Crossroads (13 page)

‘So,’ Jake frowned, ‘this Charu is taking these souls and sending them to the Underworld?’

‘That’s just it, he’s not doing what he’s supposed to. These people aren’t dying, it’s not their time to cross over. He isn’t escorting their souls, he’s harvesting them.’

‘What for?’

‘I have no idea, but if you look carefully on the video footage you see him trap the soul in a glass bottle. What he is doing with them after that I couldn’t say.’

‘That ball of light? That’s a human soul?’

Veronica nodded.

‘In many beliefs, when a spirit is not ready to cross over it must be violently ripped from its body. That’s what he’s doing, he’s ripping these souls from their bodies. That’s why Mr Bailey is in a coma and on life support, his soul is gone. His body is just an empty vessel now. The body cannot survive without the soul. Sooner or later it will shut down permanently and no amount of medical intervention will be able to save him.’

‘Where is his soul now? Is there any way to return it to his body?’

Veronica shrugged helplessly. ‘I just don’t know.’

Jake turned his gaze on Fiona.

‘I don’t know either,’ she poured herself a drink, ‘but what I do know is that he won’t be satisfied with just one soul.’

‘You’re right about that,’ Jake murmured.

‘He’s taken someone else hasn’t he?’ Roni breathed heavily her eyes filled with worry, ‘it’s not just Mr Bailey?’

Jake shook his head. ‘He took one of Louisa’s interns, her name is Hayley Adams.’

‘God,’ Roni held out her glass to Fiona and watched her fill it almost to the brim before she threw it back and downed it in one.

‘Roni,’ Jake frowned, ‘I think you’d better slow down there.’

‘You don’t understand,’ she turned her troubled gaze on him, ‘there is no way to stop him.’

‘What are you talking about? There must be something, some way to…’

‘No,’ she cut him off, ‘he can’t be killed, he can’t be reasoned with, he can’t be stopped. He is going to go through this town like a plague harvesting every soul, until he is wading through the corpses of everyone you have ever known or loved. Mercy will become nothing more than a desolate wasteland of ash and bone.’

‘I don’t accept that,’ Jake replied stubbornly, ‘I’m not giving up. If we can’t stop him or kill him then we find a way to send him back to wherever he came from.’

‘He must have come through the gateway with the others,’ Fiona mused as she swirled the amber liquid around thoughtfully in her glass. ‘Question is why wasn’t he pulled back through?’ she looked up at them both and took another sip. ‘Makes you wonder doesn’t it?’

‘Wonder what?’ Roni asked.

‘How many others weren’t pulled back through; how many were left trapped in Mercy.’

‘Jesus,’ Roni dropped her head into her hands.

‘One problem at a time,’ Jake murmured absently as he rubbed soothing circles on Roni’s back, ‘just breathe sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.’

‘How is this possibly going to be okay?’ she looked up at him, ‘none of us have the skill or the power to send him back.’

‘No, we have something better.’

‘What?’

‘Someone on the inside,’ he smiled. ‘If we can’t open the gateway from this side, maybe Olivia can from the Other side.’

Fiona cackled in delight. ‘I guess you’re not just a pretty face after all boy.’

‘We need to contact Olivia,’ Roni replied.

‘We need to contact Olivia,’ Jake agreed.

Olivia sat perched on the edge of the roof, staring at the town laid out before her like a miniature replica. She took another swig from the bottle of Johnnie Walker she’d swiped from the pub and stared down at the sidewalk far below her, wondering idly how far a drop it was. If she fell would she actually die she pondered, after all she was already in the spirit world. Did that mean she was now invulnerable to injury or even death?

‘Not a good area for experimentation,’ Sam appeared suddenly next to her.

‘For God’s sake Sam,’ her hand jumped involuntarily to her rapidly beating heart. ‘Give me a heart attack why don’t you?’

‘Sorry.’

‘You’d think I’d be used to that now wouldn’t you?’

He grinned at her boyishly.

‘I swear you do that on purpose.’

‘Do what?’ his eyes widened innocently, ‘and in answer to your earlier question I don’t think you’d actually die but I can’t be sure. You’re not a true spirit, you’re technically still wearing your mortal body, which means if you damage it in here you probably won’t survive out there.’

‘Fair enough,’ she took another swig from the bottle, ‘and just for the record I wasn’t planning on actually doing it. I’m frustrated not suicidal.’

