by G. R. Lyons
She cut off with a gasp, pain erupting in her chest as a vision slammed into her. She slumped over onto the ground, just noticing Crawford launch himself off the couch and lean over her, his eyes wide as he ripped open her shirt and stared at the copy of a bullet hole.
Asenna sucked in a rattling breath, cringing as the fear flowed to her from the victim.
Gods, make it stop…
“It's alright,” Crawford murmured, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Don't fight it, Asenna. Just let it happen and it'll go easier.”
She tried to shake her head, trapped in the vision and inwardly clawing her way out, only to have it tighten its hold on her.
Let me out!
“Crawford to dispatch,” he said, then murmured to her, “It's alright. Just let go.” He turned back to his communicator and said, “Patch me through to Chief.”
“Copy that,” Asenna heard, and she gasped in a breath in the silence that followed.
Let me out! Let me out!
Gods, make it stop!
Let me out!
“Easy now,” Crawford murmured. “Easy.”
Latching on to his voice, Asenna tried to calm herself and let the vision flow through her rather than struggling against it. Her entire being seemed intent upon refusing to cooperate, but she forced herself to relax and allow it to happen. Slowly, the fear became less intense, the pain less debilitating, and though she could still sense the victim's suffering, it didn't seem to have total control over her.
Almost there, she thought, trying to breathe evenly. Almost–
Let me out!
* * *
BENASH SET the car to autopilot as they headed back to the agency. The lead had turned out to be a dead end, and Malrin was muttering away from the passenger seat, complaining as usual.
“Detective, please,” Benash said, holding up a hand.
“Sorry, Chief. I just wish we could catch a break.”
“I know.”
They lapsed into silence, gazing out the windows as they got lost in their own thoughts, until the car's radio sprung to life, showing a signal from the agency office.
“Dispatch to Chief, over.”
Benash pressed an icon on the dash display and said, “Chief here, over.”
“Patching through from Crawford.”
“Copy that. Crawford?”
“Here, Chief,” he said, sounding breathless. “Spirit event.”
“Copy that,” Benash said, touching another icon to record the conversation.
He listened as Crawford stumbled over the questions.
“What do you look like?”
“Blonde, short, athletic, brown eyes,” came Asenna's raspy voice over the communicator.
“Where are you?”
“1197 Walnut Drive, living room.”
Benash frowned, mumbling to himself, “Why does that address sound familiar?”
“Uh…shit…” Crawford stammered. “Um…Oh, who are you?”
“Jessa Gael.”
Benash slammed his foot down on the manual brake, the car lurching to a stop.
“Repeat that last!” he ordered just as the dispatch officer, listening in on the conversation, announced, “Medical unit on the way.”
Crawford replied, “She said Jessa Gael.” Crawford paused, then mumbled, “That name sounds familiar.”
“What's going on, Chief?” Malrin asked.
Benash punched the address into the car's navigation system and thrust it back into autopilot, the car tearing down the road toward its destination.
“Ashyn…”
Chapter 20
THE MEDICAL unit was still several blocks away when Benash pulled into the driveway of 1197 Walnut Drive and practically threw himself out of the car in his hurry to get inside. He heard Malrin right behind him, and they both drew their guns as they approached the house.
The front door was locked, so they circled around the house from opposite sides, meeting again at a rear door. Holding up a hand for silence, Benash eased the door open and crept inside, listening as hurried footsteps tore down an upstairs hallway.
Benash and Malrin crept through the kitchen and waited, seeing a masked man hurtle himself down the stairs, a lumpy bag swinging from one hand while he held a gun in the other. Not seeing them, the man rushed for the back door.
“Security!” Malrin shouted, raising his gun. “Drop your weapon!”
The man spun around, his eyes wide, and fired wildly at them. Benash ducked out of the way, then took aim and hit the man in the shoulder. The man tripped and fell onto his face, giving Malrin enough time to run forward and pin the man to the ground, kicking aside his gun and binding his hands.
“Call it in,” Benash ordered breathlessly, standing up and moving away from the kitchen, listening for any other presence in the house.
The upstairs sounded silent, so Benash went straight to the living room, stepping around the couch to find Jessa Gael sprawled out on the floor, gasping and choking as she bled from a gunshot wound to her chest.
“Uncle Ben!” she choked, reaching for him.
Benash dropped to his knees, grabbed her hand with one of his own, and pressed his other hand to the wound on her chest, trying to slow the bleeding.
“Shhh,” he said. “It's alright. Medic is on the way.”
“He broke in…stealing things…”
“I know. Hush now. Try to relax. It'll be alright.”
“Hurts…”
“I know, dearheart. Don't talk. It'll be alright.”
The girl gasped and choked, coughing up blood, her hand tightening around his.
“It's so cold,” she whispered. “Why is it so cold?”
Benash yanked a blanket off the couch and tucked it around her, chaffing her hand as he stayed by her side.
“It's alright,” he said, and looked up as he heard a noise out on the street. “See? There. The medic's here. You're going to be fine. Just relax.”
“I'm…scared…Oh, gods…”
“Stay with me, Jessa,” he said, grabbing her shoulder. “Look at me! Stay with me!”
