The Shade Riders and the Dreadful Ghosts (13 page)

“Damn it, Mom!” We’re in the middle of
nowhere. Who’s going to rob us?

Her only choice was to run around to the
other side, but that meant running through the ghost and she hated
doing that. She tried to skirt around it, but it kept in front of
her. She dashed through the ghost and was suddenly - sick with
dread.

She limped to the window. She was able to
lift it open a half inch-- at least it was unlocked. Nova looked
for something to stand on so she could lever it the rest of the way
up. There was nothing.

The ghost floated toward her and threw the
“Nova” ghost against the garage. When the victim ghost hit the
building, it evaporated, moaning in pain.

“Holy chaos!” In desperation, Nova jumped and
pulled herself through the window just as the ghost was grabbing
for her. Nova slammed the window shut, ran inside, and never looked
back.

She raced into her bedroom. Her sister was
snoring under the covers. Nova scrambled over to the lamp table,
grabbed her Walkie Talkie and ran into the closet.

“Come in, over, over. Anyone there? Over,
over.” She shook the radio. Please someone answer. Finally, the
speaker crackled, and Benny's voice came over the line, "Hey,
what's up?"

"Two ghosts had me in their sights again. I
was in the back pasture with my horse, and I saw… I saw myself
getting killed again.”

There was silence on the other end.

"Benny, I'm so scared. I can't get those
ghost butchering thoughts out of my head."

"Take some deep breaths, Nova. Did they come
into the house?"

She waited. All she heard was Scott’s muffled
alternative rock music playing upstairs and Wilha’s snoring.

“No, I don’t think so. Not yet.”

“Benny, I don’t know if I can sleep
tonight…”

“I’m thinking, Nova. But… have patience. I
need to try more experiments. I have a sort of idea but don’t want
to promise anything. Let me know if they harass you more tonight.
At least I can talk you down, I guess. Now, I just want to get some
more sleep. Over.”

“All right, and thanks. Over and out.”

Nova sighed. She put the Walkie Talkie back
and sat on the edge on the bed. Takeesha, Max Kim, and Benny were
lucky. They weren’t being hounded by ghosts and could actually get
some sleep. Nova made a fist and wanted to punch the wall. Why
wouldn’t the ghosts leave her alone? Ten minutes dragged by and
still no ghost. Nova crawled into bed and covered herself with some
blankets. She fell into a fitful sleep in her bed next to
Wilhelmina.

"Nova? Are you awake?" Leandra’s bright voice
sounded close by. Nova groaned and then her eyes flew open. She ran
for the closet, closed the door, grabbed the watch and placed it to
her mouth.

"Yes, I'm awake, but I’m tired, and I'm
scared."

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but I was
busy before,” Leandra said, “but I'm here now and, I'll help where
I can. I want you to bring your horse over to my house as soon as
you can. She is weaned isn't she?"

"Yes, she is weaned. And Leandra she has
wings." Nova whispered the last part then peeked out the door and
watched Wilhelmina to see if she was still asleep. Her sister
continued to snore and rolled over away from Nova.

"Yes, I know. She’s a gift to you from people
who support you in Ordin, the good Neanderthals. How soon can you
bring her to my house? I live a couple of miles from you."

"How about ten this morning? Can my friends
come?"

"That will be fine. And please bring your
friends. I live at the fire number N4567 on Barnacle Road. And
Nova, I can’t wait to show you something marvelous."

Now curious, Nova got up and squinted out the
window. All of the horses in the catch pen were milling around
looking for grain or hay in the dim morning light. Some horses were
drinking out of the water trough. Nova got a good look at Shade's
body.

No, wings.

She had to wonder if what she saw last night
was real. Maybe that was why she ended up with the other horses
every night. If it were a night thing, it would make her secret
much easier to keep.

Nova, Takeesha, Max Kim,
and Benny plod and wheel over to Leandra's long driveway with Shade
in tow. They couldn’t see any buildings from the road. “No
trespassing” signs were tacked to all the trees near the road going
down the driveway.

"Should we even go down there?" Nova said.
She seems pretty serious about trespassers.”

"Hey, she invited us!" Benny rolled forward
ten yards ahead.

