Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

by Alexie Aaron

  Daniel watched as she put on her jacket. He hung up the keys. Mia grabbed the keys with her mind. They silently dangled behind the pirate as she fed the man’s desire with images she planted in his head. He stood there, mesmerized, not seeing her maneuver the keys into her hand. Mia walked over and tossed the keys and pistol into the cage within an arm’s reach of the nearest birdman and whispered, “Take the keys and the pistol. Leave as soon as your wings are healed. I’ll try to disable the harpoon gun.”

  During this time, in Daniel’s mind, he was kissing Abigor’s emissary. His body was on fire. Her eyes glowed orange as the demon in her took over…

  “Capt’n Crocker,” the quartermaster called from the door. “The Peacock is approaching off our starboard side.”

  Mia moved quickly to his side. She adjusted her clothing to perpetuate the illusion that she had fed his starved mind.

  He seemed to snap out of it. He smiled down at her and explained, “Mia, the Peacock is a slaver. I will look over their stock and then…”

  “Remember I am buying the birdmen, rotted wings and all.”

  “Yes, my darling. I will make you a good deal,” he said, climbing out of the hold.

  Mia followed. He directed her to his cabin.

  Mia walked in and was surprised to see Kevin standing there with Murphy. She did her best to not show any emotion as she looked at her friends. “You found him,” she said. “We’ll be departing as soon as the Peacock leaves.” Put off by the look of contempt Murphy gave her, she didn’t tell them about the birdmen.

  “I’m not leaving,” Murphy announced.

  “I’ve argued with him. I’ve told him about the toll the ghost ship realm has on his emotions,” Kevin said. “Told him that he had a lot to lose if he stays.”

  Mia pulled off a glove. She placed it on Murphy’s heart. She searched in vain; she could find no trace of herself in there. It was just a beating but empty heart. “Kevin, it’s too late. I’m no longer in his heart. But he still has regard for you.” Mia put her glove back on. “Stephen Murphy, this ship may give you things you can’t have in our world. I’ll not fault you for staying, but I will warn you. Once I leave here, I can’t return for you. You’ll have to make your own way home.”

  Murphy looked at the woman who used to be his world. She was comely and smelled faintly of the captain and something else… feathers. “They hunt your kind here.”

  “What do you mean my kind?” Mia said acidly. “I’m as human as you are.”

  “I think your trip to Hell has changed you. You’ve brought back some of it with you. If I ever return, it will never be because of you.”

  “Fine,” Mia said. “Forgive me if I invent something less hurtful to tell the others. Kevin, will you be returning?” she asked.

  “I’m not a seafaring man. I’ll say goodbye to my son and escort you across the veil. Although, Fergus may come back.”

  “It’s his choice,” Mia said, suddenly tired.

  “I’m going to check on him,” Kevin said, leaving Murphy alone with Mia.

  She sat down and put her head in her hands.

  Murphy was puzzled. Why was she upset?

  “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry I left you behind, but I couldn’t take both you and the demon into the pit with me. You’re a hero, you saved so many. I hate to think of you rotting away under a boatswain’s whip.”

  “I hate to think of you period,” he spat.

  “Where is your axe?” Mia asked, ignoring the hurtful comment.

  “I used to keep it at my side, but now it’s next to my bunk.”

  “May I have it?”

  “It’s spectral.”

  “I still want it to remember you by,” Mia said.

  “I’ll go and get it. Leave soon before the captain fills you with child.”

  “I can’t believe you just said that to me!”

  “Mia, I have eyes. I know a whore when I see one.”

  Mia slapped him and slapped him hard. He caught her arm. She shook it free from his grasp. Mia walked over and studied her reflection in the captain’s mirror. She didn’t look any different. “Whatever I did, I did to save you,” she said. “Go. I’ll tell the captain I have no need for you.”

  Murphy faltered just a moment. He didn’t understand why her face was filled with tears or why she clutched her heart for a moment.

