by Kate Baray
Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Episodes 4-6
Kate Baray
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a purely fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Catherine G. Cobb.
Cover by Viola Estrella, estrellcoverart.com
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
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For Dad
Something Nasty in the Attic
Episode 4
Chapter One
Jack pushed off from the counter and spun his new swivel stool. “I don’t think you mentioned—why did you move out of your dad’s house?”
Marin didn’t bother to look up. “None of your business. Where did you get this crap? We’ll never be able to sell this stuff.” She pulled out a tangle of colorful plastic beads.
“Not true.” Jack spun around again on his stool. “Mardi Gras.”
“That’s months away, but you’re probably right. These will make great decorations. Or they will after someone untangles them all. And yes, I know that’s me.” She picked at the knotted mess, glancing periodically at Jack. Finally, she said, “Jeez, Jack. Stop it. You’re going to puke.”
Jack spun the stool one more time, just because—why not? When the world around him stilled, it occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, Marin had been right. He didn’t feel lightheaded, but he was pretty damn sure he was hallucinating. “Marin.” His gaze remained fixed on the small creature that had appeared in front of him.
“What?” she snapped.
Without looking away from it, he asked, “Do you see a small, white, furry, uh, something near the office door?”
“Hey, that’s exciting. Your hedgehog is coming out to say ‘hello.’ They’re usually so shy.” The sound of beads clattering on the table muffled her words. “Although you have been feeding him crabmeat.”
Its nose twitched, and its big brown eyes moved from him to Marin and back again. If Jack didn’t know better, he’d swear the thing smiled when Marin mentioned crab.
Jack sat as still as he could manage. “That is not a hedgehog.” It looked more like a lab puppy than a hedgehog. But definitely not a puppy. He had no tail, a round body with short, stubby legs, and large brown eyes. It was the big, brown, mournful eyes that reminded him of a puppy.
“He won’t disappear if you blink, Jack. Obviously he wants something.”
In response, the furry creature dropped back on its haunches into a position that resembled a dog sitting.
“See. He’s even getting comfortable.” Marin’s voice was getting closer.
It lay down.
“Uh, I think—this sounds nuts—but I think he understands you.” Jack would swear the creature sighed.
“He definitely understands. Jack, meet your Arkan Sonney.” Marin said, “Sir, may I present Jack Spirelli, as you know, the proprietor of the shop. I’m Marin Campbell. It’s a privilege to meet you.”
The little furry creature stood back up on his four legs and executed what looked to Jack like a very credible bow.
Jack wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “Hi?”
Marin poked him in the ribs with an elbow. “A ‘thank you’ wouldn’t hurt. This gentleman is the reason your shop is doing so well.”
Rubbing his side, Jack said, “Thank you.” He shot Marin a hard look. He moved out of poking range then said, “I’m not exactly sure what I’m thanking you for—but I have enjoyed having you here. You’re good company.”
Jack couldn’t look the little creature in the face as he added that last sentiment. It was a little embarrassing.
“He says you’re good company, too, and the food’s good.”
Jack shifted his gaze to Marin. “He’s communicating with you? I don’t hear anything.”
“He can communicate telepathically.” Marin tilted her head, studying their new friend. “I didn’t know that. Can I ask why you didn’t speak before now?”
A slow smile spread across Marin’s face, and she nodded.
Jack sighed. This was going to get old fast. “Maybe you could share? Since I can’t hear him?”
“Fuzzface—” Marin’s grin reappeared. “—Bob didn’t have anything to say before.”
“Bob?”
Marin crossed her arms. “Bob.”
Awkward. Jack had given the dude a pet name because—he thought he was a rodent of some kind. But Bob?
“Bob, uh, apologies for the nicknames. I didn’t really know what to call you.” When Fuzzface dipped his head, Jack said, “Any chance of you speaking to me?”
Fuzzface’s—Bob’s—furry head turned to Marin.
“He is.” Marin opened her eyes wide, giving Jack an innocent look. “Bob’s a guy of few words. I think he can communicate with me because we both have the ability. You’re probably out of luck. And I don’t think Bob sees any problem with me acting as translator.”
Bob blinked his big eyes at Jack. He seemed to be waiting.
“So, uh, I’m glad to meet you.” Jack rubbed his neck. This one-way conversation thing was gonna kill him. What did the little guy want?
“Thanks for the crab. I like shrimp, too.” Marin’s lips pulled into a smile as she translated. “Arkan Sonney are really good luck. Those mysterious items that always seem to show up when a customer asks, those great finds you’ve stumbled across at garage sales when you’re just picking up random boxes of leftovers…” Marin pointed to Bob.
“Seriously?” Jack whispered to Marin. When she just raised her eyebrows and nodded, he turned back to Bob—and the fuzzy little body that housed some serious raw magical talent. “I had no idea. And, um, sure, shrimp’s no problem. I mean, if you have a list—” Jack looked to see what Marin was getting in response.
