Bone Walker: A Paranormal Romance (Eternal Soul Book 1)

by Idella Breen

  I frowned. For someone, I've only spent less than an hour with she knew me a little too well for comfort. "It's kind of rude just to ask someone what they are."

  June nodded. "I'm a bone walker."

  I paused. "What does that entail exactly?”

  She frowned. "That's a little harder to answer in detail, but the simple answer is that we relocate souls."

  “Relocate?”

  "Some refer to it as reincarnation."

  I paused.

  "So, you're like the Grim Reaper?"

  June looked thoughtful. "I guess in the sense that we take souls from the dead, but usually the Grim Reaper is known to take souls to the afterlife. I don't do that; I recycle the souls that I take."

  "Where do you take them?"

  "My skill set allows me to transfer the souls I've collected into the developing bodies of a fetus during pregnancy."

  "I see."

  She sighed and sat up straighter. "Eliza, I'm not crazy."

  When I didn't immediately agree with her, she sat up even straighter and a look of deep concentration settled on her features. I gasped as a fog rose around her face from seemingly nowhere, only to suddenly solidify, and transform into the skull mask I had first laid eyes on.

  "That could be special effects or something," I muttered even as fear began to claw at my chest.

  With the mask hiding her features I had to focus on her eyes to gauge her emotions and all I could see in them was a patient tenderness.

  "Eliza, this is your apartment."

  "But you've been here before." Hysteria was beginning to enter my words as my grasp on reality began to slip. I don't know why I was reacting so badly. I think it's because on some level I had been in denial about the whole thing. That somehow, I imagined the skull mask in my state of shock, but now that I was faced with it, it suddenly became too real. The supernatural world was slapping me in the face, and I just wanted to turn the other cheek and pretend that the first slap never happened.

  I watched in rapt fascination as the mask seemed to melt back into her face revealing her angular features, with bunched brows, and downturned lips.

  "I know this isn’t easy Eliza, but I need you to calm down." She spoke softly as if she was talking me from the ledge of a building, and I guess in some ways she was.

  I looked down and saw that my hands were gripping my leather jacket tight enough to make my knuckles white. I took several deep breaths and consciously relaxed my hands. I met June's gaze and could feel tears streaming down my face again as I stared helplessly into her eyes. Their unique color only added to the haunted look the seemed to be a constant in her gaze. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul. I could see that her soul was old and maybe even as tormented as my own.

  “Jeez, I never knew I was such a crybaby.” I laughed and attempted to wipe the tears away before they fell.

  "Why is this happening to me, June? Why?"

  She was around the coffee table in seconds, and wrapping her arms around me, pulling me into her chest.

  “Shush, baby. It's okay. We don't have to deal with it anymore right now if you don't want to."

  My heart fluttered at the term of endearment, and I had the vague sense of her having said something similar to me long ago. Once I gained control of my waterworks, I pulled back from her shoulder and placed my hand on her face, drawing her gaze to my own.

  "I know you June."

  She frowned before nodding. "Yes, we met last month."

  I shook my head. "No, June. I know you. I've known you for a long time or at least I feel like I do. Ever since you rescued me that day, I keep having these moments of déjà vu, from things you say or do. You said you recycled souls. Did you recycle mine?"

  For a moment she simply gazed at me, blank-faced. Then several emotions played out on her face the most prominent being fear but there was another, I couldn’t immediately identify it before I was moved off her lap, and back onto the couch. June was pacing back and forth, burning a hole in my living room rug, while muttering to herself.

  "When you said that earlier I thought I misheard you. This has never happened before. All the other times your memory was completely wiped. How is this possible? It's not possible. It can't be."

  Suddenly, she stopped and was grasping my shoulders. I could feel her hands trembling as she gazed at me intently and I was finally able to identify the emotion I had seen earlier on her face. The emotion had been a flicker of hope.

  "Tell me everything you remember." She begged, and I nodded.