  “Get the hell out of here!” she shouted, pointing to the door.

  Murphy left and went down below for his axe. He walked back and gave it to Kevin and explained that Mia wanted it.

  “Take care, son. I hope this is what you want for your eternity.”

  “I’m doing honest work.”

  “Son, this is a pirate ship,” Kevin said. He watched as Mia took advantage of the excitement of the arrival of the large slaver to move quietly to the bow where the harpoon gun was bolted to the deck. “There is no honest work on a pirate ship.”

  “Still, I’m working, using my muscles. I’ll earn a portion of the takings and be able to exist on this side of the veil. I can eat and…”

  “You can die here. And when you do, there will be no light to take you to Heaven. There will be no Brian to jump, overjoyed, each time he sees you. There will be no PEEPs to protect as they rush into situations they should have tiptoed into. There will be no Mia to tempt away from her husband.”

  “Did you call me?” Mia asked. “I thought I heard my name.”

  “My son has brought you his axe,” Kevin said, ignoring Mia’s red, swollen eyes.

  “Thank you. Let’s slip away while they’re busy. I fed Crocker’s mind a fantasy that I don’t want to have to live up to.” Mia turned and held out her hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Stephen Murphy. I wish you every happiness.” Mia took the axe and climbed down the ship into the skiff where Fergus had been patiently waiting.

  “When you realize what you’ve lost, concentrate on the axe, and it will bring you home,” Kevin assured him. “Mia doesn’t do anything without a reason. She knows it will be your candle in the window.” Kevin hugged his son and left.

  Captain Crocker was elated with his trades. He walked into his cabin, disappointed to not see Mia waiting for him. Instead, he found the finely crafted demon dagger that Mia surrendered to the quartermaster with a long chain of gold wound around it. Under the dagger, he found a note written in a careful hand.

  This precious gold chain is payment for the three birdmen. The dagger is a gift from me to protect you from the men on The Risen. Lastly, the farmer named Stephen Murphy wasn’t the man we were looking for.

  Kind Regards,

  Mia Cooper Martin, Assassin

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Mia moved with haste to the barrier, angled the boat, and crossed it. The waves on the other side startled her for a moment. The challenge of navigating through them took her mind off the misery she was in. She had done as much as she could. She couldn’t fight a whole ship on her own. She had to trust that the birdmen found their way out and that Murphy had made the right decision for himself. He had hurt her, but Kai had warned her this may happen.

  Kevin didn’t know what to feel. He too started to lose his hold on his emotions while he was on the other side of the veil. Was it that easy to lose a love that had kept his son at Mia’s side even after she married and had children? He nudged Fergus when he saw Mia clutch her heart again. “Something’s wrong. Take control of the motor,” he said, scooping up Mia as she fainted.

  Mia woke up in a breezy little room. Bright colors masked the machines that were taking constant readings of Mia’s heart and other vitals.

  “Ted?” she asked.

  “I’m here. You had us so worried,” he said, kissing her face. “Maybe the strain of crossing was too much for a living being.”

  “What happened?”

  “You had a heart attack,” the doctor said, entering the room. She was an islander who went away to study and came back to minister to the people of
St. Kitts. When the blonde was brought in, her heart bore symptoms the doctor had seen in her elderly patients. It was called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, apical ballooning syndrome. In slang terms, this young woman almost died of a broken heart.

  “Mrs. Martin, we’ve been very worried. Have you had any other symptoms? Have you been under a lot of stress?”

  “Some,” Mia admitted.

  Ted grabbed her hand and spoke up, “We got separated in the hurricane.”

  “That would do it,” she said. “I’m going to ask you to spend a few days with us before flying home. Do you have children?”

  “They’re with their grandparents. Two little boys and an adopted teenager,” Ted said proudly.

  “Maybe the grandparents can keep them a little longer or come and stay,” the kind-faced doctor recommended.

  “We do have a lot of help at home,” Ted assured her. “How bad is this?”

