Descension

by Shani Struthers

  A chorus of agreement went up from the motley crew.

  “Even so—”

  ‘Even so’ be damned! Go on, clear off. We ain’t going nowhere.

  “But this adventure’s over,” Theo protested, “surely you’re ripe for another?”

  Ripe?

  Again, there was a gust of laughter, some heckling and some jeering; they were a motley crew all right and they obviously found the opposing gang oh-so-amusing.

  I’ll tell you who’s ripe, that redhead bint wiv yer! Always fancied me a redhead.

  Those words, followed by another slap, caused Ruby’s jaw to drop. Whoever had taken a liking to Corinna, the youngest member of the team at twenty-two, and her abundant pre-Raphaelite curls, was in trouble with someone – Molly perhaps? That had been a slap across the face this time; a sharp one.

  “Look,” Ruby began, standing up too, her hands held out before her in a placatory gesture. “We don’t want trouble, honestly, we don’t. Come on, let’s just… talk.”

  But trouble was what ignited these souls and always had.

  Another bottle was seized from the rack and thrown against the wall closest to Theo, bursting open and splattering its contents everywhere.

  “Stand your ground!” Theo commanded. “It’s only Blossom Hill.” Clearly, she wasn’t a fan of the brand. “We mustn’t show them we’re afraid.”

  “We’re not afraid,” dismissed Ness. “We’re bloody annoyed. Or at least I am!”

  “What shall we do?” queried Ruby, not only concerned about flying bottles, but whether the noise in the cellar was carrying upstairs and who’d come running down because of it. If it was the landlord, this would put the fear of God into him. Luckily, there weren’t many punters to disturb. A quiet Monday night had deliberately been chosen and it was already past ten. In fact, there’d only been an old man in situ when they’d arrived, already halfway through his pint and crossword puzzle. She glanced at the doorway again. There was no Cash, no Jed, and no landlord. Whether to be annoyed or relieved about the former, she didn’t know. “Theo?”

  “White light,” Theo replied, “use it like a missile and fire it at the rogues. If they want an all-out Battle of Blossom Hill, let’s give it to them.”

  Corinna was looking askance at her elder companion, her green eyes at once impressed and excited. That didn’t last for long, however, as another full can of Carlsberg went whistling past her head.

  “Christ,” Corinna exclaimed. “That could’ve killed me!”

  “Just fire white light,” Theo repeated. “It’s as good a weapon as any.”

  Ruby too was growing more agitated. Cash, Jed, where are you? She thought of them as her protectors, but when it came to her and beer, or, in Jed’s case, the prospect of a bag of crisps, there was clearly no contest.

  The heckling rose by several decibels. The grounded were having the time of their lives, or more accurately, their deaths, the flickering light bulb adding to the mockery.

  Where’s the redhead? Still in hiding is she? Send ’er out ’ere.

  Those that could hear the request ignored it.

  “Focus, everyone,” Ness advised. “It’s their energy against ours, that’s all.”

  The redhead! The redhead! The redhead!

  Ruby was surprised to hear that even the females had joined in the chant.

  What shall we do? Ruby asked Ness and Theo via thought this time. There was no way she wanted to alarm Corinna further.

  Tonight, however, Corinna was more astute than she’d ever been, at least to Ruby’s knowledge.

  “It’s me they want, isn’t it?” she said, her voice holding both timidity and boldness.

  “No, not at all,” Ruby tried to deny, “it’s just… a battle of wills, that’s all. We’ll win. Don’t worry. Shit!” An exploding bottle flew up from the floor and cut her forehead. Checking the damage with her fingers, she felt the warmth of blood.

  “This is no longer a joke,” Theo sounded as angry as Ruby. “They’re as outrageous in death as they were in life, the devils.”

  “We can’t even edge our way to the door, it leaves us too exposed,” cried Ness. “We’re trapped. We’re actually trapped.”

  “No, we’re not.” It was Corinna, just plain defiance in her voice now. To everyone’s surprise, she sidestepped the barrels and made her way to the centre of the room.

  “Corinna,” Theo hissed. “Get back here. We said we’d wait it out.”

