Elusive Beings--A Shade of Mind--Book 3

by D. N. Leo

  She turned and was about to follow everyone inside the house to check on Ciaran when she saw a ghost standing outside Mon Ciel. Jo squinted.

  Outside Mon Ciel’s fence, the image of the old man, Larry, stood. The ghost from ten years ago in Australia? He’d come back?

  She couldn’t believe this. She had never seen a ghost before. She wasn’t the psychic—Madeline was. The man had died—and she didn’t believe in ghosts.

  The image flickered and changed into something else. It was now a demon, the kind that only appeared in her hologames. A metallic stench engulfed her.

  She looked toward Mon Ciel and saw Tadgh looking at her. He had read into her emotional reactions. This newfound ability of his was going kill their relationship. At least it would from her end.

  Jo ignored the image and walked toward the house.

  They were taking Ciaran inside. Madeline was so focused on him, she wouldn’t see anything else. But then Jo saw Madeline pause and turn to look toward the gate where the ghost had just stood.

  Madeline frowned then turned to enter the house.

  Jo felt to be sure the gun Ciaran had given her was still inside her jacket and walked toward the house.

  Half an hour later, Jo stood in the back garden admiring the headless statue of the Goddess of Kindness. Madeline had told her the story of the statue once. Ciaran had blown its head off when he had experimented some chemical compound when he was only four.

  Jo shook her head. Madeline loved Ciaran so deeply. She understood why. But the whole thing was still surreal to her.

  And now Tadgh and her feelings for him.

  It was seriously time for her to leave.

  The door to the back garden slid open, and Madeline strode out.

  “How’s he doing?” Jo asked.

  Madeline was startled but composed herself quickly. “He won’t be moving for the next day or so. But apart from that, he’s fine. I needed to talk to you, Jo.”

  “By sneaking out through the back gardens? You’re going to leave Ciaran now, aren’t you?”

  “I . . .”

  “How are you going to get out of the gate without alerting security?”

  Madeline shrugged as if she hadn’t planned that far in advance.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  “What?”

  Jo dangled the car keys in front of Madeline. “Tampering with the security system from the inside is child’s play for me, especially when Ciaran is down. Nobody will catch us.”

  Madeline nodded, and they both darted toward the garage.

  Five minutes later in the car, Jo smiled. “I didn’t know you had tachophobia like Tadgh.”

  “I don’t have an issue with speed, but this isn’t exactly the right time for you to be driving fast. You’re worse than Ciaran when he’s mega mad.” Madeline braced herself against the passenger seat.

  “Well, he will be apocalyptically mad when he finds this out.”

  “I don’t have a choice. But you do. Why are you leaving Tadgh? You obviously like him.”

  “The stupid drug he injected himself with gave him the ability to see people’s emotions. He saw my emotions from Australia, and he’s not going to be fine with it.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Jo.”

  “Madeline, it’s been ten years. I’m no longer eighteen. Shit happened. And I’ve grown out of it. Even if it raped me—”

  “What? I thought he tried, but he couldn’t.”

  “It wasn’t Larry. You know what I’m talking about, Madeline.”

  Madeline narrowed her eyes. “No, I don’t.”

  “Larry was being controlled. He was possessed. You said so yourself.”

  “Yes. And because of that, he’s innocent. When I killed him, I killed an innocent man.”

  “There are no ghosts or spirits, Madeline. What controlled Larry was a mind bender. People who can control other people’s minds. It took me a long time to come to terms with it.”

  “Stop the car, Jo. Stop it. Now you sound like Ciaran.”

  “Yes. I sound like him.” Jo stopped the car and stormed out. “And for your information, we agreed that you should tell me what exactly you did. Not just ‘I might have killed an innocent man.’”

  “Ciaran knew?”

  “Not yet, but I’ll tell him. Ghosts don’t rape live people. But it raped me, Madeline. I can still smell his metallic stench on me.”

