Spook flopped down near the base of the tree as soon as we slipped out of the trunk. He remained on guard—or waiting for Troy. There was no sign of my wayward friend, though.
I wasn’t certain what Spook had been trying to tell me. I could understand the dog’s yips and barks almost as well as Troy, but Spook was still a dog. He didn’t sit and chat, divulging deep secrets. He shared information his way, and something had been lost in the translation.
As I dithered on an errant breeze, Spook barked once, a reprimand. He was disappointed in me.
I was disappointed too. “He needs the ring, right?”
Spook barked agreement, nudging me.
Was Troy supposed to pry the ring out of the tree? But if he hadn’t died with it, how would he keep something that solid here? Maybe it could cross like the braid Lynx had given me. Maybe he needed that ring or some part of it to survive.
Spook half-whined, half-growled. He wanted action. So did I.
“You want me to retrieve the ring?”
He yipped a response that wasn’t a wholehearted agreement. The answer couldn’t be so simple because Spook hadn’t even let me touch the ring while inside the tree.
Before I could ask more questions, a tingling death crossing drifted through the ether, pinging my soul harder than usual.
Spook lifted his head and sniffed, but didn’t stand.
I peered into the growing fog and frowned. This death had a different feel to it, a familiar pulse. I hoped that didn’t mean it was someone I knew, someone I had met recently like a certain cat or...Espy.
With regret, I hurriedly patted Spook on the head. “I’ll find a way to help, Spook, as soon as I figure out what to do. I’ll be back. Soon, I hope.”
The fog hampered my progress. It was tread carefully or be sliced and diced because it was hard to tell where the weave might begin and end in the dense clouds. I hurried along, but after what seemed only a short distance, the weave interfered. I’d step towards the crossing and then retreat, seeing nothing but the bands of fabric ebbing and flowing.
The weave finally compressed and undulated in the right direction, allowing me to see the spark of a soul making its way through.
Violet was wrinkled, pale and tired. As soon as her name came through, I realized I’d known her in life. Maybe she thought of me as she died.
The instant she fully crossed over, I remembered her putting something in my hands, hands that were still those of a child. She was training me to...the thought faded, filled with impressions of teacher or friend. Maybe even a relative. Where the information should have been, I flashed instead to fighting the man who had slashed at me with a deadly knife. I hadn’t recalled the knife before. My arms had blocked it, both of them raised in defense. I had fought, angry I was without my weapons.
Had Violet trained me?
There was a lot of blood, and I couldn’t retreat, not even when the man fell to his knees. He circled. I couldn’t escape. His snarling face was embellished with a nose and tongue ring. His shouts and threats were long since lost. He had crawled away. No, he crawled, but he kept coming back at me like a nightmare, first in front, then to the side, then from behind.
My memories were interrupted by the rest of Violet’s life line. She didn’t require an escort. Her soul leaked slowly through In Between, a strong line floating to the other side. I used to think we were doing people a favor witnessing their last moments in silent respect, but these peaceful passings, they were the real gift.
The ribbon of life didn’t stretch very far. What had been nothing but gray space pushed aside, and the link touched the other side. A small dot of light indicated when it hit. The backwash was calm, slow and peaceful. It ran the length of the thread all the way back to the living world.
Standing near, just as I suffered the backwash of drifting too close to the edge, I received the benefit of the white light. My own gray was suddenly lighter, refreshed, despite the strain I’d been under.
I raised a hand in salute as Violet sailed past. I would never touch her; it was too much of a violation, but she reached out to me on her final passage, filling me with a soft peace and strength, a gift I cherished greatly.
My focus had been so completely on Violet, I didn’t see the others until Amy spoke. “Sweet. We could have helped had we arrived sooner.” She was holding hands with Troy. The two of them stood next to Kyle, the musician I’d recently helped.
“That was beautiful; a perfect song.” Kyle strummed his guitar. “She didn’t need anyone to help her cross. Is that the way it’s supposed to be?”