‘If you say so,’ he took the bottle from her and drank deeply himself.’

‘It makes me really uncomfortable when you do that’ she frowned, ‘you don’t look old enough to drink.’

‘Don’t let the face fool you’ he laughed comfortably, ‘I’m older than I look.’

‘How much older?’ she asked curiously.

He shook his head in amusement. ‘I wouldn’t want to make you more uncomfortable.’

Smiling she turned back to the view. Letting out a deep breath she raised her gaze to the sky.

‘It’s a little disconcerting you know.’

‘What is?’

‘Not knowing how long I’ve been here for.’

‘It’s not really relevant you know.’

‘I know, I know, time has no meaning here, blah blah blah,’ she rolled her eyes and took the bottle back. ‘I just…’ she shrugged and sighed a little, ‘I miss the sunset.’

‘You really don’t have a clue how it works here do you?’

‘What?’

Sam turned to face her more fully.

‘Tell me what you love about the sunset,’ he asked softly.

‘The feel of it,’ she replied quietly, ‘that quiet moment when you feel the air change. When the world slows and the sky softens into swirls of vivid pink and purple. For that one moment everything shifts and the whole world is still, holding its breath, waiting for the stars.’

She looked into Sam’s eyes and saw him smile.

‘Olivia.’

‘Yes.’

‘Look up.’

She did and a delighted laugh fell from her lips as she drew in a breath of wonder.

‘Oh my God,’ the strange blue tinted daylight was gone and the sky was now ablaze with magnificent swirls of sleepy pink and purple. ‘How did you do that?’

‘I didn’t,’ he whispered smiling softly, ‘you did.’

‘Oh my God’ she breathed, looking up to the sky, ‘that’s so cool.’

‘In this place anything is possible. If you can imagine it, you can make it happen.’

She looked back at him as he held out his hand to her. She took it gently and he smiled.

‘Now think of any place you want to.’

She did as he asked and even as the thought began to take shape in her mind her surroundings began to shift and blur like a painting left out in the rain. When she looked around they were no longer perched on the edge of the roof top, but were now standing inside the museum in front of Hester's portrait.

‘Wow,’ she breathed, ‘is this what it’s like for you when you translocate?’

‘Close,’ Sam smiled letting go of her hand. Turning to face the portrait he studied it closely, ‘she looks like you.’

‘So I’m told.’

‘Why here?’ he asked curiously.

She shrugged. ‘It just sort of popped into my head, this was one of my favorite places when I was a kid. I thought it was so cool my family had their own exhibit. I don’t know, I guess it made me feel important.’

He nodded in understanding as they started walking, slowly looking at the exhibits as they went.

‘So what about you Sam?’

‘What about me?’

‘I’ve told you pretty much my life story, how about telling me yours?’

His brow folded into a sudden frown and he sighed. ‘I can’t, sorry Olivia, there are rules I have to abide by.’

‘Whose rules?’

‘Nice try,’ his mouth curved slightly in amusement.

‘Well can you at least tell me how you ended up here?’

He blew out a deep thoughtful breath as they continued to walk past the glass fronted display cases.

‘My father wanted me to do something that I didn’t agree with. I refused and he cast me down here and locked me in, to give me some time to think.’

‘How long have you been here?’ she frowned.

‘Time is irre…’

‘Yeah yeah I know irrelevant, forget I asked,’ she shook her head. ‘What did he want you to do?’

Sam hesitated for a moment, as if he were unsure how much to reveal.

‘He wanted me to betray someone I cared about,’ he replied finally.

‘Who was she?’

‘So sure it’s a she, aren’t you?’ he smiled.

She simply raised her brows and waited.

‘Fine,’ he answered after a moment, ‘she was…is a friend, sort of.’

‘How can someone be sort of a friend? If you care about her enough to be exiled because of her, either she’s important to you or not.’

‘She is,’ his voice was soft and tinged with an emotion she couldn’t quite name, sadness perhaps? Or maybe remorse. ‘You remind me of her actually,’ he looked up at Olivia. ‘She is beautiful and clever but she can be incredibly stubborn, and she’s sweet and kind. She has a deep love of lore and history.’

‘She sounds like my long lost twin, except for the sweet and kind part,’ Olivia chuckled lightly, ‘so what’s the problem? She sounds pretty perfect.’

‘She’s the daughter of a traitor.’

