by Flynn, Mac
"But who would go where?" I asked him.
Simon nodded at our three strange companions. "You three will go to Sarpa and inform him of what has transpired, if his contacts haven't already informed him." He turned to me. "Trica expects me to play his game, and he no doubt is aware of your being my fledgling. That is a risk, so you will remain with me."
"And the Phantoms?" I reminded him.
Simon pursed his lips. "They have claimed one victim and lost one of their own. Their next attack may not come for some hours."
Maeve raised her hand. "I might be able to keep them away for longer than that."
Simon nodded. "Do so, and we will depart."
Dolf arched an eyebrow. "Wait a sec. We know where we're going, but how do you know where you're going?"
"You guessed the clue?" I suggested.
Simon held up the note. "Trica is not to be trusted, but he wishes for me to play his game, so he did not lie when he said the clue lay in the note."
"The Latin phrase?" Maeve guessed. Simon nodded. She furrowed her brow and tapped her chin with her long, black fingernails. "Where silence cloaks the ground? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means a graveyard," Specter spoke up. He floated over to us. "Since that's my specialty I'll come with you. You know, as your guiding spirit."
Simon nodded. "Then let us leave."
CHAPTER 6
Maeve grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bedroom. "Not before I've sprinkled some of my strong magic on Faith."
Dolf grinned and cupped his hand over his mouth. "Give her an extra rubbing for me!"
Maeve glared at him. "Keep your perverted thoughts to yourself!"
We marched through the door and into the other, less-occupied bedroom. Maeve sat me on the foot of the bed and stepped back. She cupped her chin in one hand and studied me. "Do you have any known allergies?"
I shrugged. "Not really."
"What about the usual vampire ones?"
"Um-" I raised my burned finger, "-I seem to have an aversion to silver."
Maeve sighed and rifled in her pants pockets. "Then we'll have to assume you have all the other ones."
I arched an eyebrow. "What are the other ones?"
She glanced down at herself. "You know. Hawthorn. Garlic. Sunlight. The usual-aha!" She pulled out a small paper packet from one pocket and smiled at it. "Here it is." She opened the flap. A pungent odor hit my nostrils.
I shrank from her as she approached me. "Could I read the ingredients before you do whatever you're going to do to me?"
She grinned and shook her head. "Believe me, you don't want to know. Now hold still. I just need to sprinkle this over you and say a few words." She dumped the dry, flaky contents onto my head and stuffed the packet back into her pocket. The witch closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and waved her palm over my head. "By the powers of Death heed my plea, make this mortal immune to thee." She backed up and smiled. "That should do it."
I patted my head and winced when my fingers came into contact with the dry powder. "So am I really immune to death?"
She snorted and pulled my hand away. "Of course not. His messengers just won't like that stinky stuff I spilled on you and stay away. That is, as long as you don't wipe it off or get caught in a rainstorm."
I stood and dropped my hands to my sides. "Thanks. I think."
Maeve smiled and set her hand on the lower part of my back. "Don't mention it," she commented as she led me to the door.
We stepped outside. The men, if they could be called that, waited for us around the coffee table.
Maeve gave me a gentle push in Simon's direction. "I've given her some protection, but I'd still watch my backs if I were you. These Phantoms are probably pretty ticked Certus destroyed one of their own and they might get rough now."
I whipped my head to her. "Like how rough?"
Simon set his hand on my shoulder and bowed his head to her. "I will remember your warning." He smiled down at me. "Shall we go?"
I cringed. "I guess."
Simon led our two groups from the compromised penthouse and down to the parking garage. We took his sporty black car while Maeve and Dolf took the limo. The traffic flowed by our small car and the lights flickered past the darkly-tinted windows. The world seemed so normal, and its normalcy felt so far away.
I glanced down at my pale hands. The tips of my fingers felt cold.
I glanced over at Simon. "So if Certus sort of survived his Phantom stabbing, what do you think would happen to me if they got a hold of me? Do you think I'd turn out in a death-coma, too?"
