by J A Hinchey
“Hang on a second,” I told Levi, crossing the room to stand next to their table. Levi moved to the door, arms crossed, watching, while the mother and her son both looked at me curiously.
“Yes?” the mother asked. “Can I help you?”
“Lucas here has been a naughty boy,” I told her, watching as Lucas’s brown eyes rounded in fright. Yeah, you are so busted, buddy.
“What? Who are you? How do you know my son?”
“Lucas has been bullying the other kids at school, threatening them, even hurting them, forcing them to give him their lunch.”
The woman sucked in a breath. Her eyes, the same color as her son’s, swiveled from me to him and she leaned forward, elbows on the table, and peered at him intently.
“Is this true?”
Lucas swallowed. He was so busted. He was an overweight little boy and his mother had put him on a diet, concerned not only for his health but his future. Other kids teased the fat kids. Only what she didn’t know was he was cheating, stealing food from the other kids. He, in fact, was the bully. And this little mommy-son date with the milkshakes was his special treat for doing so well on his diet.
Lucas looked at me again and I let the flames dance in my eyes. He quickly looked back to his mom and nodded, his head bowed. “Yes,” he mumbled.
“Lucas!” Her outrage was evident in her tone. She turned to me and I could see it all: how tired she was, how difficult Lucas was at home, how her husband was of little help.
“Lucas, look at me.” I crouched by the table so we were eye to eye and let him see what he needed to see. “The bad behavior has got to stop, my man, understand me?”
He nodded so hard and so fast I feared his head might topple off.
“Good. I hope we don’t meet again.”
I left the café knowing two souls were saved today. It might not be much, but if I could stop them from turning up on my doorstep I’d call that a win.
6
Levi’s apartment was above his shop and it was small. I was pretty sure my shoe closet was bigger than his entire apartment.
“Sorry about the mess.” A hint of color dusted his cheeks. It wasn’t so much that his home was messy, it was more that he had a lot of stuff and not enough space for it. Books were piled upon each other on almost every available surface, an old sofa dominated the living room, more books piled up on one end. Across the room was a tiny kitchen, an old wooden table that had seen better days, and one dining chair. Two doors led off the living area. One was Levi’s bedroom, the other the bathroom.
A small four-legged creature rubbed itself around Levi’s legs and made a strange noise. I couldn’t contain my squeal. Jumping behind Levi, holding his shoulders to keep him between me and the creature, I practically screamed, “What the hell is that?”
“Mr. Meow. My cat.” Levi frowned at me as if I were insane.
“That’s not a cat!” I protested. “Cats are fluffy and cute. That…that…thing is not a cat. It has no fur.”
Levi reached down and scooped Mr. Meow into his arms, stroking his palm down its back. Mr. Meow purred in response, headbutting Levi’s chin. I stepped away, frowning. When had this happened? When had they created cats with no fur? Levi clearly loved this butt ugly creature and I was struggling to see the appeal.
“I love cats, but I’m allergic,” he explained, his face telling me he was affronted that I didn’t adore his pet.
“I can fix that,” I promised. Stepping forward, I placed my hand on his forehead and pushed some healing energy into him. Any health complaints Levi had were now gone.
“What did you do?” He eyed me suspiciously.
“I cured your allergy. Now let me fix your cat. Geez, the poor thing must be freezing with no fur.” I gingerly placed my hand on top of Mr. Meow’s head and, before our eyes, the cat grew fur. A gorgeous tortoiseshell coat of black, white and tan. “That’s better.”
“What do you think, Mr. Meow?” Levi asked, holding Mr. Meow so they were nose to nose. “Do you like having fur?” Mr. Meow meowed and licked his paw. Laughing, Levi set him on the floor where he wound himself in and out of Levi’s legs, purring even louder than before.
“I think he likes it!”
“Of course he does.” I plopped down onto the only clear space on the sofa, glad that small crisis was over. Mr. Meow promptly jumped up onto my lap, spun around three times before settling into a curled up ball of fluff, his tiny body vibrating as he purred his happiness.
