The women nodded at varying speeds, except Wilhelmina who stared into nowhere, lost in thought.
“I’ve heard that too,” said Rebecca. “Mostly in paranormal circles. They think every little kid haunt is a demon playing mind games. Some might be… but even kids can have unfinished business. Some might simply be confused, not realizing they’re dead. Or maybe they’re waiting for their parents to cross over so they can go together.”
“I’m guessing you guys aren’t too big on that whole Heaven or Hell thing. Where do you think spirits go when they, uhh, ‘move on?’ Where would Robin go if Vic is like a drain plug holding her there and we pull it?”
“The Pool of Life,” said Linda, staring at her with an odd intensity. “We believe that all life energy in the Earth is constant. Everything that lives has a soul, and when it dies, that soul energy returns to a great swirling mass deep within the Earth, only to reemerge with new life elsewhere.”
“Reincarnation.” Wilhelmina smiled. “Have you ever heard of the first law of thermodynamics?”
“It sounds vaguely familiar, but college was a long time ago.” Mia smiled.
“Bullshit,” said Lisa. “I’m older than you and I’m twenty-seven.”
Mia raised her tea cup in toast. “So am I.”
“The only one here who can say college was a ‘long time ago’ is Willa, and she didn’t go because they didn’t let women go to college back then.” Rebecca winked.
Wilhelmina picked her eye with her middle finger. “I’m not that old. And I most certainly did go to college. It is rather difficult to obtain work as a university professor with only a high school diploma after all.”
Everyone laughed.
“Anyway,” said Wilhelmina. “The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It’s a scientific principle that also applies here. Souls can neither be created nor destroyed, only changed. Life proceeds to death, the energy of the soul retreats to Gaia, mingles with the Pool, then comes back eventually.”
“When a new child is born, energy from the Pool of Life returns and provides a soul for the baby.” Lisa approached and refilled Mia’s mug with still-boiling tea.
“Speaking of that… We’ve been talking.” Wilhelmina clasped her hands, eyeing the others.
Lisa moved one space to the right and refilled Cheryl’s mug.
“We believe it may be possible to alter that process magically.”
Mia nodded. “You’ve found a way to throw Vic out of the house?”
“Not exactly.” Wilhelmina’s lips stretched into a slow, but broad smile. “When a child is conceived, soul energy migrates to our world from the Pool of Life. However, we think it may be possible to take a shortcut—if there happens to already be a stray soul in the area who wishes to inhabit the baby.”
Mia nearly dropped her tea.
“I think she understands where you’re going with this.” Linda fidgeted in her chair like a kid staring at presents on Christmas morning she hadn’t yet been given permission to open. The look in her eye rather made Mia think the woman wanted her desperately to agree.
“So… you… you’re saying if”—she swallowed—“I were to become pregnant, Robin could what? Just hop in? Come back to life?”
Wilhelmina raised a hand. “Not exactly. We’re not talking about raising the dead. Everything that lives and dies reincarnates at some point. All we would be doing is skipping a few steps, namely Robin’s soul going back to the Pool and churning around down there for who knows how long.”
“People don’t remember their past lives, do they?” asked Mia.
“Most of the time, no. Except for bits and pieces.” Linda shook her head.
“It happens sometimes. Like this one kid spoke fluent Russian and had no reason to know it. Another little boy once told his parents exactly how he’d been murdered in a past life as a thirty-something-year-old.”
“Remembering things with such clarity is super rare though.” Lisa shrugged.
“But those reincarnations happened the ‘normal’ way? As if anything here is normal.” Mia chuckled. “What possible effect would this have on her if it worked? Isn’t it kinda important to go through the spin cycle between lives?”
They chuckled.
Wilhelmina grinned. “I can’t say for sure, but I think she will remember her former life more clearly than most, and there’s a good chance she will remain the same person mentally.”
It sounded creepy as hell, but hearing that Robin would remain who she is paradoxically made Mia want to do it even more. She’d decided a while ago to do everything she could to comfort the girl… how better than to be able to hold her for real? The hair dryer incident only happened out of a child’s desperate loneliness, not malice.
Mia choked up. What’s wrong with me? She tried to kill me and I’m getting misty-eyed at it being sad and cute. “Umm… what if Adam’s right and Robin isn’t a child but something darker?”
“Then you usher in the harbinger of the End Times,” said Lisa in a cheerful tone with a huge grin.
“Check the baby’s head for three sixes,” deadpanned Cheryl. “Oh, wait… Satan’s a myth.”
Wilhelmina let off a stern sigh. “I have good news and I have bad news.”
“Ooo-kay.” Mia leaned back, eyes wide.
“The good news is, I’m confident we can construct the ritual necessary to create a spirit bridge for her in such a manner as to prevent the trespass of negative energy. I am inclined to trust your instinct that she is who she appears to be, but if she isn’t, whatever it is will not be able to invade your baby.”
“What’s the bad news?” whispered Mia.
“If the spirit is dark… you’ll probably die from the resulting clash of energy.” Wilhelmina cringed.
