Ghosted, p.9
Ghosted, page 9
part #4 of Girl's Guide to Voodoo Bounty Hunting Series
Nessa wasn’t sure how Soul Eaters locked them into the deal. It had to involve a contract. Generally, written and signed in blood. Verbal could work, too. They had to sign or agree willingly, that was one of the rules. But and this was a big but, they didn’t have to understand all the details of what they were agreeing to. Working with Deadbeat Dad, she had witnessed all sorts of stupid people signing contracts on the flimsiest of explanations.
The blood part might be more difficult. Perhaps a thumbprint was enough. Or even one drop. If Nessa was running this scam, she’d say the blood was necessary to connect to their loved one in the afterlife.
These people would sign away not only their life but their afterlife as well. Never suspecting until it was too late.
She sighed realizing the process was not so different from what happened to her mother.
The coastal overcast had blown farther inland making it seem later than it was. Nessa held the thin Fudo Cord from Mr. Barracuda ready. It had been quiet until they approached the woman. Now the leather was generating a lot of heat.
She closed the distance with the woman intending to try and shake the woman out of her trance. Before she reached her, Pim jumped to snag the leg of her jeans and pull her back.
“What?” she said looking down. Only then did she notice the ring of black stones pressed into the dirt around the elderly woman.
Pim hissed, his fur rising stiffly along his back.
Kneeling she held out her hand close to the stones. A jagged spark of electricity jumped from the ring to her fingertips. Nessa yanked them back, “Ow,” she said shaking off the pain.
Pim paced around the stones, shaking his head.
The spell felt like it was to keep others out, rather than the woman in. If Nessa tried to break the circle, the magic would attack her.
“Do you see anyone?” she asked Pim.
He shook his head again.
“Me neither.”
Did the Soul Eater need to be near his victim? Her lack of knowledge was putting Nessa at a disadvantage not to mention in danger.
Meanwhile, the woman continued chatting away with the invisible George.
The glow from the jewel shifted from purple to the same green as the haze. The woman put a hand to her forehead, swaying slightly.
“Oh Georgie, tell me I’m doing the right thing talking to you like this.”
“You’re not,” shouted Nessa earnestly, waving her hands in the air in front of the woman. “Please, listen to me!”
It was no use. The woman was locked up tightly in a dream world of the Soul Eater’s making. Lonely and heartsick, who knew if she’d stop even if Nessa could explain what was happening. She had her dead Georgie to talk to again.
The woman’s tense posture relaxed. She smiled, “You’re right, of course talking to you isn’t bad. You love me. You’d never hurt me.”
Nessa made a face. Geez, the Soul Eater was feeding the woman everything she longed desperately to hear even as the circle sucked the soul energy out of her.
“Seeing you again is wonderful. I miss you so much,” the woman dabbed at her nose with a handkerchief.
Nessa rocked from foot to foot, not knowing what to do. Even if she could break the circle, which she doubted, the sudden release of energy could be too much for the woman. Judging by her frail appearance, it wouldn’t take much to knock her fully into the next world.
Afternoon slipped slowly into evening. The parking lot had been empty except for a late model Corolla. The woman’s most likely. No other visitors were in the cemetery. A pile of fresh flowers and half a dozen large floral wreaths nearby meant there’d been a funeral earlier.
“We need to get under cover,” she said to Pim looking nervously for the Soul Eater.
Easier said than done.
Unlike Evergreen, this cemetery had few trees. If the Soul Eater was watching, he or she would already know they were there. She’d have to hope he was at a distance working his magic where no one could see.
Nessa eyed the wreaths and flower arrangements. Those would have to do. She shifted the standing flower wreaths surrounding the grave a few plots over. Bunching them in front of a headstone, she created a barrier. She crouched behind the headstone, peering through the flower petals. The Fudo Cord was wide awake. It kept sending tingling jolts of energy up her arm as if urging her to hurry up.
