by Mac Flynn
"Maybe they gained an immunity to the scent like I did to wolf's bane," he suggested.
"Is the danger in town so great that you all insulate yourselves from poison?" Mirela spoke up from behind us.
Orion glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "And you're going to tell us you don't?"
Mirela turned up her nose and averted her eyes from ours. "It is a precaution against those of the town."
He snorted. "Then it looks like your guards forgot to take their hawthorn vitamins tonight."
She glared at him. "We wouldn't need such precautions if your fellow citizens weren't so intent on breaking our pact."
Orion stopped and turned to her. "Not everyone outside your camp is out to get you."
I stepped between them and held one of my hands up in front of each of them. "Stop arguing or I swear I'll turn this group back around." They both frowned but quieted. I glanced from one to the other. "We have a trail to follow and a thief to catch, now let's do it before the guy inside of me decides to break loose some ghost moves."
Mirela started and blinked at me. "A man inside of you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, there's the ghost of a murdered guy inside of me. Why?"
Her eyes widened and her words came out in a strangled whisper. "No man shall be allowed to pass the gates nor enter the tomb."
I raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
She reached into her coat and pulled out her mortar and a packet of powder. "Those are the rules of the burial grounds, and punishment must be meted out."
I stepped back away from her and bumped against Orion's chest. He pulled me behind him and frowned at her. "What exactly is the punishment?"
She poured the powder into the bowl. "It is death to the violator."
I frowned and wrinkled my nose. "But technically he's already dead."
Mirela paused and furrowed her brow. "So he is." She glanced down at her powder. "But someone must be punished."
I cringed. "How about you save that for whoever broke into the boulder and punish them double-time for the double break."
She blinked at me. "'Double-time?'"
I nodded. "Yeah, you know, kill them, cast life on them and kill them again. That kind of stuff."
She frowned and tucked the bowl back into her coat. "We do not revive the dead."
I slipped out from behind Orion. "Good because that's creepy, and we're wasting time." I turned to Orion and looked past him. "How far does this trail go?"
He glanced over his shoulder and pursed his lips. "All the way to town."
"But the scent doesn't go as far as that," Mirela spoke up.
Orion grinned. "We'll see. Come on."
We continued on our hunt. The scent of hawthorn wandered for a few miles until we were within two miles of the town. I jogged into a wide spot on the trail and stopped. Mirela nearly tumbled into me.
"Why did you stop?" she questioned me.
I lifted my nose and frowned. "I don't smell it anymore. The hawthorn."
Mirela mimicked me and looked around. "This is where my hunters lost the trail."
Orion walked around the perimeter of the clearing. "Whoever we're following knows their scents, but their trail's still here. I can smell it." He crouched beside an overturned, rotten log and brushed aside some leaves. His face darkened. "Mirela."
She and I walked over and stood on either side of him. Mirela's eyes widened. "My god."
Buried among the stench of the rotten leaves was a mummified face of a wizened old woman. Mirela fell to her knees and brushed away more fallen foliage to reveal the upper body.
I glanced at Orion. "Well, there's one body. Anybody smell another one?"
Orion shook his head. "No, but is that cold feeling inside you telling you anything?"
I shook my head. "Nope, except that I need a thicker-" A whisper of a breeze blew over us and forced me to pause. I furrowed my brow as my ears caught a few faint, wispy words.
"The cemetery."
I blinked. "Um, did you guys just here that?"
Orion frowned and shook his head. "No, what?"
"Like a voice telling us to go to a cemetery."
Mirela stood. Her eyes were an illuminated green and her lips were pressed so tightly together they were white. "We will not return there until the punishment for this sacrilege has been performed."
Orion stood and furrowed his brow. "I don't think that's the cemetery the voice would be talking about. The pact with the cemetery hasn't been broken until tonight."
I frowned. "Hasn't been broken until tonight."
Orion and my eyes widened at the same time, and we whipped our heads around to face each other. "It's a distraction!"
"Only something this big would get us off the trail!" Orion added.
