Playing with Fire (Anthology of Horror)

by Chryse; Coral Russell; Brian Fatah Steele; CAV Laster; Nomar Knight; Robynn Gabel; Susan Evelyn Wymer

  With a raw gasp of air, he gripped his knife and wand and leaped as the horse set its haunches and sprang forward.

  They met in mid-air with the horse and Choronzon materializing as they passed out of the edge of the circle. Crouse clubbed the side of the horse's head with his wand and swept his knife up and into the chest of Choronzon. The whole apparition vanished in a smoky cloud. Crouse plunged to the floor.

  Crouse pulled himself to his feet as the black mass attacked and plowed through him again. He slashed with his knife. Nothing phased this new entity.

  What is this? Crouse's mind raced as he turned on his heel and ran up the stairs. When he flung himself through the front door, his ears popped so hard he cried out. Sweat ran through his hair and dripped from his face as he knelt, trying to breathe. People passing by gave him a wide berth and some snickered.

  Crouse recovered and headed in the direction of Mary Ann's whorehouse. He would collect his money and leave tonight. A cold chill wormed its way deep under his skin. The air turned to waves of clear, clean water in front of him. The next words he understood perfectly, "Did you think it would be that easy? Fool!"

  Present

  "Let's go get a drink," Lynn suggested. After they escaped the Franciscan Hotel, Lee turned to Hector and pelted him with questions about what they were doing to fix whatever was down there. Hector assured Lee they were looking into reversing the effects of the black magic on the building.

  Lynn barely had time to say 'goodbye' to Hector and Marcos before Lee steered her towards the car. She hugged him around the waist. He seemed normal enough now. A drink would be a good way to unwind from what was supposed to have been a relaxing evening.

  "Are you sure? It's kind of late."

  "Sure, I'm sure. It's been a long time since we stayed downtown. The Dome Bar is beautiful."

  "With a six-dollar bottle of beer."

  "I want a rum and coke."

  "That'll be eight dollars. Geesh, you're expensive."

  "But worth it!" Lynn grinned up at him.

  They strolled arm in arm across the San Jacinto Plaza to the Paso del Norte hotel and bar. On the way, they stopped to admire the alligator sculpture in the middle of the plaza. "OK, I'll bite, why alligators?"

  "You don't know, Ms. I-Google-everything?"

  "No, and obviously I don't Google everything."

  "Live alligators used to be part of a downtown attraction."

  "You'd think that would be a little dangerous."

  "Yeah, for the alligators. Some college kids pulled a couple out of the pond one night. They put one in a professor's office and another one in someone's swimming pool."

  "You're kidding!"

  "Nope. After twelve, blissful years of marriage, I would think you'd realize I don't kid... much."

  "Right!" Lynn gave him a squeeze around the waist as he opened the big, wooden door that lead to a room, two stories high.

  Over the bar, in the middle of the room, hung a Tiffany stained-glass ceiling. Dramatic lighting brought out the blue, green and white shades of the floral design. The brown speckled walls and gold-plated moldings glowed with the light from the hanging chandeliers.

  "I think this is the most beautiful place to relax and unwind. There are a lot of fleur de lis decorations too. What did Hector say about them?"

  "I thought they used them to brand prisoners who were marked for death."

  Lynn looked into Lee's dark green eyes and asked, "You were asking Hector questions about black magic. How do you know about that stuff?"

  "I was a bad boy when I was younger. Oh wait, that's right, I'm still younger than you."

  "And I'll always be the more mature and wiser one."

  "That's why I married you, honey."

  They ordered and settled back in the comfortable, cushioned chairs. Lynn frowned as Lee fiddled with his iPhone.

  "Don't play games on that thing now."

  "What? No, I'm checking out the pictures I took."

  "Of the empty building?"

  "Yeah... wait. Whoa! Check this out. There were no windows in that building, right?"

  "No, there weren't. Let me see." Lynn took the iPhone from Lee. "OK, first one -- big, empty building. Second one -- big, empty building. Third one -- big, empty building. I'm beginning to detect a pattern here. Fourth one -- big... Holy shrimp!" Her eyes met Lee's. "There's a light in one of the windows!"