She gave a subtle shake of her head.
“Or, you know, crab and shrimp are great.” Jack had experienced some weirdness in the last few months, but this was beyond bizarre. Roll with it, Jack. “I can buy crab and shrimp. Is there anything else?”
“My friend—sorry, Bob’s friend—needs help.” Marin frowned. “Let me close the shop, and we can talk about this in the office without being interrupted.”
Bob must have thought that was a grand idea, because he trotted off in the direction of the shop. Jack watched a tiny corkscrew tail disappear into his office then he turned to Marin. “How have you not mentioned this to me before?”
Marin flipped the sign to closed and shot the bolt. “Yeah. That’s tricky. They’re really shy, and they usually work in secret. Honestly, I thought he might leave if I told you. Or if you made a big fuss about him. I don’t know; maybe I was wrong. So, you do realize that he’s hiring us, right?”
John exhaled a loud breath. “Sure. Right. Okay. I think Bob’s probably a pretty good guy. I have a good feeling about this one.”
When they walked into the office, they found Bob curled comfortably in one of the client chairs.
“So what can we do for you?” Jack asked.
Chapter Two
Jack’s radar was clearly off. Any good feelings about Bob’s case
he might have imagined had vanished as soon as he’d learned more. Come to find out, Arkan Sonney were communication minimalists. Not much for chitchat generally, and danger didn’t seem to make them any more talkative. At least not their buddy Bob.
“Something nasty in the attic.” That was the message Jack and Marin had gotten out of Bob. He’d provided a few additional details—a location down the street from the shop, that the shop was his Arkan Sonney buddy’s crash pad—and repeated his thanks for the crab. Then he’d disappeared. Sneaky fast? Temporarily invisible? Teleportation? Jack wasn’t placing bets. An hour ago, he hadn’t even known there was such a thing as an Arkan Sonney.
As he and Marin approached their destination—a charity thrift shop—Jack couldn’t help but be thankful. At least the “something nasty” wasn’t in his attic.
“Turn here.” Jack pointed to the right.
Marin slowed down but didn’t put her blinker on.
“Turn right—that parking lot, right there.”
Marin ignored him then sped up and passed the small charity shop parking lot.
“Shit.” The color had washed from Marin’s face. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“Okay. You’re freaking me out a little. What’s the problem?”
Marin looked at Jack, her eyes huge. “I am in so much trouble.” Her fingers flexed around the steering wheel, and Jack could see her pulse leaping in her throat. “We are in so much trouble.”
Jack decided it was time for him to assume a role that was somewhat foreign in their relationship: levelheaded sidekick. “Explain to me exactly what the problem is, and we’ll deal with it.”
Marin shook her head. “Just—let me get us out of here. Before he realizes I’m here. Not the shop…too close. Your place?”
“Okay. Turn right at the next light.”
Jack had a sick feeling that he, whoever he was, was a scary sonofabitch. Because Marin was terrified.
It took fifteen minutes to reach Jack’s house, and in that time he could see Marin ease out of her terror. By the time she turned into his driveway, she looked almost calm.
As she drove up the winding drive, her eyebrows climbed. “Seriously?”
“What?” Jack tried to keep a scowl off his face. He hated explaining his personal life. That shit was nobody’s business.
“First—not what I imagined. Second—I clearly need a raise.”
“This place predates SPI and The Junk Shop. Since I’m hustling to make my property tax payments, no, you cannot have a raise.” Jack pointed to a spot where she could park.
“Why don’t you sell? A small acreage like this, right in Austin…”
“It hasn’t always been in Austin.” Jack said. “And I bought the place with some money my grandmother left me. I can’t just sell it.”
Marin pulled the key out of the ignition and then slowly turned to face him. “Are you telling me you’re keeping the property for sentimental reasons?”
Jack didn’t reply. Didn’t even look at her.
“Oh my God,” Marin said. “This is why you’re such an asshole about money.”
He wanted to thump her, but why bother when he had a legitimate reason to pry into her personal shit.
“Why were you so worried at the charity shop? And who is the ‘he’ you’re so concerned about running into?”
“Oh, Jack.” Marin collapsed back into her seat. “I seriously screwed up. I’m talking big, huge, massive screw-up.”
“Glad it’s not me for a change. But what exactly did you do?”
“I think, maybe, I let an ancient, exiled dragon back into the world.” Marin winced. She shut her eyes and sighed. “Pretty sure I did, actually, unless there’s another dragon in Austin. Or someone with dimension-hopping abilities.”
“And it’s living in the attic of a charity shop?” Jack shook his head. “Never mind. How did you do that exactly?”
“You remember how I hop through wards? Nonphysical anchor here in this reality and the physical part of me in another place?”
