TWENTY-THREE
Cell phone glued to his ear, Gavin flung open the door and motioned me in while he listened and grunted short answers. Waving me to the living room, he retreated to his bedroom to talk privately. He seemed to be listening more than talking, but his face reflected his intensity as he strode into his room and pulled the door shut.
I settled on the sofa, putting the folder of printouts I’d brought onto the coffee table. I’d printed most of the emails I’d exchanged with the team I hoped to assemble as soon as I figured out what directions to give them and how much to tell them about the yiaiwas. The more comfortable I felt with them, the more I would likely share. For that to begin, I wanted to make sure they were all legitimate and telling me the truth. That would take a couple of actual face-time conversations.
When Gavin came back out, he barely said hello, but asked if I wanted a beer on his way to the kitchen. Beer already? That must have been some conversation. I declined, contented with the iced soda I’d bought on the way over.
A minute later, he stalked back in and dropped into the end chair to my left. “Sorry. That was Ori. She thinks she’s found something and if it pans out, she’ll be heading back here this week with some translations.”
“What?” I asked.
Silence.
A little louder, I repeated, “What did she find?”
He shrugged and swallowed a decent swig of his beer, then said, “I’m not sure. We’ll see when she gets here.”
He was holding something back. A possible lead wouldn’t have agitated him as much this did. Was it bad news? Whatever it was, it appeared I would have to hear it from Orielle.
“So, what do you have here?” he asked as he stared at the folder on the table.
“A project,” I answered, pulling out the printed sheets as I explained about the online chat with the unexplained phenomena group and about the thirteen possible spirit fighters I’d found. “Elly is the one who found the group and she has similar experiences to mine.”
We went through each one of the potentials and talked about their answers to my initial questions. Most were frank in their descriptions, some more colorful than others, but it looked to me like they’d all seen one of the yiaiwas.
As we finished, I said, “That’s where I am. I’m not sure where to go next. I think a face chat with each of them where I can get a feel of the type of person they are and find out if they might have any special skills, then try to drill down from there. The more I reveal, the more they are likely to tell me. But I don’t want them repeating what I’m saying, so I’m hoping to suggest more than be specific. Does that sound like a good plan?”
He sifted through the papers again, nodding as he went through. His sharp eyes picked up key points as he went, I was sure, and I expected him to make the same conclusions about them I did.
“Descriptions are consistent, similar incidents. Not too much contact suggesting the yiaiwas are observing rather than attacking. What are they looking for? Potential adversaries or prey? Yeah, I think you’re right, chica. Talk to them, tease more information out, then see if you think they can be useful on a team.”
“I’ll work on that this coming week. I want to start my own chat group of potential spirit escorts or other spirit world travelers to see what kind of information about the yiaiwas we can accumulate. It may take some time before it pays off.” I felt sure more were out there. The trick would be reaching them quickly.
“Great, so you’ll find the people who might be able to interact with the demons and then what?”
“That’s where I need more guidance. What would be the most effective way to use them? Let them fight from their own particular garden or cemetery or try to find a way to unite them as a solid front in one designated zone?”
“Strength in numbers, particularly when the enemy amasses an army. How are you going to do it?” Showing interest, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as his hands wrapped around his beer bottle. A calculating look sparkled in his eyes as his lips tightened into a thin line of thought.
I paused to sip my soda a couple of times as I prepared to drop my latest idea on him. “Here’s what might work, but I’d have to try it out a few times. If I can create a link to each person in the network, then maybe I can pull them all into one location.”
“What?” Gavin said, a puzzled expression pinching his eyebrows toward his nose.
Clearly, I hadn’t presented that well. “Okay, here’s what I mean. When I visited Zoe one time, I had an object connected to her in my hand, here in this plane. But on the ethereal plane, I still held the object although it was a non-material copy of the real thing.”
I paused to see that he followed. He nodded.