The glow around the woman shifted again from bright green to a dull yellow. She swayed on her feet. Her speech became erratic until she was finally silent, staring vacantly in front of her. Her stillness reminded Nessa of the paunchy older man at Evergreen.
What if they were already too late? Maybe she was supposed to break the circle and take the woman out. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Nessa’s throat constricted; she had no idea what she was doing.
Pim’s body tensed. She watched as the fur along his back stood on end. He stepped out onto the grave to look in the direction of the parking lot.
A figure was approaching.
Someone in a long, hooded gray cloak.
“Can you tell if he’s under a glamour?” Nessa asked.
Pim shook his head.
Glamour did not work on Nessa, she wasn’t sure why. Probably something to do with her ability to see ghosts. Because of their tie as Familiar and witch, glamour generally didn’t work on Pim either.
The figure walked purposefully across the cemetery directly to the woman. She didn’t seem to see him or anything else.
He spoke to her too quietly for Nessa to hear. Raising his hands, Nessa saw the purple arcs of power start to snap between his palms, sparking in the dim twilight.
The woman seemed to wake up, she clutched both hands to the side of her head and screamed.
Pim silently transformed to his werecat self.
Praying Barracuda knew what he was doing, she jumped to her feet. The Fudo cord buzzed and wriggled, eager to fly free. She threw it at the cloaked figure shouting, “Tsukamaitte!”
The cord sped straight and true like a spear tossed by an Olympic athlete. The cloaked man dodged in a blur of speed, but the cord tracked him. It was only inches from wrapping around his throat when a dark figure flew into its path, knocking the cord to the ground.
“No!” Nessa shouted.
A choking smell filled the cemetery in front of her. She knew that smell. The stinking entity from Evergreen. The one who took the cursed instant camera. Was he working with the Soul Eater?
The man in the gray cloak swept his hands around, conjuring a circle of purple flames with a snap of his fingers. Fire roared higher than his head, engulfing him.
Nessa called the cord back, “Moddotte,” catching it one-handed as it came flying. With her other hand she touched the sigil for lightning on her summoning belt. The unsettled sky almost joyfully let her bind the electrons. Her grandmother had taught her the atmosphere loves a bit of mischief. She sent and a jagged bolt of lightning at the Soul Eater.
To her dismay, it bounced harmlessly off the flaming purple barrier.
The stinking entity had temporarily disappeared leaving her alone with the Soul Eater.
Pim howled his war cry.
“Pim, wait!” Nessa cried.
Too late. The werecat threw himself at the cloaked man’s fiery barrier. He bounced off the flames in a good imitation of a rubber ball. The werecat rolled over and over to smack into the cement statue of a child twenty feet away.
Spitting out a spell that made Nessa’s stomach turn, the man in the cloak threw twin fireballs in her direction.
The fiery blasts hit the floral wreaths with a bang sending flaming chrysanthemums, lilies, and roses flying in all directions. Nessa rolled behind the headstone as a white ‘In Memory’ ribbon fell at her feet.
She’d held a second barrage of the lightning in reserve. Thrusting her hand in the air, she summoned it from the clouds flinging it at the Soul Eater. A trio of jagged bolts hit with the force of a sonic boom. This time they penetrated his barrier, throwing him a full twenty feet.
Shaking off his own fall, Pim sprang onto the figure. The two rolled in the dirt, over and over. The Soul Eater had a dagger in one hand and to Nessa’s horror, she saw him strike. Pim howled as blood spurted out in an arc.
Undaunted, Pim caught a mouthful of the sorcerer’s cowl pulling it back to reveal a hideously grimacing face, red with white fangs and snarling lips, eyes as big as teacups. It was a split second before Nessa realized the hideous visage was a mask, she could see human ears and a long tangle of dirty blond hair framing the face.
There was no time to see more before he screamed out a hex. The words tore into her skin like needles. Pim howled, feeling their sting.
The rope was wriggling to be free. Squeezing her ab muscles against the pain, Nessa pulled her hand back to throw. Or tried to. One second, she was on her feet, arm ready. The next, she face-planted painfully into the ground.
