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

by Alexie Aaron

  “Richard Thorn’s spirit is here and says he can free the souls. It’s either a lie or he may know where the bones are from Renee’s kills and assumes the souls are with them. I’ve been there, and the remains have no spirits attached to them. But I now know where they are,” Mia said excitedly.

  The light moved out of Mia’s hand and back into the jar. Dieter put the lid on. Mia opened her eyes and asked Burt, “Did you film the rooms on the second floor?” she asked.

  “Every room,” he said. “Jake, bring up the second-floor tour tape. Which room?”

  “The room with the break inside the closet.”

  Jake pulled up the tape. Mike and Audrey were talking about the furnishings of the large room. They assumed, incorrectly, that it was an adult’s room because of the items on the shelves. Burt focused in on the coffee service and cups.

  “Come on, I know it’s there,” Mia said, wringing her hands.

  Burt panned over to another shelf, and there is stood.

  “How could I have been so blind?” Mia scolded herself. “Burt, that bowl is a vessel that a soul eater uses to contain their prey.”

  Mia connected into Ted’s earcom. “Teddy Bear, come in please. Over.”

  “This is Ted. Over.”

  “Send Murphy to the second floor. Tell him that Renee Roustan was a soul eater. He’ll understand. Over.”

  “Will do. Over.”

  “Ted, one more thing. Stall Thorn. Over.”

  “Understood. Over.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Mia knocked on the door, and Audrey opened it, her face flushed.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I need something from this room,” Mia said.

  “Come on in. Orion is napping.”

  “So that’s what you kids are calling it these days,” Mia said. She walked into the room. Murphy followed her in. She pointed to the bowl on the top shelf. “Tell me, Murph, what does that remind you of?”

  Murphy floated up and took hold of the bowl and brought it down to Mia. “Soul eater.”

  “I saw it in Thornrose, and it didn’t even register.”

  “I was in here four times since and didn’t think about it,” Murphy said.

  “Okay, you two, what’s going on?” Orion asked from the bed.

  “This,” Mia held up the bowl, “is used by a soul eater to store their food, also known as souls.”

  “How do we get into it? It’s not activated,” Murphy pointed out.

  “I know how to activate it, but I’m fearful I will bring a soul eater into the world. Too dangerous,” Mia said.

  “I may be able to help you there,” Orion said. “There are other incantations you can use. One of them may just be written under the low shelf.”

  Mia walked over and bent down and looked at the incantation carved into the oak. “How ever did you…”

  “It’s a benefit of being small. It translates to something akin to ‘open says me.’”

  “I used to think it was open sesame,” Mia admitted. “Well, I think we’ll take this and that shelf.”

  Murphy pushed the curios off the shelf onto the floor and yanked the shelf off the wall.

  “Smooth move, Exlax,” Mia said, shaking her head. “You can take the farmer out of the field but…”

  Murphy glared at her and brought up her recent foibles as they walked out of the room.

  Orion helped Audrey pick up the antiques before following the arguing duo down the stairs.

  Mia set the bowl on the kitchen table. “Do you want me to OOB in?”

  “No, I’ll go. If I don’t come out in five minutes, come after me,” Murphy said.

  “May I make a suggestion?” Dieter asked, after being brought up to speed on what Mia and Murphy were attempting to do.

  “Sure,” Mia said.

  “Take Herbert Morrison. Genteel people aren’t going to follow a farmer with an axe. His wife may also be of help.”

  “What if his wife isn’t in there?” Mia asked.

  “He’s a gentleman; he will still finish the job. He is an honorable man,” Audrey said. “His journal conveyed his sense of responsibility.”

  “Is this okay with you, Murph?” Mia asked.

  “I’m not a rube,” Murphy pouted.

  “I know, but people go by appearances. You’re a handsome farmer in their eyes. The men would be shielding the women, and the succubus…”

  “Say no more,” he said, remembering his misadventure at the cereal factory.