Simon shook his head. "No. You would enter a permanent state of death."
I frowned. "Why does he get an exception and I don't?"
Specter stuck his floating head between our seats. "Because you're human. Certus's body died a long time ago, so it doesn't mind being separated from his soul. Yours would probably break from the shock and not let your soul back in no matter how nicely you asked."
I slid down in my seat and crossed my arms. "Thanks for the good news."
Specter grinned and bowed his head. "Always happy to tell what I know. Speaking of that-" he glanced at Simon, "-what do you think is waiting for us at that cemetery?"
I arched an eyebrow. "Shouldn't it just be another clue?"
Specter snorted. "That was an easy riddle. Too easy."
I frowned. "I don't think so. It didn't even say the name of a cemetery. What if we're going to the wrong one?"
The ghost shook his head. "Nope. His group's got a favorite, and that's mine."
I studied his face. "How do you know?"
A dark expression slipped over Specter's illuminated face. "Because that's where one of them murdered me."
I felt the color drain from my own face. "Murdered? As in definitely dead?"
"It was pretty permanent," he quipped.
I furrowed my brow. "How do you know it was someone related to Trica?"
Specter floated backward onto the rear seat. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the front windshield. "I went to the cemetery a decade ago to meet someone. They never showed, but a vampire did. He asked me what I knew about Trica." He scoffed. "The idiot didn't believe me until Trica's own vampires found us. The vampires destroyed him and chose to bury my body in the cemetery."
I wrinkled my nose. "But why did they kill you?"
"It was punishment for learning about the paranormal world," he explained. He lifted his transparent hands and turned them over. A bitter smile slipped onto his lips. "Now I'm a part of it." He dropped his arms to his sides and shrugged. "Now you've heard my spirit sob story, but I still want to know what Simon thinks they're planning at my old haunt."
Simon's sly smile played across his lips. "We shall see."
I glared at both of them. "You two are getting way too much pleasure out of our possibly-guaranteed demise."
Simon chuckled. "You have too little faith in our abilities."
I arched an eyebrow. "Maybe I'm just a little tired after getting chased around by Death's messenger boys."
Specter floated between us and grinned. "Could be worse. You could be dead."
I shrank down in my seat. "Comforting. . ."
We reached the cemetery along the river. Simon stopped the car at the abandoned house and stepped out. Specter and I followed. Simon led us around the side of the old house and in full view of the arched entrance to the forgotten land. The glittering night sky cast shadows over the tall headstones of the ancient burial grounds.
Specter floated in front of us and faced the graveyard. His transparency meant we could see him frown. "Something's not quite right here. I can feel it in my bones."
I looked him up and down. "Maybe it's just you having an identity crisis."
He shook his head and floated a few feet closer to the graveyard. "No, I mean someone's messing with my bones!"
Specter dove into the graveyard. Simon grabbed my hand and pulled me after him. We kept up with the ghost as he fli
tted through the trees and headstones. He led us to the grave where we'd first found Maeve and him.
This time we weren't alone.
A dark figure stood hunched over the rear side of the tomb. Its form was smooth like unbroken shadows, and I could see some of the scenery through their black.
Specter stopped ten feet short of the tombstone. "Get away from there!"
The figure straightened and turned its face toward us. The creature was faceless but for a pair of red eyes and a dark spot for a gaping mouth full of sharp silver teeth. Its body was a shadow in the shape of a cloaked figure. The color was darker than that of Death's messengers, and the red eyes glowed like someone had stolen coals from hell. Its shadowed hands held pieces of white bone.
"Drop the bones!" Specter demanded.
The thing gave off a raspy chuckle. It held up the bones in one hand. "If you wish for the second clue, and your bones, then you must defeat me first."
Specter rolled up his astral sleeves. "No problem." He flew headlong at the creature.
Simon stretched out his hand. "Wait!"
