by J. E. Cluney
Ghostbound
J. E. Cluney
© 2019 J.E. Cluney
All Rights Reserved
Previously published under the name ‘Vera Sparks’, my urban fantasy mystery pen name.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
1
In a world full of magic and creatures of the shadows, I’m considered the strange one.
Me, the woman who works as a secretary for a vampire attorney, and whose best friend is a witch and ghost whispering psychic.
But me, I was mortal, completely human. No magical powers or fear of the sun, no ability to turn into an animal at will like the werewolves and shifters I’d met in my work.
Or at least, I was.
Now I’m a freak.
Because I’m dead and still walking.
And not zombie dead either, no, I’m ghost dead.
I disappear when I feel like it, I’m able to jump through the realm of the dead to travel across the country in minutes.
Because who needs planes when you’re dead?
Which means, I’ve been promoted.
My boss is quite happy with not paying for plane tickets to send me to business meetings on his behalf during the daylight hours.
The money he can save. But hey, I’m making more an hour than ever before. Hell, I’d almost paid off my apartment at only twenty-four years of age.
I was quite content with my new life of flitting across states occasionally and helping my best friend converse easier with the dead when she summoned them.
Until now.
Now, I’m standing before a body in my boss’s office.
James Daven, the attorney of Heath Clave, vampire hunter, who had a case against one of our clients.
Little did I know then, but this would be the day my freakish life went from odd to even more strange, and I was plunged into a darker world.
“We have a problem,” my boss, Alex Dawson, cleared his throat as he slicked his short brown hair back and adjusted his suit. His startling blue eyes were stormy as he looked around his office.
The blood staining his mouth didn’t seem to bother him at all. Why should it?
His sturdy, lean build and strong jawline with his consistent five o’clock stubble had caught my attention all those years ago when I’d applied for the secretary position. The way he spoke with his Australian accent, still prominent despite having lived here in Portland for the last 20 years, had lured me in.
If only I’d known what the position entailed back then, but I was always interested in law and was considering studying it. I wanted to help others and make a difference in this world. I’d considered the Police Academy, but the thought of being on the frontlines had swayed me, not to mention the fitness test. Ugh. But perhaps if I’d not seen this job online and instead gone to college to study law, maybe I’d still have a fully beating heart today. Instead it barely beats at all. I guess being somewhat ghost dead made some things different. But I wasn’t completely ghost dead, that would mean I was unseen most of the time and unable to feel anything. This wasn’t the case, I was something in between living and ghost. I had a solid form with a heartbeat, albeit slow, but it was there. But I could also jump and become unseen by entering the ghost realm.
Yeah, it was weird, I barely understood it.
“Really, Alex, I can see that,” I gasped as I hesitantly knelt down beside James Daven, my legs almost failing but I steadied myself on the corner of the solid mahogany desk. I swallowed down my unease as I carefully looked over James. I don’t think Hallmark makes a card to celebrate this accomplishment… standing in front of my first dead body. Not really an achievement to write home about. My stomach lurched as I focused on his lethal wound. His throat was ripped out and blood was still oozing out and tarnishing the grey carpet.
That was going to be a pain to get out. I would’ve smiled at the strange inner voice in my head if it weren’t for the fact that this was a real body.
"His client is known to be a vampire hunter, killing them despite our species earning equal human rights on the Day of Revelation six years ago," Alex said as he plucked a tissue from the box on his desk usually reserved for tearful clients.
He wiped at the crimson stain around his mouth and grimaced at the reddened tissue as if he hadn't expected such a mess.
It wasn't like he'd ripped out the man's throat with his teeth.
"What do we do?” I said as I rose and stepped away from the body. I tried to avoid looking at his lifeless face as I cleared my throat and rubbed my arms. Not that I could really feel the cold, you know, since I was some kind of ghost thing, but this was not how I had pictured my night going.
We’d known who James Daven represented. He always represented those opposed to the new races being introduced amongst mankind.
The Day of Revelation nearly six years ago caused quite an uproar all around the world as vampires and werewolves came out of the woodworks. It was a harsh reality check for everyone that mankind had harbored these creatures for centuries.
But they'd come forward, no longer wanting to hide amongst us, but rather become recognized members of society.
Werewolves had been accepted surprisingly easier than vampires, but then again, they weren't considered bloodthirsty monsters that would treat humans like a juice box. Werewolves simply turned into wolves at will, not affected by the full moon despite how the media and folk stories portray them. But vampires, they were different. They had to sustain their being with human blood. Something that had made the countries riot at first.
But the Council of Supernatural Creatures, a Council formed many centuries ago to manage Supernaturals while hidden in the shadows, already had a plan in place.