  “It’s a significant event,” the doctor said. “Mrs. Martin, you have to rest. Put your problems in God’s hands for a while.”

  “Yes, Doctor,” Mia said meekly and closed her eyes.

  The doctor touched Ted’s shoulder. “Mr. Martin, let her rest. I’d like to have a word.”

  Ted’s knees were weak, but he managed to follow the doctor to her office.

  “Mr. Martin, your wife has something metallic fused to her spine, so we can’t give her an MRI. I’m certain that she experienced a singular event, but you may want to have your regular physician check her out. Her blood is good, a bit strange, but very healthy. This makes no sense. She is so young and fit.”

  “I promise to follow through on this.”

  “I believe you, or you would get lecture number two,” she teased.

  “I was so shocked when this happened. Mia is normally the strong one. She takes a beating and keeps on ticking.”

  “My mother was the strength in our family, but, Mr. Martin, it takes a toll. Share the burden. She’ll fight you on this, but it will keep her healthier.”

  “I will do my best,” Ted promised. “I’d like to go back now.”

  “You too need some sleep.”

  “I’m a ghost hunter; I’m used to being awake.”

  “Don’t push it. I don’t want to see you lying beside your wife,” she scolded.

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  Mason paced the small waiting room. He caught sight of Ted and ran over. “How is she?”

  “She woke up briefly. It’s her heart. Too much stress evidently. That thing in her back makes it impossible to do an MRI.”

  “Kevin says she clutched her heart on the boat before she crossed the veil. He has a theory, but you’re not going to like it.”

  “Then don’t tell me. Let me live in ignorance.”

  “I can’t tell if it’s sarcasm or you really don’t want to know.”

  Ted looked at Mason and wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle him or hug him. “Will it help Mia for me to know this?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Then don’t tell me. I suspect it has a lot to do with Murphy not coming back, something he said to her before she left, and something she had to do to liberate the birdmen.”

  “What?”

  “Didn’t Fergus tell you?” Ted asked. “Fergus saw three birdmen leave the Devil’s Pride just before they cruised out of sight of the ships. Mia doesn’t even know yet. Her back was to them.”

  “Well, I’d say that needs to be one of the first things she hears when she wakes up again,” Mason said.

  “Want to come in? Try not to unplug anything with those big feet,” Ted teased.

  “I have normal size feet. Yours, you could surf on,” he pointed out.

  “Touché,” Ted said.

  ~

  Cid picked up the phone and called Orion Stavros.

  “Hello, Cid. Audrey and Sabine are upstairs giggling over clothes. What can I help you with?”

  “Mia’s in the hospital in St. Kitts. She’s suffered a significant heart event.”

  Orion was quiet. “Tell me again.”

  Cid told him all that Ted had related to him. “Ted wants you to come down. He can’t ask Judy. She’s too close to her due date. Oh, and you have to fly on a plane. Evidently, the pirates are plucking you guys out of the sky.”

  “I heard that. I’ll get there as soon as I can. How is she doing?”

  “She’s weak but seems to be recovering. Still, Ted’s worried, and Mason is convinced that Mia’s dying of a broken heart.”

  “Murphy and she were pretty close,” Orion admitted. “I’ll call Gerald and start cashing in a few favors.”

  “Thanks, I’ll try to hold things together here,” Cid said.

  “Call Audrey if you need anything,” Orion said. “I’ll tell Sabine.”

  Orion made his calls and then walked upstairs. His wife was laughing with Sabine as she tried on some of Audrey’s more ridiculous outfits. They looked up as he walked in the door.

  “What?” Audrey asked with alarm, seeing his face.

  “Mia’s had a heart attack."

  “She’s too young!” Audrey exclaimed.

  “Remember, she has had her heart jumped a few times by Murphy,” Orion said, holding on to his distraught wife.

  “It’s all my fault,” Sabine said. “If I hadn’t gone down there…”

  “Sabine, if you hadn’t gone down there, we would have a flesh-eating monster on our hands and no way to contain it.”

