Blood Ghost (The Hunting Tree Book 2)

by Ike Hamill

  “Ready,” Merritt said. His hand held the zipper of the duffel.

  While he tugged the zipper down he held up the opposite corner of the bag.

  Skin and bones spilled from the bag. The witch fell towards the fire and then stopped, defying gravity. She was curled up into a ball and she spun slowly over the weak flames. Morris glanced around. Many of the cousins closed their eyes rather than look at the alien ball of flesh. She looked like the embryo of a reptile, still curled up into its egg shape even though the shell had been removed. Her stringy limbs were tucked up tight to her ribbed torso and her bulbous head topped the monstrosity.

  “Mare,” Merritt said.

  She opened her eyes. She was looking right at Morris. He reached up and covered his mouth with his hand.

  “Mare,” Merritt said again. Several in the group echoed the word and the witch began to straighten out. Still hanging in the air above the fire, she was a marionette suspended by invisible strings. The full length of her body was only maybe three and a half or four feet tall.

  Morris couldn’t pull his gaze away from her huge black eyes.

  Merritt used a lighter to read words he didn’t understand from a little notebook. As he spoke, some of the cousins sitting around the fire echoed the words they recognized. Others threw salt and herbs. Their offerings flared in the fire as they hit. Mare began to spin slowly in the column of heat rising from the flames.

  Morris coughed and forced himself to take another deep breath. The smoke was getting thick. She must have been spun around the other way when it started, because Morris didn’t see the split in her forehead until it was already a few inches long. I ran vertically from the top of her head to between her huge eyes. As he watched, the split continued down to the flat spot where her nose should be. The skin was pulling apart, revealing the deep red flesh beneath. It pulled wider and Morris saw that the flesh beneath wasn’t just red like blood, it seemed to glow. The skin wrinkled as it pulled down the sides of Mare’s head.

  Her flesh seemed to squeeze through the opening in her skin, like she was being birthed through her own forehead. Her glowing red flesh rose as the skin pulled down.

  Merritt said his words louder and picked up a rhythm. Other voices joined his as the syllables began to repeat.

  They almost made sense to Morris, even though he didn’t know the language. It sounded like the people were saying, “Join the fire. Join the fire. Join the fire.”

  The skin peeled back from around her eyes. Soon her whole head was liberated from its shell. Her naked skull glowed and her bare lips pulled back into a smile with a thousand needle-sharp teeth. Morris recoiled from the site.

  “Join the fire. Join the fire.”

  The words were foreign, but that’s what they meant—he was sure of it. He felt himself joining in. The thick syllables spilled from his own tongue.

  “Join the fire. Join the fire.”

  Mare’s shoulders squeezed from the opening in her skin. Her skin began to turn inside out as she pulled free from it.

  “Join the fire. Join the fire.”

  The skin hung from the end of her fingers as the nails pulled through tiny holes. Her top half was now naked of skin. Only her legs were still wrapped. The bottom half sloughed in an instant and the skin fell. Morris reached for it—he couldn’t help it—but he was too slow. The skin hit the burning green limbs and the flames flared and the skin sizzled. It vaporized immediately.

  Above the fire in the flash of light, Mare’s skinless body pulsed and glowed. Under its glistening surface, the core seemed to be made of red fire. The flames reached up from the ground and played at Mare’s feet. She ignited with a burst of white light. It shot up her legs and ran down her arms. The light consumed her head last. In a few seconds, she was gone.

  The tent was quiet.

  Someone threw open the flaps and fresh air flooded in. All around him, Morris’s coughing cousins spilled out into the sunny yard. Morris sat and watched the green sticks sputter with smoky flames. He sat there even as several people began to take the tent down around him. By the time they took down the roof, clouds had moved in and a gentle rain began to fall.

  The big bonfire was lit, just to keep the wood dry until dark.

  “Come on, Morris,” Roland said. “Why don’t you move closer to the bonfire. We’re going to roast some deer meat.”

