The Hanged Man (The Braddock & Gray Case Files Book 6)

by H. P. Bayne

  And do it quickly enough.

  The toe having set down, it was as if the entity had discovered it wouldn’t disintegrate the moment it left its longtime place of confinement. A feeling of triumph rolled off it, and Sully sensed if he could hear it, it would be cackling like a madman in a Bond movie.

  For a moment, its head snapped up. Check that. Several heads. He could see them, moving now not as one but as individual parts. Multiple spirits inside the mob each fighting to exert themselves while still struggling to maintain the power of the whole.

  Good thing about mobs—they reacted out of emotion. Intelligence rarely came into play.

  Its blurred fingers now—moving much as the head had—pushed through the door, gripping the frame. One more second and it would fling itself free of Hell’s Gate.

  One second was all Sully needed.

  He watched as the entity drew itself back, preparing its rush. He felt the surge of energy from it as it launched itself forward.

  Sully opened the doorway.

  He felt the entity’s triumph turn immediately to horror as its momentum carried it unstoppably forward, through the doorway to the other side. He waited only until he could no longer sense any part of it in this world. Then he slammed the door shut.

  “You did it, didn’t you?” Dez asked. “It’s gone. I can feel it.”

  Sully barely had time to nod when he heard Flynn’s cry from below.

  “Sully!”

  He spun to focus on the fight below. The Hell’s Gate entity was gone, but the danger wasn’t over. The number of spirits had thinned out considerably, but the ones left—and there were plenty—had the exhausted-looking Flynn, Aiden and Jack surrounded.

  Not for long.

  Continuing to feed off the energy of the spirits inside him, Sully focused on the ghosts nearest the reapers. Their murderous intent was clear, their desire to destroy this latest threat so they could maintain their desperate finger-hold on the power they’d been abruptly gifted.

  He opened the third door without trying, saw Jack grin as he spotted it.

  “Just like sorting cattle, boys,” Jack said. “Let’s squeeze these bastards through the chute.”

  Aiden frowned. “I’ve never sorted cows in my life.”

  “First time for everything.”

  Sully helped them regain control by seizing the most threatening energies and forcing them through the door. He pulled three away before Jack, Flynn and Aiden again gained the upper hand.

  Dez, blind to the battle happening below, attempted to ask at one point, but Sully held up a hand to quiet him. To his credit, Dez said nothing more, allowing Sully to stay in the battle.

  He psychically grabbed two more, shoving them, too, into the lit doorway. By now, the reapers were fully back in the game, rounding up and sending on some of the violent spirits and shooting and essentially disintegrating the ones too uncontrollable to move. Sully kept his guard up, eyes darting around the group on the floor below, watching for any immediate threats to Flynn, Aiden or Jack. Twice, he prevented direct attacks, shoving the ghosts back or through the door before they could reach their targets. What would happen were the ghosts able to attack the reapers, Sully didn’t know. He wasn’t of a mind to find out.

  The observer ghosts had scattered somewhere along the way, and Sully supposed it was possible some of the original combatants had also taken off upon seeing their cohorts being corralled and tossed through the open doorway. No matter. A few nasty spirits here and there wouldn’t pose a massive problem, and if they did, Ed knew how to reach Sully.

  Finally, Jack wrestled through one last remaining ghost.

  “That’s it, Sully,” he called up. “Seal it off.”

  Sully slammed the door and pictured it disappearing. A moment later, the reapers reappeared next to them on death row. There, for Dez’s benefit, they went corporeal. It seemed to be taking a lot out of them, and Sully could see it there in their faces. They were exhausted, the spiritual beating they’d received as brutal as anything physical.

  “You guys okay?” Dez asked.

  “Will be,” Jack said, checking his teammates for consensus. Once he’d received reassuring nods, he laughed. “Well, that was something.”

  “It was something, all right,” Flynn said. He turned his attention to Dez. “You all right, son?”

  Dez prodded at his head injury, and Sully checked it too. The bleeding had stopped, although it had already left quite a mess over the side of his face and on the collar and shoulder of his jacket.

