by Alexie Aaron
“The salt in the air,” Mike said. “I still don’t get how he could move around in that?”
“Remember he has a constant power source,” Burt pointed out.
“But how’d he know to do this?” Patrick asked.
“It goes back to his heritage,” Audrey said and repeated the rumors the museum guide had told the coach.
“As to why the two are still bound, they never undid the spell. Or wanted it otherwise. Until now. Murphy senses the coach part of the deadly duo is trying to break away. Deville’s hold on him is lessening,” Mia said.
“Are there spells or rituals we can do to cancel clear this mess and move on?” Patrick asked.
“Using anything from this book is foolhardy. It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” Mia said sternly. “All we can do is take away the items used in the power ritual. Once Deville can’t recharge, we can fight him.”
“He’s dead. The coach is dead. How do you fight the dead?” Richie asked.
Ted cleared his voice before he spoke, “It’s like when your character dies in a video game. It has to go back for more power before it can resume. If we take away the power source, then we can, in so many words, disarm it. At this point, we will try to pull the two of them apart. I think the brawn Mason experienced is the coach. Take that away and Deville is harmless…”
“Unless he possesses someone else,” Mia warned.
“Gee, creepster, that’s two Bela Lugosi awards for you in the last ten minutes,” Ted pointed out.
“Someone had to say it,” Mia argued and then added, “But if we starve him from power, then he’s nothing more than a shadow without form.” She looked at Ted, waiting for his response.
“Then it’s game over,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“Okay, campers, time to head home. I promised your mas I would have you home by ten,” Patrick announced.
Dave, Mason and Richie groaned but got up and headed through the woods to Patrick’s car. He stopped a moment. “I’ll get you your boat. Cid can meet me at this address around noon or so,” he said, handing Mia the slip of paper. My phone number’s on the back. If it’s a no go, call me.”
“Thanks, Patrick, I appreciate it, and consider your debt paid,” she said, keeping up the charade he was more comfortable operating within.
“How will I know you’re on the boat again?”
“Cid will tell you. He can hear me if I scream.”
“I want to respond to that, but I know you’re spoken for,” he said slyly. “See, or not see, you about two pm.”
Mia nodded and watched the man leave.
“Do you trust him?” Audrey said from behind her.
“No. I think we should count the silver before he leaves. But sometimes you have to take a chance on someone. Cid will be there. I trust Cid, he’s Superman.”
Audrey laughed. “You’re sounding a lot like Ted.”
“Why thank you,” Mia said sweetly. “You did a fabulous, brilliant, wonderful job today. You must be dead tired. Get a good night’s sleep. They’re going to need a sane female here tomorrow.”
“What about you?”
“I’m not sane at my best, but if all goes in our favor, I will be getting plenty of rest tomorrow - my body will anyways.”
“Are you nervous?”
“I’m scared shitless, which is fortunate as we don’t have facilities handy.”
Audrey groaned at the bad joke.
“Ted and I have the nightshift. I’m counting on Murphy coming through with the location of the watch. Tomorrow will be a most interesting day,” Mia said, staring off into space.
Audrey patted her on the back before leaving. She offered Burt a ride because Mike wasn’t ready to leave yet. He accepted. She thought she heard the sound of metal on concrete as she closed her car door. Burt said something she couldn’t quite hear before he opened the passenger door.
“Did you say something?” she asked.
“Just to Murphy,” he said and changed the subject. “I’m dying for a burger. Do you think that diner’s still open?”
“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” she said, pulling out of the space and driving off.
~
Deville mentally prodded the coach to move faster. He didn’t like roaming the halls with Shelby’s group in the building. He knew they camped out in the theater because he could hear their voices from time to time. Speaking of time, he was overdue. If that watch stopped, he was in trouble. His father taught him to be prompt at all times. This hard-learned lesson served him well. It gave him the appearance of being a gentleman. Gentlemen don’t participate in the activities the Devilles enjoyed.
He thought back to how he made them scream before he bathed in their blood. How powerful he felt. Taking what he wanted, discarding the rest. Mortals were expendable, as his mother was and the women after her. They were just vessels to hold the Deville gods and to be killed and consumed after. Yes, his father taught him a lot.
He passed by the theater and heard Vane talking to the kid. He sighed happily knowing they were all in there. He moved on.
Vane smiled at Ira. Shelby instructed them to keep up the chatter for a few minutes after they left. Now he and the boy needed to get to the room the kid called a gym and find a whistle.
Deville slid the cover off the exit sign and pulled out his watch. He counted as he wound it, and when he came to the familiar number, he stopped. He reached up, set it back in its hiding place over the door and slid the sign back into place. Next he needed to make sure the bones were still in position. The loss of the rifle made him paranoid. He pushed through the doors and started up the stairs.
Shelby stepped from the room in which he hid and motioned for the privates to follow Deville. He would locate Murphy and tell him they found the watch.
Ira, unsure of the physics of his condition, climbed the rope. He was happy that gravity didn’t hamper his climb. He pulled himself up on the girder and started to walk the beam, looking for the coach’s whistle. Vane waited just outside the door, ready to warn him of Deville’s approach.