I nodded, but was too busy trying to glimpse Troy’s hand to say more. It was impossible to tell if he had a ghost ring or not given that his fingers were wrapped up in Amy’s. He wasn’t drained today, but the wariness in his eyes remained.
Amy leaned into him. Her dangling earrings caught my attention. Good. If I could see those, it meant that I’d be able to tell if Troy had died with his ring or not. I wasn’t sure whether that knowledge was truly helpful, though.
“Troy, I wondered if you’ve talked to Spook about...well, maybe Martin can help with our problem.” I really had meant Spook, but felt stupid suggesting that the pup had any answers in front of Amy. I could explain to Troy in private that the dog had shared a possible clue, but I still needed Troy to fill in the rest of the pieces to the puzzle.
“I’m fine. Better I think.” He half-waved, already drifting away. “I just need to stay close to home and replenish often. It’s like having a cold, nothing really.” He didn’t sound convinced, and he paused for a moment as if he had more to say.
Surprised, Amy finally stopped and waited.
“Never mind,” I said. Belatedly, I realized Spook wasn’t with him. I’d assumed that Troy was somewhere around the tree because I’d seen Spook there, but obviously Spook hadn’t left the tree after showing me the ring. I wondered why. “I’ll stop by later, okay?”
But Troy was already gone, his head tilted towards Amy. I had to admit he seemed to light up when she was around. Maybe she could help him somehow.
“I didn’t know there could be any kind of relationships after dying,” Kyle said. “But maybe if you die young and didn’t have anyone back home, you can find someone here?”
I had certainly become a shade far earlier than was right. The stray thought of my death caused a flash of wrongness with a sharp stab of resentment. The pain of it was so intense, it was likely to kill me completely someday, but I’m a fast learner. I immediately put the thought aside.
I gritted my teeth. “Yeah. He seems happy with her.”
Kyle tilted his head. “I guess love exists even here.”
“Did you happen to notice if Troy was wearing a ring?” I asked.
“A wedding ring?” He lifted his own ghostly finger. “Is that what has you all bothered? You think he’s cheating on an earthly wife? Or did you think I was planning on cheating on my wife just because I mentioned that love was possible here?”
“No, no. I meant a class ring. Or a football ring. Never mind, I can ask him when I see him again.”
“Oh, that ring. Yes, he did have one. He told me he gave it to Amy. That’s what I meant about realizing ghosts have relationships. I thought love died. It feels dead to me. But the music still plays, and Troy found someone even though he’s dead.”
I stared at Kyle, my mouth agape. I stayed that way so long, the gray of my jaw unhinged and started drifting away. I finally pulled together and spun away.
“Hey, where are you going?”
But I was already puffing. I had to find Spook and ask him what this meant, but it seemed obvious. Troy had to get his ghost ring back. Why else would Spook have showed me the ring in the tree when I asked for help with all my problems?
Chapter 15
I ran. In Between wavered and undulated and generally threatened me with edges that had a strong desire to cut me to shreds. Usually when I was in this big of a hurry, it meant something hungry and ugly
was after me. Today, I needed to locate Spook before Troy returned to the tree.
When I finally swooshed to a halt, most of me was temporarily deformed with bits trailing far behind. “Spook?” I reeled myself in, not worrying about where the pieces landed. If Spook wasn’t with Troy, he had to be here.
The surface of the tree was smooth and cool to the touch. I didn’t dare go inside. “Spook? I understand what you were telling me! Amy has the ring!”
Spook barked from behind me, causing me to jump forward far enough to land partially inside the tree. It was dark. The ley line to the right was nothing more than a pinprick. This portal to dirt-side was shrinking and shrinking fast. Without this source of energy, what would happen to Troy?
I scooted out quickly. “Spook! We have to force Amy to give the ring back, don’t we?”
He barked a hearty agreement.
“Will Troy help, do you think?”
Spook ran in a circle, chasing his own tail. His whine was an unsure, “No.”
“Can he help?”
Same circle, same whine. Spook didn’t know either.
“Amy isn’t going to want to give up the ring, is she?”
One succinct bark. “No.” Now he was certain.
