by Mac Flynn
"So why is this guy special?" I asked him.
He winked at me. "You'll find out, but for now let's see what Cronus found out about that building."
"A great deal," Cronus replied in answer to Ian's question.
We stood in the study at Ian's house. Cronus sat in the chair in front of a glowing computer screen. He half-faced us and the computer.
"So any deaths?" Ian wondered.
"Several," Cronus told him. He turned to the screen and typed a couple of commands that brought up a few windows. Each window had a scanned newspaper clipping, and sometimes there was a picture of the building or a person. "Six people have died inside the building in its hundred and twenty years of existence. One before the turn of the twentieth century, two during Prohibition from alcohol poisoning, one suicide after the 1929 crash, and another two within the last decade from gang shootings."
"So who's our ghost?" Ian asked him.
"The first death," Cronus replied. He brought up a screen that showed the building in better days. The date at the top of the article read 1897. "The first business to occupy the site was a department store. A young girl was killed when she ran from her mother and fell down the stairs."
I gasped and clapped a hand over my mouth. "How awful."
"What's worse is that she's still there, and she's no longer just a little girl," Ian commented.
"But she's still a little girl!" I insisted.
"She's a poltergeist, and judging by Cronus' description of her she's no longer a mischievous one," Ian argued.
"So what are you saying? That she's changed somehow?" I asked him.
He nodded. "The longer a spirit is on the human plane the more corrupted their soul becomes. They are called the Corrupted. Eventually they become either Phantoms or monsters. What we have here is a Corrupted that is changing into a monster."
"So what do we do? An exorcism or something?" I suggested.
"An exorcism isn't like what you see in the movies or read in a book," Ian told me. "To exorcise a spirit is to destroy it forever. Heaven and Hell is shut to it."
I felt the color drain from my face. "I'm sorry I suggested it."
He smiled. "Don't worry, we won't do that. Judging by the fact that no one has been killed by the spirit it must not be far along in its corruption. Our only problem lies in trying to find it before it attacks us or gets away, but Quinn will solve that." I noticed Cronus cringed.
"Quinn? That's the guy you talked to?" I guessed.
Ian nodded. "Yeah.
CHAPTER 9
We arrived at the building exactly one hour after sunset. The lights on the ground floor were on, and on the sidewalk stood two figures. One was tall, and the other only half his height. Ian parked the car along the curb and stepped out.
"Cecilia?" Ian wondered.
Cecilia was indeed the shorter of the two people. She looked at him and scowled. "Yeah, it's me, so what?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked her as he wandered around the front of the car.
She jerked her head towards me. "I didn't want my first pupil to be killed, so I'm here."
"But how'd you get here?" Ian asked her.
Cecilia jerked her head to her companion. "Who else?"
Ian turned his attention to the other person. It was a man of thirty with blond hair and the face of a God. He could've easily passed for Apollo, what with his perfect muscled physique and the way he wore his stylish coat and tight jeans. The only blemish was a black pirate eye patch over his right eye.
"You called her up?" Ian asked his friend.
The man smiled and shook his head. He spoke in a deep, calm voice. "Nope, she called me up."
"Who else would you call up to help you on a case like this?" Cecilia pointed out.
Ian smiled and shrugged. "Well, I guess since we're all here we might as well do this together. But first, some introductions." He half-turned to me and gestured with his hand in my direction. "Quinn, this is Miss Enid Runa. Enid, this is Quinn."
Quinn Smiled and bowed his head. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Runa."
"Please, call me Enid," I requested as I held out my hand.
He shook my hand and nodded. "Might I say you are just as curious a creature as Cecilia told me."
I blinked at him. "I'm a what?"
"He's talking about your strange aura. Quinn Is better than even I am at seeing auras of the living and the dead," Cecilia explained.
"Particularly the dead, though I must say you have a particularly wild aura about you," Quinn commented.
I furrowed my brow and my eyes flickered to Ian. "Should I take that as a compliment?"
