A Rose by Any Other Name (Haunted Series Book 18)

by Alexie Aaron

“I made you pictures to take to Daddy.”

  Mia looked at the colorful drawings. Though Brian may be advanced mentally, his motor skills were high but still in line with other one-year-olds. “They’re beautiful.”

  Brian yawned again.

  “Would you like to take a nap?”

  “Will you be here when I wake up?” he asked.

  “Unless Daddy or my boss calls, yes,” Mia promised. “I’m going to take a nap too,” she explained.

  The two walked to the guestroom where Ralph had set up a very impressive crib/bed for Brian. Mia lifted her son, whom she swore had grown several inches and several pounds in the week they had been in Chicago. She tucked him in and watched as his eyes closed. She studied his face. She saw a lot of Ted in that face, and this made her very happy. Oh, she supposed that Brian may wish otherwise when he’s a preteen, but Mia would make sure that he was raised with a good self-esteem.

  She pulled the duvet cover back and slipped under the covers. Mia was asleep moments after her head hit the pillow.

  “Hello, Mia,” Sariel said.

  Mia looked around her and found she was soaring above the clouds. “Are you in my dream, or have I been kidnapped?”

  “You’re hardly a kid,” Sariel said. “You’re dreaming.”

  “Good, because I’m worn out. I haven’t slept well since we left the farm,” she admitted.

  “Tell me…” Sariel encouraged. He listened to her explanation. “Thorn seems like a deceitful ghost. Your judge was right to warn you.”

  “My judge? Why does he… oh, nevermind,” Mia said as she and Sariel broke through the last layer of clouds. “I take it this isn’t a social call. Am I needed?” she asked.

  “No, Mia. I’ve come to tell you that Father Alessandro’s health is rapidly failing. He soon will be called into the light. Tomas’s thoughts are with you. Come.”

  Mia flew with Sariel to the parish house where the priest had chosen to spend his last days. She saw Father Santos at his side. Nancy, Tomas’s loyal secretary, was crying. There were several other men and women who Mia didn’t know.

  Sariel put a hand on Father Santos’s shoulder. The priest seemed to sense their presence. “May I have a moment alone with Tomas?” he asked the others.

  When the room had cleared, Sariel let Santos see him and Mia.

  “Mia!” he said excitedly. “You came.”

  “Your prayers brought her here,” Sariel said. “I will leave you now. Mia, touch your wing when you are ready to leave,” he said.

  Mia nodded. She moved to Alessandro’s bedside. “Father, I am here,” she said quietly.

  Father Alessandro opened his eyes and gazed upon Mia. He took in her astral form. Her wings were luminous, but her moss-green eyes were filled with the pain of losing him.

  “Mia, don’t weep for me. I have had a marvelous life. Paolo and I have had a lot of adventures. Didn’t we?”

  “Yes, Tomas,” Santos said.

  “I got to see you bloom into what I saw when I first held your hand. I am proud of the woman you’ve become. I won’t be around to counsel you. Seek out your angels or Santos now.”

  “Yes, Father. I will miss you terribly.”

  He smiled. “I will soon be seeing old friends, but I promise I will not forget those that I leave behind here. You take care of Paolo. See that he gets a good steak now and then. Don’t play cards with him. He cheats.”

  Mia heard Santos start to object but held his tongue.

  “Trust your heart, Mia. Through all the changes you’ve gone through, your heart has remained true to love. It has made you brave to protect the innocent and cross the lost. You are small, but you are mighty. Go now. Don’t weep for me.”

  “Yes, Father.” Mia leaned down and placed a kiss upon the dying man’s forehead. “I will hold you in my heart and think of you often. Goodbye, Tomas Alessandro,” Mia said. She looked over at Santos and nodded before she touched her wing and disappeared.

  Mia woke up to see her son standing in his crib looking over at her.

  “I’m sorry, Brian, did you call me?” she asked.

  “No, Mommy. You were glowing.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “I saw an angwell.”

  “Angel.”

  “Angel,” Brian said. “I like angwell better.”

  “Well, then between you and me, I like angwell too.”

  Brian giggled. He reached his arms out, and Mia picked him up. She walked over to the overstuffed chair in the corner and sat down with her son.