Olivia stopped suddenly and stared darkly at Sam. ‘And you hold that against her?’

‘No,’ he realized she’d got the wrong idea, ‘I would never hold what her mother did against her. It was not her fault, she had nothing to do with it and yet she is paying the price for it. Even her own people,’ he shook his head in disgust, ‘you should see how they treat her, it’s like they look at her and see her mother. They can’t see who she truly is. Even my people treat her with distrust and suspicion.’

‘I see so it’s like a forbidden love kind of thing?’

‘No,’ he shook his head, ‘it’s not like that.’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘We’re not even the same race.’

‘So! There’s nothing wrong with mixed race marriages.’

‘For humans perhaps, but not for us. Our races have hated each other for thousands of years, they barely tolerate each other. Any inter-race interaction is kept to a strict minimum. There’s no mixed race friendships, let alone marriages. I don’t even know if…’ he shook his head in denial, ‘it’s impossible, especially after what I’ve done.’

‘What did you do?’

He turned away and started walking again, almost as if it were easier to confess if he wasn’t looking directly at her.

‘I used to be like them, the rest of my people. I was raised to view the others as my enemy, not to be trusted. My father chose me, said he had something very important for me to do. He wanted me to seek her out and befriend her, secretly of course. He was convinced she was just as much a traitor as her mother. Tainted blood he called it. He was obsessed with the idea she was going to continue where her mother had failed.’

‘So what did you do?’ she asked softly.

‘I refused at first, but my father convinced me it was important and so with my ears ringing with words like duty, honor and loyalty, I did as he asked. At first I was so resentful I’m surprised she even bothered to speak to me.’ His eyes grew distant, tangled up in memories, ‘I think she was so surprised I was even speaking to her. She was so used to being shunned, by both her own people and mine.’

‘Sounds like a lonely life.’

‘It was,’ his voice dropped low, ‘I didn’t understand that at first. She once told me when she first met me, it was like being allowed to take a breath for the very first time.’

Olivia watched him silently, watching the silent play of emotion across his face until he began to speak again.

‘She’s never going to forgive me when she finds out.’

‘I think she will,’ Olivia told him gently, ‘if she’s the person you think she is. She may be hurt but she knows you love her so she’ll forgive you.’

He looked up at her and stared.

‘She doesn’t know how you feel about her, does she?’

He shook his head slowly.

‘Sam,’ she breathed.

‘You don’t understand Olivia,’ he frowned, ‘this isn’t just about overcoming prejudice. If they found out about us we would both be executed.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘I was protecting her.’

‘Sam,’ she spoke after a moment, ‘I’m not trying to interfere and I certainly don’t want to tell you what to do but I do know one thing, love is a gift that should be treasured, not denied. Sometimes it’s worth the risk. You just need to decide, is she worth it?’

‘Is Theo?’ he asked in return.

‘Yes,’ she whispered, ‘and I would rather live minutes with him then spend my whole life without him.’

He wrapped his arms around her impulsively and pulled her into an affectionate hug.

‘You’re like the sister I never wanted.’

Olivia laughed, squeezing him gently before pulling back and looking up into his eyes.

‘Then take some sisterly advice and tell her how you feel Sam, trust me when I tell you that you may never get another chance. You have to make the most of every moment.’

‘Carpé diem?’

‘Something like that,’ she smiled in amusement.

Suddenly the ground trembled beneath their feet causing them to break apart.

‘Did you feel that?’ Sam frowned in confusion.

‘What was that? An earthquake?’

‘That’s impossible, this isn’t like earth. It’s not a physical plane; it’s not subject to seismic shifts.’

The ground trembled again, this time harder, causing them to stumble slightly.

‘If it’s not an earthquake what the hell is causing that?’ Olivia breathed in alarm.

‘I have no idea,’ Sam’s eyes widened.

Suddenly there was a great tearing sound and the ground shook so violently they were thrown to the ground. The glass display cases shattered, sending glass showering over them. The floor heaved and groaned beneath them as Olivia curled into a ball and covered her head with her arms, trying to protect herself from falling debris. Priceless pieces of history tumbled to the floor and smashed which caused her a momentary jolt, until she reminded herself they were just replicas and not real. The frantic shaking seemed to go on forever until it suddenly stopped as abruptly as it started. Olivia looked up, coughing lightly in the dust filled air, her gaze searching the devastation for Sam.