  ***

  “Sorry…I…I didn’t mean to scare you...” June trailed off as she pulled her hands back and stood up straight. “I just…”

  She let out a sigh and walked over to the armchair across from me before dropping limply into it.

  “Are you okay, June?” I whispered. “Is it that big of a deal that I remembered some things?”

  Her head shot up from where she had been resting it in her hands. “So, you do remember? An entire memory of something that happened in another life? Not just fragments?”

  I nodded. “I think so. It was a dream I had about a week ago. I don’t remember the entire dream, but I do remember enough.”

  “How do you know it was a memory?”

  “Well, because you were in it.” I blushed as I remembered the warmth of her arms as they wrapped around me in the dream.

  “I was?” She seemed at a loss for words, so I simply nodded.

  “Plus, I’ve been having moments of déjá vu ever since that morning we met.” I tried to suppress the other memories that came from that day even as I spoke.

  “What happened in the dream?”

  I blushed again. “Um…”

  “Please, Eliza. I need to know. To make sure.”

  Her eyes held a desperation that I couldn’t deny for the sake of my modesty, so I nodded. “Okay.”

  She seemed to sag with relief.

  “Where should I start?”

  “From where, the dream began.” She replied.

  “Okay. Well, I was sitting on a beach, and I was dressed in simple clothes, but I mostly remember that I was covered with all kinds of jewelry. You were sitting next to me, and we spoke for a while and then…” I trailed off.

  “Then?”

  “I think…”

  “What?”

  “Well, I think I died. It was just as the sun was beginning to rise. I think we were waiting for me to die. I don’t know. It was a strange dream, and I’m not even sure if it was a memory. I just thought-“

  “It is a memory.” June cut me off.

  “It is?”

  “Yes.” She sagged even deeper into the chair and dropped her head into her hands.

  “It’s just as she said. I didn’t believe her. I wanted to, but I didn’t think it was possible, but here is the proof. I can’t deny it.” I think she was speaking to herself as I didn’t understand a word she was saying.

  “Who said what?”

  June’s head shot up. “Three thousand years.”

  “What?” I frowned.

  “I’ve waited….we’ve been stuck in an endless cycle for three thousand years. Three hundred years ago I met a woman. You would call her a psychic in this realm, but in my realm, we know of her as a Fate. Not The Fate but one of her sisters. She told me…”

  “What June? What did she tell you?”

  She seemed to take a deep breath as if to steel herself for what she was about to say. “She told me that we would be given one chance and only one, to break the cycle after three millennium of our curse had been served, but I didn’t believe it was possible. Yet here you are. You remember things from your past life. That memory was from your life as an Egyptian princess. We were on the beach in Sharm el-Sheikh. That took place in 332 B.C, just before the invasion of Alexander the Great. He was the result of the side you chose that time.”

  “I chose the demons side, right?”

  June froze for a moment before speaking very q
uietly. “You remember which side you picked? You remember…”

  I nodded hesitantly. “In my dream, I thought about the side I decided to pick. I don’t understand exactly what that means, but you said it caused Alexander the Great to invade Egypt, so I’m assuming it wasn’t something good.”

  She shook her head. “You are beyond good and evil. “

  I frowned. “No one is above good and evil.”

  “You are Eliza. Only you are.”

  “Does this have to do with me choosing a side? Is the other side the angel's side or something?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know how much I can tell you. I don’t…this has never happened before. I’m not prepared. What should we do?” She seemed to be working herself into an endless loop of nerves. I reached out across the coffee table and took both of her hands into mine. She stopped talking.

  “How about you take a deep breath first.”

  She nodded and breathed. “Sorry.”

  I shook my head. “It’s fine. Now, let’s talk.”

  “About what exactly?”

  “About the past, first. I need context before I can help.”

  “Help?” June furrowed her brow in that adorable puppy-like look that I was beginning to love.

  “Yes, June. We will do this together.”

