Ghost guard, p.20
Ghost Guard, page 20
Aros loved it.
“At last!” he howled in delight. Finally, these damnable humans will be eliminated. His one true obstacle. No more looking over their shoulders. No more worrying about when and where Ghost Guard would show up next.
Elyxa’s grip clamped tighter. Abby felt her bones on the verge of breaking. Time to pull out her big guns. Her mental musical barrage. She knew Elyxa couldn’t bear it. Abby pushed away the pain just for a second, long enough to imagine her favorite Queen tune…We Will Rock You. Her thoughts echoed with the beginning drumbeat, soon accompanied by Freddy Mercury’s commanding voice. Elyxa had no choice but to let her loose and reel away from the horrid sound. With the full force of the electric music blasting, Elyxa threw her hands over her ears and staggered back, cursing, shrieking, begging Abby to quit.
“Why should I?”
Elyxa collapsed into a lounge chair.
“You fight well, my dear…for a mortal,” she giggled. “But not good enough. If what you say is true…and if you and Rev have no feelings for each other—”
“No feelings at all,” Abby asserted.
“Then I guess there’s no reason for him to come to your rescue.”
“No reason whatsoever,” Abby gestured at her bound ankles and wrists. “And all of this was just a waste of time.”
“It might have been,” Elyxa rose to her feet and snapped her fingers at Aros. “But I always make sure I have insurance,” Aros handed her a murky container the size of a mason jar. She wiped away some of the dust to reveal a dark, hazy interior, clouds of gray smoke circling clouds of black soot. “Maybe your friend Brutus can convince him to pay us a visit.”
“Brutus!” Abby shouted in horror. She knew the moment she laid eyes on the glass jar it was a spirit cask, and it looked strangely familiar. The thick pressed glass. The intricate black metal mesh. It was the same cask Madam Dominika had used. Inside, Brutus was a genie sealed in a bottle, subjugated to the whims of a deranged master. He never liked to think in terms of defeat, but this was the closest he’d ever come. No will of his own. Weakened and wounded. The only shred of hope he had left was when he heard Abby’s voice.
“What have you done to him!” Abby struggled against her restraints even more. “You better not hurt him or I’ll-I’ll—”
Elyxa chuckled.
“You’ll do nothing. But your friends will, won’t they?” Abby looked away. Elyxa didn’t need ESP to know what was on her mind. “I’m right. Rev might not come after you, but he most certainly will come to rescue him.”
EIGHTEEN
REV FELT HIS ARM hair standing on end. Another indication he was better off dead. He’d never been scared or nervous or in any way reluctant on a mission in the past. Back then, he was already deceased. Now, with a heart beating in his chest for the first time in eight and a half decades, that old self-preservation mode kicked in. The last thing he wanted was to go back to the mistress of dead souls, the immortal enchantress—Elyxa.
It wasn’t her lethal power or her uncommon acumen that had him frightened. That would have been bad enough. It was the fact that she had Abby now, and both of them together…well, that was a volatile mix. More than he cared to experience.
“Can’t this thing go any slower?” he sighed out the window, watching the world speed by, watching his life flash before his eyes. He was so apathetic, he even let Morris drive the Phantom.
“What’re you saying?” Morris signaled, checked the mirror, then made a quick lane change. “This is Abby and Brutus we’re talking about…Abby and Brutus!”
“I know, I know. We have to do this,” Rev fought away his tension. “For Brutus.”
“And Abby,” Morris gave him a sideways look.
“I guess,” he sighed and massaged his brow. “It just seems like she doesn’t even want me around her anymore. Everything I do is wrong lately. I don’t even think she wants me to rescue her.”
“That’s just irrational, Rev. How can you think that? What’s happened between you two?” Morris broached the subject, the taboo Rev and Abby both refused to talk about.
“There is no us two,” he said unemotionally. “She rejected me. So just drop it.”
“Rev, I think we should talk about—”
“I said just drop it, Morris.”
“I won’t just drop it, Rev!” Morris was surprised by his own outburst. Rev, though, was more surprised. Morris cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Rev. But this has to be said. Things have gotten out of hand with you and Abby. When it was just harmless flirtation, it was…charming.”
