by Joyce Lavene
“This isn’t going to work. We can’t knock him out. We can’t reason with him. We’ll have to tie him up.”
I sent Bowman to the van for plastic restraints that I wasn’t convinced were going to hold him, but I didn’t know what else to do. His clawed hands kept waving at me, trying to catch me again. I finally sat on top of him and held his arms to the dry ground beneath us.
“Hurry,” I urged Bowman. “I can’t hold him for long.”
Terry was stronger than I’d imagined. Bowman and I probably couldn’t have managed him if Debbie hadn’t reluctantly left the van and helped us. Together we put double plastic restraints on his wrists and legs. His hooves kicked out at us, but there were no more injuries. We lifted him and pushed him into the back of the van. I slammed the door closed and leaned against it.
“Are you okay, Skye?” Bowman asked when he saw the blood on my face and arm.
“I’m fine. I just need a few bandages.”
“We have those and antibiotic ointment at the house,” Debbie said in a flat voice. “We can clean you up there.”
We got in the van—I was ready to start the engine—when I saw a shotgun sneak up close to my ear. I’d left the window open and a serious-looking farmer had shoved the end of the barrel inside.
“What the hell is going on out here?” he demanded.
I raised my hands and improvised. “We were looking for our lost dog.”
“Dog? What kind of dog?”
Great. Now he was going to want to talk about lost dogs he’d found on his property.
“A poodle. Actually, a peek-a-poo. Barely two months old. Very small. Very harmless.”
“But we’re worried she might have been hurt,” Bowman added from the backseat. “Have you seen her, sir? She has little red ribbons in her hair. She just got back from the groomer.”
The farmer put down his shotgun. “No, son. I haven’t seen your pretty dog out here tonight. Aren’t you the boy who lives next door in the log cabin? I think I bought some school raffle tickets from you last fall.”
“That’s right.” Bowman laughed almost hysterically. “You bought twenty dollars’ worth. I hope you won something.”
“Yeah. My wife got a new blender out of the deal.” The farmer spat on the ground. “I’m sorry about your dog, son. I’ll keep an eye out for her.”
“Thank you.” Bowman’s voice shook. He was near his breaking point.
“You all haven’t seen any sign of a wolf about here, have you?” the farmer asked. “It’s been breaking into my hen house pretty regular like. I think it even attacked one of my cows the other night. I put in a call to the wildlife officer. He says we’re gonna get a hunting team together and track it down.”
“No,” I answered. “I sure hope it doesn’t get our little peek-a-poo. Thanks for your help.”
He stepped back, and I got out of his yard.
“Dad’s been coming home every morning covered in blood and chicken feathers,” Bowman said in a scared voice. “Will the wildlife officer track him back to our house and kill him?”
“Don’t say that,” Debbie hissed. “He’s still your father. He just needs help.”
“Sure, Mom. Whatever you say.”
When we got back to the cabin, Raina came running out. She was disheveled and crying but not injured. Debbie and her kids hugged each other. I looked away, wishing I was home with Kate. It was going to be another night where I was out past her bedtime. No doubt Addie would have plenty to say on the subject.
Maybe she was right. Maybe I deserved it. I was leaning too heavily on her and Lucas to fill in the gaps. I knew I needed to be home more—I just didn’t know how to make that happen.
“What do you want to do with him?” I asked Debbie, suddenly impatient to leave.
She wiped the tears from her face. “I think we should lock him in the basement. We don’t have to go down there much. It would keep him out of the way until we can figure this out.”
“I think you should take him to Abe and demand to know what’s going on,” I argued. “Whatever this is, a doctor can’t resolve it. You need help.”
“That’s my decision,” Debbie said. “At least for now. I don’t trust Abe to do what’s right for him. I know what he wants from me. He might be willing to kill Terry to get it.”
Or let him change into something you can’t live with.
“Sorry.” She glanced away. “I didn’t mean to sound like Abe would do anything—I’m just a mess right now.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I squeezed her arm. “Let’s get him inside.”