  “Together?” She parroted.

  “This is our one chance, right? Well, I might not completely understand the situation, but I do know that you have been shouldering this burden by yourself for a long time. This time, though, I’m here for you. I can help, so I’m going to do everything in my power to fix this. Whatever this is. Do you understand?”

  She stared at me blankly for a moment before a beautiful smile graced her lips. It was small but charming nonetheless. It brought a smile to my own face because of the raw joy I found unveiled in her eyes. It dwarfed the usual pained look I had associated with her gray eyes and filled it to the brim.

  “Okay.” She nodded and tightened her hold on my hands.

  “Good. I didn’t want to have to beat you into submission.”

  She chuckled. “You could have tried, but I don’t think you have enough muscle to beat me.”

  I tapped my head. “Who said anything about muscle. I have a sharp mind which I’ve used to negotiate hard to get contracts with elusive companies. I have the mind of a sales woman, and I would have found a way to bring you to my side.”

  June’s smile spread just a little bit wider as she reached up to cup my face.

  “All you would have to do is ask, Eliza. I would do anything to make you happy.”

  I felt the heat of a blush stain my cheeks even as I nodded. “I know. Help me understand why I know that.”

  She pulled her hand away and placed it back in my grasp. “Where should I start?”

  “How about you begin with when this cycle was started? The how and the why. Then we will move forward from there.”

  “Okay, but let me warn you, it was a very long time ago.”

  “I’m sure I can handle it,” I smirked.

  “I’m sure you can.”

  “We will face this together, June,” I said.

  “I like the sound of that.” Her eyes twinkled with an honest happiness I believed had been absent from them for a long time. Hope shone strongly in her gunmetal gray, and I’m sure it was reflected in my own.

  ***

  I studied the woman in front of me as she collected her thoughts. Finally, she met my gaze.

  “Eliza-”

  The sound of a ringtone blared out in the quiet of my living room disrupting our conversation.

  “Shit! Hold on. I have to take this.” She pulled a flip phone from her jean pocket. It was black with small skull stickers decorating it. I giggled.

  “Don’t ask.” She muttered and stood.

  She went into the kitchen, and even though I could hear her speaking softly, I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I looked around my living room. Was this really happening? This could all just be an elaborate dream.

  “Understood. I’m on my way, Sir.” June’s usually soft voice had a hard edge to it as she flipped her phone closed and walked back into the living room.

  “Do you have to leave?”

  “I’m sorry, Eliza. I know that I said I would explain everything but I have to go. It’s important.”

  I nodded. “It’s fine. I’m probably not the only person that you have to watch over or whatever it is your job demands.”

  June sighed and gave me a small smile. “Believe me when I say that you’re the most important, but you’re right. Duty calls, and when my boss calls me in I have to go, or else.”

  “Really, June. I don’t mind. It’s getting late, anyway. I think I’ll order something then go to bed.”

  She studied me for a moment before nodding. “I promise to explain everything next time.”

  I smiled. “I’ll hold you to it.”

  June stood in place awkwardly, as if she was debating what to do next, then she came over to me and bent down. My heart quickened as her face neared mine and I thought for a moment that she was going to kiss me and honestly, I don’t think that I would have minded. Instead, she pulled me into a quick hug, her scent surrounding me, along with the powerful emotions her proximity caused, then she pulled back.

  “I’ll come to you. Please, try and stay out of trouble. You tend to be a magnet for it. Oh, and Eliza, you can’t tell anyone about me or your memories. No one can know that things are different this time.”

  I nodded. “I think I can manage all of that. I’ve survived for twenty-five years on my own; one day won’t do me in.”

  She frowned a moment then walked the short distance to my front door and opened it. Hesitating, she turned back once more. “Please, promise me, Eliza.”

  I chuckled. “I promise I won’t do anything stupid while you're gone.”

  She nodded, satisfied with that.

  “Goodbye, June.” I slowly began closing the door.

