by Nhys Glover
My thoughts were on an interesting piece of information I’d found on the internet about a kind of magical talent that could lock energy into a painting. It was probably not a real ‘thing’ and just somebody’s version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, but it was still interesting.
Suddenly, a cool breeze wafted over my bare arm. My mom was back, and I instantly sensed a difference in her.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded of my empty room.
My first thought was that Herbert’s crew was on the property, about to set fire to us.
That thought was quashed as I saw a ghostly figure standing in the forest on the very edge of the tainted land. My brows furrowed as I tried to understand what Mom was sending me. I didn’t see ghosts. She couldn’t be telling me this was something I would see in my future. I didn’t even think she could do precognitive stuff. Of course, her human self couldn’t. But who knew what her ghost could do? Time didn’t operate the same way on the Other Side, I knew that much.
“I don’t understand!” I exclaimed in frustration, my voice rising.
If I didn’t control myself, Hilary would be in, checking on me.
‘Another one’ I heard in my mind. Or I thought it was ‘another’. I was fairly certain the second word was ‘one’.
“Another one?” I asked, trying to see my mother’s ghost as I always did.
When was I going to stop trying to see with my eyes and focus on my other senses?
I got the sense of a yes. Okay, we were getting somewhere. Another one of who? Another ghost? But that didn’t make sense. There were ghosts everywhere. Why would she be so concerned about a ghost, and one that was on the very edge of the cursed land?
One thing I’d learned during my studies in Mom’s library was that ghosts tended to stay put, except in rare occasions like with Miz Millie’s dash to find help for Lauren. They might haunt their old home or the place they died, or even a person or object. They rarely, if ever, flitted around like tourists. So, one turning up on the edge of cursed land didn’t make sense.
‘Limit.’ I got the word ‘Limit’. Had Channing reached its limit of ghosts and Mom was annoyed because another was joining those already in residence. Nope, that didn’t make the least bit of sense.
I was too tired for guessing games.
I got an image of spilling milk across the floor. Then the dead forest. Okay, the limit of the cursed area?
Then I saw someone chained to a spot. Had the ghost been imprisoned somewhere before they died? No. That didn’t feel right either.
Finally, I got it. Mom was limited to the cursed land, and somehow she’d come across a spirit at the very edge of her domain. Probably as the area of devastation increased.
“Show me the ghost again,” I said.
Immediately, I saw the same ghostly figure standing in the dead forest with the green, living forest just behind her. Because she was a ‘her’.
I studied what I could of the spirit. She was young. Maybe a few years younger than Lauren. Barely into puberty, if the small mounds under her 1rayish pink shirt were any indication.
Why was she out in the middle of nowhere like that? It wasn’t near a road, so she wasn’t a victim of a car accident.
‘Us’. I got ‘us’.
I tried to put it together. Another one limit us. No. The ‘limit’ was about the land mom could reach. Another one us? Another one of us?
I said it aloud and was rewarded instantly with relief.
So a girl with magic was in our forest. My blood ran cold. Hadn’t I wondered how many more girls had been killed during an exorcism by Herbert’s people? I really needed to stop calling it that. From what I’d read on exorcisms, the person was tied down, yes, but they weren’t brutalized. The cuts, bruises, and broken and dislocated bones Lauren had sustained were too extreme to fit the normal process of exorcism. It was as if the crazies believed they could torture the demon out of the girl. As if she intentionally held onto the spirit and had to be coerced into letting it go.
“Another one of Herbert’s victims is buried on our property,” I said aloud, although I knew I’d finally got it right.
Why was Mom coming to me with this now? If she was limited in her range to the cursed land, maybe she hadn’t known the girl was there until the curse spread that little bit further over the girl’s grave?
Oh, gods, a young girl was buried on my land! The bastards had buried her on my land!
But the border was miles in circumference, how was I going to find her?
By walking it until I felt a chill on my arm. And it made sense it wouldn’t be all that far off the road. There might even be tire tracks to indicate where they’d come in.
Only if it was recent. Surely it couldn’t be recent. Would they be running two exorcisms at two different places at the same time? How would they have even come by another girl with magical gifts?
Unless… Unless they were being targeted somehow. What if there was a ‘network’ as Jake called it, of demon-hunters who located magical girls. Then they’d be kidnapped… maybe, or fostered like Lauren and Faith had. Maybe they only targeted foster kids with gifts.
I was making wild guesses. Too many hours watching shows like Vampire Diaries had made my imagination an overly fertile place.
What should I do? Find the body first or call Jake?
He was already under pressure keeping track of Herbert and his crew. Bringing him out to watch me walk around until I felt a chill on my arm, would be a waste of his time.
But I couldn’t walk around alone. If Herbert suspected I knew about the body…
Oh. My. Gods! That was why he wanted us to leave town. That’s why the demonstration was so volatile. The curse had reached the grave and Herbert was worried the scientists, who were always out checking on the spread, might find it.
But the scientists wouldn’t stop coming just because they drove us out. Unless they thought my approval was necessary for their investigations.
My head hurt. I was so tired my eyes felt like a layer of dust had taken up residence beneath the lids. But I couldn’t sleep yet. I had to have a plan.