“Notice anything?” I asked Levi.
“What?”
“You’re not sneezing?” I hinted.
“Oh my god, you’re right. It worked. You fixed my allergy.”
“Happy to help.”
Levi’s smile slipped and he put a hand up to his temple, pressing.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m getting a vision.” Moving around the sofa, he swept the books off the end and collapsed next to me, his head resting against the back of the sofa, eyes closed. Curious, I reached out and took hold of his hand, seeing if I could channel his vision. Turned out I could. We both watched as a slightly hysterical young woman stood at the front counter of the police station arguing with the officer that her coworker had been taken over by aliens.
The young woman’s name was Lucina and she was neither lying nor off her meds. She was a bartender at a joint downtown, had a boyfriend who had a penchant for tattoos, and she was addicted to cooking shows…though why anyone would be entertained by watching another person cook was beyond me. And she thought her colleague had been taken over by aliens—that was the only explanation for his weird behavior.
“Explain the weird behavior,” the officer said. He not only didn’t believe her, but he wasn’t interested, at all. His mind was on other things. Like the date he had lined up after work tonight.
“We tend bar in shifts, and Jacob and I are usually rostered on together, so I know him pretty well. But today, he was all over the place. He didn’t know how to pull a beer! He didn’t know how to use the cash register. It was like he’d never worked behind a bar before. It looked like him, but it wasn’t. His body has been taken over. By aliens.”
Pushing further into Lucina’s psych, I discovered that Lucina was also a massive fan of a television show called The X-Files and was obsessed with the idea of life beyond the planet earth. She was right of course, there was plenty of life beyond this realm—she just didn’t know what.
The vision ended. Levi opened his eyes and turned his head to look at me.
“Did you see that?”
“Yes.”
“Is it possible the soul stealer has taken possession of Jacob’s body?” he asked.
“Possible but unlikely. He was already in human form when he came through. Why take control of someone? Unless he couldn’t maintain his human form? That he has to possess an actual human body to maintain his presence here.”
“How much do you know about soul stealers?” Levi narrowed his eyes at me and I shrugged.
“Not a whole lot. They’re not from my dimension. Or yours.”
“Soooo…you know nothing?” His voice was incredulous.
“I know he’s not meant to be here and I need to send him back. Look, you do realize there is more than one God, right? So, Dad, he created this realm—Earth. Of course, he’d already created Heaven, that’s his home, and then, I admit it was an afterthought, he created Hell. We’re all his creations, in these three realms. Beyond that, the pocket realms and whatever else is out there have all been created by other Gods.”
“Ha!” Levi practically fist pumped the air and I knew I’d given him the answer that had been puzzling him for quite some time. He was silent for a moment, then asked, “How do you know it needs the souls of the other two girls to stay here?”
“It’s like a download. When I touched Emily, I got traces of him, what he is, what he’s after.”
“Why is he here? Is he a he?”
“He took male form, so I assume h
e’s a male. And I don’t know why he’s here.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “Because I couldn’t read that from him. Just that he feeds on souls, and he needs Sarah’s and Brianna’s to enable him to stay here. I don’t know why he wanted to come here, or why he wants to stay. We need to catch up with him and find out. And send him back.”
“You want to go check out this bar, see if the girl's story pans out?” Levi asked.
“Definitely.” Our hands were still linked and Levi stood, pulling me to my feet, dislodging Mr. Meow who grumbled in protest, then promptly curled up into a ball where I’d been sitting and fell back to sleep. I tamped down the heady feeling of Levi’s hand in mine. We had work to do.
7
The Black Swan was on the outskirts of town, the fading light enough to highlight the peeling paint and unkempt appearance. The parking lot was unpaved, simply a pothole expanse of dirt. Several pickups and motorbikes were parked haphazardly. Levi pulled up to the curb, electing not to partake of the bar’s car parking facilities. I couldn’t blame him. Some of those potholes looked waist deep.
