by Nova Nelson
“That’s good,” I said. “You think it’ll help? Seems like plenty of Eastwinders were just waiting for the opportunity to post those dumb restriction signs.” My mind jumped to the No Werewolves sign someone kept hanging in the front window of Franco’s Pizza, the same sign Donovan had made it his mission to pull down each morning.
“It’s a start,” said Liberty. “You know, usually I’m against the government leading on moral issues—its role is to uphold the wishes of the people, not tell us what’s right and wrong—but, well, my job is also to protect the citizens, and I can’t imagine the path we’re on leading to safety for all.” A thin crevice between his eyebrows showed anxiety uncharacteristic for the gregarious genie.
“Shouldn’t the laws just be overturned?” Tanner asked. “Darius and Quinn have provided sworn statements that they didn’t vote, that they were captured by the doppelgängers before they could.”
“Ah yes,” said Malavic coolly. “That’s the wonderful thing about our system. It works swiftly when you don’t want it to, and it comes to a grinding halt when you need it to hurry along.”
Liberty seemed to have enough of depressing politics, and thankfully changed the subject to something lighter. “You two ready for the Hallow’s Faire madness tomorrow?” He seemed positively delighted by it, but maybe that was because he was among the most powerful beings in town and nothing from the astral plane could put a ding in him. Watching everyone get chased around screaming, which was what I’d begun to imagine happened on the holiday, must be quite the spectator sport for him.
Tanner nodded. “Can’t wait for the blind draw.”
But I said, “Probably not.”
Malavic’s lips curled into a thin grin. “I should think you’d be excited. Fifth Winds have quite a good time watching everyone else be subjected to their daily struggle. At least Ruby always does.”
That didn’t surprise me. “What about you? I don’t suppose you have to worry about much tomorrow. Can you even see the spirits?”
He sighed like I was born stupid but he would tolerate it this once. “Yes, I can see the spirits on Halloween. Just because I’ll have no spirit to linger on whenever some deranged loon in this town finally catches me off guard and puts a stake through my heart doesn’t mean I’m blind to them when they’re right in front of me.”
“Geez,” I said, “somebody woke up on the wrong side of the coffin.”
“Oh please. I happen to be in a fantastic mood at this very moment.”
“And why’s that?” I asked.
“Because I’m about to bid you adieu.” He nodded to me and then to Tanner, and he and Liberty continued on with their conversation as they left.
“Are all vampires that rude?” I asked.
Tanner threw his arm around my shoulder. “Not sure. He’s the only one I’ve met. But from what I’ve heard, they’re usually more polite, but then they suck you dry the moment you let your guard down. I’d rather have rude and not blood-thirsty than nice and murderous.”
I laughed. “Good point.”
Chapter Two
Bits of Tanner’s discarded uniform created a path from his front door up to his bed.
It wasn’t as sexy as it sounds. He was just exhausted and couldn’t wait to shuck his clothes, which had been soaked then magically dried then soaked again, so he could crawl in bed.
Of course, once he was in bed, it was another half hour before he had any chance of going to sleep.
I’ll take responsibility for that, and no, that wasn’t as sexy as it sounds, either. Not that the man didn’t show his usual enthusiasm, but he was tired and I was cranky. Not a great combo.
I rested my head on his shoulder as he lay on his back, beginning to doze off. I figured I might as well take a nap myself, since I didn’t have anything else to do until my lessons with Ruby and Oliver later that afternoon.
It was weird not going to work, but it also seemed wise to wait until the High Council got its act together before requesting a third inspection. If Liberty and Malavic could regain a foothold, maybe Mayor Esperia and High Priestess Springsong would be too concerned about their own good standing to pressure the inspector to fail me again for no good reason.
Also, it wouldn’t hurt to wait until the tidal wave of ghosts left me alone so I could think straight.