"And it's the same crime as stealing the skeleton so somebody would think it's someone stealing bodies!" I added.
Mirela glanced from one of us to the other and arched an eyebrow. "Of what are you two speaking?"
"We're speaking of murder, my dear Mirela," I told her. "Murder, deception, and desecration."
She narrowed her eyes. "Do not refer to me like that again."
"Fair enough," I replied. I turned to Orion. "We need to get to the old cemetery."
He nodded, and we took off for the cemetery with Mirela following behind us. By the time we reached the edge of the woods and the beginning of town my chest ached with cold. I stumbled from the trees onto the new cemetery around the church and clutched my flesh over my heart.
Orion stopped beside me and grasped my shoulders. "We need to get you to Bentley's house."
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. "I'm. . .I'm fine," I gasped.
Mirela walked up on my other side and studied my face. "The man may be correct this one time. You are as pale as death."
A piercing cold throbbed in my chest. I cried out and stumbled forward. Orion caught me before I fell and swept me into his arms. "I'm at least taking you to Bertha," he insisted.
I was in no condition to argue as he rushed through the graves to the tiny cottage. The little house was decorated like it was a long-forgotten addition to the cemetery. Everything was covered in dead vines and cobwebs. The windows had cracks created with stickers on their panes, and the front door was replaced by a half-rotten, peeling-paint one. The windows were dark and no smoke rose from the chimney.
A group of trick-or-treaters scampered away, their bags loaded with candy. Orion hurried to the door and banged his fist on the entrance. The door flung open and a gargoyle jumped out.
"Boo!" it cried.
"Not now!" Orion shouted as he shoved his way past the gargoyle.
The gargoyle pulled up his mask and revealed himself as Preacher Aude. "What are you doing! You can't barge in here!"
Aude made to shut the door, but Mirela slammed her palm on the entrance and slid inside. "I will not be lost so easily," she commented.
Bertha hurried from the parlor and her eyes widened. "Orion? What's the matter?" Her gaze fell on me and Orion and she met halfway across the house. "Is she all right?"
Orion shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it's the spirit."
Bertha laid her hands on my arm. My body jumped and the world around me vanished. In its place was a different, darker one. This world was faded, old. It was like being inside one of those old black-and-white movies.
I stood in the middle of the old cemetery. There were fewer grave markers, and the stones were free of vines and weeds. The sky above me was dark with clouds and the shadows of night crept over every stone and blade of grass.
Movement caught my eye. I turned to my left. The dark figure of a man moved among the tombstones. His feet carried him toward the large willow tree at the rear of the cemetery.
I followed him. I couldn't help myself. Something demanded I watch this scene play out. My feet didn't make a sound, but his footsteps were muffled by the thick bed of trees. I stopped at the last tombstone before the small gulf between tree and tomb and lay my h
and on its top.
The young man came to the willow and stood before its large trunk. He looked left and right, and in doing so I was able to recognize the face of William Mallory. His lips were pursed and his brow furrowed.
"Bertha? Are you here?" he called out. He set his hand against the tree and peeked around one side. "Are you-" He stiffened and swung around. His hand grabbed something from his neck. He stared down at a small, thin object with red feathers at the back. "What the-" He swooned and clutched his head.
Bill stumbled forward, but his dragging feet tripped over the uneven ground. He collapsed face-first onto the ground and lay still.
"Bill?"
I spun around. Bertha in all her years stood one tombstone behind me. Her shaking hands covered her mouth and her eyes were wide with horror. She slowly shook her head as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Bill!" Bertha rushed past me. I reached out and grabbed her arm. She twisted and tugged. "Let me go! He needs me!"
I grabbed her shoulders and turned her so we faced each other. I shook her hard. "This is in the past! There's nothing you can do for him!"
A heart-wrenching sob escaped her lips. Bertha's knees buckled and I lowered her to the ground. Her deep, shaking sobs echoed around us as the world of the past faded into darkness. I glanced up one last time at the body of William Mallory. My eyes widened as I beheld a small form kneel beside him and remove the object from Bill's hand. I couldn't see their face, but their hair was parted in the middle.
