Unbound Spirits

by Christine Pope

  “Which is why you’re shacked up at Michael’s house.”

  Protesting the phrase would have been useless. She could pretend she was only staying in the guest room, but the actual situation was really quite a bit different…and she had a feeling Rosemary knew that just as well as she did.

  “Yes, I’m staying with him,” Audrey said, her tone studiously neutral. Even so, she thought she could feel her cheeks flush a bit despite herself. What she hadn’t expected was how natural it felt to be with Michael, to wake up in his bed, to have coffee in the morning and discuss their plans for the Santa Barbara shoot, to go out to eat, even see a movie. And the way he’d driven her to Glendora so she could see her clients, even though she’d made a half-hearted protest about not wanting to waste his time and that she could have just called an Uber instead. She’d never lived with anyone before, had never allowed herself to get that close to a man. Her longest relationship had lasted about five months, and in all that time, she’d never once allowed the man she was seeing to leave so much as a toothbrush at her place.

  In a way, it was almost frightening to think about how connected she and Michael already felt, even though she’d only been staying with him for a few days. It couldn’t always be like this, could it? Sooner or later, the other shoe would have to drop.

  “Hmm,” was all Rosemary said, but it seemed obvious enough that she knew there was a lot more going on than Audrey wanted to admit. But then she lifted her shoulders, as if admitting to herself that it was best to leave all that aside for now, and asked, “So…you’re off to Santa Barbara tomorrow?”

  “Yes,” Audrey replied, glad of the change of subject. Not that a haunted house with a possibly possessed teenage girl living in it was all that reassuring, either, but at least it didn’t involve any discussions about her personal life. “You’re still sure you don’t want to come?”

  “Absolutely,” Rosemary said, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Possessed people just aren’t my thing. And frankly, I’ve had enough demons to last me a lifetime. I’m surprised you haven’t.”

  Audrey sipped some of her iced tea, then said, “Well, of course I have. But it’s not really negotiable, is it? I signed a contract and need to see this thing through.”

  This comment made Rosemary lift an eyebrow. “You’re seriously telling me that lover-boy wouldn’t let you out of your contract if you asked?”

  Ignoring the “lover-boy” comment, Audrey responded, “It’s not really up to him. The contract is between me and Colin’s production company. And Colin was already telling me that walking wasn’t an option when we had only one episode shot. Now that two are done, there’s no way I’m leaving.”

  And she really didn’t think she would have left the show even if she didn’t have Colin’s threats hanging over her. She knew she wouldn’t walk out on Michael like that. No matter what happened, she was sticking with him.

  Rosemary seemed to pick up on some of this — for all she knew, Audrey was “sending” her emotions strongly enough that even someone who wasn’t psychic might have received them — and so she gave a fatalistic shrug. “I didn’t think you would. But I’m worried…about both of you. So far you’ve escaped unscathed, but how long will your luck last?”

  “I wouldn’t call having my house ruined and getting kidnapped by a man who’s been dead for a century ‘unscathed,’” Audrey pointed out.

  “But you’re still okay. It’s horrible what happened to your house, yes, but no one got hurt. Same with the Whitcomb thing. It’s creepy, but you came out the other side just fine.”

  There wasn’t much point in arguing with Rosemary’s comment, because she was right. There had been frightening moments, definitely, but Audrey realized she could have been much worse off.

  “Well, I’ll just have to make sure my luck continues to hold on,” she said lightly. “Anyway, I have a feeling Michael is going to do most of the heavy lifting on this next trip. I’ll just be there to provide moral support.”

  “Is he up to it?”

  Audrey smiled, although she had a feeling she did so more to reassure herself than to convince Rosemary. “Of course he is.”

  And time would tell whether she was right.

  It was a beautiful day, warmer than average for late February, with a few clouds scooting along, propelled by a brisk sea breeze. Even though the drive would take longer, Michael had decided to follow I-10 all the way to Pacific Coast Highway, then wind along the coast through Santa Monica and Malibu until the highway turned north and intersected with the 101 in Oxnard. Although he probably wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone but himself, he realized he was enjoying his rented Grand Cherokee, all the bells and whistles and the smooth ride. He’d had his ancient Land Cruiser since high school — bought with earnings from his part-time job as a bag boy at the local grocery store in his hometown — and had nursed it along for fifteen years now, but maybe it was time to rethink his chosen mode of transportation.

  And it was good to have Audrey there in the passenger seat, her big brown eyes taking in the sights as they went. “I haven’t been to the beach since high school,” she said as they passed Palisades Park. “I’d forgotten how beautiful it is.”

  “Well, cross your fingers that everything will go smoothly in Santa Barbara,” he replied. “We have our hotel rooms for four nights, so maybe we’ll have time to stay afterward and visit the beach there.”

  “That would be nice.” A small frown touched her brow as she added, “Unfortunately, these cases don’t seem to be all that smooth, if you know what I mean.”

  Yes, he knew exactly what she meant. Dealing with the demon world meant bracing yourself for the unexpected. However, they’d still gotten the Tucson infestation managed in record time, and had also been ahead of schedule in Glendora. Whether their luck would hold out in Santa Barbara was in fate’s hands, however.