Speaking of which, the protective spells combined with a few of the odd baubles I’d borrowed (okay, stolen) from Ruby’s ceiling and arranged at the doorway and windows of Tanner’s room had thankfully worked well enough to afford us a little privacy. Yet another reason I wasn’t ready to leave.
One spirit had followed me in, too caught up in his own diatribe about how his fellow professors never respected his genius to notice the boundary. But a few shakes of one of the dangly things that resembled a bird bone mobile got the job done and sent him right back out the door.
Ruby had shown me the trick to it earlier that morning when I’d come downstairs surrounded by a veritable stampede of spirits vying for my attention and aid.
She’d shouted, “For fang’s sake, Nora!” like I’d done it on purpose, and then scrambled around the parlor, wiggling this totem and jiggling that string of beads until every last one of the spirit clingers had been sucked out the front door.
Afterward, she’d given me some pointers on how the dangling talismans worked.
I knew she’d done it for selfish purposes. She simply didn’t want to suffer from all my obnoxious attachments. But either way, I’d stolen a few of her charms on my way out the door and, after making the burgers at Medium Rare, set them up around Tanner’s bedroom before he got off work and we went to lunch at Donovan’s.
The thing was, the knickknacks didn’t automatically keep spirits out. They could still drop in at will like Bruce Saxon and Heather Lovelace and all the rest were keen on doing. But it did ward off the truly evil energy (you know, as long as it didn’t knock three times before I let it in), and it allowed for quick removal of the unwanted guests without resorting to permanent banishment.
And, apparently, it was extremely uncomfortable to the spirits to be thrown out in such a way, so the more streetwise of them stayed away completely rather than risking it.
My eyelids grew heavy, and just before they closed… pop pop!
“Gah!” I said, jolting awake at the unusually loud sound of ghostly visitors. Usually, I could hear a little click at the manifestation if I was paying attention, but with the veil so thin, it sounded more like two Champagne bottles being uncorked.
Two figures, a man and a woman, hovered just beyond the end of the bed. I tugged the sheets to make sure I was covered as I sat up, my heart racing from the start.
Tanner snorted as he awoke and looked around through heavy eyes, mumbling, “Wah? Wassit?”
I sighed and collected myself. “Nothing. Go back to sleep. Just a couple of gate crashers.”
He rocked onto his elbows, looking down toward the foot of the bed where he could see nothing. “I thought the stuff on the ceiling was supposed to prevent that.”
I addressed the spirits, who looked vaguely familiar. Had they already visited me today? Impossible to know. “Can I help you?”
The female, who appeared to be only a few years my senior—you know, before she’d died—crossed her arms and stared down at me disapprovingly. “More like can we help you?”
“Honey,” said the male ghost soothingly. “Let’s not start with the judgment.” He appeared about the same age as the woman, who I suspected was his wife. I looked at his hand and, yep, there was the ring—a simple band, though if it was gold or silver, I couldn’t tell in its ghostly, translucent form.
But wait. Could ghosts cheat in the afterlife? I leaned to the side to see her left hand peeking out from the crook of her right elbow. Yep. Another ring, identical to his from what I could see. Well, that was probably good.
“Tell them to go away,” Tanner said. “I’m trying to sleep.”
“Didn’t look like you we
re trying too hard only a few minutes ago,” the woman said disapprovingly.
“You were watching us?” I snapped.
“We didn’t mean to,” assured the husband. “We just dropped in and… If it makes you feel any better, we stepped out until we were sure you two were—”
I held up a hand. “Okay, okay. Too late to go back. But do you mind? My boyfriend and I are trying to sleep.”
When the man smiled, I was absolutely sure I knew him from somewhere. That smile seemed so familiar. “Boyfriend, eh?”
The woman, however, didn’t seem to care about my relationship status one bit. “We need a word, Nora. It’s urgent. We’ve only just managed to pass through the veil.”
She knew my name. Either the deceased had been gossiping about me in the spirit realm again, or I really had met them before.
