Grave Danger (7 page)

Maddy had said that Clarissa seemed a little out of
touch, distant and quiet. But that was to be expected. She said she
thought Clarissa was a nice young woman who would fit in well with
the rest of the community. Eleanor had agreed with that and
informed the older woman that she would be over to pick Clarissa up
so she could take her around town and have some girl time before
Richard would join them.

Clarissa had been sitting quietly in the front
parlor while Mrs. Connors was doing a bit of light cleaning before
her living guests arrived. On Fridays her ladies group came over to
socialize and most importantly to gossip about town affairs. The
group was a cross between the Red Hat Ladies club and the occult.
They didn’t sacrifice any animals or pray to any mythological
deities. They were just a couple of grown women who happened to
have close ties with the supernatural world.

Eleanor had noticed how drawn into herself Clarissa
was, a total contrast from the woman she had seen leave with Henry
last night. She had seemed so happy then and now she appeared
extremely reserved.

“
The truth is I’m just trying to understand
how I fit into all of this; my role in this world. And when Henry
was taking me home last night he told me about theses flesh-eaters
that the community allows to have the city during the night, using
it as their hunting grounds. I guess Henry freaked me out a
little.”

“
Henry doesn’t always know how to explain
things the right way.” Eleanor took Clarissa’s hand into the crook
of her arm, patting it in comfort. “I’m sorry if he scared you.
That was not his intention. He’s a very protective man, very rare
in these days. It’s just that you are so inexperienced in this
world, he wanted you to be safe.”

“
Henry said I can’t go out at night, at least
not on my own. So if I want to do anything after dark I have to be
chaperoned like a little kid. He explained that these flesh-eaters
are permitted free reign over the city and if they saw me I could
get hurt, killed even.”

They were shopping today. Clarissa was still wearing
the clothes she had woken up in at the hospital; the clothes she
had died in. Shopping was a task that irritated Richard. He had
made clear that he would rather die all over again than be forced
to go shopping with Eleanor.

The Eidolon community had several dressmakers on
hand who catered to a specific dead clientele. Just because they
were dead didn’t mean they couldn’t be up on the last trends in the
fashion world. Like the food they could create, the ghosts had to
have clothes specifically created for their non-corporal forms
using an alternate technique from the living, again with the use of
magick.

“
That is true,” Eleanor answered. “But you
have to understand that when they come over that bridge they have
only one objective, to feed.” Eleanor knew quite a bit about the
supernatural beings in this world. She did her best to try to
understand them even if their lifestyle abhorred her.

“
Why don’t they stay on their side of the
city, on the island? Why do they come over the bridge at all into
the downtown area?” Not that that would be any more acceptable. The
livings on either side of the river were in danger from these
undead flesh-eaters.

“
They prefer to have access to the city and
downtown area on our side and to use the island purely for housing.
The feedings are only in the downtown area so those on Anastasia
Island are safe, I guess, from their appetites. It’s like that
phrase I’m sure you’ve heard about, not eating where you do your
business. In this case the flesh-eaters remain on the island during
the day and cross over the bridge at night.”

“
I still don’t get it, but I know what you’re
saying. So they cross the bridge at full dark and come into our
city and consume our people, then when the light comes they go back
across the bridge and spend the day on the beach.” What was it that
forced someone to consume another human being? It was cannibalism
at its worst. Clarissa voiced her thoughts aloud. “How can they do
that people?”

“
It’s an all together consuming need they have
that drives them. We don’t completely understand their species, but
we know that without constant ingestion of living human flesh they
will break down and become mad until there is nothing left of them,
without a soul they would crumble into nothingness. Really, they
are more like animals than humans. The flesh-eaters in our city
co-habitat as a clan, but sometimes they move about alone. In
either case, nothing can stand in their way when that appetite for
flesh takes over their systems.”