The shadowed creature plucked one of the finger bones from the pile in its other hand and squeezed the thin bit of cartilage between its fingers. The fragile bone broke in half. Specter jerked to a stop and cradled his left hand. One of his fingers was bent at an impossible angle.
The creature chuckled. "Do you want to try again?"
Specter narrowed his eyes and flew at the thing. Again the creature took a bone, this time a knee bone, and crushed it in its hand. Specter cried out and crashed to the ground. He grimaced and clutched his right leg.
The creature laughed. "Shall we do it again?" He glanced at us and held out the bones. "Or would you like to have some fun?"
I shrank back from that horrible hand with its grisly pile. "What the hell is going on?"
"That is a Demon Phantom, a obscure shadow," Simon spoke up.
The creature chuckled. "Trica knew you would still know what I am, but do you know how to defeat me without destroying your friend?"
"Don't bother asking him," Specter spoke up. He clenched his teeth and floated off the ground. His leg hung limp beneath him and he pressed his left arm against his side. "You've got my bones, so you're my trouble."
The Demon Phantom looked him over. "You are not my prey, shade. You're only a puppet for both of us to use and discard."
I frowned and stepped forward. "That's not true! He's our friend!"
The Phantom sneered at me. "What a false word that is." His gaze fell on Simon. "Isn't it, Simon? Surely your life as a vampire has taught you that friends are a liability to be thrown away when they are no longer useful."
Simon's sly, crooked grin slipped onto his lips. "If I believe that than I wouldn't be here." He glanced at Specter. "The weather is rather too calm, don't you think?"
Specter looked over his shoulder and blinked for a moment before he copied Simon's grin. "You know, I think you're right. This dusty old place could use a good cleaning."
Simon wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his other hand flat against my head. "Hey, what are you doing!" I yelped as he pulled us backward away from the scene.
His glistening eyes smiled at Specter. "We mustn't interfere with Specter's fight."
The Phantom chuckled. "You don't care much about your friend if you abandon him to my fun."
Specter floated so he blocked the Phantom's view of us. "I've got a question before I start my own fun. You're not much more solid than me, are you?"
Our foe frowned. "If you think to harm me physically that is impossible. I can't be touched."
Specter grinned and nodded. "Thanks. That's just want I wanted to know."
CHAPTER 7
Specter flew, but not toward the Phantom. He flew to its right and circled it. Once. Twice. Three times. I started getting dizzy as he picked up speed. The Phantom whipped its head right and left trying to follow Specter as he flew faster and faster.
"What are you doing? You can't harm me!" it insisted.
"Hold onto your hood! I'll be ready in a sec!" Specter scolded him.
I winced as a rough wind blew off Specter's constant circling and hit me in the face. Simon's hand atop my head kept Maeve's dust from blowing off me as the leaves around us blew and swirled. I could barely make out Specter's white form as he morphed into a band of light.
The Phantom shrank closer to the ground and grasped its shadow hood with its free hand. "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Specter sped up. He was just a blur. The wind lifted all the leaves and created a vortex of autumn colors. The Phantom grabbed for one of Specter's bones, but a gust of wind shot out from the band and blew all the bones into its face. It sputtered and clawed at its face. The bones dropped to the ground and were picked up by the swirling cyclone of wind and ghost. They disappeared into the vortex.
Specter's haunting laugh echoed from the center of the cyclone. "Thanks for my body back. Now it's my turn to return the favor."
The top of the cyclone was open, but as we watched the sides of the band stretched upward into the shape of a cone. The stretched walls thinned enough so I could see bits and pieces of the interior.
It was the same thing for the Demon Phantom. The cone sucked everything upward, and the force of the pull yanked and pulled at its shadowy form. Its shoulders and head were stretched upward like someone pulling taffy. Its black hands grabbed the tombstone as its cloaked feet left the ground. The bottom hem of its outfit was yanked and pinched apart seam by black seam.
"Let go!" it shrieked. "Stop this!"