Tanner shivered. “Get lost,” he grouched at them. Then he turned to the side and grabbed me, trying to pull me close, and snagging the sheet as he did. I grabbed it quickly to keep my modesty around the visitors. “I’m so chilly,” he said in a voice thick with exhaustion. “I need someone to help warm me up.” Even when he was dead tired, he was ready to go. Ah, to be in one’s twenties.
When I chuckled at his relentlessness, he grinned back at me.
I gasped as the reality hit.
I knew where I recognized these two spirits from. I’d seen them dozens of times before, staring back at me from a photograph in Tanner’s living room.
They were Tanner’s parents.
Chapter Three
“You— You’re—” I couldn’t get the words out. But Mr. Culpepper did the work for me.
“We’re Tanner’s parents, yes. I’m Dean and this is my wife, Aria.”
“Can he see us?” Aria asked.
I glanced at Tanner. “No, but I think he can feel your presence.”
“Are you talking about me with the ghosts?” Tanner asked, sounding slightly more alert.
“Uh…” Did I tell him? On first blush, the answer seemed obvious: yes. After all, they were his parents, and he hadn’t seen them in over a decade. He’d probably like to know that they were there with him.
But on the other hand…
I imagined if our roles were switched and he could see and talk with my parents’ spirits. Would knowing they were back bring me comfort or simply open old wounds. After all, they weren’t really back. Only vague wisps of the people they used to be had returned, or at least that was my understanding of spirits, though Ruby made it sound much more complicated than that anytime she talked about it.
I didn’t have time to go back and forth between the options, so I went with honesty. “Tanner, the two spirits are, um… It’s your parents.”
His annoyed expression went slack, and for a moment I thought it might stay that way.
Oh no, I’ve broken him.
But then his eyes went wide and he grabbed a ball of the sheets in his fists and yanked them up to just below his chin. “Mom! Dad! Can I get a little privacy? For fang’s sake!”
Dean Culpepper laughed, but Aria pursed her lips disapprovingly before saying, “You shouldn’t be doing anything you don’t want your parents to find out about.”
I decided against relaying the message.
Tanner nodded at me. “Can’t you jangle those things on the ceiling and get them out of here?”
I shot him a stern look that I hoped conveyed the ridiculousness of his statement, considering it would require me hopping out from the cover of the blankets right in front of his parents.
“Oh,” he said. “Right.” And despite the strange situation we found ourselves in, he grinned lasciviously at me.
I groaned exasperatedly and addressed his parents again. “I assume you two are here for a reason, and not just to enjoy the Halloween celebrations early?”
Dean sucked in air and his lighthearted expression darkened. “Unfortunately, yes. We didn’t mean to cross back. We’ve been resting in peace and loving it. It’s like retirement but infinitely better. All those books I never had time to read? I just have to recall the title and then instantly I’ve read it! Poof!” His eyes caught sight of his wife’s stern look, and he cleared his throat. “But yes, we’ve been pulled back, which can only mean one thing.”
“And that is?”
“What?” Tanner said. “What are they saying?”
I shushed him and let Dean continue. “It means nature is terribly out of balance and it’s trying to correct. Possibly in any way it can, including tampering with the astral plane. I don’t know exactly why we’re involved, only that there’s something we need to do to help bring things back into alignment.”
“What happens when nature’s balance is off exactly?”
“Oh,” Aria said, “sometimes all it takes to fix things is a minor flood. But sometimes it’s something exponentially more horrible.”
“And you have no idea what could be causing it?”
Dean opened his mouth, then shut it quickly like he was trying to swallow a lump of air.
“No,” Aria said, shooting her husband a sharp sideways look. “We don’t know what it could be.”
Dean nodded before adding, “But we have an idea you’re the person to fix it.”
“Me? Why me?”
Before Dean could answer, which he looked about to do, Aria jumped in with, “Because you’re a Fifth Wind, obviously. You’ve got the gift of Insight. We’ve heard about the crises you’ve already averted since you’ve been here, and we’re sure you’re the person to manage this one.”