“Taking that to my idea of linking with spirits, what if I had an object that was connected to them, say a pair of cufflinks that I had one and the person held the other. Then I transport to the transition cemetery, holding the object. The other person attempts to transition to the matching object to the one he holds, which in theory would bring him to my graveyard. Get it?”
He rubbed his eyes as if I’d given him a headache. Sitting back a bit, he frowned and tried to summarize. “You’re saying the person has an object he’s imprinted something to, enough to provide a link. And the object is split in two with you having half.”
I nodded. So far, so good.
“You take your half to the spirit cemetery and concentrate on it to bring the person with the other half to it. Is that right?” As he spoke, he acted out his words with his hands, breaking the object, taking it away, and calling the other half to it. I hadn’t realized he talked that much with his hands.
“You got it. What do you think?”
Rubbing at his chin with his dominant hand, he pursed his lips and thought some more, running the scenario through his mind again. “Well, I think... that you would be carrying a lot of objects to the graveyard and trying to connect with a dozen or more people one after the other. It could get complicated pretty quickly. And each transition would probably draw strength from you. Strength you’ll need to fight the yiaiwas.”
“I know,” I said, releasing a sigh. My eyes roved around his living room, seeing all the artifacts; collectible objects that were likely to have unique impressions. A mirror on the entry wall with ornate bronze leaves surrounding it could carry a lifetime of his grandmother’s memories or have nothing depending on the emotions and strength of the owner. A wooden box that held stamps could convey a specific memory or maybe not. How could I know what might connect with enough strength to pull a person to the other side? Would it be too draining?
“All that might be problematic,” I said focusing on Gavin again. “But I won’t know until I try it.”
“What do you propose?”
“I can try gathering you and Astrid—Orielle, maybe—and Ferris with Nygard and seeing if I can connect with you using a talisman.”
“Let’s start with me, Astrid, and Nygard and see if it’s even possible. What are you going to use for the cat?”
I smiled. “He’s the one I’m already connected with. He’s made the transition.”
With a silly grin, Gavin raised his beer bottle up and said, “Well, there we go. First one accomplished already.”
I CONTACTED MADAME Astrid the next morning at my first break and asked her if she’d be part of an experiment. I tried to explain it as simply as possible and I think she got the idea. At any rate, she agreed and we decided to try it after work, but instead of transporting to the cemetery, I wanted to make it to that island where I’d met Zoe. I wanted to avoid a yiaiwa encounter as much as possible.
Next, I sent a message to Gavin to meet me at my house at six for the test. If I was successful with connecting all three of us, then I’d add in Elly. Feeling eager to try it, I returned to grooming the dogs with a cheerful outlook.
Although I wasn’t anxious to get Nygard into the mix, I needed to know if I could control him. I worried about what his large
r size in the transitional cemetery might be like if he jumped on me and if he maintained that size if we gathered in a different location.
The main reason I wanted to meet the yiaiwa in my cemetery had to do with that dividing hedge that seemed to be a gateway into the underworld. So far, neither of the other two people who’d had next plane experiences had mentioned a foreboding area like it. If it was unique to my zone, then it suggested it was a key location to defeat the yiaiwas.
During my lunch break, I called Moss. I told him about the dream I’d had where Roger had told me he didn’t commit suicide.
“This is from a dream, not a vision from the graveyard?” he asked.
“Yes. I know it sounds wacky, but—”
“How do you know it’s actually a message or if it’s just something you want to be true?” He didn’t sound annoyed, but more that he wanted me to think that I might not be getting a real message. He didn’t exactly subscribe to my ability, so I understood his skepticism.
“Two reasons. One, this wasn’t really a dream while I was in bed. It was a vision in my house and it was in full color. Non-psychic dreams tend to be in black and white. But when I’m wide awake and seeing a spirit, it seems to be pretty real. Two, I have no horse in the race. It doesn’t concern me if Roger took his own life, so why would I conjure up more work for myself?”