“Charming. Right,” Rev chuckled.
“That’s correct. It was charming. But that was then. Now, something’s changed. What’s happened, Rev? What’d you do to her? Did you hurt her?”
Ruby, a misty rubicund glow in the backseat, joined Morris in confronting Rev with the same accusing look.
“I didn’t do anything,” Rev scoffed at the charge. “Why are you guys in such a lather?”
“Gee, I wonder,” Morris spoke for both of them. “It’s not like you have a stellar track record when it comes to women, you know?”
“Hey,” Rev protested, but not as much as he should have. Listlessly, he watched as the city streets went by in a blur. “I do what I have to do for the team. It’s always for the team. To get the job done. How many times do I have to say that?”
“I know, I know. It’s not just that, though,” Morris pointed out. “It’s the way you conduct yourself during off hours.”
“What is this, Big Brother? You watching me, Morris?”
“Hey, hey!” Morris put up a palm. “I’m just going by what Abby has told me.”
“Abby told you?” he shook his head at the window. “Figures. She just can’t stop badmouthing me, can she?”
“It’s not like that, Rev. She confided in me because she has feelings for you.”
“The only feeling I get from her is the feeling that she wants to jump down my throat, pull out my heart, and eat it for breakfast. She’s a bearcat, pally.”
“That’s just Abby,” Morris navigated the Phantom through the streets of East Portland with more than a little trepidation. “She’s frightened, so she puts up a defense. Trust me. She’s got it for you. Bad. Have you considered a different tactic?”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you thought about just being civil with her?”
“Of course I have. I’ve tried. God have I tried. It’s balled up, Morris. Balled up. So let’s just forget about it and do our jobs.”
“Rev, you’re not going to deflect this yet again. This is serious. This…situation between you and Abby, it’s tearing Ghost Guard apart.”
Rev wanted to fire back a pithy answer, refuting everything Morris was saying. However, he couldn’t come up with one good reason why his friend and fellow team member was mistaken. He had nothing. Out of bullets. No witty comeback. So, relying on pure idiocy, he replied by saying, “Bullshit.”
“Bullshit?” Morris hated cussing, but in this case it had to be done. “Bullshit?”
“Okay, okay,” Rev rubbed his forehead again. “You can quit using dirty words, Morris. It just isn’t you.”
“Dammit, Rev! Listen to me!” he shocked Rev into giving up his full attention. Ruby even shuddered a little. “This isn’t bull…this isn’t a joke. All of this, this whole situation we’re in, it’s a direct result of the problems you and Abby have brought to the team. I mean, why was she interviewing new ghosts to replace you?”
“Hello? Earth to Morris? If you haven’t noticed, I’m not the same. I’m not a ghost anymore, and I’m-I’m worthless to the team.”
“Now that’s bullshit. And quite frankly, I’ve had enough of your complaining. You’re just making excuses to stop trying, and so has Abby. You both know Ghost Guard needs you now more than ever. And you both know you need each other. Why can’t either of you just acknowledge it…to yourselves and to each other? Maybe then we can get past it and get back to doing what we’re supposed to be doing, which is protecting spirits.”
Rev thought about exploding on Morris again, telling him point by point where he was mistaken. The team’s problems had nothing to do with Rev and Abby’s extracurricular activities, or lack thereof. But, again, his chamber was empty. Instead, he stared out the window once more, wondering how Morris had gotten so smart about relationships when Rev had never seen him with a girl, or a guy for that matter.
“Listen, Rev. I’m sorry,” Morris meant what he said. He had a hole in his heart at the way Rev was taking the news. “I shouldn’t have mentioned anything. Just forget about it.”
“No, Morris. You’re right. I’ve balled up this whole thing up, and now two of our best friends are in danger. We’ve got to make this right. I’ve got to make this right. I just hope your plan works.”
“It’ll work,” Morris tilted the mirror and saw Ruby’s faint outline. “You ready, Ruby?”
She squeaked and whistled, saying she was all set.
“You’re sure about this, right?” Rev had no luck settling his nerves. God, he wished he was dead again. “I mean, don’t you think they’ve gotta be expecting us?”
