by Gary Jonas
He looked down at the blade in surprise.
She kicked him off her sword.
“This guy kicked your ass, Jonathan?” Kelly asked. “Please tell me that’s a joke.”
He attacked again, clearly pissed now.
Kelly dodged his blade and caught his arm under hers. She twisted and snapped the bone with a loud crack. He dropped the sword.
“You use a katana?” Kelly asked, easily catching the punch he tried to throw with his stump.
“It’s a great weapon. The steel was folded over two hundred times.”
“Yeah, moron, because in Japan, they don’t have much iron. They had to fold the steel two hundred times because it’s inferior. I could go on, but you bore me.” She swept his feet out from under him and planted him hard on his back. “He sucks,” she said and started to walk away.
He was up in a heartbeat. He leaped at her, trying to kick her, but of course, Kelly had set him up. She stepped aside so he struck air. He hit the floor and rolled to his feet, his right arm still twisted at an unnatural angle.
Kelly launched a snap kick to his right leg. His leg splintered and he crumpled to the ground.
“You’re Sekutar,” he said.
“No shit.” She turned to me. “Want me to break his other leg, or can you handle him from here?”
“I got it.”
“You sure? He might be able to spit at you.”
“Cute.”
“You need to get your ass in here for more training, Jonathan. If this loser can kick your butt, you’re really slipping.”
“Thanks.” I rubbed my ribs, which still ached. “Next week.”
“Sooner is better.”
“In fairness, he did catch me off guard.”
“With the first punch, but you should have been able to recover from that.”
“Yeah, yeah. Take a look out back. He had some clown following in a black Lincoln.”
She handed the sword to me. “Kill him when you’re done.”
“You got it.”
I moved over to the fallen warrior.
He looked up at me. “I won’t tell you anything useful.”
“Then this will be a short interview.”
“You’re going to die.”
“We’re all going to die, but you’re going before me.”
“I predict pain in your immediate future.”
“Right. Tell me about Ravenwood.”
“He’s going to kill you.”
For someone who wasn’t going to tell me much, he wasn’t very good. “I gathered that,” I said. “Why does he want the crystal?”
“You know about the crystal, so you know the answer to that. You’re not very good at the interrogation process.”
“That’s okay. At least I’m the one doing the interrogation. So what’s Ravenwood’s plan?”
“Torture for you, old boy. Slow and agonizing. Followed by excruciating and unbearable with a chance of blinding and crippling.”
“With a partly cloudy chance of death and all that.”
“You’re catching on.”
“Care to tell me where Ravenwood is hiding?”
“He’s getting ready to kill you.”
“You going to keep singing the same song?”
“It’s a good song.”
“Even good songs get old.”
“Not this one. You’ll suffer. I may not get to see it, but I can die knowing you’ll soon follow me.”
“I think we’re done here,” I said.
I swung the sword hard and cut into his neck. The blade got hung up in the bones.
“A little harder to cut off someone’s head than you expected, isn’t it?” he asked. “Go ahead, take another whack at it. Put some oomph into it.”
I swung again and hacked deeper.
“Almost there,” he said. “You should probably practice with a sword too.”
I swung a third time and finally severed his head. It hit the floor and rolled. The body twitched and lay still. I half expected the head to keep talking, but the eyes simply glazed into a blank stare.
Kelly returned a moment later. “Two warriors in the Lincoln. They’re watching the back.”
“You kill them yet?”
She shook her head. “As much as I enjoy killing scum bags, I thought you might want to follow them if they decide to leave. If they come in, I’ll certainly kill them.” She looked over at the typewriter sitting on the counter. “You brought Esther.”
“She wanted to come along.”
Kelly walked over to the typewriter and placed her hand on it so she could see Esther. “Hey, girl,” she said.
Esther smiled. “Hi, Kelly.”
“Just wanted to say hi. We’ll talk soon. As you can see, Jonathan stepped in more shit.”
“He makes a habit of that,” Esther said.
“That he does.” Kelly moved away from the typewriter.
Esther grinned at me.
“You two are a riot,” I said.
Kelly looked at the dead warrior. She frowned. “Clean up your mess.”
“Hey, some of it’s yours.”
She walked toward the stairs without looking back. “You can clean that up too.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kelly and I stood on the roof and stared into the alley where the Town Car idled. A large, plastic bag sat at my feet. The warriors were still in the car.