  "Except there weren't any windows. Remember? Look at the next one."

  "There's a light. Sixth one, there's a light. Last one, no light."

  "I took those pictures one right after the other."

  "So, it's like someone turned a light on and then off."

  "Yea." She grinned. "This is awesome, honey. We've got to show these to Hector and Marcos."

  "Sure. Here, let's check the audio."

  "Were you recording the session?"

  "Some of it, when we were down in the basement."

  Lynn took one of the ear buds as the waiter brought their drinks and set them down. "I thought you didn't believe in this stuff?"

  "Well everyone else had something to use and the iPhone has a voice recorder. I figured, what the heck."

  After a few minutes, Lynn said, "Stop. I heard something there."

  "So did I."

  After several minutes, Lynn pulled the ear bud out, shaking her head. "I don't know what it's saying. There's a garbled sentence and then a word. Let's send this to Hector and Marcos and see what they think."

  "Good idea. A toast: to a devil of a ghost hunting team."

  ***

  A week later, Lynn had a 'girl's night out' planned. Lee elected to stay home rather than go out with his friends. Guilt nibbled at her conscience about leaving him behind, but he told her to go on and enjoy herself.

  She returned early, around ten, to find Lee drunk and playing on-line poker. Lee was an affectionate, 'I love you, man' drunk, so finding him like this didn't bother her. As she leaned in to give him a 'hello' kiss, he flinched and glared at her, "What?"

  "Nothing, just giving you a 'Hi, honey, I'm home kiss.'"

  "Humph."

  "You winning?" she said, glancing over his shoulder.

  "Not really. I win some, then I lose it all."

  "I thought you hated gambling? You told me it was basically throwing money away."

  "I'm just changing my mind. You know, like a woman."

  "Don't get smart. Well, it's play money anyway. It is play money, right?"

  "Maybe."

  "Lee!"

  "What? I've spent a couple of bucks. No big deal."

  "Come on, hustler, let's call it a night."

  "Nah, you go on, don't wait up for me."

  "Lee, how long have you sat here? How many bucks have you lost?"

  "What the hell? You go out and have a good time. I stay here and have a good time, and now you're jumping my ass?"

  "Lee, I'm not jumping you." She held up her hands, backing away. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," he shouted.

  She left him and closed the door behind her.

  What the hell indeed, she thought.

  ***

  Sunday morning they usually slept in before going to the corner bakery to pick up some menudo with pan bolillo and pan dulce. Lee brushed his nose as Lynn tried tickling him. Her lips brushed his ear. "Come on, menudo is good for a hangover."

  "I'm not hungover. Much," he groaned. "Go without me; you know which kind of sweet bread I like."

  "Oh, all right. Hey, you were grumpy last night."

  "I was?"

  "Yeees."

  "I don't remember. I don't remember much of anything. Can you put some coffee on?"

  He snuggled back down under the covers as Lynn ruffled his hair. "Sure."

  "And hey," Lee said, poking his head up from under the covers, "I'm sorry if I said anything stupid last night."

  "It's OK," she said from the doorway. "I love you."

  "I love you more."

  ***
<
br />   As they were slurping up the spicy, hominy and tripe soup with hunks of white bread for dipping, Lynn's phone rang. "It's Hector," she said. "Hey, Hector, what's up?"

  Lee raised his eyebrows when her eyes widened and waited for her to hang up, then asked, "And?"

  "He got something on the EVP. He wants to meet me down at Kipp's Cheesesteaks to pick up the pictures and recording. Want to come?"

  "No, that's OK. What was on the EVP?"

  "He heard the word -

  fool."

  "Nice, even the ghosts think we're stupid," Lee said.

  I'm going to jump in the shower." Lynn winked, "Race ya!"

  Lee fumbled with his coffee cup as she raced out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "No fair! I'm still handicapped."

  About halfway, he glimpsed Lynn flash him before ducking into the bathroom. Lee smiled and then froze as he envisioned himself dragging her by the hair and throwing her down the stairs. He stumbled backwards to dodge her body and caught himself by gripping the railing so hard his hands turned white.