“But I don’t even know what it is. I don’t have any clue where to start.”
“Yes, you do,” Dean said reassuringly.
Tanner was done waiting. “Do they know who killed them?” he blurted.
Their attention turned to their son, and I waited for a response. When they didn’t provide one, I asked, “Well? Do you know who killed you?”
“No,” said Aria plainly, and I sensed nothing but honesty in it.
“And it doesn’t matter to us,” said Dean. “We’re not restless. That’s not why we’ve returned. We understood there was a good likelihood of someone coming after us in the days leading up to our death, and we accepted that. We don’t need to know who it was.”
“What are they saying?” Tanner demanded.
“They said they don’t know who did it.”
He searched the air, as if squinting hard enough might be the ticket to seeing them. “That’s why they’re back, right? They want us to find out who did it?”
Aria stared down at her son with a softer expression than I’d seen on her yet.
I said, “No, Tanner. That’s not why they’re here. They don’t care who it was.”
He sat bolt upright, letting the covers drop down to pool above his waist. “What?! How can you not know and not care!”
“I knew he wouldn’t understand,” Dean said. “I wouldn’t if I were in his position.”
I was tired of playing intermediary, so I said, “I don’t know, Tanner. Maybe you can ask them face-to-face tomorrow if they stick around.”
“Oh, we’ll be here,” said Dean. “I have a feeling we won’t be able to leave until you see this thing through, Nora.”
Ugh. Unfortunately, I had the same feeling. “You really can’t even give me a hint on where to start?”
Aria shook her head, but Dean spoke up. “Okay, yes. Honey, we have to if we want her to succeed.” Aria had made like she was going to interrupt, and I could feel a wave of spiritual tension pass between them. It was nice to see that Dean wasn’t a complete pushover, though. He seemed pleasant and easygoing, but not a doormat. Tanner might have been young when they were killed, but his father had at least managed to pass along those qualities to his son before he went.
Dean continued, “There’s a book. I think if you find it, it may be enough.”
It always came down to books, didn’t it?
“Do you have a title for the book?” I asked.
Super helpful. “Can you describe it at least?”
Dean nodded. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll show you.” He moved toward me, but Aria reached out quickly, her arm leaving cloudy tracers behind it, and grabbed her husband. “Oh no, you don’t. We may be dead, but we’re still married.” Then she stepped forward and offered me her hand, and I realized what she intended to do.
Allow me to pause here and say that being in bed with my boyfriend while his dead mother’s ghost offered to temporarily possess me so I could experience her memories was not how I’d imagined my day off would go.
But then again, as everyone is so keen on telling me, I don’t have a very strong imagination. Although it still seemed like the world’s best wouldn’t have concocted this incredibly uncomfortable and borderline inappropriate situation.
Since the staurolite amulet I usually wore to protect against this exact thing was discarded on top of a pile of my clothes on the floor, I said, “Okay,” and leaned forward, the covers still clutched to me. “Let’s do this.” And I grabbed her hand.
They were right. I couldn’t read the title on the cover. Aria had managed to isolate the specific book in her mind, and it hovered in darkness, illuminated only by her concentrated memory. The letters or symbols or whatever they were, embossed in silver against the navy blue cover, were like none I’d ever seen. Not the Latin alphabet, nor Greek, nor even Ancient Runes.
I tried to commit the pattern to memory, and just when I thought I was getting somewhere Aria separated from me, returning to stand beside her husband.
I opened my eyes and blinked, trying to transition to reality.
“You okay?” Tanner asked. “Your eyes went all… weird.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Your mom was just showing me something.”
“What the spell? Did my mom just possess you?”
“Yeah, but it was totally consensual.”
That left him speechless long enough for me to ask his parents, “And what’s this book about?” I’d have to describe it to someone to locate it, and as it was, I didn’t have much to go on.