"I'll have to see if I've got a window… Oh damn! I meant to ask you. Uri's agreed to teach me the noble art of psychic self-defence. We'll be getting together on Monday night but he suggested it would be better if we could get started some time over the weekend. Do you mind if I spend part of Saturday night learning how to zap nasties?"
"Not if I can come along. I've been dying to have a nose around Uri's place."
"Okay, I thought you might want to tag along and Uri's cool with it. It's likely to run late though, Uri and I are both night owls, or should that be 'bats' in Uri’s case?"
Sonia laughed. "Don't worry; if it gets too late I'll just curl up in a corner and go to sleep." Moon was puzzled by a faint popping on the other end of the phone for a few seconds and then realised that it was Sonia tapping the receiver with a fingernail. It was a little habit she had when she was thinking hard about something. "But what do you think this ghost eater of yours is really up to? Bullying the local oddballs into assaulting people seems an odd pastime even for a spook."
"I don't know," Moon confessed, sitting forward on the bed. "I wondered if it might be trying to establish some sort of powerbase in the 'real' world…”
“Can it really do that?”
“I'm not sure. I’ve never heard of anything like it before. I mean, Bristol may have its fair share of weird characters but I can't see how making them attack people can further the Ghost Eater’s cause. Can you?"
"Not unless it gets something out of the attacks themselves,” replied Sonia thoughtfully. “Who knows, perhaps it's doing all these horrible things out of pure sadism." Moon could sense the depth of Sonia's concern at the other end of the phone. "You just be careful, Jerry, this thing sounds dangerous."
"I'll do my best to take care of myself. Hopefully, these sessions with Uri will help give me some kind of edge on the bad guys." Moon realised that he was more anxious about this than he had thought. "I've never been worried about being able to contact the spirits before now, you know. I've always thought of them as just people without their bodies and it's never once crossed my mind that they might be able to hurt anyone.” The image of the Jenny Greenteeth entered his head unbidden. He shuddered with the chill the memory sent through him. “Though I can say that I've met some pretty nasty things over the last couple of days that have made me reconsider somewhat. Let's hope that Uri really can help."
"Yes, let's." Moon could hear the worry in Sonia's voice. "I'm sure he will. He's very impressive in action, I can vouch for that." Their conversation then drifted away from Uri and the murders. Before they finally said their goodnights they arranged to meet up at the Hangman's Rest for around seven- thirty the next evening.
Moon had been allocated back on the Cardiology ward for that night, covering for a night staff member who was on holiday. None of the patients tonight were particularly unwell, although the lady who had been experiencing problems a couple of nights earlier was still considered to be in a bit of a 'brittle' condition so she was receiving continuous oxygen therapy and on hourly observations.
When they had finished the late drug round and settled the patients into bed, Moon and the rest of the nursing staff sat at the nurses' station with cups of tea or coffee while he and Svetlana, one of the permanent Cardiology nurses updated the patients' notes. Later they chatted quietly for a while as they worked on some less demanding paperwork in preparation for the next shift.
About two in the morning Svetlana went off the ward to take her mid-shift break. Jenny one of the healthcare assistants had popped outside for one of her frequent cigarette breaks and the other healthcare assistant, Juni, was recording the two o'clock vital signs observations for those who needed them. This left Moon sitting alone at the nurses' station. He was making a few notes for his article on his palmtop organiser, when his attention was abruptly drawn to the behaviour of his retinue of ghost globes. He had grown quite used to the tiny blue lights following him and had begun to ignore them but something was definitely bothering them. They had been drifting gently around the ward, flitting inquisitively in and out of corners and, he supposed, getting the feel of the place. But now they were all huddled together under the resuscitation trolley as if they were frightened of something. Moon reached out with his ghost sense and tried to pinpoint what was upsetting them. After a few second's worth of feeling around, he was drawn to the side cubicle that belonged to Mrs Brent, their 'poorly' patient.