  “I’m good,” Dez insisted.

  “Don’t normally ask this,” Jack said. “But we could use a ride back to Edge Creek if you don’t mind. Dematerializing when we feel like this isn’t the safest thing. Always the possibility we won’t be able to pull ourselves fully back together.”

  “Not a problem,” Dez said. “Sooner we can leave, the better.”

  “One thing, though.” Sully nodded toward the camera at the end of the range. Its red light remained on, making him aware the thing had been recording the whole time. While it might not have picked up visuals of any of the ghosts, it would have seen Flynn, Aiden and Jack physically manifesting more than once.

  Jack seemed to clue in to Sully’s warning. Without missing a beat, he paced over to it and placed a hand against it. A moment later, the red light cut out.

  “Memory card,” Dez said.

  Sully nodded, then closed the distance to the camera to locate the memory card slot. He removed and pocketed it. Later, he’d plug the thing into a computer and erase any evidence of the reapers. The Dead Walkers team could show plenty that would entertain their viewers without needing to expose Jack, Flynn and Aiden. Anyway, despite what someone like Ian might believe, there were some things in the paranormal realm the rest of the world wasn’t ready for.

  “We good?” Dez asked.

  Sully met his eye. “Almost. There are some things I need to take care of first.”

  23

  Sully waited until the reapers headed outside. Then he and Dez made their way down to the basement.

  There, just inside the laundry room that had held them for so long, Sully released the spirits of the two prisoners he’d been carrying inside him.

  The running ghost immediately reverted to his old habits, back to rushing back and forth, back and forth. Sully sighed. He watched him for a moment, trying to figure out how best to handle it.

  “What’s wrong?” Dez asked.

  “The running one is back to doing the same thing. It’s like nothing’s changed. I thought maybe helping me to fight the others back would help him to understand he’s not helpless anymore.”

  Dez landed a hand on Sully’s shoulder. “Not your job to fix everything. All you can do sometimes is show them the path and hope they’ll follow it.”

  Sully shook his head. “That’s not true anymore, though. I could open a door and push him through. I just don’t want to.” He tore his eyes from the spectre to meet Dez’s eye. “He’s had choice ripped away from him in some pretty awful ways. I can’t help feeling like forcing him through to the other side would be putting him through the same pain all over again.”

  “I’ll say it again: you can’t fix everything.”

  “I know,” Sully said. Thankfully, he could fix one thing. The other ghost—the one who’d previously occupied the corner of this room—hadn’t returned to his spot. He remained at Sully’s side, eyes fixed on him in what Sully could only describe as awe.

  The best part was the fear was gone.

  “Thank you for your help,” Sully said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you beforehand. Things went sideways fast up there and I needed some extra energy. I hope you were able to see you aren’t powerless. You don’t need to stay here anymore.”

  The ghost nodded, an actual smile forming. It changed his countenance, nearly creating an entirely different presence. He fully straightened, shoulders back and spine straight. His prison garb disappeared and was replaced
by street clothes from his time.

  He cast Sully one last grateful smile, a nod and a touch of the brim of a hat that had appeared. Sully expected he’d vanish like so many others he’d helped cross over. Instead, he surprised Sully as he moved across the room to the running ghost. He stood there a moment, put out a hand and caught the frantic spirit mid-pace.

  The running ghost stopped and met the eye of the other spirit as if seeing him for the first time. Confusion formed on his face. Then, for the first time—likely in the many years since his murder—hope settled over his features.

  He had finally found his saviour.

  The ghost from the corner laid a hand on the shoulder of the other spirit. As Sully watched, the pair was enveloped by light and disappeared.

  Sully and Dez reemerged on the main floor in time to hear Ian’s voice coming from somewhere up ahead in the darkness.

  “Where the hell are those guys?”

  Sully tugged on Dez’s sleeve, and the two of them escaped toward the back hallway leading to the yard out back of the main prison. They’d deal with Ian and the others later. Right now, something else required their attention.