Ian lit a cigarette and tossed away the match. "I haven't figured that out yet, but when we do we'll probably know why that Whisperer was after you." He stuck the cigarette in the corner of his mouth and nodded at the entrance to the building. I could make out Miss Hana in front of the counter. She eyed so many strangers warily, but her expression softened when Ian led our large troop into the building.
"Good evening," he greeted her. "I'm sorry for the crowd, but my friends have offered to help on your case."
She smiled at each of us. "Thank you so much for your help. It's been a little unnerving around here since last night, and especially since the sun set."
Ian raised an eyebrow and his cigarette pointed at the floor. "Unnerving how?"
She tilted her head back and nodded at the ceiling. "I've heard-well, I've heard noises coming from up there. Rapping noises and sounds like footsteps."
"Have you heard these before?" he asked her.
Miss Hana shook her head. "No, never, though others have reported it."
"I see. Well, if you could leave us alone I'm sure we'll have this spirit dealt with before the night is out," he assured her.
She smiled and grasped his hands. "I don't know how I'll ever thank you."
He grinned and winked at her. "I'll think of something, but you'd better leave."
Miss Hana nodded and did as he asked. Like she promised, she locked the door behind her. We were shut in. Sort of.
"Can't you keep your hands off one pretty face?" Cecilia quipped.
Ian turned to her and shrugged. "I guess I can't resist a woman in need."
"Speaking of her need, what info did Cronus find out last night after you left my apartment?" Quinn asked him.
"It seems our ghost is a young girl who fell down the stairs," Ian told him. "She's over a century old, so she's probably more monster than ghost."
"How tall is she?" Quinn wondered.
Ian turned in my direction and nodded at me. "Enid and Cronus are the only ones who've seen her."
I shrugged. "She's about a half foot shorter than Cecilia, and she wears an old dress, like the ones that have a hoop in them."
Quinn smiled. "So she's shorter than a midget. This is going to be a little more difficult to find," Quinn commented.
Cecilia glared up at him. "I'm not a midget," she growled.
He held up his hands and gave her a shaky, lopsided grin. "Easy there, pip-squeak. I don't want you to blow a gasket."
She shook her cane at him. "I'll show you something blown, you one-eyed ogre!"
Ian stepped between them and held up his hands. "You're here to help me, not to duke it out. I don't want to have to throw both of you out."
"Come on, you know you can't do that. You're not attune to seeing auras, just sniffing them," Quinn reminded him.
"And that's why you're here," Ian told him.
"What plan do you have to free this ghost?" Cecilia spoke up.
Ian pulled out a couple of his talismans and held them between his fingers. "Quinn will use his Sight to find her, I'll use my talismans to trap her, and Cecilia will purify her."
Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "And if I hadn't been here?"
Ian tucked his talismans back into his overcoat. "Then I would've used Cronus, but since you're a little better at it and a little more willing I'll keep Cronus on the lower f
loor in case the little girl doesn't want to play and tries to run away."
"Your plan makes this sound like a walk in the park when we could be dragged into a nightmare," Cecilia quipped.
Ian lit a cigarette and glared at her. "If you have a better idea I'm all ears."
Cecilia pursed her lips and turned her face away. "I still think it's stupid. . ."
"If there aren't any other objections then let's get this party started," Ian told us. He turned to Quinn. "What do you see?"
Quinn turned to the staircase and raised his eye patch. I gasped and covered my mouth as I beheld a dead eye. The dead look wasn't the same as those of Cecilia. The white of his eye was gray and the center was completely black. It moved normally as he inspected the staircase.
"I can see a set of tiny footprints, and they lead upstairs," he told us.
"Then let's follow them," Ian suggested.
The three men moved towards the staircase, but my feet were rooted to the spot. I couldn't shake the horror and fascination as seeing such a dead organ be useful.
Cecilia slipped one of her small hands into mine and gave a tug. "Don't mind Quinn. He's just a show-off."
