Forces from Beyond
Page 1
Praise for the Ghost Finders novels
VOICES FROM BEYOND
“Green’s stories tend to have a dark, twisted humor to them that makes the at-times-graphic horror of what is happening more manageable. Voices from Beyond definitely is classic Simon R. Green . . . [It’s] a fun mystery, heavy on the horror element, and kept me entertained throughout. If you enjoy Simon R. Green’s other series, you’ll find the Ghost Finder[s] series right up your alley.”
—All Things Urban Fantasy
“Green comes through with more than enough gore, wit, and mild suspense to satisfy series fans.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Green ups the stakes considerably in this volume . . . A roller-coaster ride with mounting stakes until an all-or-nothing climax . . . Recommended.”
—SFRevu
SPIRITS FROM BEYOND
“Green sets up some worthy challenges for the team in this adventure . . . There are the usual delightful new additions to Green’s vast supernatural world in this novel, such as the Empty Librarian and the forgotten god Lud . . . And, for Green’s many fans, there’s a quick shout-out to the Droods (of his Secret Histories series) and why they aren’t necessarily the worst thing in the world. Setting up a new mystery on the final page, Green keeps the action and laughs flowing in equal measure. Here’s hoping for many more adventures of this terrific quartet. Recommended.”
—SFRevu
“The series really picks up to that same masterful level of storytelling [Green] is known for. And he delivers with this excellent work of classic, good old ghost-hunter fun that we’ve come to love from the genre.”
—The Gatehouse
“An extremely fast-paced book with some great gallows humor, introspection, and references to both the Nightside and Secret Histories series . . . I found it intriguing and highly enjoyable with some crazy action and twisted characters.”
—The Bibliophilic Book Blog
GHOST OF A DREAM
“Green once again mixes and matches genres with gleeful abandon . . . Readers who enjoy a roller-coaster ride through a haunted house (well, theater, but I’m mixing metaphors here) will love this novel . . . A terrific continuation of the Ghost Finders’ adventures, with loads of horrors, thrills, and shocks.”
—SFRevu
GHOST OF A SMILE
“Packed with creepy thrills, Ghost of a Smile is a mighty strong follow-up in this brand-new series. Ghost hunting has never been quite this exciting. Recommended.”
—SFRevu
“[With] plenty of action and chills, this book keeps pages turning even as a feeling of dread builds. The dialogue between the three characters is snappy and humorous, as is the chemistry between them.”
—NewsandSentinel.com
“Ghost of a Smile is a lovely blend of popcorn adventure and atmospheric thriller, and good for a few hours of distraction and entertainment. That’s one of the reasons why Green’s books always leap right to the top of my reading list.”
—The Green Man Review
“[Green] gleefully tweaks the natural fear of experimentation (and the inscrutable motivations of the men behind it), bringing some real-world paranoia into his fantasy-laden playground. It’s a gamble that pays off nicely . . . With his Nightside series ending soon, the Ghost Finders books are quickly proving to be worthy replacements.”
—Sacramento Book Review
GHOST OF A CHANCE
“Thoroughly entertaining.”
—Jim Butcher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden Files
“If future novels in Green’s new Ghost Finders series are as engaging as this one, they will hold up admirably against his previous work . . . Readers will appreciate the camaraderie and snappy dialogue.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Terrific.”
—SFRevu
“It’s fast-paced, filled with nifty concepts and memorable characters, and quite enjoyable.”
—The Green Man Review
Praise for the Novels of the Nightside
“A fast, fun little roller coaster of a story.”
—Jim Butcher
“If you like your noir pitch-black, then return to the Nightside.”
—University City Review
“If you’re looking for fast-paced, no-holds-barred dark urban fantasy, you need look no further: the Nightside is the place for you.”
—SFRevu
“Sam Spade meets Sirius Black . . . in the Case of the Cosmic MacGuffin . . . Crabby wit and inventively gruesome set pieces.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“A fast, intelligently written tale that is fun to read.”
—The Green Man Review
“Plenty of action packed in from London to Glastonbury . . . should definitely please fantasy action fans.”