  Cid had called for all hands on deck. Ted walked in followed by Thorn. Mia waited until everyone was there before explaining, “This is a portal to a soul eater’s lair. Renee wasn’t a classic soul eater, but she did enjoy torturing the undead by chewing on their souls.”

  Mike cringed.

  “I had my soul ripped out of my physical body, and the pain involved is horrendous,” Mia shared. “I think Renee discovered the use of the portal and quite possibly used it to store the souls of the innocents she involved in her games and the monsters she victimized in the pocket dimension. All souls deserve the opportunity to be judged. After I open the portal, Murphy is going to attempt to coax the souls out with the help of the lead shadow man, Herbert Morrison. Only a spirit can enter and leave the portal. The beings that will come out of it may look alive, but I assure you, they are just specters.”

  “How dangerous is this for us?” Mike asked.

  “For the living, possible possession. Mr. Thorn, you may want to stand clear. The souls that were harvested retain their memories, and if any knew your part in their situation, they may retaliate.”

  “I will guide them to the entrance hall, and hopefully, the light will come for them,” Dieter said. “If you haven’t experienced a mass exodus, you’re in for an awesome show.”

  “I’m in,” Ted said. Cid followed suit. The others nodded.

  “I’ll return to the basement,” Thorn said.

  “I respect that. Are you sure you don’t want to go into the light?” Mia asked. “Your eternity could be filled with inventions and the company of the greatest minds in history.”

  “I’m not finished here,” he said and disappeared.

  Mia took a cup and filled it with tap water. She poured it into the bowl. She next sliced her palm and squeezed blood into the bowl. She looked at the strange language, silently mouthing the words, hoping to say them correctly.

  Dieter walked over and took a long look at the carved words. “Mia, I can read the words. They are in an old form of a language that I am familiar with. I will whisper in your ear the pronunciation, so you can repeat them aloud in order to do the conjuring.”

  Mia said the incantation with a bravado she hoped would hide her fear of the bowl.

  Dieter translated them for the others, “Open the hut of where my treasure is kept. Open the lodge where souls reside. Open the door so I may take them deep inside.”

  “Creepy,” Cid said under his breath.

  The water in the bowl started to move counterclockwise. The blood moved with the current before mixing with the rising water. Mia nodded to Murphy. He moved above the bowl, and as he lowered himself, Dieter opened his hand and the light that was Herbert Morrison perched on Murphy’s shoulder. Together they entered the portal. Mia looked down, and the water had stilled.

  Murphy moved aside to let Morrison become the man he once was. Together, they stood and squinted into the blinding whiteness.

  “It’s the white shells. Soon your eyes will become accustomed,” Murphy promised.

  The white became mist, and out of the mist walked a woman. She moved in front of Morrison and asked, “Herbert, is that you?”

  “My darling, yes, it’s me.”

  “I couldn’t believe my eyes. We all saw two men float down from above, but one looked very familiar.”

  “This is my friend Murphy. We have come to get you out of here.”

  “Is this a trick by that horrid little girl?” Charlotte asked.

  “No, Renee is
no more. We are to gather all who are here and guide them out of this place and into the light.”

  “So it is true, we are all dead,” Charlotte acknowledged.

  “Yes, for well over a hundred years. Our eternity awaits,” Morrison said, taking his wife’s arm gently. “There is nothing I want more than to spend my eternity with you, Charlotte.”

  “I can’t help what I am, Herbert.”

  “I know that now.”

  Charlotte walked away from them. “Come, gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to the others.”

  Murphy didn’t know what to expect. He thought it would be twenty, possibly two dozen souls. What he saw staggered him. Thirty-nine men, women and children stared back at him. Charlotte told the crowd that they were being freed from their prison. “We have a chance to meet our maker and join our families in the heaven of our choice. All are welcome.”

  “Please hold on to the hand of the person next to you. I will lead the way,” Murphy instructed. “Herbert, will you stay at the end so we can know when we need to close the portal?”

  “Yes.”

  Mia looked at the time. “Orion, I may need your help,” she cautioned. She reached down into the bowl. Ted put his hands around her waist. She submerged her head and shoulders. Mia caught ahold of the handle of Murphy’s axe and pulled upward until she had his hand. She then pushed away from the bowl.