I looked down at her, and my voice came out in a hushed whisper. "But what's wrong with-"
"His eye? It was a car accident. The sight was completely destroyed. That's when he started seeing ghosts with it." She turned to where the men disappeared upstairs and sighed. "The doctors wanted to pull it out, but he thought it'd be great fun to be a part of the paranormal world."
I snorted. "I'm not seeing that."
Her attention fell back on me and she frowned. "I doubt you're seeing much of anything right now."
I shrugged. "Could be worse. I could be seeing that little girl again."
Cecilia's frown deepened. "There was a reason you saw her."
I looked down at her and furrowed my brow. "What are you talking about?"
"Spirits, even Corrupted, show themselves to certain people for a reason," she told me. She returned her gaze on the staircase. "It's up to us to find out what that is. Now come on before they leave us completely behind."
Cecilia pulled me along until her cane hit the bottom step. She touched the first two steps. "Are they all the same height?" she asked me.
I followed the flight of steps with my eyes. "Pretty much."
"Then let's hurry."
She yanked me up the stairs after the men. Their trail led them to the fifth floor. The floor where I'd seen the ghost. There was, however, an exception. Cronus stood on the fourth floor and scowled at us as we walked up the next flight.
"What is with that guy?" I whispered to Cecilia.
"He dislikes everyone," she told me.
"Yeah, but he hates me," I returned.
"Focus," she hissed. "Mr. Ian's plan may sound easy, but cornering a spirit is very dangerous."
"What can it do?" I asked her.
We reached the final floor and looked out on the gloom of shadows. Her quiet voice sliced through the silence and sent shivers down my spine.
"Like any wild beast does. Tear you to shreds."
CHAPTER 10
Ian and Quinn stood halfway across the floor. Quinn swept his eye over the corners and Ian held a couple of talismans between his fingers.
"Well?" Ian impatiently asked.
"This isn't easy," Quinn hissed. "She's wandered over this building for so long her old tracks get in the way."
"Does he really see footprints?" I whispered to Cecilia.
Cecilia put a finger to her lips, but nodded. She let go of my hand and carefully made her way to a position a yard behind the men. Her cane was tucked under one arm and she clasped her hands together as though in prayer.
The floor was eerily quiet. I couldn't even hear a board creak. The world outside the windows receded as something dark and ominous washed over us. A chill swept through me. The temperature on the floor suddenly dropped. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered.
"G-guys?" I called to them. I could see my breath.
"Quiet!" Ian hissed at me.
Quinn's eyes fell on the far corner where I'd last seen the ghost and he stiffened. He whipped his hand up and pointed at the corner.
"There!"
It was as though his pronouncement pulled aside a veil. The dark shadows in the corner parted to reveal the small girl. She faced us, but her head was bent down so her curls covered her face. Her hoop-skirt dress and ribbons in her hair shifted as though in a swirling wind.
"Leave here," the girl's deep voice growled.
Ian stepped forward with his cigarette in the corner of his mouth and grinned. "We have some business with you, miss."
The ghostly girl raised her head, and I gasped. Even in the dark I could see her horrible features. Her lips were drawn back impossibly far to reveal rows of sharp teeth. The rotting flesh of her face sagged and peeled. Her eyes glowed like those of a Phantom, and her hands that were clenched at her sides were drawn into sharp claws.
"Get out!" she screamed.
A blast of air flew from around her body and was blasted at my three acquaintances. Ian and Quinn dove in opposite directions, but Cecilia stood still. The blast slammed into her and the collision stirred up the dust so that I couldn't see more than a yard in front of me.
"Cecilia!" I yelled.
I froze when my eyes caught on a bright light. It pulsed like a heart, and at each stroke the more of the dust was pushed to the far corners of the room. In the center of the bright light stood Cecilia, unphased and still in her prayer position. The light pulsed around her body, and I noticed her hands glowed. She opened her empty eyes and glared at the terrible apparition. The bubble of light around her fell, but her hands still glowed.
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" Cecilia challenged the creature.