Moon crept quietly up to the entrance of the cubicle and peered through the open door. There was a spirit inside but it was quite an ordinary one and nothing that should have frightened the ghost globes, although it didn't bode well for Mrs Brent. It was a ghost that the regular staff had, with true genius for unoriginality, nicknamed 'the Grey Lady'. She seemed to think it was her job to visit any dying female patient on this floor. Perhaps she hoped to comfort them as they passed over. Moon had attempted to communicate with her at the time of their first encounter but had been greeted with nothing but a haughty silence. Whoever this mute spectre might be, she certainly didn't think much of men. He watched her hover by the bed, her face composed into a sad expression reminiscent of one of those stone angels that occasionally guarded Victorian tombs. As he did this he noticed that a collection of shadows in the corner behind her was slowly becoming darker and growing in size. The shadows swirled oddly, like disturbed mist and then Moon made a shocked step backwards as two fiery eyes, their dark pupils slitted like a cat's, blinked open in the middle of that roiling cloud of darkness. "It's no good hiding behind the door, seer, I know that you are there," hissed the Ghost Eater into Moon's mind.
Moon fought to think of a proper response. 'So we meet at last!' seemed a bit corny so he settled for: "If you harm my patient you'll pay for it."
"Later, perhaps," replied the Eater as it looked down at Mrs Brent with terrible hunger in its eyes. "At present neither of us has the power to harm the other. Moon, is it? You disappoint me with your hollow threats." It pounced and wrapped shadowy arms around the Grey Lady, who started keening piteously. "But for now, I truly feel like a snack!"
"Don't!" vibed Moon, almost yelling out loud as the monster consumed the wailing ghost in seconds and left nothing but a tiny glowing blue speck. The dark creature reached up and caught the newborn ghost globe between its pitch black thumb and forefinger. "Give my regards to that weakling Uri. Tell him that Prince Rurik has chosen to take this city for his own. He will understand." The red eyes flared with intense hatred, turning nearly yellow so great was the flame that fed them. "Before I destroy him... he will understand!"
‘Rurik’, the Ghost Eater, flicked what remained of his victim up through the ceiling and then vanished in a dwindling whirlwind of blackness. Before Moon could consider what to do next the heart monitor alarm suddenly started blaring. Mrs Brent had gone into ventricular fibrillation, the random heart rhythm that usually precedes a full cardiac arrest.
Moon had no time to ponder the Ghost Eater last words. His training took over and he swiftly hit the 'call for assist' button then began to administer CPR. Juni poked her head through the open doorjamb. Moon looked up from rhythmically pumping Mrs Brent’s chest. "Call the Crash Team then bring the resus trolley!" he yelled urgently and then turned back to his task.
The cardiac ward was very close to Coronary Care so the Crash Team arrived almost immediately after the call had gone out. They managed to save Mrs Brent, who was later transferred to the Coronary Care Unit for more intensive monitoring. The rest of Moon's shift was taken up with the transfer and with receiving a new patient from CCU to fill the vacated bed space. By the morning handover he was exhausted, having spent his break period filling out the relevant paperwork, but he managed to give a reasonably coherent report to the day staff before heading home in a daze.
The freshness of the morning air revived him a little and, as his brain clicked back into gear, he found himself wondering whether Mrs Brent's cardiac arrest had been a coincidence. Perhaps this... 'Rurik' had caused it? Wha
t if the Ghost Eater had the ability to intentionally provoke heart attacks? That would be a terrifying innovation - even if it only affected people with an existing heart condition.
Moon crawled straight into bed when he got home. Normally on Fridays he would either attempt to stay awake, just taking it easy through the day, or he would get by with only an hour or two's sleep. This made the transition to a more normal waking pattern easier for the weekend. Today, however, his only concession to this was to set his alarm for twelve instead of two. When he had done this, he simply stripped off his trousers and tunic and threw himself into bed. He was virtually unconscious the moment his head hit the pillow.