Suddenly, Shade lunged forward, tugging on
the lead that Max Kim was holding. He slid on the loose gravel
making dust. “Shade wants to see what’s down there too.”

Nova grabbed the lead as Shade dragged by
them and pulled her up.

"Come on," Takeesha said, as she started down
the path after Benny.

Nova sighed. "Fine, let's go."

They meander for about twenty minutes,
keeping an eye on the oak, hickory, willow, maple, and box elders
near the edges of the woods. Nova’s noticed her ankle felt better,
with just an occasional twinge of pain.

“I wonder how long this driveway is,” Max Kim
said.

“What if she gave us the wrong address?”
Takeesha asked.

Butterflies fluttered their wings in Nova’s
stomach. She wanted to meet Leandra again so bad. It was like
meeting a movie star. Squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and rabbits
scampered and flitted among the trees and bushes.

Nova felt they must have walked a mile
without seeing any buildings of any kind. Shade pulled hard on the
lead ropes, eager to run up the driveway. The ropes dug into Nova’s
and Max Kim's hands. Good thing they wore gloves-- otherwise, they
would have raw red welts covering their hands.

Shade, ears forward, shook the horse flies
off of her body, and neighed loudly. The Shade Riders came to a
clearing. The grassy area had a vegetable and herb garden and a few
dirt paths meandering in all directions to the left of them. No
sign of a house.

"What, does she live in a hollow stump?" Nova
said. Then an invisible door opened just enough to let out two
cats. Light escaped from inside. Nova thought she saw paneling on
the walls. One cat was solid black, and the other cat was a calico.
The cats stared at Nova and her friends then panicked and scampered
in different directions.

Nova wrinkled her nose. “I smell oranges with
strawberries.”

Benny motored up to where he thought the door
was and felt around with his hands. When he reached forward, his
arms disappeared up to his shoulders.

"Holy chaos, Benny!” Nova said. “Are you all
right?"

“Yeah, I think so.” Benny pulled his arms out
and examined them. Both looked normal.

The door opened, and Leandra poked her head
out. "Oh, there you are, darlings. Come on in."

"Where should I put Shade?" Nova asked.

"Oh, tie her to that U-shaped tree branch
over there," Leandra said, pointing.

Nova tied Shade up securely, then stepped
inside the house, which indeed had paneled walls with pictures of
deer, bears and owls on framed canvas. Nova could also smell that
Leandra had been cooking. Leandra put a plate of finger sandwiches
and red juice on the coffee table in front of a flowery
overstuffed- couch. Wall-to-wall green carpeting on the floor, Nova
looked closer, it wasn’t carpeting at all but closely cut grass.
Small manicured bushes stood out against the paneling. Where a
ceiling would be, blue, cloudy skies stared back at Nova. Yet
tables, chairs, couches, and recliners filled the living room. On
the table in the kitchen sat a pile of ‘no trespassing’ signs, and
on top of those was a box of nails and a hammer.

“Make yourselves at home,” Leandra said. Nova
fidgeted as she stood there. Her friends didn’t take a seat either.
No gadgets or electronics of any kind were within view. The
interior of Leandra’s house felt like a park.

Leandra looked around. “I grew up on a sheep
farm in New Zealand. I guess you can't take the country out of
me."

Nova nodded and put her hand on a wooden
rocking chair.

“I know how you feel. I love our farm.”

“Country life isn’t for the likes of me.”
Benny wheeled forward into the large living room.

Takeesha still stood in the kitchen doorway.
“One day I’ll be getting a horse, so our family needs farm land. We
hope the government will finally give us some soon. We’ve been on
the list for five years so far. You know what I mean?”

Nova and her friends slowly took chairs
around the room – they all seemed real enough -- as the
conversation continued about farms. They did not take any food or
drink Leandra offered. Then the conversation changed.

“I saw you do some sort of magic in the
grocery store, Nova said. “What were you doing with your hands?”
She tried to mimic what Leandra had done.

"Oh, that,” Leandra said. “Once my parents
put me to bed each night, three Neanderthal magic users took me to
Ordin and taught me a thing or two about logical magic."

Max Kim, Benny, and Takeesha leaned forward
in their seats.

