Grave Danger

by K. E. Rodgers

  “Tell me everything, Corrigan.” Clarissa spoke his name, an ethereal light coming into her eyes as she said it.

  Corrigan walked beside her, keeping his distance, but remaining close all the same. He watched her intently as she seemed to hover above the ground. Clarissa didn’t seem quite real and yet she was more than tangible to him. Her hand accidentally brushed against his hand as her arm made a swing backwards.

  He captured her smaller hand within his warmer one. They were like fire and ice. His species was warm blooded, their metabolism on overhaul from a constant ingestion of hot flesh and blood. Her body, which though it wasn’t flesh and blood it was tangible and real, yet cool.

  Clarissa let him take her hand. If she had wanted to she could have easily pulled away. She didn’t want to. Wrapping her fingers more securely within his much warmer paw, she let these sweet secret moments take her away.

  “I was a sailor in life and there was no place I felt more at home than on the high seas.” Corrigan spoke a past he rarely ever dwelled on and never explained to another soul, living or otherwise. “Back in those days, they glamorized the sea life so much so that I couldn’t help but want to be on board the next ship heading west. There wasn’t much else for me to do. I knew I couldn’t go to university and I damn well wasn’t going to die on some factory line. So I joined the English Navy like all the other boys my age and planned to live the rest of my days at sea.”

  “I thought I would die at sea, pushed overboard to sink into the dark depths where I would be welcomed home. It didn’t work out that way. Instead I died on a beach on some small Caribbean island I can’t remember, and not gallantly I might add. Then someone had the nerve to bring me back. So here I stand an aberration to humanity.”

  Clarissa interrupted him. “How many years ago was this?” He couldn’t possibly be much older than her, but death was ever deceiving in these matters.

  “More years than I care to remember,” he grumbled.

  “You’re one of the ancients than too.” Her prediction was correct, he was likely much older than many of the Eidolon, excluding the council members. It might explain why he had a tendency to be grouchy and moody.

  “I’m not that old. I’m actually the youngest brother in the family.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to make himself feel younger. Corrigan knew he was old, as least when compared to someone as young as Clarissa.

  “If you hadn’t died all those years ago and you were walking around today, would you be over a hundred years old?”

  Clarissa could see him mulling over the question. In truth it didn’t matter how many more years he existed on this earth than her. Age was just a number to calculate the passage of time, it didn’t make a person. Granted though, if he looked as ancient as he seemed to be, she wasn’t sure she could so easily stick with the theory. However, in his deathly animated state, he retained the pleasures of youth. But it was superficial and only skin deep.

  “If I said yes, what would you say?”

  “I’d say you look good for your age, grandpa, and be done with it.”

  Corrigan frowned, not in the least pleased by her answer. “Wait a few decades, little girl, and then you won’t be so blasé about age. I’ve seen the ads your people put out in their circulation papers promoting creams and ointments for aged ghosts to help keep their radiant glows. That stuff doesn’t really work, you know?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make a joke about your age. Really, it doesn’t matter.” She pulled on the sleeve of her blouse. “At least you’re not some amorphous pile of non-corporal jelly made into something that resembles human.”

  Corrigan squeezed her cool flesh – or what was flesh on her – realizing for the first time that her existence was no easier than his. “No,” he answered, his voice drawling deep. “I’m an empty shell where a human soul used to live but doesn’t anymore. Your body may lack flesh and blood, but that is all I am – a body – there’s nothing good or redeeming inside me.” Maybe there never was, he thought.

  “I don’t believe that, not for a moment,” she contradicted. He wasn’t an empty shell, she had seen inside him, if for just a moment, and the truth was that there was more to Corrigan LeMoyne than flesh and blood. Somewhere in that bleak interior was a light; a heart in the spiritual as well the physical.

  He didn’t respond, letting the silence settle back between them like a wall. Clarissa wanted to argue the point further, but she felt he wasn’t quite ready to bear his heart to her. She couldn’t blame him. He would be ready soon enough.