I caressed the tree trunk. “Somehow that ring is his tie here, as much as the tree itself.”
When I looked back at Spook, he had multiplied. There were now two ’coons sitting near the dog, a squirrel and a possum. “You guys don’t hang around with Amy either.” Somehow that ring was the key to Troy obtaining energy. But if that was true, did it work for Amy too? Didn’t she care that Troy was fading? Didn’t she notice?
Before I could make any more observations, Troy drifted into sight. He was barely visible. His legs were missing completely and the rest of him was hunched into his jacket. He sported the look of someone who was allowing In Between to carry him wherever the mists blew.
“Troy!”
His face was blurry, and it took him more than a moment to recognize me. “You...I thought for a second you were roadkill.”
Energy was never overabundant, but I wasn’t starved. His hesitation was either an excuse or he couldn’t focus. “Troy, do you still have the grass you showed me before?”
He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m tapped out.” He drifted closer and would have reached for the tree, but with me standing right in front of it, he couldn’t. He floated aimlessly as if he wasn’t sure how to solve the problem.
“Can I see your hands?”
Too tired to care or resist, he pulled his hands from his pockets. Even this close to the tree, his fingers didn’t properly form.
“You need your ring back, Troy.”
His face blurred worse than before. “Have to go through.”
“The tree is closing. You can’t continue on this way.”
Instead of denying or agreeing, he drifted sideways and then reached for the smooth surface. His arm leaked into the tree. I started to help him, but touch was bad enough during ordinary circumstances. What if whatever marked him was contagious?
I looked at Spook, but the dog just whined. “I’ll go with him, Spook. Get the rest of the crew. Send a scout. See if you can find Amy. We’re going to have to steal the ring back.”
Spook yipped in agreement. The animals scattered. I slipped inside, next to Troy. The way In Between worked, a ghost could sit and partially regenerate, but it was akin to lying down and hoping you didn’t die.
There was energy here, bits and pieces, but even that would take time to absorb. We floated to the left, where the tunnel was located. More tree roots had grown, filling the entire trail. We didn’t make it far before Troy sat down. He pushed his arms forward into narrower parts of the tunnel. “Sometimes the ley line leaks. Can’t touch it directly, but the little leaks are pure magic.”
I had felt the heat from the ley line. A direct hit would be akin to a lightning strike. The magic might be feeding the tree and the roots here, but digging around hoping to find a trickle seemed like a quick way to burn your candle to the ground.
“Why does Amy wear your ring?”
“It doesn’t hurt anything.”
“It’s linked to you!” I wasn’t smart enough to figure out how all the pieces were related. “Did the ring keep this portal open?”
He shook his head. “No. After I made my peace dirt-side, the fairies spun magic so that the portal would close. It was leaking too much magic dirt-side.”
“But why do you need more energy than you needed before?” Somehow that ring was crucial. Without it, he was missing an essential piece of himself. With the kind of energy available from the tree, he shouldn’t require replenishing so quickly, not unless something or someone was draining him.
I thought of how snapping my sleeve at the hellhound had hurt it. That ring was tied to Troy and this tree. This tree was energy. The ring was part of his energy. “I think maybe Amy is using your ring to steal your energy. You come here and harvest more, but it is absorbed into that ring. Amy figured that out and uses it to draw energy from you.”
“I am pretty sure I was tired before I gave it to her.” He frowned in confusion. “My energy is just gone. She’s not some kind of ghoul. She’s human. You’ve seen her!”
I couldn’t argue that. “Maybe being a human ghost doesn’t stop her from drinking like a ghoul.” She had always clung to Troy. Maybe it wasn’t just because she liked him.
“Did she ask you for the ring?”
His face was formed enough now that I could read the expression in his eyes, and it was too much like feverish addiction. “Just a few sparks, and I’ll be myself again!” He leaned towards me as if I were the energy line here.
Talk like that was worse than scary. “You don’t feed off friends, Troy.”
