by James Hold
Chapter Ten
There was no easy way to get to Black Hollow, Kansas. We took the first flight out to Wichita, landing well after midnight then drove another two hours before we passed the town sign welcoming us to the heartlands of America. Even in the dark, I could tell this wasn’t much of a heartland. The two lane road Elliot was driving us down was lined on both sides by flat pastures, broken up only by the occasional silo or billboard. Most of the signs were pointing us back to Wichita, where there were actual things to attract people to the good state of Kansas.
“Turn right in two miles.”
The mechanical voice of the rental car’s GPS broke the silence that filled the car. Cyrus was in the back seat, flipping through his phone and muttering to himself. Elliot kept his eyes on the road, still refusing to speak to me after I demanded he get Cyrus a ticket on the plane with us. And me? I was lost in my own thoughts of what Cyrus had taught me. I kept imagining my door to the otherworld, adding chains to it then taking them away. The only way I could ever be helpful was to learn how to open the door and let the spirits speak for themselves. I had to learn how to call specific ones forward while pushing the others away.
“Cyrus, I can call forth specific spirits, right? Isn’t that what the other Sibyls could do?”
“Yes. It took them years of practice to accomplish such a feat.”
I took his words for what they were; a deterrence. I ignored them.
“That’s what I want to learn next.” I shifted in my seat to face him. “If this is going to work, I need to know how to ask for the specific souls in the underworld.”
“What happened to you, Eva?” Elliot was making the right turn onto Main Street when he interrupted me. “Just a few days ago, you were laughing at the very thought of ghosts. Now you are trying to contact them?”
“I know it sounds ridiculous.” I chose my words carefully. “I don’t know how to explain what I’ve seen, Eli. I’ve told you this already. Besides, you’ve told me at least a hundred times that there are things in this world we can not explain. I hate to say this, but I believe I am now one of those things.”
He grabbed my hand then kissed the back of it. “And I hate to say this, but maybe you should listen to Cyrus. You are too new at this life.”
“Indeed she is.” Cyrus tucked his phone into his jacket pocket. “Perhaps you can convince Eva not to put herself into unnecessary danger as it seems I have failed. She listens to you.”
“Last time I checked, I am an adult.” I frowned. “One who capable to making her own decisions.”
“You are.” Elliot squeezed my hand and placed it on the armrest between us. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Hey, I heard what Cyrus said about being possessed. I happen to like who I am. I’m not looking to become anyone else.”
I tried to make light of my words. It was hard to do so. I was determined, yes. But I was also afraid. Images of the wild woman in my hotel mirror returned to the forefront of my mind along with how much I wanted to join her on the other side of the glass. I chased the memory away with a quick shake of my head. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”
“We’re here.” Elliot pulled into a small parking spot right in front of the town’s only hotel. It blended in so well with the other storefronts, I had a hard time figuring out just which door we were supposed to go into. As we got out of the car, Elliot spoke up once more.
“The rest of the crew will be flying in tomorrow. We’ll call Joanna and set up a time to meet with her. Find out exactly what is going on before we go to the location.”
“Alright,” I took a breath as Cyrus climbed out from the backseat. “We have to come up with a back story for Cyrus, too. I’m not ready to announce to your production team just why I need a bodyguard.”
“It’s just a good a cover as any.” Cyrus leaned against the car as he took in the quiet street. “Elliot has already told them you were attacked at the conference, correct?”
I nodded.
“Then tell them I was hired on from a security firm in New York for your protection.”
“You know,” I paused for only a moment as I snagged my purse out of the floorboard and went to join Elliot on the sidewalk. “That makes perfect sense.”
“Come on.” Elliot reached for my hand, intertwining our fingers. “Let’s get inside. It’s been a very long night and tomorrow isn’t going to be any better.”
I resisted the urge to snuggle closer to Elliot’s side with Cyrus following so close behind us. As much as the move to California was a new start for me, tomorrow would be the start of what we were here to do. I was nervous, but ready to face whatever came our way.
Spirits and possessions be damned.