Pennies for the Ferryman - 01 (36 page)

Don laughed,
“More than a little paranoid, aren’tcha?”

“My paranoia spotted more than a few roadside bombs in Iraq.”

“Yeah, damn shame you missed that last one. I didn’t want to swap you and Porkchop out, that day, but that new sonuvabitch lieutenant was emphasizing cross training. I should find that bastard and haunt his ass!”

“That reminds me, what were you trying to say to me when you died? I couldn’t hear crap.”

“Oh that, I was probably saying how Sonya was gonna kill me or something stupid like that.”

Don’s admission gave us both a good chuckle. We were both big fans of irony.
“So what about you and Candy? Think she might succeed where Heather failed?”

I took a few whacks at the heavy bag. “We have to have uninterrupted dates before we can have a relationship. We’re hoping the fourth time’s a charm.”

“Good luck with that. I could always go haunt Jenny’s boyfriend if you want. She seems pretty sweet on you.”

“Nah, Jenny’s cute, but she’s not mature enough. Besides, she just got done with a ghost wrecking her life in general. She deserves a chance to make up for lost time even if it is with ‘Chaz’ Binstock.”

“You just don’t catch many breaks do you Mike?”

“Nope. So, do you want to get back to training?”

“Sure. Let me see some combinations. Start in close and use fast blows with your hands. Push your opponent back and then use kicks when they’re off balance. You don’t want open with a kick unless you have surprise, otherwise you’re the one off balance.”

Thursday March 15
^th
, 2007 – It was the day my brief idyllic period came crashing down on me. I was on my way to class when Jenny caught up with me.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” I asked. She doesn’t have morning classes.

“Do you have any ghosts with you? Do you see any around?” she asked. There was a hint of anxiety in her voice.

“Err, no why?” Having exhausted the lower corner of Lord Justice’s territory and found only slim pickings, Don was headed south by southwest across the state line to poke around in Virginia, being careful to avoid Arlington.

“Good. I need you to come with me.”

Okay, she had my interest. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a ghost in my bedroom and he says he needs to speak with you – privately.”

I was sorely tempted to ask if this was a ploy to get me into her bedroom, but the anxiety in her eyes told me otherwise. “Who is it?”

“Strong Vincent.”

A chill ran up my spine.

“How long has he been there?”

“Since this morning.”

I gave her my best “tough guy” look. “Did he threaten you?”

“No, but he says that it’s urgent and he asks that you don’t alert the ghost who had his sword.”

Something told me this was more important than the lecture I was headed to. “Okay, Jenny, take me to him.”

Once at her house, I told Jenny to go in and tell Vincent that I was waiting for him outside. If it was a trap, I wasn’t going to walk in to it. If Jenny didn’t come out in a minute I was going in, sword drawn and this would be the end of Colonel Strong Vincent.

Fortunately, Vincent walked out of the wall and down the driveway towards me. He kept his palms open and away from his scabbard. I kept my right hand on the pommel of my sword and my left was filled with iron filings. “There’s a park nearby. Let’s walk,” I said.

He fell into step next to me. “
I wasn’t certain you’d come, Mr. Ross.”
So far, it was the longest non-threatening conversation we’d had.

“How did you locate Jenny?”

“Some of the non-aligned ghosts around this area knew of her mother and saw the newspaper article. Once I’d narrowed the general area you were operating from, it was relatively easy. I would ask that you extend my apologies to young Jennifer, although she seemed more excited than scared.”

I chuckled at the idea of Jenny peppering him with questions. “It’s her way. She doesn’t … well maybe that’s the wrong word … she chooses not to see the danger. Let’s put the small talk aside. You didn’t come straight to me, why?”

“This visit is not authorized by the Lord Justice.”

“I’d gathered that.”

“You have three serious problems, Mr. Ross. One is immediate, another is just on the horizon, and the final one looms in the distance. Which would you like to discuss first?”

For a change, someone was offering me a choice. It was about the only thing I could find enjoyable about this. “The immediate one first, please.”

“The ghost you are working with, Hodges. Do you know what he’s doing?”

I relaxed. “Don’s just exploring the territory for me and meeting with … what did you call them? Non-aligned ghosts? Yeah that was it. I’m looking for anyone who died under odd circumstances where there’s a reward that can be collected.”

Vincent shook his head
. “According to the ghosts I have spoken with, he is trying to set up his own energy gathering network, with promises that you’ll use your powers to help cross them.”

“Hmmm, I didn’t ask him to do that. Don’s always been one to make certain he’s getting a little something for himself. I won’t hold that against him.”

“Do not be so quick to dismiss this. He’s meeting with a Skinwalker.”

“What? How do you know?”

