by Alexie Aaron
~
“You have quite a fascinating collection,” Judy said to Bernard.
“It’s not mine alone; it belongs to everyone. Mia thinks it’s wrong to keep the possessions of the dead all housed together,” Bernard commented.
“True, I see her point. With many of the pieces there is a spirit attached, some benign, some quite angry. But how are we to learn unless we observe?”
He-who-walks-through-time balanced a spear in his hand. He regretted the choice of wood, but the archeologist who consulted on the display would not have known that the spear head would once again be used in battle.
“There are spearheads in Jarvice’s collection that haven’t been mounted,” Bernard mentioned. “You could choose your own staff.”
Ed nodded. “This will do. I will take care and return it to you if I survive. If not, Judy will get it to you. I’m not a thief.”
“I only wish I understood why Angelo has taken my goddaughter. She has her life planned out for her. She is happy, and I approve of whom she has chosen and the course she has taken. Shouldn’t he have consulted me and Ralph, her godparents?”
“He chose a route that was simplest. Angelo is a strategist. He sees what will benefit the fight against evil the most and unfortunately, in this case, didn’t think through the ramifications,” Judy said sagely. “If he will not yield Mia. Ed will have to kill him to release her. It is our way.”
“Surely the governing body of the Brotherhood can intercede?” Bernard asked.
“They can turn down his application of Mia, but no matter what, Beverly Cooper has sold her niece to Angelo. In our culture, it is a weak deal but a binding one,” Judy counseled.
Ted ran down the hall towards them. “Professor Albertson has found the store of poisons. He would like to know what you will need?”
Judy looked at Ed. They walked a few steps away and consulted for a moment. Ed walked back over and said, “I desire three types: one for pain, one for paralysis and the final one for death. I shall give the birdman two chances before I destroy him. It is only sporting.”
Ted swallowed hard. “I will tell him.” He turned away and stopped. “I keep thinking what Mia would want. You see my fiancée isn’t a killer. She…”
“She is in an impossible situation,” Judy pointed out. “She is also a warrior. She will see that this is the only way, aside from Angelo returning her. I too don’t wish for him to be harmed, but I also know our ways, and this is the only recourse we have. If you want to save Mia from an eternity of service to the Brotherhood, a service where she will have to kill and do things contrary to her dogma, then we must act and soon.”
The sound of a shuffling of rags upon the marble floor caught the attention of the artifact robbers. Ted looked over wide-eyed to see what was left of a man drag his way towards them. In his outstretched hand he held an amulet.
Ed moved to intercede.
“Stop, I think he’s the, er, zombie that helped Murphy hold off the Aztecs when we were working on containing Courtney,” Ted said quickly. “I didn’t see him, but Mia assured me he was fighting with Murphy side by side.” Ted walked over to the man and put his hand out.
The zombie dropped the crude gold piece in his hand. “Morts séjour morts,” he rasped, turned around and started the long arduous shuffle back to the Haitian display.
“Dead stay dead,” Judy translated. “He must have heard us talking earlier about Guillaume Bouché.”
“I forgot how the voices carry in the museum when it’s empty,” Bernard said, his brow furrowed. “The poor soul. The energy it must have taken to get to us…”
“I will get it back to you if I can,” Judy promised.
“I don’t think we knew we had it,” Bernard said as he scanned the museum’s lists on the iPad Ted had given him for his birthday.
“If you had… I struggle for the word… yes, x-rayed his body, you would have found it where his heart should have been,” Judy informed him. “You see in…”
“No time for lessons,” Ed interrupted. “Poisons and then Mia.”
Judy nodded obediently. “Lead us to Professor Albertson.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Mia jumped down from the last branch of the tree. She scanned the courtyard, and true to his word, Angelo was not there lurking. Mia was uncomfortable and needed to relieve herself. It was difficult to think of anything when one had a full-to-bursting bladder.
