She Smells the Dead

by E.J. Stevens

  Once inside, the tent was large and roomy with plenty of room to stand. Calvin followed me in with Simon entering last. Before Simon closed the tent flap he said something to someone outside who then moved to sit by the opening.

  “We won’t be disturbed now,” Simon said with a wink.

  I looked over at Cal but he just shrugged. Simon was behaving like the biggest flirt on the planet, but if it didn’t bother Calvin then I wouldn’t let it trouble me either.

  Cal and I sat lotus style with our legs crossed, though it admittedly wasn’t the most comfortable position in my boots. Simon readied a few things around the tent then sat across from us. He closed his eyes and when he looked at us again it was as though a completely different person sat across from us. Now that’s not creepy or anything. I shivered involuntarily and Cal gripped my hand with a reassuring squeeze. Simon cocked his head to the side as though listening for something, all the while looking at me intently, and then he sniffed the air around me. He was sniffing me? Apparently satisfied with what he sensed, Simon then closed his eyes. When he opened them again a moment later he was back to his annoyingly charming self.

  “Simon is very in tune with his wolf spirit,” Calvin said, filling me in on the strange behavior. “He can let his wolf come to the surface, and yet retain his own form and sense of self, even now so far from the full moon.” I realized that Cal’s voice held a touch of awe.

  “Aye love, my wolf came out to play,” Simon said smiling his lopsided grin, “He says hello by the way.” Simon said the last with another wink.

  This was all too weird. Here I was sitting with Calvin and his playboy mentor and I was getting more confused by the second. I was wishing I had stayed outside with the kids my own age.

  “You can lay off the theatrics Simon,” Calvin said somewhat protectively.

  He obviously respected his teacher but Simon’s manner towards me was beginning to cross a line and I so did not want to be around to watch these two fight it out.

  “So uh, how did you learn to do that?” I asked hoping to avoid any death and destruction on this camping trip.

  It was the right thing to ask. Simon suddenly seemed to mellow and Cal relaxed.

  “That’s why you’re here little scarab,” Simon said. “I have been teaching Calvin how to communicate with his wolf and now I will try to help you as well.”

  Simon was much easier to deal with in teacher mode. I wondered how he could have so much wisdom, since he wasn’t really all that old. He looked like he was probably in his late thirties or early forties.

  As though reading my thoughts, Cal said, “Simon is unusual among our kind. He was born with full awareness of his wolf spirit. Because of this he learned to communicate with his wolf at a very young age and carries more wisdom than most of our elders.”

  It did explain a lot. There was something slightly off about Simon. It was hard to put a finger on, but being born possessed by a wolf spirit could make anyone a bit unhinged.

  Simon smiled his lopsided grin and slapped Cal on the leg. “Don’t go giving all my secrets away to the ladies. I need to hold something back to impress them with later.” Wait for it. Simon winked at me, again.

  I was hoping that we would get on with the teaching because my patience was running out. If Simon wasn’t going to share his knowledge, then I was leaving and he could go pretend to be some other poor girl’s dream beast. I was about to leave when Simon laughed.

  “This one needs to learn patience,” he said looking over at Calvin, “or the spirits of the dead will consume her. If she rushes into things, she might as well run into the light now and get it over with.”

  I wasn’t sure if Simon was attempting to goad Calvin or reprimand me. He was doing a good job of both. Cal let a low growl rumble in the back of his throat but he didn’t move. I settled back on the ground and tried to use my yoga breathing to calm down. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts. Maybe Simon was right. I was acting reckless and my calming attempts weren’t really working. I still wanted to slap him. It was then that it occurred to me that he may have planned this from the start. Was this all an act to provoke me into losing my cool? You won’t break me that easily old man.

