A Song of Redemption

by Lillian I Wolfe

  “It is,” I replied, still not sure I was off the hook on this.

  “Good enough. RPD has your statements. That should wrap it up.” With a brief smile, he went out the door leaving Ferris and me staring after him in shock.

  After a minute or so, Ferris said, “Did we get off that easily?”

  “I dunno. I think we’ll be hearing from Moss again. He’s got more questions; I know it.” I let out a deep breath and forced myself to my feet.

  I walked back to my bedroom with reluctant steps. I knew Sarkis was gone, but what evidence would be left behind? I paused in the doorframe and looked around the room. Not much had changed. The bed was messed up some from catching the edge of the spread. Some blood splatters on the wooden floor where Sarkis had bled from the claw wounds, but that was about it. Although there was a puddle where he’d fallen on top of me. A last release of the bladder, I guessed.

  I wrinkled my nose in disgust—I’d need a shower soon— turned, and crossed to the bathroom to get a paper towel and wet rag to clean up. I wanted nothing left of Sarkis in my room. As I kneeled and scrubbed at it, Ferris came and stood in the doorway, watching.

  “You can spend the night at my house if you want,” he said.

  “No, it’s all right. I just need to make sure I’ve got everything cleaned up.” I didn’t look at him, yet I could feel the disappointment as I turned the offer down. I wiped the rag across the floor again, then turned my head to gaze at him over my shoulder. “I do appreciate the offer though. Don’t worry. I’m all right, and I have my wildcat to protect me.”

  I reached over to scratch the back of Nygard’s head where he stretched out on the bed. Battle forgotten in his mind, the cat looked totally relaxed, stretched out and napping, barely even opening an eye when I touched him.

  “Maybe we could follow his example and relax a little,” Ferris said.

  “Yeah. We could. Maybe you might want to—” I stopped midsentence, ready to invite him to spend the night here, as I heard the front door open.

  We both froze. Didn’t Moss lock it on his way out? I shot a worried look at Ferris who stepped inside, reaching to close the bedroom door.

  Shit! The police had taken my gun. What if this was Butcher come to finish the job? I braced myself.

  Chapter 25

  “GILLIAN?” ORIELLE’S voice called out, and I spewed out a sigh of relief, managing a sheepish smile as I looked at Ferris.

  “Edgy much?” he said, a nervous chuckle leaking from his lips.

  Walking into the living room, I stopped just at the back of the couch and plastered a closed-mouth smile on my face. Orielle stood still in the middle of the room, gazing around as if she felt something was out of place, but she couldn’t put a finger on it. As her inspection landed on me, her eyes widened.

  “What happened? You look like you have been in a fight.”

  “That pretty well covers it,” I replied. “You missed all the excitement. Grab a drink, have a seat, and I’ll tell you about it.”

  Ferris came in just behind me, standing back only a few inches. So close I could feel him breathing down my neck.

  Orielle glanced at him, set her purse down on the end table, and went to the closet to hang her light jacket. Taking my suggestion, she poured herself a glass of wine, then settled back in the armchair close to the bookcase.

  Ferris and I had already slouched down on the sofa, and he’d wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him, wanting the closeness and support. “So, here’s what happened while you were gone. Ferris came over because I did something stupid and I wanted his help...”

  I proceeded to tell her the whole story, not in exquisite detail, but enough that she got a clear picture of what had happened and what led to Nick Sarkis breaking into the house. I suppose with an unlocked door, you couldn’t exactly call it breaking and entering, but he didn’t knock or announce himself, so I counted it. I told her about the fight, Zoe’s spirit appearing, and my blast of magic that killed him.

  Her mouth dropped, and she blurted out, “Your blast actually killed him? That’s amazing.” Her face wore more excitement than I’d seen from her in the past month. “You’re gaining more power, are you not? That is excellent.”

  The little matter that I’d killed him didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. I went on with my story, telling her the rest of it about Jensen in the van, the police coming, and taking the body away without arresting me.