Chapter Sixteen
We dragged Terry into the basement with him fighting us the whole way. He slid down the stairs, bumping his head every few seconds. It couldn’t be helped. Bowman found some strong rope, and we tied him more securely.
“We need a cage for him,” Debbie said. “He needs to be safe until we can fix him. He can’t stay this way.”
“Any idea who’s going to fix him if you don’t take him to Abe?” I wiped blood off my face.
“What about Lucas?” She faced me with frantic eyes. “You could ask him, right? Maybe he could help.”
“I could ask him,” I agreed with a sigh. I couldn’t assure her that he’d come running over, but I could ask.
“Good. Thanks, Skye.”
When we had Terry settled, he seemed to calm down and even had a more human appearance and disposition. I didn’t trust that it would last. This had been slowly creeping up on him since last year. I believed he would eventually transform and never change back again.
I didn’t say what I was thinking to Debbie before I left. She’d been sitting at the kitchen table with a blank expression on her face. Bowman had gone up to bed. Raina had followed him. I said goodnight to my partner and left. She didn’t respond.
Despite feeling bad leaving her, I really wanted to go home. Even with the idea that Lucas could be an evil sorcerer, home was still the safest place I knew. I wanted to kiss Kate’s face even if she was sleeping. I wanted to feel normal for a while. I knew my life would never be normal again, not the way I’d known it before Jacob’s death. But at least I could pretend things were normal at Apple Betty’s Inn.
This time I didn’t take the shortcut past the place where Jacob had died. If there was something else going on there, I didn’t want to know. Not tonight. The lights were on outside the inn, and a few windows were lighted inside. The old Festiva was there beside the pickup truck Lucas had repaired. At least he got back all right.
I dropped my shoes in the mudroom, glad to feel the chill of air conditioning as I walked in the door. Maybe I could still feel heat because I was going to hell in seventeen years for cheating my natural death.
The Christian concept I’d been raised with had crossed my mind from time to time in the past three years. But if that was the case, so be it. I didn’t care—after all I’d seen since my death. I wasn’t even sure I believed in heaven and hell anymore.
Addie wasn’t waiting for me. She was around the inn somewhere and didn’t want to see me. Probably angry that I was late again. That was fine. I wasn’t sure how I’d react to one of her scoldings anyway.
Lucas was in the kitchen. He handed me a glass of whiskey. I sat at the table with him and drank it in one gulp. His dark brows went up.
“Bad day.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.” I poured myself another. “You have no idea.”
He nodded as he sipped his first glass. “Terry has been acting up again.”
I glanced at him. “You knew?”
“I…hear things.”
“Great.” I drained the second glass. “How long has this been going on?”
“Never mind that. It’s not important. You should go up to Kate’s room before you can’t walk up the stairs and you pass out on the sofa.”
The bottle was in my hand. He was right. I had to see Kate.
She was asleep, thankfully. I started crying when I saw her face. I
cried for her and the innocence of her childhood that I felt was lost. I cried for Jacob and for me. I struggled to remember why this shell of half-life was important. Most of the time, I’d rather be dead.
I felt better after I’d cried. Jacob used to laugh at me when I cried over silly things like taking Kate to the doctor for shots. He said I was too tenderhearted and then he’d held me his arms.
Lucas was waiting in the bedroom. He’d brought the bottle of whiskey up with him. I bypassed that and an empty glass to settle against him. I closed my eyes as he put his arms around me. He didn’t try to tell me that everything was going to be okay, as Jacob used to. He didn’t say anything.
We made love in the big bed with the constant fire of the hearth throwing red flames on the walls and ceiling. Usually when we came together, I fell asleep immediately after. It was a blessed stretch of blankness—no thoughts, no dreams.
But not tonight.
