“Vorie,” I called out. “It’s me, Fawn. Come out and talk so I can figure out how to get you out of here.”
“It followed her to school one day…”
“Come on Vorie,” I walked into the empty bar. “I need to see you. I need to know that you’re okay.”
“It made the children laugh and play, laugh and play…”
“Please stop,” I began to cry. “Why won’t she come out?”
Fergus ran the back of his hand over his eyes. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying all week to get the other woman to come out. It’s like she doesn’t want to hear me, or maybe she can’t.”
“Maybe I can find some books on this. There has to be something out there that explains how to deal with spirits.” I stepped on the stage and tried calling out again. “I really need to talk with you! We buried your body today underneath some giant trees. Everyone is so torn up right now. I want to find out who did this to you, and I want to get you out of here so we can see you in the realm, but I can’t do that unless you come talk to me. I need to know what’s stopping you from crossing over so I can fix it.”
The rhyme continued and I sat down frustrated onto the stage. “I miss you already and I need to see you. Please don’t leave me alone.”
“So the teacher threw it out…”
“Fine!” I tossed my hands in the air as I stood up. “Be stubborn. I’m getting you out of here whether you help me or not.” As I stomped my way to the employee lounge, Fergus reached over and touched my arm.
“Are you going to be okay?” The concern in his eyes threatened to start the tears in mine again.
“I’ll be fine.” I shrugged off his hand. “I just need to be alone to gather my thoughts.”
Fergus smiled gently. “I’ve got some work to do, but Raleigh will be here soon.” He watched me walk away until I reached the door. I slammed it shut behind me.
*
“Boo.”
I jumped out of my skin and shrieked a high-pitched vowel sound.
“Shh. You’ll wake the dead.” Vorie stood in the middle of the lounge. I grabbed my chest to hold my heart from escaping.
“What the hell Vorie?”
“Shh,” she whispered again. Her face was lit up and playful. I tried to throw my arms around her, but they just passed straight through.
“Why didn’t you come out when I called? I was so freaking worried.”
“You should be worried,” Vorie laughed. “Someone murdered me. Can you believe that? This kind of sucks. I totally didn’t want to get murdered.”
“About that,” I eyed her curiously. “Who killed you?”
“I don’t know,” Vorie sighed. “I couldn’t see who it was. He came up behind me and knocked my head into the shelves that Brayson built for me. Then he cut my neck when I was unconscious.” She made a slicing motion with her thumb which traced the outline of the wound.
“I can’t believe you are making jokes about this.” I kept staring at her like I couldn’t believe she was almost real. “This is messed up.”
“I know,” Vorie’s smile fell. “I just don’t want to be as angry as Nessa. How are Brayson and Genie holding up?”
“Is Nessa the other spirit?” I asked. Vorie nodded. “I want to help her too. I don’t understand why you both are hiding. Genie and Brayson are broken right now, but when we get you to the realm it will help them to come visit.”
A cloud passed over her face and she bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know how that will happen. Hey Fawn, don’t trust that Fergus guy, okay?”
“Why are you being all mysterious suddenly? What don’t I know?”
“Nessa said something is wrong with him. I think he runs this awful place and that makes her scared, but I agree that he doesn’t seem like a great person.”
“Is that why you wouldn’t come out? Because Fergus was there?”
Vorie froze. “Someone is coming.”
I heard the laughter of the girls behind the closed door. “Don’t worry, it’s just my coworkers. You’ll like them.” Vorie vanished in front of my eyes as the door swung open.
“Come back!” I yelled to the empty room.
“Are you going crazy again?” Lilith asked as she put an arm around me.
“No.” I threw my hands in the air. “My friend was just here, and I didn’t get any answers. Vorie,” I called again. “The girls are cool, just please come back out.” No answer.
“Ugh,” I sighed as I fell into the papasan chair. “She really was just here. I think this place is making her paranoid.”