Shelby found Murphy in the administration hallway on the east side of the building. He motioned for the farmer to follow him. He stood under the exit sign and pointed upwards. “It’s in here. I saw him wind it myself.”
Murphy nodded and checked his watch. He looked around Shelby.
“I sent Ernest and Edwin to follow Deville. I think he’s checking on his bones. If he moves them, they will know where.”
Murphy nodded again. He motioned down the hall and put his hand to his brow.
“You don’t talk much, do you? Yes, keep watch for Deville. I hope Vane and the boy get back in time.”
Murphy nodded and moved down the hall quickly. Shelby took his time. He felt the last few minutes of activity had drained him. He needed to conserve if they were going to complete their mission.
Ira twisted around the crossbeam and headed to the middle of the support girder. He saw a glint of metal. He rushed over and found setting inside of the V was the whistle. He noted the position and rushed to the rope. He moved fast. He knew he had wasted too much time in his search. He had to get out of there and down the hall before Deville returned to his lair.
Murphy nodded to Vane and walked back to the south side stairwell to wait. If Deville came down before the others were away from the gym, he would have to confront the spirit. He didn’t like his odds. The two men together were a powerful entity. Without Mia to have his back, he felt extremely vulnerable.
Deville laughed as he saw his skeleton laid out on the table. He positioned himself over it and laid back. The bloat of the coach’s spirit spilled over the table, but Deville was able to feel the familiarity of this part of himself. A small sound, a scrape of paper on the floor alerted him. He sat up and scanned the room. A small rodent scooted across the floor.
He pushed the coach off the table, and the two of them spent some time but were able to catch the thing. He didn�
��t want the mouse to gnaw on his bones. He squashed it. The lack of physical form negated any thrill of the blood that oozed between his fingers. He was tired of being tied to the earthbound spirit of Stewart King. Soon he would take over a live host. Then he would feel again.
Vane and Ira moved quickly down the hall. At the stairs, Vane tapped twice to alert Murphy that they had passed. The duo moved into the theater and was pleased to see Shelby waiting for them there.
“I found the whistle,” Ira said proudly.
“And we the watch. Now if Ernest and Edwin don’t get caught, we will have completed our spy mission,” Shelby said proudly.
Ernest and Edwin moved through the doors and slid into place with their fingers on their lips.
Murphy moved quickly through the door and plastered himself against the wall. He motioned for them to be at ease.
“And I remember when that gun-toting son-of-a-bitch dared to tell me…” Sergeant Vane said, taking his place by the blue flame.
Murphy sensed Deville on the other side of the door. He pointed to the door. Shelby watched out of the corner of his eye. Briefly, he saw the ugly image of the broken-necked man move through the door. It pulled back quickly.
Convinced he had not been caught on his rounds, Deville moved back down the hall to the gymnasium. Tomorrow he would seek out what happened to his rifle. If he wanted to possess a living being, he was going to need more power.
Murphy moved down the aisle and over to Ira.
The boy looked up at him and said, “The whistle is in the V of the middle support of the last girder on the south side. There is paint chipped two feet from where it rests. I suspect a metal ladder was there at one time because there is more scraping about eighteen inches away from that. You can see it from the floor of the gym if you know where to look.”
Murphy nodded. “Good job.”
“Bones are still laid out in 252,” Ernest reported.
“When are they coming for the items?”
“Sunup.”
“We’ll be ready. Do you think you could get us one of them cubes?” Vane asked.
“Don’t know. I’ll ask.”
“I’d appreciate it. All that talking has worn a hole in me.” He stood up, and sure enough, there was a shotgun-sized hole in the man’s chest.
Murphy reared back. “Ouch.”
“It hurt at the time, I assure you,” Vane said and sat down.
Shelby understood now why Murphy was closed-mouthed. It wasn’t that he was unfriendly, just conserving power.
Mia paced the area in front of the truck. She had made sure that the lead box holding the rifle and the chest of bones were secure. They hadn’t opened the small chest yet. Somehow it slipped her mind until now. She pulled it from the salt ring, walked over to the table and set it down. She turned on the lantern and pulled out the set of keys Mike left from her pocket. She found two small skeleton keys. The first one fit but didn’t turn. The second was the right match. The lid popped up.
No foul odor greeted her as she raised the lid. No appendage of a chicken was secured inside. Instead there was a bundle of old letters tied with a blue bow and a few snapshots of Stewart King and his wife Susan looking happily at the photographer. There was a folded up piece of paper that looked like it had been crumpled at one time. She carefully opened it. Wayside Medical Group’s header was emblazoned on the top of the letter. “We’re sorry to inform you that we could not find any live sperm in the sample you gave us March 3, 2009.” Mia stopped reading the letter which recommended he and his wife seek out other methods of conception.
Mia refolded the paper, returned it to its place and locked the box. She sat back, drawing a picture of Stewart King from the items in the box. He loved his wife. He kept all her letters to him. He found out he was sterile. Is this when the need to be a super coach hit him? Did she know? Was he hiding it from her? Why keep the letter?