  “Tell me about Daddy and Murphy saving you,” Brian said.

  “Which time? There were so many,” Mia asked.

  “In the well.”

  “Oh, that is a scary story. Are you old enough?” Mia asked.

  Brian held out one finger and said. “I’m almost one.”

  “Hmmm. Once upon a time Mia, that’s me, walked into trouble. She didn’t know she was walking into trouble until she was knee-deep in it.”

  “Trouble,” Brian said, nodding.

  “A very bad man picked up Mia and tossed her in a well. When you fall into water from so very high up, it feels like cement when you hit it. I was hurt very badly. A kind crab named Jonas pulled me from the water and kept me company until Murphy found me. Soon I was going to be in heaven, but Murphy said, “No!” He put his hand…” Mia picked up Brian’s hand, “…and placed it on my heart and squeezed it, making it beat again. Your daddy climbed down into the well and picked me up and carried me up to the top to your uncles, or I would have eventually died down there. It would have been me, Murphy, and Jonas stuck in the well.”

  “What happened to the bad man?”

  “He had to face justice. I think he’s in jail. He was very confused and dangerous. He won’t be hurting anyone again.”

  “What happened to Jonas?”

  “His mother came and took him and his brother to heaven with her.”

  “Daddy’s Batman.”

  “Oh yes, your daddy is Batman,” Mia said, hugging her son.

  ~

  Ted sensed Cid’s frustration and turned to Thorn and said, “Enough.”

  Cid looked at Ted and nodded his appreciation.

  “Time for everyone to take a break,” he said.

  Thorn glared at him.

  “We have the time. We might as well do it correctly. Tired minds equal errors.”

  Murphy could tell that the ghost didn’t like not being in charge. Thorn probably didn’t work well with Edison’s crew either.

  Upstairs, Mike waited for his mother’s arrival. He wanted her to see what they had accomplished and what was still left. Part of him felt guilty. If he hadn’t been spending so much of his spare time with Meg in Chicago, his mother wouldn’t have needed to move to this city to be nearer to him.

  “You’re pretty quiet,” Audrey said, walking into the kitchen.

  “I was thinking about my mother. I’ve not been a good son.”

  “Nonsense. You’re a very good son. It’s hard being an only child.”

  “Seems to me that you fall into that category, Ms. soon-to-be Mrs. Birdman.”

  Audrey giggled. “I haven’t told my mother yet.”

  “Having second thoughts?”

  “Oh no, this is something you tell a mom in person.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Mike, this house has been sitting here preying upon the populace for more than a century. I think we were meant to find it.”

  “I think it was meant to trap your soon to be granddaughter.”

  Audrey wrinkled her nose, not at being called Mia’s grandmother, but she sensed Mike was correct. “But how many pieces would have to fall into place to get Mia here? And why? She’s no longer hunted by the demons. She lost that demon part of her. She’s decided to fly for the good guys, so there’s no need to trap her to convince her otherwise. It really doesn’t make any sense.”

  “How much sense did it make for Roumain to use Beth to make Mi
a fly so she would be strong enough to rescue his wife? These beings sit and play this long chess game, using us for what, their own amusement?”

  “Speaking as one of those beings,” Orion said from behind Mike, “I think this was more happenstance than a plan. Mia being here was unfortunate for Miss Renee and for Dr. Rose, and our interference is not for our amusement. The birdmen and angels were given the honor of watching over the human race. Our existence has been pushed off into dark dirty corners. People have become too entitled to believe in God and magic anymore. But still we watch. We intervene only when we see something is going horribly wrong. And sometimes we are too late.” Orion’s face filled with the personal remembrances of the World Wars.

  “The human race is like a small child, hellbent on getting what it wants, without caring why it’s bad for them. Some are greedy, hateful, power-seeking creatures who don’t need to be seduced by demons to turn into monsters. But then there are the people who pick themselves up over and over again to help their neighbors, sending what they can spare to those in need. They keep us hopeful that these beings can pull themselves out of the downward spiral they are in.”

  “It’s that bad?” Mike asked.