  "My God, Lee, are you all right?"

  Lee forced a smile. "I, uh, yea, I'm fine. I must be hungover still."

  "Are you sure you're okay?"

  "Yea, yea, I'm coming. Get the water warm." Peeking over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Lynn, bloody and broken, at the bottom of the stairs. He raced the rest of the way to the bathroom and shut the door.

  "Are you sure you're okay?" Lynn asked him for the hundredth time. "Why don't you come with me?"

  "No, you go on ahead. I need to get ready for work on Monday."

  "All right, love you." Lee accepted a kiss and waved as she backed out of the driveway.

  As he closed the door, he heard the creak of footsteps on the second floor. He swung around, but saw nothing. The footsteps continued to the top of the stairs, then started down the stairs. A distinct footfall landed on each step. A gauzy black mist gathered together in the shape of a person.

  Not believing what his senses were telling him, Lee rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms. The footsteps stopped. When he opened his eyes, nothing was there.

  1885

  Crouse crashed through the front doors of Mary Ann's house and ran up the stairs. He grabbed a large black satchel and ran from room to room collecting his money from their various hiding places.

  When he reached the top floor, he examined Mary Ann passed out on the bed.

  Good, he thought, I can make a clean get away. He quieted down and moved around the room collecting what few belongings he wanted to take with him. The satchel was bulging when he knelt before the dresser to sweep Mary Ann's jewelry into its maw.

  He jerked his head up as a familiar chill wormed its way under his skin. Behind his reflection in the mirror, the air vibrated in front of Mary Ann's body. When she sat straight up in bed and turned to face him, his eyes widened. Her green eyes were now swallowed in blackness like gaping holes. He struggled to get to his feet, but she threw him forward, cracking the mirror with his head. Ears ringing, not only from the blow, but also from an unearthly howling and screaming, he cowered as she tore at his neck, back and arms with her nails.

  Crouse managed to push Mary Ann away. She sprang forward, sinking her teeth into his arm. He wrapped his fingers around her throat, pried her off, drew back and landed a solid punch to the side of her face. The gold rings on his fingers left bloody gouges on her cheek. When she rushed him, a kick to her abdomen sent her flying backward.

  She charged again -- red hair streaming behind her, black eyes boring into him, mouth screaming, face contorted in rage. He aimed his pistol and fired point-blank into her face. She dropped like a stone to the floor.

  Crouse ripped off his holster and clothes, sticky with blood and bits of Mary Ann's face. His pistols clattered to the floor. Sounds of a commotion drifted up from the front of the house. After putting on clean clothes, he leaned out the back bedroom window and tossed the satchel to the ground. He hung off the back porch for several seconds before landing beside it. The backyard was enclosed by a low rock wall. He cleared the wall and made a beeline to the center of town - San Jacinto Plaza.

  ***

  J. Fisher Satterthwaite was commissioned by the El Paso Parks and Streets Commissioner to create something beautiful out of the sand and mesquite-filled property.

  Satterthwaite fenced off the park, put in a walled pond, built a gazebo, and planted seventy-five Chinese elm trees. Then he brought alligators. By the time he was done, the pond held at least seven. No one knew the reason behind his choice, but the unique reptile attraction drew shoppers and onlookers to the downtown area.

  Crouse entered the crowded Plaza expecting to hide himself among the crowd as he made his way to the train depot. He surveyed the people going about their day and hurried to the southern part of the plaza. Couples, families, and lone men passed him without a second glance.

  Nearing the alligator pond, he forced himself to shrug his shoulders, take a deep breath and relax. Sunset Heights wasn't safe now. The last train would be here in a couple of hours to take him far away from El Paso.

  He paused to admire the alligators bathing in the sun, when a chill dried the sweat on his shirt and made him shiver in the desert heat. Swiveling his head from side to side, he caught other people pulling at their clothes or hugging their bodies.

