NOLA (31 page)

Father Peter fell to his knees and started praying.

Sean looked at his body and saw it start to twitch.  “Zombie me is waking up,” he warned.

Mia pried the shells out of the floor.  “This time I go for the heart, if it has one.”

“No, the eyes, blind it,” Murphy insisted.

“I’ll try,” Mia called as she got on the bed to use it as a launching pad.

Murphy moved to intercept the zombie, and Sean stood in front of the priest as if he could shield the man with his body.

The entity shot out of the bowl without warning.  It spun around and picked up the priest and Sean with both hands.  Mia launched herself towards the monster.  She managed to sink one shell into the right eye of the soul eater.  It threw the priest and Sean away in pain.  Father Peter hit the wall hard.  Sean bounced and managed to get to his feet and ran to the aid of the priest.

Murphy faced off with zombie Sean.  Mia backed away from the entity.  It pulled the shell out and tossed it away.  It glared at Mia with its good eye.  It reached out and grabbed her and screamed, “AHEEEEEEEEEEEEEMAJAMA  AHEEEEEEEEEEEEEMAJAMA!”  Mia felt the being reach into her body and grabbed on to her soul.

A thunderous roar filled the night.  The pounding footsteps of something immense echoed off the walls of the museum.  Father Peter lifted his head and watched as the door was ripped off its hinges and a huge body moved into the room.

The soul eater was astonished and stopped extracting Mia’s soul to face this new threat.

Mia was tossed aside.  She twisted her body and managed to land without smashing her head.  Mia rubbed her eyes because she could not believe what she was seeing.  Standing, growling in the middle of the room was the demon Sticks.

It motioned for her to move behind him.  Which she did, dragging Father Peter with her.

Zombie Sean moved past Murphy and barreled into Sticks.  The demon was caught off guard, and in that brief moment, the soul eater grabbed the demon, pulling him into the water with it.

Mia ran to the desk and plunged her hand into the water.  “Come on, come on, come on, see it, you big dummy.”  Mia felt the familiar wooden fingers clamp around her hand, and she drew the branch-like hand out of the water.  Suddenly Sticks was pulled downward, and Mia was pulled headfirst into the bowl.  She struggled.

Murphy wrapped his arms around Mia and managed to pull her head out of the water.  She could finally breathe, but she knew she was losing this fight.  The image of Sticks letting go and then the soul eater coming out again to repossess Mia’s soul was too much for her.  With her free hand she grabbed the Gris Gris bag and prayed, “Lord in Heaven, Help this Poor Sinner.”

Once again Sticks was pulled downward, and Murphy lost the tug-of-war with the soul eater.  Mia slipped under the water again.

Mia could just hear Murphy say, “Hang on, Mia.  Hang on!”  She wasn’t going to let Sticks go.  She now could see Stick’s horrible demon eyes fixed on her.  She read his eyes and knew he was going to let go of her hand to save her.  Mia took her free hand and grabbed his arm, digging her nails into the bark-like skin.  She wasn’t letting go.

The ceiling exploded over Murphy.  Bricks and slates rained down.  Sean managed to drag his zombie body over the priest to protect the man from the heavy projectiles.  The roar of wings beating the air was so strong that it forced Father Peter out of his concussive sleep.

Murphy felt two hands circle his waist and pull him upward.  He assumed it was Angelo.  Who else would wait to the last minute to show up?  He hung on to Mia, and as he was pulled upwards, Mia was pulled free of the bowl.  Behind her was the demon.

Once Sticks’s hands were clear of the bowl, he twisted his body and pried Mia’s nails out of his arm.  He turned and pulled the soul eater up above the water’s edge, and he took his mighty hands and twisted the neck of the entity until he pulled the thing’s head off.  He tossed it into the water and looked up.

Mia, who was still suspended in the air by Murphy, looked down at the demon.  Their eyes met and their kinship was realized.

“Thank you, Sticks,” she said.

He nodded and looked past her and Murphy.  His eyes filled with horror, and he cowered.  He ran out of the room, only looking back once to make sure Mia was on solid ground before he disappeared.

Mia turned and looked up, but all she could see was retreating wings in the night sky.

She looked at Murphy and asked, “Angelo?”

He hunched his shoulders.

“A little help here,” Father Peter pleaded.