  “Oh, Jo! I’m so sorry. You never told me.”

  “Told you what? A mind bender forced his mind on me and mentally raped me? I don’t know how it worked. I just knew when I was violated.”

  Tears rolled down Jo’s face now. “I can still smell him. I would have rather it made Larry rape me because at least then I could have fought back.”

  “It’s not just the one incident. It’s a ghost. Believe me. It’s haunted me for years. Remember all the records of violent crimes I committed when I was younger that you erased for me? It made me do those things.”

  “It possessed you?”

  “No. It possessed men around me to kill and rape everyone around them and then kill themselves. It told me that. It’s haunted me since I was ten. And it told me that if I didn’t kill the men it possessed, it would keep killing. My only solution was to knock the men out. But it’d never forced itself on any women.”

  “Until me?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know, Jo. I just saw it in front of Mon Ciel before. I thought I had killed Larry, and it had let me be in peace. I don’t know why it came back.”

  “I saw it, too,” Jo muttered. “But I don’t believe it’s a ghost. Mind benders are humans. As long as it has blood and flesh, it will just have to deal with me now, once and for all.”

  Madeline suddenly grabbed Jo and shoved her toward the back. “It’s here.”

  “I can smell it.” Jo pulled out her gun.

  Madeline stepped toward the front and pulled out a knife she had tucked inside her jacket.

  The metallic stench filled the air.

  But they saw no one.

  An image flickered in front of them, and something in the shape of a man appeared. “It’s the middle of the damn day . . .” Jo grunted and shot at the creature.

  The bullet shot through the image and kept going.

  The image appeared a bit more solid, and the ancient, ugly face of an old man started to form. He smirked at them.

  Jo shot again. The same thing happened. The bullet tore through thin air.

  “It’s not human, Jo. I told you.” Madeline charged at the image and swung her knife. It disappeared.

  They heard car engine roaring in the distance.

  “Oh, no,” Jo moaned.

  “When a guy with tachophobia drives like that, it tells you just how much he cares about you. But we can’t let him come near us, Jo. The ghost possesses men.”

  Tadgh’s car fishtailed and stopped right next to theirs. He stormed out, yelling. “Where do you think you two are going?” He walked for a couple of steps and started to stagger. His eyes became bloodshot.

  “Oh no!” Madeline cried and darted toward Tadgh. Before he could do anything awful, she used her knife handle to whack him in the temple, knocking him out cold on the ground.

  Madeline turned around, looking at Jo. “Now you’ve seen it firsthand, Jo. It wants me, and there’s no other way to handle this.”

  Madeline strode toward the car, got in, and drove away.

  Chapter 27

  London streets were the same. Londoners were the same. Morning rush. Traffic. Winter breezes. Madeline did not expect that London would have changed much in the last few weeks. It was still winter. The sun still came out late in the morning.

  The days were still short, and the darkness still occupied a large part of the daily cycle. People still worked for a living. Life in London went on with or without what happened in Eudaiz, another universe. Soon, this London scene would be history to her.

  She thought about Ciaran. She allowed herself a moment to thi
nk of him. She thought she would think of him for the rest of her life.

  This morning, Jo had messaged her and said Ciaran had regained ninety percent of his strength, according to Doctor Thomas. She trusted that, with Jo’s skill, her message wouldn’t be tracked.

  Madeline still resented the joke fate had played on her. Even with a standby, she couldn’t get a flight to New York until tomorrow. She was lucky they could schedule her at all.

  She finished off her coffee and headed toward the British museum. She wanted to take a look at John Dee's glass again for no particular reason. It might be the last time she got to see it, and it had marked a significant stage in her life. Why not?

  The museum was quiet but not lacking visitors. Madeline found the glass again. It sat there just as it had for the last five hundred years.

  The air thickened. Madeline was into this holo-techno enough now to know that she was entering a holo-communication sphere. A holographic image of Ayana appeared. Ayana was careful enough to block the view from other visitors so that they could not see the holo-communication.

