Bone Dry: A Soul Shamans Novel (Volume 1) (10 page)

They didn’t have normal eyes. There were hints of danger, carelessness and madness in them, their pupils as big as Frisbees and moving from side to side like a pendulum on five gallons of coffee. Red tinted the whites, and their eyelids were half closed. It made me sit back against my chair in hopes to get as far away from them as I could.

They looked high, but not in the relaxed, lazy way I’d seen friends get when they smoked pot at beach bonfires. This was something else. Something much worse.

The taller one, who was wearing a red tee with a skull on it, walked right up to Laura and slapped her face. I flinched like it’d been my own, especially when her head shot up from her chest, and she choked on the cloth.

“Sorry we had to do this, but we didn’t think anything else was going to get your attention,” Red Tee Guy said, but he didn’t sound the least bit sorry.

The other guy, who had a cross tattooed on his neck, stepped forward and leaned down to stare me in the eyes. “Stop interfering with our summoning spells. We were going to ask a little more politely, but you ran off.”

I stared back. Chasing us with guns did not equal asking politely. And this certainly put a damper on any delusions I had that these guys were good. Those were their summoning runes. I felt like a total moron for thinking anything else. And a little more terrified knowing I was looking at the men behind the spirit attacks. Tied up and helpless. I fought against the urge to close my eyes and wish myself far, far away from here.

“Right,” Red Tee Guy said. “We didn’t realize any other shamans lived in the area, but you’re just kids. You didn’t really know what you were doing. Just agree to stay away. We’ll let you go and leave you alone. Simple, right?”

No.

“Yeah, just kids,” Neck Tattoo Guy said, squatting down so I could smell his stale breath. He didn’t look much older than me. Maybe a year or two. “Plus you’re girls. Pretty shaman girls.” The way he looked at us when he said that made me shiver. “We don’t want to hurt you.” His eyes flashed, a little bit of the madness peeking through.

“Yeah, we don’t want to hurt shaman girls.”

“Agree to stay out of our summonings, and you’re free to go. Got it?”

His dark eyes bored into mine, and my head itched to nod in agreement. But I couldn’t do it, no matter how hard my heart was beating in my chest. I could see Laura out of the corner of my eye, and she was sitting there as silent and still as I was.

“You should nod your heads now,” Red Tee Guy said, like we were babies that needed coaxing.

Yes, I should. But no, I shouldn’t
. If I agreed to back off, what would happen to the people in town who were being targeted? They’d die, be sucked dry of all life. And I’d stand aside and let that happen? I may have done several things I’m not proud of, but there’s no way I could live with that.

The devil on my shoulder started whispering in my ear, reminding me these guys had guns. The look in their eyes showed they meant serious business. They really would hurt us if we didn’t agree. And then my mom would be left all alone.

I had to pick the lesser of the two evils here, and the problem was I didn’t know which one that was. Save myself, save Laura and be there to take care of my mom while standing aside and watching others get their life sucked away. Or refuse to agree and get hurt, maybe even killed. And save…no one.

Or option three. Pretend to agree, go along with their little game, and be set free. And then go behind their backs and stop them. I didn’t know how I’d do that, but I could figure it out later when both of us were safe.

Before I could nod, Neck Tattoo Guy stood up fast. “Fine. I can see you need a little more nudging.”

A few seconds later, he dragged in a struggling, bound Brent and tossed him on the floor where he fell with a thud. I jerked in my seat and rocked against my ropes.

Neck Tattoo Guy moved out of the room again and returned with a tied-up Nathan. Nathan fell on his knees next to Brent, and I cried out through the cloth lodged in my mouth. Knives appeared in the shamans’ hands, and they moved to stand behind Brent and Nathan.

“You.” Red Tee Guy pointed the knife at me and then Brent. “Agree to stay out of our business or I’ll kill him.” He pressed the blade against the skin of Brent’s neck, and blood pooled onto the sharp knife. “He’s no pretty shaman girl.”