Murphy came to his aid, and between him and Sean, they moved the brick-covered corpse off of the priest.

“Lay the body on the bed,” Mia instructed.  She removed the ceiling tiles and cleared away plaster debris.

“Sean, how much water did you put in the bowl?” she asked.

“I was cleaning it.  About a half bottle, why?”

Mia looked down at the tiny amount of water left in the bowl.  “What else happened?”

“I cut myself on one of those sharp shells,” he said.

“You didn’t intentionally call forth the soul eater, did you?”

“On my life…” he stopped and cleared his voice, “Ahem.  On my death,” he corrected, “All I did was try to clean it so I could determine its worth.”

“That’s what I thought.  Do you really want to make amends?” she asked the spirit.

“Yes.  I do.”

“I’m going to ask you to do something, and it’s going to seem really weird, but I assure you it’s necessary.”

“I’m listening.”

“I want you to lie back into your body.”

He looked at the husk and said, “Gross.”

“I know, it will only be for a little while.”

“Sure, here I go,” he said and climbed on the bed and lay down on his back on top of the body.”

“Murphy, could you?” Mia asked.

Murphy walked over and pushed Sean into his body.

Mia knew before she touched it that the bowl would now move.  She picked it up, glancing over at Father Peter and said, “I return the blood of first victim.”  Mia walked over to the bed and tossed all the water on top of the corpse.  She watched it sink in.  Mia waited a moment before returning the bowl to its velvet bag and inserting it into the wooden case.  She locked it and set it back on the desk.

Sean popped his head up.  “Can I get out now?”

“Yes, Sean,” Mia said, holding back a giggle.

“I hope you never have to inhabit your dead body, Mia,” he said good-naturedly.

“Me too,” Mia said and walked over and knelt down next to Father Peter and started to check him for broken bones.  “You know you have to go to the hospital.”

“Oh, I expect so.  I was knocked out, and then I hallucinated.  I’d say I have an MRI and a CAT scan in my future.  I had a CAT scan recently, and I didn’t like the results.”

“Really? What did they find?”

“It’s what they didn’t find,” Father Peter admitted.

Concerned Mia leaned in.  “What didn’t they find?”

“No cats,” he said with an evil look on his face.

Mia groaned and shook her head.  “Um, back to the real world, you said you had a hallucination.  What did you see?”

“An angel.”

Mia looked at Murphy and back at the priest.  “Did he look Italian?  Good looking guy with black feathers?”

“From my perspective, on the floor with a desiccated corpse and bricks over me, I thought it was all bright and shiny, not white as I’ve seen in paintings.  I got the idea I was looking at the image of a warrior.  It had a determined look on its face, and once Sticks was freed, it looked over at me, sized me up, and then left.”

“Hell, excuse me…  Heck of a hallucination,” Mia said.

Alexei appeared in the doorway.  “Is it all over?” he asked.

“Yes,” Mia said.  “I’ve got to call for an ambulance, and then I’ll have to explain all of this,” she pointed to the new skylight.

“What the hell, excuse me Father, heck did that?”

“Not sure,” Mia said honestly.

“Why don’t you
not
explain it,” Alexei suggested.  “Susannah has a private physician who uses a private hospital.  We could say that Father Peter was helping her bring some boxes down from the attic and fell.”

“That wouldn’t be honest,” Mia said, looking at the priest with big, round, puppy dog eyes.

“I think that’s what happened.  This is all a hallucination I had after I bumped my head,” he said, returning Mia’s stare.

“What about Sean’s body?” she asked.

“The ceiling collapsed, and it will be found amongst the rubble.  Could have been in the attic the entire time,” Alexei said.

“You are too good at this lying,” Mia said.  “You’re going to have to spend some time with Judge Roumain if you ever tire of N’awlins.”

“Probably so.”

Mia and Murphy waited until Susannah’s maid arrived with a private ambulance.  Mia made sure the EMTs didn’t see her face.  She assumed that these gentlemen would be paid off, but she wasn’t taking any chances. After the priest was carried out, Mia picked up the box.

“What are you going to do with it?” Alexei asked.

“It has to be secured somewhere where no man can get his hands on it.”

“Where is that?”

“I don’t even know,” she admitted.  “But I know a guy.”

“Well, I guess this is it, Mia,” Alexei said.  He bent down and kissed her gloved hand.  “It has been a pleasure,” he said and disappeared.