"Almost time for the finale!" Specter laughed.
The cyclone lifted higher into the air. The Phantom's hands slid off the tombstone. It was propelled into the center of the vortex where the twisting winds pulled apart its dark form piece by piece. The thing unraveled like a yarn of ragged wool. A long, final wail escaped its throat before that, too, was torn apart by Specter's tornado.
The whirlwind of ghostly creation slowed to a whimper. Specter's bones floated into the hole in the ground. The ghost himself appeared from his diminishing band and dropped from the sky to near the ground. His hand was fixed as was his leg, courtesy of a quick snap of what remained of his tornado to his bone joints before they dropped into the hole.
Our friendly ghost friend swayed side-to-side and clutched his head. "I've got to work on those brakes." He shook himself and floated over to us with a grin. "So what do you think?"
I blinked at him. "What the hell was that?"
He shrugged. "Oh, just a little something I call the Specter Spectacular Spectacle, but don't expect to see it too often. It's free only for the first showing." He glanced at Simon and winked. "Thanks for the tip. I wasn't sure the Spectacle would work on something that bad."
Simon smiled. "The creature wasn't worth my attentions."
Specter snorted. "Well, he wasn't very tough for me, either. Unraveled like a limp ball of spaghetti."
I looked around. "So if that guy's torn to shreds where do we find that next clue?"
Simon glanced up at the sky. "Your answer is even now floating down to us."
I followed his gaze and watched a scrap of black shadow float gently to the ground. Specter swept it up and carried it over to us.
"Looks like there's something writing on it," he commented as he handed the piece to Simon.
I glanced over Simon's shoulder and read the contents:
Dear Simon,
Congratulations on defeating the weakest of my minions. The clock ticks on, however, and, as promised, here is the next clue:
I can be gold, or silver borne,
By Kings and pawns alike I'm worn.
A solid strip or woven band
You'll find me 'twixt your arm and hand.
Respectfully yours, Trica.
My face fell. "I bet this guy likes to hear the sound of his own voice."
"That is a suitable way to describe him," Simon agreed as he tucked the note into his
coat.
I looked at my companions. "So anyone have any idea where to go next?"
Specter shrugged. "Beats me."
Simon smiled. "It seems Trica has been following our recent adventures quite thoroughly. He wishes for us to return to the home of the Eres family."
I furrowed my brow and shook my head. "I don't get that at all."
Specter clapped his fist into his hand. "Now I see! It's a bracelet, isn't it?"
Simon bowed his head. "Your guess is correct."
"But what do we do there? We already stole the bracelet," I pointed out.
Specter floated around us and laughed. "I bet that Eres guy bought a new safe."
A ringing phone interrupted any more assumptions. Simon pulled out his phone and answered it. "Well?"
I recognized Maeve's voice on the other line. "Sarpa had a lead for us. He thinks Trica might be hiding in an old house along the shoreline road."
Simon arched an eyebrow. "I see. Meet us at the cemetery."
"We'll be there in a few." Click.
I frowned. "Isn't that the road where we stole the cash truck?"
Simon tucked his phone into his coat and nodded. "Yes."
"So which way do we go?" Specter asked him. "Break the chain and go see, or keep going?"
Simon glanced up at the sky. "There is still much of the night left, and we have an advantage in knowing where he might be. Let us not waste our card by revealing it too soon."
"But what about Certus? He could kill-destroy him just by staking him," I pointed out.
Simon smiled. "He could, but Trica would rather play the game."
I frowned and studied Simon's face. "You don't usually tell anybody everything, but I'm getting the feeling you're hiding more than usual from us."
Specter folded his arms and floated around Simon. "Probably that he knew that thing was waiting here for us. He was pretty quick with that suggestion."
"Did it fail?" Simon challenged him.
Specter frowned. "No, but-"
"But we are wasting time here," Simon interrupted him.
He turned and strode toward the car. I glanced at Specter and he at me. "Did we just get brushed off?"
