SEEING DEAD THINGS: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel (Roxie’s Midlife Adventures Book 1)

by Leigh Raventhorne

  “Yeah, sure! We spirits have the same Sight as you, as far as I know. Getting more training on anything to do with that sounds good to me.”

  I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. At least there are still guys around that will admit they don’t know everything! Steven would have just BS’d his way through.

  “How would you define the shadow world?” I asked him, walking back to my seat.

  He got up and walked a couple of steps away, and then looked back at me thoughtfully. “There’s a world of light on the other side of the portal between here and there that we spirits just call ‘the light,’ so to me everything on this side of the portal is the shadow world.”

  I sat back down slowly. “I guess I’m having trouble understanding what you just said. Everybody’s heard about the light, and crossing over. Where do you cross over to? And your definition of the shadow world sounds just exactly like what I call the regular world . . . ”

  Rand shot me a grin as he shook his head, thinking, before he tried again. “The light comes from a different—dimension. Only the light, pure energy, and thought exist there. Nothing physical. Time doesn’t even exist there. When any living creature here dies, its spirit rises out of the body and finds itself in an unnatural, somewhat uncomfortable surrounding. Probably similar to what a baby experiences at birth.

  “The light shining through the portal offers to let the spirit cross to a place that suits it better, you might say. The urge to do that is really strong.”

  He thought for a moment before going on. “Now some spirits, for whatever reason, aren’t offered the light. They’re pretty much stuck here, in an uncomfortable state. Some take that ok, and some get pretty pissed off about it. There are also quite a few like me, who resist the light while we try to deal with something really important to us here before we go. I have noticed though, that the longer I resist it, the less uncomfortable I feel.”

  “Thank you. I think I kind of get it.”

  We just watched quietly for a while as Toby and Jake ran around, playing and getting better acquainted. It was obvious that they were already great friends. Though what others must think, seeing Toby acting that way supposedly by himself!

  “Do many dogs—er, animals have the Sight like Toby does?” I asked.

  “A lot more animals than people do, yes. I don’t know how many exactly. But most animals can sense spirits, even if they can’t see them.”

  We were out of the wind on my favorite bench, and the sun was shining. It was a very beautiful day. “This would be a perfect place to just enjoy the sun and read a book, if I didn’t have so many things going on all at once in my life.”

  “Tell me about it. Things kind of haven’t worked out so good for me either,” he deadpanned, “being as I’m dead and all.”

  “Okay, you definitely win the ‘woe is me’ contest. I’m wondering if there’s any upside to suddenly having the Sight, in my case. What do you think, Rand?”

  “Depends a lot on you, I’d think. I’m not an expert on living beings with the Sight, but I am living it as a spirit. I’m like the Invisible Man without the need to eat or to own a home or a car anymore. I have no use for money, because I have no way to spend it, nor anything to spend it on. So I don’t need a job. I do however have the desire to be seen, so when I discovered that you could see me, I was instantly drawn to you. I’d imagine that’s true for lots of spirits. Look at Jake. He definitely likes Toby being able to see him, and you too. Seems like there’d be a lot of ways for you to cash in on that, if you had a mind to. On the other hand, I imagine there are spirits and Others that would not appreciate the fact that you can see them. It takes away their freedom of invisibility and anonymity around you.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, there are far more Others out there than there are spirits. They look just like anyone else to the living. Why? Because that’s what people’s conscious minds want them to see. Then along comes you. A witch may look like a regular person to most, but they’ll stand out like a sore thumb to you. Your gut—or maybe your magick—will tell you they’re Other. They wear a glamour, of sorts. Trust me when I say you don’t want a witch noticing that you know she’s more than she appears. Your best defense will be keeping a poker face and acting like you didn’t while moving as far away from her as you can.