Mia and Murphy found their way out and walked up Bourbon Street.  The hour was late, but the street was still full of revelers.  The little masked woman lugging the large carved box blended right in.

Chapter Twenty-three

Mia nodded to Sean as she entered the private suite.  Father Peter was sitting up with a lot of wires attached to him.  Mia plopped in the chair beside the bed and said, “You look like a third grader’s science fair entry.”

Father Peter’s laugh was a little restrained.  “Sorry, but laughing makes my ribs hurt.”

“Oops.  So what are the damages?”

“I have two broken ribs, a mild concussion, and a dislocated shoulder that they set right after they pumped me full of morphine.”

“Still hurt, didn’t it?”

“Yes.  I see you’ve been in my shoes.”

“Paranormal investigation has higher injury counts than the NFL.  I won’t give you my list, as it is too long with too many tall tales attached to each one of them.”

“I take it you’re not staying.”

“I’ve got to get back to my husband and baby.  I trust the Guiding Lights can handle anything that comes along.”

“Where’s Ralph?”

“He said he had some business to see to.  George dropped me off before driving him to his meeting.”

“The box?”

“Secure, with Murphy.  I’ll be taking it back to Chicago with me.  I’ve arranged for it to be picked up and safeguarded until it can either be destroyed or buried so deep that it will never see the light of day.”

“I expect there are more of them out there,” Father Peter worried.

“Yes, but now that we know what they look like, they can be gathered and neutralized.  At least that’s my hope.”  Mia nodded towards Sean.  “Is he staying or going?”

“Sean is staying for a while.  He wants to make amends before leaving.  It’s not just this little caper that he’s worried about.”

“Father Peter says I can stay with him until I feel strong enough to venture out and tie up some loose ends,” Sean explained.

“If there is anything that PEEPs can do to help, just let us know.  There isn’t a job too big or too small. As long as Burt can film it, we’re game.”

“Sounds like you’re anxious to get back to PEEPs too,” Father Peter observed.

“After this, PEEPs is going to be a walk in the park.  I’ve learned so much, and I’m still processing some things.  N’awlins has presented me with problems but also with answers.  I’ve met you fine folks and been treated very well.  I’d like to return one day with Ted and Brian. Well, maybe not Brian, not yet,” she corrected.  “I’m sure that he won’t be able to appreciate the Big Easy until he grows up.”

“Yes, it’s not Disneyworld. Although we do have our own style of kings and queens.”

It was Mia’s turn to laugh.  “I wonder how Lucky Pierre’s is doing with Miss Georgia Peach around.”

“I expect they are embracing the idea that the place is haunted.  N’awlins, as you have noticed, appreciates its dead.”

“No place like it,” Mia agreed.

~

George pulled the sedan through the gate and up to the jet.  He got out, and Mia quickly asked the ghost in the front seat, “Is there anything you want me to tell George?”

Surprised, the old man just shook his head.

“He’s doing a great job, sir,” Mia said before she got out of the car.

Murphy followed her and turned green as he contemplated the flight to come.  Ralph was the last to leave the car.  He placed an envelope on the front seat.  “I know he’s being taken care of by the man that hired him, but that’s a thank you from Mia and me,” Ralph said to the ghost Mia told him about.  “Give him some room, and you’ll be proud of him.”

George waited at the door and helped Ralph out of the car.

“Who are you talking to? Is it that ghost Murphy?”

“I was just talking to myself, George,” Ralph lied.

Mia wouldn’t let George handle the wooden case.  She carried it onto the plane and secured it where she could keep an eye on it during the flight home.  She also insisted that Murphy sit next to her.  “Do you want the window seat?” she teased.

Murphy glared at her.  “I’d rather take the ley lines home.”

“No, you’re coming with me.  I don’t want to have to spend my time finding you when you get lost.”

“I won’t get lost.”

Mia lifted an eyebrow.  “Perhaps not, but I’d like you to come with us all the same.  Sticks is still out there. He may decide to take you for a souvenir.”

“Or you,” Murphy countered.

“Saw right through me, didn’t you?” Mia said and laughed.  “I have to admit to being a bit puzzled by the attraction, but I’m happy he came to our aid when he did.  He saved my bacon.”

“And then you saved him,” Murphy reminded her.  “Why?”