  Chapter 30

  The rest of Wolf Camp was a blur of mental exercises with Simon, physical exercise with the other wolf kids, art therapy to help recapture elusive dream messages, and rare moments alone with Cal. I was learning so much information that my head was spinning, though that may also have been from lack of food. These people didn’t seem to eat vegetables and I hadn’t thought to bring my own provisions. After the first day of eating ketchup and mustard on otherwise empty burger buns, I decided to go on a fasting diet. Simon had mentioned that sometimes fasting would help to clear the mind and open oneself to communing with spirit. After half a day of drinking only water, I was beginning to think it was another one of his ways to torture me into losing my temper. I suspected that the only communing with spirit that actually took place was inside someone’s food deprived hallucination.

  I was beginning to consider making a break for it when Calvin came up behind me with an armload of fruit. He had apples, a pear, and a few green bananas, but to me he might as well have been carrying bars of gold.

  “You’re a god!” I exclaimed as he tossed me one of the apples.

  “Thought you might like something other than bread and condiments,” he chuckled.

  “Hey, don’t knock the condiments,” I said and laughed. “Where did you score all of this?” I asked wondering if there was some secret hidden supermarket in the woods.

  “I scavenged it off some of the older folks,” Calvin replied. Then he laughed. “I traded them for some steaks I brought with me,” Cal said. “Sorry, I didn’t think to bring all this myself.”

  I was too busy eating my second apple to reply, so I nodded instead. All is forgiven.

  “We’ll be heading back late tonight, so I told Simon he could have you for a few more hours.” Looking at my sudden frown Cal added, “Sorry.”

  I knew Simon was trying to teach me how to control my powers, and how to call on Cal’s wolf spirit for protection, but his teaching style left a lot to be desired.

  “I know Simon can be a huge pain, but he’s actually worried about you,” Calvin said.

  Worried about me? Since when? This was news to me and I stopped crunching on my apple so I wouldn’t miss anything.

  “Simon and I were working on my attempts to talk to my wolf spirit again, but I’m still having trouble. It’s so alien, you know?” Cal said.

  Yeah, I did know. It was hard too. Really, really hard.

  “Well, Simon got really frustrated because he said that one of us needs to learn this quick before Samhain,” Cal said looking scared.

  Samhain? Did he mean Halloween?

  “Simon said that we need to try harder or we won’t be prepared,” Calvin was looking really distressed now. “He said that since your powers awakened you have only had to deal with one, maybe two, ghosts haunting you at a time. But on certain nights of the year the world is flooded with ghosts,” Cal said.

  He wasn’t the only one becoming freaked out. I knew that I had a lot to learn about spirits, and my power to sense them, but I had never considered having to face multiple ghosts at once. It was a terrifying thought. I set my apple down no longer feeling hungry.

  “Cal, this sounds bad. Really, really bad,” I said.

  “Yeah, Simon is insistent that you focus on your training. He says that the next time the veil between worlds thins will be on Samhain,” Calvin said, “which only gives us a little over a month to prepare.”

  It wasn’t enough time. How could we possibly be ready in one month?

  “Can the others help?” I asked. I tried to picture all the people in the camp lending their wolf spirits to fight off the spirits of the dead. It might work.

  “No,” Cal choked out, “They aren’t bonded to you like I am. The only one with enou
gh control to lend his wolf to the fight is Simon.”

  Great, I was going to be protected by a wolf spirit that neither Calvin nor I could yet speak to and the wolf spirit of a flirty psycho dude. I was so dead.

  “You’re panicking aren’t you?” Cal asked.

  “What? Me panic?” I asked trying for levity, “No way, not me.” I didn’t sound convincing.

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you or not,” Cal said. “I was afraid that telling you would make you worry, but that not telling you would mean you’d be unprepared.”

  I was standing here on a road with no roadmap. Or maybe it was with a map and no road. Either way I felt lost.

  “I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” Calvin said, “We’re in this together.”

  Together. The word gave me strength and as Cal reached out and held me in his arms I held out hope that we could keep each other safe. Go team.