  “Bye,” She turned and took a few steps only to suddenly flicker out of existence. I threw open my door and glanced around the hallway. She was gone. Completely gone. In the blink of an eye, she just disappeared into thin air, like some kind of magician.

  “Shit,” I whispered and closed the door.

  My apartment felt empty all of a sudden, cold. I went back into my living room and found my purse on the coffee table. I dug out my cell phone, a smartphone, unlike June’s flip phone, I giggled at the thought. Pulling out a credit card, I located the Chinese menu that had been stuffed in my junk drawer in the kitchen and dialed the number from speed dial.

  “Hello? Yes, I’d like delivery. Yeah, I want a large chicken Lo-Mien with an extra egg-roll.” I thought for a moment then ordered a sesame chicken just for the hell of it. My life was pretty weird right now. It wouldn’t hurt to have a little extra in my belly.

  ***

  I woke, desperate for water. Running to the kitchen, I filled a glass from the tap, before guzzling it down in a few gulps. I gasped then poured another one; drinking it a bit slower.

  “Way too much MSG at that place,” I muttered and pulled out two aspirin from the pill drawer. Being dehydrated always gave me a headache. I finished off the water with my pills, and poured another glass, taking it into my living room where I plopped down onto the couch. As I nursed the water, the events of yesterday came back to me. Had that all been a dream? I shook my head. I just needed something to bring me back to reality. I picked my cell phone up off the coffee table, where I placed it, while I had chomped down on Chinese during my chick-flick marathon. Then I dialed one of the only saved numbers on my contacts list that wasn't a take out place or an old co-worker. It only rang once before a groggy voice answered.

  “Yes?”

  “Hey, Angela!” I chirped only because I knew it would annoy her.

  “Eliza! What do you want?” She groaned.

  “Do you want to get breakfast?”

  There was some
shuffling on the other side of the line followed by a loud yawn. “Sure. Let me just make myself presentable for the day.”

  I smiled. “Late night?”

  She chuckled. “You could say that. I’ll tell you about it once I’ve had my daily dose of caffeine. Where do you want to meet?”

  “How about the usual?”

  “Okay, just give me like thirty minutes.”

  “Sounds good. See you soon. And don’t you dare fall back asleep!”

  “Yes, mom.”

  “Damn straight.”

  Her laugh was cut off by the line cutting out. I smirked and stood. I needed to get ready if I was going to be on time and I was sure that my hair was still a birds-nest. I groaned. Half and hour was never enough time.

  Bear’s was a hidden gem in Belltown. They did breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and were open twenty-four-seven making them popular with the after-hours kind of crowd. It was also a frequent stop after bar hopping all night. I’m sure they had the taxi service on speed-dial, and a deal worked out to benefit both parties. Angela and I have had a love affair with the place ever since they introduced their pride joy, La Chupacabra. La Chupacabra was a breakfast burrito to rule all breakfast burritos. At a length of seven inches, it was a heart attack packed snuggly in a deceiving flour tortilla. It contained: scrambled eggs, two fried eggs, three kinds of cheese (customer's choice), steak, bacon, fried potatoes, sour cream, and salsa with guacamole on the side for an extra fifty cents. It was a personal challenge to one day eat the whole thing in one sitting. It was on my bucket list.

  Bear’s was close enough to my apartment that I could walk, which was great since I still wasn’t ready to attempt the bus just yet and the train was out of the way. An hour later I was sipping from a mug of coffee. I had asked the waiter to hold off on bringing out my order until Angela showed up, but I had already placed it, knowing she would just copy whatever I got. I jerked when I felt a pair of cold hands cover my eyes. I was glad I didn’t scream. It meant that I might finally be getting over the event from a month ago.

  “Guess who?”

  “You’re late, and your hands are freezing! They’re burning my eyeballs.” I laughed as Angela removed her hands and sat across from me.

  “You’re grumpy this morning.” She pouted.