by Sheri Lyn
Black Hollow:
Beating Around the Bush
By Sheri Lyn
Beating Around The Bush
Copyright 2021 Sheri Lyn
Formatting by Celtic Formatting
Cover by B Creative Designs
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Dedication:
To you my readers who hang with me and read the stories I write. I’m sorry it’s taking so long for new ones, but I love you for hanging with me.
I hope this story lets you escape reality for a few hours and forget the hell we’re living each day.
Stay safe <3
Chapter One
Choal
“You said you’d call when you’re done and there is no way you’re already done.”
Choal rolled his eyes at the annoying voice on the other end of the line. Why he’d thought calling his best friend was a good idea was beyond him. “Shut up and get here. There’s a problem.”
“A problem?” Shayde repeated aghast. “What like your target isn’t dying or dead?”
“He’s dead, but there's a kid here staring me down. Defiant little bastard is threatening me.”
Shayde paused, audibly gulped, and then whispered, “Fuck, I’m on my way. Hang tight man.”
Choal slid the phone back into his pocket and studied the small face glaring at him. “How can you see me?” The kid didn’t reply, just tracked Choal as he moved around the room. Never in all his centuries on this earth had he encountered anyone alive who could see him. Not just that, but the kid was blocking the path between him and the soul he’d come to claim. He shouldn’t be able to see the soul.
The standoff lasted until Shayde popped into the room beside Choal, causing the kid to jump in alarm and shuffle backward.
“Holy shit, he really can see us. How is that possible?”
“I was hoping you’d know. What are we supposed to do now? I’ve never had this happen before, have you?” Choal demanded in a near panic.
“Have you tried talking to him?”
Choal rolled his eyes at the asinine question. “Of course I did. He just stares at me like that and it’s kind of freaky you know. It’s like he can see into my soul or something.”
Shayde frowned, “You said he was threatening you. If he hasn’t spoken how is he doing that?”
Choal pointed at the kid and shot a triumphant look at his best friend. “Like that.”
Shayde took a step back as he saw the look on the kid’s face. It was the same look he’d given Choal earlier. It told him to back off or he’d be hurt in unimaginable ways.
“What the fuck?”
“Exactly.” Choal sighed and crouched down so he was eye level with the kid. “I’m not here to hurt you or take you away. I just need to do my job and take that soul to purgatory, so he can await his next path. This has nothing to do with you.”
“You can’t have him. I need him.” The kid declared as he braced his feet and lifted his chin in defiance. “You’ll have to go through me, first.”
Shayde squatted next to Choal and gained the kid’s attention, “You can see his soul, right? That soul was someone special to you?”
The kid hesitated then nodded his head wearily as he glanced between the two men.
“Look at it now. He’s getting agitated and jittery. That’s because when the body dies, the soul is ejected and it leaves them confused and anxious. You need to let us take him to Purgatory so he can get sorted out. You don’t want him left to roam the earth as a ghost, do you?”
Choal offered his hand to the boy, “Come out of the way and let us help him. We’re not here to hurt him, I promise.”
The child bit his lip as he stared at the soul of the man before he nodded and stepped out of the way. “Don’t let him get hurt anymore because of me.”
“Thank you,” Choal whispered as he moved forward to collect the soul. As soon as he touched it, a warmth spread through his body and made him gasp in shock as it began to burn and tingle.
“What’s happening?” Shayde demanded as he moved closer to his friend and tentatively placed his hand on his shoulder. “Choal, talk to me brother. Kid, what did you do?”
“Nothing. The anchor shifted to him, it’ll stop in a moment, and won’t hurt him….. Much. It’s mapping his signature so it can become one with him.”
Choal let out a strangled whimper as he turned terror-filled eyes to Shayde. Never in his life had he felt anything like this. As if his whole body was being transformed one atom at a time. Just before he thought he wouldn’t be able to take it any longer, everything began to ease. Another few seconds and his body sagged in relief as his legs threatened to collapse on him.
“Anchor? Mapping his signature?” Shayde repeated. “What does that mean? What did you do to him? What are you?”
Choal sighed as he felt Shayde wrap his arms around him in an attempt to help him stand. Before he could say a word, Shayde stiffened against him and let out a small whimper.
The kid looked affronted as he hotly declared his innocence. “I didn’t do shit. He touched his soul, and you touched him, the anchor transferred to you guys. I can’t control it, if I could, don’t you think I’d pick who was my anchor?”
“What does that mean?” Choal demanded as he flipped around and held his best friend up. “What the fuck is an anchor?”
“You guys are now.” The kid grumbled and turned to pace the room. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just know that I need an anchor, that’s all I’ve ever been told. He” The kid pointed to the body, “didn’t know either. He was charged with my care and given the job as my anchor. Not by his choice. He’s human, he needed to pass me on, but he ran out of time.”
Shayde grunted as his body finally began to relax and he slumped in Choal’s arms panting for breath. “Fucking hell that hurt.”