She choked again, her body shuddering, and just before the medical team made it through the front door, her eyes glazed over and her chest fell.
“Jessa! Jessa!”
The medics raced to his side, tearing open her shirt and applying oxygen to her mouth. Benash sat back in a daze, watching them try to restart her heart, but after several minutes, she remained still.
“Sorry, Chief,” the medic sighed, shaking his head.
Benash sat back, crossed his arms over his knees, leaving bloody handprints on his suit jacket, and gave way to tears.
* * *
WHEN HE managed to get himself together, Benash went out to the curb, where they were putting the armed robber into a secure vehicle to transport to a guarded medical facility. The car sped away just as another pulled up, easing to a stop in the driveway.
Taking a deep breath, he braced himself as Ashyn and her husband got out of the car with their two sons.
“Benash!” Ashyn greeted him with a smile on her face, rushing toward him and giving him a hug. Her body felt so warm against his through his dress shirt, having hidden away his bloody suit jacket so she wouldn't immediately see it.
It was going to be hard enough to give her the news as it was.
Ashyn pulled back and looked up at him with a smile. He looked down at her, trying to control his features, and his eyes stopped on the low neckline of her shirt, beneath which he could just make out part of the scar he'd given her, all those years ago on another Isle, when she'd been his fourth wife for a short time. He braced himself for giving her another scar, and a worse one.
“How are you?” she asked him, still smiling. Apparently, he was masking his grief well. “Vik, look who's here!”
Viktor Gael, Ashyn's husband, approached and shook Benash's hand, then glanced around skeptically at the unmarked transport van parked just down the street.
Ashyn f
ollowed her husband's gaze, then turned back to Benash.
“What's going on? Is–” She paused, looking toward the house, and her eyes went wide. She looked up at Benash, studying his face, then back at the house, then back at him again, finally registering that his sudden presence there didn't bode well. “Oh, gods. Jessa. What– Benash, please– Oh gods, no–”
She fell against him, sobbing, and Benash held her, struggling to fight tears of his own as he murmured, “I'm so sorry. Ashyn, gods, I'm so sorry.”
* * *
AFTER THE house had been swept, evidence collected, photographs taken, and the body carefully bagged and removed, Benash found Ashyn and her husband sitting out on the curb while their boys were already tucked into bed at a neighbor's house.
Benash sat down next to Ashyn and crossed his arms over his knees.
“A robbery gone wrong,” he murmured, shaking his head. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gods, I'm so sorry.”
“Not your fault, Benash,” Ashyn whispered, rubbing her tired eyes. “I'm just glad you were with her. I'd hate to think she died alone.”
Benash gazed down the street, his vision going unfocused as he murmured, “She'd grown so much. I couldn't believe she'd gotten so big. She was almost a woman.” Ashyn stifled a sob, and Benash shook his head. “I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be–”
“No, please,” she said, taking his hand. “You were her godfather. You watched her grow up. Of course you'll miss her. Just like I miss Saira–”
She broke off, and Benash nodded.
“Now I know how you felt,” she whispered, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. “Benash, I'm so sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don't you worry about me.”
A slight chuckle slipped through the tears as she said, “Force of habit.”
Benash and Viktor, sitting on either side of her, both barked a laugh, wiping away their tears.
Ashyn took his hand again and said, “Please tell me you've made some progress with–”
She broke off, but Benash knew what she meant.
“Gods, I'm getting it from all sides today,” he said with a bitter laugh.
“How so?”
“Asenna asked me the same thing earlier,” he answered, then clarified, “She heard we were in town. Came by for a visit.”
“Little Asenna? Jevon's girl?” Ashyn asked, her face showing just a hint of life. “Gods, I've not seen her in years. How is she?”
Benash laughed. “Not so little anymore. She's in her thirties now.”
Ashyn's jaw dropped. “Asenna…is thirty? Gods be damned, where has the time gone?”
With that, she burst into tears again.
“Gods, Ashyn, I'm so sorry,” Benash murmured. After a pause, he muttered, “I should never have brought you here–”
Ashyn whirled around and slapped a hand over Benash's mouth.
“Don't you dare, Benash!” she cried. “Don't even think it. If you hadn't brought me here, I would either be dead, or forced into a loveless marriage, raising children I was not allowed to care for. Yes, I lost my daughter, and I'll always miss her…” She paused while her voice cracked, let out a sob, then sniffed and continued, “But at least I got to have her, to know her, to love her. And I have my husband, and my other children. Benash, I would never trade that for life on Tanas. Never.”
She bent forward, hugging her knees as she cried, and held onto her husband as he put his arms around her. Eyes swimming with tears, Benash put his arms around them both and joined them as they cried.
* * *
ASENNA GOT slowly out of the car when Crawford pulled up to the scene, seeing the chief sitting on a curb with a man and a woman. She hung back, sticking to shadows as the suns set in the distance, not wanting to interfere while the chief looked so sad.
Have you ever seen Vorena?
Startled, Asenna straightened up, looking across the car at Crawford and asking, “Did you say something?”
“What?” he asked. “No. Why?”
