Blood & Spirits (11 page)

Paco assured me that he doesn’t have Rachel. He thinks I need to go to the Sikes Funeral Home to look for her, so I guess I have my plans for tomorrow night. He says he knows that Rachel was there a few nights ago, and might still be, according to some of his contacts on that side. He’s going to dispatch spirits he works with to ask around too and see if they can come up with any sightings of her since she was seen last at the funeral home.

Going there is the only logical next step. I know that Lucy has gone there before to meet with other ghosts, so it really might be a great place to start.

I’m gagging. Even with the windows down I can’t get going fast enough on these roads to vent the smell out of the car. I need his help, but this is awful.

Right now, I’ve got to stay focused on what I’m doing. Watch the road and think about the plan.

He says that Lucy never made it to meet with him, but with the larger than normal amount of dangerous spectral creatures working together in concert, it’s no wonder. He says he’s heard rumors of some larger malevolent entity pulling the strings of these unquiet spirits.

I’m not sure if I believe him or not, but what he says does match up with what Lucy was telling me. I tried to read him and either he can hide his mind really well, or whatever he is keeps me from being able to get anything but ‘dead’ off of him. It makes me a little nervous, but for now, I’ll have to take his word.

He claims that the locket Lucy gave me is a tie to her. I already wear it all the time, so that’s a step in the right direction to locating her. He did some kind of chant over it and now it’s supposedly imbued with some sort of power that makes it shinier to spirits, or something. It’s supposed to let me know when she’s close to me.

I pull into the driveway, park, and slide out of the car. My skin is crawling all over as I walk to the back door naked. I told Paco to burn my clothes but he’ll likely hang onto them as some sick souvenir. Creepy.

I walk into the house and pass Julie on my way upstairs. She cocks her head to one side and looks at me like she’s got a question.

Before she can even speak, I stop her. “Don’t talk, just listen. If anyone needs me that isn’t you or Frank, I’m dead or not here. Nothing disturbs me, or gets me out of the shower or the bed until tomorrow. Nothing.”

I don’t look back, but I can feel her bewildered stare on me as I continue up the stairs. Right now, I really don’t care.

The moans coming from the rooms I pass in the upstairs hallway usually conjure deliciously wicked mental images in my head.

The sounds of this place make me love what I do. Now they only take me back to where I was this evening and make me want to wretch.

I really can’t get to the shower fast enough.

THE SIKES FUNERAL HOME HAS
never been one of my favorite places. Not under the best of circumstances. It’s older than me, and full of energy that can be felt radiating off of it like a giant Tesla coil. It gives me the creeps and I have to stand outside for more than fifteen minutes just to build up the nerve to go in.

I find the side door on the rear of the building unlocked as always. That much is familiar. The light switch inside the door does nothing, so I stand still for a moment letting my eyes adjust. I can feel something watching me, like an animal in the darkness, and I am suddenly aware of every hair on my body. This is what they’re talking about when they say a hunter is hunted.

It takes only a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light in the building. The doorway to the main parlor is plainly in view. Moving forward, my hand finds the knob and turns slowly to avoid making any unnecessary noise.

Inching into the room, it’s clear something is wrong here. There’s a tingling sensation up my legs and back before I can even really focus on the parlor’s details. There are silhouettes of people, but I can see through them. It’s like shadows were cast and left behind to do as they please. Lost in the surreal sight of them for a moment, I inch further into the room without noticing that some were now moving behind me.

There is no warning. I’m suddenly in the air, and moving backward rapidly toward the wall. It’s almost a full second before my body registers the actual pain of the blow my stomach just took. Being hit by a car doesn’t even compare to this, and I didn’t even see it coming.

“For a shadow, you hit like a sledgehammer!” The words barely escape before something else slams into the base of my skull, imbedding most of my upper body in the wall and all but removing my head. These things are like Lucy; the disembodied dead who haven’t moved on. I’ve never met others that can actually touch things physically; they must be fairly potent.