  “I should take you home,” she said instead. Clarissa had been the one to move them from the bridge to the shores of the beach in a matter of seconds. She could easily do the same, traveling from the beach to the LeMoyne complex. Plus she rather enjoyed using her talents and watching the astonished expression on Corrigan’s face every time they manifested themselves into a new location.

  “Where do you live?” Clarissa asked as she found her slip-on shoes which were lined up next to his much larger sneakers. She watched him as he sat down in the sand to put them on.

  “I don’t think it would be a good idea if you followed me to the complex. You should probably head on back across the bridge. It’ll be daylight soon.” Already he could see the streaks in the sky, feel the light as it tried to penetrate through the darkness of nights blanket. In another hour or so it would be dawn, a time when his species rested and hers took control of the city.

  “You don’t trust me to be around your family.” Clarissa knew the truth when he continued tying his laces and refused to answer her.

  “You’re afraid I might hurt them. I wouldn’t, I hope you know that. I realize now that perhaps I was hasty to assume the worst from you.” Then a thought occurred to her. “Or you’re ashamed you might actually want to be friends with a ghost.”

  Finishing the last lace, Corrigan stood up, towering over her. Clarissa wasn’t overly tall for a human woman, but what she lacked in height she made up for in courage.

  “No, that’s not why I don’t want you to come home with me.”

  “Then why, do you think I’m some sort of spy for the Eidolon? I’m not,” she assured him. “Most of the council members don’t like me very much, nor do they trust me in the slightest. For what reason, I haven’t figured that out yet. But I plan to soon enough.”

  “I can’t blame them,” Corrigan remarked, rubbing the back of his head where it had made a solid contact with that cement piling. He wouldn’t have been surprised to find a crack in his skull. “You’re rather scary when you get agitated. But again, that is not the reason.”

  Clarissa folded her arms expectantly, waiting for him to explain himself. He knew she would continue to berate him with her trumped up theories until he finally gave in and told her the truth. She was entirely too stubborn for her own good; or his for that matter.

  “I can guarantee that you won’t be well received by my family. We haven’t had the best experiences with your kind in the past. I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt by simply being what you are.”

  A frown marred her pale glowing face, pulling at that enticing mouth again. “And what am I Corrigan? When you look at me what do you see?”

  Corrigan reached out with his left hand, finding her cool colorless cheek. At his touch he could see the color change, becoming pink and almost fleshy in a very human way.

  She watched his movements hesitantly as he drew a line along her high cheek bone to the corner of her mouth leaving that trail of color in his wake. And somewhere deep inside himself he felt a stirring, his heart which beat so infrequently began to make a steady pulse. And then he felt it, the light that always seemed to elude his body, flickered on and off as it grew. It was her inside him, he knew it. Only Clarissa could stand to see the ugliness inside him and wish to remain.

  Clarissa was the light, the soul inside him that made him whole. She was the only person in his entire existence who had ever willingly given him a piece of their se
lf. He couldn’t do anything but give something of himself in return.

  Bending forward so that she could see the sincerity in his eyes, he told her what he saw when he looked at her.

  “You are a woman whose soul shines brighter than the sun and with far more promise for the creatures of this earth. There isn’t anything about you that is ugly or amorphous and you’re far from unappealing. I’m not ashamed to know you. You’re far more likely to be shamed at knowing a creature like me. You might have been my families enemy, but you’re not mine; not anymore.”

  Clarissa touched the warm hand that still hovered over her skin, pulling it away. “You’re very sweet when you put your mind to it.”

  “I’m not trying to be sweet, I’m being honest, Clarissa.” He brought his hand back to move a piece of her dark hair which had fallen over her forehead. It still amazed him that despite her nature, she felt so real to the touch. He let his finger once again brush against the cold flesh of her forehead. And once again it glowed beneath his touch.

  Clarissa took his hand away from her face, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “I’m dead,” she said in a flat voice.

  Corrigan looked down at her, those iridescent blue eyes revealing that spark of light he kept hidden inside. Without the slightest inflection in his voice he spoke, “So am I.”