“If you’re going to be able to follow them, they’ll need a reason to go somewhere,” Kelly said. “On top of that, in a few minutes, they’re going to want to check on their friend.”
“Maybe their friend can help us out a bit.” I gave the trash bag a light kick, and the contents shifted.
Kelly smiled. She opened the bag. “I love the way you think, but just so you know, they may decide to storm the building rather than retreat.”
“I think they’ll call their boss for instructions.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“I’m not,” Kelly said.
“You have a better idea?”
“Can’t say as I do.”
“So we go with mine.”
Kelly grinned. “What it lacks in brilliance, it makes up for in fun.” She was clearly looking forward to this.
“Fun isn’t the word I’d choose.”
Kelly shrugged. “You’d better get moving. I’ll wait until I see you pull around back.”
“Sounds good.”
I left the roof and went downstairs.
Naomi met me in the stairwell. “I want to go with you,” she said.
“You’re staying with Kelly.”
She started to protest, but I held up a finger and shook my head. I moved past her into the dojo where Esther stood glaring at me.
“I hate waiting,” Esther said.
“You sound like Naomi.”
“Hey!”
“Sorry, Esther. I’m not going to strap a typewriter to my back. I’ll be back for you soon.”
“Wait here, wait there,” she said. “Being dead has too many disadvantages.”
I left the dojo and hopped into my car. When I pulled around to the alley, I looked up at the rooftop through my T-top. I couldn’t see Kelly from where I sat, but I knew she’d seen me. I didn’t have to wait long for the package to be delivered.
Kelly tossed the Sekutar’s head out, and I watched it drop and plant facefirst on the Lincoln’s windshield. It was a perfect shot. The head bounced off and rolled against a Dumpster.
I expected the car doors to open but they didn’t.
Instead, someone rose up through the roof of the Town Car.
The ghost of a man.
He wore a dark cloak over old-style dress clothes—the sort of thing worn by aristocrats back in the seventeenth century. He didn’t look back toward where I idled at the entrance to the alley. Instead, he looked at the rooftop and levitated up to check things out.
I couldn’t believe it. Ghosts shouldn’t be a
ble to levitate. In my experience, ghosts felt bound to the same rules of gravity as they were in life. Sure, Esther could walk through walls, but when she walked, she always remained on the floor. Maybe it was some sort of sense memory, but this ghost actually floated up to the roof.
Unfortunately Kelly couldn’t see him. I pulled out my cell and dialed her number. The ghost reached the roof and stared at her.
“They didn’t move,” Kelly said, answering the phone without any sort of greeting.
“One of them did. A ghost just soared up to the roof, and he’s looking at you as we speak. Kelly, meet Blake Ravenwood.”
“I thought they couldn’t fly.”
“Evidently we were wrong.”
“Where is he?”
“He went over the edge, so I can’t see him now, but I’m sure he’s still there. Go inside.”
“Jonathan, he’s a ghost. He can’t do anything to—”
Next thing I knew, Kelly sailed off the rooftop. She fell the two stories, smashed onto the hood of the Town Car, then rolled onto the asphalt.
The doors of the Lincoln popped open, and two Sekutar warriors stepped out into the alley.
I stomped on the accelerator and roared down the alley. One of the warriors spun to see me while the other tried to grab Kelly.
One on one, I figured Kelly could take anyone, but I didn’t want to see how she’d fare against two warriors. I slammed on the brakes since I didn’t want to smash up my car. The Firebird skidded to a stop as Kelly slammed her opponent against the wall.
I climbed out, aiming my Beretta at the warrior’s head.
“That won’t do you any good,” the warrior said.
I ignored him and spoke to Kelly as she snapped the neck of her Sekutar.
“You all right?”
“Of course,” Kelly said. “You want me to kill the other guy?”
“Hang tight,” I said.
Kelly didn’t like to hang tight, but I knew she’d back my play.
The Sekutar facing me did not approach. “You’re going to die,” he said.
“You clowns need to buy a new script,” I said. I mimicked him, “You’re going to die.” I shook my head. “Please, dude, that’s so cliché.”
The warrior shrugged. “Doesn’t change the fact that it’s true.”
