by Dana Davis
The short woman took quick steps to him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Do you want to rest, Liam?” He nodded. “Okay then. Say goodbye to Bridgette.”
“Bye, Bridgette.”
Hattie glanced back at her. “Can you come back soon? Every day he sees you might help him remember.”
“Of course. See you, Liam.” She watched Hattie escort him out of the community room, then listened to their footsteps go down the hall. Fuck me. I have to tell Daisy.
Not wanting to think about that until she got to her destination, she hurried out of the room, down the hall, then waited for the security guard to give her back her keys and let her through the gate. She dropped her temporary badge in the waiting basket at the counter and made a beeline for the front door.
Once outside, she slid her sunglasses down from the top of her head and adjusted the large barrette that held her long hair secure at the nape of her neck. Cool desert air met her and she took in a deep breath. Her white BMW convertible sat in the parking lot, top down. A quick glance back at the stucco building caused her guilt to rise up again. She took long strides to her car.
Her heart raced like a greyhound as she climbed into her convertible and cranked the engine. Daisy was getting released from the hospital today.
Like she doesn’t have enough crap on her plate already. Now I have to tell her I’ve kept this secret for the past twenty-two years. She’s gonna fucking love that.
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Chapter 2
Things Will Never Be the Same
Eager to be free of the hospital, Daisy shoved the remaining items in the duffel bag Noah had brought for her. Between that damn Kachina merger and her recent trips to the afterlife, she now had to deal with a very unpleasant side-effect. The ability to see dead people. She couldn’t see them straight-on yet, only in her peripheral, or averted vision as Scarlet called it, but that was more than enough to give her the creeps. And this hospital was just full of spooks.
She fingered the sturdy silver chain at her neck, glad to have it back after the hospital staff had removed it. Her favorite pendant, a silver moon with several marcasite stones and a ruby in the center, the rowan tree amulet Bridgette had spelled for her, and the protection crystal she’d purchased from Old Mrs. Ferdinand’s shop hung on it. Just touching them made her feel better.
She also wore the turquoise ring a Native elder had blessed after her confrontation with the skinwalker. Took quite a bit of convincing but she had finally talked Noah into wear his turquoise ring. He’d put up a fuss about not liking any except his wedding band. But Daisy had chosen a nice manly-looking one for him so he eventually gave in, especially after she convinced him it might provide a little protection. No amulet was a guaranteed defense against evil but it certainly couldn’t hurt to wear them.
I wish there was something to keep ghosts away. She’d never guessed there were so many spirits just wandering around among the living. I’m a witch for Fate’s sake. I’m not supposed to be a medium. I don’t want these powers.
She studied the linoleum floor by the bed. The horrid face, the mark of a hitchhiker entering this world from the afterlife, had disappeared on its own. Thank the universe I don’t have to explain that to the hospital staff. Some things even spooked paranormals. But an ugly face on the linoleum was the least of her worries. That damn hitchhiker is loose someplace in Phoenix now and it’s all my fault.
She glanced down at her thumb. A faint scar stood out where she’d cut herself with her mother’s athame during the blood spell that had allowed her to cross over to the afterlife. Similar scars snaked across both palms from another blood spell she’d used on Wil Miller, the old man who’d merged with an ancient skinwalker to try to kill her and take her magick. And her soul.
Now I’ve got ghosts. Why is this happening to me?
Noah moved behind her and wrapped arms around her middle. “You okay?” He sounded worried. He sounded like that a lot these days, when he wasn’t trying to lift her spirits. So to speak.
“I’m fine, babe.” She had changed into the street clothes he brought for her. At least I’m getting out of here.
Scarlet Mendoza stood near the doorway with Bridgette, and Daisy twisted around in Noah’s grasp to look at them. The medium looked to be in her early thirties, but actually she was thirty-nine, two years older than Bridgette. At around five-foot-two, Scarlet stood a couple inches shorter than Daisy and barely reached Bridgette’s shoulder.
“You two sure it’s not here someplace?” Daisy said. The thought of the hitchhiker killing innocent people in this hospital ramped up her guilt.