  Corinna was having none of it. “I’m spending the night at Presley’s,” she said, referring to Cash’s brother whom she’d been seeing for quite a while and was very keen on, “and I’m already late. This lot might want to party, but so do I. Heaven knows I work hard enough. Besides, they won’t respect us if we cower. This is what they respect, someone who’ll face up to them, who’s more than a match, who won’t take their nonsense. I won’t take your nonsense, do you hear? So, you like the look of me, I gather. And why’s that? Do you think I’m sassy, a bit of a wench? Well, maybe I am. But you lot, you’re hardly gentlemen, are you? Treating us the way you’re doing, terrorising us. As for the women amongst you, whatever happened to girl power; to supporting each other? I couldn’t be more disappointed in you if I tried.”

  “Corinna!” This time it was Ruby hissing. “Come back.”

  Corinna ignored her too. “What are you going to do now, huh? Throw something at me again? Wow, you know how to impress a girl! What big men you are. What brave men. I’ve always thought of smugglers and pirates as romantic, what with all that seafaring, swashbuckling stuff you got up to. Whenever I’ve read about you, it’s your side I’ve been on, but actually you’re just a bunch of brutes. I’m not impressed at all.”

  There was silence. If Ruby had to describe it, she’d say a stunned silence.

  “Corinna…” This time Theo’s voice was more hopeful. “They’re listening.”

  To Ruby’s surprise, Corinna put a hand on her hip and started sashaying back and forth, the other hand flicking her hair in an exaggerated manner over her shoulder. Wearing a floaty black skirt and a black blouse – the Gothic-style attire she favoured – she looked rather swashbuckling herself!

  “She’s holding them enthralled,” Theo whispered to Ness and Ruby.

  “They’re not the only ones,” Ruby whispered back.

  “So,” Corinna continued, “you don’t want to go to the light, you’d prefer to stay here in this dark, damp and dirty cellar? Okay. Fair enough. You were a law unto yourselves in life; be a law unto yourselves in death too. We’ll go. We’ll leave you to your rollicking ways, not bother you anymore, on one condition. Wanna hear it?”

  Corinna had stopped and again she was looking from side to side. It was clear she couldn’t see anything and to be fair, neither could the rest of them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. They were, as strong as ever, all that imagined ale, wine and whisky they’d imbibed, fortifying them. Once more, Corinna flicked her hair, her smile as enigmatic as da Vinci’s The Mona Lisa.

  “If you leave the living alone, don’t throw stuff at them anymore, don’t turn off the gas pumps on the beer, don’t yell in their ears or try to materialise in front of them, we and perhaps they, will leave you alone. We get it. You’re not ready to move on. You like it here. And perhaps, right now, here is fun. You’ll go one day, I’m sure of it. You can have too much of anything in the end, but when that will be is up to you.”

  That landlord hates us.

  We hate him too; I’d like to tear his gizzards out!

  The girls scream when we blow in their faces.

  It’s funny it is! A right belly laugh!

  Corinna couldn’t hear the random remarks her words had inspired, so Ruby ventured forwards too, coming to a standstill by her side. “Do you want to stay?” she asked. “Do you want this… party to continue, for a while longer at least?”

  Again there was silence, but then someone spoke, a woman this time.

  So what if we do? Here
suits us.

  “Corinna,” Ruby said, “they want to stay.”

  Corinna swung round to face Ruby. “Then let them. Our aim is to help, but only when help is wanted or needed. Sometimes it just… isn’t.”

  “But what if they change their minds or if one or two of them do? What if they become distressed?” Ruby ignored the ghostly gales of laughter her concern caused.

  “We keep tabs on the situation,” Corinna suggested. “We pop into the pub every now and again, ask a few leading questions. That way we’ll know.”

  Still Ruby wasn’t buying it. “We can’t lie to the landlord; he wants them gone.”

  Ness and Theo came forward too, the four of them standing in the centre of the cellar again with the light bulb above them as dim as ever.