  "I thought it was my grandfather," Madeline said.

  Ayana smiled. Her blue eyes pierced through the thickened air to cast a warm look at Madeline. "I understand that you left Ciaran."

  "He told you? Or were you stalking me as soon as I left Mon Ciel?"

  "The latter, Madeline. Do you think Ciaran would storm out to the field to tell me that you left him?"

  "Of course not. What can I do for you? As you can see, I no longer want to be associated with this whole ordeal. I will explain things to my grandfather."

  "I'm afraid it won't be so simple."

  "Okay, I broke my promise to grandfather. He’ll be mad at me. So smite me—or whatever you have to do. I'm going back to New York tomorrow. No one can do anything to stop me."

  "Including Ciaran?"

  “Yes.”

  "You're being unfair, Madeline. Ciaran didn't have a chance to talk to you.”

  “I have had enough of this.”

  "You're clear-headed. You have a strong mind. I think you would serve Eudaiz well. I’m not speaking for Ciaran. I’m speaking on behalf of the Eudaizian people who will need you in the future."

  "I'm sure you can do without me. I'm going back to New York. Let me be an ordinary person."

  "You were born in extraordinary circumstances. You were conceived in Eudaiz, like me. But you spent your life on Earth. You can never be ordinary, Madeline. You don't know what it has taken for you to be able to stand here talking to me like this. You don't know what or who has paid for your well-being."

  "You’re blackmailing me?"

  "If you say so. I will do what I must. That's the least I can do for your grandfather. He is ambitious and manipulative. But his concern for Eudaiz is genuine."

  "What happened to my grandfather?"

  “The Black Rock is our utmost enemy. Richard’s district was attacked several times. That was why Richard formed an alliance with Juliette and sought the sample gold from the LeBlancs. He was developing a weapon that could destroy the Black Rock. But that weapon cost a lot of resources and lives. He hasn’t gotten anywhere with it—you know the situation with Juliette. Now he’s under attack and has no weapon."

  "What can I do? Can't you help?"

  "I can help Richard within my limits. But I have to take care of my district first. Richard has created a lot of enemies and alienated many other Sciphils because of the way he operates. It doesn’t do him any favors now. The most important mission of a Sciphil is to have a ready successor. If you leave Richard now, he will have no chance of finding another one."

  "Is he injured?"

  "I’m not sure about his current status. But I know he will need you very soon. I don't think he could even open the gate for you now. He is very weak."

  "What do you suggest I do?"

  "Go back to Ciaran. Go with him to Australia. I will let you go through my opening, provided I have Richard's permission to do so."

  Madeline shook her head. “I’ve killed an innocent man. My soul is not virtuous—I can’t pass the Daimon Gate alive. There is no point in my grandfather trying to get me there.”

  Ayana nodded. “He will have to pay for this dearly.”

  “How? What do you mean?”

  Ayana shook her head. “Richard has decisions to make. I can’t speak for him. But, in any case, if you need to go through the gate, I am happy to take you to the opening together with Ciaran. Goodbye for now.” Ayana smiled, and the hologram disappeared.

  * * *

  Madeline left the museum. She walked along the streets, heading back toward her hotel, wallowing in thought. She should stick to her plan. She should talk to her grandfather, Madeline mused. Whether she desired it or not, he was her family, the only family she knew.

  Madeline realized that for the first time in her life she felt like an orphan.

  She had been a fighter. Shuffled from one foster care home to another. Growing up, making a career and a life for herself. Then Jo came along. She loved Jo's family and adopted them as her own. Maybe her life had been so full that she had never had a chance to think about her biological connection. She’d never thought of herself as a victim or an orphan.

  Why now?

  It was when she’d found her biological family that she’d felt lonelier than ever.

  Madeline had arrived at her hotel before she knew it. As soon as she entered her room on the sixteenth floor, she knew something was not right.

