Of Fire and Storm: Piper Lancaster Series #2

by D. G. Swank

  “That seems like the chickenshit way out,” Rhys said, starting to bite her fingernails.

  I gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand down. “It’s not chickenshit on your part. It would be on hers if she refused to answer the door for you. If she’s there, I’ll tell her that you’re out in the car.”

  She nodded, her eyes round with fear.

  I gave her a forced smile, then got out and walked across the street, my stomach churning with anxiety. There was no sign of Jack, so I’d have to do this alone. I walked up to Abby’s apartment and rang the doorbell, then waited for about five seconds before I rang it again, my chest tight. I struggled to keep my breath while I rang the bell a third time, glancing back at the car. I couldn’t see Rhys from this angle. I knew in my gut that Abby was dead inside, but I had no idea what to do about it. Call the police?

  How was Rhys going to handle this? She really, really liked Abby. How would she react when she found out that her girlfriend had died because of me?

  I felt nauseated.

  Thankfully, Jack’s car turned onto the street, and he parked several spaces up the road. He got out as I walked down the steps.

  Rhys was out of the car in an instant, calling out to Jack as he approached. “What are you doing here?”

  “I texted him,” I shouted, hurrying toward them. “He wanted to come.”

  When I reached Rhys, I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. I sucked in a breath. I could count the number of times I’d seen Rhys cry—three. When her grandmother died. When she smashed her finger in the car door so hard she broke it. When she ended a three-year relationship. A teary Rhys was a big deal.

  “She didn’t answer,” Rhys said when I reached her.

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “You think something happened to her.”

  I turned to Jack as he stopped beside me, giving him a look that suggested I needed help.

  “Rhys,” he said softly. “With everything going on, Piper’s just worried about you.”

  “She thinks she’s dead. I can see it on her face.”

  I wondered if I should fess up about the ghost I’d seen, but I couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not until I knew for sure.

  Jack pulled Rhys into a hug. “We just want to be prepared.”

  Rhys nodded and stepped away, but she let him take her hand.

  I led the way up the steps, my friends trailing behind me, and rang the doorbell one more time just to be sure. After several seconds, I turned to Jack. “Should we call the police?”

  He started to answer, but Rhys broke free from him and lifted the welcome mat.

  “I told her she shouldn’t hide it here,” she said, grabbing the key hidden underneath it. I sucked in a breath as she inserted the key into the lock. Before I could stop her, she pushed the front door open and walked in.

  I hurried in after her. I had no idea what we’d find, and I wanted to protect her from this…or at least as much as I could.

  She stopped short in the small living room. It looked lived in—a half-full glass of water sat on the coffee table beside an empty bowl with a spoon. A laptop was open on the sofa, and I resisted the urge to check if there was a note on the screen. The Abby I’d seen in the on the campus had said she’d left a note.

  Jack stood behind Rhys and lay a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Why don’t you wait in here for a moment while Piper and I look around? Just to be sure.”

  She didn’t respond, but she didn’t bolt forward either, so I walked around her to peer into the kitchen off to the side of the living area. Other than a few dirty dishes on the counter, there was no sign of her.

  Please, please let her be okay.

  But I already knew in the depths of my soul that she wasn’t.

  Jack was at my back as we moved into the short hallway and peeked into a bedroom that had a full-sized bed and a desk covered in books. It looked like a spare bedroom doubling as an office.

  We turned around and I followed Jack out of the room, skipping a partially-open door of what appeared to be a bathroom, and to a bedroom at the end of the hall. There was an unmade bed, and clothes were strewn across the floor, but it looked more like she hadn’t been bothered to find the laundry basket than that there’d been a struggle.

  “She’s not here,” I whispered. “Now what?”

  “We need to check the bathroom.”

  I nodded and led the way this time, walking the short distance to the room we’d skipped. I pushed open the door, surprised to discover a fairly large room. A cabinet with two sinks ran along the wall to my right, and I could see a tub with a shower curtain. Where was the toilet?

  Flipping on the light, I walked further in, only to stop in my tracks. The toilet had been hidden by the door, and in front of the toilet lay the body of the ghost I’d seen the day before. I released a tiny cry of dismay. Jack’s arms were around me instantly, pulling me into a hug.

  “We need to call 911.”

  “Did you find her?” Rhys called out.

  “We can’t let Rhys see her like this,” Jack said.

  I nodded and pulled free from him, giving one last glance to Abby. She was dressed as she had been when she’d appeared to me, only her skin was a pale gray. Her face rested in a dried yellowish puddle of vomit.

  Tears stung my eyes. Enough death. Enough heartache. How much would this stupid curse steal from me and the people I loved?

  Rhys stood in the middle of the living room, her own face pale, making the pink streaks in her hair stand out more than usual. Her arms were wrapped around the front of her chest, holding on tight.

  “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

  I could hear Jack’s soft voice as he called the police.

  Tears streamed down my face and my voice broke as I said, “I’m so sorry.”

  She let out a wail and her knees started to buckle.

  I raced across the room and wrapped my arms around her, trying to hold her upright, but she became deadweight as she dropped to her knees.