“It’s making us all paranoid, Vorie.” Astrid smiled at me as she spoke. “I promise we won’t bite.”
“Is she stuck here too?” Chloe asked.
Lilith studied the ceilings above us. “How do we help to get her out?”
“I don’t know yet. We didn’t get to talk much.” I rubbed my fingers against my temple. All the emotions lately were overwhelming. “I’m going to read up on spirits crossing over tomorrow if I can find the books and I’ll come up with a plan then.”
“I’ll read too,” Astrid offered. “The more people looking for answers, the better.”
“Us too,” Claire and Chloe added.
“I’ll, um, ask around,” Lilith laughed.
Chapter 21
∞
There were very few customers who trickled into the club that night. Alister walked in an hour after opening and sat at one of my tables.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Better,” I sighed. “But I am still pissed off. Water tonight?” I pulled out my notepad sarcastically.
“I’m glad you are doing better. Guess what? I talked to some of my professors today about your strengths in the realm and they had some interesting things to say.”
“Wait.” I shook my head. “You had to leave this morning, the morning I buried my best friend, to go talk about the stupid realm and those lame party tricks with a bunch of your high society buddies.”
“Fawn, I had an appointment. These people don’t care for excuses.”
“If they don’t care about orphans,” my voice was rising uncontrollably, “I don’t care about them. Take your elitist bullshit somewhere else because I don’t care what they have to say.” I slammed the notepad on the table, and it disappeared under my palm. My hand was shaking as I looked at the empty space.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I’m going to backtrack a bit. Maybe you could just tell me how I did that?” Alister’s face lit up with excitement. I glared at him.
“You’re right. This probably isn’t the best day to discuss this. It’s just so fascinating,” he said. I looked across the bar room. Fergus was watching me. He would have seen what I just did. Cold fear settled in the pit of my stomach and I didn’t know why.
“Turns out that you are a very rare occurrence these days,” Alister continued. “You are considered emotionally diverse.”
“So, I’m a basket case, good to know.” I put the useless pen in my dress pocket.
“It’s not that,” Alister chuckled. “You are alive. You can do things in the realm that no one else can because you are so in touch with your human self and all the varying shades of color within it. My professor asked if I can bring you for a visit.” Fergus started walking toward us.
“Not now,” I whispered. “I’ll talk to you another time.”
Alister noticed Fergus and his face grew cold. “Are you sure I can’t handle this for you?”
“No.” I ran to the next table to take their order.
*
“I’ll be right out,” I said to the girls as they left the club after closing. “Seriously,” I nudged Fergus. “Give me a minute. I want to try one more time.”
“I’ll be just outside if you need me,” he sighed.
“Who was the dark and mysterious stranger?” Vorie appeared as soon as everyone left.
“I wish you’d stop sneaking up on me.” I exhaled loudly as my heart rate returned to normal.<
br />
“That would be no fun. It’s one of the perks of being a ghost,” Vorie smiled. “Now tell me who the guy was.”
“No one. Well, maybe someone now. I thought he was a serial killer, but he actually seems decent. He’s a little too rich for me though.”
“Serial killer?” She raised a ghostly eyebrow. “You sure know how to pick them.”
“It’s not like that,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. I want to get you out of here. Why haven’t you crossed over?”
“I can’t.” Vorie looked sadly around the empty room.
“Why not? What’s keeping you here?”
“I don’t know. It’s like we are tied to this place. Trapped by something.”
“But the man that was here the first night with Nessa got out, so there must be a way.”
“Roger?” Vorie giggled. “He’s still here. He just doesn’t talk much. Says he prefers to watch.”
The hope of an easy solution slipped from me like falling sand. “Okay. All three of you are stuck here. Crap. Can you figure out why or what is holding you back?”
“It’s hard to explain.” Vorie took a seated position on one of the chairs. “I know we aren’t in the world, but it feels real. It’s like being in a house. Except, we can’t open the door and go outside. I can go anywhere in the structure. I just can’t leave it. Trust me, I’ve been trying.”