  “We’ll just have to see,” he said, not wanting to engage on the topic right now. In fact, he didn’t want to think about demons or hauntings or what might lie ahead of them, but only about the woman who rode in the vehicle with him, and the beautiful day outside. He knew it was important to focus on what beauties he could, since so much of what he had to confront in these cases was dark and ugly.

  Audrey seemed to realize he didn’t want to discuss the case further, and so she returned her gaze to the landscape outside the window. They drove for a while without speaking after that, except for her asking if he wanted any of the grapes they’d packed in a cooler for the drive. Both of them had agreed to wait until they got to Santa Barbara to have lunch, and so they’d brought a few snacks to hold them along the way.

  He accepted a cluster of grapes from her, then held them loosely in his left hand while at the same time maintaining his grip on the steering wheel. By that point, they were well past Malibu and nearing the outskirts of Oxnard, and the traffic had lessened a bit. Still, enough cars shared the road with him that he had to pay attention to what he was doing. In a way, that was good, because Audrey was quiet as they ate grapes and made their way to the connection with the 101 Freeway.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy talking with her, but more that he wanted to let himself be as relaxed, as free-floating, as possible by the time he got to Santa Barbara. During the past few days, he’d realized that he wanted Audrey to stay with him, that he didn’t want her to return to her house, even though that day by necessity had to be some time off in the future. Any rational person would have realized this was far too early in the game to even be thinking about moving in together, but there he was.

  Did she feel the same way?

  Did he dare even ask?

  Better not to say anything at all.

  They passed through Carpinteria and then on to Santa Barbara proper, making their way up State Street to their hotel. Its exterior was very mid-century, like something out of a 1960s sitcom, but the rooms were sleek and modern, very different from the house they would be visiting the next day.


  Since it was only one-thirty in the afternoon, their rooms weren’t ready yet, but that wasn’t a problem; only a few blocks away there was a Mexican restaurant with a beautiful patio that was still serving brunch, and Michael and Audrey were given a table outside near a brightly painted fountain, where they could see a beautiful Spanish-style theater with a cupola across the street. A cool ocean breeze flowed around them, but Audrey had brought a sweater and he wore his ubiquitous jacket, so they were both quite comfortable.

  They’d walked, and technically wouldn’t be “on duty” until the next morning, when they were scheduled to meet with Ariel Vargas and her daughter, so Michael figured it was safe to order a margarita. Audrey’s brown eyes laughed at him from across the table, but he noticed that she also asked for a drink, margarita on the rocks with a shot of Cuervo on the side.

  “Feeling adventurous?” he asked as the waiter departed to fetch their drinks.

  “I guess so.” She leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes for a moment. The breeze caught at a few strands of her long brown hair, playing with the ends.

  God, she was beautiful.

  After releasing a deep breath, Audrey opened her eyes and looked at him. She wasn’t smiling, not exactly, but something about her regard still made him feel warm inside. “I suppose I’m feeling like this is the calm before the storm. I might as well let myself enjoy it.”

  “True,” he said, halfway wishing he’d ordered a shot of tequila as well. But he could always ask the waiter for one when he ordered his second drink. Michael had a feeling they probably wouldn’t stop at just the one.

  However, they’d need to be a little careful. He really didn’t know when Colin and Daniela and Susan were supposed to show up at the hotel, but they’d be arriving at some point, and he recalled that Colin had requested their rooms be adjacent if possible. To make coordinating their comings and goings a bit simpler, was the explanation. Anyway, Michael guessed that too much tequila might lead to him spending the afternoon in Audrey’s room, or vice versa, and it would be a little awkward if any of the other people on the crew spotted them coming out of the door to said room at exactly the wrong time.

  Besides, he couldn’t exactly say he was feeling deprived, since he and Audrey had slept together every night since she’d come to stay at his house. It was more that, every time he looked at her, he wanted to experience her all over again.

  The waiter came back with their drinks, and they ordered their meal — huevos rancheros for him, a breakfast burrito for her. A moment or two passed as they sipped at their margaritas and breathed in the fresh sea air.

  “It’s beautiful here,” Audrey said.

  “You’ve never been to Santa Barbara?”

  “No. I mean, I think we passed through once on a road trip up to San Francisco, but we didn’t stop because we had lunch in Ventura or Oxnard. I was only eight, so I don’t remember exactly.”

  “Well, then, I’m glad this was our destination, rather than Colorado.”

  Her nose wrinkled a bit, an expression so adorable, he wanted to lean across the table and kiss her. Fingers fidgeting with the straw in her margarita, she said, “No, I think it’s going to be a long time before I’m comfortable going back there. Maybe in the summer, when there’s no chance of snow.”

  Or demons seemed to ring in the air between them, but luckily, she hadn’t said the words out loud. Michael had to force himself to remember that they were here on a dark and dangerous task, and that Santa Barbara, just like every other town, had its own secrets and sinister undercurrents. It would be much better to pretend they were here only as tourists and nothing more, but that was certainly not the case.

  “I’ve only been there in the autumn, which is spectacular,” he said.