  Shaking her head, she said, “Only you. Gavin would not believe this.”

  Yeah, I bet he would, and he’d have a lecture for me. But the comment reminded me that we didn’t have Gavin’s help on our task. Too bad Sarkis hadn’t been a yiaiwa. My confidence would soar if I could kill one of them.

  As I thought about the fight and Zoe, I realized something. “Oh, damn. She didn’t tell me.”

  “What?” Both Ferris and Orielle asked at the same time.

  “Zoe said she had a secret. She knew why the chant spell didn’t work the first time and she’d tell me if I took care of convicting Nick.” I combed my hand through my hair and pushed it back. “She left without telling me.”

  “How would she know anything about it?” Orielle asked as she leaned toward me with an intense look narrowing her eyes.

  “I don’t know. Zoe just said she learned things on the other side, and she knew about it. Could be she just said it to bribe me, but I don’t think so.”

  “Can’t you contact her?” Ferris asked.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on if she wants to come to me or if she’s moved on completely. I can call her at the gate to see if she comes back, but I honestly don’t know.”

  “That would mean another trip to the interim cemetery,” he pointed out unnecessarily. “That’s an extra risk.”

  “Truth.”

  “It would be worth it if she truly has the key,” Orielle noted.

  “I’m going with my team in a little over a week,” I said. “I could try contacting her then, so it won’t add another excursion.”

  “You’re taking a team to the cemetery?” Ferris asked, his eyebrows lowering in consternation.

  “Yeah. A week from this Saturday. It’s time to find out what they can and can’t do. I was going to tell you tonight.”

  He nodded but didn’t say anything more. He was annoyed, or maybe just worried.

  AS THE WEEK PROGRESSED, I made arrangements to test the last two recruits I had. My bruises were healing, Nygard showed no signs of trauma, and I was coming to terms with killing someone. So far, I hadn’t heard any more from either RPD or Moss, which was a good thing but also left a nervous feeling in my stomach. I felt like something was unfinished about it.

  When I was alone, I’d called out to Zoe several times with the hope that she would answer me instead of making me holler at the gate. I knew I couldn’t advance beyond the gate or into the light until it was my time to go, so all I could do was try to get her attention. At times, I wondered if she actually caught Nick at the gate, but I suspected he didn’t go that way.

  On the day before I’d set up the tests, another small package came in the mail; one with an Italian return address—Rome, to be exact. I took it into the kitchen where Orielle was still fiddling with her spirit trap. She’d located another piece of information to refine it and was trying to implement it.

  “This package just came for me from Rome. Any idea what it might be?” I asked.

  She lifted her head and one eyebrow. “Open it and find out.”

  Why did I think she knew anything about it? Because she’d been in touch with Lucca ever since we’d left Italy. I pulled the scissors out of the utility drawer and cut it open. A small box and a note fell out when I upended it. Inside the box was a St. Christopher medal that had been laser cut down the middle. The chain was attached to the side I had.

  I set it on the counter and opened the note, reading.

  Buongiorno. Lucca here. I heard you were running an experiment,
and I would like to submit my application. This medal is significant to me and very personal. If you will try to contact me through it, I think it will be the best conduit for it. Please, Signorina. I wish very much to be part of this. Lucca

  “He wants to try to transition to the interim plane,” I stated flatly. “How did he know I was doing this?”

  “I told him.” Orielle didn’t even look up.

  “You told him without asking me.” Annoyed, I bristled at the idea she would tell him what I was doing. “Why?”

  She tilted her head back, killing the flame and setting her blowtorch on the table, then said, “Because he is interested, and he wants to help. We need all the help we can get. I did not know if he would want to try astral travel or not, but it was his choice. Are you annoyed because you didn’t choose him?”

  “No, I’m annoyed because you didn’t tell me. What else aren’t you telling me?”

  An exasperated sigh burst from her as she shook her head. “Nothing. It was a small matter. As I said, I didn’t know if he would do it, so why tell you until he decided? He did not inform me; he sent the item. End of story.”