What the hell?
Twisting around she saw a hand holding her ankle. A skeletal hand sticking out of the ground. Bits of flesh and clothing still clung to it.
Giving a horrified yell, Nessa kicked at the disgusting thing only to feel another bony hand take hold of her wrist.
Nessa struggled to turn over, twist the skeletal arms and force them to let go. It worked for the one on her wrist. In fact, its whole forearm broke off, though it still stubbornly held on. The hand around her ankle would not let go.
She kicked at it with her free foot. Pim, still in werecat form, came limping up, one shoulder smeared with blood. Opening his formidable jaws, he closed them with a snap on the hand holding her ankle, shattering the bone. She pried desperately at the bony fingers.
Around her the dark spell continued to spin its web, crawling in her ears and stinging her face.
He shouted another word, even viler than the ones before.
This time, a dozen bony hands shot up scattering dirt, reaching for her.
Nessa squealed, rolling to her feet. She danced and skipped trying to avoid their grasping fingers.
One of them snagged Pim’s tail. He yowled.
Nessa stamped on the wrist, breaking its grip on Pim only to have the unattached hand scrabble onto her pants leg. It started to crawl up her calf as Nessa stood momentarily frozen in horror.
Pim jumped, catching it in his teeth and flinging it to the ground. It popped up on its fingers like a spider and started to scoot back in Nessa’s direction. She jumped on it with both feet, grinding the brittle white bones into shards.
“Gross, gross, gross,” she screeched, her voice breaking.
The Soul Eater stopped chanting; the black spell shattered like it was made of glass. The bony hands fell over motionless.
She saw and smelled the black entity. It was skimming across the ground closing in on the Soul Eater. Waves of bright green energy emanated from the swirling black mist. He had to be the reason the black spell had fallen to bits.
Was he helping her or the Soul Eater?
No time to ponder the question. Nessa ran at the Soul Eater even as his hands filled with purple fire. She had to get close enough to throw the Fudo Cord before he closed the flaming barrier again.
Speeding over the graves, the dark entity cut her off before she’d gone more than a few feet. He hit her with a blast of energy knocking her and Pim off their feet. She rolled head over heels into a headstone banging her head so hard she saw stars.
Gagging at sudden nausea, it was all she could do to open her eyes. By then it was too late.
A black funnel cloud spun out of the sky with the roar of a locomotive to touch down only yards away.
She hadn’t called this tempest. Nessa grabbed the injured Pim with her free hand and half crawled, half stumbled to the solid walls of a marble mausoleum two graves over. If she hadn’t called the funnel cloud, she could be sucked inside like anything else.
Her heart was pounding so fast it was hard to breathe. The world tilted crazily as she flattened herself against the mausoleum. Abruptly the storm swerved in another direction, heading away from her.
She felt Pim transform back to his feline form. Rocking back on his haunches, he placed his paws on her temples letting his energy flow like cool water over her spinning head. Almost immediately the world steadied.
Thank God.
Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face the battle.
Between the two figures, the black funnel cloud roared, dancing back and forth.
A wall of purple flame surrounded the Soul Eater, rising at least a dozen feet in the air.
The entity had released the shadows cloaking him revealing a figure much like the Soul Eater, minus the hideous mask. Human looking. Two arms, two legs. Dark-haired. Tall and slim.
As she watched, the dark-haired man leaped into the tornado.
What the hell?
Nessa had done the same thing to take back the cursed Sword of Eternal Blood when the warlocks’ plan failed. Air magic meant the tempests she called could not hurt her. If the man stepped directly into the funnel cloud, he had to be an Air Elemental. Fiona said Air Elementals could fly. That must be how he could skim over the ground.
The funnel cloud smashed into the wall of flame, absorbing both the flames and the man in a boom of energy. If he’d hoped to smother the flames with the funnel cloud, he made a terrible mistake. Fire and air merged igniting the cloud into a flaming maelstrom. Nessa could feel the heat from where she crouched. Sparks flew every which way igniting drought-dry bushes. From the bushes, the flames jumped to the dead grass. Soon flames were rolling over the cemetery like waves in the sea.