  “Yup,” Morris said. “I suppose I should.”

  As the two men walked across the yard they regarded the group of cousins crowded around the fire, who were letting it bake the damp rain out of their clothes.

  “We haven’t had a party like this in years,” Roland said.

  “Yup,” Morris said.

  They joined Merritt, who sat on a log and leaned back, away from the flames.

  “I can’t help thinking we let an opportunity go by,” Merritt said.

  “That’s the same thought I had,” Morris said.

  “Maybe it’s for the best,” Merritt said.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Don

  DON SLEPT FOR DAYS, waking only to eat and care for Barney. They were both exhausted.

  One morning, Don woke to find Barney sitting on the bed next to him, looking at him with gentle eyes. Don reached up and patted the dog’s head. Barney’s ears folded back with affection.

  “You need to go out?” Don asked. Barney didn’t react.

  “You want to go for a walk?”

  Barney jumped from the bed and paced to the door.

  “Okay, then,” Don said.

  The house was empty—it was Friday, so his dad and sister were working and his mom was at the hospital. Don grabbed a pastry. He held it in his mouth as he stood on his toes to retrieve the plastic bag he’d stashed in the cabinet above the refrigerator.

  “Come on, Barney,” he said. Don snapped a leash to Barney’s collar before he led him out the back door.

  Don found his way through the woods easily, but he had to stop to catch his breath. Barney wanted to roam around and explore all the smells. Don kept him on a pretty short leash so he wouldn’t get it tangled around trees. When Don saw the trailer, he was happy to see someone working in the yard. A man was shoveling ashes into a cart. Don waved as he stepped out of the woods. The man waved back.

  “Hi,” Don said, walking up to Roland.

  “You look better,” Roland said. “You looked a little pale last time we saw you.”

  Barney walked up to Roland who dropped to one knee to give the dog a good scratch.

  “Yeah, I’m doing better,” Don said. “I just thought of this today.”

  Don held out the plastic bag.

  Roland rose to his feet and reached for the bag.

  “What is it?”

  “Awhile ago I found that woman’s skin after she shed it. It was whole when I found it, but that’s all that’s left.”

  “Thank you,” Roland said. “I’ll give this to Morris. He really wanted some skin from the witch.”

  “I’m not giving it to you,” Don said.

  “Oh?”

  “No, but I’ll trade it.”

  Roland narrowed his eyes. He pulled apart the seal on the bag and looked at the skin. When the scent reached Barney, he began to growl. Roland closed the bag and Barney stopped growling.

  “What do you want for it?” Roland asked.

  “A story.”

  “What kind of story?”

  “A few years ago there were a bunch of cops and ambulances over here. I heard that you guys claimed that some big animal killed the deputy sheriff, but there wasn’t much in the paper. I saw something in the woods that night and I’d like to know what it was.”

  “That’s a fair trade,” Roland said. “But it’s a long story. How much time have you got?”

  “All day,” Don said.

  “Most of the story belongs to Morris. He’s coming over in a little while. Until he shows up, I can tell you what I know. You want to come inside?”

  # # # #

&
nbsp; Don sat on the couch and Barney sat on the floor next to him. They listened to Roland’s story and then Morris’s story. Roland didn’t leave out a single detail. He started with the old legends his uncle used to tell, and he told Don all about David’s family and how the boy was connected to an ancient monster. When Morris arrived, the narrative became much more personal with his detailed account of tracking the monster. The two men collaborated to describe how Chester was killed and the final confrontation between boy and monster.

  “So that boy I met, David, he was dead?” Don asked.

  “He sure as hell looked dead,” Roland said. “He looked like a hot dog that had been dropped in the fire. But I felt a pulse, and we weren’t in the hospital more than a few hours before he looked right as rain.”

  “Took me significantly longer to recover,” Morris said. “Thing ate most of my foot, it did.”