  “I’m so sorry, Rhys,” I murmured into her ear, holding her close and rocking her in comfort.

  She rested her cheek on my shoulder and released ugly, heart-wrenching sobs.

  Jack rounded the corner, shoving his phone into his front jeans pocket. He squatted in front of us and put a hand on Rhys’s upper arm. “Let’s move outside, okay? The police will likely want to treat this as a crime scene until they determine a cause of death.”

  Her tear-streaked face lifted, and she stared at him in horror. “Did a demon kill her?”

  Jack’s gaze flicked to mine, then back to my heartbroken friend. “There was no sign of foul play.”

  She glanced back and forth between us, wide-eyed. “Then why did you look at Piper?”

  He gave her a sympathetic look. “There were two empty bottles of pills on the floor. There were capsules floating in the toilet, so it looks like she tried to vomit them up.”

  I stared up at Jack in horror. Whatever creature was sending these warnings had commanded her to kill herself. She hadn’t been able to ignore the command, but she’d come to her senses enough to try to put a stop to it.

  Rhys shook her head, her body shaking with her sobs. “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “The prescriptions were in her name,” he said. “One was an old prescription for Vicodin—the doctor was an oral surgeon my sister used. The other was Xanax.”

  “No…” Rhys wailed. “She wouldn’t do this.”

  Jack tugged on her arm as the wail of sirens grew closer. “We need to wait for the police outside, Rhys.”

  She turned to me with a panicked look. “Can you see her?”

  “What?”

  “She’s dead, so she’s a ghost, right? If she killed herself, she probably has unfinished business. Is she here? Can you talk to her for me?”

  I shot Jack a panicked look of my own.

  “Why do you two keep looking at each other?” she asked, sounding paranoid. “W
hat aren’t you telling me?”

  While we did need to tell her everything, somehow, I wasn’t sure this was the right time, especially since the police were about to show up. We couldn’t risk openly talking about the supernatural around them. I wasn’t exactly in great standing with the department, even though I’d been officially cleared of any involvement in Gill’s death.

  “Piper can try to contact her after the police finish up,” Jack said.

  Except Abby had moved into the light the day before. What sick fucker had picked her?

  It suddenly struck me that she hadn’t mentioned seeing anyone or anything. The being that had done this had spoken to her.

  Horror dripped down my spine and pooled in my gut.

  The voice. Was it the same one? Had it done this to leave a message for me, not just about the Great One but about the consequences of not listening to it?

  This was the ultimate proof the voice could not be trusted.

  Rhys let Jack help her to her feet, and he wrapped his arm around her back, holding her close as we exited the apartment.

  A police car had pulled up front, and a policeman was already heading toward us.

  “Up here, officer,” Jack said. “She’s in the bathroom.”

  The police officer bounded up the steps and brushed past us as Jack led Rhys over to a plastic outdoor chair in front of another apartment.

  “Sit, Rhys,” he said in a soothing tone and guided her down. He squatted in front of her, taking her hand in his, and continued to speak in that soothing tone. It occurred to me that Jack was very good at his job as a pastor, whether he realized it or not.

  More sirens filled the air and an ambulance turned down the street. I heard the police officer inside the apartment call for an additional car and a detective to assist.

  Jack seemed to have Rhys somewhat settled, but I paced the landing on the other side of the apartment, trying not to think about what this meant. The spirit world had attacked Rhys’s new girlfriend, and may very well have gone after Jack’s parishioner. The message was clear. No one close to me was safe.

  Chapter 9

  Detective Olivia Powell arrived about thirty minutes later. An officer had already taken our statements, but while it was apparent they didn’t suspect foul play, they’d asked us to stay and give the detective another statement. Since Rhys wasn’t ready to leave yet, it wasn’t a problem.

  Detective Powell gave me a look of surprise when she saw me, but then her gaze found Jack and something in her tensed.

  “Jack, I certainly didn’t expect to see you here,” she said as she walked over to us.

  “Same,” he said with a grim look. “Abby was our friend Rhys’s girlfriend.”

  The detective’s eyes widened at that. “They told me it looks like suicide.”

  Jack nodded.

  The detective squatted in front of Rhys. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Rhys sniffed. “Thank you.”

  “I’m going to go inside and talk to the officer in charge. Then I’ll be right out to take your statements.”

  “Okay,” Rhys said, sounding more broken than I’d ever heard her. I was so sick with guilt I felt like I was about to jump out of my skin. She would be furious with me for not telling her right away, and every second I delayed telling her the truth only added to my betrayal.

  A crowd had gathered in the yard and in the street, and I was feeling self-conscious, but there wasn’t anywhere we could go to escape their curious stares.

  After a couple of minutes, Rhys sat up and gave Jack a sharp look. “How do you know that police detective?”

  “From when Piper was a person of interest in Gill’s murder.”

  She shook her head. “No. That asshole guy was the detective investigating. How do you know her?”

  “I told you that there was a woman detective too,” I said, but my voice sounded tinny and hollow.