“Exactly,” Morris smiled, turning the Phantom off Broadway and onto 22. “They not only expect us, they want us to come. It’s almost as if they’ve invited us. Elyxa has taken no psychic precautions to conceal where she’s located. Ruby had no problem uncovering the exact address. You could have found Elyxa too, if you weren’t, well, alive again.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” Rev slumped in his seat.
“The point is, we’ll use their arrogance against them,” Morris finished his thought.
Rev wasn’t too sure. Morris meant well. So did Ruby. They both had the best of intentions, but he felt Morris’s scheme was way too risky. Using the ghost gun was way too risky. So, as soon as the Phantom slowed, Rev opened the door and stepped out. He had to sprint immediately in order to avoid planting his face on the pavement, and his newly reconstituted body did him no favors—stiff joints and sluggish muscles. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet. The Phantom screeched to a stop and Morris yelled at him to come back. Rev kept running. He knew what he had to do.
MORRIS INHALED DEEPLY. No time for nerves. He saw Ruby and his anxieties got the better of him.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault Rev ran away.”
Ruby generated a series of low clicks, mixed with harsh chatter, telling Morris he was the one to blame, that Rev thought his new version of the ghost gun was too dangerous. And so did she.
“But I thought you were okay with it,” Morris raised his palms. “You wait until now to tell me you’re not happy?”
She squeaked and clicked furiously. She wasn’t happy at all, and demanded to know why Morris would create a device so harmful to ghosts.
“But it’s not—” he made the mistake of nudging the ghost gun barrel just an inch toward Ruby. She lost control, screeching to get it away. He lowered it to the side of his seat and rolled up the window, hoping nobody in the street had just heard that.
“Okay, okay. There,” he said, but she still wasn’t satisfied. She knew full well what those things could do.
“Ruby, I mean it!” she paid attention that time, albeit suspiciously. “It’s not just a ghost gun. It has…special attributes. I had to do this. There’s nothing in my arsenal that will even come close to doing what this baby can do. Now, I’m not wasting any more time arguing with you. We’re helping Abby and Brutus and—” his lungs constricted at a shockingly cold breeze that grasped his hand, the one resting over his newest invention, the modified ghost gun. Ruby wanted to kick herself for not saying something earlier. She’d felt it, but her revulsion to the gun had robbed her focus. Outside the driver door, standing bigger than life, was Aros. He peered through the windshield, a grin of smug and unnatural malignancy painted on his picture-perfect face.
Morris was paralyzed. Before he got the chance to use the gun, Aros seized him, preventing even the slightest movement.
“Go!” Morris ordered. “Ruby! Get out of here!”
Reluctantly she submitted to his command, leaving him in the Phantom. She didn’t want to go. Morris’s friendship went beyond just a teammate. She shared a bond with him, with all of them, and that bond transcended the boundaries between the dead and living. She would never be able to die with herself if she didn’t try to do something to help him. Now she felt like she was on her own. It was up to her to save her friends.
IF REV HAD EVER laid eyes on a residence that screamed cold, hard cash, it was the palatial estate sprawling before him. The Mediterranean style palazzo sparkled like a jewel in the heart of Portland’s historic Irvington District. A traditional English garden abounded with trimmed topiary of the highest precision, framing a grand columned portico with glittering chandeliers and gilt-gold ceilings. That was just on the outside. Inside, what Rev didn’t see, was even more opulent. Two Grand Ballrooms. Extensive collections of European and continental porcelains adorned the halls, and 19th Century impressionist oil paintings adorned the walls. Rev would have known this was the place even without Ruby’s extensive spiritual reconnaissance. The perfect dwelling for an immortal with such a lavish taste as Elyxa’s to hide out and wait…for him.
He checked the road for any signs of the Phantom. Morris’s resourcefulness knew no bounds, and Rev wouldn’t have been surprised if he had a tracking device planted on him somewhere. Another of the many detriments of being alive again. He could be tracked. He also had to move in linear style. Point A to point B. When he was a ghost, he took melting into the atmosphere and traveling effortlessly for granted. If he was still a spirit, he wouldn’t have bothered with doors or stairs or even open windows. He would have squeezed in through the very spaces between the atoms and wafted throughout the mansion, drifting from room to room until he found Abby and Brutus.