  The shimmer appeared on his right. His mouth went slack as a face with black holes for eyes focused on him. He reached for his holster. Nothing there. Dread clouded his mind as he realized he'd left his holster and pistols at the whorehouse. Panicking, he hopped over the low concrete wall into the alligator pond.

  The splash of water as the alligators plunged into the moat reminded him of the danger he'd jumped into. He turned around to climb back over the wall. People with pitch-black eyes peered down at him.

  Crouse kept one eye on the alligators floating nearby and the other eye on the increasing number of inky black stares aimed directly at him. When he tried to make his way over the wall, the hands attached to those stares shoved him down.

  Crying out in frustration, he ran to another point along the wall and was pushed back again. On his third attempt, a huge man punched him in the face, sending him tumbling down almost to the edge of the moat. He shook his head, trying to clear it, then started up the grassy slope. The alligators charged out of the water. One clamped down on his leg.

  He screamed and twisted around using his heavy satchel to beat the reptile's nose. The satchel popped open on the third blow, sending its contents into the air.

  Another alligator clamped onto his arm. Crouse tilted his head back to scream. Money floated down in graceful twirls from the sky above him.

  Present

  It took thirty minutes to get anywhere in El Paso. Lynn entered Kipp's Cheesesteaks to find Hector sitting at a table with a bottle of beer. The prominent sign above the counter read 'Beer is Good'.

  She accepted a hug from Hector as he asked, "How you doing? You want to order something?"

  "Pretty good. Yea, I love this place. I'll probably grab something to take home for Lee, too."

  "How's he doing?"

  "OK, I guess."

  "So, here's your stuff. I also wanted to tell you a little more history, if you don't mind."

  Lynn took a bite of Green Chile Philly with homemade fries and listened as Hector told her about the black magic practiced in the basement of the Franciscan Hotel.

  When the owners first let them in to investigate, they discovered crude ceremonial circles carved in the floor and Satanic symbols on the wall along with other paraphernalia.

  "Creepy," Lynn said and then she told him everything she'd experienced during the investigation.

  "Really? That's a pretty strong reaction." He continued on about the hotel and how the owners weren't able to make a profit. "The hotel coasted along, but never fell into complete ruin." By the time he was done explaining, it was getting late.

  Lynn checked her phone.

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sp; "Sorry for boring you with all this."

  "No, no. I love this kind of stuff, but Lee usually texts or calls me, and I haven't heard from him yet." Lynn squeezed Hector's arm. "I really liked the tour and want to go on some of the others." She picked up the to-go bag of food for Lee and the folder with the pictures and tape.

  "Well, someone was even 'possessed' or more likely followed home, but we helped him with that."

  Lynn stopped. "What followed them home?"

  "We're not sure, other than it's a sort of malevolent spirit that wants to cause trouble."

  "What kind of trouble?"

  "The person was acting strange. Doing things they don't normally do. Why?"

  Lynn shrugged.

  "Because we took care of it, so if anything is going on, anything at all, just let us know."

  Lynn shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm sure it's nothing. Hector, thanks for everything. I hope to go on another one of those tours soon."

  "Great! We've got something going on almost every weekend."

  Lynn tried calling Lee before she started her car. No answer. She left him a message saying she was coming home with food.

  When she pulled up in front of their house, the heavy beat of music rattled the windows. Heading to the front door, she thought,

  That's not country music. When did that change?

  Once inside, the music was so loud she didn't even bother calling his name. There were empty beer bottles on the kitchen table.

  Drinking again? Setting the food down, she made her way upstairs, the music pounding in her chest. At the top of the stairs, she found him back at his computer gambling and drinking more beer.

  "Lee!" she shouted, "Lee!"

  "What?"

  Turning her back on him, she went to their bedroom and switched off the music. "Hey!" he yelled from the study, "I was listening to that!"

  Enough was enough , she thought as she marched back to the study to confront him. "Lee, I don't know what's gotten into you, but we need to --"

  Lynn went flying backwards and landed hard on her butt. Pain jarred her neck and ran down her left arm into her fingers. She'd never been hit before. Not on purpose. Not with that kind of force. Not by a man, let alone Lee.