“I guess I really screwed up this time,” Levahn finally concluded.
Kiah looked like he would argue or at least try to offer an alternative view, but after several heartbeats, he finally said, “Yeah, you did.”
“And now you’re here to kill me and send me back?” Levahn’s question sounded strained.
“Now, there lies the catch in the whole thing,” Kiah said. “As a Guardian, I don’t have the ability to send you back. That’s the job of a SoulChaser, which I’d expect to be making an appearance any time now.”
“Oh, I figured they’d send you by yourself,” Levahn remarked.
“To do someone else’s job? The Afterlife is nothing if not organized.”
Levahn stood up and took a few steps away, peering out at the crowd filtering through the midway. He turned back to Kiah and asked, “How will I know?”
Kiah couldn’t help cracking a knowing smiling. “Trust me, you’ll know.”
Levahn didn’t look comforted by the answer.
“Rogues and SoulChasers have a knack for finding each other. Having a SoulStar in hand is key, too. Look, the important thing is that when he or she gets here, don’t fight them. You can make it as easy or as difficult as you want. I’d recommend making it easy.”
“But then my whole plan will be wasted.”
Kiah shook his head. “Based on my experiences, cooperating will go a lot farther with the Eternals than anything you had intended would have.”
Dejected, Levahn returned and sat down, his head and shoulders slumped, his back bent in defeat. “I was positive it would work,” he muttered.
No longer smiling, Kiah asked, “What was this plan of yours?”
Perking up a bit, Levahn looked Kiah in the eyes. “I was going to do something good, stop a robbery, protect someone from an accident, something that the Eternals couldn’t ignore. Then, they would have to re-evaluate my eternal progression.” Hope had bled into his words and Kiah could see it in his eyes as well.
“You did this so that you could ascend from the lowest Glory?”
“I did it for Amberleigh and me, both. Despite me being stuck in the lowest, she still loves me. I don’t know why, but she does. I thought that maybe if I could move up, even if it was slowly, eventually we’d be together... forever.”
Kiah rubbed his cheeks with his hands, feeling nearly overcome with conflicting emotions. The wooden tabletop he sat on pinched the back of his left leg and he let the pain wash away the confusion.
“What do you think?” Levahn asked. “Would it have worked?”Kiah took a few moments to collect his thoughts, then turned his complete attention to Levahn. “I want to tell you about a retrieval I did a long time back. It was in the heyday of my career as a SoulChaser. I was experienced, ran on gut instinct, and entirely too prideful. But it’s not about me. I got called to retrieve a father that had gone rogue in order to make sure his son was going to be all right without him. His son was about seven years old and was devastated by his father’s premature death. With both his parents dead and buried, the mining town where the little boy lived took him into their orphanage and made sure his needs were provided for. Their biggest fear was the red death, which had swept the nearby towns, killing scores of children this little boy’s age.”
“That’s terrible,” Levahn said, engrossed in Kiah’s storytelling.
“The little boy’s name was Sven and he had been in the orphanage for about a week when his father, who was a good and loving parent, left Paradise and returned to the mining town. If all he had done was make sure that his son was provided for and returned to Paradise, all would have been well.”
“But he didn’t.”
“No, when he arrived at the town, he immediately checked the town hospice, fearing that Sven could have been hurt already. He didn’t find his son, but he did find his son’s friend, a little boy Sven’s age named Pitr. Pitr had the red death, even though no one knew it, and the man actually watched the little boy’s soul leave his body and move on into the Afterlife. In a sudden impulse, the father entered Pitr’s body, not only reviving it, but healing it from the plague. He then left the hospice and went in search of Sven.”
His expression darkened, Levahn said, “I think I know where this story is going.”
Kiah nodded, then continued, “I was sent to retrieve the father, now in the body of a young boy. Interestingly, my arrival at the mining town, SoulStar in hand, coincided with an attack of desert raiders looking for food. The children all gathered together, Sven and his father included, and hid in one of the upper floors of an ore tower. Mostly a skeletal structure, it had one set of stairs leading from the ground to the top and a long conveyor belt that served to move the ore down to the mine floor for processing. Sven and the other children hoped to go unnoticed, but one of the raiders heard them moving and pursued them. Sven’s father hit upon an idea. He helped the rest of the children, his son included, get safely onto the conveyor belt and turned it on. Then, in order to ensure their safe defense, he threw himself onto the raider from two floors up.”
Levahn didn’t speak. He shook his head in disbelief.
“I was there to watch as the raider and Pitr’s body tumbled over a hundred feet to the floor of the open mine. When I got there, the raider’s corpse lay beneath Pitr’s broken body, and Sven’s father looked up at me. ‘Is my little boy going to be okay?’ he asked me. There was nothing I could say, so I knelt down next to the dying child and carefully placed the SoulStar on his chest. Pitr’s little body shuddered once, then relaxed and Sven’s father returned to the Afterlife.”
“What happened to the little boy, Sven?”