“One of the men in my unit still wears his spyglass. He is an expert tracker. On my orders, he has been keeping an eye on your Mr. Hodges. Three days ago, he reported back to me that your friend met with a female Skinwalker who allowed him to possess the body she was using several times, as if she were instructing him. That is why I did not wish for him to be privy to our conversation.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I regrettably am most serious, Mr. Ross.”

I regarded him skeptically, “You think he’s going to try to take me over? He has to know it won’t work. I’ve already stopped a much more powerful spirit who tried that same shit!”

“I cannot say what his intentions are, but I know that he is not what he seems and yet has a place in your inner circle. You need to be wary of him.”

“Do you have any other proof?”

“None that will convince you, you’re obviously not willing to listen to me on this subject.”
He gave me a particular kind of look; one I knew very well from my time in the Army. It was a look of superiority. Being a grunt, we’d catch it all the time from the officers. I hated that look.

Compounding his smug arrogance was the fact that I knew he was a lawyer, so by definition Vincent was full of himself twice over.

“Quit talking to me like I’m an idiot! I get your drift and I’ll keep an eye on Don, but unlike you, he hasn’t tried to kill me yet. You, on the other hand, have tried twice; so forgive me if I don’t take your word over someone I fought beside when he was still alive.”

The Union Colonel nodded.
“Very well, I have repeatedly underestimated you, Mr. Ross, and I apologize for doing so again.”

I nodded.

“Mr. Hodges is yours to deal with as you see fit. The Lord Justice is your next problem.”

The thudding noise in my good ear was my heart beating louder. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“He has no intention of honoring the accords you’ve reached. Already, he plots how he can use a Ferryman to his advantage.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“There was a time when I idolized Justice Taney. In law school, I studied his cases and respected the man.”

“Even after the Dred Scott case?”

“I did not agree with it, but I understood why it was necessary to come out that way. Nonetheless, it is that decision and the legacy of it that has twisted his soul. He is not the same man he was when he lived.”

“So why do you serve him?”

“For the first few decades, I was fooled. After I learned his true nature, it was too late; I discovered that I was little more than a slave. Taney has my anchor under his control and I am nowhere near strong enough to take it from him. For that, I need your assistance.”

That was a bombshell. Apparently issues with slavery carried over to the afterlife. “Well if I need to be suspicious of ghosts, why should I believe you? How do I know you’re not trying to stir something up between me and Taney, so that you can take his place? This could all be some elaborate ruse on your part, or even his part, to see how I’ll react.”

He’s either a good actor, or what I said genuinely stung him.

“I swear on the grave of my daughter what I am telling you is the truth! I give you my word as an officer in the United States Army. Other than my scout, my men and Lord Justice believe that I am in Erie visiting my daughter’s grave. Taney is plotting against you. He will test you soon, to see if you are capable of being an anvil, against which he shall pound his adversaries. Should you turn into a worthy ally, he plans to take a more active role in the unending battle for control of Washington. If that fails, he will attempt to feed you to the beast of Baltimore, which is of course your final problem.”

That set off the alarm bells, “What do you know about the spirit in Baltimore?”

“Darren showed me the footage of his visit to the graveyard. The creature knows of you and I think I know why. You share the bloodline.”

“What?”

“The beast is William Henry Poe, brother of your ancestor, Edgar Allan Poe.”

Give Colonel Vincent some credit; he knew how to drop some heavy-duty bombshells.

“No shit!”

“I do not lie. Your family has a long history in both worlds. The Great Cleansing began with William’s death, when he became a ghost. From all that I can piece together, the brothers began their crusade in earnest at that point and were a team until the early 1840’s. At some point William either went insane or was corrupted; I do not really know which, and the brothers fought. Edgar eventually caught up with his brother in Baltimore, and bound William’s soul to that soil, where he has waited for over a hundred and fifty years. It seems that Edgar was not strong enough to vanquish his brother and the act of binding William was ultimately fatal to Edgar.”

“William thinks I can free him?”

“He is bound by blood and power,”
Vincent answers somberly.
“You have the same blood, and it appears, much the same power.”

“But Darren was also a Poe descendant; why didn’t he use him?”

“Watch Porter’s moving pictures again. Poe attempted to possess him, but your relative was not a strong enough vessel to hold such a spirit. The sickness was Porter’s body rebelling against the control. That is why Skinwalkers limit the power they accumulate. If they gather too much power, they burn out the bodies they inhabit. A strong Skinwalker needs a very strong body - Darren was not powerful enough to contain Poe’s spirit. You on the other hand…”

Vincent didn’t have to finish it. I was much more powerful than Darren ever was. Hell, the fact that we were having this conversation was proof enough, but since the topic of Darren had come up. “How did Darren die and why did you finish his ghost off?”