One thing was for sure, I wasn’t going anywhere tonight. To find an unmarked grave I needed daylight.
What if I took Karl or Fred? That would be protection. And a witness. If we found something, I could then call Jake in.
Yeah, that’d work.
“Okay, Mom. I think I have it now. I’ll go look for her body tomorrow, okay?”
The chill on my arm disappeared. I took that as a yes.
* * *
“You want me to go with you while you look for a body?” Karl said dubiously, the next morning.
It was still early and nobody but me was down yet. I’d caught sight of Karl walking the perimeter around the house and called him in. While I gave him freshly brewed coffee to soften him up, I explained what I wanted to do.
“Yes. It’ll be along the border of the cursed land. I’m guessing it won’t be far from the road though.”
He scowled suspiciously at me. “Exactly how do you know there is a grave on your land?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Not because I put it there, if that’s what you’re worried about. But then, if I buried it, I’d know where it was, wouldn’t I?”
He continued to stare at me.
“A ghost told me. Okay? Satisfied now?” I exclaimed with a huff.
I was at least ten years older than Karl, but he always made me feel like I was a stupid kid his parents made him look after. Though it was never said aloud, I got the distinct impression he thought the idea of a curse, witches, and magic, were nonsense. However, as I was paying his wages, he’d do what he was tasked with doing: keeping our crazy-asses safe.
“Does that happen often?” he asked, taking a sip from his coffee.
“No. I experience a lot of ghosts, but this is the first time I’ve been led to a spirit’s grave. Or I assume I’ll be led to a grave. Can we leave now? If I find it, I want to ring the sher
iff as soon as possible.”
“Fred should be up by now. I’ll notify him that we’re leaving the house, and he can take over for me here.”
“Excellent. I’ll just get my purse. I doubt it’ll be chilly enough for a coat. You seem to be doing okay out there.”
“It’s fine. I had a jacket on overnight. But it's warming up nicely, now the sun has risen.”
The real reason for my haste was that I didn’t want to hear questions from my kids until I had some solid answers. So, within five minutes, we were in my Prius heading for the main road. If my hands were shaking on the wheel it was only to be expected. The idea of finding a grave, complete with the ghost of a tortured girl, wasn’t my favorite way to spend a morning.
Once we hit the public road, the distance to the edge of the curse seemed to take forever to travel. When we finally did reach the border, I drew my car off the road and parked.
“Which way?” Karl asked, once we were out in the early morning sunlight.
Everything felt fresh and clean, here, where Nature still ruled. I hadn’t understood how dusty and dry the air felt around the house until this moment. It was more than the look of the place. Or the deathly silence of the cursed land. It was the lack of the scent of pine and ozone, as well as the musty smell of freshly accumulated mulch warmed by sunlight.
Turning in a slow circle, Karl took in the terrain. “Which way?”
It was even more creepy on the border than around the house, I realized. After a while, your mind could be tricked into thinking things were ‘normal’ when there was nothing else to look at but dead trees and barren soil. But when there was such a delineation between green and brown, life and death, it was only too clear that ‘normal’ had long ago taken the last train outta town.
I had no idea which direction to take, so I looked for tire tracks heading into the forest. Although it was all private property, there were legal logging roads and less obvious trails created illegally by off-road vehicles. However, at this particular point on the road there didn’t seem to be either.
After a few minutes of scouting the terrain I threw a metaphorical coin and opted to head off to the left, away from the rising sun. It was simply easier on the eyes that way. There was nothing worse than walking or driving into the rising or setting sun.
Karl and I began our trek away from the road, across dead and dying grass and brush. It scrunched unpleasantly underfoot. Once it dried out the wind would carry it away, leaving the ground unpleasantly bare. It would have made walking easier if it was free of debris. But here on the borderland it would be another year at least before the wind could do its housecleaning thing.
Maybe two hundred strides into the forest I knew it was going to be easier than I expected. A cold ripple, which set my skin to goose-pebbling, gave me the warning I was looking for.
“Okay, we’re close,” I told Karl, who had my six and was being very serious about it.
He might not have drawn his gun, but his gaze was everywhere at once, searching for threats and danger.
I felt relief at my arrival followed quickly by a deep sadness. I knew it didn’t come from Karl.
“Okay, sweetie. I’ve come to find your body. If I’m heading in the right direction, keep close to me. If I go off track, move away.”
I was going to use my gooseflesh as a compass.
Without looking at Karl, who I knew would be rolling his eyes about now, I started walking in the same direction I’d been going. After a few steps my arm lost its chill. I stopped and turned right, taking a few steps that way. No, still no cold. I turned the opposite way and was soon rewarded with more chills. It gave a whole new meaning to the game we used to play as kids.
After more of the Hot and Cold game, I eventually found myself beside a fallen tree, which seemed to be the unofficial marker between death and life right now. On the far side was a slight mound, slightly sunken in places, covered with newly dead brush. As I could tell the ground hadn’t been disturbed in a long time, I assumed the grave had been dug years ago. This was not the resting place of a fresh kill.