Eleanor glanced over to see Clarissa’s drawn face.
“I’m sorry. I’m just as bad as Henry. You’re not afraid, are you?
You just need to remember to take certain precautions when dealing
with the others. If we stay out of their way, they won’t get in
ours.”

“
How can you say that? They’re eating the
locals and more likely the tourists. If they really are these
demonic-like soulless beasts, what is stopping them from coming
into our homes? There is no such thing as staying out of their way,
pretending like they don’t exist and letting them eat innocent
human beings. If they wanted to they could take over the
city.”

Eleanor shook her head. “No, they couldn’t. This is
our city,” she said emphatically, stressing each syllable, her
words staking a claim on what she believed was her right of
ownership. “The flesh-eaters only control a portion of the city and
only at night. They cannot enter our homes or businesses, nor are
they allowed to overindulge on our livings. They do not eat
children or innocents as far as I know.”

Eleanor continued. “If people were disappearing
right and left, don’t you think the media would catch wind of it,
making it into a story of rising crime in the area? We already have
enough of that as it is. If that happened the tourism would drop to
almost nothing and then where would they be? It is for their
benefit that they do their business discreetly and with as little
causality as possible.”

“
Is that what these livings are to you,
necessary casualties? Are we truly that heartless to feed our
citizens to these creatures so we can be safe? Like human cattle or
pigs, we treat them as expendable so we can pretend we have some
control over the city.”

Eleanor stopped walking. She turned to give Clarissa
a cold, hard stare, her lips thin, her pretty mouth drawn down in a
frown. “Look here,” she bit out, “I don’t like this arrangement any
more than you do. As far as I’m concerned I wish we could get rid
of them for good, but we can’t. There was a time when we had the
tools to exterminate these abnormalities of nature, but we’re at a
disadvantage here and believe me, the death toll could be so much
higher if we hadn’t stepped in and made these arrangements. I may
not have a heartbeat anymore, but I am not heartless.”

Clarissa looked away from that hard stare. Perhaps
she was right. If left to their own ruling, these flesh-eaters
would consume the entire city in a single feeding frenzy. Maybe in
some sick way, this arrangement was the lesser of two evils.

The Eidolon community kept much of the community
safe from the night stalkers. Only those foolish enough to wander
around alone in the dark were consumed and only when necessary as
Eleanor had said. They didn’t kill for fun but for survival.
However, Clarissa had trouble wrapping her brain around the concept
of death as a necessary need even if it meant sparing others. Even
if it was the lesser of two evils, it was still an evil in and of
itself.

“
I’m sorry,” Clarissa apologized, turning to
face Eleanor, seeing the other woman’s pinched expression. “This is
still so new to me. I didn’t mean to insult you or the community.
Please forgive me if I hurt your feelings.”

Eleanor let out a long breath, her face relaxing
into its usual calm disposition. She nodded, taking Clarissa’s arm
back into her own as then continued walking down the streets of the
old city.

She laughed. “That was our first little skirmish,
you and I. It’s a sign, you know, that we will be great friends.”
She gave Clarissa a lopsided grin. “Only best friends fight like
that with each other. It’s a rule somewhere.”

“
So you’re saying people who fight with each
other are really good friends. Then Henry and Richard must be
extreme bff’s,” she exclaimed sarcastically. “Do you expect us to
argue like they do?” She hoped not.

Clarissa was glad that they could get past this
first argument even though she knew it wasn’t completely settled.
She couldn’t find it in herself to agree with Eleanor, but she had
sense enough to understand her reasoning.

“
If we are lucky, then yes. We’ll argue about
a lot of things, call each other horrible names, then apologize and
make it up to one another by going shopping.”

Clarissa smiled. “You have it all planned out, don’t
you?”

“
Of course I do. I know everything.” She
flipped her beautifully curly blonde locks over her petite
shoulders forcing Clarissa to laugh as well as lifting the mood
considerably.

“
Okay, all knowing being, let’s go shopping.
We’re supposed to meet Richard for lunch, remember. He would be
upset if we made him wait to eat.”

Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Oh, heaven help us if we
keep poor Richard from food,” she said with obvious sarcasm. “It’s
a good thing he can’t change or he’d be as massive as his house. As
it is, his ego is just as big.”

“
He’s not so bad,” Clarissa contradicted. “I
think he has a kind of sweet nature once you get past the surliness
and bravado. He’s a nice guy.” She caught Eleanor giving her a
curious look. “What is that all about?”

A sly smile crept over Eleanor’s lips. “Mmm-hmm,”
she murmured, giving Clarissa a knowing look. “You have a thing for
Richard, don’t you?”

“
What?” Clarissa shouted in
astonishment.

“
You do.” Eleanor laughed. “You’re blushing
all over right now. Oh, that is too sweet.”

Ghosts didn’t actually blush like living humans,
rather their soul’s aura changed to accommodate the change in
emotion.

“
I’m blushing,” Clarissa touched her cool
cheeks, “because I’m embarrassed by what you are thinking about
right now. You have a very active imagination. Did you know that?
And what you were just picturing about me and Richard would make
even Richard blush all over.”

Eleanor’s smile faltered. “You can read my
thoughts.” She made it a statement.

“
Yes,” she said hesitantly. “Can’t you? Can’t
the others do that?”

“
No,” she answered, a frown replacing her
smile. “And I know only a handful of ghosts who can. Henry was
right; there is something very different about you.”

Now Clarissa frowned. “I can’t stand these cryptic
comments. No one ever explains what they really mean when they say
things like that to me. I’m just an ordinary ghost like all of you.
I look like you, don’t I? There is absolutely nothing different or
odd about me.”

Even as Clarissa spoke these words she knew they
weren’t true.

Eleanor looked like she wanted to start another
battle of friendship. Clarissa really wasn’t in the mood to engage
in any more clashing of pros. She just wanted to have a normal day
with her equally normal group of ghost friends. For now, she would
forget about the flesh-eaters and there would be no more talk about
her being a freak in the paranormal world. This time Clarissa
pulled Eleanor along as they walked together down the street.

Clarissa was looking through a rack of dresses and
skirts, trying to pick something out to wear. Eleanor had explained
the concept of clothes to her and that ghosts had the luxury of
changing out of their death garbs if they wanted. The death garb
was permanent, but the new clothes would have to be changed.
Because they were magick meant that they didn’t last forever. She
would pick an item out and then Lizzy, Mrs. Elizabeth Sands,
formally speaking, would duplicate the design to Clarissa’s form.
Like the indulgence of food, the creation of clothes for their
otherworldly bodies required magick as well as knowledge of the
art. It was a luxury to the community to have talents like Mrs.
Sands or everyone would be forced to continually wear the outfits
from the time period each of them died in.

“
What the hell is taking you two so long?” a
voice barked out, followed by the appearance of Richard who popped
into the shop right next to the rack of clothes Clarissa was
perusing through.

It was such a surprise to see him pop in like that
Clarissa almost screamed. She had forgotten that they could do
that, shift through space. Clarissa did, however, clutch her chest
and take a sudden step back before she was able to compose
herself.

“
Don’t do that,” Clarissa hissed. She would
have to remember that she wasn’t a normal human being anymore and
that the world of the dead was different, were people could just
skip through the atmosphere. So far she hadn’t used much of her new
talents as a ghost. She should think about exploring them more
fully in the future because if she had Richard wouldn’t have
surprised her, she would have sensed his approach.

“
You scared me to death, Richard.”

Richard raised one dark eyebrow, pushing his messy
hair around on his head. “A little difficult to do, don’t you
think? When you’re already expired as it is.”

“
It’s a figure of speech, smart ass,” she said
with small grin. Clarissa resumed her search through the racks of
clothes, still unsure of what she wanted. She pushed through the
stock of winter skirts, ignoring Richard as he leaned against the
clerks counter.