I was still restless and got up from bed to wander aimlessly through the dark inn. I didn’t see Addie. She was really avoiding me. I only spent a few minutes in Jacob’s room. My mind couldn’t focus on trying to figure out the puzzle of his death.
I ended up in the kitchen again, at the table. I wanted to cry, but there were no tears left. I tried to marshal my thoughts, but they were wild and beyond my reach.
Deciding that I still might fall asleep if I went back to the turret room and lay down beside Lucas, I put my hand on the old wood table—and my hand went through it.
It was probably going to happen to all of Abe’s zombies. Leave it to me to be the last of Abe’s legacy. He’d been doing this for over two hundred years, and it had never happened before.
As I thought about it, I felt a curiously light sensation. I looked down at my body. It was becoming transparent. I’d begun to drift away from the table. It was like being in a dream, soft and gentle. I was changing. No need to worry. It wasn’t a big deal. I closed my eyes and let it happen.
Suddenly something grabbed me. I was still solid enough that I could be held. I opened my eyes and looked into Addie’s frightened face.
“What the hell are you doing? You can’t just disappear. Kate needs you.” Addie said the words to me quickly and then opened her mouth to let out a horrible, shrill call. “Lucas!”
I was out of my dream state by then and frantically clawing at the ceiling, trying to hold on to something. I grabbed the ceiling light, but my hands passed through it. Addie was trying to pull me down to the floor, but couldn’t get a good grip anymore.
“Lucas!” Addie yelled again. “Get your butt down here!”
“Grandma?” Kate was out of bed and scurrying down the stairs. “What’s wrong? Why is Mommy on the ceiling?”
“Go back to bed, Kate,” I said.
No words came out. My mouth moved, but I had no voice.
She started crying, and I forced myself out of the peaceful dream I’d allowed myself to be lulled into. This couldn’t happen to me as it had happened to Mr. Benton. I couldn’t leave Kate. Not yet.
I pushed at the ceiling with my feet, but I couldn’t get away from it. I tried to wrap my legs around the light—nothing. I grabbed Addie’s hand, which was surprisingly strong and real. I kept trying to scream. I couldn’t say anything.
Lucas came down the stairs after Kate. He saw me on the ceiling, and his gaze riveted on me. I wondered if he’d know what to do. We’d certainly found no answer for Mr. Benton.
“Addie, you have to meld with Skye,” Lucas said.
The expression on my mother-in-law’s dour face was almost one of horror.
“Meld with her? What does that mean? Do some magic. Make her solid again.”
“I can’t. Not like this. You have to put yourself inside her. Because I’ve been helping you gain your abilities as a ghost, I think I can help Skye—if you are inside her.”
“I can’t do that.” She glanced at me. “I can’t go inside another person. That’s crazy. Not to mention disgusting. There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t, and there is no time to argue. Look at her. She’s starting to go through the ceiling. If she disappears from the house, there is nothing we can do.”
Addie clearly wanted to help, but not at the cost Lucas was requiring of her.
“Please, Grandma,” Kate asked. “Please save Mommy. I don’t want her to go away like Daddy did.”
I knew Addie couldn’t resist Kate’s plea. Her expression might be something she’d wear as she was contemplating picking up after a dog, but I knew she’d at least give it a try. I wasn’t sure it would work and cursed my stupidity for not telling Lucas what was happening to the other LEPs.
Why did I think I’d be immune?
“Okay. Okay. I’ll try it,” Addie said. “So what do I do? Do I have to go in through her mouth or her ear? Because I’m not going through the other area. I don’t care if she floats into space.”
“No. It doesn’t matter,” Lucas explained. “Remember when I showed you how to get inside the refrigerator without opening the door? That’s all you have to do. Don’t think of her as a person. Just hop inside and stay there for a moment to anchor her.”
Addie screwed up her face and did as he said. I could immediately tell the difference. I started coming down from the ceiling, feeling solid again. I wished Kate would go back to bed. I didn’t want her to see me this way.