  “It has never been worse,” Orion said. “Creatures like Roumain are leaving the security of their domains in order to help balance the world. I’m not talking just good and evil, but the actual planet on which we live is in jeopardy.”

  “Roumain sure did a number on Mia and Ted…”

  “About that,” Audrey interrupted. “I’ve had some time to think about it. Mia and Ted were destined to be together. The universe found a man who was raised in the pages of superhero comic books. Who else would see Mia as the wonder she is? She’s his superhero. He’s hers. The two together have faced so much and have come out stronger. Judge Roumain knew they would survive. He also knew that Beth had been planning Mia’s demise since the day she met her. If you want proof, Mike, look at the old PEEPs research papers. Look at her scrawl in the margins. Some people need others to blame for their own failings. Mia was Beth’s.”

  “Mia is the result of generations of planning,” Orion stated. “She’s part of the long game. When she seemed to have beaten the freakiness of her gifts, another appeared. It’s like someone slowly flipping switches. I’m part of the long game. I slept with her grandmother, which brought on her father. The angel DNA came from Amanda of all people. The superhuman gene has just been activated. It was a backup if she were to lose the demon gene. That gene was over-nourished accidently by Sariel and had to be extinguished. Even supreme entities make errors.”

  “Why did Mia need the demon gene?” Audrey asked.

  “To make her brave. This was before Ted came along. Mia was tortured by her peers, ignored by the people who raised her. She had to fend mostly for herself. To endure this kind of torture, you need a thick skin. There is no thicker hide than a demon’s,” Orion told them.

  Mike and Audrey were silent for a moment.

  “How do you feel, being used this way?” Mike asked Orion.

  “I’ve never thought about it. I was, as they say, gobsmacked when I found out about Mia’s and my connection. I was also saddened that Charles and I were kept apart. Fredericka’s last husband pushed Bev away and influenced Charles’s actions. He did what he thought was right, to protect them, but as we’ve seen with Mia, it only hurts and pushes them away.”

  Ted and Cid came into the kitchen.

  “I’ve just got word that Mia is bringing us pizzas and salads… for the rabbits, I guess. Anyway, can I help clear the table?” Ted asked.

  Audrey popped up and gathered her books and papers.

  Mike got rid of the bits and bobs, fast food wrappers and other things that just seemed to pile up when they were investigating. His stomach twisted as Thorn entered the room. The ghost was still maintaining his manifestation, drawing power from the electricity of the house. Mike blocked his mind quickly as he felt the ghost probing. Mia didn’t trust this entity and neither did he. What they were going to do about him was another matter.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Mia’s taxi drove into the plowed driveway. The driver helped her inside with her stack of pizza boxes. She thanked the woman and gave her a tip.

  “Hello?” she called, puzzled by the empty kitchen. She walked into the butler’s pantry and found it empty with the exception of Jake who was flashing information at Mia at an alarming rate. Glenda had arrived and insisted on seeing the mechanical room for herself. The others were busy checking the weak points in the house.

  “Phew!” she said, picking up the headset of power. “Attention, PEEPs, dinner will be served on the lido deck. Bring your sunscreen. The sun has made an appearance. Over.”

  Cid was first to arrive. “Mia, a lido deck refers to…”

  Mia stuffed a piece of pizza in his mouth. “Chew, thank you. Next!”

  Ted swept her up into his arms and kissed her before he too would be silenced by a slice of pizza. Mia felt his chest, making sure he still had on the cross. She looked over at Cid and wondered if he too would need protection.

  Dieter walked in. He took two slices of pizza and sat down on the kitchen counter.

  Audrey and Orion walked in, followed by Burt.

  “Mike is holed up in the library with Glenda,” Burt said. “Murphy is downstairs with Thorn.”

  “Thorn’s dangerous. All of us should wear a symbol of faith to stop him from possessing us.” Mia drew out a cross, Ralph had insisted she borrow. “I’ve asked Father Santos to stay in town just in case we need him. He’s watching over Father Alessandro, who will be leaving us soon,” Mia said evenly. She had been fighting her grief for some time, and she was determined she wouldn’t cave now.

  “It’s so sad,” Audrey said. “He’s a good man, difficult to pin down, but I think he liked being difficult.”