Chapter 15
Moon's alarm clock trilled quietly, gently disturbing the sleepy atmosphere of his bedsit. When its owner failed to silence it the gentle sound began to build into an unpleasant warbling crescendo. Moon awoke grudgingly and turned over to stop the hellish noise with a vicious push of a button. The room seemed unusually dark for early afternoon until a bright flash threw everything into stark relief for an instant. This was followed a few seconds later by a rumbling crash. Bleary eyed, Moon pulled aside a corner of one of his curtains, as he had suspected a heavy electrical storm was raging outside.
As he soaped himself down in the shower Moon recalled the events of the previous night. He ought to contact Uri to warn him about Rurik. He realised that wouldn't be able to get hold of the vampire until the early evening. It was intriguing that the Ghost Eater knew Uri. He wondered where the two had met before - wherever and whenever it was, he would happily bet his pension that they had been more than passing acquaintances. Only the ruin of a deeper relationship could fire the flame of extreme hatred that had burned in Rurik's eyes last night.
His shower finished, he wrapped himself in a towelling bathrobe and lay back on his bed. He grabbed the nearby remote and switched on the television just catching the end of the BBC news. He had tuned into the last couple of minutes of a report from America covering President Bush's proposal to invade Iraq. Moon sighed and wondered when the post 9/11 backlash was going to stop. Did the Americans and their allies intend to invade every Islamic country that had suspected terrorist connections like some modern day continuation of the Crusades? He was jogged out of his unhappy train of thought by the tag line for the first item on the local news, which followed on after the final credits of the national programme. "Three dead in Bristol as a wave of violent attacks sweeps the city..." Moon turned up the volume, he didn't like the sound of this at all. Two more tag lines followed over the opening sequence then the regular newsreader came into view. As the camera zoomed in he said, "Three people were killed yesterday evening and ten others were hospitalised following a rash of violent assaults, which broke out in separate areas of the city." Looking into the camera with a grave expression, he continued, "Police say that the attacks, which occurred in the City Centre, North Street in Bedminster, City Road in Saint Paul's and the Stokes Croft and Knowle West areas, are apparently unconnected. The three dead include a twenty-four year old mother of two and two men in their late twenties, one of the victims died while attempting to protect an elderly grandmother from an unprovoked attack. Several other people were injured in the attacks… two of whom suffered serious injuries and are now in intensive care at The Bristol Royal Infirmary. Their conditions are described as ‘serious but stable’. The police have not released details of the victims at this time and are treating the current total of seventeen attacks as unrelated incidents. Further details are expected to be released later in the day. Julie Gates is on the scene in Knowle West..."
The programme cut to the inside of a local community centre where, against a backdrop of rain pouring down the building's windows, the roving reporter questioned a police representative. The officer confirmed that all the attacks seemed to be random and without motive. "We don't know why so many serious assaults or attempted assaults occurred within such a short period of time," he said. "There doesn't appear to have been any shared motive or indeed anything that linked the perpetrators at all..."
"Except that they were all a tiny bit mentally unstable and had recently received nocturnal visits from a dark figure with glowing eyes… I'll bet," Moon said to the screen. "I wish I knew what Rurik was up to with all this mayhem."
"Who is Rurik?" asked a small voice behind him.
Moon turned to find Anna sitting in the gloom at the corner of his bed that was farthest away from the windows. "Oh hi, Anna," he was surprised because he had assumed that Anna was confined to haunting the floor below. "I didn't know you could come up this far."
"It takes some effort," she replied, drawing her knees up to her chest under her flowery striped cotton dress, "but I thought you might like to talk a while, like you said we could on a few days ago. Now, who's this Rurik?"
"Rurik is the creature who's been attacking the local ghosts and turning them into these." He pointed to one of the blue globes, which were orbiting Anna and himself like a cluster of tiny moons. He couldn't be certain but some of them seemed a little bigger and brighter than they had been when he had first seen them. Perhaps they were recovering slowly from whatever Rurik had done to them. "I think he's also responsible for the attacks and murders that happened last night."