“So….” The kid asked with an expectant look. “What now?”
“What now?” Choal repeated in stunned disbelief.
“How about you start explaining yourself. Between the whole anchor shit, and the fact that you can see us and this guy’s soul, and the fact that you’re calm about all of it, is …. “He trailed off as he caught sight of Choals face. He nodded to the other man and took a deep breath. “Losing my cool isn’t going to help. I know, Choal, I know.” Shayde winked and turned back to the kid. “Let’s start with something simple. What’s your name and what are you?”
“Kohen, and I don’t know what I am. I don’t remember my parents, just a long line of people who’ve shuffled me from person to person.”
“Okay.” Choal nodded as he began to pace the small living room. “You said they passed you around, right? Well, how did they know to do that? This guy is human, few of them know about paranormals.”
Kohen shrugged, “Dunno. I heard one of them explain once that something about me starts to wear them down if they keep me around too long and that it was in the best interest to get rid of me sooner rather than later.”
Shayde cursed as he ran his hand through his wavy brown hair. “How long did each one keep you?”
“Shortest I can remember is a few days, the longest was two and a half mo
nths. This guy lasted three weeks.” Kohen paused and scrunched up his face, “I don’t think he believed them about getting rid of me.”
“Shit.” Choal growled as he turned to face the soul standing restlessly behind them. “Shayde, can you take him to get sorted and maybe talk to the council. See what they know. I’ll stay with the kid… Kohen, I mean and see if I can find some answers.”
“Yeah, I’ll be back as quick as I can. Just be careful about touching anything else until I get back. I don’t want to lose my best friend today.”
Choal smiled as he watched as the soul disappeared with Shayde, before turning to face the kid and letting out a pained sigh.
Chapter Two
Choal
Choal paced the room anxiously staring at the clock on the wall above the plaid couch the kid sat on watching him.
“You worried about him or something?”
“No, just…” Choal frowned and dropped onto the seat beside Kohen. “Just freaked out, and yeah I guess a bit worried. I don’t know what’s happening and I sent Choal off by himself to talk to our bosses. You can’t seem to tell me anything and that’s not helping.”
Kohen slumped back on the couch and crossed his arms across his thin chest. “Sorry.”
The dejected tone and posture of the kid made Choal feel like an ass, “I know it’s not your fault, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. How old are you anyway?”
“Nine.” Kohen offered a tentative smile. “My birthday is next week, though.”
“You’re pretty mature for a kid your age.” Choal offered his hand, “My name is Choal, and the other guy is my friend Shayde.”
“I’m your friend too?” Kohen asked eagerly as he grasped Choal’s hand.
“Seems to me like you’re stuck with me and Shayde for a bit, so I think maybe that makes us friends for sure.”
“Awesome, I’ve never really had any friends. I don’t stay in one place long enough.” Kohen bit his lip and glanced up at Choal through his eyelashes. “Do you think once you guys have passed me on to the next person, maybe you could say hi sometime?”
Choal flinched at the kid’s words, as much as he’d like to say yes, he knew it wasn’t a good idea. They were psychopomps, they weren’t meant to interact with the living. But maybe concessions could be made. The kid obviously wasn’t human, so it’s not like they’d be breaking the rules, technically. “Yeah, kid.” Choal agreed with a smile, “I think we can make that happen.”
Kohen jumped up and raced out of the room, “I’ll get my stuff, so we can leave when Shayde gets back.”
Choal froze as the kid's words hit him like a ton of bricks. Kohen was getting his stuff so they could leave …. Together…
What in the hell were they going to do with a kid that lived on the mortal plane? They were so fucked it wasn't even funny. Was that why Shayde wasn’t back yet? Had they broken rules they hadn’t even known about, and he was even now being punished for it.
Choal’s pacing became even more frantic as the possibilities raced through his head. The worst of all being that he’d caused his best friend in the universe harm or even death. How could he live with that, not that he’d have long to live if that was his friend’s fate at least? His punishment would be equal if not swifter for bringing this to their door in the first place.
“Are you okay?”
Choal whirled around to face Kohen and let out a sigh of disappointment at finding him alone. “Uh, yeah, kid. Nothing for you to worry about.”
Kohen arched one eyebrow. “Sure, so I was thinking. Don’t we have to report Jimmy’s death or something? We can’t leave his body just lying in there like that can we?”
Choal closed his eyes in defeat and nodded, “Yeah, shitastic fucking day this has been. Does anyone know you live here with him?”
“No, I don’t think so, no one ever came by and I’ve never seen any of the neighbors. He always ordered food to be delivered, but I didn’t answer the door.”
“You’re going to have to call someone. Whatever it is you humans do in these situations. Don’t tell them you lived here, just that you found him or something. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Kohen hesitated and then turned to walk towards the phone on the end table by the couch they’d been sitting on. “But, shouldn’t I wait till we’re ready to leave. We can’t be here when they come after all.”