Then the world went black. Bertha's heavy body disappeared. I flailed around as a suffocating darkness nearly overwhelmed me. Each breath was a struggle, like slowly drowning without knowing which way was up or down.
"Trixie!"
My eyes flew open and I gasped. My back arched and I whipped my head from left to right still fighting that infinite darkness. Someone pinned my arms to my sides.
"Trix! It's Orion!" the figure over me shouted.
My eyes came into focus. I lay on the couch in Bertha's parlor. My hostess herself sat in a chair opposite me. Her shoulders shook with her sobs. At her side was her husband who held her as she cried into his gargoyle costume.
Over me hovered Orion, and behind him was Mirela with a concerned expression on her face.
I took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "I know who killed William Mallory."
CHAPTER 22
The whole room quieted. Bertha raised her head. Her cheeks were stained with tears. "Who was it that killed him so cruelly?"
Her husband shook his head. "There'll be no more excitement for you tonight. Watch you go into that trance was terrible enough a shock for both of us."
Bertha gently pushed aside his hands and stood so she faced me. Her voice was loud and steady. "Who killed him?"
I pursed my lips. "It was Mike Leto."
Bertha's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Mike? But why?"
I shook my head. "I don't know, but I know it's him. I'd recognize that ugly parted hair anywhere."
Aude frowned. "What does parted hair have to do with murder?"
I nodded at Bertha. "We both saw it when she touched me. It was some sort of a vision about the past. We watched somebody murder William Mallory, and that someone had hair parted down the middle."
Bertha lowered herself onto her seat and shook her head. "But I just don't understand how he could do that."
Orion furrowed his brow and his eyes flickered to me. "As the son of pharmacist he would've know a lot about drugs and had access to them, including hawthorn. He also told me he was a crack-shot at blow darts when he was younger."
Mirela stiffened and her eyes narrowed. "Then he is the one who desecrated our tomb?"
Bertha pursed her lips. "To desecrate a tomb is one thing, but to murder Bill? They never argued once!"
Mirela turned her nose up and sniffed. "Men have murdered for nothing before."
Aude set his hands on Bertha's shoulders and stood straight. His severe gaze swept over us. "This is a serious charge, and such a charge involves more proof than a vision, even within Apple Hollow."
I froze and my heart quickened. "I think I know where we can find that proof."
The five of us piled into Aude's old station wagon and drove to the main street. The night's festivities had resumed after Mirela's attempted bonfire of the populace. We parked one block down beside Orion's car and I led the gang to the corner where sat Leto's drug store. The blinds were down and the lights off. A folding lawn chair sat outside and to the right of the door. It was empty.
"Damn it!" I muttered. The others came up behind me.
"What are we supposed to be seeing here?" Aude asked me.
"The perfect hiding spot," I commented as I spun around and looked over the main street. There was no sign of the 'prop' or Leto. "Leto hid Bill's body in plain sight."
Orion frowned. "You mean the pirate skeleton?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I got a cold chill earlier standing next to that thing. I thought it was just seeing Mirela give orders to light everyone on fire, but it must've been because that was Bill's body."
"But where is it now? And where's Mike?" Bertha spoke up.
I glanced at Orion. He pursed his lips and nodded. "The old cemetery."
"If any of this is true then the police need to be called," Aude suggested.
I frowned. "Then we'd-ahh!" I clutched my chest as a burning cold struck me.
My legs buckled, but Orion caught me before to the sidewalk. "We need to get you to Bentley," he told me.
I steadied myself and shook my head. "No, there's-" I grimaced as another wave of cold pain hit me. There came a ringing in my ears like the din of an echoing voice screaming over a vast void. "I think. . .I think Bill's trying to tell me there's something wrong. We need to get to that cemetery. Now."
Aude grasped Bertha's shoulders. "We'll get the police."