  Chapter 15-

  “This has got to be the stupidest idea ever created,” Corrigan complained as he and Clarissa stood just outside the LeMoyne complex. She had moved them from the beach to the high coquina walls that surrounded his home. By simply placing a geographical image of it in his mind she had been able to decipher the complex’s location precisely.

  “Normally I think I would agree,” Clarissa commented as she looked around at the dense forest that obscured the complex from curious eyes. “But for some reason I’m feeling a bit reckless. Besides, no ghost around can gloat that they’ve been inside the belly of the beast and survived. This is like going into the wilds of Africa and studying the natives. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.”

  Corrigan rubbed aggressively at his forehead. He wasn’t sure which one of them was crazier, he for letting her convince him to show her his home, or her, for even wanting to see inside the ‘belly of the beast’ as she so quaintly euphemized the lairs of the flesh-eaters. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sneak her inside the walls. The minute they passed through the gates, his family would know.

  “You are reckless, there’s no denying that.” Corrigan pushed in a sequence of numbers on a digital pad set inside the stone wall hidden by a leafy branch. In a matter of seconds the steel gates opened to reveal the interior of the complex.

  He turned to Clarissa, assessing her as a psychiatrist might assess a person with suicidal tendencies. She certainly must be if she believed that his family wouldn’t react to her presence in their home as a threat. He was preparing himself for a most difficult confrontation.

  “You’re sure about this. I wouldn’t blame you if you went home right now. In fact I think that would be preferable.”

  “Get over yourself, Corrigan,” she said, taking a first step inside the gates, “I’d like to ask your family what they think about the attacks on the livings in the city. Perhaps one of them might have an idea who is responsible.”

  “I highly doubt any of them do,” he argued as he walked in beside her into the complex. Gravel trails led through the open plan design, leading to the different houses or to the many gardens throughout. “We only travel across the bride at night and then stay on the mainland a few hours before returning home. My family and I have only one mission when we cross the bridge and that is not to socialize with every supernatural creature we pass.”

  “Maybe you don’t know the members of your family as well as you think. They might not share everything with you, just as I’m sure you don’t share yourself too freely with them.”

  Corrigan didn’t have a response for that. Ambrose had kept the secret of his meeting with the Eidolon councilmember to himself. What other secrets did his brothers and sisters keep from him? And then a terrible thought came to him. Could one of his brothers or sisters be responsible for the deaths of these livings? He hadn’t wanted to believe them capable; they knew the price such a kill would cost them all. But when the beast inside them ruled, common sense was pushed aside for the thrill of the kill.

  As if sensing his thoughts, Clarissa touched the back of his hand. “I don’t think your family is responsible. It seems too easy to blame them and I think that’s what makes me suspicious. There is something more to these kills than just taking a life. The way they were displayed, left out to be found, it was a blatant sign that someone wants to stir up trouble.”

  “But you don’t know who. It could just as easily be a member of my family and the rest of us aren’t aware of it.”

  A figure stepped out from behind a large oak tree. It was evident by the expression on his darkly handsome face that he wasn’t pleased to find either of them walking the grounds. Chas had the notable distinction of being both taller and physically stronger than Clarissa, but she knew that despite that advantage, she was the stronger of the two. She wasn’t afraid of him, or his family.

  Ambrose is waiting inside the main house for you,” Chas spoke, turning to give Clarissa a chilling stare before continuing, “both of you.”

  Chas didn’t care for this ghost girl one bit and her interference in his brother’s life, or theirs for that matter, was dangerous for all. Corrigan was more than a fool to bring her inside their home. Much to his disappointment he could already see something irrevocable was playing its way into all their lives. The way his brother took a step to stand defensively between himself and the ghost solidified in Chas’s mind the truth that Corrigan was quickly falling for the wrong kind of woman.

  “She’s not here to make a scene. Clarissa just wants…” His words were quickly cut off by his brother’s harsh words.