The ghost floated back down to the Lincoln. I tried not to look at him since I didn’t want him to know I could see him. I considered that an ace up my sleeve.
“The Oriental woman is like you,” the ghost said to the warrior. He didn’t react. He was good. “The crystal isn’t here. I doubt they have it. We’ll check with Miller’s other associates. Get in the car.”
The ghost of Blake Ravenwood walked over and stared at me. I looked through him and tried not to react, though I felt a chill at the base of my spine. Ravenwood’s eyes were like black holes threatening to swallow anything that drew close.
“You’re lucky,” the Sekutar said. “I have other places to go.”
I nodded toward the dead warrior by the wall, thankful to have someplace to look besides Ravenwood. “Don’t leave your brother there. Rats will eat him.”
The warrior smiled. “He lost in battle. He deserves to be eaten.”
“No ‘come home with your shield or on it’ with you guys, is there?”
The Sekutar flipped me the bird, nodded to Kelly, and climbed into the car. The ghost gave me one last once-over then turned away and returned to the Lincoln. I relaxed a little as the car moved forward. Kelly stepped aside and let them pass.
As the car pulled away, the back door opened, and Naomi stepped into the alley.
“You were supposed to wait inside,” I said.
“I heard fighting.”
“All the more reason to stay inside.”
Kelly frowned. “You going to follow them?”
“No need. Ravenwood said they’re checking with the other wizards.”
Naomi looked at me, confused. “Ravenwood?”
“Well, the ghost of Ravenwood, but yeah.”
“Ghost?” Naomi asked, looking even more confused. “You can see ghosts?”
“Long story,” Kelly said.
“I died, came back. Now I see them,” I said.
“Okay, not so long,” Kelly said.
“But I thought—” Naomi said.
“What?” I asked, knowing she was going to say I had no magic, which was the main reason we broke up.
“Nothing,” she said. “We should warn Al and Frank.”
“Knock yourself out.”
She pulled out her cell and scrolled through her contacts then turned away from me to place the first call.
Kelly pulled me aside. “Ravenwood pushed me,” she said.
“I noticed that.”
“But he’s a ghost. He shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“What did he do after I fell?”
“He came down and gave me the stink-eye.”
“He knows you can see him.”
“I didn’t react to him.”
“But you were on the phone warning me about him. He heard me say he couldn’t do anything, and that’s probably why he pushed me, to prove that he could.”
In the thick of things, I hadn’t considered that. “You may be right.”
“You know I’m right. He knows.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
While Naomi warned the wizards, Kelly and I went into the dojo. Esther stood as far away from her typewriter as she could get as if she thought that with enough effort, she could drag it with her. She did not look happy.
“I hate not being able to go with you,” Esther said.
“Everyone’s all right,” I said.
“Says you.”
Kelly walked over and placed a hand on the Underwood so she could join the conversation.
“Okay,” Kelly said. “Ask her.”
I shrugged. “Esther, have you seen any ghosts lately?”
“Just me.”
“Ever see a ghost who could fly?” Kelly asked.
“Or who could make physical contact with his surroundings?” I asked.
“No to Kelly. Yes to Jonathan but they have to be mad as hell.”
“Poltergeists. But what if they aren’t pissed?”
“Little problem there,” Esther said and waved her hand back and forth through the counter.
“But you’re standing on the floor,” Kelly said. “You walk up the stairs one step at a time.”
“I can also walk through stairs. So?”
“So why do you use stairs to go up a flight? Why do you sit in chairs rather than fall through them?”
“How the hell should I know? It’s not like I went to ghost school.” Esther pointed to the back door. “Your dumb Dora just came in.”
Naomi walked in and saw us talking to what appeared to her to be nothing. “What’s going on?”
I turned to look at her. “Naomi, I want you to meet my secretary.”
“Secretary?” Esther asked and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s all I am to you?”
“And my good friend,” I said.
“That’s a little better.”
“Um, what are you talking about?” Naomi asked.
“Come here,” I said and took her by the hand. I led her to the typewriter and placed her fingers on the keys. Kelly shifted her hand to the back of the machine so she’d be out of the way.
“You want me to type a letter? There’s no paper.”
“Funny. Look behind you.”
Naomi took her hand off the keys and turned. “What?”
“Keep your hand on the typewriter,” Kelly said.
“Why?”
“Just do it,” I said.