  She picked up her blowtorch again, then added, “I am going to see Gavin next Tuesday. Do you want to go with me?”

  “To Stanford?” I hesitated. “Has his condition changed? Is he conscious?”

  “No, nothing. I would like to see him though. It has been a couple of weeks since I last went over. The doctors encourage visitors to talk to him and hope that it will begin to bring him around.” She cast a hopeful look at me.

  She’d been going to see Gavin, and I didn’t even know. I hadn’t seen him once since the trip to India almost six weeks ago now. Did I want to see him in the state he was in now? Would it do any good to talk to him? I wasn’t sure, but somehow a “Yes” made its way out of my mouth.

  I ducked my head and turned away, scurrying back to my bedroom with Lucca’s medal in my hand. I sat on my bed, computer on my lap, and thought about Lucca’s note. He wanted to do this. Orielle was right that we could use the help. But if he’d never done astral travel, could he? Then again, I had three others with limited psychic ability who had managed to do it. What was the harm in giving him a chance? He’d been dying to see me use that energy blast again.

  ON MONDAY, I PICKED up Lucca’s medal and concentrated on the spot in Rome where I was to meet him. Not surprisingly, he’d chosen a place within Vatican City’s walls that was somewhat private, he assured me. Given the time of the meeting, it was likely no one was around...one in the morning, his time.

  With mood music playing in the background, I focused on the medal, looking for its other half and Lucca.

  As I hummed under my breath with the music, the room faded into darkness...

  ... then pinpoints of light as I stepped out into a garden within high enclosed walls and only a few dim lights illuminating it. As I turned to look around, I heard clapping to my left and faced that way. Lucca stood there, hands raised in applause as if I had been a circus act.

  “Are you surprised, Lucca? Did you think I couldn’t do it?”

  He grinned, his handsome face lighting up. “Oh no, I had no doubt, but I am so happy to see for myself. You are a miracle—a gift from God.”

  I had to laugh. “Hardly that. The gifts were given to me in order to do certain tasks, it appears. If the Creator chose me, then I hope he knows what he is doing.”

  Lucca came closer, vibrant blue eyes studying me. “You do not say God. Why is that? Do you not believe?”

  At that point, I felt uncomfortable. I didn’t like to talk about it. “I’m not sure. As odd as that sounds, especially when I had a gift bestowed upon me, but my faith is not that strong. I believe in a power in the Universe, but whether it is God, I can’t say.”

  His head dipped once in acknowledgment as he mulled over what I’d said. “Perhaps you are afraid to believe. You have been disappointed before, have you not? I sense that about you.”

  “Disappointed? Understatement. But I didn’t come here to discuss my beliefs. Are you ready to try astral travel?”

  His mouth opened partially like he wanted to say something more, then he closed it and nodded his head before asking. “What do I do?”

  “You have your half of the medal. Focus on it, think about the other half in my hand, and will yourself to go to where I am.”

  “You’re not going to tell me where the target is?” His eyebrows rose with the question, and he looked like a quizzical child.

  “No. You need to find me if you can.”

  “Ah, it is a game. Like hide and—”

  I vanished before he completed the sentence and stepped onto Zoe’s beach in the Canary Islands where it was about an hour earlier. Moonlight bathed the dark sand with an unearthly glow and reflected in the waters rolling toward the shore. Oh, good planning. I was luring him to a romantic beach in the middle of the night. What was I thinking? I inhaled the scent of the ocean spray and concentrated on the medal and Lucca.

  It was taking more time than I expected. I was about to write him off as a prospective team member when he stumbled onto the beach. Even though the spirit is traveling astrally, and in this situation, doing it quickly, the actual stopping could be disorienting.

  Lucca soon recovered and let out a long, low whistle of surprise. “Ammazza! This is incredible. Where are we?”

  “On an island in the Canaries. I met a spirit here one time and kind of developed a fondness for it.” Even as I said it, I recalled that I also encountered a yiaiwa here the last time I came. Maybe this wasn’t such a good plan. I would finish up quickly with Lucca and head out before anything happened.