Laura yelled into her cloth.

I nodded my head as fast as I could, and my shoulders sagged in relief when I saw the knife drop away from Brent’s neck. And with the relief came a surge of anger they were threatening my friends like this.

Laura nodded before they even had a chance to put the blade against Nathan’s neck. And as soon as she did, the two shamans strode forward with creepy, triumphant smiles I knew I’d never forget. I didn’t even struggle as they pressed the chemical-scented cloth against my nose. Seconds later, darkness enveloped me again.

CHAPTER 10

T
he world jerked into focus. My mouth sputtered on dirt, my lungs taking in big gulps of air. My hands were finally free, and I rolled onto my back in a patch of grass. When my breathing steadied, I pushed myself upright. Brent, Laura and Nathan were all lying around me, beginning to stir and grumble.

They were alive. I was alive. We’d somehow survived the nightmare.

I blinked at the dark sky where a full moon hung obscured by navy-outlined clouds. Groaning, I looked around. From the sight of yellow buses in an empty parking lot and the familiar schooner sculpture proudly displayed beneath a waving American flag, I realized we were right across the street from our high school. I looked down at my clothes covered in grass stains and spots of blood, glad we hadn’t been plopped here during school hours.

I’d never been fashion conscious, but I couldn’t imagine walking down the halls like this.

Ignoring my aching arms, I shook Laura’s shoulder. After a moment, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Blond strands were caked in mud. “Where are we?”

Brent rolled onto his side and squinted with purple-lined eyes. “What’s going on now? Holy shit, that disgusting-ass sock is out of my mouth.”

“We’re in Oceanview Park,” I said in a croak. My mouth felt like it was full of Astral’s fur, and if I’d thought I had a headache before, I was sorely mistaken. Someone could have told me a construction worker was slamming a jackhammer into my head, and I would have believed it.

Nathan sat up and groaned, swaying and splaying his hands on the wet grass. There were bluish-black spots underneath his eyes, and I could see where the ropes had chaffed his wrists. Mine looked just as bad. It was like we were all wearing matching blood-splattered bracelets.

“They dumped us off at school,” Nathan said. “How nice of them.”

Laura stood and brushed the dirt and grass off her black pants. “Well, I’m going home. My dad probably realized by now that I’m gone, and he’s going to totally freak out. Especially when he sees me like this.”

I could see her point. She looked like she’d been in a fight with a tree ent.

She patted her pockets, eyes slitting. “I had money. They stole my money.”

My heart jolted in my chest. I stuffed my hand into my pocket, and my shoulders sagged in relief when my fingers closed around my familiar cell. But my backpack was gone, along with the money Brent had given me.

“They took my backpack.” I closed my eyes, the words of the foreclosure notice rolling through my mind. “I hope Mom is okay.” I finally pushed myself off the ground. I had to concentrate on standing as the world seemed to spin around me. I blinked, and Nathan was at my elbow, holding me still. His hands were soft, his eyes so concerned. I felt terrible I’d sucked him into this.

“You okay?” he asked, still holding me. “We all need to go home and eat something. And I don’t know about you, but I can barely keep my eyes open.”

I stared hard at the ground, ignoring the spinny circles of light dancing around in my vision. “Sleep sounds fantastic.”

“Can you guys tell me what just happened back there?” Brent asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” I said.

“They talked about summoning,” he said. “Summoning ghosts?”

“Spirits. Right, Holly?” Nathan said. He kept holding my arm as he looked at Brent, but his skin touching mine was all I could think about. My entire body was cold except for the spot where his fingers were wrapped around me. “I think they put them in your bedroom.”

“Why?” Brent strode forward a few steps before pausing to wince. He rubbed his head.

“I have no idea,” I said. “But they got pretty pissy that Laura and I banished it from your room.”

“Do you think they’ll put it back?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I cast a protection wall around your room, but it will only last seven days. I can it re-do it then but…it works for spirits, not anything or anyone else.”