Vorena? a female voice came to her. Benash, are you alright?
“There it is again,” Asenna gasped, looking around.
“There is what?” Crawford asked.
“Shhh,” she hissed, holding up a hand as she listened.
No, Ashyn, I'm serious, she heard, and it sounded like the chief's voice. She looked up and saw him staring intently at the woman sitting beside him, but their lips never moved. Vorena is here. She's a ghost. I'm sure you'd be able to see her if you tried. Maybe she can help you see Jessa again, someday.
Benash, the female voice came again, and Asenna saw a concerned look on the woman's face. I think you've been working too much. Maybe you should take a break, clear your head.
The chief brightened and pointed near where Asenna stood, and she heard, No, look there.
Asenna watched as Vorena stepped out from behind a tree lining the street, and the woman sitting by the chief gasped, staring at her.
My gods! That's…That's…
Asenna whirled around and got back in the car, slamming the door shut.
“Hey, you alright?” Crawford asked, leaning through the window on the other side.
She stared through the windscreen, shaking her head. “I think I'm going mad.”
Crawford barked a laugh. “If you're going mad, there's certainly no hope for me. You wanna go view the scene?”
She shook her head rapidly. “I think I'll just sit here. Wait until you're all ready to leave.”
“But you wanted to come out here–”
“I know what I said,” she snapped. “I just…I'd rather head back now.”
“Alright,” he soothed. “I'll go see if the chief needs anything and then we'll head back.”
Asenna nodded, watching him go, and saw him briefly greet the man and woman on the curb before carrying on a muffled conversation with the chief. After a moment, she saw the two men exchange transmitters, and the chief returned to the car while Crawford stayed to wrap up the scene, watching the couple cross the street to a neighbor's house while their own was locked down for investigation and cleanup.
“You alright?” Chief asked as he got in the car.
Asenna nodded. “I–” she started to ask, then thought better of it. “I need a drink.”
The chief looked at her strangely, then pressed the transmitter to the ignition and turned the car around as he mumbled, “You too, huh?”
She nodded again, and closed her eyes as they continued the journey back to the hotel, her mind buzzing with things she didn't understand.
* * *
ONCE THE scene was wrapped up for the night, Charlie drove Malrin to the hotel, wanting to stop in to check on Asenna before he went home himself.
He knocked on the door just as a matter of warning, then waved a passkey at the lock, letting himself in. He shut the door, turned around to face the room, and froze.
Asenna sat on a sofa, the coffee table before her littered with beer bottles, and she swayed as she looked up at him, a nearly empty bottle in her hand.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Getting disgustingly wasted,” she said, waving the bottle around.
“I can see that,” Charlie said, putting his hands on his hips. “Why, may I ask?”
Asenna slammed down the bottle and picked up another. “Men. Always asking the obvious questions. If you knew what I was doing, why did you bother asking? Shoulda started with the why.”
She took another swig of beer and Charlie looked away, shaking his head.
“Drunk off her ass and still a perfectionist,” he muttered to himself. He turned toward her and waved at the mess of bottles on the table. “Who brought you all this?”
Asenna swayed to one side and raised an eyebrow at him. “What makes you think I didn't just go get it myself?”
Charlie crossed his arms over his chest. “For starters, there's two very good reasons standing right outside your door.”
She looked
toward the door, grimaced, and took another drink.
“Chief did,” she muttered.
Charlie started, his arms falling to his sides as his jaw hit the ground.
“Chief did?”
“That is what I just said,” she scoffed, then frowned. “Isn't it?”
She blinked and swayed, managing to right a bottle before it tipped over and spilled. Rolling his eyes, Charlie rushed to her side and hauled her up onto the couch.
“Alright, I think you've had more than enough,” he said, pressing her back into a sitting position so she wouldn't fall over.
He tried to stand up, but Asenna reached out and grabbed the end of his tie, dragging him down until they were face to face.
“Not so fast, there, hot shot,” she murmured, leaning toward him.
Charlie put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back. “You're drunk.”
“When's the last time you got laid, Crawford?”
He snatched his tie out of her hand and took a step back. “None of your business.”
“Oooh, that long, huh?”
Charlie gathered up the bottles that hadn't yet been opened and stuffed them into the small refrigerator, then dumped the empty ones in the trash, feeling as though the world had turned upside down.
“Well?”
He looked over at her, seeing an amused grin on her face, and sighed. “Twelfth of Shysais, 3483.”
Asenna raised an eyebrow, sliding over onto her side and just catching herself on her elbow. “You remember the exact date?”
“Kinda hard to forget.”
“Why's that?”
Charlie crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. “The day before my wedding,” he murmured. “The day before my wife disappeared.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Shit. Sorry.”
Asenna fell silent, and when Charlie looked over at her, she was frowning and looked to be almost on the verge of tears.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, walking back over to her. “Alright, come on. Off to bed with you.”
“I'm not tired,” she muttered, but didn't protest as Charlie scooped her up and carried her across the room, dropping her on the bed. He switched off the lamp beside the bed, then reached across her to do the same with the one on the other side, and found her staring up at him as he pulled his arm back.