Mortals: Heather Despair Book One

by Leslie Edens

  I hoped to heaven above there weren’t more of them, surrounding us from behind.

  But the way seemed clear. Behind the main street of Portales Espirituales and its tourist attractions, there lay a quiet neighborhood of adobe houses and sandy yards sprouting barrel cacti and a minimum of crab grass. I scanned for Trenton and Lily.

  There they were. At the end of the block, Trenton waved at me like a maniac. Lily pulled him up the hill. They were just entering . . . oh no. Were those the gates to the Portales Espirituales Cemetery?

  I wanted to shout to them, Wait! Don’t go in there! We don’t know if it’s safe! I mean, the bad guys chasing us could be in there, hiding among the headstones. They might attain stronger power among the dead! What if they were as awesome at summoning evil spirits as they were at firing blue electricity?

  But I couldn’t start shouting while we were being hunted. I couldn’t mind message them either. I could only run quietly after them and hope I reached them in time.

  The cemetery was awfully exposed, towering on the hillside above the town. The creeps after us had probably seen them enter the gates.

  Most structures around Portales Espirituales were adobe, humble-looking, tan-colored material that could take a thousand shapes. But the cemetery gates were formidable. They would have been more at home in a Gothic film than in the desert town of Portales Espirituales. Stretching high above the main part of town, the gates seemed to pierce the bright blue sky with their heavy ironwork, marble pillars, and a cryptic Latin inscription over the gates: Transire Partitus. Cross the divide.

  Chapter Five

  The Crossing

  I lost sight of Trenton and Lily after they passed between the cemetery gates. I ran up the hill, sweating in the heat, hoping I wasn’t too late. That inscription over the gates had me spooked. What if Cross over referred to entering the cemetery? Maybe Cross over meant a location, a place with a cross over it? Plenty like that among the graves.

  I approached the gates rapidly, taking in the sweeping trees and green lawns with awe. It was a mystery how the town kept the cemetery so green, when everything else around was dry desert and sand. But I had no time to think about that now. I scooted up to the gates. Sybil, in my backpack, yipped.

  “What is it, girl?” I whispered.

  Then I saw. A flash of red hair. Señor Hotness.

  I leapt back, stood ready. Oskar was hiding behind the pillar of the gates, but when he saw me, he leaned out and beckoned, his face serious and oh-so-gorgeous.

  Yes. I should go to him. I took a step in his direction. Sybil growled.

  Wake up, Heather! He’s mesmerizing you! I shook my head, hard. “What do you want?” I called.

  “It’s safe in here. Your friends are in here,” he called. Even his voice transfixed me, smooth and melodious, like a woodwind instrument.

  BLAM! My body crackled with charge, and an ache I’d never known shot through me, all my nerves on fire. I twitched, blackness edging my vision. My legs wouldn’t respond. I slammed down hard on the sandy ground outside the gates. I strained my neck but could only see the trunk of a jumping cholla cactus I’d fallen behind. As tall as a man, the jumping cholla bristled with spiky stems covered in inch-long needles. Those stems could break off with the slightest touch, “jumping” onto passing animals and sticking to people’s clothes.

  I tried to inch back from the cactus but could barely move. Lucky my face didn’t land in its sharp spines! Otherwise, I didn’t feel too lucky, lying stunned and helpless in the sand. What hit me?

  “Hold on. We’ll get you out of there,” I heard Oskar whisper, and Sybil whimpered this time. Poor Sybil! I wished I could turn her loose, tell her to run away! All I could do was quiver, my muscles like jelly. They got me. But who were they?

  Maybe they’re the ones that got Sam. Maybe Oskar was one of them, luring me in.

  That black fog closed in again, flickering, and through it, the grim figures walked.

  “We hit her. I saw her go down.” Sounded like a woman’s voice.

  “She will make a fine prize for our lord,” said a deeper, male voice.

  “That’s if he can contain her. Aurelius, I’ve never seen such raw power.” The woman’s voice held a hint of admiration.

  “Nonsense, Xenia. Do not fear. She is but an untrained girl, no match for our lord. If the Four could not overcome him, how could she?” chided the man.

  I glimpsed their shoes, black and shapeless, whispering through the sand. They walked quietly, but on the ground. Not ghosts. Why did they have this power to fire blue electricity? Kind of like I did . . .