“So, if you can’t do anything to help,” Brent said, “that thing will just stay there if they put it back?”

I lifted my chin a little. “I lied.”

“Holly,” Laura said sharply. I turned to her, and her eyes shot daggers of warning. “They would have killed all four of us.”

“Next time I won’t get caught,” I said. “The spirits will hurt people. Standing by and watching it happen is just as bad as doing it myself.”

She glanced away. “My head hurts too much to have this conversation right now.”

“Yeah,” I said, massaging my temples. I needed Advil, stat. “I think I’m going to walk home.”

“Me too,” Laura said. She swung her arms around me in a tight hug. “I’m glad we’re okay,” she whispered into my ear. Then, she turned around and began the trek to her neighborhood, Brent by her side.

“I’ll walk with you.” Nathan fell into step with me as I headed in the opposite direction.

“That’s hardly necessary,” I said, but I was glad someone else was here, just in case my woozy head became too much to handle.

“I live on your street, you know,” he said, not slowing down. “Only a few blocks further out of town.”

“Yeah, I remember,” I said, picturing the blue shutters and the colonial architecture. “How could I have forgotten?”

We walked in silence for a few moments—me barely aware of our surroundings with the rocks beating against my skull—before Nathan cleared his throat. “Listen, I don’t know what happened back there, but I have to tell you I’m pretty freaked out about it.”

I grabbed his arm and stopped on the sidewalk, looking up into his eyes. The green glinted under the streetlamp. “I don’t know either, Nathan. I was telling the truth. I don’t know why those guys are summoning spirits into people’s rooms or why they’d need to kidnap us and threaten us if we didn’t stop banishing them.”

“They’re the same guys from the boat, aren’t they?”

I nodded. “They did it at Kylie’s house, at Brent’s house, and it sounds like they’re going to keep doing it. All over town.”

“Well, listen,” he said, glancing at my hand still on his arm. I let it slide away, fingers brushing the sleeve of his polo. “Just let them. I know it’ll freak people out, but they’ll go after you again.”

I bit my lip, wondering how much I should explain to him. “Spirits aren’t friendly ghosts. They are creatures who attack people.”

“Yeah, I heard you say that to Laura, but Brent seemed fine.”

“No, Brent was hurt. You just couldn’t see it. If that spirit had been allowed to stay in his room, he would have ended up really, really hurt. Maybe…dead.” I paused to let my words sink in. “They are
very
dangerous.”

“I see.” And I could tell that he did see, or he at least saw how serious I was about it. “Do you know anyone who can help with this?”

I shook my head and started walking again, wishing I could shield my face from the headlights of passing cars. A couple of moments later, we were standing on the sidewalk outside of my house. Nathan walked me over to my bedroom window and watched me climb inside. He stood there with his hands in his pockets looking like he had something important to say, but he never did.

“Thanks for walking me home,” I leaned out a little to whisper to him. I hoped Mom had gotten to bed without me, and I didn’t want to talk too loudly just in case.

“You’re welcome,” he said, eyes flickering as if he were searching my face for something.

I reached up to pull my window closed, but he put out a hand to stop me. “Listen, what are you doing tomorrow?”

I felt my breath catch in my throat, but I tried to act nonchalant. “The plan right now is to take some Advil and sleep for hours. After that?” I shrugged.

“Do you want to go to the boardwalk with me in the morning?”

“Okay,” I said automatically. My face felt hot, and I hoped if it was red, he’d just chalk it up to the long night and nothing more. Even though I was starting to think it was more. Every time his mossy eyes looked right at me, I felt a little rush inside my chest.

“I thought we could talk more about this. I really want to know what’s going on after everything that’s happened. I know you don’t like to share, but I think I have a right to know.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, my heart sinking a little. He just wanted to talk, not hang out because he thought I looked cute with my rumpled clothes and bruised wrists. Because really, who would? “That works.”