Climbing out of the car, I stood and looked at the bar—I had a feeling many of the souls inside would be visiting me in the future and I wondered if there were any I could save now. Doubtful, but I was compelled to try. I pushed out my senses to see if I could feel the soul stealer but detected nothing. I wanted to stamp my foot in frustration but didn’t.
“Coming?” Levi asked. He’d already rounded the hood of his van and had taken several steps across the parking lot before realizing I was still standing beside the vehicle. Shaking off my thoughts, I gave him a nod and stepped onto the parking lot.
Pain ricocheted up my legs and my feet burned as if they were in the fires of Hell, which was saying something because hellfire did not burn me. I yelped and jumped back.
“Lucy?” Levi turned, puzzled.
“I can’t cross the lot,” I told him, gingerly dipping my toe into the parking lot only to quickly withdraw it when another jolt shot through me. “Someone has warded it.”
“Warded it? Why hasn’t it stopped me?”
“Because it’s not for humans. It’s to keep out paranormals. Although it may not be aimed at me specifically until I break the ward I can’t come in.” I squinted at the bar, trying to identify any hidden symbols. There had to be symbols somewhere for the ward to work. If I could find one I could have Levi break the lines of it, rendering the ward void. Only I couldn’t see one. Whoever had set this up was smart and I was grateful we hadn’t driven into the parking lot—I’d have been a writhing mass of agony by now if that had been the case.
Standing on the edge of the parking lot, I moved my hands in the air, drawing glowing red symbols as I worked at breaking the ward. It only took a couple of minutes and Levi was standing there watching, fascinated. With a satisfied smile, I stepped onto the parking lot, pausing for a moment to check. Nope, no burning sensation, no pain.
I was three steps in when spirits began rising from the ground. What on earth was going on here? Why were there ghosts in the parking lot of a bar? Was this…hallowed ground? An old cemetery? The ghosts were multiplying, too many to count. But hallowed ground made no sense; hallowed ground wouldn’t keep me out. And I very much doubted the citizens of Shadow Falls would build a bar on top of a cemetery.
I took another two steps when they attacked. Hands grabbed and scratched at me, and one woman managed to sink her teeth into my shoulder before I could push her off. Interesting how they were corporeal when they touched me, meaning they could inflict pain. And they were fast, faster than rats on a sinking ship. I’d throw one off and another ten would take its place.
I could easily blast them out of existence in one fell swoop, but I didn’t want to destroy them. They’d been human once, they deserved their chance at Heaven. Or Hell. I’d much rather call a reaper and send them on their way, but if they forced the issue I’d have no choice but to destroy them. And that didn’t sit well with me.
It wasn’t until I heard Levi grunt that I realized he too was being attacked. The flare of concern overwhelmed me and I reacted instinctively, red beams shooting across the parking lot as I blasted the ghosts that had already tackled Levi to the ground. I quickly drew a symbol, encasing Levi in a protective box. The ghosts banged their fists against it, trying to get to him.
My distraction with Levi cost me: I was covered in mindless zombie ghosts, dragged to the ground where we rolled. It crossed my mind that I’d destroyed some of them to save Levi, but I held back from doing the same to save myself. My concern for him was greater than my concern for myself. Being on Earth was so confusing. Being attracted to a human even more so.
I kicked and thrashed at the zombie ghosts, who were intent on one thing. Me. But they couldn’t really harm me. Yes, their bites hurt, but I healed immediately. All they were doing was slowing me down. That was when realization dawned. Someone wanted to slow me down, stop me from entering the bar. Holy shit. The soul stealer must be in there. I struggled harder against the ghosts, but my own agitation appeared to fuel them, for suddenly they were stronger. How was this happening? It made no sense. A big burly ghost sat on me, knocking the air from my lungs.
“Just kill them, Lucy.” Dacian’s voice. I turned my head, peered through the limbs of the ghosts and caught a glimpse of him leaning against Levi’s van, watching with arms crossed over his chest.