Choal groaned as he mentally slapped himself in the head. He should have thought of that, but he wasn’t used to the rules and laws and other shit humans lived by. They made everything so fucking complicated. “We’ll wait then, you’re right. Do you have your stuff together? I don’t know where we’re going or how we’ll get there. But we’ll have to leave as soon as Shayde gets back, okay?”
Kohen nodded and moved to sit on the couch again, “We could walk down to the corner market and call for a ride. There’s an app you can put on your phone to do it. Why can’t you just flash or teleport or whatever it is you guys did before? Wouldn't that be easiest?”
“Because we don’t know what that would do to you. I’ve never tried to take anything but a soul before.” Choal frowned as he thought about it for a second. “Then again we could try, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“No way.” Kohen announced emphatically, “I saw that on TV once, the guys’ insides were on the outside.”
“TV, yeah cause they know what would happen.” Choal snorted in derision. “Besides you’re not human anyway. The worst thing it could do is make you a bit nauseous, maybe you’d vomit. But that’s all survivable, so it’s all good.”
Kohen rolled his eyes, “You don’t know what it would do. You said it yourself. You’re not going to convince me its safe now. What if my body shifted and when we got to our destination, my arm was coming out of my head or something?”
“Kid you’ve definitely watched too much television,” Choal smirked before continuing on. “But if that did happen, we could just keep ‘teleporting’ until you were somewhat normal and then we’d call it a day.”
“And you’re insane.”
Kohen slumped back on the couch and glared at Choal who went back to pacing and muttering about Shayde being gone.
“You do know it’s been like five hours. I’m hungry and isn’t Jimmy going to start to smell soon?”
Choal froze mid-step and gaped at Kohen, “What do you mean smell?”
“On TV when a body is found, they always talk about how bad it smells, and some of the cops throw up and stuff,” Kohen explained patiently. “You really are out of touch aren’t you?”
“I’m a psychopomp, not human. I don’t live in this world, so yeah I kinda am.” Choal grumbled as bit his lip in indecision. “Shit, fucking hell, okay, grab your stuff. We’ll find a diner or someplace to wait for Shayde.”
Kohen blew out a breath in annoyance, “Do you have any money? And how will he know where to find us?”
“I’ll call him and tell him, of course. And what do I need money for?”
“Why haven’t you called him instead of pacing the house for the last few hours then? Man, what is wrong with you?”
Choal opened his mouth to refute and then closed it as he realized the kid was right. Why hadn’t he called to check in before now? Technology wasn’t their forte, but even psychopomps had mastered the use of a cell phone.
“And how can you sit at the diner as you called it without ordering food or at least a coffee. You have to have money to pay for it and I sure don’t have any.”
“Son of a whoremonger.” Choal cursed, “Stop making this harder damn it. Grab your shit, call the authorities and I’ll call Shayde. Then we’ll head down the street and find someplace to hang out where it’s safe to wait for him. Does that work?”
“Sure,” Kohen hollered as he jumped up and raced out of the room. “I’ll call the cops and then we can hide from them.”
“What... no…” Shit. “What a role model I’m turning out to be.” He mumbled as he pulled out his p
hone to make the call to his errant best friend.
Chapter Three
Shayde
Shayde frowned at his phone as he slowly hung up after listening to his voicemail message from Choal. What in the hell happened in the last few hours that had resulted in that call?
“You off?”
Shayde glanced over his shoulder to see one of his bosses standing there. It was odd, to say the least, but then again what he’d come to them with was stretching their known boundaries anyway. So, maybe it wasn’t that farfetched for Lennox to be checking in.
“Yeah, just grabbed some stuff for both of us. One of us will be back to get more if we need it.” Shayde hesitated before turning to face Lennox full-on. “I … uh…” Shayde huffed out a laugh, “I don’t know. I guess I’m just freaking out a bit here.”
“I get that.” Lennox moved closer and placed a hand on Shaydes shoulder. “You guys will be fine. But if you need anything…” He offered a small business card. “This is my private line, call and I'll do what I can for you guys.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that more than you know.”
Lennox smirked as he stepped back, “you're one of my best. I need you back here, so I have a bit of an ulterior motive.”
Shayde smiled, “Thanks, boss.” he picked up the bags, nodded to his boss, and flashed out to find his best friend and their new responsibility. As the human world came back into focus, Shayde stared in confusion at the scene before him. No way was this the place, Choal and Kohen had holed up. He dropped the bags and pulled out his phone, dialed, and waited. The chirping from within the shadowed park proved he was at the right place.
“You here?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t sure it was the right place. Why would you come here to hide?”
“It’s deserted and safe. Seemed like a good idea when Kohen suggested it. Why? Is it not? What’s wrong with being here?”
Shayde groaned as he hung up the phone and stalked through the gates of the playground the two idiots were taking refuge in. No matter how many times he begged Choal to spend more time in this realm or at least to watch TV, the pain in the ass found an excuse not to.
