Ghost Story

by J G Jerome

  I place my left hand on top of the hand on my shoulder as I slowly drop my weight just a little bit to make him think I was sagging. When my legs are coiled a little bit, I snap a kick to the outside of his right knee. I hear an audible pop on impact. As my foot lands on the ground, I fire a single knuckle into the nerve center in his armpit with my right hand while pulling his grabbing hand and whipping it outward. My right hand joins my left and presses the back of his hand down and out, and the goon’s forearm shatters and his shoulder dislocates.

  As he falls to the ground, I pull his demonic soul out of his body and dig my fingers into it - then I pull it apart. His aura splinters into swirls of growth and entropic energy. I suck all that energy in and then use the growth energy to fuse the bones in his arm. Then I tell the zombie, “Go sit with Mr. Lafayette.”

  I concentrate on pulling all my energy into my well. I look at the girls, “Pull all your energy in.” I look around to ensure it’s clear, and then take a moment to charge my pistol before I holster it. Marissa holds her flashlight taser up to show me and then folds it in her hands in her lap.

  Before long a tall, anonymous-looking guy with sandy brown hair shows up behind Marissa. I check - yep, a red aura. I murmur, “Demon on your six.”

  She answers, “Old guy with a cane.” Josie’s eyes flash in surprise and then slowly start to simmer with hatred.

  I scoot my chair back towards Rebecca and take in the old guy. He’s in an old fashioned suit that looks brand new. I tilt my head. “Mr. Lafayette, I presume.”

  “Indeed,” he says with cold fury. “Mr. James?”

  “Indeed.”

  “You have stolen my money and my property. I will have them back,” he says.

  I cock an eyebrow at him. “Really. You threatened me, and then your greed caused you to agree to pay me ten times the worth of that lot to get your ‘property.’ You made your bed now you can lay in it, sir.”

  He points at Josie with his cane and proclaims, “That is my property, and I will have it back.”

  I clamp my hand around his wrist and release a ton of entropic energy into it. His hand turns black, and he subsequently drops his cane. I wrap a knot of entropic energy in his wrist at the top of the black area as I stand and tower over him as his eyes bug. “Mr. Lafayette, that is my girlfriend. You killed and discarded her. I picked her up and gave her back a life. She chooses to be with me, and if you try to hurt ANY of my family, what I did to your creature will seem like heaven compared to what I will do to you. Now go.”

  He looks at his withered hand. He turns to the tall demon behind Marissa. “Let’s go, Lonnie.”

  I pick up the cane and hand it to the demon. “Lonnie. If you want to live to go home one day, don’t come back. Take your zombie friend with you.” I look at Lafayette, “You could do so much good with your powers. Instead, you have chosen to be a self-serving murderer instead. I pity you.”

  The old guy walks down the stairs and a minute later the tall demon leads his zombie colleague out the door. They walk back to the parking lot and get in a familiar black town car and drive away. I notice the Colorado license plate again.

  Marissa says, “How long before he comes back?”

  “Not long enough,” I answer.

  The End

  Afterword:

  This book has been a bit of an adventure. I started writing this as a supernatural erotic short story, and it kept growing until now I think there are another two or three more books in this storyline plus there are tie-ins to the story I’m writing in serial on Patreon. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

  I would value your feedback. As you know, Amazon is driven by reviews, so please leave one - especially if you liked it! I love 5-star reviews! I’ll get more exposure to new readers when you submit one. Also, Amazon won’t tell you when my next book lands. The best way to find out is to follow me on my Amazon page or Facebook. Links are at the end of this section.

  I moved to Prescott, Arizona in April of 2019. I was in the midst of writing the first Green Lord book when the idea for Ghost Story came to me. I adopted the habit of going for morning walks on the weekends. As I would walk down Cortez, I would pass an apartment building at roughly the spot I described. It has pillars out front, and for the first six months the ‘apartment for rent’ stood outside like a sentinel. Knowing how tight the rental market is in Prescott, I found it unbelievable that no one snapped it up. About a block north of the apartment building is the Hotel Vendome, whose coffee bar sign mentions ‘coffees, wines, and friendly ghosts.’ After walking by those two buildings a few times, the seed of Ghost Story was born - obviously the apartment wouldn’t rent because of the ghost that lived there! There is also a house on the southeast corner of Cortez and Aubrey that really does have two curtain walls.