  “Clarissa,” he spoke her name with such rancor, “So now it has a name. She doesn’t belong on our property and you’re the biggest idiot dead or alive to bring her here. What the hell were you thinking?”

  Then an evil light came into his sparkling green eyes. “Oh, I know. You’ve started to have some sick fascination with dead chicks, necrophilia tendencies and you want to know what’s going on underneath that skirt. Most likely she’s as cold in bed as any other corpse in the grave.”

  It was too much. Corrigan understood his brother’s anger against the ghost population at large. They’d been snide bastards to them all, but that didn’t give Chas the right to insult Clarissa who hadn’t been a member of her community long enough to be aligned with the two-faced creatures. She was innocent of their crimes against his kind and he wouldn’t allow, even his brother and closest friend, to make crude remarks about her.

  Chas continued to taunt them. “Maybe she doesn’t even have the necessary parts. Likely she’s like some androgynous doll under her clothes; too prudish to even have the basic equipment.”

  In one unbelievable move Chas found himself flat on his back in the soft grass, his brother’s angry face looming just inches above his. The beast inside Corrigan opened his mouth revealing teeth that could splinter bone and tear flesh in a matter of seconds. Fingers pressed strongly down onto Chas’s windpipe as his brother growled like a feral animal.

  Corrigan rarely got angry and he had never attacked any of them, not even Xavier who on more than one occasion deserved to have a sound beating from someone. The puny conquistador had more than once nearly severed his head with one of his antique swords. The man still believed he was a soldier in the eighteenth century and he took any opportunity to test out his skills on anyone he thought deserved to be challenged. But Corrigan always readily accepted his brother’s challenges of skill and never complained when Xavier blatantly cheated.

  Chas grabbed for his throat, pulling at his brothers hands which were clenched tightly around it. Their eyes met in challenge. Chas knew
Corrigan would never kill him, but this was Corrigan’s way of showing whose side he now preferred. It wasn’t his.

  “Get the hell off me, Cor,” Chas barked, still trying to release Corrigan’s fingers from around his neck. Placing a little more pressure on his esophagus Corrigan let go.

  Chas reacted instantly, pushing at his brother’s chest and rolling out from under him. Quickly finding his feet again, he glared down at Corrigan as he remained sitting in the grass looking down at the ground.

  Wiping the grass from his backside, he glared evilly at Clarissa before turning his attention to his best friend and closest brother.

  “Shit,” he expelled. “You’ve really gone over the edge haven’t you? You weigh more than a fucking elephant by the way. Lay off eating the chunky ones for awhile, it goes straight to your ass.”

  Chas rubbed his neck where Corrigan’s fingers had bit into his flesh. He could still feel the heat from his near strangulation. “Man, I hope you know what you’re doing with her.” He refused to say Clarissa’s name. Giving her a name gave her respect, and she didn’t deserve his yet.

  Chas walked away from them, mumbling under his breath as he walked the distance to the main house. Already his brothers and sisters were waiting inside to meet one of their most hated enemies. Clarissa wasn’t just a whiny good-for-nothing ghost girl, she was a death bokor. It had taken Chas awhile to realize that, but when he did he knew that his family’s very existence was at stake. And Corrigan was fraternizing with the enemy.

  Corrigan watched his brother stalk off as he sat in the grass. He had attacked his brother and all because Chas had insulted the woman he cared for. And it was the truth. He was finding himself quickly falling for the enemy. She may not know it yet or share his feelings, but he had been around this world long enough to know that Clarissa was a rare jewel among deceiving rocks.

  Clarissa knelt down in the soft grass beside Corrigan. She touched his shoulder gently. He had stood up to Chas’s crude words and for her he had attacked his brother and friend. She could easily see the turmoil inside him. He was torn between his family’s bitterness toward her kind and his own feelings for her. Clarissa was surprised to learn that there were such tender feelings for her; she certainly was growing fond of him. At every turn he seemed to contradict her hastily got presumptions about his kind, as he was likely finding the same in her.