They introduced a system of willing donors who donated their blood to the Z-Gen Corporation, which supplied blood bags to the vampires. They were also altering bovine and porcine blood (cow and pig) to meet the nutritional requirements for the vampires among us. It'd been a chaotic and strange few years, but now they were a part of society, and like any race, they were discriminated against by some and accepted by others. It was the best they could hope for.
I was tugged from my rambling thoughts as Alex sighed and straightened his tie, scowling at the speck of blood tarnishing it.
"Well, I admit I may have reacted brashly. The man did say I was an abomination and that his client was performing his civil duty in eliminating our kind. He pulled a stake on me," Alex gave a short, sharp laugh as he eyed the wooden stake on the floor beside James with contempt.
“Well, that changes things then,” I breathed, the scent of fresh blood infiltrating my nostrils and making me want to gag. “It was self defense.”
“Yes, but who will believe the word of a vampire?” Alex rolled his eyes and sighed. He leaned against his desk and shook his head in dismay.
“Make them believe it, that’s what you do,” I stated as I tried to ignore how strange this situation was.
Vampires had the ability to bend the minds of those around them, if they were powerful enough.
And Alex
, being over 100 years old, was definitely strong enough to do this. It was one of the reasons many supernatural beings came to him to be represented. They knew he could help them win, although what he failed to tell them was that he never actually used his ability to influence anyone in the courtroom.
He may not have a beating heart, but he had morals.
No need to tell his clients that though.
I’d worked for Alex for nearly two years now. We’d even dated six months ago, and despite knowing he was a vampire, an old vampire, I hadn’t been prepared for anything like this.
I glanced down at James and bit my lip. A body should be more upsetting and distressing, but maybe because I wasn’t quite human anymore it changed things. It still made me uneasy, but not terrified and wanting to run for the nearest police station.
The dark underbelly of the supernatural world had been a real eye opener, and I’d seen some strange things in the office since then. I’d seen a man begin to shift into a wolf when we couldn’t take his case, and a nasty shifter launching across the office with claws and fangs out, half shifted into a lion to attack a co-worker who’d just ended their relationship. I could see the writing on the wall as to why that relationship failed. Anger issues much. Thankfully Janet, an associate lawyer in the firm, was a tiger shifter and waved it off with grace. Although she swore not to mingle with lion shifters anymore because of their mood swings.
That’s right, our little firm consisted of vampires and shifters and humans. What a melting pot.
And maybe, it was because I’d seen the world of vampires, the way they spoke, the way death was rather normal to them. This was nothing out of the ordinary for their culture.
“Well, Ivy, I need your help,” Alex clasped his hands together as he took his seat behind his desk, his blue eyes rolling over me.
“Mmm, I’ve heard that before,” I rolled my eyes, those words were part of how I’d ended up the way I was. Sort of. But I knew I was going to hate what he was going to say next. He had called me in here for a reason, and after seeing what lay on the floor of his office, I had a sneaking suspicion why.
“Look, I didn’t want to have to call you in. But Alena has the night off and she’s out with Jeremy somewhere, Danny is dealing with a client tonight, and Janet and Catherine are handling a dispute over a deceased estate. I was hoping to ask you… well…is it possible you could drop the body off somewhere? I’m assuming you can take people with you when you…jump,” he waved his hand at the term, still not quite understanding how it worked. He’d asked numerous times when we dated, but it wasn’t an easy thing to explain.
Hell, I barely understood how it all worked; I just knew I could do it.
“Why me? Why can’t you get Danny or Janet to do it after they’ve finished up? I’m sure one of them is more accustomed to bodies than me!” I snapped. Seriously, I was new to the whole being an actual part of this world. Bodies weren’t something I knew how to handle. And Danny was another vampire, and an associate lawyer at the firm.
“Look, I’m really sorry. I know it’s asking a lot, but if I’m seen with a body that’s got it’s throat ripped out, it’s kinda obvious how that’ll go. I know you owe me nothing, not after everything, but please, I need help here. It’s just a business mishap, I’d prefer not to have to call anyone else in from work,” Alex said carefully, his tone apologetic and strained. He really did hate to ask this of me.
“A mishap,” I gaped, “you ripped his fucking throat out!”
“He had it coming,” Alex retorted, but he was clearly taken aback at my outburst. “I just defended myself. He pissed me off too, coming in here and talking about vampires like we were nothing but a plague of monsters that needed extermination. I should’ve just snapped his neck but he wanted to make out that vampires were monsters, so I just showed him that. Besides, I’m not about to take a stake again, not for the sake of one repulsive man’s beliefs. I was complacent and he got too close.”
“That does not make it right or make any of this normal,” I sighed in exasperation. But hearing how Alex had handled the situation made me uneasy. I’d never seen this side of Alex before. I’d seen him nearly kill a shifter that threatened to kill me, but he caught himself. This was out of character. We dealt with difficult clients often, and he handled it all with finesse. James must have gotten quite close to staking him. And considering roughly six months ago he’d nearly been staked to death but they’d missed his heart, I could see why it would trigger a more severe reaction.