  “So this is it,” I told him, waving my arm to encompass the area. “You’ve made your first out-of-body trip. Going to the cemetery will work the same way. I go first; you concentrate on the medal, and I’ll pull you through. For now, focus on returning, and you should zip back to your body.”

  “Are we not going to the cemetery?”

  “Not tonight. It’s late for you. We’ll do a full excursion next Saturday with the team. I’ll send you the details.”

  A look of disappointment flashed across his face, replaced with a slight smile. “What is my body doing while I am here?”

  “Nothing. It’s right where you were in the courtyard so you’ll zip back to it. Just focus on returning and you will.”

  “Ah, that is good, then.” He winked at me, closed his eyes, and a couple of heartbeats later, he vanished.

  My cue to leave also. If a yiaiwa was near, I couldn’t see it in the dark, which made me vulnerable. For me, all I had to do was will myself back to my bedroom...

  ...and I was there, transitioning as smoothly as the last few times I’d done it.

  In the past few weeks, I’d learned enough about astral travel to know the transitions were usually smooth unless something really startles or scares the traveler. Then, you could snap back to your body like a rubber band, which could be painful. I needed to prepare all of my team for that possibility.

  Unfolding my legs, I slid off the bed and traipsed into the kitchen where Orielle was preparing a stir-fry for dinner. She barely glanced at me as she said, “How did he do?”

  “Fine. He can at least do it. I don’t know if Lucca has any special skills in spirit form, or if the physical ones will translate in any way, but he can join us.” I might have said that a touch grudgingly.

  “Good. One more warrior for the battle.”

  Right, the battle. Not that I didn’t like Lucca, but I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to have him along. I mean, he represented the Vatican, and it could be awkward if something happened to him. Hell, it could be awkward if anything happened to any of the team.

  And just like that, the weight of what we were doing crashed down on me. I now had eleven people risking their lives, and their souls, with me on the ethereal plane. Did I have the right to do that?

  After dinner, Orielle and I sat down to discuss the plan
for sealing the portals on both the ethereal and the Earth levels. We assumed, since we had no evidence to the contrary, that the only breach on the transitional plane occurred in my cemetery. None of the others, who had traveled to any other one, had encountered the blackened and foreboding barricade of twisted plants and trees. Not even the cemetery I’d visited at Shiloh carried that taint although I did confront yiaiwas there.

  Our hope rested on breaking through the barrier within the interim cemetery and hunting down the portal breach. If the magical chant we’d tried before was the key to sealing it, and if I could learn whatever secret Zoe had hinted, then we should be able to do it.

  Once that was done, we’d turn our attention to the Earth portal. Orielle expressed confidence that she’d narrowed the Peru one down to an ancient site in Peru, but it was still speculation. A second goal of the closure on the ethereal plane required capturing a yiaiwa in her trap. We still weren’t sure exactly how we could manage to do it.

  “Perhaps we will have a visitor on this plane,” Orielle suggested. “Then we would only need to maneuver it into the trap.”

  I rolled my eyes. “How would we do that?”

  “I think that if you used your energy blast, you might drive it into the trap. That is if you can control the level of power you use. Otherwise, it will just vanish or break apart.”

  “Control the level? I haven’t even tried to control it. I’ve gone full blast every time I’ve used it. I don’t know if it’s even possible.”

  “Maybe you could practice it. See if it is possible,” Orielle said, her eyes entreating me to try.

  I agreed to fit in some practice time in the next few days, but I doubted I had that much finesse with the skill. How did I dial down a power that I didn’t know how to control in the first place?

  Chapter 26

  TUBES SNAKED AROUND Gavin’s body, each handling different tasks to keep him functional. Tubes for eating, waste disposal, and liquids. At least, he was breathing on his own although an oxygen tube waited nearby in case of emergency. He looked thinner, more gaunt than when I’d last seen him, but not as bad as I’d feared he might be.