  “And that monster wasn’t connected with the witch?” Don asked.

  “In some ways they were similar. I think both of them used to be human at one point. The monster that was chasing Davey, he used to be a man, but he was transformed by bad blood. It was the same bad blood that made him hunt Davey. That witch, I think she used to be human too. Just coincidence that they both ended up here,” Roland said.

  “Maybe coincidence, maybe not,” Morris said. “They each met their end in almost the same spot, or didn’t you notice?”

  “I suppose,” Roland said. “Still seems like coincidence.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. Morris picked up the bag of skin from the table and held it up to the light.

  “Fair trade?” Roland asked.

  “Yes,” Don said. “Fair. Thanks for telling me what happened.”

  # # # #

  Barney sat down on the porch as Don knocked. He held the blueberry pie carefully in one hand. Seth Umber opened the door just an inch and spied through the gap.

  “Hey, Don, come on in. Barney, good to see you,” Seth said. His voice sounded cheerful, but it lacked color. It was more than a whisper, but less than normal. He still had a bandage on his throat.

  “Hi Mr. Umber. My sister made you a pie. I thought I’d bring it over.”

  “That’s so thoughtful,” Seth said. He closed the door behind Don and waved him up to the kitchen. Barney disappeared to the living room and joined them with a rubber toy in his mouth. “He looks great, Don. You’ve been taking good care of him.”

  “Yeah, the vet said he’s doing much better,” Don said. “He’s got back most of his weight and his joints seem to be bothering him less. I’m happy to have him, but if you want him back, please just say the word.”

  Seth waved him off. “No, no. I’m sure he’s happier with you. You three were so tight.” Seth picked at the plastic wrap covering the pie.

  “How have you been? Is your throat all healed up?” Don asked.

  “Better every day. Doesn’t hurt to talk anymore, but I still sound like a frog.”

  “And Ms. Umber?”

  “She’s fine,” Wes said. “She’s out at the grocery store now. You know, she has actually been a lot better. She’s eating and getting out of the house more.”

  “I’m glad to hear,” Don said.

  “I think she does better when she has someone to take care of. As soon as I got out of the hospital, she seemed so much more present, you know?”

  “And she wasn’t hurt? That night?” Don asked.

  “No. Well, not that we know of. She doesn’t remember anything. Hell, I barely remember anything. I was just talking to the police today. There haven’t been any more attacks or abductions related to ours, so that’s a blessing, but they don’t seem to have any leads either. How’s your mom doing?”

  “She’s really good,” Don said. “She had migraines for years, but she’s been doing really well the past few days. She said she hasn’t had even a twinge since I got out of the hospital.”

  “This neighborhood, huh?” Seth said. “Seems like everyone around here has been running the healthcare system through its paces lately.”

  “That’s what my dad said, too,” Don said.

  Seth swallowed and winced. He got up and filled a glass from the faucet.

  “Something to drink?”

  “No thanks. I should get home. I have to make dinner tonight.”

  “Well thanks for coming by, and tell your sister thanks for the pie. Say hi to your folks.”

  “I will, Mr. Umber. Please tell Ms. Umber I said hi, too.”

  “I will,” Seth said. He smiled at Don. “You got your toy?” he asked Barney.

  The dog stood with the toy in his mouth and wagged his tail.

  # # # #

  “That smells wonderful, Don, what is it?” Gwen asked.

  “This is roasted eggplant. What you smell is probably Chelsea’s garlic bread,” Don said.

  Chelsea thumped down the hall and slid past her brother to open the oven.

  “It’s mostly garlic, with just a little bread,” Chelsea said.

  “My favorite,” Gwen said. She dropped her bag on the counter and pushed herself up to the counter, sitting on the corner. “You want me to make a salad?”

  “Sure,” Don said.

  Wes came up from the basement. “Can I help?”

  “You can help Mom with the salad,” Chelsea said.