  “There are more shifters out there than anything as far as paranormal beings go. They’ll look just like anybody else to a normal person while in their human form. To you and I they’ll look like one of those apps where you can morph an animal’s face on a human head and body. Again, poker-face. We’re a threat to their anonymity. There’s generally not much they can do to me. I can just ghost out and disappear. You can’t do that. They might want to eliminate you as a threat just for noticing them.”

  “I don’t have a good poker face. I’m more of a scream and get out of dodge type,” I admitted. I remembered what Elmer had told me about witches and ghosts. Was it possible Rand just didn’t know what witches could do to him?

  “Then—we need to work on that, ASAP,” Rand continued.

  I picked up my notebook and started taking notes.

  “What else is out there?” I asked.

  “Vampires, demons, the fae . . . There are probably more I haven’t encountered. Unfortunately, I don’t exactly have any kind of network for intel these days.”

  I wasn’t sure I liked where this conversation had gone. “And I suppose they all look like regular people to regular people, right?”

  “Yep. To you, a vampire will look just like anyone else, except for his teeth, of course. You’ll still know one when you see it though, like with a witch. You’ll feel it. That’s the only way to describe it. And that’s assuming it’s the same for you as it is for me. Demons can look like anything they want to, from an animal to a human child, to something extremely gross and terrifying. Their choice. But, again, you’ll know them right off. They don’t ever actually touch the ground. I don’t think they physically can.

  “Oh, then there’s the aliens. I know of at least two kinds. The reptilian ones, and the gray ones. They both look like regular people to regular people, of course. To you and I, the grays will look like small, skinny human children with of course gray skin and heads slightly too big for their bodies just like the ones portrayed in those Roswell films. The reptilian type will be really tall, muscular, and well—reptilian.”

  “Aliens?” my voice was little more than a squeak by now. “Are you serious?”

  “No. That last bit I made up,” he laughed. “But just because I’ve never seen one doesn’t mean they’re not out there. It’s a big world.”

  If I could have, I would have punched him.

  Chapter 19

  “Why don’t we go somewhere public, somewhere with a lot of people and see what we can see?” Rand suggested. “I think you’re due for an eye opener.”

  It was getting chilly, as dusk wasn’t far away now so we decided to move the conversation indoors. Sam was going to be late tonight, and I didn’t feel like cooking. “What if we just go to the Sagebrush Cantina, sit at the bar, order some Mexican take-out, and wait until it’s ready? I don’t feel like actually going out for the evening yet. Can you do that?” I asked.

  “Sure I can. That place should work. I haven't been there in a long time, but I can’t imagine it’s changed too awful much. As long as you can drive, and then drop me off at the van after. That’s where Toby lives with that woman. In her van. I know all her usual parking places.”

  “What do you mean by ‘parking places’?”

  “She stealth parks on the streets in the more industrial areas. Her van doesn’t look like a camper on the outside, so nobody suspects. But it has everything inside. Parking’s free that way. She has solar on the roof, so she doesn’t need to plug in anywhere. She has a membership at a fitness club that she only uses for the showers and bathrooms.”

  “I think I’ve actually heard of tha
t. And yes, I can drop you off, after. Do you really think we’ll see anything in a small town like Fenton, on a Thursday evening?” I asked, curious.

  “Um, yeah? They’re everywhere. They live here, same as you. Some of them need to eat, same as you. Others just want to be around people—for good reasons or bad, but that doesn’t matter to us. You just need some experience spotting them—and maintaining that poker-face.”

  ***

  To say that Rand was right would be such an understatement. I had no sooner walked through the second set of doors of the entry airlock at Sagebrush Cantina and gave my eyes a moment to get used to the lower light levels, when I saw two young guys sitting with two pretty girls at a table dead-center in the middle of the room—with dog faces. One looked like a hound, complete with floppy ears, the other appeared to be a husky of some sort. I remembered Rand’s warning and kept my facial expression normal and my eyes straight ahead. I walked directly past them and to the far side of the room where the bar was, taking a stool all the way to the left, closest to the kitchen entrance. The worst place to sit, intentionally, so it would be less likely for someone else to come sit next to me.