I didn’t have to ask the spirit if I was in the right place. I just knew.
“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked aloud, ignoring Karl, who was close on my heels.
I got similar images to the ones Miz Millie had sent me. Horrifying images of a girl being tortured by a group of people in a cellar. It didn’t look like the same cellar as the one Lauren had been kept in. This one was bigger and had a wall divider.
“Was it members of the Church of Divine Light who hurt you?” I asked.
That got me nothing but confusion. I tried again.
“Was it Pastor Herbert and his followers?”
That got a resounding yes. My heart began to beat like a staccato drum in my chest. Surely there would be some evidence here linking the murder to Herbert. Even if the grave was old, it clearly hadn’t been disturbed by animals. There would have to be some incriminating evidence on the body. Or just in her identity.
“Can you tell me your name?” I asked gently.
Sometimes ghosts forgot their names after they’d been dead for a long time. But I knew from her clothing that this girl had died not so many years ago. And the pastor had only come to town ten years ago. So there was a good chance she would remember her name.
I got a C and a y. Carley, Christy, Cathy… Cindy...Yes. Cindy. I didn’t try for a last name, as it might not be the one she used while living in Grand Haven. If she’d lived in Grand Haven like Faith and Lauren.
“How old were you, sweetie?”
Confusion, as if she was having trouble remembering. I got the impression of a girl a few years younger than Lauren when I saw the ghost through my mother’s eyes.
“Fourteen?” I suggested.
Although it wasn’t a definite yes, it was a yes.
I had enough to go on. Now I could call in the sheriff.
Pulling my cell out of my bag, I checked for a signal. There was a weak one. It was enough.
I rang Jake’s personal cell and waited for him to pick up. It was early. Not even 7 am. Would I have to wake Jake to get him to answer his phone?
While I waited, I looked at Karl, who was staring at the mound I’d identified as the gravesite. His expression was hard to read. Confusion, doubt, horror? Maybe. But I also got a sense of sorrow as well. There was no doubt in his mind that this was an unmarked grave.
“Killian,” came the gruff introduction.
“Hi, Sheriff, it's Cleo Channing,” I said nervously.
“What can I do for you, Cleo?” he asked, his tone a little less gruff.
“I think I’ve found the body of another victim of the Church of Divine Light.”
He swore colorfully before barking, “Where?”
“On the border of the cursed land. If you head out to my place you’ll see my Prius parked on the side of the road. We’ll meet you there.”
“We?”
“I have one of my bodyguards with me.”
“Good. Are you sure? Do I bring the Crime Scene team with me or just my deputies with shovels?”
“Both. I’m positive I’ve found a body, but it looks as though the grave is deep. And not recent. You might like to check with the middle school for a past student called Cindy. I’m thinking she came and went fairly quickly, a few years back. Maybe another foster kid. If there’s no record of her attending school then she was kidnapped. I think she was about fourteen when she died.”
“Exorcism?” he asked.
It surprised me that was the only question he asked. No, ‘How do you know that?’ or ‘What makes you so sure?’
“Yep. Just as horrific as the last. And it was Herbert’s people again.”
“I don’t know if I’m happy to know that or not. I wanted more evidence, but not this way,” he said, letting out a tired sigh.
“Yeah, I’m with you on that. How long before you get here, do you think?”
“Give me ten or fifteen minutes.�
��
Karl and I hiked back to the road to wait for the cops. I checked my phone for the time. It was just after seven. The kids would be up, and Hilary would be organizing breakfast. They wouldn't notice me missing for a while yet. How long Jake would make me stay at the scene I didn’t know. Long enough to take my statement, and for Karl to give his, I assumed.
I looked at my bodyguard. We might need to get our story straight. Jake would know what the real facts were, but we’d already had to play fast and furious with the truth over Lauren’s crime. There was no way I could say a ghost showed me where to find the grave.
“Do you think it would sound suspicious if I said I was out on an early morning hike and found it?” I asked the blonde giant, testing the waters.
“I’d suggest you say you were checking to see how much further the blight had spread. I could say I recognized the formation of that particular stretch of land. I’ve seen unmarked graves before.”
The hollow tone in his voice made my heart ache for him.
“Okay, that should do. Of course, if anyone checks why Jake rang the school asking for a Cindy before the body was even exhumed it might not go well.”
“That’s his problem. All we have to do is make sure our story is good enough to avoid suspicion. I don’t particularly want to be arrested as an accomplice, after the fact.”
I nodded. “Yeah, me either. As it is, the fact that she’s on my property will have people looking my way.”
“Your mother’s way. Everyone knows you haven’t been back to these parts for years.”
“Yeah. I guess.” I sighed heavily. “It seems like the pile of crap just keeps getting deeper with every day that passes. I wonder if I’ll ever get my head above it all.”
Karl smirked. “One woman’s crap is another man’s bread and butter.”
I let out a laugh. I guess he was right. He wouldn't have a job if I didn’t have my dance card filled to overflowing with disasters.
Jake’s patrol car finally arrived and slid to a stop behind my Prius. Another police vehicle pulled up in front of it. I saw a couple of deputies climb out of that one.