Celeste Files: Unjust (20 page)

Taking a backward step, her feet sinking into the cool, damp sand, she glanced around. The moon wasn’t full, but it was large and bright, and gave her just enough light to navigate her way from the beach.

“
Where ya’ goin’?
”

She shivered at the sound of Denis’s voice.

Show no fear. Stay in control. You are strong and not vulnerable.

“Home. Alone. You’re not welcome in my body or around my family.”

Heat slid along her back, then disappeared. She looked over her shoulder, saw nothing, then faced forward and flinched. Denis’s skin stretched and popped near what used to be his lips as he smiled, revealing the majority of his teeth. “
I don’t need an invitation
.” A spider or tiny crab crawled out of his vacant eye socket. “
You think this is my fault, but it’s yours. You have no one to blame but yourself. All you had to do was give me Gabe.
” When he shook his head, water dripped from his nose. “
I know I could wait until he’s released from jail to go after him, but that could take a few days. I don’t have a few days
.”

“Why? What will happen to you?”

“
It’s nothing you need to be concerned with, sugar.
”

Heat covered her breasts. She looked down at her chest, panicked when the flesh contained within the camisole moved as if being kneaded. She shoved at imaginary hands and moved back.

Denis laughed. “
Don’t worry. I might be a stiff now, but there ain’t no amount of Viagra that’ll help get me stiff enough to fuck you. Sure would’ve been fun.
” He moved forward. “
No, I was just thinking about what it’s going to be like being a woman. It’s ironic, don’t you think? I’ve spent my life looking at women as nothing but something to fuck or sell, but now I’m going to be one.
” He chuckled, and took another step. “
I hear going transgender is the newest fad.
”

Cool water glided along her feet and splashed her ankles, soaking her lounge pants. He was pushing her into the water. She couldn’t let him, and needed to run.

“
Luchar
.” The single word, spoken in Spanish by a woman, floated on the breeze.

“
No reaction?
” Denis asked. “
You realize that once I become you, I’m going to have to divorce your husband and become a lesbian.
”

She stopped, let him move so close that she could see the tiny bugs in his teeth, nostrils and eyes, smell the rotting flesh peeling from his body. She was also close enough his breath should dampen her skin. It didn’t, because he was dead.

“
Luchar
.” The voice came again, stronger, louder, but Denis didn’t act as if he’d heard it.

“How do you want me to react?” She looked over his shoulder. In the distance, she recognized the beach bar she and John had gone to a few days ago. Her confidence increased as the shock of her situation lessened. She was close to the condo, a phone call away from John.

“
Scared. Like you give a shit. You’ve been so damned worried about the bitches I sold, maybe you like women over men. Won’t your husband be surprised? I hope he’s open-minded, because if he tries to touch me once I’m you, I’ll cut off his balls.
”

Why was Denis dragging out whatever it was he planned to do to her? Something was holding him back.

“
I’m going to cut him
,” Denis continued. “
Torture him, make him suffer until he’s begging for death. Doesn’t that bother you? Doesn’t it upset you that he’s going to be looking into your eyes, thinking you’re the one with the knife?
”

She smiled when she realized why Denis held back. He needed to feed off her fear, but she wasn’t afraid of him. She would drown herself before allowing him to take complete control of her body.

“
Luchar
.”

“You speak Spanish. What does
luchar
mean?” she asked, refusing to acknowledge his threats.

He took another step forward until they were chest to breast. The smell of him churned her stomach and had bile creeping up her throat. But she didn’t move, didn’t allow him to intimidate her. “
Fight,
” he said. “
Is that what you plan to do? Fight me? You can’t. You’re too weak. I’ve been in your head.”
He ran the broken tip of his finger along her jaw.
“I’ve been telling you what I plan to do to your husband, I haven’t even talked about your baby.
” When Olivia’s face filled her mind, he gave her a toothy grin. “
Do you have any idea how much babies go for? Especially girl babies?
”

“
Luchar
.
Luchar
.
Luchar
.” Female voices chanted. They floated on the wind, rushed through her mind, cooled and comforted her soul. The women Denis had abducted were with her, she was certain of it.

“Solana,” she called.

“
Sí.
”

“
Que esta con tu?
” Celeste asked, hoping she had her Spanish right.

“
Solana? Who the hell is that, and what’s with the bad Spanish? No one is with me
,” Denis said. “
But I think it’s time I become one with you.
”

Women began talking over one another, calling their names and murmuring other words she didn’t understand. Celeste’s throat tightened. She didn’t need to know what they were saying, just knowing they were with her filled her mind, body and soul with so much faith and confidence, she knew she could fight Denis. And win.

“You bastard. Solana is the woman you and Miguel abducted.”

“
Ah, yes. I remember her. Sold her and another hot
señorita
to some millionaire so he and his spoiled kid could get their rocks off. But who the fuck cares about her or them.”

He wrapped his slimy hands around her forearm. His memories of selling the girls to Blake and Peter Crewe filled her mind. She saw him placing a large wad of cash into a metal box, along with a frayed notebook. The ledger with his customers’ names?

“You’re dead,” she said when the memory vanished, and jerked her arms free. “You deserve to be dead and rotting in hell.”

“
And you’re observant. I might be dead, but with you, I have a second chance at life. Starting now.
”

He opened his mouth wide, then wider still, until Celeste thought his jaw would snap off his face. A sudden burst of gray smoke rushed from his mouth, the force knocking her off her feet. She landed in the water. A wave hit her, pushing her forward and soaking her from head to toe. The moon highlighted Denis’s body, touched the smoke still spilling from his mouth. She quickly scrambled to her feet when she realized the tendrils of smoke were reaching for her. Another wave knocked her down, its strong current swiftly pulling her back.