“It must be the building itself. The structure is some sort of cage.” The gears in my brain began to move. “I need to talk to Brayson. We can figure out what is so different about the design of this place.”
A tear rolled down Vorie’s cheek. “Tell Brayson I am so sorry this happened. I wanted to live the rest of my life with him in the wild. I wanted to have his kids. Tell him I love him so much.”
“Don’t cry.” I could feel the tears forming in my own swollen eyes. “I’ll bring Brayson and Genie here. You can tell him yourself.”
“No, Fawn. Don’t bring them to this place. Get me out of here and I’ll talk to them in the realm when I am whole. I don’t want him to see me like this.” She looked worriedly at her hands before placing them in her lap.
“Okay,” I smiled, hoping to cheer her up. “We’ll have a party in the realm. When you cross over, your manifestation powers will be unreal. I can’t wait to see the gorgeous place you’ll dream up.”
A smile teased the corner of her mouth. “I can’t wait to build the library.”
“It’s going to be the grandest library anyone has ever seen!”
“It’s going to be amazing,” Vorie laughed. “Alright, you get out of here now. Find me a way to leave.” I wished I could hug her, but I knew I’d just pass through.
“I’m on it.” I tried to wink, causing her to giggle.
“And Fawn,” Vorie said before I ran down the hall. “I seriously don’t like that Fergus guy. Be careful around him. Also, you look ridiculous with those antlers on your head.”
*
As soon as the sun rose, I ran down the city streets to Vorie’s apartment. Brayson opened the door wearing his pajamas. His shaggy brown hair was sticking up in clumps and his eyes were bloodshot.
“You look like hell.” I pushed the door closed behind me as he staggered over to the couch. The glass bottle with brown liquor rocked on the coffee table as he bumped his knee against it.
“I feel like hell,” he whispered. “Was she there last night? Did you see her?”
“I did,” I said as I rushed to the kitchen to find him some water and food. “But we have a problem.”
Under the sink were cases of water and the pantry was stocked with cans of various foods. My hands were shaking as I picked through the supplies, thinking of how meticulously Vorie was preparing for our life in the wild. Now we’d never get to go. Pushing back the tears, I grabbed a water bottle and a box of crackers.
“Eat something,” I commanded as I thrust the food into his hands.
He set the box and bottle down untouched. “I’m coming with you tonight. I want to see her.”
“She said no.” I shook my head sadly. “She wants to wait until she is in the realm to see you. We have to help her get there.”
“Why can’t she get out?” Brayson swayed as he stared at me.
“We don’t know. There is something about the structure that is keeping them there.”
He ran his hands through his messy hair. “She is stuck in that place with those people.” Hot anger blanched his face. “That bastard who did this to her might be there. I’m going with you tonight. I need to find him.”
“No.” I put my hand on his arm and he flinched. “I promise we will find out who did this, but first we have to get Vorie to where she belongs. I need your help right now. We need to find anything that explains why they are stuck. You have to get the blueprints to The Nocere.”
*
After I left Brayson, I walked over to Kramer’s shop. He was busy stocking the shelves but called out “good morning” as I entered.
“Kramer,” I said as I grabbed a box of canned pears. “How much was Vorie paying you for the food you gave me?”
Kramer coughed anxiously as he looked to his feet. “Terrible thing to happen to such a sweet girl. I was sorry to hear about it. Don’t worry about the money. It wasn’t enough to cover it anyway. She insisted on paying so I let her. Take what you need for those poor souls.”
I managed a smile as I stacked a box of canned sausages on top of the pears. “Thanks, but I’ll pay for it.” He scanned my tracker and I left with the food.