“No. It’s not their fault. They’re being controlled. I need to break it.” I grunted as someone bit my thigh, then my calf. They clearly weren’t above fighting dirty. I managed to throw a few more off, but as soon as I got rid of one, two returned to replace them. They’d piled onto my legs so I could no longer kick, one arm was trapped under four bodies, but I still had my left arm and I was afraid Dacian was right. Would I have to kill them, extinguish their souls forever to stop this madness? Still, I hesitated and it cost me. I’d assumed they didn’t have weapons, but a searing pain in my ribs had me screaming in agony.
Fire burned through my lungs and I glanced down to see a sword plunged into my side. What the fuck? This wasn’t right. Confusion slowed my thought processes and I feared I’d left it too late. Dacian was right. I had to kill them. Lifting my arm, I threw out a red bolt, catching three ghosts and evaporating them instantly. But I was weakening. Blood was flowing from the wound in my side and my head was spinning. Every living creature could die, including immortals. You just needed the right weapon. It appeared the ghosts had the right weapon. The question was, what was it and how did they get it? Because this sword wasn’t your average sword, of that I was certain.
Suddenly a blinding light shot out and I flung my arm over my eyes.
“You’re hurt.” Dacian was kneeling by my side, a frown on his face. I let my arm drop from my face and looked at him. My friend from old. The one who now hated me and didn’t remember me at all. Yet he’d just eradicated every single ghost. All that remained? The sword still embedded in my side.
“Could you?” I nodded at the sword and Dacian grabbed it and pulled it out with little regard for the slicing of my internal organs. I couldn’t contain my yelp. By hell that stings. I closed my eyes and concentrated on healing myself. The sword had gone deep, torn through some organs that I needed, but within seconds I was healed.
“Care to tell me what that was all about?” Dacian asked, rising to his feet and backing away from me. The sword dangled from his hand, covered in my blood, but beneath the blood, it glowed.
“I have no idea.” I eyed the sword. Where had it come from? “Can I see?” I indicated the sword, but Dacian lifted it over his shoulder and tucked it into the scabbard I knew he carried on his back, hidden beneath his wings.
“Think I’ll keep this. Looks like it might come in handy.”
“Come on, Dacian, you and I both know you’re not going to kill me. You had the perfect opportunity just then, and you didn’t take it.”
“I still need answers. I c
annot get them from you if you are dead.”
“What answers?”
“Why you unleashed an otherworld creature on Earth, for starters.”
“I told you,” I cried in exasperation, “it wasn’t me. This soul stealer is from a pocket dimension. He got through because the veil is thin right now. It’s All Hallows’ Eve, remember?”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“I don’t lie, Dacian, you know that. Rather than wasting your time on me, you should be helping me catch the soul stealer. After all, it was most likely Michael and Gabriel who are behind all of this in the first place.”
“They would do no such thing. They’re not the bad guys.” Dacian stiffened and his fingers clenched and unclenched. Yeah, right. Then why did I get prior notice in Hell of Emily’s death? Someone knew it was coming. Someone sent me a message. If not my brothers, who? While the girls may have opened the portal during their séance, I suspected my brothers of planting the idea in their heads. Compelling humans was easy; any angel could do it. I was about to explain my theory to Dacian when Levi shouted my name.
With a wave of my hand the invisible box surrounding him disappeared. He was pointing at the bar and now I could hear it—shouting and the sounds of a fight. Levi ran toward the door and I followed close behind.
Tables were overturned and chairs were broken. Someone was unconscious on the floor with a man standing over him. The black hooded cloak looked familiar.
Levi skidded to a halt and I bumped into his back. Silently I moved to his side, standing ever so slightly in front of him. The guy in the cloak glanced from Levi to me, and as our gazes met, I saw what looked like galaxies swirling in his eyes.
“It’s him,” I breathed, keeping my voice low. “He’s the soul stealer.”
“Fucking great,” Levi whispered, lips barely moving. I went to step forward, but Levi’s hand snaked out and gripped my wrist, holding me in place. I ignored the pleasant tingle from the flesh on flesh contact and kept my eyes trained on the soul stealer.