  I stiffened in fear and tried not to breathe. What if they were my people, or I was one of their kind? This lord they spoke of—I didn’t want to go with them. I didn’t want to become one of them.

  “The boy escaped,” said Xenia.

  “Yesss,” said Aurelius, as their feet passed before the cholla cactus, “For now. But my visions tell me he will turn back to us soon.”

  I held my breath and tried to make my mind like ice. The way I did when I blocked Sam from reading my thoughts. It worked on him. Maybe it would work on these two.

  Their feet passed on. They continued searching along the cemetery fence, in the outlying desert. They hadn’t seen me! What was better, they hadn’t sensed me. That meant blocking my mind could work on these people too, not just my brother.

  My brother. They mentioned a boy. Could that be Sam? I desperately hoped so, and that he really escaped them. But where did he escape to?

  My limbs were tingling, and my legs could move again. A blue haze surrounded me, and for a moment, I thought it was their fog. I rolled carefully over, avoiding the jumping cholla, and flexed my arms. My gaze fixed on the tiny blue particles flitting all over me, like a snowstorm of blue fireflies. Wherever they touched my skin, I felt a pleasurable tingle. Now I had the strength to sit up. Were these blue lights healing me?

  I didn’t have time to figure out where they came from. Xenia and Aurelius were wandering back toward me, and I needed to get out of there, now.

  “Psst, Heather Despair.” Sounded like Trenton’s voice, squeaky with fear. “Come inside the cemetery gates. Please! I’ll explain later.”

  Xenia and Aurelius drew closer. I’d have to take a chance on the cemetery, trust that Oskar wasn’t holding Trenton and Lily captive or worse. It was that or battle the cloaked duo. I knew I couldn’t hold them off for long.

  I needed a diversion, so I could limp inside. A grin spread across my face. I had one idea. I flexed my fingers, felt the buzzing grow. Just a minute longer . . .

  “There you are! The Despair child! Stay still, my dear. We won’t hurt you.” Xenia stretched forth her long staff at me. Next to her, Aurelius beckoned from beneath his cloak.

  “Come with us! We simply want to teach you,” he cooed.

  I didn’t have a minute. “You know what I think of that?” I rubbed my hands together. Had to be enough. The energy had to be enough!

  “My dear—” Xenia began.

  “I’ve had enough schooling. Eat chollo!” I thrust my hands at the jumping chollo cactus before me, blasting it full of blue lightning. Spiny sections burst off, flying through the air, crackling with energy. They spun every which way, a few even shooting in my direction. I dodged. Not a weapon with much precision. Then I heard the screaming.

  I peered over the remains of the cactus, still fizzling with blue sparks. Saw two hopping figures, their cloaks peppered with spiny cactus stems. The blue energy sparked from the stems, holding the chollo’s victims captive. A moment later, one cloaked figure fell, then the other. They lay stunned and groaning on the ground, unable to remove the sharp spines.

  I almost felt sorry for them. But Sybil whined, and I thought about how they could have killed her with their energy blasts. That was enough to send me hobbling for the cemetery gates.

  “Heather Despair!” Trenton held out his arms to me. I crossed the threshold and fell forward. He caught
me, groaning like I weighed a thousand pounds. “Help me, Oskar! She’s heavy!”

  I heard a chuckle. Then, glory of glories! Oskar slid his trim, muscular arm around me and lifted me up. He handed the backpack with Sybil in it to Trenton. Then, Señor Hotness carried me, my head lolling on his shoulder—mostly so I could get closer and smell his hair. If only he’d kiss me! My mind had gone to goo again. Those sexy, full lips. His strong chin and those bedroom eyes. Even if I’d been able to move, I wouldn’t have. Maybe I couldn’t! My head spun. Let him be evil, let him take me wherever he wanted, as long as he carried me there!

  Trenton skipped along beside us. His face turned sour when I gave him a gushy smile. I gazed up at Oskar’s face and wrapped my arms around his wide shoulders.

  “Put her down here! She can walk!” hissed Trenton, pointing at some crumbly, jagged gravestones.

  Oskar stopped, regarding me seriously with his blue-green eyes. I got lost for a second, then realized he was saying something.

  “Can you walk?” he asked.