  The woman behind the bar came over to me, giving the counter a quick wipe and setting a napkin in the wet spot. I bit my tongue and reached over for a dry napkin.

  “What can I get you, Hun?” she asked.

  “Hi,” I said, smiling at her. “I’d like two orders of Botana to go, and a strawberry margarita while I wait, please.”

  “Sure thing,” she said, snapping her gum and moving along to get the food order in first.

  As planned, I took out my phone and acted like I was talking to a friend on it so I could talk with Rand without drawing attention to myself. I had my back to the room, but there was a full-wall mirror right in front of me behind all the liquor bottles.

  The bartender returned with my margarita, giving me an appreciative nod when I included a nice tip. Maybe next time I could get a dry napkin. Sipping my drink, I relaxed my shoulders and tried to look casual.

  “Did you see the two dog-shifters as we came in?” Rand asked.

  I laughed, finding them in the mirror. “Why yes! Yes I did, thank you,” I said into the phone held to my ear. “How could I have missed—it?”

  “I wasn’t sure you did. You never even flinched! Good job with the poker face.” Rand stood right next to me, leaning casually against the bar with his butt, facing directly their way.

  “Obvious much?” I asked him. “You’re going to give us away.”

  “Oh don’t worry, they can’t see me. They aren’t spirits, they’re living beings.” Then he turned around and sat down beside me suddenly.

  “I see what you mean,” I murmured quietly into the phone. “They’re almost like—what do you call them—holographic images on a bookmark. They turn one way and look like a young man, turn the other way and look like a dog. It kind of makes my stomach flip a little.”

  “Behind them, way in the opposite corner of the room standing in front of the booth. Do you see the guy? The spirit?”

  “Yes, I do,” I said into the phone. “He’s totally creeping on those girls sitting in the booth. It’s hard to believe they can’t tell he’s there. I can’t believe how bold he is!”

  “As far as he knows, he’s the Invisible Man. See what I told you? See how his gaze goes from face to face with who’s speaking? He’s really intent on their conversation. Look! He’s leaning on the table so he can hear over the noise! He’s not creeping on them, he’s flat-out spying on them and he has no idea that anyone in the place can see him. He’s a newbie.”

  Somebody new came through the door. A young woman—with a fluffy red fox face! She waved casually at the dog-shifter guys as she joined a table of human women.

  “They obviously know each other. Can they see each other for what they truly are?” I asked into my phone.

  “Yes, and they’re no threat to each other, so they don’t care.”

  “Where are their tails?” I asked, as the thought hit me completely out of the blue.

  Rand chuckled quietly. “Down one pant leg, of course,” he answered.

  “Even the women? That’s weird. And probably really uncomfortable. Please tell me this is another joke, like with the aliens.”

  He just smiled and shrugged. “Shifters are living beings. Unlike me, they need to eat, have a car, have families, and have a place to live. So they need money. That means most of the younger ones need a job. Those are obviously the girls she works with—wherever.”

  “Younger ones?”

  “Shifters age differently than normal humans. They can live for a very long time. Hundreds of years, easily. But they’re mortal, meaning they can also die. Just not as easily. They heal really fast too. They can survive some pretty awful things, and then heal perfectly enough that you can’t even tell. So I’d say the majority of them, after enough time, get wealthy enough that they don’t need to work. They just appear—retired.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” I finished my drink with one large gulp, thinking I might need another one.

  “Here comes your food,” he warned.

  I said good-bye to my phone and put it away as the bartender sat two plastic bags on the bar along with my bill. “That’ll be $20.72” she said. “The big one is your hot food, the small one is your cold items and sauces.”

  I paid her, told her to keep the change, and I walked right out of the place without turning my head.

  “You have an excellent poker-face. I don’t know what you were talking about earlier,” Rand told me as we crossed the parking lot in the dark.