  A few minutes later, the family sat down to dinner. Barney angled his way between the chairs and sat under the table.

  “You know,” Wes said, “we ought to consider putting up a fence around the back yard. That way Barney could have a dog door in case he wants to go out during the day. Unless you’re planning on taking him back to college with you.”

  Don took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The family seemed to sense that something was going to happen. The conversation died and the forks and knives stopped moving.

  Don began slowly—“I’ve wanted to tell you for a couple months, but it never seemed like the right time.”

  Wes set his glass down.

  “What is it?” Gwen asked.

  “I’m going to drop out of grad school.”

  “But why? You only have a year left and you’ve worked so hard,” Wes said.

  “I just don’t want to do it anymore. I mean, I just kept getting deeper and deeper into studying different things until it turned out I was learning stuff that I didn’t care about. I’d rather be a janitor than keep studying that stuff,” Don said.

  “Have you thought about what does interest you?” Gwen asked.

  “I don’t know,” Don said. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot, but I just don’t know. I think I need to try some different things to figure out what I want, you know?”

  “Why don’t you take a year off,” Wes said. “You can get some perspective and then decide what to do. You can talk to your advisor at school and arrange for a break. That way you’re not burning any bridges.”

  “I don’t want it hanging over my head anymore. If I just postpone, then I’ll still feel like it’s mandatory that I go back, you know?”

  “That’s fine, Donny, but I don’t want you making any commitments one way or another right now. You’re still mourning. You’re still recovering from your own sickness. Let’s just not take any action for another week or two, okay? Can you at least sit on it that long?” Wes asked.

  “I really don’t want to,” Don said. “I want the pressure gone.”

  “I understand,” Gwen said. “Sometimes you have to let everything settle before you can see clearly again. Why don’t you call first thing Monday morning and cancel everything for fall? Unless you already did that?”

  “No, I haven’t yet,” Don said.

  “Then Monday morning?” Gwen said.

  “I’ll do that,” Don said.

  “And you can stay here until you make a decision about what you want to do,” Gwen said.

  “Thank you,” Don said.

  “Within limits,” Wes said.

  Don looked down at his plate.r />
  “Wes,” Gwen said.

  “What?” Wes asked. “We always told both the kids that as soon as they’re done with school, they need to make their own arrangements. I think it’s awfully generous that we’re letting him stay at all.”

  “Until the end of the year?” Gwen asked.

  Wes looked like he wanted to object, but Gwen kept him quiet with her eyes.

  “January first, rent starts,” Wes said. “Deal?”

  Don looked up from his food. His father extended his hand to shake on the deal. A big smile spread across Don’s face as he shook his father’s hand, then his mother’s hand, then, just for good measure, Chelsea’s hand.

  “Oh wait,” Don said.

  “What now?” Wes asked.

  Don smiled and asked, “Can Barney stay too?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  David’s Epilogue

  DAVID SPREAD THE THROW blanket over the leather before he sat on the therapist’s couch. It was the only way to be comfortable.

  “So, David, what’s been happening since we last spoke.”

  “My dreams are gone,” David said with a smile. “I mean, I still dream, but the scary ones are gone.”

  “About Mare?”

  “Yes,” David said.

  “And how long have they been gone?”

  “Since they caught her,” David said. “The guy she was seeing managed to trap her and then the cousins released her. They did a ceremony that freed her from her arrangement with her Master so she could move on.”

  “And this was all part of the dream?”

  “In a way, yes,” David said. “Most of it.”

  “And is your mom still worried?” Dr. John Tooley asked.

  “I don’t think so,” David said. “She’s mostly just mad now.”

  “At you?”

  “Yes,” David said. “Because I ran off again. We were in the car and I ran off into the woods to warn Mr. Morris that the woman was coming after him. She grounded me for the rest of the summer. I can only go to camp and come here. Plus I have to do the dishes, no TV, and I have to take the garbage out every time.”