"There were murders committed last night?" Anna seemed puzzled. "Here, in Bristol? But I didn't feel them." Anna shook her head. "If anyone dies in this city I feel it, especially if their death is a violent one. I either feel the tremors in the spirit world as they pass over to the other side or the appearance of a new Presence if they have become an earth-bound spirit. If they died and I didn't sense it then something very unusual and very unpleasant must have happened to them."
"But what could that be?" asked Moon, half to himself. "I've met this Rurik and I don't believe he would do anything without a motive. These killings must play some part in his plan."
"Do you have any thoughts at all concerning what that plan might be?"
Moon was having trouble getting used to this more mature version of Anna. The problem was that, while she talked like a woman with a century's worth of experience, she still looked and sounded like a preschooler. She even had the feel of a four-year-old girl. "I think he wants to create some kind of powerbase outside of the spiritual world here, in Bristol. But how could a ghost do that?"
"There may be ways," replied Anna. She gave Moon a thoughtful glance. "Even a ghost can influence the material world. It would just be a matter of gathering enough power. That's a very difficult task, which is why most of us don't even bother trying. But that's probably what this Rurik of yours plans to do - to collect enough spiritual energy to be able to influence the world of the living."
"Oh? And these killings are somehow helping him to do this?"
"Possibly, I’ve never given much thought to the subject of harvesting energy from the living and I wouldn't know who you'd ask about it. Any creature that would know more than a little about that kind of thing isn’t likely to be something you would want to get close to, let alone talk to."
Moon nodded, thinking of a certain reformed vampire. "Perhaps Uri could help me; we're meeting up for him to give me some psychic self-defence lessons this weekend."
"I might be able to help you with that myself," said Anna, rolling up the sleeves of her little pink cardigan. "You could do with learning a few tricks as soon as possible if this Rurik thinks you are enough of a threat to want to hurt you."
Moon barely suppressed the laughter he felt welling up within him at the look of fierce determination on Anna's chubby features. "Do you mind if I get dressed first?" he asked, getting up off the bed.
"Of course, go ahead," replied Anna, sitting up cross- legged on the bed and giving him her full attention.
"Well, I'd rather do it in private," replied Moon bashfully, not happy with the idea of disrobing in front of a four-year-old, regardless of how long she had been a ghost.
"Oh, come on, Jerry!" she moaned as he picked up a pile of clot
hes off the end of his bed and headed for the bathroom. "I've seen it all before, you know. You've a big mole at the top of your back and you've got a hairy chest, and bum and..." Moon slammed the bathroom door and blocked her voice out of his mind. He quickly threw on a pair of briefs, some jeans and a T- shirt. When he came back into the room Anna was still listing his physical attributes: "...And a scar on the right side of your tummy, and a freckle right on the end of your..."
"That's enough!" growled Moon. "You pint-sized peeping Tom, have you nothing better to do than watch people get undressed?"
"...Nose! I was going to say 'nose'," complained Anna. She gave him a quizzical look. “Do you really have a freckle on the end of that as well? …Remarkable! Anyway, to answer your question, no I don't have anything better to do than watch the living. I'm a ghost, Jerry. At least these days people have televisions to provide some light relief. In the old days there was absolutely nothing to do but hover around within the boundaries of my haunting and hope something interesting would happen. Have you any idea how tedious it is to watch someone sleep for hours on end? It is horribly, horribly boring.”
Moon was reminded of his least favourite reality TV program. “Try telling that to the producers of ‘Big Brother’. But I guess being a ghost must be like being stuck on one endless reality TV channel.”
“You’ve got it in one, Jerry! So, yes I did sneak a look at you once or twice when you first arrived, partly out of curiosity but mainly for a change of scenery. And I wouldn't call it 'peeping' because I'm too young to get any pleasure out of it. To be honest, from what I've seen of 'it', I don't see what the fuss is about. How anyone gets any fun out of all that writhing and moaning is beyond me, it looks like a total waste of time and effort."
Moon smiled. "You'd be surprised. Anyway, you were going to teach me something?"
"Oh, right, yes. To start off with, touch my arm."
Under a Ghostly Moon (Jerry Moon Supernatural Thrillers Book 1) Page 15