Rebecca smirked. “Don’t scare her. There’s only like a seventy-five percent chance she’ll have a heart attack. We might be able to do like CPR or something.”
“Umm.” Mia gulped. “Just so I’m clear on this… you’re suggesting that I let Adam knock me up and you can somehow allow Robin to become my baby?”
“Just her soul,” said Linda.
“That’s correct.” Wilhelmina nodded once. “All souls come from the Pool. We aren’t changing the workings of things, merely adjusting the selection process.”
Mia stared into her tea. As crazy as it sounded, after watching the murder right out of Robin’s eyes, she had to take the chance. That poor child didn’t deserve her end. A do-over was most definitely in order. If only she could somehow ask Evelyn for permission, but that boat sailed long ago. Robin hadn’t spoken of her at all, only to say she’d gone away. Maybe the woman’s soul had gone back to the Pool of Life or Heaven if it existed. Though, a finite amount of soul energy that continued to recycle sounded more scientifically plausible than endless numbers of new souls streaming out of thin air and eventually winding up sorted into naughty or nice piles. Endless creation and endless storage didn’t make comparative sense, at least in any scientific manner.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” said Mia.
Wilhelmina got up, walked around the table, and took her hand, her eyes brimming with concern like she comforted an old friend at the edge of death. “Are you sure? Are you certain a dark spirit hasn’t influenced you?”
Mia stared at the tan skin of the hand gripping hers, wrinkled, cured from years of gardening and natural living. “I don’t think I am. Not a hundred percent anyway, but I’m not sure I care. It feels right, and my gut’s been on a roll lately.”
“All right.” Wilhelmina took a breath and stood tall, exuding confidence. A hint of a tear glistened at the corner of her eye. “The first step will be for you to approach Robin about the idea. It will only work if she is a willing participant. We will not force her.”
“Okay. I can do that. So, umm, what’s all involved with this? And please tell me it’s not going to require any powdered bull penis.”
Wilhelmina cackled with laug
hter. The others appeared confused.
“Isn’t that for luck spells?” asked Lisa.
Mia laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair. “Oh, I needed that… Tension breaker.”
“It will require a ritual.” Wilhelmina, still chuckling, made her way back to her seat. “We will set up a circle in the balcony room, the one with the big bay windows. That’s directly under your bedroom. The girl will stand in the circle and wait. The other part of the ritual involves painting sigils on your body to establish the other end of the gate. Then, you and Adam simply do what you would normally do.”
Mia nodded.
“Naked time!” shouted Lisa. “Hey, would you mind if I went sky clad during the ritual, too?”
Mia raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
“She’s addicted to being naked,” muttered Cheryl.
“Umm… that would be more than a little awkward.” Mia bit her lip. “Is it required?”
Lisa fake pouted. “No. Just comfortable. Don’t worry. It’ll be plenty awkward enough lying there while we paint you up.”
Mia blushed. “Can’t be worse than the gynecologist. At least you’re not going spelunking.”
“Nope.” Lisa grinned. “You only have to deal with about thirty minutes or so of trying to hold still while we tickle you with paintbrushes.”
She shivered at the mere thought of that. “Okay. Let me talk to Robin and Adam about the idea.”
Linda beamed. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”
“Awesome.” Lisa jumped up and headed over to the fridge. “Anyone want cake?”
27
A Little Uncomfortable
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Yellow flashing lights danced among the trees up ahead, farther down Minstrel Run.
Mia slowed, still overjoyed she’d gotten the Tahoe out of Wilhelmina’s cabin without scraping a tree or losing a side mirror. Going there had required she drive in the opposite direction—a left turn out of the driveway—she usually took to go to work or downtown. About 200 feet from her home, a pair of guys stood beside a flatbed tow truck backed off the road into the woods. Amber bar lights on the truck’s roof filled the nearby forest with an eerie glow.
“That’s odd…”
She veered left a little before cutting the wheel right to pull into her driveway. After shutting off the engine, she opened the door to the high-pitched whine of an electric winch. Mia hopped out and squinted at a cluster of trees awash in the glow of floodlights. At the sight of a newish green Jeep Cherokee easing backward up onto the flatbed, she gasped.
Her usual amused reaction at bad things happening to overly religious people didn’t extend to actual harm. Only inconveniences like spilled coffee or walking into sign posts. She still hadn’t quite processed what Weston said about gay people—that he had no problem with them—and it made her feel guilty.
“Hey, hon,” said Adam from the front door.
She raised an arm to point. “What happened over there?”
“Weston went off the road and hit a tree. That sheriff you called stopped by to take a statement from one of us about the harassment. Apparently, the old guy didn’t leave right away with the rest of his people. Nate thinks he might’ve been in a ‘highly agitated state’ that elevated his blood pressure and caused a blackout. Says brake skids only started a few feet in front of the tree, probably when he regained consciousness. Fortunately, he didn’t get up to much speed. Knocked him around a little, but he’ll be okay.”