“I don’t mean that! I wouldn’t take—” He stopped then and rubbed a half hand where his hair would be. “The last roadkill. I could barely escort it through the tunnel. I think I killed it.”
“Isn’t roadkill already dead?”
He nodded. “But there’s always residual energy. I brought it into the tunnel, but the fairies are closing the tunnel with a new tree. We were in the tunnel, and I guided it like I always do.” His voice fell to a croaking whisper. “I was so hungry.”
It would be too obvious if I scooted away from him. I raised my hands, wishing for a rock, a staff...I slid my jacket sleeve loose. It was already torn off anyway.
He stared at me, his eyes larger and brighter than they should have been, but holding no malice. The crazed look was replaced by wariness. “I offered you energy, and you never complained. Why is sharing with Amy any different?”
“You gave me bits of life force from dirt-side! I never took any of your essence.” He knew the difference. He’d been one of the ones to explain it to me when I first arrived. “Did you give her the ring or did she take it?”
“That ring isn’t me. It’s not life force.”
I nodded emphatically. “It’s part of you. Let me see your hands.”
He held them out again, not even having the energy to be impatient with me.
He had replenished enough that most of his fingers formed. Where his ring finger would have been, there was a darker stub than his other fingers, but nothing more, definitely no ring. I stared at that spot for a long time. “There’s a mark where your ring belongs. Cinderspark said you had a mark, but not a demon mark. Amy took that ring and left her mark, tying your energy to her or the ring. By giving it to her, you entered some kind of agreement.”
“But it’s just a ring. It doesn’t matter, and I can’t remember. I gave it to her to help her. She calls it a promise ring.”
I stared at my sleeve. It had come over with me. It was cotton. It retained enough energy to let me fight hellhounds, especially if I soaked it with leaking essence. “Your real ring, the one that belongs dirt-side is here.”
His head swirled, he turned it so fast. “You saw it? I can’t reach that spot anymore. The last t
rip to dirt-side I...tried digging. But the roots are everywhere now. I can’t slide through them anymore.”
“Troy, we have to retrieve your ring somehow.”
He held up his hand. Two of his fingers formed completely right down to fingernails, but he was pale and shaky shimmers all over. The tree roots still fed him, but Cinderspark was right. Something about his essence was wrong, damaged. Where his ring should have been, there was only a dark band. “I don’t think the ring will fix it,” he said.
“It can’t make it any worse. We have to try.”
He shook his head in denial or despair.
I left him to soak up whatever energy the tree was willing to share.
Spook was waiting for me outside the tree, a ball of hyper puppy, spinning and jumping eagerly. His whole body shouted, “At last!”
The tree roots should have energized me, but I was coated with dread. Spook was a dog. He wouldn’t be able to slide the ring off Amy’s finger. I was the only one with opposable thumbs.
Spook woofed and growled. Two ’coons swirled into position. One took point with Spook, the other lined up next to me. I heard a piercing challenge from above and nearly lost my jacket sleeve before I realized it was a hawk. His gray down feathers stuck out at funny angles as though he hadn’t yet fully recovered his ghost shape and was still partially smashed from being hit by a car.
Spook barked once, and we headed out. If only I had died with the knife that had been used in the attack against me, I’d happily cut her hand off and run away. I needed a weapon, maybe a ghost Uzi or at the very least a stout club. The thought made my hands clench, craving a baton that I could twirl as a weapon while keeping my distance. Maybe we should have bribed a ghoul or an imp. Would the mermaids help if I fed them fish?
This rescue attempt was a horrible idea. I was going to end up as fodder for some hideous not-demon. Well, I was already dead, right?
There were bad portals In Between, veils that led places no one wanted to go. I scanned for them and the creatures they housed as Spook loped around boulders, trotted across murky fog-filled patches and led us deeper into gloom. Maybe I stayed near the dirt-side edge more than I realized because the path Spook chose was fog with no boundaries. The gray was thick and full of obstacles; misshapen tree limbs coated with black moss and craggy outcrops that we either climbed or drifted around.
Ghost Shadow (Moon Shadow Series Book 4) Page 9