The chaotic energy of the two fighters raged across the graveyard. Headstones sailed into the air. Dirt and stones flew out of the ground. A brown curtain of dust rose into the sky.
“Crap, crap, crap,” Nessa chanted picking up the injured Pim. She ran unsteadily with Pim under one arm to where the old woman lay sprawled on the ground. The circle of magic had bled away as the Soul Eater became preoccupied with more important matters regarding his survival.
She put a finger to the woman’s throat. A pulse. Weak but still beating. Saving the woman had to be her top priority. Shouting to be heard over the roar of the spell-bound storm, Nessa called 911, asking for an ambulance, fire trucks, police, anybody.
The flaming maelstrom veered dangerously close to them. If she didn’t keep the tempest away, the woman wouldn’t need an ambulance.
Pim stood by her on three legs, his head into the wind. The flaming tornado was screaming with energy. Dirt, leaves, grass, and shards of rock flew around them. Nessa flinched as a shard cut across her forehead.
She tied the Fudo Cord around her waist. She needed both hands. With a finger on her summoning belt, Nessa whistled up her own storm. The cloud bank from the ocean were a godsend. California’s perennial drought usually made her work extra hard to gather enough energy to form storm clouds.
Not today.
She pulled the clouds together building them with energy sucked out of the air high in the atmosphere. Finding the sigil for Nimbo Cumulous she concentrated on their name. Their real name. Like pushing a button, the clouds increased in size exponentially. Massive. Dark. Menacing. With a nudge of energy, the rain fell in a sudden drenching torrent.
It was like pouring water on an oil fire. The only effect the rain had was to energize the flaming maelstrom.
The tornado doubled in size and the flames were unquenched.
Well, that certainly hadn’t worked out as she hoped.
The flaming tornado swerved coming at her as if attracted by her energy.
Every kind of wind had a secret name. Grandma Hattie had taught her all of them. Calling on the strongest ones she could remember, she held them kicking and bucking like wild horses. They fought to be free. To blow and blow and blow.
Bringing her arms together, muscles straining, she forced them into a barrier in front of her and the old woman.
The flaming tornado slammed into her summoning. Winds met maelstrom in an explosion of energy shattering a statue of an angel on a nearby grave.
Nessa dug in her feet; hands outstretched as if she was physically holding the tornado at bay. Straining as the winds fought against her will, she could see the two figures inside: dark-haired and light. They spun and tumbled in the whirlwind fighting with swords and daggers as well as magic.
The tornado began to push her inexorably back inch by inch. She dug her feet into the ground, resisting with all her strength even as the heat burned her hands and face.
She felt Pim come to her side. He leaned against her, joining his energy with her own.
It wasn’t enough. She was going to lose. In a desperate move, she swept her arms to one side, hoping to push as much of the maelstrom as she could into the parking lot. At the same moment, she threw herself across the woman and Pim hoping to protect them.
There was a roaring in her ears, a terrible pressure against her back, then only darkness.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I had him!” she snarled, pushing the dark-haired man back so hard he had to scramble to keep his balance.
Pim was beside her, all werecat. Judging by the blood running down the man’s arm and one leg, he’d already felt those claws.
She’d woken up hidden beneath the shadow glamour of the entity. At least he’d turned off the stink.
“Quiet,” he whispered fiercely. “The fire extinguishing people are on the other side of the cemetery.”
“Why?” she demanded again. “Why did you stop me?”
“He’s my friend,” he said not meeting her eyes.
Nessa gave a choked laugh. “The Soul Eater? I’m sure Hitler had friends too. This guy is a murderer. He’s stolen the souls of innocent people. No soul means no afterlife. He’s killed them twice. Turning them into ghosts with no hope of crossing over. If you hadn’t gotten in the way, I’d have had him.”