  Despite getting inspired by real locations, all of the people portrayed in this story are fictional. Other than some references to a ‘famous family’ and Goldie Hawn, any resemblance to real persons is completely coincidental. With the exception of Victor’s Pizza, the restaurants I mentioned are all places I enjoy. I think it makes the story much more interesting to put my characters in locations you can visit yourselves.

  I would like to think that it’s obvious that I have fun writing these stories. I start with an idea, create some characters, and then I watch what they do. One of my favorite authors, Marilyn Foxworthy, always says she doesn’t know what her characters will do until they do it. I always had trouble believing that until I started writing my first book. In Ghost Story, Rebecca’s ‘hun-ree’ was a bit of a surprise. Even after that I was concerned about how I was going to get her out of the house until Will raised her - accidental necromancer was the obvious jump from there. Bernadette and her staff arriving from ‘Master of the Road’ was unexpected, but Bernadette’s salon was the obvious venue for Audrey and Will’s ‘shows.’ Plus, Will needed to have a friend on the periphery of the criminal world - who better than a madame?

  So, what if Zombies are real? They aren’t undead, flesh-eating monsters. They are humans animated with life energy, but no soul.

  The supernatural elements of magic and demons were something that sprang from a conversation with a friend of mine. He’s a bit of a geek and a font of knowledge on a wide variety of topics. One day when we were having a discussion over breakfast at First Watch in Phoenix, my buddy mentioned that he had been reading about a school of philosophy that believes that there are a fixed number of souls on the planet. As people die, the souls are reborn into new bodies - standard reincarnation. As population has increased, the number of people has exceeded the number of available souls. The philosophers of this school believe these soulless people are here to challenge the rest of us to help us grow. That percolated in my brain over time, and eventually the soulless became the basis for zombies.

  Having necromancers made sense once I had zombies. As I mentioned, having Rebecca get stronger from Will’s semen raised the question of why. ‘Necromancer’ seemed like the obvious answer. Since I had one type of magician crossed the threshold, having a ghost that was a witch provided a reasonable way for Will to get some explanations. At that point, I sat down to develop a framework for magic, zombies, and the Church’s involvement. As I finished developing the framework for Ghost Story, I started writing it into Master of the Road, too. I eventually decided to put them all into the same ‘zombieverse.’ I’m thinking my wizardry story is going to fit into this framework, too.

  Previously, I have tipped my hat to the many sci-fi and fantasy authors I’ve read over the last 20 years. I’m a voracious reader, and only break from regular reading when work projects, music projects, or writing absorb my focus. I am currently reading the latest Michael-Scott Earle, and I have recent selections from Eric Vall, Randi Darren, Eden Redd, Shawn Keys, and PS Power queued up. I read a lot of the big names in ‘Harem-lit’ - William E. Brown, Daniel Schinhofen, William D. Arand (AKA Randi Darren), Michael-Scott Earle, Joh
n Van Stry (AKA Jan Stryvant), Eden Redd, Marilyn Foxworthy, M. Tefler, and Eric Vall. I also enjoy the works of Cebelius, Maxx Whittaker, Logan Jacobs, Daniel Pierce, and I’ve recently discovered the works of Shawn Keys’ books and Rodzil Labraun’s ‘Dystopian Girls’ series. There are so many good authors. Hopefully I’ll work my way up to that level. In the meantime, I appreciate your support and feedback.