  She wanted to leave the room, but she couldn’t open the door. It seemed to weigh a ton. Her window was open, letting a blast of cold air inside. The breeze cut into her skin. As much as she would like to deny her sixth sense right now, she could not dismiss the nauseous feeling she had.

  It was him. Her ghost. In the room.

  Chapter 28

  Madeline turned on all the lights in the room and slammed the window shut. The room warmed up instantly. Too warm. She heard the click of the door lock. She charged toward the door and opened it. She could run and escape the hotel. Be seen in public. Then there would be nothing he could do to her.

  But she was not a coward. She refused to run. He wouldn’t appear for no reason. What was it he wanted?

  Madeline re-entered her room and closed the door.

  "I know you’re here. Come out. Tell me what you want. Don't be a coward."

  Nothing happened.

  "I know you’re here. I can sense you. You know that, right? Whatever you’re waiting for in here is not going to happen because I’m leaving now."

  Nothing.

  "Chicken," Madeline mumbled and went to the bathroom. She filled the sink with water and poured all of the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and gel she could find into the water and dissolved them. They made a light-colored bubbling tub of water. She scooped up some water with a small hotel glass and started splatting it everywhere.

  She kept doing so until the water hit a form. "Got you, bastard," she said.

  She dropped the glass instantly and grabbed a chair. She flew over the bed and swung at the form where she could still see some water on it.

  It roared, the low rumbling roar of a beast.

  Madeline kept swinging and hitting. She knew it couldn’t hurt her. For more than a decade, it hadn’t changed its ways. It would not hurt her directly. It would have to borrow a human form to do so. But there was no one else in the room for it to manipulate. So Madeline continued her attack without fear.

  It roared again and again, whenever Madeline hit it. But it would not run away as it had before.

  The air in the room thickened, an obvious sign of a coming holocast. "Not now, for God's sake," Madeline thought.

  A beam of light appeared, and the holographic image of Richard formed.

  "Poor timing, Grandfather. I know we have to talk, but not now and not here."

  Richard stared in confusion at Madeline, who was in combat stance on the bed, holding a chair with both arms.r />
  "I've never done you harm, Madeline."

  "Not you! Just not now. Please go away, Grandfather."

  Madeline gauged the room. The marks of water were gone. She could not see the form of the beast now. If there were another person present, the beast would have manipulated the person's mind to attack Madeline. That was its usual modus operandi. Unfortunately for the beast, Madeline thought, Richard was a hologram, and could not attack her physically.

  The room was quiet. Madeline could not sense the beast anymore. If it was still there, it had somehow suppressed all of its energy.

  A moment went past. Another moment. And still nothing happened.

  Richard looked puzzled.

  Madeline put the chair down. When she finally had a chance to look at Richard, she cried, "Holy Jesus Christ, how bad are you hurt?" His clothes were covered in blood.

  She darted toward the hologram only to realize that she couldn’t touch him.

  "I'm injured. But the majority of the blood is not mine. Don't worry, I can manage."

  Madeline puffed out a breath. It was probably not a good time to tell him she did not want to be a Sciphil anymore.

  "What can I do for you now? Ayana told me your district is under attack."

  Richard smiled. "It was very kind of her. She is a good woman no matter what side she is on. What else did she tell you?"

  "That you’re in trouble, and that you might need me."

  Richard sneered. "Since when am I in trouble? And who is she to judge?"

  "She wasn’t judging. She simply wanted to help. I’m leaving Ciaran. I wanted to get out of the whole Eudaiz ordeal, and that's why she told me that you might need me. Now you’re telling me you don't need any help. So that’s great. I'm free to go back to New York then."

  Richard's eyes drooped. He shook his head. He didn’t have to say it—Madeline could see that he was in deep trouble. The man had his pride. Just like Ciaran—choosing possible death over having Juliette's drug in his system.