Bridgette shook her head, long red hair shifting back and forth. A large barrette held it at the nape of her neck but a few wisps had come loose to hang at her freckled cheeks. She had looked uneasy ever since Daisy returned from the afterlife, but the two hadn’t been alone so Daisy could find out why. “I don’t sense anything evil here. Unless you count the dirty old man across the hall.” Her cousin smiled, but it disappeared as she eyed the floor where the evil visage had been. “We’ll catch the son of a bitch, Daisy. Don’t you worry.”
All I do is worry, Bridge.
Her telepathic cousin gave a slight nod to let her know she heard that thought. Since her mother wasn’t with her today, the redhead kept her telepathic senses open to listen for danger. Aunt Marge had gone back to Bridgette’s townhome to rest. The poor woman had ridden down all the way from Sedona with a broken leg. Cousin Brendon had driven her and the young man seemed genuinely eager to help.
Scarlet’s dark gaze studied Daisy. The medium, related by marriage to Daisy and Bridgette, seemed to look right into a person sometimes. Her cappuccino-colored skin had gotten a little darker from the previous summer months, and exotic features from her Mexican and Scottish ancestry intensified that penetrating gaze. “I haven’t seen anything. And no one here has come to me complaining about a dark entity.”
This hospital was headed by a paranormal and staffed with several paranormal doctors, one reason it had a great reputation. Mortal doctors lacked skills that blessed those with paranormal blood. But the number of mortals here, patients and staff, meant witches like Daisy couldn’t call attention to themselves.
“Wouldn’t it hang around here? With all the easy prey?” Daisy took a reluctant seat in the wheelchair when Noah moved her to it, hospital policy that she rode out in one. Dumb hospital rules.
Scarlet shook her head, ponytail swinging back and forth. To strangers, the medium appeared as a normal, middle-class woman. “Not likely, Daisy. It needs a healthy fix. And it would want to stay unnoticed until it’s strong enough for—well, you know.”
Until it’s strong enough to come after a paranormal. Like one of us. “Can you call it to you? Can you get rid of it?”
“It’s not that simple. There’s a ritual we have to follow.”
“Ritual? Can you do it today?”
Scarlet shook her head. “No. We have to gather some – ingredients. And information.”
“How long will that take?”
“Hopefully, before it grows strong enough to merge with a paranormal.”
I hate this. “So, what do we do until then?”
“Try to find it, keep track of its movements.”
“You mean its victims.” Fabulous.
“Yes. And it’s imperative we find something that connected it to its life here.”
“What? How the hell do we do that? We have no idea who it was, when it lived. Or where it lived.”
Those penetrating eyes studied Daisy. “We know the where. Hitchhiker’s always come back to the areas where they committed their crimes.”
“So, this one followed me because it’s from the Phoenix area?”
“Yes.”
“Noah and I can start searching on the web,” Bridgette said. “See what we can find on – what are we looking for, exactly?”
“Murders, rapes, unsolved killings.”
“What time frame?” Noah said.
Scarlet shrugged. “All of it.”
Daisy shook her head. “Shit, Scarlet. How will we know when we have the right killer, or whatever it was in this life?” People have lived in the Phoenix area for centuries.
“You’ll get a message.” Scarlet was being cryptic again and Daisy wanted to shake her.
“What kind of message?”
“A message. You’ll know when it comes, Daisy.”
“And what if we don’t find all these ingredients before it merges with a paranormal? How do we send it back then?”
Those dark eyes offered a level gaze. “The paranormal host has to die.”
Well, that’s just peachy. “Okay. Get me to the car, Noah, before I get out and push myself.”
He pushed her out of the room and down the hall. Scarlet and Bridgette followed behind, carrying Daisy’s flowers and balloons.
She twisted in her wheelchair to look at the medium again. “You don’t have to come home with me.”
“Yes I do.” Scarlet said nothing more, probably because there were several people around and any number of them could be mortals. She chewed on her lip, removing some of the pink lipstick she’d put on barely ten minutes ago in Daisy’s room.