The ghostly child snarled and lunged at her. Cecilia pressed her arm against her chest and made a slashing motion in front of her. A slice of light flew from her hand and rushed towards the monster. The creature twisted in mid-air and dodged the light. Its path wasn't changed, and it reached out its clawed hands to slice Cecilia to ribbons.
White objects darted between the monster and Cecilia. The thing screeched and flew back to land neatly near the corner. It curled its lips back in a hideous snarl, and I followed where its eyes lay.
A pair of talismans were stuck in the wall between the windows. They lost their stiffness and fluttered down, but the top half inch was stuck in the wall so they lay against the wall. The creature whipped its head to Ian who stood in the jungle of studs with his cigarette still tucked into the corner of his mouth and two more talismans in his hands.
"Leave here!" the ghost growled.
Ian shook his head. "We can't do that until you leave."
The creature's eyes narrowed. It stepped back into the darkness of the corner and disappeared. Ian whipped his head to Quinn.
"Where is she?" he shouted.
Quinn, who stood near the windows, whipped his head left and right. "I'm looking! I'm looking!" His eyes stopped on the space behind Ian. "Behind you!"
Ian spun around, and it was then I saw the little girl lunge at him. She dug her claws into his chest and tore at his overcoat. Ian gritted his teeth and grabbed her arms. He spun in a circle and released her so that she flew towards the stairs.
Towards me.
I yelped and stumbled back. The creature-girl landed on her dainty shoes just a yard from me. She raised her head and glared at me. My heart thumped so loudly in my chest I wondered it didn't break a few ribs. I scrambled backwards until my back hit the railing. The monster rushed me on all fours, but skidded to a stop two feet from me. Its devil-eyes widened and its mouth dropped open.
That's when I felt something warm against my back. I turned around and saw that the staircase was lit up by some unearthly light. The creature let out a horrible snarl and turned tail. I used the banister and pulled myself to my feet. The light faded until I could hardly see
anything, but there was still something there.
The fight behind me resumed as my friends tried to corner the beast. My focus, however, lay on the strange light. I leaned over the railing and stretched out my hand. My fingers touched air, but it wasn't normal air. The space felt warm, and incredibly soft. It was as though I touched invisible, heated clouds. I pulled my hand back and clutched it against my chest. A soothing warmth filled me, and I could help but smile.
"She's going for the corner again!" Ian yelled.
I spun around and saw that the creature was indeed trying to reach the corner. The farthest corner from the staircase. An idea hit me. It was a crazy idea, but it was something.
I lifted my arms and waved my hands over my head. "Over here! Get her over here!" I shouted.
"Over there? Why?" Ian returned.
"Just do it!" I demanded.
Ian pulled out more of his talismans and threw them at the dark corner. The area was covered by them. The retreating creature skidded to a stop three yards short of the darkened corner and snarled at the paper barrier. It backed up and turned to face Cecilia who stood two yards behind him. She flung another beam of light at it, and the creature jumped into the air and dodged the attack. It landed behind her so that it stood five yards from me.
"Over here, you ugly thing!" I shouted.
The thing glanced over its shoulder and snarled at me, but didn't move closer. Ian didn't give it another choice, though, as he started throwing his dagger papers into the floor at its feet. The creature turned tail and raced away from the cage and towards me. Its eyes were heated coals of anger, and its claws clacked against the wooden floor boards. There was only hatred in those depths, and it was all directed at me.
Suddenly this wasn't such a good idea.
I stumbled backwards as the creature lunged at me. It crashed into my chest and the force knocked me backwards. My back hit the banister, and the short height meant we both tumbled over the top. The thing against me made a small, child-like cry, and hands, not claws, clutched onto my shirt. I instinctively wrapped my arms around the thing against my chest and shut my eyes. My body slammed into the steps and I slid down the stairs on my back. An uneven board knocked into my head, and I was out like a light.
The next thing I knew a bright light pierced my eyelids. My eyes fluttered open and I groaned as I sat up. I looked around, and my breath caught in my throat.