  “Except for your recent rescue mission,” Audrey reminded him.

  “Well, that. But since I was there for a grand total of about four hours, I’m not sure I can really count that visit.”

  Her expression darkened for a moment, and she leaned forward to pick up her margarita. “I wish I didn’t have to.”

  Yes, so did he. While no one could have foreseen what had happened at the Tucson airport — or afterward — Michael still couldn’t quite forgive himself for letting her be taken like that. He should have put aside his worry that she would rebuff him on sight after their quarrel and gone to pick her up himself. Then none of that would ever have happened.

  But you also might not know everything you know now, he thought, and he had to admit, with some reluctance, that this particular insight was nothing more than the truth. Harrowing as that experience had been, if Audrey hadn’t been kidnapped by the Whitcomb-demon, they would have even less information to work with than they currently did.

  “It’s over,” he said gently. “Nothing like that is going to happen again.”

  Now her lips curved in a smile, and she reached for the shot of Cuervo and poured it over her drink. “No, probably not,” she agreed. “Since you’ve barely let me out of your sight since then.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  His remark made her chuckle. She swallowed a mouthful of Cuervo-laced margarita and said, “No, it’s not a bad thing at all. Quite the contrary. I’m just pointing out that we’ve been kind of joined at the hip the past few days. Whitcomb would have to be pretty clever to pry us apart.”

  “I honestly don’t think we need to worry about him,” Michael told her, although he couldn’t really say what prompted him to make that particular statement.

  “You sound pretty sure of yourself.” Audrey lowered her glass and sent him a speculative look. “Have you heard from your friend Fred? The one who was supposed to be checking on Whitcomb’s properties?”

  “Not really. That is, he sent me an email yesterday saying he was still working on it but really didn’t have anything concrete yet.” Which was about what Michael had expected. He guessed that Whitcomb probably owned a number of properties, but it wouldn’t be his name on any of those deeds. Trying to follow all those tenuous threads and unravel them would take time. Very likely, discovering exactly what that demon in human form had been up to all these years would be a project to be tackled later, after the more immediate logistics of Project Demon Hunters had been handled.

  “Just as well, probably,” Audrey remarked. “I’m not sure all that is really within the purview of the show.”

  Just about what Michael had been thinking, and once again he had to marvel at how often their thoughts seemed to run along the same lines, especially when you considered that their first meeting hadn’t exactly been cordial.

  “No, we have other things to focus on right now,” he agreed.

  Once again, her expression darkened, but she perked up as the waiter came back with their food and set it before them. For a time, they were quiet, concentrating on their meal — it had been almost six hours since they’d last eaten — and he was okay with that. He could tell Audrey didn’t want to discuss any of the particulars of the case that awaited them here, probably she wanted to enjoy this time in the sunshine while she could, and also because there were still a few other diners out here enjoying a late brunch as well. Luckily, everything the two of them had discussed had been broached in fairly vague terms, with no real mention of demons, but it never hurt to be careful.

  That first set of margaritas segued into another as brunch stretched out well past two o’clock. Eventually, though, they finished their meal and wandered along State Street in a pleasant tequila buzz, looking in shop windows, enjoying the air. At last it was time to check in; as Michael got the electronic keys for both their rooms, he glanced around the lobby but didn’t see any sign of Daniela or Colin or Susan.

  “Have the other members of my group shown up yet?” he asked the front desk clerk, an attractive Hispanic woman probably a few years older than he.

  “Yes, about twenty minutes ago,” she responded. “Their rooms were ready early, so they’re already all taken care of.”


  “Thank you.” Michael gave Audrey a significant gaze, and she replied with the slightest of nods. Good thing they’d stopped after that second margarita…and good thing they’d decided to wander State Street as they worked off their buzz. This way, everything looked above board, more or less.

  They took the elevator up to the second floor and got off, bringing with them the luggage they’d left in the back of the Grand Cherokee. An older woman wearing a loose caftan over her bathing suit wandered past them and into the elevator, but she was the only sign of life on the floor.

  Luck stayed with them, because Michael was able to go with Audrey into her room and give her a quick kiss, then head next door to deposit his suitcase in his own room. He sent a quick text to Colin — Audrey and I are here and checked in — and waited for the reply. It came back faster than he’d expected.

  Good. We can all amuse ourselves tonight, and then we’ll meet at the Vargas house at 10 a.m. tomorrow. You have the address?

  Yes.

  See you there.

  And that was it. He had the evening free to do as he pleased, which he assumed would include taking Audrey out for dinner at some point.

  But that’s all, he told himself. You need to be sharp for the filming tomorrow.

  That was all the admonishment he needed. He and Audrey had already determined to be circumspect, and he would stick to that plan. Besides, if it turned out that Kayla Vargas really did need an exorcism, then he couldn’t be expending his energy on the physical, would have to make sure he was as mentally and spiritually agile as possible, especially since he knew he would have to do this alone. True, Audrey would be there for moral support, but the burden of carrying out the ritual would fall on him. And while he had assisted in an exorcism before, this would be his first time flying solo, so to speak.

  He could only hope he would be up to the task.