But, as a physical mortal, he was reduced to climbing the wrought iron security gate, all ten feet of it, and throwing himself onto the mansion grounds. The sound of dogs amplified his innate desire to dash to the property line and leap back over the fence. Instead he decided to be bold, and sprinted through the front yard garden, heading for the veranda.
The dogs were near. He had to be quick…and loud.
“You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips,” he sang at the top of his lungs. It wasn’t a song from his day, but felt it appropriate for the circumstances. “And there’s no tenderness anymore in your fingertips.”
The silky window treatment rippled, and from the master bedroom, through a set of double doors, strode Elyxa, her face surprisingly smooth and scar-free. Astonished at what she beheld, she watched…and listened.
“You’re trying hard not to show it, baby…but baby…baby I know it…”
Rev continued to sing, and Elyxa’s surprise turned to anger. But, as he kept it up, she softened, slowly, reluctantly.
“You lost that lovin’ feelin’…whoa that lovin feelin…you lost that loving feelin, now it’s gone, gone, gone, whoa-oh-oh-oh…”
The dogs got close. Rev smelled their drool. Four Dobermans. And they weren’t happy. Inches before the canines sank their greedy, frothing fangs into his all-too-tender flesh, Elyxa shrieked a command, overpowering every sound, and forcing them to obey by sitting, instantly, all whines and lapping tongues, slurping up their own froth.
Rev was breathless, heart thumping in his ears. He did his best not to let it show on the outside. Cool and calm as a cucumber on the shady side of the garden.
“Nice trick,” he flashed a toothy grin. “But can they fetch the newspaper without drooling off the ink? I’m not seein’ that.”
“What tricks have you brought with you?” Elyxa wasn’t buying Rev’s detached attitude. “What’s up your sleeve? Where are your friends?”
She knew Rev wasn’t stupid enough to just waltz right in like this. Another shoe was about to drop. Still, she was happy to see him, an emotion she hadn’t felt in so, so long.
“No friends. No tricks,” he held out his hands, then started singing again.
“You lost your tenderness and my heart’s—”
“Cease!”
He quit instantly, dropping his hands and slapping his thighs.
“Sheesh! Everybody’s a critic,” he complained. Then, at her silent gesture, a wisp of supernatural smoke manifested in front of him, then another, both large and wiry and whiter than white. When they materialized into fully formed physical beings, Rev was confronted by the gangliest, ugliest fellas he’d ever laid eyes on. Then he remembered…he’d seen them before.
“Oh, look, Renault! Fresh meat!”
“Let me have him!”
They began playing tug-o-war with his wrists, trying to snap him in half.
“Hey!” Rev complained even louder. “If you hated the performance that bad you could have just said so!”
In no mood for levity, Elyxa considered ordering her ghost slaves to finish him right then and there. She recreated him to be hers, forever, which was why she couldn’t do it.
“Bring him in.”
The two lanky specters shared a quick smirk and a nod, then teamed up to twist Rev’s elbows. The instant explosion of pain made Rev wince, but he didn’t let it out.
“Don’t hurt him!” she shouted with her back turned.
“Aw!” the large, spectral thugs took turns moaning in disgust. They refused to relinquish their pressure-hold on Rev’s arms.
“I mean it!” Elyxa shot them each a look and they let go. Rev smiled and they prodded him into the house.
NINETEEN
“IF I’D KNOWN this was going to be a party, I would’ve worn something more appropriate,” Rev chuckled. The ghost thugs had led him into the mansion’s sprawling recreation room. Two pool tables, a fully stocked bar, and a bearskin rug before a roaring fireplace. Cozy, and at the same time spacious. The perfect place for a murder or two. Elyxa, in a painted-on miniskirt that cuddled her every curve, raised a glass of champagne. One of the spindly specters handed Rev a glass. He took the offering and downed a swallow. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a quick movement and checked to see Abby, bound and gagged, sitting in a tasteful chair.