  “Mmm,” I said, breathing in the scent of his hair. Kind of spicy and also like . . . pomegranates? Delicious. I licked my lips. “I’m dizzy.” Which was true. He was making me dizzy. I closed my eyes and nuzzled under Oskar’s chin. I heard Trenton squeak with outrage, and I smiled. This made up for everything I’d been through. This was the best day of my life!

  I had planned our wedding and number of children (a boy and a girl, preferably twins) by the time Oskar laid me carefully on a flat surface. Hard and cold, and so not Oskar. I opened my eyes in alarm and saw we were in darkness. I reached out. “Help me sit up,” I pleaded.

  “Oh please.” Trenton blew a raspberry. But Oskar, ever a gentleman, gently supported me and ignored my clutching at his sizeable bicep.

  “You must work out,” I purred, hoping I was getting better at the flirting thing. In the dark, his cheek brushed my face. His stubble prickled my skin. I held up my face for a kiss. No one would see in the dark.

  But Oskar drew in a breath and released me. I heard him step back. Trenton giggled in the dark. “That tickles,” he said.

  “Sorry.” Oskar cleared his throat. “You must wonder why I’ve brought you here like this.”

  “Yes, we do.” Lily’s voice echoed in the dark space. How long had she been here? We were in some kind of cave or chamber. “What are your intentions? You saved us back there. I take it you’re not on their side—whatever their side is.”

  “The bad guys.” Oskar’s voice echoed. “Some call them the Turned Against. I’m certainly not on their side. That’s why I brought you here. It’s safe.”

  “Whose side are you on?” Lily’s voice stung with suspicion. My eyes adjusted and I could see her a little now, spiky hair and glasses glinting.

  “The good guys.” Oskar’s voice was smooth. “Ever since I saw my first ghost, I’ve been on the side of the good guys.”

  “You see ghosts, too?” I said.

  A flame flared up, yellow and reassuring. Oskar’s face lit from beneath, smiling in the glow. He struck a match, lit another large, waxy candle, then another.

  The dark bricks of the walls and low ceiling came into view first. Then the long, dark shapes of coffins. I looked down.

  “Is this a coffin I’m sitting on?” I squeaked. No wonder it was so cold! I moved to get down.

  Oskar held up his hands in warning. “No, stay put. Don’t worry. That one’s not in use.”

  “I don’t care! You’re not going to bury me before my time.” I slid off the coffin, into the darkness. I heard crunching under me and scraped my knee on something sharp. “Ow.”

  Trenton shook his head at me. “He told you to stay put. There’s a lot of holes in here.”

  I felt around to see what I was sitting on. My hand closed around a hard, long stick with a sharp end. I held it up. It was a jagged, broken bone. I shrieked and leapt from the hole. “There’s bones in here! I think that was a skeleton!”

  Oskar held a candle over the dark space, and a crumbling mass of bones immediately appeared. “You are correct, Miss Despair. This is a crypt. Belonged to one of the wealthier families in Portales Espirituales.” He held a candle up. On the wall, the name FITZHUGH stood in bold relief, above several more coffins.

  “Eww!” I tried to brush myself off. In my distress, energy zinged through me. I started to glow blue.

  “Wow. That could come in handy,” said Oskar, his eyebrows raised as he admired my glowing state. “How are you doing that?”

  He was so hot. “You like it, huh?” I held up my arms to show him, spun around. “I can also zap things and destroy jumping cholla.” I slid closer to Oskar. “Want to touch it?”

  “Definitely,” said Oskar. His face lit up with excitement.

  Wow. I really must be getting better at flirting. The blue glow brightened as I sat down next to Oskar. But he was leaning over, rifling around near our feet. He pulled out a thick notepad and started writing in it. “Heavy spectral energy buildup,” he said. “Possible telekinesis. Human conduit for spectral energy on the mortal plane.” He looked up and squinted at me. He carefully extended his pen. He poked me delicately on my upper arm.

  “Be careful,” said Lily. “Everything I’ve read says it’s only going to get stronger.”

  “Oh, not necessarily.” Oskar shook the pen he’d touched me with. “Based on some of the paranormal books from my private collection, she could dispel the energy with enough close paranormal contact—say, a ghost. That should send the energy back to where it belongs.”