I pull my face out of the hole it had been planted in, letting plaster dust fall, coating my chest and legs like snow. Looking around quickly I try to gauge my surroundings. I can’t see them, but I know they’re there. Is one easy night without a huge dry-cleaning bill too much to ask for these days?

I only have time to dwell on it a moment before my head is bouncing off the hardwood floor; once, twice, and then a third time in quick succession. Now ‘pick splinters out of my forehead’ can be added to my Saturday night to-do list. Damn it, this is not going as planned.

I drag myself up and stand, shaking with rage, in the center of the room. The shadows are moving all around me. “Look!” I yell. “I’m not here to disturb you… whoever you are. I don’t want any trouble. I’m looking for a little girl named Rachel. I’m friends with Lucy. She comes here off and on to meet other spirits. She told me that. I can’t find her lately either, and I’m worried. If you know anything that can help me, I’ll thank you and be on my way.”

The shadows start to close in like the lights in the room were a dying fire. There’s a chill in the air around them and I can feel the temperature dropping drastically the nearer they get. Hopefully they don’t want to keep beating on me.

My hope is quickly dashed on the casket to my right, along with my now cracked pelvis. I struggle against the force of their battery, but I’m as effective as a trailer park against a tornado.

One by one they crash into me. The world spins, and I know that some of it is actually the result of my body being batted about in the air.

Kicking and swinging in a vain attempt to fight back, it becomes apparent that nothing, even escape, is a viable option now.

My body is hurled to the floor repeatedly, cracking and splintering as much wood as bone.

I can’t keep up with the damage they’re doing to me. I’m healing as fast as I can, but not quickly enough to stay fully conscious. The world begins to flicker in and out and I feel there’s a risk of my head floating away.

I’m pounded into the floor again and I begin to panic, afraid this will be the last time I’ll be able to remain aware. Then something makes an awful high pitched noise. I know it’s in the room with me; somewhere off behind me to the right. There is a blinding flash of light and I‘m wishing I hadn’t landed face down.

With all the strength I have left in me, I roll over and try to convince my eyes to focus through the pain.

I can see the shadows have fled, but I’m not alone. There he is, standing in the center of the room, outlined in red from the light of the emergency exit signs. How did he get here so fast? Why didn’t I sense his presence? How did he even know I was in trouble? Nothing is making any sense. I stare, trying to wrap my mind around what I’m seeing, and then I gasp audibly, drawing attention to myself.

His head snaps in my direction, and he takes a defensive posture. His head cocks slightly to the side and I know his face, and the motion of what he’s doing. I’ve been through it before, he’s reading me.

“Jules?” So small, my voice is hardly more than a squeak.

“Who?” His reply shakes me and leaves me ill prepared for what follows. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but there are going to be a lot more of them, and unless you really want to wait around for that, I suggest we get out of here.” He’s looking deeper into me than I’m comfortable with, but I’m powerless to stop him.

“I can see you’re weak. Here, drink.” He offers his arm outstretched. I am at once intrigued, afraid, and repulsed. Unfortunately, I am also too hungry to really ask any questions.

His flavor is unquestioningly delicious. I’m surprised and intoxicated by him. I’ve only ever tasted Jules, no other of my own kind. It’s hard to take in, feeling a bit drunk, and my head is swimming.

The sensation is like no other in the world. I can feel the warmth spreading out from my mouth, down my throat. The heat begins to engulf what was once the center for human stimulation.

I am aware of my body and am now aware of my lack of control over it. I do not have to breathe, nor does my heart beat unless I make it do so, but he’s commanded both involuntary human responses in me.

I can hear the blood rushing in my ears as my pulse quickens. I’m breathing heavily, almost panting for breath. I know this sensation, but it’s been so long since I’ve felt it.

My muscles are reacting to it of their own accord. His fluid is filling me, and my body seems more under its command than my own. I can’t help but to continue to drink as the tension in me builds.

He’s saying something but I can only hear my own heart racing. I can only feel the long absent contraction of muscles, as the tension in me grows. I am only aware of him now by the masculine odor of him. Not sweat, but an overpowering aroma of cologne, leather, and earth.