  Orion’s phone rang again. He looked at the caller ID and said, “I’ve got to take this. Audrey, don’t let her leave until I’ve talked to her,” Orion instructed. He walked out of the room. “Angelo, I really don’t have time for this…”

  “The three missing couriers just showed up in Brazil, and they have a hell of a story to tell about a healer who set them free,” Angelo said. “This was Mia, wasn’t it?”

  “I assume so, but it’s taken its toll. Mia’s had a heart attack. Gerald’s got me on a charter that I have to catch in a half hour. They can’t do an MRI because of the gargoyle steel fused in her spine.”

  “Mia’s too strong to have a heart attack. It’s got to be something else. I’m going down there.”

  “You won’t be welcomed,” Orion said. “Ted’s not going to let you near her, and frankly, I don’t blame him. This was your problem that Mia sorted by herself,” Orion said and hung up.

  “Sabine, you’re riding with me to the airport. Audrey, call and cancel her date. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

  Orion walked into the nursery and bent over and kissed the top of his napping son’s head. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.

  ~

  Mike pulled the phone away and looked at it, taking in all Cid had to say. Burt had mentioned that he, Mia, and Ted were going down to check on the treasure hunters, but that was the last communication he’d received. “Ted did say that she was mending.”

  “Yes, but I asked for Orion to come down just in case. Mia’s got that hunk of gargoyle metal stuck in her spine, and they can’t give her an MRI. So they’re doing it old school.”

  “What about the kids?”

  “The little boys are out west with Charles, Amanda, Ralph, and Bernard. I have Dieter with me.”

  “Have the little ones been told?” Mike asked.

  “I haven’t told the big ones yet,” Cid said. You’re my second call.”

  “I’ll fly out and tell them in person. Maybe give them a hand with Brian. He seems to settle down when I’m around,” Mike explained. “Cid, it’s a broken heart.”

  “She has Ted. She loves Ted. Hell, Mike, she loves all of us.”

  “My grandmother died a day after my grandfather. It didn’t mean she didn’t love her children and grandchildren. It was just, Grandpa’s death was too much for her to bear. I don’t even think it’s a conscious choice. Murphy must have said something that devastated her. If he wasn’t dead already, I’d kill him.”

  “She probably can’t tell Ted what
was said. But she could tell you,” Cid said. “You too are very close, maybe you should go down.”

  “No, she would want me to be with their kids. Tell Ted what I’m doing.”

  “I will. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you were my second call,” Cid said.

  ~

  Mia opened her eyes and saw Mason sprawled half on the foot of her bed and half in the chair beside it. She turned her head, and Ted was staring down at her.

  “What’s going on?” Mia asked. “Why do I have Mason growing out of my feet?”

  Ted laughed. “He wasn’t going to leave your side. What is it with you and strays?”

  Mia hunched her shoulders and winced. “Ouch,” she said. “My chest hurts.”

  “I imagine it does.”

  “How are you?” she asked, reaching her hand out, dragging the IV with it.

  “Aside from having my world turned upside down, I’m fine.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know exactly what’s going on, aside from having a few excitable days.”

  “You’re going to heal, and then we’re going to see what we can do to make things easier for you.”

  “I’m not dying. Oh wait, am I?” Mia asked.

  “No. But you’re not exactly healthy either.”

  “How about a week-long cuddle in bed?” Mia said.

  Ted smiled and stroked her cheek. “That can be arranged. Speaking of arrangements, I’ve asked Orion to come down,” Ted started.

  “He’s not flying,” Mia blurted out.

  “In a private jet. He’ll be here soon. I want him to check you over before we think about moving you.”

  “That was very wise.”

  “Also, Mike’s going out to explain things to Brian personally.”

  “Mike’s going to the dig? He’ll die of dust.”

  “I think that was a good call. Once Brian finds out that you’re ill, he will be a holy terror, and aside from… well, you know, he seems to listen to Mike.”