“
¡Luchar!
” women began to shout.

She’d fight. For herself, for her family, for the women who had died because of him. She dug her fingers into the sand, pushed onto her knees, dodged a smoky coil and rushed to the shore. “
Ayúdeme
luchar
,” she called to the women.

Denis’s mouth snapped shut. “
No one can help you. No one can save you. I’ve had enough of your bullshit
,” he seethed, and took jerky steps toward her. “
You belong to me.”

“Just like the women you abducted?” she shouted. “They were your property, right? They were nothing but a way to make money.”

“
Women are useless
.”

The spirits around her grew energized. They whispered in Spanish, and while she didn’t know what they were saying, their angry tones spoke volumes.

“Yet because of a woman, you’re dead,” she countered.

“
Because of Gabe, I’m dead
.”

She stood and laughed at his absurdity. “You’re such a pigheaded chauvinist, you can’t admit that a woman killed you. I saw what happened on the Cajun Lady. The girl stabbed you, which ultimately led to your drowning.”

“
Only because Gabe set her free. It’s Gabe’s fault. The first thing I’m going to do when I become you is slit his throat
.”

“Celeste,” John shouted, as a faint beam of light danced along the sand near her.

“
On second thought
,” Denis said, taking another lurching step. “
I think I’ll save myself from a divorce and drown your husband first.
”

Smoke shot from his mouth again and hit her in the face. Instead of pressing her lips together, she blew it away. She dragged in a deep breath, moved toward Denis and did it again, and again until the last tendril slipped back into his mouth.

“You can’t have me.”

His rage heated her skin like the blazing sun. “
Then I will haunt you. I will make your life a living hell
.”

Her over-heated body cooled, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her. Dozens of cold hands touched her, caressed her and passed along gratitude and love. A sob suddenly tore through her. The women. She’d ached for them. Had wept for the pain and heartache they’d suffered. Now, their rallying spirits humbled her, filled her with pride. They weren’t weak or useless as Denis had claimed. They were strong and, even in death, their vibrancy showed.

“You can’t make my life hell when your evil spirit will be rotting there.”

He lifted his leg, then teetered and froze. Shock crossed his disgusting face. He looked down to his raised leg. “
What did you do to me?
”

She followed his gaze. The beam from John’s flashlight grew stronger and touched the hands holding Denis in place. She smiled. “The only way to fight a ghost is with a ghost. Thanks to you, I have dozens of them.” She took a step forward. “Can’t you see them?”

Panic crossed Denis’s putrid face. “
Who?
”

“The useless women who are about to drag you to hell.”

Cool air rushed from behind her, then around her as white blurs raced toward Denis. They coated him, pulled at his hair, his rotting skin. Tore at his mouth and eye sockets. As he released a guttural scream, gray smoke emanated from his mouth. The white blurs shoved it back inside, then hauled him into the water, until Denis disappeared.

The flashlight beam hit her feet. “Celeste, honey, are you okay?” John wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Did you see what they did?” she asked, hoping she wasn’t the only witness, and still in awe of the power the women held over Denis.

“It was incredible,” he said, wonder in his tone. “Are you hurt?”

“No. Just cold and wet.” She looked to her husband, who continued to watch the water. “He’s gone. Will you stay with me tonight? If you still want to lock the knives in the car, I don’t care.”

He kissed her. “I never wanted to leave you. It’s why I came back. I wanted to apologize.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I do. I was taking out my anger and frustration on you, instead of the sources, which were Denis and myself. You didn’t ask for this to happen to you, and I allowed my pride to get in the way of us. You’re extraordinary. You have this special gift that I’ll never possess. Sometimes I want it, too. I want to see what you see, not be an outsider standing on the sidelines. In all honesty, I think there’s a reason why I can’t do what you do. I’m not strong enough.”

She gripped the front of his shirt. “We all have our different strengths. Don’t ever doubt that I don’t love and admire yours.”

When she shivered, he hugged her. “I love you,” he said, enveloping her in his warmth. “Come on, let’s head to the condo and get you into a hot shower.” After giving her a final squeeze, he glanced to the water again. “What are those?”

She turned, and stared in fascination as dozens of white orbs darted toward the shore. “The women,” she said with a smile. She couldn’t wait to tell Maxine that her theory on orbs was wrong, and to thank her for helping her realize that she possessed the strength and power to defeat her demons. Or, in this case, a malicious ghost.

John grinned. “What are they doing?” he asked, as the orbs touched the two of them.

Each brush from the orbs was like a kiss, one filled with happiness and gratitude. She held her hand out to one of them. When it settled in her palm, Solana’s pretty image filled her head.

“
Gracias, Celeste
,” she said.

Her image faded. The orb rose, touched John’s cheek, then darted away. One by one, the others did the same. When the final one disappeared into the night, John turned to her.

“Did you see or hear anything when they touched you?” he asked.

“Their faces, and each one of them thanked me. But I’m the one who’s thankful for their help. Why, did you?”

“Yeah, same as you, only…I felt something else.” He shook his head. “It’s so strange, you’re probably not going to believe me.”

“Honey, we just saw dead women drag a ghost into the water. I don’t think things could get any stranger than that.”

“You’re right.” He smiled, and cupped her cheek. “I felt love, not for me, but for you.”

She gave his bicep a squeeze. “I felt their love, too. It makes me so grateful for my gift,” she said, then took his hand. She truly was, and once again realized Maxine had been right. She needed to embrace her gift. Instead of finding ways to avoid using it, or looking at it as a curse, she needed to learn her full potential. She needed to be able to teach her daughter the true power they both possessed.