Moss laughed. It wasn’t the response I was expecting.
“What?”
“So, what do you want me to do about it?” he asked.
“Investigate more. Maybe I could–I can’t believe I’m saying this—try to do a reading on the snowmobile to see if there was something there like sabotage.”
“I’ll look into it,” he said without enthusiasm.
I could still hear the amusement in his voice though.
“I have something else,” I added. “I had a different vision with Zoe Sarkis.”
“Oh, this just gets better.”
I ignored him. “She thinks we might be able to set a trap for Nick that could reveal where he is. And she thinks one of his two friends here in town helped him out.”
Silence on the other end until I head the tapping of a pencil, but Moss didn’t say anything.
“Not interested?” I asked.
“Maybe. Why don’t you come by tomorrow and we can discuss both of these...situations?” Not enthused, but willing to listen. I guess it was the best I was going to get.
MADAME ASTRID WAITED in her car in front of my house for me to arrive and hauled herself out as soon as I pulled my Jeep into the drive. Getting out, I turned to greet her, surprised to see she wore a nice pantsuit and had removed most of the jewelry she usually wore.
“You look different,” I said and showed her into my little house.
“Cute place,” she said as her eyes roamed around, noting the stairs and the open living and dining room area. Nygard had been snoozing in the middle of the armchair near the kitchen, but now sat up, ears perked, and staring at Astrid.
“Hello, Nygard,” she said, crossing to offer her hand to my cat to sniff. He checked her out then rubbed his head against her fingers.
“You passed,” I told her. “What did you bring me?”
She reached into her coat pocket and handed me a locket. The front was secured but the hinge to link the top to the bottom was missing. “I’ve had this for many years. It was given to me by my mother. After she passed, I wore it for a while, but one day the hinge fell off. Just came apart. I haven’t gotten it fixed because I always took it as a sign from my mother that it was time to move on with my life. I believe there is a significant connection from me to it.”
Undoing the clasp, I remove the top and put it into my jeans pocket. “You hold onto the rest. Would you like something to drink while we wait for Gavin?” I tried to recall if I had any good tea blends in the house.
“No, thank you. I’ve had more than my tea quota for the day and I don’t need anything else right now.” She sat on the sofa and seemed to be meditating.
I shrugged and put my coat in the closet before I fed Nygard his dinner. Mine would wait until after this experiment. I’d just put the cat’s plate down when Gavin knocked.
He shot a half-hearted smile at me, then stepped into the house and greeted Astrid with a simple nod at her.
“Gavin. Nice to see you again. It’s been far too long.” Astrid flashed a flirty grin his way.
“Well, we didn’t exactly tango together,” he answered, the sarcasm rolling off him as he took the other armchair, flopping down in it and stretching his long legs out under my coffee table. “But I hear you’re still up to your tricks.”
“Just because we approach the supernatural in different ways doesn’t make my method invalid,” she answered sweetly.
Oh, great. They were going to have a sniping contest.
“Stop. Both of you. We all want to solve this problem and the more help we get, the better. So, leave off the petty little war and let’s concentrate on something more serious.”
Chastised, they both straightened up and gave me their attention. “Gavin, what item do you have?” If he pulled out that vile box, I was going to go for his jugular.
But he took out his college ring, popped the stone out and handed it to me. “I’ve treasured this since I graduated. It’s been on my finger around the world. I’m probably as tied to it as anything I own, so don’t lose that stone.”
“I’m not going anywhere with it. I’ll be right here in the room when I transition, so it’ll be in my pocket. I plan to put my hand in my pocket where I can feel both of the items you two gave me and I won’t have to take them out.
“What about Nygard?” Astrid asked. “Do you need something from him also?”
Shaking my head, I went to the kitchen entry where my cat sat washing his face after dinner. I squatted down and pulled him into my arms. “Nygard, I’m going to try something and you’re part of it, so let’s give this plan a try.”