  Chapter 31

  Agreeing to give up my weekends to train with Calvin and Simon was easy, but getting my parent’s consent was another thing. I couldn’t exactly explain that thousands of ghosts, hungry for a haunting, were going to come drive me insane next month. There was no way that I could just casually drop the bomb at the dinner table saying, “Hey Mom and Dad, I smell dead people.” I was so not ready for the big reveal. With my luck my parents would have me locked away in a psych ward, where the spirits of the dead could come terrorize me in a locked room. No. I couldn’t tell my parents the truth, so we had to come up with a believable lie.

  We created a new identity for Simon that would garner my parent’s trust and a reason for us to be hanging out with him. Calvin claimed that Simon was his uncle who was staying at his parent’s house temporarily. We fibbed that Simon was fixing up his camp, but that it needed to be winterized before he could move in. I added that Simon was having marital troubles, which was why he had moved here out of the blue. It was worth adding that tidbit to see the look of horror on Simon’s face. He covered it well, but I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me for telling my parents that he had been married. Oh the horror.

  In the end they finally agreed. I think Calvin was the deciding factor. My mom adored him and didn’t seem to think him capable of a lie. Simon was also very believable as a sudden bachelor on the ropes. His five o’clock shadow at all hours of the day and night and his roguish personality lent credence to our story.

  “That poor woman,” my mom said one day, “I can’t imagine anyone being married to that man.”

  I had to bite my lip to stifle a laugh.

  Chapter 32

  Returning to school also held its challenges. Emma wanted to know all about my weekend with Cal, but I had to censor everything relating to his wolf spirit which made conversation difficult. I could tell that Emma thought I was holding back. Hopefully she just thought I was shy about sharing details about me and Calvin.

  “So did you two get cozy while camping?” Emma asked trying again for details.

  It was the end of the school day and I had managed to avoid most of her questions at lunch by pointing out the new flyers for the homecoming dance. So much for keeping her distracted.

  “Did you two share a tent?” Emma asked eagerly.

  “No, we did not share a tent,” I answered, “though we did kiss a few times.”

  “Yuki, what were you thinking? You should have shared a tent with Calvin. This was your big chance to bring out his protective side. You two could have cuddled together while he protected you from the scary monsters outside the tent,” Emma insisted.

  Protect me from scary monsters outside the tent? She really had no idea.

  “Maybe next time,” I said noncommittally while shrugging my shoulders. “It’s not like the only time we’ll ever go to Wo… Woods Camp,” I stuttered. Crap. That was close. I was going to have to be more careful around Emma. I nearly let the wolf out of the bag.

  “Well, are you guys going to try that séance thing again?” Emma asked, “I could come over after school today.” She looked hopeful but I quickly dashed the idea.

  “Sorry, I’m still having those headaches,” I answered lamely, “and I promised Cal I wouldn’t try the Ouija board again until I was at full strength.”

  “Oh hon, I didn’t know you were still having those,” Emma said, “I have a really good recipe for headache ease tea.” Emma grabbed her books from her locker, looking thoughtful. “It tastes horrible,” she admitted, “but it really works. I’ll bring some over after dinner tonight.”

  Right then the last bell rang and we started to head towards the parking lot exit.

  “Promise to drink it if I brew some up?” Emma asked.

  “O.k. but it better not taste like that Echinacea tincture you made me try last month,” I said with a shudder, “that stuff was pure evil.”

  At the time, Emma had told me to drink the Echinacea tincture to avoid coming down with an end of the summer cold. I’d rather get sick.

  “You’re right. That one left me feeling like I had fur on my tongue,” Emma admitted. “Which would be a shame if you and Calvin were kissing.” She said the last with a wink and headed to her car.

  I was so not looking forward to drinking her tea. I was beginning to rethink sharing our wolf secret with Emma. I felt bad keeping something from my best friend. Calvin was having trouble keeping the truth from Emma as well. Neither one of us was good at telling lies. It would be easier if we didn’t have to sneak around behind her back. Plus, then I wouldn’t have to drink her tea.