Bertha pulled herself from his hold and turned to him. She clasped his hands and smiled up at him. "I need to go with them, Connor."
"And we need to go fast!" I spoke up.
Aude pursed his lips, but nodded. He rushed to the police station and we to Orion's gallant steed. The four of us squeezed inside.
Mirela sneered at the messy interior. "A wagon full of horse manure would be more comfortable."
I glanced out the window at the darkening night sky. "I think we're about to get into deep enough shit."
Bertha sat in the front passenger seat and glanced over her shoulder at me. "What is Bill telling you?"
I shook my aching head. "I can't tell. His voice sounds far away, but the tone doesn't sound good."
"If this fiend is as destructive to this spirit's body as he was to the tomb of my ancestress than there is a great deal to worry about," Mirela spoke up.
I glanced at her and arched an eyebrow. "I'm not too familiar with spirit lore. Can you bring me up to speed?"
She pursed her lips. "A spirit can be violated physically or spiritually. Only those with the second sight can touch their spirit form."
My eyes widened. "Which means someone like Leto would need to touch a ghost physically. Like with his body."
Mirela nodded. "Yes, and the complete, violent destruction of the corpse would be like a second death. It is a very painful ordeal for spirits and has been known to permanently destroy the soul, confining them to Purgatory forever."
Bertha whipped her head to Orion. "Hurry, Orion!"
Orion drove down the deserted country road and bumped onto the old ruts of the cemetery way. We approached the massive metal gate and Orion shut off the car ten yards short of the entrance.
He turned in his seat to face the three of us. "Now don't do anything stupid-" Bertha opened her door and flung herself out. "Like that!"
We rushed out of the car and hurried after Bertha. She led us on a merry chase to the old willow tree, but stopped twenty feet short of the wizened old trunk.
A dozen lit pumpkin-spice candles circled the ground around the trunk. A half do
zen small bungee cords were wrapped around the tree, and pinned between cord and trunk was the skeleton of William Mallory.
Bertha covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head. "Bill!"
A figure stepped around one side of the tree. In their hand was a blow gun. I frowned as I recognized the parted hair.
Leto stepped from the shadows of the tree and glared at us. "I never wanted to get any of you involved. You brought this on yourself."
"Mike!" Bertha shouted. She took a step forward and gestured to the skeleton. "How could you do this? How could you do any of this?"
Leto's face softened as his eyes fell on Bertha. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "All I ever wanted was you, Bertha. I loved everything about you." His face hardened and his hand that held the gun shook. "Then that interloper from the outside came. He was something new, something that dazzled you." His eyes flew open and fell on me. A sneer slid onto his lips. "Like you. Outsiders ruin everything. Even the Halloween costumes."
I glared back at him. "That's a little below-the-belt, even for a murderer."
He scoffed. "Isn't everything fair in love and war? Doesn't anything go in the battle for love?"
"But he was your friend!" Bertha shouted. She pressed her hand against her chest. "I was your friend!"
Leto shook his head. "No, you were something more than that. You were my life, and when he took your affection he took my life, so I took his."
Mirela folded her arms across her chest and sneered at him. "This is all because you were too pathetic to win the woman you loved?"
Leto frowned. "I was then, but I'm not now." He turned to face the tree and raised the blow gun to his lips. A dart flew from the barrel and stuck in the forehead of the skull.
It felt like somebody drilled a screw into my head. I cried out and clutched my palm against my forehead. Orion held me up as Bertha looked from me to Leto. "Can't you see you're hurting more than just Bill!"
Leto scoffed. "He can come out of her, he's just too much of a coward."
"Because he knows there is no other body he can possess except his own," Mirela spoke up. "All the others here would reject him in time."
A sly, cruel grin slid onto Leto's lips. "That's just what I'm counting on."
Leto shot another dart into the head. My legs buckled and Orion lowered me to the ground. He whipped his head up and snarled at Leto. "Stop it!"
Leto glared at him. "Do you hear that, Bill? It's time for me to finally be rid of you. Leave her and we'll end this."