—Booklist
Ghost Finders Novels
GHOST OF A CHANCE
GHOST OF A SMILE
GHOST OF A DREAM
SPIRITS FROM BEYOND
VOICES FROM BEYOND
FORCES FROM BEYOND
Novels of the Nightside
SOMETHING FROM THE NIGHTSIDE
AGENTS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS
NIGHTINGALE’S LAMENT
HEX AND THE CITY
PATHS NOT TAKEN
SHARPER THAN A SERPENT’S TOOTH
HELL TO PAY
THE UNNATURAL INQUIRER
JUST ANOTHER JUDGEMENT DAY
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UNCANNY
A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT
THE BRIDE WORE BLACK LEATHER
Secret Histories Novels
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC
DAEMONS ARE FOREVER
THE SPY WHO HAUNTED ME
FROM HELL WITH LOVE
FOR HEAVEN’S EYES ONLY
LIVE AND LET DROOD
CASINO INFERNALE
PROPERTY OF A LADY FAIRE
FROM A DROOD TO A KILL
Deathstalker Novels
DEATHSTALKER
DEATHSTALKER REBELLION
DEATHSTALKER WAR
DEATHSTALKER HONOR
DEATHSTALKER DESTINY
DEATHSTALKER LEGACY
DEATHSTALKER RETURN
DEATHSTALKER CODA
Hawk and Fisher Novels
SWORDS OF HAVEN
GUARDS OF HAVEN
Also by Simon R. Green
BLUE MOON RISING
BEYOND THE BLUE MOON
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
DRINKING MIDNIGHT WINE
Omnibus
A WALK ON THE NIGHTSIDE
Anthology
TALES FROM THE NIGHTSIDE
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
FORCES FROM BEYOND
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author
Copyright © 2015 by Simon R. Green.
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
For more information, visit penguin.com.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-18704-7
Ace mass-market edition / September 2015
Cover illustration by Don Sipley.
Cover photo: smoke © Honchar Roman / Shutterstock.
Cover design by Judith Lagerman.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Praise for the Novels of Simon R. Green
Books by Simon R. Green
Title Page
Copyright
Previously, in the Ghost Finders
ONE: THE PAST ISN’T OVER; SOMETIMES, IT ISN’T EVEN PAST
TWO: SOME ANTS AND ONE HELL OF AN ELEPHANT
THREE: MEET THE NEW BOSS
FOUR: RETURN OF THE FAUST
FIVE: HOUNDED OUT OF THE CLUB
SIX: SECRETS WITHIN SECRETS
SEVEN: WHO’S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR?
EIGHT: ALL AT SEA
NINE: THINGS PEOPLE SAY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
TEN: DISTURBANCES IN THE NIGHT
ELEVEN: LIFE AND DEATH AND EVERYTHING ELSE
TWELVE: MEET THE NEW BOSS, PART TWO
What are ghosts, really?
The unquiet dead or merely images imprinted on Time? The world’s dreaming or nightmares from the past? Those heart-rending screams in the long reaches of the night . . . are they cries for help or desperate warnings? What are ghosts for, really? If anyone knows, the living or the dead, they’re not talking.
There have always been ghosts, and there always will be. Because living takes its toll, and dying even more so.
PREVIOUSLY, IN THE GHOST FINDERS
That very secret organisation, the Carnacki Institute, exists to Do Something about ghosts. Along with anything else that won’t lie down when it should, or play nicely with the living. The Ghost Finders are the Institute’s field agents, tasked with tracking down supernatural trouble-makers and kicking their arses with existential prejudice. Because the living have enough problems of their own without being troubled by the dead.
The Institute’s current top-ranking field team is led by JC Chance. Forces from Outside once intervened to save his life, altering him subtly in the process, and now his eyes glow golden. Though whether that’s a sign of grace or a mark of ownership has yet to be determined. The team’s hard-headed science geek is Melody Chambers, and Happy Jack Palmer is the team telepath and self-medicating headcase. Kim Sterling is dead, the only actual ghost in the Ghost Finders.
JC and Kim are in love even though there are many good reasons why the living and the dead are never supposed to get together.
Sometime back, an opening appeared in the walls that separate the worlds, and something from a higher reality fell through, into our dimension. A fearsome living god: the Flesh Undying. It has plans for our world, none of them good, and agents everywhere, very definitely including inside the Carnacki Institute. JC and his team don’t just deal with ghosts any more; they’re fighting to save the world.
And now, it’s all about to hit the fan.
ONE
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THE PAST ISN’T OVER; SOMETIMES, IT ISN’T EVEN PAST
It isn’t ghosts that make places bad; it’s the bad places that make ghosts. And, sometimes, other things.
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Ghosts hang around hotels like moths drawn to a light. All those empty rooms aren’t nearly as empty as people like to think. Managers understandably don’t like to mention the unfortunate fact that not every guest who checks in will check out alive. People die in lonely, characterless rooms all the time, so when entering a hotel room, the question shouldn’t be: Has anybody died in that bed? Try instead: How many? Bodies are carried out on stretchers and smuggled down the back stairs in the early hours of the morning, out of sight of paying customers, more often than you’d think. Death from causes natural and unnatural . . . heart attack, erotic misadventure, suicide, and murder . . . Hotels have seen it all. Ghosts linger on in some rooms like a bad smell or a stain that won’t wash out. And then it’s time to call in the professionals.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
The Ghost Finders came to the Acropolis Majoris Hotel in the early hours of the evening, in the dying days of autumn. The lowering sky had a bruised, sullen look, the gusting wind muttered bad things under its breath, and the air had a bitter chill. Not a good time to be out and about, even in the bright and cheerful seaside city of Brighton. The Acropolis Hotel was nowhere near the beach, or the famous pier, or any of the things tourists like to see. Instead, it was tucked away in a labyrinth of shadowy back streets, well off the main drag. A spillover hotel, where people reluctantly ended up when there were no rooms left in bigger, better establishments.