  Chapter 33

  At the end of the school week, Calvin and I drove to his dad’s workshop where we had planned to meet Simon. Calvin had been working with Simon every day after school, but I hadn’t seen Simon since Wolf Camp. I was nervous about seeing him again. There was something about Simon that made me uncomfortable. He was just so wild around the edges. I had witnessed some wolfish behavior around some of the others at camp, but with Simon I always felt like his wolf spirit was waiting just below the surface. More than once I glanced at Simon from the corner of my eye and could have sworn I saw a huge silver wolf over his shoulder. When I would try to look directly at it, the wolf would disappear. I never knew for sure if it was just my imagination, but it made me feel like someone else was in the room with us, watching me. It kind of gave me the creeps.

  I drew strength from Calvin, and holding hands, we entered the cabin. It hadn’t changed much since I had last visited. Simon obviously didn’t have plans on staying here once our training was finished. Fine by me.

  Simon, not getting up, waved us to sit. “Ah, my favorite spirit touched girl,” Simon said with a flourish, “come to bring the light into the darkness of my day.”

  He was trying to be charming, but Simon’s words struck too close to what I had been told about my duty to help lost souls find light in the darkness. I immediately thought of Jackson’s ghost no doubt hovering nearby. I will help you find the river of light Jackson. I promise.

  “Can I offer you the last bite?” Simon asked.

  I looked down to realize he had been eating when we arrived. Exactly what he was eating I didn’t want to know. Whatever he was eating, it was bloody and therefore very, very disgusting. Simon knew I was a vegetarian, so I had to wonder if this was just another one of his tests. He seemed to enjoy making me uncomfortable.

  “Which one of you is eating that anyway, you or your wolf?” I asked.

  I hadn’t meant to sound so bold and I realized belatedly that it was actually a pretty rude thing to ask. Simon didn’t look bothered by the question. He was probably expecting it and I walked right into his trap. I was beginning to get a headache. Verbal sparring with Simon always seemed to give me a headache. I might have to drink Emma’s headache ease tea again. No, not that. Anything but that.

  Eating that last bite of meat, Simon licked his bloody lips. He hesitated at the edge of his mouth where the corner of his lip was bisected by his scar. Then he slowly licked the shiny skin and smiled
at me. The act was both sensual and disgusting. Leave it to Simon to find another reason for me to never eat meat. I felt my stomach churn and hoped I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being sick. Deep breaths Yuki.

  Setting his dish aside, Simon rested his elbows on the table and became very still, as though he was paying attention to something that only he could hear.

  “Calvin’s wolf spirit says that you are most open in your dreams, but he hasn’t been able to contact you in the waking world,” Simon said.

  I nodded wondering what else Cal’s wolf spirit was telling him.

  “He also says that in time he will become your shield and Calvin will be the sword that you wield against the darkness,” Simon said. “Together, you will be the flame to lead the lost souls to the light. But first you must listen to your teacher.” I wondered if Simon added that last bit himself.

  “What do I need to do?” I asked. I hadn’t pictured myself as a warrior before, but the image was definitely cool. Scary but cool.

  “First you must become one with the land. You must learn to reach out and feel the earth and nurture its children,” Simon said grandly.

  That sounded very cool.

  “Your first lesson begins with these,” Simon said, and handed me a packet of seeds.

  I looked back at him blankly. “Seeds?” I managed to ask. I was totally confused.

  “Come this way,” Simon said, standing and walking to the door.

  Calvin and I followed him outside behind the cabin. I looked over at Cal, but he looked just as confused as I did. What was I getting myself into?

  Chapter 34

  “Here is your first task,” Simon said, “to work the land and nurture the life of the seeds in your hand.” Simon waved his hand over a brown patch of dirt behind the cabin.

  He wanted me to plant a garden? He had to be kidding.