  Cid put his finger on his nose. “You’re right. I think he wanted us to work harder, use our minds more, instead of feeding us the information.”

  “Mia, do you need to be with him?” Ted asked.

  “No, I said my goodbyes. Thank you. I will cover for anyone who does want to go. You should go soon. How’s the pizza?” she asked Cid.

  “Wonderful. Aside from a remembered slice I had when I was in New York City as a child, I think this is the best pizza.”

  “It all depends on your tastes. I like the stuffed variety…” Mia said, her voice drifting off in thought.

  The group fell into discussions about pizza. Orion added some interesting history on the food. Burt sat back and watched them, amused.

  Mike and Glenda strolled in. Mike’s face was red. Mia sensed that there may be some conflict between him and Glenda. Glenda, however, looked calm, exuding charm and the scent of a fine bourbon. Mia found herself enveloped in a hearty hug.

  “Tell me, how is our Brian?” she asked.

  “He’s keeping Ralph on his toes. Bernard promised to take him to the museum, which reminds me… Dieter, Brian asked me if you wanted to go to the science museum with them?”

  “Yes. I would like that. Would you be going?”

  Mia looked around. Everyone in that room knew she would rather pluck out all her feathers than go. “I’m a coward when it comes to that museum,” she admitted. “However, Ted, loves it. My godfather can get you guys behind the scenes on some of the exhibits if you’re interested.”

  Dieter nodded. “It’s the dead and the dead’s things, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “I understand that.”

  “Where are the souls you caught?” Mia asked.

  “We took them to the PEEPs command truck. They don’t feel the cold. I think it’s best if we keep them there. This house isn’t a good place for transitioning souls.”

  “Tell me more, young man,” Glenda said.

  “Mother,” Mike started, “this is Dieter. He has a special talent for calling souls. Dieter, this is my mother and provisional owner of this house, Glenda D
upree.”

  “There are souls trapped in the house. I can feel them, but I can’t find them. The very bricks of which this house is made are different.”

  “Are we still talking another dimension?” Glenda asked.

  “No, here but not here,” he said.

  “Not another one,” Mike said. “Mia’s, ‘dead, but not dead dead, just sorta dead,’ drives me insane.”

  “It works for me, Dupree,” Mia said, winking at Dieter. “I’d like to see what Murphy says. I have a feeling that Thorn’s process may have inadvertently caught the spirits or maybe he did this on purpose. I really wish I paid attention in physics.”

  Ted’s jaw dropped open. “Mia Martin, you took physics?”

  “Yes, I didn’t do well, but I took the course.”

  “You’re constantly surprising me,” Ted said to his wife.

  “Why did you take physics?” Cid asked.

  “I wanted answers. Not surprisingly, physics disproves most of what I was seeing. For instance, Murphy shouldn’t be able to walk through a wall. He does. And I won’t get into why it should be impossible for me to manifest wings or have an out of body experience. But I do.”

  “Maybe physics helps explains magic,” Dieter said.

  “From the mouths of… highly enlightened teenagers,” Orion edited.

  “Ahem, earthlings, I can explain all to Glenda the good witch,” Jake called from the command post in Marvin the Martian’s voice

  Cid ran into the pantry and returned with the Bluetooth monitor.

  On the monitor, Marvin stood next to a whiteboard. Displayed on the board was a representation of what was once Thornrose outlined in red. Beside the house, he had drawn a big square that was shaded gray by a series of close black lines.

  He picked up an old-fashioned pointer and started speaking, “Here is Thornrose. While the 1871 fire was blazing, Richard Thorn started a process to move this house into this dimension.” The little Martian picked up Thornrose and started sliding it into the gray area of the whiteboard. “But something failed. The essence and the people who were residing in the house got sucked into a pocket between dimensions.” He twisted Thornrose sideways and shoved it between the original foundations of the house and the target dimension. “It was assumed that the house had burned down and all was lost. Thorn built what would later be named Roustan Rose over Thornrose’s foundations. The skeleton of the present house now stands on the old foundations. He made Roustan Rose part of his interdimensional machine. He hasn’t said, but I think his intent is to move this house into the dimension he originally wanted Thornrose to be in. But he died before he could complete his experiment.”