  “How’s it look in here?” Dez whispered as the two of them crossed the common area floor this side of the sound barrier wall. “I mean, how’s the ghost situation?”

  “Pretty barren, actually. A few are still around. I can feel them. But not the ones causing the problems. The place should be a lot quieter going forward.” He frowned. “Can’t imagine that’s the sort of news Kevin will want to hear.”

  “Ed will be happy though, and he’s our client.” Dez shrugged. “If Kevin’s pissed, let’s blame Ian.”

  Sully laughed.

  Pip was asleep when they got to the shop, and Sully had to rap on the window to awaken him.

  Pip motioned for them to meet him at the door, and Dez and Sully arrived there in time to see him stumble over, bleary-eyed.

  “Hey,” he said as he let them in. “Everything okay?”

  “Touch and go for a while there,” Sully said. “But it’s over.”

  Pip’s mouth popped open. “What, you mean you got rid of Coving?”

  “We had to get rid of quite a bit more than that, but the ghosts you’ve got left in there shouldn’t bother you any. If they do, give me a call anytime.”

  Pip’s face gradually gave way from shock to relief, then to something very near joy.

  “My God,” he said. “I don’t even know what to say. The idea of not being afraid of Coving whenever I’m patrolling the place, it’s…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Dez said. “Glad we could help.”

  Sully had been carrying Grace around in case he ran into something else he’d need to deal with. Now he released her.

  Grace drifted up next to her brother and beamed up at him.

  “One other thing I should mention,” Sully said. “Your sister kicks ass.”

  Pip gave a surprised laugh. “What?”

  “I was struggling in there. It’s kind of complicated, but I do this thing where I can draw in spirit energy to help me when a situation calls for some added juice. I drew in two spirits but one wasn’t easy to control. Grace came to me and offered to help. Much as she aided me, she was really doing it to protect you. She helped focus the energy in me, which let me finish the job. What we got done in there, it was thanks to her.” Sully met Grace’s eye and grinned. “You’ve got one tough sister there, Pip.”

  Pip grinned and stood a little straighter, his pride showing through his posture. “Damn straight, I do. She’s one tough cookie.”

  Then Pip’s face fell. Sully watched him, waiting for an explanation. When none came immediately, Dez jumped in.

  “Pip?”

  “This means she’s leaving, doesn’t it? I mean, she was here to protect me, and she has. So she’s fulfilled her purpose.”

  Grace shook her head as soon as Pip had asked his first question.

  “Spirits stick around for a number of reasons,” Sully said. “The biggest threat against you is gone, but she’s telling me she’s not done protecting you. Siblings can be pretty great that way.”

  “So she—she’s not leaving?”

  Sully shook his head as Grace did. “Nope. Not leaving. Hope that’s okay.”

  Pip laughed again. “Hell, yeah, that’s okay.” He scanned the area around him as if he might be able to locate her. “Where is she?”

  Sully put a hand to Pip’s left side to indicate the spot. Pip turned, looked down to where he assumed her eyes would be. He ended up staring at her chin, but Grace didn’t seem to care.

  “I’m really proud of you, lady,” he said. “And while I don’t want you to be stuck here if there’s something better waiting, the selfish part of me is so happy you’ll be with me. I love you, sis. Always have, always will.”

  “She’s smiling at you,” Sully said, feeling his own expression mirroring hers.

  Pip turned to Sully and hugged him. “You have no idea what you’ve done for me. Absolutely no idea. Thank you.”

  He released Sully, then stepped toward Dez with a chuckle. “You too, big guy,” he said as he hugged him.

  He stepped away, regarding them. “Two of you are welcome back here anytime. Don’t bother waiting for a ghost problem. Just stop by and see me and Grace, okay?”

  “Yeah,” Sully said. “That would be great.”

  They waited until Pip locked himself back into the shop. Then they started back across the prison yard to the main building.

  Sully stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and nudged Dez with his elbow. “I don’t tell you this often enough, but I’m super-grateful for you. You don’t only keep me safe, you keep me sane. Thank you.”