“There.” Addie nodded my head. “I’m in her. It’s no picnic so whatever you’re going to do better be fast, sorcerer.”
Lucas smiled as he touched my hand. “That’s fine. You did exactly what I needed. You’re wonderfully strong now, Addie. You could do anything.”
“Quit the BS and get on with it. Have you ever been inside another person? You know I can’t take a shower anymore.”
“I need to talk to Skye so I can understand why this happened,” he said. “You’re the dominant spirit in this form. You’ll have to release some control for her to speak.”
“Sure. The first time I have the edge on her, and you want me to give it up.” She shrugged. “All right. If I can figure out how.”
“Say something, Skye,” Lucas said. “You should be able to speak and be heard.”
I tried to say something again, but nothing came out. I was worried about that last phase I’d seen Mr. Benton go through where he was simply not there anymore. I didn’t want to go out that way.
“Skye?” Lucas shook us.
“I’m here.” I spoke, but my voice was strange and unfamiliar. “I should’ve told you, but there was so much going on. This happened to one of Abe’s people today. He just became invisible and finally disappeared.”
“What did Abe do?”
“We all stood there and watched it happen. He didn’t know what to do. It’s never happened before. Lucky me, huh?”
I wondered if I looked like me or if I looked like Addie. Did I have Addie’s face with my nose? I couldn’t look down and see myself. I’d thought becoming a zombie was the weirdest thing that could happen to me. I was wrong.
“So he had no idea what was causing this or how to stop it?” Lucas’s brows knit together above his green eyes. “It seems to be a curse. It has to be anchored by something all of you share. I may not be able to reverse it. Without knowing the spell, it’s very difficult.”
He contemplated the problem at length until Addie took over the form we shared again.
“Kate, get up to bed right now. You still have school tomorrow.” It was Addie’s voice. “And Lucas, is this going to work or not? I can’t stay inside Skye forever.”
“I don’t want to go back to bed until I see what’s going to happen,” Kate argued.
“Your mother is going to be fine. Now go back to sleep.”
They finally agreed that Kate could sleep on the sofa in the family room. I could see her still watching us through the kitchen doorway.
“Well?” Addie addressed herself again to Lucas.
“I think I have the only possible answer,
” he said.
“I don’t care what it is,” Addie said. “Can you fix it or not?”
“I believe so, but it will take some risk.” Lucas stared into our eyes as though he was trying to see me inside Addie. “Let her speak again. She must make this decision.”
It was easier this time trading places with Addie. I found my voice and asked what he could do.
“I think the curse is on Abe’s mark upon your foot. If I remove that mark, you should be back to normal.”
“Normal? Like dead, but not dead?”
“Yes. But there is a chance that if I remove the mark, you will simply die.”
Chapter Seventeen
It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. If I stayed in this ghost form, I would definitely be gone. At least I had a chance with Lucas’s plan.
“Okay. But how are you going to remove it when I’m not solid. Can you remove a ghost tattoo?”
He shrugged. “If you’re asking me how it will work—I’m not sure. Magic put that tattoo on your foot. Magic should take it away.”
“Magic and a tattoo artist. He made the mark first and then Abe put the magic in it. Can you do that? Do we need to get someone from Deadly Ink to remake the mark?”
“I don’t think we have time for that. I shall create a magic mark that should sustain you. Do you want to try?”
It occurred to me again that Lucas had been practicing magic quite a bit more than he was letting on. He had control over what he was doing, even if it didn’t always quite work out the way he wanted.
I was scared, but he was right—I could feel that drifting feeling again even though Addie was inside of me. I didn’t have much time. I had to take a chance on his abilities, and hope he could keep me here.
“All right. Let’s do this. Can you close the kitchen door? I don’t want Kate to see me if it goes bad.”
He closed the door and returned, bowing his head to me. “On my honor, Skye Mertz, I will care for your family if this doesn’t work. I will not allow your daughter to be alone, hungry, or cold. She will not suffer for your death.”