As Noah wheeled her down the hallway toward the elevators, Daisy kept her gaze forward so as not to look at the various spooks haunting the place. She let out a quiet sigh. I’ve let a hitchhiker loose in Phoenix, I see ghosts, and I’ve got a medium for a shadow. Just what I always wanted. Odd images popped into her head at the most inopportune times. Right now, she envisioned Peter Pan dancing with his shadow.
Bridgette snickered and coughed to cover it when a woman glanced over at them.
Once in the large elevator, something caught Daisy’s corner vision but she refused to look. Scarlet seemed to be ignoring it too. The descent seemed to take forever. Come on. Come on. Open already.
Finally, the first floor number lit up, followed by a mechanical bell sound, and the doors whisked opened. If Noah hadn’t wheeled Daisy out immediately, she would’ve done it herself. She had never been bothered by small spaces but the thought of getting trapped in an elevator with a ghost didn’t exactly excite her.
Another short hallway and two right turns put them in the lobby. The light, bright, open lobby with several live people bustling here and there. Daisy relaxed as Noah wheeled her toward the exit.
She wanted to leave early so she and Bridgette could begin hunting down the hitchhiker before it started killing. Maybe we can distract it somehow. Once upon a time, hitchhikers had been human. If serial murderers and the like can be considered human. They hung around in the afterlife, trying to latch onto an unsuspecting soul who was called during a séance by a witch or untrained medium. Like me.
When those ethereal nasties managed to get back into the world of the living, they gained strength by sucking the life-force from mortal victims, until they were strong enough to go after paranormals. Hitchhikers always chose strong paranormals, so they could do as much damage as possible before the host died and they got sent back to whatever dark hole in the afterlife they came from. They usually stayed away from paranormals until they’d gained enough strength from mortal victims, but too many certainties had been shattered in Daisy’s world lately that she couldn’t believe everything she’d learned.
Mediums like Scarlet could prevent hitchhikers from latching onto souls they called to this world.
But I did a blood spell to cross over and changed the odds. Scarlet hadn’t even noticed that a hitchhiker followed Daisy back. Maybe because I didn’t return during the crossing over ritual, like I was supposed to. I died for a few minutes. She fought a shiver at that thought and glanced at Scarlet, who now stood in front of the exit doors. It’s not her fault that thing got free.
Bridgette leaned close to Daisy’s ear, her breath warm. “It’s not your fault, either.” The tone reminded Daisy of Aunt Margaret and she refused to look at her cousin just now.
Dr. Varma stood near the automated doors with her arms crossed as they approached, her skin a couple of shades darker than Scarlet’s cappuccino coloring. “I can’t talk you out of this, Daisy?”
“Sorry.” Though she wasn’t the least bit sorry to go home. “I have work to do.” Boy, do I ever.
The doctor gave her a level stare, dark eyes narrowing. “Okay, but you should rest. If you experience any severe headaches or dizziness—”
“I’ll call you. Promise.” Daisy smirked. Gotta love a doc who cares.
The doctor nodded then focused on Noah. She held out a printed sheet of paper. “Here’s a list of things to watch for. And a prescription to help her sleep if she needs it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly. My email and cell number are on there for you.”
“Thanks, Doc. I’ll take good care of her.”
They said their goodbyes, Daisy again promising to rest as much as she could, before Noah pushed the wheelchair out the automated doors. She took in a long breath of the crisp morning air, impatient to be home.
“I’ll just get the car,” Noah said. He gave Daisy a peck on the cheek, handed her chair over to Bridgette, and practically sprinted out to the parking lot.
A ghost, a man from what Daisy could tell, stood just outside the doors, apparently waiting for someone. Scarlet had already told her that some got stuck here after they die. Some didn’t realize they were dead. Others simply came back to visit or stuck around to get messages to loved ones. And more than a few got a sick thrill messing with the living. Daisy remembered the punk ghost she’d met in the afterlife bragging about such an adventure.
What was her name? Oh, yeah. Lisa. Punk girl Lisa. That’s it.