A gray lady appeared. She seemed older than the others Mia had previously seen. She strode over to Mia and stopped before her with her hands on her hips. “The way I see it, you’re uncomfortable, and I have the means to give you comfort. Let’s work this out,” she said in a clipped Australian accent.
“Unless you’re an heir to the Crapper fortune, then we have nothing to talk about.”
The woman looked puzzled. Her eyes went still as if she was accessing data instead of just thinking. “Crapper as in toilet. Good skies, girl, we aren’t barbarians. We have running water below. I think Sister Harp has a bidet in her room, although, I find them repulsive.” She looked at Mia and read the apprehension in her face. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to trick you. There is no escape from this place. I’m not going to drug you, lock you up or any other nonsense. Follow me,” she instructed.
Mia did so. She hated to think her end would be brought about by her shyness of urinating in public, but a girl had to have some modestly.
As they approached the wall, Mia noticed that it was an illusion that the wall was solid. It was a deception caused by two parallel walls with a break in the first one. The opening led to a stairway and into the top floors of an impressive stone house.
“Where is this place?”
“Italian alps, not sure if we are in France or Italy at the moment. I get my directions all screwed up. We’re not as far up as one would imagine the Brotherhood would choose, but no one knows we’re here so there is no need for altitude and all that blasted snow. We’ve only had one escape, and you were responsible for that if memory serves me.”
“I assure you I was unaware, a mule with no compensation.”
The gray lady looked back at Mia a moment.
Mia was wondering if she was sizing her up, or did she detect Murphy?
“What’s Refugia calling herself these days?”
“Judy.”
“Turbulent waters! What a name.”
“She likes it, and I think it suits her personality.”
“This is your room.” The woman pushed open a large wood door. “Feel free to come and go as you please. The kitchen is on the bottom floor, but you being a suspicious girl, and rightly so, will no doubt spend your time dining on grapes. Rest, relax. You really are wasting time, but then again we have all the time in the world.” The woman continued down the hall.
Mia entered the sparsely appointed room and found the entrance to a small bath to her right. She walked in, slammed the door and lifted her skirt and sat down. “Bliss.”
“Is she settled?” Angelo asked the gray lady.
“I told you to be patient. You’re always in such a rush. Nature and modesty would bring her to heel.”
“Did you get a read on her?”
“Oh no, that one’s mind is locked. I got through to the menial stuff, but her memory and cognitive functions are off limits. I suspect she’s worried another gray lady is going to hijack her head again. Refugia has a lot to answer for.”
“Refugia had served her purpose. She is happy in her new body. Once she bores of being human, she will return,” Angelo said.
“With no disrespect, sir, can I ask why Mia Cooper?”
“You’ve seen her mind, her emerging powers and her beauty. Can you not think of a better warrior in this day and age?”
“One shouldn’t be forced. To hear the calling is one thing…”
“Yes, yes, I heard this all before from a few of the other ladies,” Angelo said dismissively.
“What was the Cooper woman’s thirty piec
es of silver?”
“She wants her dead lover brought back to life.”
“NO!”
“Don’t be alarmed. It has to be done. It is not a simple thing though. I must study. Please shut the door after you,” he said dismissively.
She backed out of the room and shut the door firmly. Her face did not represent her emotions. She had always felt the change before the tide turned. She would pack her treasured belongings and urge the other ladies to do so. Mia Cooper may have been forced here, but she brought with her their mutual destruction.
Mia looked at the soft bed and sighed. “Not for you girl.” She sat instead on the floor facing the door. She whispered, “Murphy, if you can hear me, you can come out now.”
Deep in the recesses of her mind a door opened. For a brief few minutes, she felt Stephen Murphy fill her. He took control of her body and caused her to get up. He walked her to the tapestry and drew it aside.
The surprised young, black gray lady shrieked.
Mia saw her hand move to indicate the woman should leave, which she did in great haste. She ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her.