  A hardness filled Rhys’s eyes. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I can see it on both of your faces, although you’re a far better liar than I ever pegged you for, Jack. Tell me the truth.”

  His gaze lifted to mine. “Rhys needs to know the truth, Piper. And maybe we should tell Detective Powell too.”

  My heart slammed into my rib cage, and I leaned in close to him, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Have you lost your mind? The police were far from receptive to my explanation after Gill was murdered.”

  “Detective Powell is different, though. I have a feeling about her.”

  I suspected he was right. Detective Powell had seemed more open to the idea of something paranormal, back when she’d questioned me about the “animal” that had attacked Gill—but confiding in her was a risk I didn’t want to take.

  “What are you hiding from me?” Rhys asked as she got to her feet. “I have a right to know.”

  Jack’s eyes pleaded with mine. “We need to tell her.”

  I ached to tell her, but I was worried about the blowback, more so for Rhys than for myself. What if Detective Powell thought this was some crazy story we’d created as a cover-up? What if she came up with the idea that Rhys had purposely done this to Abby? We had to wait, as much as it killed me.

  “We should wait until after she gives her statement, Jack.” My voice broke.

  “Too late for that,” Rhys said. “What the hell’s going on?”

  She sounded more like her old, take-no-bullshit self, which was a relief given how broken she’d looked…but it also meant she wouldn’t let up until we caved.

  “I’d like to know what’s going on too,” Detective Powell said from behind me. She’d clearly heard everything. “How about you share with all of us?”

  Oddly, Jack didn’t look disturbed by her request—which was really a thinly disguised order considering the badge she wore on her belt.

  “This might not be the best place to discuss it,” he said, turning to look at her.

  She nodded. “I can come back and look around after we chat. We could go down to the station for more privacy, but we don’t need to do something that formal.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief at her last statement.

  “We can go to my apartment,” Rhys said, wrapping her arms around herself again. “I just want to go home.”

  I put my arm around her back, but she was stiff and unyielding. “That’s probably a good idea. Rhys lives about five minutes from here.”

  “Okay,” the detective said. “I’ll follow you, but give me the address in case we get separated.”

  Since Jack didn’t have the address either, Rhys gave it to both of them. Then she and I headed to my car.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Piper?” she asked as soon as I pulled away from the curb.

  Should I tell her now? She’d be rightfully pissed if I kept it a secret any longer. “Yesterday, Jack and I met one of his old parishioners in front of the library on the UNC campus. She and her boyfriend are students there and he’s missing.”

  She turned to look at me. “If you were there with Jack, you must think it’s related to the demons.”

  I felt like crying, but that wouldn’t help anything. “The boyfriend’s personality had drastically changed, and Jack and I both think he might have been possessed. Autumn hadn’t called the police yet, so Jack called Detective Powell. I guess he’d talked to her about some cases in Durham.”

  “What does that have to do with Abby?” she demanded.

  I paused as I pulled onto the highway, then glanced at Rhys, trying to gauge how she was holding up. I did not want to tell her like this, but there would never be a right time or way to break it to her. I gripped the steering wheel tighter to hide my shaking hands. “There’s something else… Remember how a few of the spirits who’ve visited me came with messages? And then turned into piles of ash and smoke?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Rhys, Abby appeared to me yesterday on the university campus.”

  “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “
Because I didn’t realize it was her. I’d never seen her before. You never showed me any photos.”

  “But you knew today.” Her voice was rough and unyielding.

  I took a second before I said, “When you told me you couldn’t get a hold of Abby, I started to put things together, but she’d told me her name was Abigale. I didn’t say anything because I thought—I hoped—maybe I was just jumping to conclusions. I didn’t want to worry you in case it wasn’t her.”

  Rhys leaned back in her seat and was quiet for nearly a minute before she asked, her voice tight, “What did she say?”

  “Rhys.”

  “Some unknown entity killed her to give you a message.” There was a sharp bite in her tone. “What did she say?”

  “She told me that it was watching me.”

  “It? What it?”

  “She didn’t say, but I presumed she meant a demon.” I cast another glance at her, debating if I should tell her the next part, but she had a right to know. “She told me she didn’t want to do it. Someone made her. She said she left a note.”

  Her head rose off the headrest. “Did you see a note?”

  “No, but I wasn’t looking.”

  She sucked in her bottom lip for several seconds, and my anxiety ratcheted exponentially until she finally turned to face me.

  “So the sweet, funny, amazing woman I’d been waiting my entire life to meet died to give you some fucking vague message that something is watching you?” she said, her voice rising. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  My vision blurred with my tears. “Rhys, I’m so sorry.”

  She was silent the rest of the way to her apartment, and as soon as I parked outside of the Craftsman-style house, she shot out of the car and dashed toward the outside staircase that led up to her second-story apartment. Jack pulled in right behind me, parking beside me. We both got out at the same time and made our way toward the patch of lawn in front of the house, just as Detective Powell’s car turned onto the street.

  “Is Rhys okay?” he asked, watching her jump the last couple steps and then dart inside.

  “No.” I took a deep breath. “I told her about seeing Abby yesterday.”