  Murphy came out of the water. Another spirit came after him, and another and another until Mrs. Morrison and, finally, Herbert climbed out of the bowl and into the kitchen.

  “Come,” Dieter said before he clicked and clucked his tongue. The ghosts became orbs and followed the soul catcher into the other room.

  Mia picked up the bowl and drank the contents down, returning her blood to herself and closing the portal. She looked at Orion. “This needs to go to the Dark Vault.”

  “I agree.”

  Mia walked with her husband, hand in hand, down the hall and out into the big room. Lights danced in anticipation. Dieter opened his jar and let Katherine loose. She seemed to find two other lights, and the trio of orbs spun around in the joy of being reunited.

  Mia looked up but didn’t see the light. She walked over to Dieter. “Perhaps if we call it together?” Mia took Dieter’s hand, and they closed their eyes and thought about the light.

  Burt adjusted the lens as the ceiling seemed to open up above them. He had heard about this heavenly light but never had seen, let alone filmed, it. “Wow.”

  Mia didn’t need to say a word. The lights moved upward into the descending light. Dieter let go of her hand. He clicked and clucked until all were moving in a steady line.

  Mia looked over at her husband and saw Thorn appear behind him. She moved quickly to Ted’s side. The ghost was moving into Ted’s body. Mia shouted, “No!” as she caught hold of the spirit around the waist and pulled hard.

  Murphy moved to Ted and pulled his body from the opposite direction.

  Mike, who had the handheld camera, couldn’t believe what he was seeing through the viewer. Mia and Murphy were having some kind of tug-of-war with Ted and a black misty spirit between them. Mia produced her wings and yanked hard. Thorn, who could no longer hold on, let go suddenly, and the two of them flew backwards with such velocity that the air around them screamed in protest.

  The rebound knocked Mia, who was holding tightly to Thorn, into the light.

  Ted watched helplessly as Mia spun upwards and disappeared into the light, still holding on to the twisting black mass that was Richard Thorn. “Mia! No!” he cried.

  Murphy moved upwards giving chase, but the light had already left. He hit the ceiling and ended up in the attic. He dropped back down, shaking his head.

  “The light claimed her,” Orion said sadly. “It has always wanted her. Now…”

  “No, this isn’t possible,” Audrey argued. “She’s not dead.”

  Dieter looked around and sensed the confusion. He saw guilt start to claim his new friends and had to do something. “PEEPs, I believe she will find a way back to us. Mia is strong. Your love for her has made her mighty. Don’t give up.”

  Mia continued to spin higher and higher. Thorn was fighting her still. “Let go, let go!” he shouted.

  “If I’m going, you’re going,” Mia said and doubled her grip. She adjusted her wings to stop the spinning. She tried to beat her wings to pull away from the light, but she was in too deep. The current of souls moving upwards was too strong. “If I were you, Richard, I’d start praying for forgiveness to whatever deity you believe in.”

  “Science.”

  “Science isn’t going to save you. Try again. Try to remember that you’re not a god, that you were made by someone or something else. Remember back to when you had to decide who would be your mother…”

  Amanda flashed before Mia. “Forgive me, Mother, for not understanding that you weren’t whole. You did the best you could. Forgive my selfishness.” Angelo was next. “I’m sorry, Angelo, for not being the warrior you wanted me to be.” Father Alessandro stood before her. “I’m sorry, Tomas, for my impatience and selfish needs.”

  “Mia, let go of Richard Thorn. He has another path to follow,” Father Alessandro instructed.

  Mia opened her eyes wide. Alessandro wasn’t just an image of her guilty conscience; he was real. She let go of Thorn and watched as a large hand snatched him from the light.

  “Reaper,” she identified, watching the massive hand take him away into the darkness.

  “Your bringing him into the light was causing some problems. They had to call in a heavy,” Alessandro said.

  Mia looked around her, and she and the priest weren’t moving upwards anymore. They floated while the ascending souls continued to move by them.