I’m fighting just to keep my eyes open, and I can’t stop the guttural moan from escaping my throat as he pours down into me, thick and searing.

He looks so much like Jules. The similarity is more than uncanny. I’ve been in his presence for less than five minutes and now I have his essence flowing through me. It’s good that I have very little time to really consider the depth of my actions. I shake slightly as my body begins to release tension, and then a deep shudder flows through me.

It’s been so long that I’d almost completely forgotten I could feel these things; that my body could still be that responsive.

He has to force his arm back from me, and even that comes as a shock. He’s incredibly strong and yet extremely delicate. His desire not to harm me does not escape my notice. I look up into the deep jade reflecting pools staring into me. His gaze is unsettling, but doesn’t last long. He turns and scans the horizon, his eyes darting from place to place. His face is familiar, but his manner is so different.

“They’re spirits,” I finally say softly to break the awkward tension. “Those things…and incredibly potent ones too.”

I stand as swiftly as my legs will allow, and we move toward the door.

“I know what they are; I’m just not used to seeing more than a couple in one place. It’s not normal. Were they after you?” He opens the door and holds it for me without a thought. Nothing is lost on me now that I’ve managed to regain my focus.

“There’s one I’m kinda close to, and I know she comes here. I was just looking for… help?” I allow myself one long last look around the room before turning into the soft glow of the street lights.

“Evidently you picked the wrong spot for that.” His reassuring and mocking tone is concerned, but more parental than I’m accustomed to, and it sticks in me like thorns.

“You think?” It takes actual effort to keep the acid out of my tone. “How’d you make them leave; what did you do?”

I stop on the sidewalk, and wait for the answer it’s clear he didn’t plan to give.

“We’ll call it magic.” He says it with a smirk that is at the same time endearing and annoying. It’s nice to see, but I’d like to slap it off his face.

He looks up and down the block impatiently and then back into my eyes. “Do you have a car here? We need to be somewhere else when they come back.”

***

I can see his headlights come on in my rearview. I watch them as they pull out onto the road behind me, make the turn onto Water Street and then onto Kentucky Avenue, still behind me. I didn’t want this guy following me home just yet, but it was exciting to know that he was still this close.

He turns left at Seventh Street and I make a note of it in my mind. I’ll have to see if I can find where he lives. And, bang, it hits me; I’m planning to stalk this guy. Wow.

I pull into the garage behind the house. I think about telling Julie to send someone out here to shop vac the interior tomorrow, get all the chunks of drywall and dust out of the car. Anything I can think about to stop seeing his eyes in my mind.

His name is Garrett. He told me he knows about the unquiet souls and that he has been following spirit activity in Pekin for some time now. He also knows about Paco, and trusts him less than I do. There’s a really good chance I’ve finally found the ally I’ve needed to finally get Rachel back. We’re supposed to get together later and work out a plan of some kind. I just want to see him again already.

I’m still dwelling on that when I close the back door and see Julie and Frank sharing a pizza in the kitchen.

“What happened to you? You look like you had a fight with a home improvement store…and lost.” Frank chuckles. He’s putting on the funny face for Julie but I can see he’s as concerned as she is at my ragged appearance.

“I was down at Sikes Funeral Home. Turns out they don’t like my kind there. I think they just don’t like dead things that don’t get buried there. Bad for business.” I smirk at Julie and get a smile. Good. I don’t want her more worried than she already is. Not with the fire, and Piper, and all.

Sitting down I look at the pizza. If there weren’t olives on it I’d have a piece. I’m glad Frank has cheered her up tonight though. I guess I can tell them about Garrett, though I’ll bet money that Frank is going to be over protective and won’t like him.

“YOU HAVE SOMEONE HERE TO
see you, ma’am.” Julie is almost giggling through the intercom, and I already know who it is. I fumble myself together and take a quick look in the bathroom mirror for minor maintenance before walking a bit too briskly to the stairs and down to the main parlor.