  “Which is where?” Lily growled. “The land of Oz?”

  “No, the spectral plane. Miss Despair here appears to be capable of holding and releasing large amounts of spectral energy. It must pack quite a punch.” He poked me again, this time with his notebook. It zinged with blue sparks, and Oskar dropped it. “Yow!”

  “I’m sorry! I can’t always control it. I broke all the light bulbs at home,” I said, blushing.

  “You knocked out five people in the cafeteria as well.” He nodded.

  “Just how do you know all this?” Lily still sounded very skeptical.

  “Well . . . I’ve been keeping an eye on things. I also saw what she did to those two outside the gates. Of course, the energy takes something to activate it. Probably strong emotion. Let’s see.” He leaned forward, his lips near mine—was he going to kiss me? My heart pounded. The blue energy flared up, and Oskar flew backward, landing with a thump somewhere in the darkness.

  “Oskar!” Trenton shrieked. Sybil popped out of my backpack and barked.

  I slumped down, my chest heaving with exhaustion. My glow was very weak now. That took a lot out of me.

  Trenton thrashed around in the darkness, searching for Oskar. I heard giggling.

  “Gotcha,” said Oskar. He rose up, lifting Trenton with him. He set Trenton down and touched his springy, blond hair. “Has anybody told you that your hair is just the best? How do you get it to spring up like that?”

  “I dunno. It just does.” Trenton hid his blushing face behind his hands.

  “You’re adorable,” said Oskar. His handsome face pinkened. With one finger, he lifted Trenton’s chin. He gazed deep into Trenton’s eyes. “You have such blue eyes. Cerulean blue.”

  Wha—? I swear, my mouth dropped open. My heart took a sharp, painful dive for my shoes. Oh no, no, no! Oskar liked Trenton. And not me!

  Trenton’s face was scarlet. “I—uh—” He wobbled, like he might faint.

  “Are you okay?” Oskar put his arm around Trenton’s shoulders and eased him to a sitting position.

  “Of course. I’m fabulous!” Trenton burst out, his exuberance returning. A wide grin plastered his face, so wide, I wondered how his cheeks could contain it.

  Why, oh why? I was so sure I was getting somewhere with Oskar. I sulked, my heart aching, and my blue glow faded completely.

  Oskar left Trenton’s side and paced over to me. “The energy subsided.” He leaned over
to inspect me. I glared up at him.

  “That’s what I’ve been saying.” Lily was poking away at her big, padded phone, clueless about the romance in the room. “Ecto-waves are highly erratic and difficult to control. That’s why people in Heather’s situation usually get worse, not better.”

  “Wow. That’s very good ecto-proofing,” said Oskar, nodding at her phone.

  Lily actually stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t patronize me!”

  “Lily!” Trenton gasped. “Pay no attention,” he said to Oskar. “She’s jealous of your private collection. She thought she had the best paranormal books in town.”

  Lily huffed. “That is not it! My collection of paranormal books is unparalleled. Exactly where did this private collection of yours come from, Oskar? Seems awfully convenient. How do we know you’re for real?”

  “Yeah!” I said. I thought that was well put.

  Oskar blew out a breath, slow and even. “You’re right. I wouldn’t trust me either, under these circumstances. But believe me when I say, paranormal studies are my passion. I have an extensive library of esoteric texts I’ve . . . collected. I’ve been studying paranormal and otherworldly phenomena for years.”

  “How many years? Like two?” Lily’s voice was sharp.

  Oskar chuckled in the dark. He slid across the crypt, sat at Trenton’s side again. “Four. I started when I was fourteen. I’m nearly eighteen now.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You’re a senior,” grumbled Lily.

  “Skipped a grade, actually,” said Oskar. He slid closer to Trenton. “I’m a Libra.”

  “Really?” Trenton’s eyes widened at this disclosure. “I’m Aquarius. Does Libra—”

  “—get along with Aquarius? I bet they’re a perfect match,” said Oskar, his voice smooth as butter.

  Trenton beamed.

  “I had you figured for Aquarius,” said Oskar to Trenton. “You’re so lively.”

  “Well, I’m Taurus and I want some answers,” said Lily, scowling.

  I was Leo, but I was too upset about Oskar ignoring me to get involved in this conversation. So, I stayed quiet.