“Death is normal for my kind, vampires are literally just a more sophisticated version of the walking dead. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you. I just thought that, you know, with you being the way you are, you’d be able to help,” he said sheepishly, his blue eyes softening as he observed me carefully. The hint of something tucked behind those eyes I’d grown so used to. He wanted my help because he trusted me, I realized. He trusted me to help him handle this.
“The dead helping the dead, what will they think of next?” I mumbled as Alex’s brow creased. He tugged at his tie, and I could sense his uncertainty in asking for my help now. He’d been dead for over a century, this was rather normal for him.
“Live people are risky, Maria said it could even be fatal,” I sighed as I knelt down beside James’ still warm body. “But he’s already dead.”
“So you’ll help?” Alex asked as he sifted through a few papers on his desk, but his eyes were not focused. This outburst and ‘business mishap’ had affected him, I could see it now. He was not pleased with the corpse currently taking up real estate in front of his desk. But the quick glance of guilt from him made me realize there was more. He hated that I’d seen this side of him. He must really need my help and trust me if he was willing to let me see this darker side of him.
“I kind of have to,” I said snarkily. “I’m the only teleporter on hand.”
“Thank you, Ivy. Again, I’m sorry. I almost didn’t call you, but… well, I knew that with your ability, you could dispose of him a lot easier than I could. I’ll give you a substantial bonus in a few weeks for this, I don’t want you thinking I’m just using you. This means a lot. And I’m sorry you had to see… all this,” he sighed as he waved his arms dismally at the room.
“It’s fine. Considering what happened six months ago, I know not to expect the normal from you,” I said softly.
The look of guilt and pain that slammed across his face made me nearly cringe. That was a low blow from me, I’ll admit, but he was asking me to dispose of a body for him.
Guilt gnawed at me softly for making him feel even worse as his mouth pulled into a grim line. A set of delicious lips I’d once tasted. I pushed the sudden memory down with my imaginary boot. We didn’t need those old memories resurfacing. We had a strict work relationship now.
“I’ll deal with this, gotta put my big girl pants on,” I sneered as I grabbed James limp shoulder. I shuddered but squashed down my uneasiness. Working for a vampire definitely had some unique job responsibilities.
Alex frowned and went to speak, but I leaped into the grey world of the ghost realm before he could throw some snarky comeback at me.
Our relationship was not something many people could relate to.
“So, Mrs Jenkins, if your husband was here, what would you want to say to him?” Maria murmured as she held the elderly woman’s hands over her purple-blanketed table adorned with crystals and candles.
Mrs Jenkins, an elderly woman with more money than either my best friend Maria or myself, had contacted Maria about speaking to her recently departed husband.
Maria had summoned the man’s spirit here using a spirit summoning spell with the assistance of Mrs Jenkins.
I had taken up my position in the corner, unseen by Mrs Jenkins. One of the perks of being a ghost was that I could reveal myself to only those I wanted to see me at times.
“I’d want to tell him that I miss him, and I love him dearly,” Mrs Jenkins creaky old voice rang out in the
quiet, essence filled room. Her pearl earrings and matching necklace glinted in the candlelight, and her greying hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
Maria, on the other hand, was lit up like a psychic goddess in her get-up of a beaded singlet and purple skirt, her black curls hanging down her shoulders and her bronze skin flawless in the dim lighting.
“Well you can tell the old hag I don’t miss her incessant nagging and obnoxiousness. Or the demands for more holidays and cruises. She only married me for my money you know,” the old man standing near me sneered. “Tell her that, would ya?” he turned to me, his translucent figure free of any ailments he’d once had. Apparently he’d died of cancer, but the elderly man sporting a high-end suit before me looked rather healthy as I chuckled and snorted at his words.
I relayed the words to Maria, who’s mouth curved into a smile but she managed to keep her composure despite the words I’d shared with her.
“He says he misses you dearly as well, but he wants you to know he’s in a better place,” Maria spared the old woman the crushing honesty of her departed husband’s real thoughts.
“Yeah, better because you’re not with me. Why the hell have you summoned me here anyway, woman?” he grumbled as he crossed his arms and shifted unhappily.
I didn’t bother relaying the information to Maria. She’d be able to get some idea of how he felt. She was a witch, able to wield magic and create all sorts of potions, but when it came to communicating with the dead, she couldn’t get everything she needed.
Until I’d begun helping her out that is.
Now she could get full words from those dearly departed rather than feelings and vague glimpses into their thoughts.
“Why have you summoned him today, is that all you wanted to tell him?” Maria’s voice was soft and soothing in the dim room, and I admired how easily she worked with her clients, gaining their trust and helping them.