Leaning with my butt barely on the edge of the table, I began petting the cat, the long strokes relaxing him until he started a rumbling purr. I narrowed my eyes, looking for the golden strands that connected us.
As I did this, I became aware of Astrid murmuring some words under her breath. A protection prayer, I concluded with a sense of guilt at forgetting to do it. A couple of moments later, Gavin’s voice added to the prayer. They were both going to ream me for forgetting.
Feeling the energy from Nygard, I started singing a tune that suggested sea and islands and pictured the beach near Santa Cruz on La Palma Island in my mind. A scent of salt and seawater touched my nose as I detected the soft brush of a breeze against my cheek. I pressed my hand into the pocket of my jeans and pulled both items into my hand, folding my fingers over them.
TWENTY-FOUR
I sat on the same stunning and secluded beach where I’d talked to Zoe. She’d controlled the setting the first time and possibly the last time I’d come here as well, but this time, I had made the transition. More than that, a large version of Nygard sprawled across my lap as he gazed around the huge sandbox. He might have been puzzled, but he was calm. I scratched his ears, not really feeling the fur I was used to, nor did I feel the heavy weight I expected a cat that looked like seventy-five pounds to weigh.
“Go ahead and look around,” I told him.
Flicking an ear back, he bounded off along the shoreline, checking out the water and looking for the movement in it as he ran.
Then I focused on Astrid first, rubbing the cover of the locket and picturing her here on the beach. For a moment, I didn’t sense anything in the locket, then I picked up the essence of her, a scent of jasmine.
“I can’t believe it,” I heard her say and I turned to look behind me.
She stood and stared out at the ocean, her eyes wide and amazed. “I expected the cemetery, not this. Are we on vacation?” Suddenly she laughed. “This is amazing.”
Now it was time to pull Gavin in. I pressed my fingers on the stone
and could feel the actual surface of it as if I had it in my hands. I focused on Gavin, urging the connection. “Come on,” I whispered under my breath as I waited for him to materialize here.
I turned around in a circle, my eyes scanning every direction, even the water in case he’d ended up in it somehow. He wasn’t there. I rubbed the stone again, trying to feel some essence of him in it, something I could latch onto to bring him across. Nothing even tingled in my fingertips. I pulled my hand out of my jeans and looked down at the stone. There was a blink of sunlight on it, then it wasn’t there. I jammed my hand back into my pocket, but the stone was gone.
No! That wasn’t possible. What had happened? I didn’t have the physical image here. It should be in my pocket back at my house. Unless... Did Gavin take it out of my jeans? If so, why?
The only thing I knew is that I hadn’t been able to connect with him.
“Is he not coming?” Astrid asked.
“It doesn’t seem like it,” I answered. “Maybe the ring didn’t have enough of a connection with him for me to link. We can try again with a different object. At least, I know it works.”
Or did it? As I watched Astrid dancing in the sand in her bare feet, I realized that she was used to astral travel. She could have slipped into the connection easier than Gavin. I might not have brought her across at all. Even Nygard already had a connection with me. My enthusiasm deflated a little at the thought.
Taking the opportunity to see how well my huge cat would respond to me and if I could bear his weight on this side, I called his name and waited as the regal lynx-marked face turned to look at me. He was about a fifty yards away, pawing at something in the sand, but his eyes watched me intently. I tapped my shoulder and yelled, “To me.”
Then I waited, watching with a touch of trepidation as the elegant creature bounded across the sand toward me with all the grace of his larger cousins. Launching off his strong hind legs, he flew into the air, front legs reaching out. It took all my strength and willpower to stand still and not cringe away as he soared toward me, wrapping his body into a curve at the last second to land on my shoulders. Prepared for a heavier weight, I stumbled as something as lightweight as Nygard usually was landed with ease and distributed his body around me to gain his perch. Even though I nearly went to my knees, I caught myself and managed to straighten up.
A Song of Forgiveness Page 23