This spook didn’t look at her. Thankfully. She had more serious problems to worry about just now and glanced back at Scarlet. The medium’s gaze flicked to the ghost and she lifted her phone to her ear, mumbling something Daisy couldn’t make out.
Discreet is your middle name, Scarlet my dear. Thank the universe for cell phones! Daisy kept her eyes forward as Bridgette pushed her wheelchair passed the ghost, not caring to see whether he disappeared or stayed behind.
Noah pulled his Camry Hybrid to the curb and got out. He helped Daisy get in as an attendant took the wheelchair. While Bridgette and Scarlet loaded her flowers and balloons into the back, Daisy spotted a baby blue jeep pulling into a parking spot. Cousin Zoey.
The girl got out and jogged over to them, long legs carrying her quickly from the parking lot to the curb, dark ponytail whipping side to side. “Hey, Daisy. I didn’t know you were getting released today. Glad I caught you.” She said a quick hello to Noah, Bridgette and Scarlet.
Daisy studied her young cousin’s worried face. “Yeah, I was gonna call you when I got home.”
Zoey crouched beside the car, one elbow resting on her knee. She was tall, like Bridgette, but darker, thanks to her father’s Mexican heritage. Brown eyes lingered on the building a moment. “I hate this fucking place. We really need to stop having comas in our family.”
Daisy gave a brief smile and nodded. The last time she’d been here was when Zoey got hit on the head and was in a coma for a short while. She saw something else in the girl’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“On the news. A body. Outside one of the shops at Desert Peaks mall. They haven’t given any details, yet. I tried your cell but it went to voicemail. I was headed to class and thought you’d wanna know so I swung by.”
And it begins. “Shit.” She had called Zoey as soon as she saw the nasty face embedded in the hospital floor and realized a hitchhiker was loose. The girl was family. Zoey had turned twenty-one on her last birthday and had lived alone ever since her aunt and uncle were killed in a car accident three years ago. But I still feel responsible for her.
Zoey’s brow furrowed and she dropped her voice to a whisper. “You think it’s the hitchhiker? Is it feeding already?”
Daisy offered a level gaze. “I don’t
know. But how many bodies do cops find up here?” And what better place for tasty morsels than a popular mall. A mortal buffet.
“Yeah. I get your point.” Zoey’s dark eyes studied her. “It’s not your fault, Daisy.”
Like hell it isn’t. I’m the one who went to the afterlife to help Mom’s soul. I’m the one who stayed too long on the other side. I’m the one that thing followed back here. I really wish it hadn’t. She wondered just how much Zoey could read from her whenever she made a wish like that. The girl was the current Dream Catcher, Pandora’s descendant, and wishes qualified as part of her work, part of her quest to keep hope alive.
If Zoey saw anything coming from Daisy just now, she didn’t let on. “I told Jason and he’s getting the message around to his family.” She stopped talking as a man walked by with an armful of balloons and a large teddy bear.
As far as mortals were concerned, paranormals didn’t exist except in fairytales. And we have to keep it that way. With Jason’s family in on it, Daisy felt a little better. They were some of the most powerful paranormals in the world. “Thanks, Zoey. And you be careful.”
“I will. I promise.”
The hitchhiker would eventually be strong enough to come after one of them. Her family was in danger. Again, damnit. She knew the Dream Catcher box protected Zoey, a knowledge perk of helping the girl fight the Anguisher, but Daisy still felt better doing something. “You still have the protection amulet I gave you?”
Long, sun-kissed fingers tugged at a silver chain beneath Zoey’s shirt. A clear crystal pendant hung from it. “I don’t even take it off to shower or swim.”
“Good. But it’ll need a booster soon.”
Bridgette stepped close and focused on the girl. “Zoey. I can stop by your place tomorrow, put another protection spell on that for you.” Though Daisy was learning how to inject spells into amulets, Bridgette was much better at it.
“Okay. Tomorrow’s fine. I have to go but I’ll see you then.” Zoey gave Daisy a quick hug, said bye to the rest, and hurried back to her Jeep.