  “What happens now?” Mia asked.

  “I continue into the light. You go back. You’re not finished. There is much work still to be done.”

  “What? You didn’t save me a seat at the table?” Mia said, wrinkling her nose, knowing she was being a bit blasphemous.

  “Mia, I wish I had more time with you. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with Roumain at the rate you’re going.”

  “Guess so,” she said. “Can I go home?”

  “Yes.”

  “The light isn’t going to release me. I believe it took an archangel to manage it.”

  “The light’s rather busy. Forty-two lost souls is a lot to deal with. I’m impressed, my dear.”

  “Dieter and Murphy helped.”

  “I wish I could have met Dieter.”

  “Me too. Will you watch over us, Father?” Mia asked.

  “You know I will. Now go. Do not mourn me. Have a nice steak instead.”

  “Yes, Tomas, I will,” Mia said. Using her wings, she directed herself downward and started beating them hard and fast. It took all her strength to move them. The current was powerful, and no sooner did she advance, when she was pulled back hard.

  The PEEPs stood looking at each other. Audrey had tears flowing down her cheeks. Ted kept staring at the ceiling.

  They all heard a loud thump above them, followed by a string of curse words, Mia-style.

  Murphy moved upward to see Mia flattened against the roof ridge. He helped her up.

  Cid was the first outside to see a battered Mia climbing down the front of the mansion with the help of a nervous Murphy. She had a wing bent oddly backwards.

  Ted moved below her and caught her as she neared the ground. “Oh my god, we were so worried.”

  “Glenda, you may need some new shingles. I hit the roof rather hard,” Mia said as Ted squeezed her tightly.

  “Ted, put the girl down,” Orion said. “Mia, you have dislocated a wing.”

  He walked over and pulled it straight out. Mia started to curse but stopped when a familiar car pulled into the drive. Orion moved the wing and instructed her to pull it back inside. She did and almost peed herself it hurt so badly. Mia didn’t complain as Ted picked her up and carried her inside.r />
  Dieter was overjoyed. “I told them. I told them you’d find your way back.”

  “I had help,” she admitted.

  Father Santos walked into the house from the back door. “Mia, did I just see you out in the front yard with your wings out?” he called.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Pretending to be a Christmas Angel?” he asked, walking into the room.

  “Unsuccessfully,” Mia acknowledged.

  Santos smiled sadly. “I came to tell you that Father Alessandro died.”

  “Thank you. He was an amazing man. He doesn’t want us to mourn him. He wants us to have steak,” she said.

  “That sounds like a great idea,” Glenda said. “I’ll call and make reservations. Father, will you join us?”

  Paolo nodded. “I would love that. Tell me, is everything alright here?” he asked, looking at Audrey’s tearstained face.

  “Yes, it is now, Father,” Audrey said. “We almost lost Mia in the light.”

  He looked over at her. “You escaped the light?”

  “I had help,” Mia said, rolling her neck, placing a hand on the aching muscles.

  “Care to expand on that?” Santos prodded.

  “You wouldn’t believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  “Father Alessandro. I was headed upwards with the others. I had ahold of Richard Thorn, suggesting he prepare himself and ask for forgiveness. I was taking my own advice when Father Alessandro appeared. He had me release Thorn. Evidently, I was causing a hullaballoo with the dark spirit and the light. A reaper took him from me, and Alessandro pointed me in the right direction.”

  “How was he?”

  “In his element. He scolded me, threatened me with purgatory, and sent me on my way.”

  “He must have enjoyed that.”

  “He looked happy, Paolo,” Mia said softly.

  Ted guided Mia out of the crowd and down the stairs where they could have privacy. Mia walked with her husband to the machine room.

  “Thorn was trying to possess you, Teddy Bear. He must have been hiding how powerful he was all along.”

  “Mia, I’m so sorry. I didn’t believe it was possible for Thorn to take me over. I was careless.” He pointed to the chain he had hung from one of the gears. “It kept distracting me as I moved. I took it off.”