The Ghost Finders took their time, standing on the opposite side of the street to study the hotel’s grubby facade and less-than-inviting ambience. Not a big building, but more than old enough to be steeped in bad incidents and sad memories. Something had happened here, something was waiting . . . like a troll under a bridge or a land mine under a welcome mat. Ghosts mostly prefer to lie in wait and make the living come to them. After all, they have all the time in the world.
JC Chance stood proud and poised in his exquisitely cut white suit, his head held high and his shoulders squared, hands thrust deep into his pockets. Tall and lean, and perhaps just a little more handsome than was good for him, JC had pale, striking features and a rock star’s mane of long jet-black hair. He also had the smile of a man who knew things, and not particularly nice things, at that. As head of this particular field team, he could always be relied on to rush in where angels feared to show their faces, looking eagerly around for some trouble to get into. He wore extremely dark sunglasses at all times, for a very good reason.
Melody Chambers stood slouched at his side, scowling and tapping her foot impatiently. Wherever she was, she always gave the impression she didn’t want to be there. Conventionally good-looking in a stern sort of way, Melody wore her auburn hair scraped back in a tight bun and glowered at the world through heavy glasses with very sober frames. Gamine thin, she burned with fierce, nervous energy and wore her bad temper openly as a badge of pride. She tended to look like she was only moments away from attacking people at random, just on general principle. She dressed for comfort rather than style—jacket and jersey, jeans and work boots. Melody had heard of fashion and wanted nothing to do with it. Her scientific equipment lay piled up on a motorised trolley that hummed busily at her side like an eager dog.
Happy Jack Palmer, who’d embraced self-medication as a marginally preferable alternative to self-harming, stood a little to one side. Short and stocky and prematurely balding, he wore scuffed jeans and shoes, a grubby T-shirt, and a battered, black leather jacket held together by heavy staples and patches of duct tape. Normally, he would have been the first to say something cutting and inappropriate about their current location; but not this time. He stood quietly, looking at the world with eyes that had seen too much, for far too long.
“I can’t believe the Boss sent us here,” JC said finally. “We’re only supposed to get the most important and significant cases.”
“You mean the most dangerous,” said Melody.
“Same thing,” JC said easily. “Give me action and excitement, death and glory, every time!”
“I’ll settle for the glory,” said Melody.
JC ignored her with the ease of long practice. “I mean, look at this place! It’s a dump. In fact, it would need a serious upgrade and a major face-lift before it could properly qualify as a dump! You couldn’t expect any self-respecting ghost to show up here.” He paused, to look dow
n his nose at the various pieces of high tech on Melody’s trolley. “Odds are you won’t need half of that.”
“Hush, babies,” Melody said fondly to her equipment. “Nasty man doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
JC sniffed loudly. “Given the general ambience, you could fend off any ghosts you found here with a balloon on a stick and some harsh language. Oh well: onwards! Wait a minute, hold everything. Where’s Happy?”
They both looked around quickly as they realised the telepath wasn’t with them any longer.
“Oh bugger, he’s wandered off again,” said Melody.
She spotted him half-way down the street, ambling aimlessly through pools of street-light and deep, dark shadows with equal disinterest. Melody hurried off after him, took a firm hold on his arm, and hustled him back to the Acropolis Hotel. He didn’t seem to care where he was. JC studied him expressionlessly.
“Happy, are you with us?” he said finally. “Ready to go to work and kick some ectoplasmic arse?”
Happy didn’t answer. There was nothing in his face to indicate he’d even heard the question. JC looked at Melody.
“I saw him last week, and he wasn’t this bad. When did he stop talking?”
“He’s been saying less and less for some time now,” Melody said reluctantly. “Withdrawing inside himself, away from the pressures of the world. It’s not easy being a Class Eleven telepath.”
“I thought the pills helped with that,” said JC.
“He’s been taking them too long,” said Melody. “Built up too much of a tolerance. The doses he has to take now would kill anyone else.”
“What use is he like this?”
“He knows who he is and who I am,” said Melody. “He can still function, still do his job when he has to.”
“Dear God . . .” said JC.
“It’s not going to be a problem!” Melody said fiercely. “He’s still in there!”
“I suppose I shouldn’t complain,” said JC. “His not speaking might actually be an improvement when it comes to dealing with members of the general public.”