Jack couldn’t forget if he tried. When Marin had pulled both him and their client through that doorway on a previous case, the sensation hadn’t been one he’d ever wanted to repeat. He still didn’t understand exactly where they’d gone. It had been cold and empty. He’d felt transparent. No, he’d felt hollow. Actually, he wasn’t sure how he’d felt. His body hadn’t worked like it should in that space, but he’d have peed himself if it had. “Yeah.”
“I opened that door when we were at the airport trying to get Sylvia out of town. But I opened it really wide. I thought that might fry the lights for just a moment.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember that. I meant to ask you how you did that. You’re telling me that you shorted out the airport lights by opening up a huge inter-dimensional doorway?” Jack tamped down his incredulity. He did stupid shit, but that was epic. “That’s—”
“Asinine. I know that now.” Marin scrunched up her face. “In the moment, it seemed like a good idea.”
“I was going to say creative—but if you let something nasty through the door, then maybe asinine is a more accurate. Why didn’t you say something?”
Marin choked. “You think I knew the essence of some ancient and probably batshit-crazy dragon snuck through? I didn’t know other dragons could even do that. I thought my door worked for me. You know, that only I knew it was there.” She frowned at the look on Jack’s face. “There’s no handbook, Jack. And it hasn’t come up before.”
“Well, okay. Let’s think about this. If it’s just his essence, he can’t really do anything, can he?”
“Who knows what he can do? I don’t think something like this has ever happened. He’s from the time before.”
“Before what?” Jack asked.
“I told you, remember? Dragons made a choice to live in the now. In this culture. He’s from before. He made the choice to leave.”
Jack had a nasty feeling in his gut. “Please tell me that our dragon visitor hasn’t been living in that dimensional pit stop of nothingness for centuries.”
Marin shrugged and gave him an uncertain look. “Maybe? Or maybe my hidey-hole has doorways to other places. I don’t know. Oh my God.” The color fled her face. “I have to tell my dad.” She covered her face, her words muffled. “And I have to tell Lachlan.”
“I don’t suppose we can fix this on our own.”
“No.” Marin groaned. “This is the kind of mistake staying close to the clan is supposed to prevent.”
Jack didn’t know what arrangement she’d made with her dad and Lachlan, only that they weren’t thrilled about her leaving the nest so young—especially her dad. “Will you have to go back to the clan?”
She shrugged. “I won’t go. Anyway, we have bigger concerns.”
After debating with himself for several seconds, the only certain conclusion he drew was that being the reasonable one on the team wasn’t all that much better than being the guy blundering along with not much of a clue. Attempting a confidence he didn’t feel, he said, “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to call your dad. Better now than after something worse has happened. And you never know—he might have an easy fix or tell you it’s less of a problem than you think.”
“You didn’t feel him in your head. It’s a big deal. He’s really old.” But Marin grabbed her phone.
“Hang on.” Jack opened the car door. “I’m not staying for this conversation. I’m going inside to call Harrington. He needs to know there’s a potential threat in Austin.” Jack held up his hand when Marin started to protest. “Dragon business or not, IPPC and Harrington are the only thing remotely resembling law enforcement or a magical infrastructure that we have in the U.S. He needs to know. And when we’re done, we’re heading back to the shop. We can’t avoid the place. And it can’t be a coincidence that this evil essence is squatting so close to the shop.”
“It’s me. It has to be; I’m the only dragon for miles. And I’ve been practically living at The Junk
Shop lately, dealing with all the new stock you’ve been digging up and reorganizing SPI’s client files.”
“If he’s drawn to you, then we can’t avoid him. And better he stay in one predictable place, right?”
“Sure.” Marin stared out the front windshield then nodded once. “All right. Let me do this before I have a coronary.”
As Jack let himself in through the side door, he couldn’t help wonder how bad the situation was. He’d never seen Marin so rattled. Or act so much like the twenty-one-year-old human girl she was supposedly equivalent in age to.
He headed for the kitchen. After his meeting that morning with Bob, he wasn’t about to run out of crab at The Junk Shop. He was already here, and anything that dropped a few more bucks into his bank account was a priority. And, he had to admit, having Bob in the shop, even before he knew his unseen companion was Bob, had been…nice. He liked leaving food for him.
He dialed Harrington as he started poking around in his pantry for canned crab. He’d just found three cans hidden behind a bag of basmati rice when the call rolled to voicemail.
Jack couldn’t remember ever having gotten Harrington’s voicemail before. The guy must sleep with his phone attached to his body, because he always answered. Except for now.
Shit.
“Jack Spirelli here. There’s an emergency in Austin. Call me back, or check in with Ewan for details. Marin should be updating him now.” Jack ended the call. Harrington might be curious enough as to why the IPPC library’s head of security was involved that he’d move following up on Jack’s phone call to the top of his lengthy to-do list.
Or it was already at the top of his list and enough of an emergency that even Harrington was ruffled. Shit. Jack grabbed the crab and booked it back to Marin’s truck. He slowed as a terrible sense of foreboding washed over him. He’d never in his life felt prescient, but he knew with complete certainty that something horrible was about to happen.