Murphy moved out of Mia, catching her before she fell in a faint. He carried her to the bed and laid her down, pulling the comforter over her. He then searched the room, finding little stores of things that could be used to subdue her. He piled up the herbs and prickly thorns in the fireplace. He then lit a taper and burned the drugs, fanning the smoke up the flu and away from the sleeping Mia.
Murphy sat next to Mia, facing the door. He would let her regain her energy before he helped her to escape. If Angelo Michaels crossed his path, Murphy would bisect the birdman and then quarter him with a few more swipes of his sharp axe. He would send Angelo to his maker in several large pieces.
~
Beverly stood in line, waiting to enter the Caribbean air carrier. She looked one last time at her cell phone before tossing it. She didn’t need the distraction or the GPS. There were a multitude of voicemail messages. She winced thinking of the panic she caused. The heartache of Theodore Martin would be brief. He was a young man, and as with most men of her experience, would move on to another love. PEEPs would go the way of mediocrity without Mia’s abilities. Gerald would never forgive her. Charles and Amanda would be compensated in seven years when they declared Mia dead. She was sure Mia invested Bev’s mother’s small fortune well.
Bev would no longer set foot in the United States of America; she was a wanted woman the minute she got on the plane and headed away from Illinois. True, her crimes were minor, but once the IRS got up to speed after being notified she wasn’t dead, then the federal government would hunt her. She had traded her friendships, alliances and comforts for the chance to be in Guillaume’s arms again. Once they were united, she would take him to the villa in South America she had prepared. They would live off the money she had embezzled from Gerald Shem’s gifts and allowances. She had worked everything out. She maneuvered Angelo into taking Mia into the Brotherhood in exchange for Guillaume’s resurrection. If he didn’t want Mia, Sabine would have been offered.
The fates would be angry with her, but she didn’t care. They had ignored her pleas and prayers. She wasn’t a horrible person though. She had helped Mia develop the tools to eventually free herself. Once the shock of her betrayal had subsided, Mia would see that she had options. Hopefully, Angelo would have already gone through with his part of the deal before Mia went into action. If not, Sabine would be offered. She would be dragged away from Brian’s wasted body and brought to heel. It wasn’t her first choice to imprison her and Guillaume’s daughter to the Brotherhood, but if it would bring her love back to her, then so be it. She had no other choice.
~
“I feel so damn responsible,” Mike admitted to Burt. “I welcomed the viper into our midst.”
They were going through the checklist of equipment that Cid and Audrey brought them as they recovered it from the theater.
“No one knew…” Burt started to say.
“You did, Audrey did, and Mia did not want Bev around. I saw it on your faces when I pushed her on us.”
“In my case, I’m a bit scared of her but not for the same reasons,” Burt confessed.
Audrey caught the last part of the conversation on her way to the truck. She opted not to throw her two cents in uninvited.
Cid, who was a few steps ahead of her, was not that courteous. “We all were taken in by the benevolent repentant Bev act. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mess at Mia’s house wasn’t all orchestrated. I’ve been up in the catwalk with Audrey. The pulley was ripped from its perch and thrown at me.” He rubbed his forehead until Audrey smacked his hand away.
“You’re going to start it bleeding again,” she admonished. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I’ve searched the building, and I haven’t found one cleaved piece of wood, nothing that would indicate that Murphy was in a fight with Angelo. Sure, we’ve found a lot of feathers, but I suspect that’s Mia’s doing. My feminine intuition tells me that Murphy went with Mia, probably hitched a ride…”
“Like Whitney’s wife did with Sabine,” Burt said, his face brightening with realization. “Let’s not count Mia out yet. She’s smart and crafty. Murphy has been preparing himself since she was taken the last time. He’s always hated Angelo. We thought it had to do with him not wanting to leave this level of existence. But it goes deeper. He’s been Mia’s protector since she’s been a teen. It’s his role in death.”
“Let’s get this investigation buttoned up. Ted needs us, and I’m not going to let him down again,” Mike insisted.
