could make my move, my grasp on it was lost. Again the strings snapped. Was this the puppet master fighting back? Where were they?
The second beast stepped out from the silver anchor, its head a decaying grizzly’s. It grunted and shook as it emerged. I would have stayed to admire it, but I didn’t want to die.
Salem stopped and turned. He let go of his side and stood strong as he faced them.
“Salem, don’t!” I shouted. Terrified for him.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t take them both on himself.
Fuck. I’d never felt so helpless before.
His onyx head turned to look back at me. His eyes softened when he saw me, the blue shimmering. It was as if he were saying goodbye.
“Don’t you dare!” I screamed.
How dare he? How dare he sacrifice himself for me!
I would think of something. The bear’s head scanned the scene deliberately. I could feel another necromancer looking out through its milky dead eyes.
A set of giant spider legs came forward from the anchor, framing its shaggy body on either side. Whatever necromancer this was, I’d never seen the ability to enlarge limbs and attach them to different bodies. It was horrifyingly impressive, and just when I thought I had been spotted by the creature, a massive figure jumped in front of me.
I startled, thinking it was another chimera. “Shit!” I stumbled back.
I felt Kiara’s hand on my arm, steadying me. Together, we stared wide-eyed at another gigantic, black creature.
“What is that?” Kiara whispered.
“Kiara,” I said, “I know it seems like I should be the expert on these things, but most of the time, I just run in guns blazing and have no idea what’s going on.”
The ebony monster growled and tensed.
A dog. A giant dog.
The grim—only it was three times the size. I couldn’t believe how big it was.
“Salem!” I yelled as the grim rushed forward. It bit into the moose chimera’s neck, viciously pulling the animal off its feet. Tentacles wrapped around the black dog as the two wrestled. The other chimera roared and rushed toward the fight, claws and spider legs tearing up the soil. But I couldn’t stay to watch. We’d delayed long enough.
Salem was finally by my side, and Kiara was signaling for us to follow her and run—and so we did.
AN UNDEAD HUSK
We were back in our own reality and almost to our street. Kiara had returned to her new home, and from what we could tell, we hadn’t been followed.
I wondered what had happened to the grim and considered going into the basement and dusting off books—or just talking to my mom, because she was better than undead Google and I didn’t have time to read lately.
I was riddled with guilt for leaving the grim, but I told myself it would be okay, because I couldn’t handle it turning out any other way. I’d never encountered a grim before, and I didn’t know what its abilities were or how it compared to hellhounds.
Until this point, I’d survived on general knowledge, but I was becoming increasingly aware of how much I needed to study.
I’d checked Salem over after the attack, but we walked home in silence. Once I’d seen he was healing properly, relief soon morphed into anger.
I had a lot to stew over, and I suspected his silence was an attempt to wait out my temper. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy we’d made it out alive and grateful to him for following me, despite my murderous rage, but the more I thought about the last few hours, the angrier I got.
The second we were in the door, I turned on him. “What were you thinking back there?”
His hazel eyes widened.
“If they had torn you in half, you might not have healed! I might not have been able to put you back together! I’m not experienced enough. I have a long way to go before I can repair that kind of damage and you know it.
“You knew what you were doing. I don’t know where this self-sacrificing hero men
tality came from, but I don’t appreciate it.
“We’re supposed to be a team, you, me, and Cheetoh. We’re supposed to look out for each other and protect one another. Instead, you two are keeping secrets from me, and you—you’re throwing yourself into the fire for me?! I can’t believe you!” I shook, my fists balling up at my sides.
I had given them a home. I forgave Cheetoh for what she’d done to me as a child, and I found a way to keep Salem fed without him having to kill. I gave them the closest thing to normal that I could.
I let out a shaky breath. “The government is coming. We have to move, and we would have been a lot more prepared if you had told me about Jaxa, instead of letting their affair go on. I don’t know what to do first—run for our lives, blow that pocket dimension open with my rage, or take my exams. I really don’t know what’s safe or right anymore.”
I was turning to storm off, but Salem finally spoke up. “I was going to tell you about Jaxa, but things got out of hand. I did not want to upset you or Cheetoh. I didn’t know how to handle it and I made the wrong decision. I apologize for that. I wanted to tell you on our walk home after my shift, but you didn’t show. Why didn’t you meet me?”
“That’s what you’re worried about right now? About why I didn’t walk with you? Didn’t you listen to anything I just said?”
“Yes. That is what I am worried about right now,” he replied.
I threw my arms up and stomped into the hallway, but Salem intercepted me.
He spun me around and backed me against the wall. I flushed, taking in his intensity.
I shook my head. “Whatever you think this is... Whatever you think we have, it’s not going to happen. You’re not even alive.”
The words made me sick as I said them. My body flooded with heat and emotion, and I hated it. I hated him.
He took my hand and placed it firmly on his chest, holding my gaze as he did it.
His jacket was open and my hand rested on his shirt. His body was cool, but underneath his clothes, under my palm, I felt it: a faint heartbeat. It was slower than a human’s, but it was there, and it pulsed against my warm skin.
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