Mia relaxed at hearing Weston hadn’t been seriously injured. The pitch of the hydraulic noise changed. She glanced over at the tow truck’s flatbed sliding upward and leveling off. Other than a mess of greenery sticking out of the grille and a crumpled hood, the Jeep didn’t appear to be too damaged. “He was going to follow me.”
“What? How do you know that?”
She paused, searching for the answer. “I don’t know. As soon as I looked at his truck, I just got the idea in my head. I didn’t even see him in my mirrors this morning. He couldn’t have been that close. No idea why he would’ve wanted to follow me to work.”
“C’mon inside. It’s starting to get chilly at night.”
“Okay.” Mia trailed up the steps to the porch, staring at the workers loading the Jeep until she passed the doorjamb and couldn’t see them anymore. “Bad games.”
“What?” asked Adam.
Mia took her coat off. “Someone played a bad game on Weston. Hope he got the message.”
“Wait, you’re saying Robin did that?”
“I’m suspecting. She’s quite protective of us, and I wasn’t too happy with him this morning.” She hung the coat in the closet and kicked her shoes off.
“You’re not at all upset about it?” He lowered himself onto the couch.
Mia sat beside him. “I should be, but I’m not. He was trespassing and probably about to stalk me. Plus, he isn’t hurt too bad.”
“Never knew you to have such a vindictive streak.”
She hugged his right arm, leaning her head on his shoulder. “It’s not vindictive. He’s threatening a child I feel a need to protect. Speaking of which…”
“Hmm?”
“Had a rather interesting—and bizarre—meeting with Wilhelmina and her friends. They’re like witches or something, but it’s not like Wicca. She’s made up this blend of witchcraft and old druidy and some other stuff.”
“I wouldn’t say she’s ‘made it up,’ as much as collected aspects of various old belief systems and mixed them. She researches that stuff for her work at the university.”
“Remember how Robin said she was afraid of going away if we got rid of Vic, and then you asked why would an innocent spirit wind up trapped as a ghost?”
“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand.
Mia explained what the women had told her of the Pool of Life and then went into a description of the ritual Wilhelmina mentioned. “So they think they found a way to let her skip ahead in line so to speak.”
He stared at her with an unreadable expression that could’ve said ‘you’re crazy’ as easily as ‘I could really go for some buttered toast.’
“So, umm… how do you feel about that?”
“To be perfectly honest, part of me thinks it’s outlandish. A larger part of me is intensely curious about the paranormal aspects.”
“If we do this, you are not going to be recording us.”
He laughed. “No, of course not. Well, at least not the fun part.”
“Adam…” She poked him in the side. “I don’t want anything to interfere with it. If you start setting up EM detectors and microphones and the video camera, it might be too distracting or get in the way.”
“Wow… you really want to do this? And not even so much the magic part, you’re suggesting we have a kid.”
“I already have a—” She shot him a sheepish look. “Please don’t think I’m nuts, but it feels like we already do have a kid.”
“Luckily for you, I have both known you for years and also have a keen interest in the supernatural. I both believe you are psychic and there is a spirit in the house… so no, I don’t think you’re nuts. Perhaps attached somewhat quickly, but I think she appealed to the same part of you that defied your parents to protect Timothy.”
Mia snuggled against him, overtaken by a sudden, inexplicable desperation to be able to hold Robin for real, to protect her from the cold, lonely existence she’d been condemned to for forty-two years. If Adam said no, she’d probably wind up in tears. “This is so crazy, but I want to do it so bad. It doesn’t make sense how much I need to do this. I need to be with her.”
“It’s a big decision, not factoring in anything about the unusual parts. Having a baby at all is a project.”
“Yeah, it’ll completely ruin our party lifestyle,” deadpanned Mia.
He chuckled. “Why do I get the feeling this is as much for you as it is for her?”
“No idea. I suppose she could be infl
uencing me somehow, but I don’t think so.” She sighed at the ceiling. “This is going to sound bizarre coming from me of all people, but I feel like I came to this house for a reason.”
“Yeah. That does sound quite unlike you to believe in fate or destiny. While it’s going to be awkward getting romantic with other people around, if this is something you feel so strongly about, let’s do it.”
She looked up at him. “Really?”
He kissed her lightly on the lips, then nodded. “Yes, really.” His serious expression shifted comic. “Please tell me we’re not going to need to perform somewhere out in the woods while Wilhelmina and her friends chant and dance around us.”
Mia’s face burned with blush. “No. I’m the one who needs to deal with mostly total strangers drawing all over me. They won’t be in the room with us when we get to do the fun part… though you’ll have to be careful. If you smudge the markings, it could disturb the bridge.”
“Aww. Pity. Of course we’ll have plenty of time for ‘fun sex’ after that.”
“There is.” She leaned up and kissed him. “You’re really okay with this?”
“It seems you’re not the only one who is potentially nuts.” He winked. “Besides, I’m too fascinated by the idea of the paranormal at work here to miss the opportunity.”
Mia smiled while gazing at the blank TV screen.
They discussed the logistics of introducing a baby to the family and came to the conclusion that they could work it out financially.
The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run Page 22