"What's logical magic?" Nova and Takeesha
said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Logical magic uses scientific methods rather
than ESP, telekinesis or telepathy," Leandra said.

“Are you part Neanderthal?” Nova asked.

“I’m Modern Human for the most part but have
Neanderthal blood. That’s the only reason I can do magic.”

"I was wondering if you could help me with my
own magical powers," Nova said.

Takeesha nodded her head. "Can you help me
too?"

Benny and Max Kim rolled their eyes.

"I can help Nova, but I'm sorry, I can't help
you, Takeesha."

Takeesha let out a huge sigh, falling
backward on the couch next to Max Kim.

“Now, Takeesha, don’t pack a sad.” Leandra
shook her finger and grinned. “I was given Neanderthal blood to
help mentor Nova, so that she can fight the uprising going on in
Ordin. Those are her people and she has hybrid vigor that is more
powerful than the Idealite gods.”

“Hang on,” Nova said, “I think we need to go
back to the beginning. What is Ordin?”

“Okay, it’s one of the last Matriarchal
societies in existence. They haven’t been changed, yet. The Seven
Sages keep the people there, ruling with consensus in the cloud
forest. It went by many names in the past like Mount Olympus or
Valhalla. The inhabitants used to be considered gods like Thor. Or
Hercules.”

When she said Hercules, she said it with a
slight emphasis and stared into Nova’s eyes.

“It’s very beautiful there with waterfalls,
kettle moraines, valleys and lots of wildlife. Also, a Speaker and
a Prime Minister is all the government there is. Most of the people
are hunter-gatherers.”

A wild turkey jumped, wings flapping, into
Leandra's house and looked around the living room.

Nova sat up. “Dear Vulcan.”

But the turkey didn't act afraid at all, as
though it couldn’t see the people in the house. None of The Shade
Riders moved. A short blond man-a hunter- followed close behind in
bright orange carrying a shotgun. He must have lost the bird when
it entered the house because when he saw the bird, he started back
like he’d just stepped on a snake.

The turkey saw him and jumped, flapping
furiously, and ran quickly through the invisible walls and
disappeared from view. The hunter rubbed his eyes and blinked. Nova
could only guess it seemed as though the turkey disappeared again.
It seemed the hunter could not see them, as he would have said
something if he did.

Leandra sighed. "The hunters just don't know
how to read my ‘no trespassing’ signs. Okay, no one makes a
sound."

The hunter leveled his gun and started to
follow the turkey like he was going to shoot at any minute. Leandra
took some purple powder out of a blue velvet pouch on the bookcase,
followed on the heels of the hunter, and blew the powder off her
palm and into the hunter’s ear.

"What's the matter? Can't you read my ‘no
trespassing’ signs?" she said in an American accent.

The hunter turned white, lowered the weapon,
swallowed hard and said, "Peggy is that you?"

"No, this is not your friend's game," Leandra
said. "Leave the premises or I'm calling the cops."

The hunter ran out of the house. From the
kitchen window, Nova watched him run down the driveway. The kids
looked at each other a moment then burst out laughing.

"Come, I want to show you something," Leandra
said back to her New Zealand accent. She waved her hand.

Still chatting about what happened, the kids
followed her out the front door. Leandra showed them the dirt
paths.

"These are my ley lines that I send all my
bad magic down," said Leandra, "They’re safe to walk down if you
want to experience something new and different."

"I'll go," Max Kim said and started down a
path.

"If the path is wide enough I'll go too,"
Benny said.

"The paths will accommodate you. You should
have no trouble."

Max Kim sauntered down the path. Every step
he took created fractals at his feet. He shambled about thirty
yards over a hill, then Nova couldn't see him anymore.

“Go down the same path as Max Kim if you want
to see something really strange,” Leandra said to Benny.

Benny followed.

As soon as Benny was out of earshot, Leandra
grabbed Nova’s shoulders. “Listen. Ralf, the Speaker of the
Idealites from Ordin, is your father, your real father. And he has
been controlled. His bones were knocked out, and a ghost has been
forced into his body.”

“What?” Nova said. “What do you mean? My
father is dead.”

“No, he’s not, but he will be soon.”

Nova bit her nails. “We have to help him,
Leandra.”