My mind raced with ideas on how to save Vorie as I walked back home. Maybe it was some sort of spell. I’d read fairy tales where people called witches would use magic to trap people. This seemed silly because you can’t manifest anything in the real world, but maybe in the realm…
I almost crashed into Alister as I turned the corner. The boxes fell from my hands and landed on my foot as I jumped away screeching.
“What’s gotten into you?” he asked through his laughter while retrieving the boxes from the ground.
My cheeks flushed as I took them back from his hands. “I’m just on edge because I keep getting snuck up on.”
Alister ran his bottom lip between his teeth before giving me a sultry smile. “You’re pretty when you blush.”
I rolled my eyes and stepped around him. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to talk to you.”
“If this is about the stupid realm stuff, I’m still not that interested.”
He grabbed the boxes out of my arms as we walked side by side. “This is important. The things you will be able to do if you get the right training are mind bending. It’s amazing, but you are also so rare that if anyone finds out what you can do, you might be in danger.”
“I literally work in a club full of serial killers,” I huffed. “Danger is my middle name.”
“This is different. There is an entire side to the realm that you haven’t seen yet.”
“Thank you for the concern, rich boy, but I’ve seen the underbelly of the realm. I’ve been working in it since I was twelve. I know how dangerous it is.”
“No Fawn, you don’t. You’ve seen the vices and the degradation of people. You have not seen the other side. The power struggles and the control of the ruling class, it’s a whole different ball game. They would use you for their own gain.”
“Great,” I sighed as I opened the door to my flat. “Just what I need right now. Did you tell anyone who I am? Should I be expecting someone to come kidnap me?”
“This isn’t a joke little deer.” Alister’s eyes were intense. “No. I did not tell anyone who you are, but you need to be careful with what you do in the realm. If the wrong person finds out about you it could be a disaster.”
“Fine.” I took the boxes from his arms and set them on the counter. “Tell me what it is that I can do.”
He followed me to my bedroom. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the doorframe. I sat down
on my bed and waited for his response.
“I can’t tell you what you can do. You’ll have to figure that out for yourself with some training. I can buy out the rest of your contract and set you up somewhere safe with an instructor.”
This might have been a grand gesture, but I felt insulted instead. “I don’t want your money and I’m not for sale.”
Alister chuckled. “If I thought I could buy you, I already would have. No, I don’t think you are for sale. Don’t be difficult, let me invest in you to see what you are fully capable of.”
“Why? Why go through all this trouble? You still haven’t explained why you care so much.”
“I’ve told you. In this decaying world, you are still so very alive. No one is like this. You feel and express everything, you fully want to live. The room is filled with your energy and I’m drawn to it like a moth to a flame.”
I had to laugh. “You look more like a wolf about to jump on its prey than a bug.”
“Stop deflecting.” His face retained that serious gaze and I felt silly for making the joke. “Don’t you see how you draw things to you? Your life force is so powerful that even I can feel it in my bones. Those moments when I touched you, that electric current in the realm. If you can do that now, just think of what you could do with the right training.”
“Hate to break it to you dude, but that only happens when we touch for some reason. It’s never happened before.” I thought this information would take the wind from his sails, but he raised his chin and smiled cockily.
“Nevertheless, being able to see through the glamour and destroy manifestations is only the beginning for you.”
“I need to think about it.” I pulled my hair into a ponytail and stood up from the bed. “Right now, I have to get ready for work.”
Alister watched me walk closer to him with his green wolf like eyes. “Can I touch you now?” His voice was low and deep. “We haven’t touched in the real world, and in light of this new information, I want to see if it feels the same.”
“Fine,” I shrugged and went to shake his hand.
I don’t know what I was thinking.
The moment our hands connected, I felt a current run through my body which raised the hairs on my arm. The breath rushed from my chest as I gasped. He pulled me closer to shorten the distance between us. The air was vibrating, humming with life in my eardrums. My vision narrowed and everything around us blurred, yet I could see him in such detailed clarity.
The Nocere: A Haunting Dystopian Tale Book 1 Page 12