She was so deep into her thoughts that she jumped two feet out of her chair when Murphy touched her shoulder.
“Whoa! Um, sorry, Murph,” she said, getting to her feet.
He waited, feeling bad for frightening her. Mia didn’t normally scare easily.
She caught her breath before asking, “Did they find anything?”
“Yes.” He smiled. “Watch in exit sign over east door. Whistle two feet from where they took the body down. Bones are still in 252.”
“Brilliant! Woo hoo! Did you tell them we move at sunup?”
“Yes. Favor.”
“Pardon?”
“They want energy. They are failing. Want to help but weak.”
Mia nodded. “Let’s go and see the wizard. There has to be a way to get them energy without supplying Andrew, who must be floating around somewhere, and Deville of course.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Mia sat at the console and moved her eyes, taking in the video feeds on the two substitute monitors. Ted was asleep in the lawn chair beside her. She enjoyed the ebb and flow of his breathing. He didn’t snore normally, but from time to time he was rather musical. He was tired, and Mia insisted he catch up on some sleep. He had worked hard on the mini cubes, and they were charging as he rested. Cid had managed to tap into an outside electrical source. They not only had more than enough power to run their equipment but charge their backup systems too.
Murphy moved in front of the west woods camera. He stood still long enough for Mia to see him before moving deeper into the woods. She typed into the log, Murphy patrolling west woods.
She caught movement on the entrance road. A small, late model sedan moved slowly up the drive. It didn’t stop out front but came immediately to the back and parked beside the PEEPs command center.
Mia cautiously stuck her head out and was rewarded with a glimpse of Dave exiting the vehicle. She grabbed the iPad and transferred the control panel to it as she climbed down from the truck.
She put her finger to her lips and waved Dave over to the table. She sat down and hissed, “What the ef are you doing here? It’s four in the morning.”
“My mother just left for her shift at the bakery,” he explained. “I couldn’t sleep. I wondered if we could talk?”
Mia propped the iPad up so she could see the tiny squares of video feeds and nodded. “I’m listening, but I have to watch these, okay?”
“Sure, I know you’re on duty.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“You.”
“Me?” Mia said, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. “Want to explain further?”
“You seem so put together. I mean, how can you be with all this chaos around you?”
“Chaos as in PEEPs?” she fished.
“That too, but I was thinking the spirits. I can’t take a piss at school because there’s some kid from the sixties staring at my johnson while I pee.”
“Call him a pervert and ignore him.”
“How do you ignore them?”
“I used to wonder the same thing. My aunt Bev has been helping me recently. Before that I was a nervous wreck. I have a house that is totally protected from prying ghosties, but lately I feel like it is more of a cage than a sanctuary.”
“You said your aunt. Does this run in families?”
“Yes. Unusual in males though. If you’re worried you’ll pass it on, you probably won’t. I probably will. Ted’s okay with that. My previous boyfriend, the cop, wasn’t okay with it at all. He tried though,” Mia said sadly.
“You said I could lead a normal life…”
“No, you can’t,” Mia corrected. “You can lead a more normal life than you think you can. You will always see spirits. You may even as you mature hear them. That’s a pain. Most spirits are chatty, unlike Murphy. Once they identify that you can hear them, they will talk day and night, mostly because they’re lonely. When you get out of school you can spend some time with me. I’ll try to help you the best I can. I may suggest a few others that have more patience. As you can tell, I have little nurturing ability.”
“Now that is where I call bullshit,” Dave said. “When you were with Richie, you were a mommy. When you are with me, you’re a ballbuster. Hey, I understand, I’m an asshole. I deserved your anger.”
Mia lifted an eyebrow. “No, I was wrong to be mad at you. Remember I’m human. I get frustrated, mad and scared like everyone else. Right now I’m worried about getting Ira out of that building, and once I do, I’m worried about getting him back into his body. I wanted to call on my aunt or Sabine for help, but Sabine’s boyfriend is dying and my aunt is with her. So it’s up to me. What if I ef this up?”
“Sister, you tried, that’s all you can do.”
“I worry too that Mason’s brother is part of the plan. Can I count on him?”
Dave rubbed his chin. “I think so. He’s obviously not your garden variety, law abiding citizen, but the guy has been there for his brother. He raised him. He attended Mason’s kindergarten tea when he was twenty-years old.”
“Hold on, how old is the guy?”
“Mason is eighteen so that would make Patrick thirty-two. They are fourteen years apart. Their parents died when Mason was four. Patrick was eighteen at the time. He’s been caring for him ever since.”
“I didn’t know. I think I’ve been a ballbuster with Patrick too,” Mia confessed.
“You may want to back off, he thinks you like him. He likes bitchy women,” Dave advised. “You’re not into him, are you?”
“Nope, not even a smidgeon. I’m very happy with Ted. I plan on being with him until we both hang out with Murphy.”
“Tell me about Murphy,” Dave said.
“It would take too long. We’ll save that for another time. Tell me, what else is bothering you?”