  “We don’t have to lie.” It was Theo who answered. “What we can be is economical with the truth. There’s a lot to be said for implication.” Quickly, she performed a Ness-inspired throat clearing exercise. “Listen up you lot, let’s parley good and proper. We understand what you’re saying, and we may well take our leave. But, if you continue to taunt the living; if you don’t get your drunken antics under some sort of control, you’ll not only harm our reputation, you’ll attract other people to the cellar – people who may not be as accommodating as us. Instead they’ll do everything they can to force you onwards. I’m warning you, they’ll come in their droves, and they’ll be just as determined as you are. In the end it’ll leave you exhausted. The fun that you’re having will wear thin. If, however, you let the living be and confine your merrymaking to after-hours, when they’ve retired to their beds, then they’ll believe you’re gone; that we’ve done what we were supposed to do, and moved you on.”

  There were low murmurs, a growling and a cough. Finally, there came a decision.

  From the shadows, a figure emerged, faint, the merest outline, but Ruby got a full impression in her head. He was dressed way above his station, in fancy clothes, breeches perhaps, a waistcoat and a wide-brimmed hat with a jauntily-angled feather in it. He was tugging at a long beard in contemplation. Corinna wouldn’t be able to see him, but he was staring at her – the redhead – both lust and respect in his gaze.

  The man spat on the ground immediately in front of Corinna.

  We stand together on this?

  “Yes,” Ruby assured him. “We do.”

  There was further pondering, more tugging of the beard.

  Hawking up again, he spat a second time.

  Then we have an accord.

  “An accord?” Ruby queried.

  An agreement. A gentleman’s agreement, mind.

  Ruby nodded in understanding. “Corinna,” she said, “could you… spit on the floor in front of you please?”

  “Spit?”

  “It’s to seal the deal, or rather the agreement. They’re insisting they’re gentlemen after all. I’d do it, but I think it’ll hold more sway coming from you.”

  “Oh, right… okay.” Without further ado, Corinna obeyed.

  “And that’s it?” Ruby re-addressed the figure. “If we’re… economical with the truth, you’ll play by the rules? You won’t torment the bar staff any more? I run a spiritual clearance business; we’re held in high regard. I don’t want that compromised.”

  A gentleman’s agreement is worth something!

  As she’d done earlier, Ruby held up her hands. “That’s fine, that’s great. A ladies’ agreement means something too. I was just checking.”

  Corinna’s relieved smile was brilliant, even in the dim light. She couldn’t see, but the man had stepped forward, the ringleader, and was sniffing at her longingly.

  A scream rang out.

  Joel, get yerself back ‘ere!

  Ruby gulped. It was time to cut and run. All four of them hurried towards the cellar door. Just as they reached it, Corinna hesitated.

  “Part of me wishes I could stay,” she explained when the rest of the team looked questioningly at her. “They sure know how to have a good time down here in the depths.”

  That can be arranged, my darlin’…

  Joel earned yet another slap on his cheek.

  “Corinna, we really do have to go,” breathed Ruby.

  Theo couldn’t agree more. “Best foot forward,” she said, picking up pace again. “Let’s… erm… break the good news to the overseer of this fine hostelry, shall we?”

  Even Ness was grinning as four of them ascended to the light at least.

  Chapter Two

  They emerged to find Cash and Jed indeed propping up the bar. In fact, it looked as if they and the landlord had been having a party of their own – certainly neither appeared at all worried about what traumas Ruby and the team might have been experiencing in the ‘depths’ as Corinna had dubbed it. The two men were as merry as their ghostly counterparts, which, Ruby decided, was a good thing on the whole. Certainly it made the landlord very obliging when she told him there’d be no more trouble from whatever lurked in the cellar.

  “It’s gone, is it, the ghost?” he enquired, a definite slur in his voice.

  “It should all be quiet from now on,” Ruby replied – an evasion of the question; a little white lie told for the greater good, she reminded herself.

  The landlord belched before sighing. “Shame really, innit? A pub with a ghost is a lure. Personally, I’d have exploited it, drawn a few more punters in, but my staff are a cowardly lot. They threatened to walk out altogether if I didn’t do something about it and good staff are hard to find at the best of times, never mind the worst.” He shook his head, swayed slightly. “Could have made a mint running ghost tours.”