  I have a Facebook page and a Patreon site, which follows the example of M. Tefler. Originally my Patreon story, ‘Master of the Road,’ was planned to be a straight erotic story, but as I said those characters introduced me to Bernadette. I won’t publish that series on Amazon until about six months after I have a book’s worth of content complete on Patreon. I need to do that to stay on my publisher’s good side. I’m maintaining a one premium post per month pace at the moment. I’m overdue to write the March offering, which is another sex scene rather than a more action oriented one. I will continue to work to catch that story line up to this one at least in outline form and get a few more chapters out for that story as I start the next books. I will also keep the Ghost Story storyline going, but I am feeling pulled to start the space adventure, and finish the Green Lord History I have started. Given the demands of the day job, it will take some time to get these all done, so I’m thinking it will probably be August before I publish the next book. With luck, maybe sooner. Let me know on Patreon or Facebook which ones you’re most interested in. I look forward to putting all those stories in your hands before too long.

  I’m on my FaceBook page 2-3 times each week minimum. I’m a member of several groups, too. Here are a few I like to recommend:

  ● Harem Lit Group on Facebook. Many of the authors in the harem-lit genre are members and pitch their new works there. If you like my books, you will find other authors to enjoy between mine! I’ve been banned from it for doing something stupid. It’s not their fault - I earned it. Regardless, you can find it at https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit/. With luck I’ll eventually finish my sentence and meet you there.

  ● Eden’s Lewd Fantasy & Sci-fi Garden. This is Eden Redd’s group. Lots of fun to be had, and a lot of the Harem-lit authors hang there. I always make a point to drop in and see what’s going on. Address is https://www.facebook.com/groups/158209654749089

  ● Fantasy/Science/Fiction Cool News and Humor group is mostly fans. Good times. Very little in the way of politics. Address is a https://www.facebook.com/groups/584252842052663/

  It’s time for me to get back to writing. Watch my FaceBook, Patreon, and Amazon Author Page for updates.

  ‘Til next time.

  -JG Jerome

  https://www.facebook.com/JGJeromeAuthor

  https://www.patreon.com/jgjerome

  https://smile.amazon.com/JG-Jerome/e/B07TWJJSYL

  Appendices:

  People:

  ● William (Will) James - Main character. Former Military Policeman. Martial Artist. Technologist and project manager. The Accidental Necromancer.

  ● Rebecca Silberschmid (Silverstein) - young Jewish girl, born April 17, 1874 who died in 1891 after her father tried to rape her. 145 year old ghost when Will meets her. Witch.

  ● Marta Silberschmid - Rebecca’s mother

  ● Yacob Silberschmid - Rebecca’s father

  ● Judith Silberschmid - Rebecca’s aunt. Sister to Yacob Silberschmid. Necromancer.

  ● Marvin Feinstein - Yacob’s business partner.

  ● Gerry - Will’s friend from the gym. Helps Will move.

  ● Diana - Gerry’s wife

  ● Zach - construction supervisor at Hanson Construction. Supervisor for the project to renovate Will’s house

  ● Melanie - Will’s ex-wife. Adulteress.

  ● Marissa Tomlinson - initially Will’s playmate. Later, she is his girlfriend / wife. Irish-Mexican heritage, bodybuilder and martial artist. Works in medical equipment sales. Originally in a relationship with Carla Jackson.

  ● Carla Jackson - zombie. Human Resources lawyer for an international mining company. Marissa’s ex-partner.

  ● Audrey Cheung - girlfriend in Phoenix. Korean-American. Volleyball player for GCU. Studying Biomedical and Mechanical engineering.

  ● Erica - Audrey’s roommate. Zombie. Does online sex shows.

  ● Michael - musician friend

  ● Sonya - Michael’s insane girlfriend.

  ● Roger Banks - Brother in law

  ● Allison Banks - sister. Cancer. Raleigh North Carolina.

  ● Susan Rey - Will’s boss at work. Tall, lean, sexy. Italian-American. Tries to seduce Will. Unfinished business.

  ● Steven Cheung - Audrey’s father.

  ● Officer Johnson - Male police officer. Questions William in the Walgreens after the zombie attack.

  ● Officer Bird - Female police officer. Questions Rebecca in the Walgreens after the zombie attack.