Kiah shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I know that his father had to stand before the Judgement Court for going rogue. See, Levahn, it doesn’t matter how honorable your intention, it is against the Laws governing Eternity for you to inhabit another soul’s mortal remains without permission. And only on the rarest occasion is it granted. As a soul, you can come here to Shadow Valley as often as you want. You’re free to watch as life unfolds for everyone living here. But once you break the Laws the way you have, it is only a matter of time before that break is mended and you find yourself before the Judgement Court, all of your great plans crumbled at your feet.”
“But I only wanted to try and do something right. Prove to everyone I’m as good as they are,” Levahn protested.
Kiah looked at their surroundings. Multitudes of families and friends gathered together to celebrate life and its abundance. He desperately wanted to comfort his wife’s brother, to tell him he’d put in a good word for the man, that maybe the Judgement Court’s ruling wouldn’t be that severe. But Kiah knew how severe rogue possession was and how hefty a penalty it carried. Without that, episodes of rogue possession would escalate to an unmanageable degree. There in the failing light, the only thing he could think to say was, “We should go find the others.” It was then he saw the subtle twitching in Levahn’s eyes. Alarm bells began ringing in the Guardian’s head. Levahn’s host had held up well with the incompatible soul inside it. But even the most robust host body eventually failed and the repercussions would be felt far and wide as the rogue went on an insane rampage. He hoped that the SoulChaser sent to retrieve Levahn arrived soon.
As the two of them pressed into the swelling crowd, Kiah couldn’t help putting a brotherly hand on Levahn’s shoulder and said, “Remember, Levahn, the Afterlife is a place of forgiveness, perfect love and joy. Let that thought be your light in the darkness.”
Chapter 45
“More Arrivals”
The light had diminished noticeably as the pickup truck Pol and Brenden rode in pulled into the gravel parking lot of the fairgrounds.
“Sure hope this doesn’t turn out to be further from our target than walking would have been,” Brenden muttered.
His hand in
his pocket, Pol grabbed the SoulStar and held it. The relic’s slight vibration soothed and filled him with confidence and peace.
“This is the place. I’m sure of it.”
“Excellent,” Brenden agreed, even as the truck pulled a stop at the end of a long row of automobiles. “Then let’s go.”
The two SoulChasers climbed down from the truck bed and, after thanking the driver for the ride, began the long walk to the entrance.
Chapter 46
“A Comfortable Connection”
Gloom had descended quickly with the heavy cloud cover, but the midway was lit like the noonday sun. Sports stadium lighting illuminated every step of the fairgrounds, except for those that relied on shadow, such as the fortune teller and carnival haunted house.
Jake and Shannon walked side-by-side down the main thoroughfare, passing the assortment of booths, each silently munching on a cup of shaved ice. He had chosen Cola flavor and she had Blue Raspberry. Amy and Taya had the two boys, so there weren’t small hands pulling on sleeves or making demands on their attention. The two of them made their way toward the VIP pavilion.
“For being a rock star, this guy sure requires a lot of hand-holding,” Shannon said, her lips and tongue dyed a bright blue.
Jake said, “I’m guessing the bigger the star, the more hand-holding is required. He’s not needed for about an hour, though, so we’ll stop in and remind him, then get outta there.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing his stuff. I don’t care for his music, but I hear his art and sculptures are pretty wild.”
“I’m interested in your impression,” Jake said as they reached the pavilion.
The two of them were in no hurry as they moved down the nearest aisle lined with other invited guests’ displays: handcrafted nicknack, computer generated sci-fi art, the original weaving loom from when the Andrews family settled Shadow Valley....
The historical subjects captured Shannon’s interest and she pelted Jake with questions about them; most he could answer. Some were so obscure that he had to plead ignorance.
Gradually, they made their way to the center of the pavilion, where Chaz and his collection of hangers-on had grouped. One of the women was manning the autograph table, referring anyone looking to get the signature of the rock star to the signing schedule, which carefully regimented the man’s time. Jake paused to watch and for the most part, Chaz’s fans understood the man’s need for downtime. There were a few that got upset about it, especially since Chaz sat at the bizarre dining table only a few yards away. No begging, pleading, or requests to sign voluptuous chests could draw him away from the animated conversation he was having with his usually silent drummer.
Nodding to the blond at the table, Jake led Shannon back to where Chaz and his retinue relaxed.
“Ah, there you are,” Chaz said, noticing Jake and then taking special notice of Shannon. He stood up, his gaze glued to her face, and crossed the few steps to stand before her. Without taking his eyes from hers, he reached down and grasped her right hand, lifting it to his lips. The only time his eyes left hers was for the brief moment of his kiss, which caused her arm and spine to tingle a bit. When he looked back at her face, a moment of disappointment passed across his face. Unmoved by his gesture, Shannon wasn’t even flushed.
“In case you’re wondering, my offer to sweep you away from here to a night of sweat-soaked passion is still open.” He toned his voice low, and with a slight rumble to it which sounded masculine and primal.
Shannon gave him a half-smile and said softly enough for only those in the immediate area to hear, “Still not interested. Thanks, anyway.”
Before the two could get into any verbal sparring, Jake took Shannon’s hand from Chaz and said to Chaz as he led her over to the nearest wall of paintings, “You smooth talker.”