  While Cash nodded in enthusiastic agreement, Ruby glanced at her colleagues. Their expressions said it all – they’d done the right thing. If the landlord went ahead with such an idea, it could turn nasty down there with bottles flying from their racks and glass fragments not merely brushing against foreheads but embedding in them, deep. As Corinna had said, they’d need to keep an eye on the situation, but for now a plan had been hatched, and her word was as true as Joel’s.

  The landlord offered the team drinks and they accepted gladly, feeling the need to celebrate a victory of sorts. Ruby in particular for she had news she had yet to break to Cash – to everyone really, including her mother and grandmother. But for now it was news she wanted to hug to herself; to savour. As Corinna was driving her and Cash, she had a rum and coke followed by another. They were hefty measures too. By the time they’d drunk up and were back in Lewes, she was sure she was also guilty of slurring her words.

  After dropping them both at Ruby’s ground floor flat in De Montfort Road, along with Jed the dog, of course, who’d ridden shotgun with Ruby, Corinna waved goodbye and drove off.

  Staring after Corinna while Cash did his best to insert the key into the lock, Ruby reiterated for the umpteenth time how brilliant her colleague had been. “You should have seen how she held the floor against them, Cash. They couldn’t take their eyes off her. Not that I could see their eyes, you understand, but I didn’t have to, I just knew it. She belongs to a different age, that one, a more romantic era.”

  “Ah, come on,” said Cash, the damned lock continuing to confound him, “the noughties ain’t so bad. Not with me and you in ’em; they’re romantic enough.”

  She didn’t care how soppy her smile was. “Yeah, yeah, I suppose.”

  When he had finally succeeded in opening the door, they all but tumbled into the hallway. Jed sauntered past them, probably making his way to the bedroom. As Cash closed the door, Ruby backed him up against it. “I’ve got a secret,” she said.

  “You love me?”

  “Oh come on, that’s no secret. That’s blindingly obvious! No, no, no, it’s the spirits in the cellar at The Waterside Inn; we didn’t move them on.”

  “You didn’t? But you said—”

  “No, I was clever, very clever. All I said was that it should be quiet from now on at the pub; to expect no more trouble.”


  Cash reared back slightly. “I don’t understand.”

  As best she could, considering the amount she’d imbibed, she explained the agreement the Psychic Surveys team had reached. “We struck a bargain!”

  “A bargain?”

  “That’s right. A gentleman’s agreement, which apparently a smuggler will live and die by.” After a brief pause, she added, “So to speak.”

  “What if things get out of hand again, if they kick-off? Your reputation…”

  Cash had the same concerns as her, but again she explained they’d do their best to keep tabs on the situation. “The thing is, we can’t force spirits onwards. So it follows that sometimes we have to get… inventive. I trust Joel, though.”

  “Joel?”

  “He’s the leader of the pack. Hey! That reminds me of a song, you know, ‘The leader of the pack, vroom, vroom’”

  Cash was staring at her, whether amused or bemused, she couldn’t tell. “Joel,” he repeated. “That’s a good pirate name. So, you stand in solidarity with the spirits?”

  “Always,” she replied, leaning in to kiss him.

  Cash’s arms tightened around her waist and he started to walk her in the direction of the bedroom. On seeing them enter, Jed performed his usual disappearing trick, probably to reappear in the early hours of the morning, curling up at the foot of her bed, his favourite resting place. Their lips having been locked together for some time, Ruby finally had to come up for air.

  “Cash,” she murmured, “I’ve got another secret to tell you.”

  “That you can’t resist me, even when you’re angry with me?”

  “What? When am I ever angry with you?”

  “Ooh, there’ve been one or two memorable occasions,” his voice was a murmur too, husky even and altogether irresistible. But this other secret – the one that was burning away inside – she had to tell someone or she’d explode. Before she succumbed to another kiss, she took a step backwards.

  “Cash, wait, listen. I have to tell you… I just have to.”

  His eyes flickered meaningfully downwards. “Can it really not wait?”