  ● Sergeant Lewis - Male police sergeant. Lead the investigation at the Walgreens after the zombie attack.

  ● Officer Lopez - police officer that interviews witnesses at the Walgreens after the zombie attack. Mentioned, but not seen.

  ● Officer Brown - police officer that interviews witnesses at the Walgreens after the zombie attack. Mentioned, but not seen.

  ● Ms. Martinez - middle-aged Latina with a baby. Witness at the Walgreens after the zombie attack.

  ● Remy St. Jacques - Will’s five-times-great grandfather on both sides of his family.

  ● Susan Rey - Will’s boss and Construction Insurance Brokerage (CIB), Director of Change Management

  ● Mrs. Sara Leuvenfeld - witch from the 1800s. Rebecca’s mentor.

  ● Mr. Shimon Leuvenfeld - sorcerer from the 1800s. Husband to Rebecca’s mentor. Summoned Gwen to be Rebecca’s guardian angel.

  ● Kory Standish - school classmate of Will’s in high school and college. Gay. Will stood by him when others didn’t. Sydney’s voice in the bolt reminds Will of Kory.

  ● Angélus Gwenéfron - summoned by Shimon Leuvenfeld to be Rebecca’s ‘Angélus Cústos,’ guardian angel. Had previously only worked as an ‘Angélus Núntius,’ or messenger angel

  ● Julius Lafayette - necromancer from the 1800’s. Killed the Leuvenfeld family in trying to take ownership of Gwen. Was the master of Josephine and Charlene

  ● Laurence Clement - sorcerer from the 1800’s. Worked with Lafayette to capture Gwen.

  ● Josephine Carroll - apprenticed to her father, Gryffin Carroll, as a thaumaturge in the 1800s. Sold into apprenticeship to Julius Lafayette as a necromancer. She is a tall, well-proportioned, strong woman with a cute face and ash blond shoulder-length hair. Her height is 5’10.”

  ● Charlene Tully - apprenticed to Julius Lafayette as a necromancer in the 1800s. Shorter, slender red-headed girl with long hair running down her back dressed in a fashionable dress

  ● Mason Smith - apprentice sorcerer in the 1800s. He’s over six feet tall, dour apprentice to Laurence Clement.

  ● Sidney Beauchamps - apprentice sorcerer in the 1800s. He’s the dandy apprentice to Laurence Clement. Gay man, but wants to be a woman. Roughly 5’8” tall, very attractive young man.

  ● Dan Tomilinson - Marissa’s father. Married to Maria. Retired police sergeant. Security contractor. Fifth degree blackbelt in American Kenpo.

  ● Maria Tomlinson - Marissa’s mother. Married to Dan.

  ● Haimish - clerk at the Biltmore Embassy Suites.

  ● Bruce Bennett - City Building Inspector and chair of the Historical Review Board.

  ● Mary Bennett - Bruce’s wife

  ● Michael ‘Mickey’ Bennett - Bruce and Mary’s 10-year old son. Plays sports, particularly Little League baseball.

  ● Addison ‘Addie’ Bennett - Bruce and Mary’s 8-year old daughter. Tennis prodigy.

  ● Delores Aguilar - Will’s real estate agent.

  ● Kelly - receptionist at Yavapai Title. Obese, pregnant, pretty with died black hair

  ● Morgan - Title Officer at Yavapai Title. Agin
g cheerleader. Somewhere around 60 years old.

  ● The Carsons - owners of the house we buy on Mt. Vernon.

  ● Lonnie - Henchman of Julius Lafayette. Unknown demon. Will suspects he’s an elf because Gwen said there was an elf and a devourer as henchmen.

  Notes

  ● Salaries in the 1890s.

  ○ $ 0.10 an hour

  ○ 60 hours each week

  ○ 51 weeks per year - assumes a full week lost for holidays and illness.

  ○ $6.00 * 51 weeks = $306

  ○ average increase of cost of living and wages at three percent

  ○ ($306/yr * 1.03) [132 years] ~ $15,143.81 annual salary