“Where is Ted?” Audrey asked.
“Last I heard, he was helping Ed raid the Field Museum.”
The sound of a car driving into the alley stopped their conversation. The black sedan stopped and Benito, Gerald’s driver, emerged.
“Gentlemen, Lady, I’m here on a request from Mr. Shem.”
Mike’s fist balled. Audrey, sensing his anger, put a restraining hand on his arm.
“Ted needs his passport. He said it’s in the PEEPs equipment van under…”
“D for Doctor Who,” Cid finished. “We originally got the passports so we could attend the Doctor Who convention in London. That’s where mine is too. I take it Ted’s heading out of the country… Italy?”
“No, sir, Ted’s going to try to interrupt Ms. Cooper’s resurrection, stop the deal made with the winged devil,” Benito corrected.
“Then I’m going too,” Cid said, climbing in the van. He reappeared with Ted’s and his passports and an ominous looking military backpack and two sheathed machetes.
“Are those…” Audrey started to ask.
“Zombie fighting equipment,” Mike said under his breath.
“We’ve been preparing for this since we saw George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.”
“How old were you when you saw it?” Audrey asked worried. “You know it’s…”
“Twelve, and some things you would regard fiction have a basis steeped in lore and fact,” he said gruffly. “Burt, call my mom. Tell her I’m headed out of the country.”
Cid followed Benito past the stunned ghost hunters and got in the passenger side of the car. Benito nodded to the three before getting in the sedan and backing out of the alley.
“You just let him leave,” Audrey accused Burt and Mike.
“Audrey, the machetes aren’t for fighting zombies,” Burt informed her, his nose burning as he fought with his emotions. “They are for fighting Angelo and his minions,” he said quietly. “You see, Murphy’s not the only one with a vested interest in the outcome of the resurrection of Bev’s beau. Ted has been mentally preparing for this since Father Santos advised him to marry Mia quickly. And where Ted goes…”
“So goes Cid,” Mike finished.
~
Ted stood at the steps of the Cessna Citation X. He smiled when Benito pulled up and Cid got out.
“Dude, you could have called ahead and g
iven me a heads up, asked me or something,” Cid said, handing Ted his passport. He declined the attendant’s offer of stowing the backpack. He would see to it himself. He did, however, hand the startled lady the two machetes.
“I knew I didn’t have to ask,” Ted said, following Cid up the stairs.
Gerald was busy on the phone. He nodded to Cid and waved a hand in the direction of the captain of the jet. He approached the two and took down the information he would need to aid in their legal entry into Cabo Rojo Airport. From there they would travel up 47. They would then hike into Haiti and the mountains where Guillaume was buried. Gerald’s contact had assured them they had time. Bev would have the longer journey from Port-au-Prince.
Cid sat down across from Ted. He leaned in and asked, “Are you sure Shem can be trusted?”
“No. But what other choice do I have. Ed’s on his way to Angelo’s mountain retreat to challenge him. We’re positioning in Haiti to stop the deal from going through. I challenge Angelo or Ed does, either way we will get Mia back. If something happens to me…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. We’ve been rehearsing the worst case scenario since we met in junior high school, dude. I think it’s about time we talked over the best case scenarios. We haven’t a clue in heaven what to do if things start to go our way.”
This caused Ted to laugh. His face lost the hunted and horrified look, and the furrow eased between his brows. “We have on one hand he-who-walks-through-time, affectionately known as Ed. He’s a superhuman used to plucking these birdmen out of the sky and using them to stuff mattresses. And then there’s us, Batman and Superman, able to leap giant plot holes in a single bound.”
“There’s one other, and let’s not discount Princess Toadstool either.”
“Who’s the other?” Ted questioned.
“Murphy. Audrey and I could find no sign he fought Angelo. There wasn’t a scratch of the axe on the stage floor or the cement around the Quickie Mart’s entrance. Her gut says that Murphy traveled with Mia. Burt says in her mind.”