  We walked up to my car. I opened my door and climbed in. Rand went to the passenger side and got in without even opening the door. I shuddered. Why does that mess with my head just a little? He is a freaking ghost after all . . .

  “So all my life there’s been paranormals all around me—all around everyone, and we just couldn’t see them!” I said, as we pulled out into traffic. “I can imagine some pretty creepy scenarios with that.”

  “There are creepy scenarios with anything. Try not to dwell on them.”

  “So, how does it work with those two shifter guys? Do they change into their kind of dog during the full moon, or what?”

  Rand laughed. Hard. Until it started to tick me off. “That’s just in the movies Roxie, sorry. It just struck me as funny. The answer is—they can shift any time they want into their animal form. Some of them, but not too many as far as I know, have a choice between two animal forms they can change into.”

  We saw a dead deer on the side of the road in the headlights. “Take that carcass we just passed, as an example. When it got hit by the car or whatever it was that killed it, if I happened to be standing right there, would I have seen its spirit leave its body?”

  “Absolutely. It’s the same with all living beings. Plants now, I have no idea, but squirrels, birds, deer, dogs, cats and the like—all have spirits. They all get offered their own light, so far as I know. I can’t really imagine an evil animal. They operate on instinct. Humans are the only ones I know of who know right from wrong, and still choose wrong things sometimes,” Rand said.

  “Well Rand, thank you for this. It’s definitely given me a lot to think about. Probably too much, in fact.”

  We found the white van at the second location we tried. I just pulled up down the street a bit from it momentarily and Rand disappeared right beside me as I watched. I shook my head, still barely able to believe that this was my life now.

  ***

  I pulled into Sam’s driveway just as she was getting out of her Cadillac inside the garage. I wonder what she’d think if I told her what I just saw?

  “What’s that?” Sam asked from inside the garage as she waited for me to follow her inside. She nodded at my bags. “You went out! Good for you!”

  “Botanas, Chica! From Sagebrush. How was your day?” I followed her through the laundry room to the kitchen. I was still trying to fig
ure out when and how to tell her about everything, including dog shifters, of all things, but she started telling me about her day as we sat and worked our way through the two giant trays of exquisite Mexican cuisine, and the time just wasn’t right.

  Chapter 20

  For the past week, I’d been dying for pizza. And there was nothing quite as good as a homemade pizza, especially on a Friday night. Pulling out everything I needed to make one from scratch, I got to work. While the dough was rising, I prepared the sauce. As I had learned from my mother, nothing beat homemade pizza sauce. Season, simmer, taste, then repeat until it was perfect. That and there could never be too much cheese on a pizza. I couldn’t find any pepperoni but there was deli ham in the fridge, along with fresh pineapple chunks. Hawaiian pizza it was.

  For almost the next half hour I lost myself to the rhythm of punching down the dough, kneading it again lightly, rolling it out to fit the pan and letting it rise again on it. I layered on the sauce and toppings and had only just popped it in the oven, when I heard Sam come through the door from the garage.

  “Roxie, is that smell what I think it is?” she stopped in the kitchen, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.

  I laughed, “That would depend on what you think it is.”

  Opening her eyes, she looked over at the mess piled in the sink and smiled. “What kind?”

  “Hawaiian. With lots and lots of pineapple.”

  “I know I’ve asked you this before, but will you marry me?”

  “We’ve discussed this. Neither of us are into women, remember?” I bantered back, laughing at her. It was a joke we’d had ever since we started hanging out together outside of the office. The first time she tasted one of my homemade deep dish pizzas was on an evening we were prepping for a huge case. She’d apparently never had pizza that wasn’t from a box, a freezer, or a drive-through. Her mock proposal had thrown me for a loop, so I had laughingly responded that I really wasn’t into women then, too. When she’d tasted my spaghetti, with sauce that had simmered most of the day, I actually began to worry she was going to take me shopping for a ring. After that, it took me nearly two months before I dared to make manicotti with red wine tomato sauce and invite her over.