  Dez’s face broke into a pleased yet embarrassed smile. He dealt with it by grabbing Sully in a headlock and ruffling his hair.

  “Back at ya, kiddo,” he said.

  The prison, when they entered, was silent. A few faces showed themselves, though they kept their distance. They’d stay quiet, at least for a while. Maybe they’d get riled up again once the hostel opened, but Sully didn’t think so. He didn’t feel a threat here anymore.

  Tracker Jack appeared at his other side, corporeal for Dez’s benefit.

  “We’ve done a patrol through the place,” he said. “We’re not sensing anything nasty. Worst you’ve got left here are a few guys in bad moods. Guests staying here might see or hear stuff once in a while, but there’s nothing left to attack anyone—not in any harmful way, anyway. Ones left here don’t have that kind of power.”

  “Thanks, Jack,” Dez said. “Appreciate you taking a look.”

  “No problem. We’ll be outside whenever you’re ready to go.”

  Jack vanished, leaving Dez and Sully alone.

  Sully checked his phone, unsurprised to see it had gone dead. Too much ghostly activity had a way of draining the battery.

  “Sarah’s probably wondering if you’re still alive,” Dez said.

  “No doubt. I’ll check in the car once I plug it in. Anyway, I want to ask her if she’ll do some editing for me. She’s better at all that technical stuff than I am.”

  “Need to scrub our reaper pals off the memory card, huh?” Dez frowned. “We’re going to have a bitch of a time getting it past Ian.”

  The TV crew had gathered in the office with Ed and Kevin. Ian sat slumped in a chair, head in hands—a man having an existential crisis.

  Ed spotted Sully and Dez and joined them, ushering them partway down the hall where they could speak privately. The dread on his face was palpable.

  “We can’t open, can we?”

  Sully and Dez exchanged a look. “Why not?” Sully asked.

  Ed turned his head slightly to regard them through the sides of his eyes. “What are you saying?”

  “We’ve dealt with the worst of it,” Sully said. “You shouldn’t have a problem.”

  Ed stared for what Sully estimated to be a ful
l ten seconds. Then his breath heaved from his lungs in a whoosh.

  He dropped a hand heavily on Sully’s shoulder as if to support his upright posture. “You’re serious? But the crew in there, they’re all terrified. They’re talking like they don’t even want to do the job anymore. They showed us some of the footage. Honestly, I don’t even think I want to go back in there.”

  “Don’t sell it now, Ed,” Dez said. “You’ve put in way too much work. And if Sully says you’re in the clear, you’re in the clear. Open as planned and go about your business. If you ever need us to come back, we will.”

  “So the ghosts you sent away—can they come back?”

  Sully shook his head. “The way I do things, they go through what’s basically a one-way door. They’re gone.”

  Sully received yet another hug, this time from Ed.

  “Thank you so much. You have no idea how relieved I am. Thank you.” Ed reached out a hand and dragged Dez into the hug. “Both of you.”

  Dez rumbled a laugh. “All in a night’s work, Ed.”

  Ed pushed away, eyeing them. “You’ve got a very healthy bonus coming your way after this night, believe me.”

  “Not necessary,” Dez said. “But thank you.”

  Behind Ed, Sully spotted Ian emerging from the office. Upon making eye contact with Sully and Dez, he made his way over.

  “Uh-oh,” Dez said under his breath.

  “You guys got a minute?” Ian called out.

  Ed gave Sully and Dez a concerned look, stepping back to give Ian room.

  “Everything okay?” Sully asked.

  “Not really.” Ian stopped in front of Sully and stared at him a long moment.

  Sully tried to guess what was going on in his head but couldn’t. His psychic abilities only went so far.

  “What happened in there?”

  It wasn’t the question Sully had expected from Ian. “That sort of thing’s never happened to you before, huh?”

  “Not like that. I mean, we’ve seen things, even caught some decent evidence on camera. But nothing so big. That level of violence. I’ve never…” He trailed off, a visible shudder racking his form.