Unaccustomed to being denied not only once but twice, Chaz hesitated before he moved back to his seat. With a subtle finger twitch, his blonde bombshell hurried over and sat down on his lap.
For a second, Jake worried that the chair would collapse under their combined weight, but it didn’t even flex, remaining firm.
Jake could feel Chaz’s gaze on them as the couple took the time to look over his many paintings. Some of them were dark and brooding, as his rock persona would suggest, but others of brightly colored forest images or those of children at play, surprised Shannon. Jake had suspected they would, as they had him upon first viewing them.
By the time they had finished looking through the man’s prolific works, the signing schedule had begun and a long line of Vein Drain fans, with their black hair, pale skin and darkened eyes, waited to meet their icon.
Shannon and Jake slipped out a side exit and soon found themselves back on the fairground’s main avenue.
“So?” Jake asked, noticing that much of the flow of foot traffic was headed toward the grandstand at the far end of the fairgrounds.
Shannon hummed to herself for a short while, before responding, “I was surprised how... accessible... the themes from a lot of his paintings were. With a band named Vein Drain, I would’ve expected a lot of darker imagery, but except for that one section on medieval torture, it was pretty cool.”
Nodding, Jake suddenly crashed up against her as he was shoved out of the way by a group of teenage boys heading for the bleachers. Shannon grabbed hold of him to keep them both from getting trampled and between them they managed to stay on their feet. When the chaos was over, Shannon held up her left hand, firmly grasped in his right.
Jake flushed pink and gave her an awkward smile. Then he let go of her and rolled his shoulders to resettle his leather jacket. It also gave him a chance to compose himself. He wasn’t sure what had sent his heart rate skyrocketing, but he suspected that it had nothing do to with getting jostled around. He could still feel the smoothness of her skin against his and the light smell of peaches from her hair. “Uhh... sorry.”
Shannon smiled, looking bashful, watching her feet as she walked.
“I’ve said it before, but I really appreciate you putting up with Damon and me.” Her voice had softened, which only added to Jake’s sudden nervousness.
“Hey, it’s no problem. There’s plenty of room and it’s been fun having a little kid around. Especially one as interesting as Damon.” He hoped it sounded as sincere as he felt.
“So, it’s not as lonely and you like having a little blond boy under foot. Is that all?” she teased.
“Well, then there’s your red hair...” he teased back.
She bumped him with her elbow and said with her light Scottish lilt, “Yeah, I know all about you and redheads.”
Jake took a second away from the bizarre conversation to make sure they were headed in the right direction. They had naturally fallen in with the stream of attendees heading for the First Night presentation at the grandstand.
“Redheads,” he mumbled. “You can’t beat ‘em.” And he found the tattoos way sexier than he would’ve expected.
Then Shannon’s expression darkened and when she looked up at him, her face was concerned.
“I doubt that Taya and I will ever be friends.”
Jake scowled, then replied, “That’s a pretty good bet, actually.”
“It’s neither here-nor-there for me, but Damon sure likes Natey.”
Jake couldn’t help smiling at the memory of the two boys running around the estate grounds together.
“They’ve sure become inseparable, those two.”
“It’s gonna really hurt Damon when we have to leave and he finds out that he won’t see Natey ever again.”
An idea struck Jake and he worded it carefully. “There’s nothing that says they can’t stay in touch. I could talk to Taya and see if it’d be okay for the two boys to be pen pals, keep in touch through email.”
“Thanks, but I doubt she
’d go for that. She seems pretty intent on leaving all memory of this little adventure far behind her.”
“Lemme talk to her. I can try and come up with something.” He wasn’t sure he could, after he thought it over some more, but he’d give it his best. What-the-hell’s the matter with me? he wondered. This is the woman that nearly destroyed my life! Then she has the guts to show up on my front door uninvited and turn my life upside down again!
And, yet, despite the myriad of confusing emotions and conflicting memories he couldn’t completely reconcile with the last few days, one thing he was sure of: he wasn’t going to lose touch with Shannon and Damon ever again.
Chapter 47
“The Corruption Grows”
In its heyday, Landmark Resort not only provided thrill rides for young and old, it also specialized in live entertainment. Three different open-air theaters dotted the resort midway. The two on each end of the park were smaller, with only a few dozen seats, used for more intimate performances. In the center of the resort, the largest theater seated a few hundred and catered to a wider range of audience members.
Originally trimmed in pastel blue, white and pink, it all looked faded now under the darkening sky. In the center of the stage was a large fire pit that Angelique had one of her rogues move there from the resort’s picnic area. To either side of the iron ring, upstage a few feet, were two metal oil barrels, full to overflowing of kindling made of anything burnable that came easily to hand. The backdrop had been streaked with crimson blood, painted in ancient runes and symbols that only the hierarchy of the Realm of Lost Souls still understood.
Angelique stood half-way up the central aisle to survey the afternoon’s work. She had worried the blood would be the hardest to come by, but in fact it had turned out to be the easiest. Now the corpses of the abandoned resort’s three security guards were draped along the front façade of the theater. She sensed Masaal approach behind her from the top of the aisle.
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