by T. R. Lester
Grey and I walk over to the body after James pulls it from the cooler. He takes the sheet off and I take a look. There are several bites on her arms and legs and turning her over shows three more on her back.
“Who would bite her up like this?” James asks.
“A psychopath.” I reply.
“Do you think you could print out the autopsy report or a summary for me? I haven’t had time to get one from Detective Jackson yet.” I ask.
As I ask James this, I touch his arm and send him a push to say yes. I hate to mess around in a person’s mind, but sometimes I can’t prevent it.
“Sure. No problem.”
He turns to leave the room and I look at Grey.
“What is it dude?”
“Ghosts. I need to send them on.”
I go to the center of the room and the ghosts come and encircle me. Well, hover around me? Float?
I open my link with Ava and ask her to come. I hear a slight ripping sound above my head and look up to see Ava’s talon sticking through. It looks like someone has unzipped the atmosphere at the point she is coming through. I hold my arm up and she lands and ruffles her feathers.
“We have a job to do girl.” I tell her.
She looks at the ghosts, who appear to be trying to get closer to her. There is six here. I’ve never tried to send that many back at one time so I’m not sure how this will go.
As I look at Ava, they continue to get closer to her. She extends and raises her wings slightly, kind of like a mother duck raising its wings to allow its ducklings to get under them.
They continue to get closer to her.
“Dude, look.” Grey says.
I do and can see they are shrinking as they get closer to her wings. They are getting smaller. They are so small now that they look like small white glowing orbs.
Each one approaches Ava, brightens, then floats in under her wings. They continue this until all of them are attached to her.
She looks at me, ruffles her feathers and I raise her up into the air where she reaches a talon out, rips the veil and jumps through.
“That was cool as hell dude.” Grey says.
“You, my friend, are much too easy to amaze.” I tell him.
He laughs.
I have to admit that was a wow moment for me too. I’d never seen Ava take that many spirits at once.
James comes back in with the summary I requested with a glaze still in his eyes. I touch his arm again and his eyes clear.
“Thanks man. I think we’ve seen enough. We’re going to head out now.” I tell him.
“Let me know if you need any more from me.” James says.
“Will do.”
Grey and I exit the morgue and head back to the truck. It’s time to tell Luke the news. Damn.
Chapter 4
When we get back to my apartment, I sit in silence for an hour or so trying to figure out how to break this news to Luke. He’s likely to torch everyone in hell, or at the least, torch Belphegor.
“What are you going to do? Go to limbo, or just reach out to him?” Greyson asks.
“Hell no I’m not going to limbo. I don’t want to be anywhere close to limbo when the fireworks start.” I tell him.
“Makes sense.” He says.
I gather my nerves and sit on the couch. I open my mind and call for Luke.
“Did you find any useful information?” Luke asks.
“Well, yeah, I did. I don’t think you will like it though.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“Promise me you won’t torch the world.”
“I make no such promise.”
“Of course you don’t.”
“So, the body was drained of blood and the heart was taken at both scenes. There was very little blood leaving me to believe it was collected and taken away. Victim two has numerous bites on her arms, legs and back. I have to go to the morgue to look at victim one. There was a pentagram, and the victim was inside of it. It looks like someone reached into her chest and ripped the heart out. The pentagram was not closed either which makes me think it’s being used to let the demon roam.”
“And? What are you not telling me boy?”
“Well, there was a sigil, of course, on the pentagram and wall.”
I can hear Luke take a breath and sigh.
“Do I need to pull information from you like pulling teeth?”
“Not really.”
“Who does the sigil belong to that you found?”
“Um, Belphegor.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure. I took pictures for you.”
“I think this is a big pile of shit. None of the princes would leave their sigil behind if they were trying to usurp you. That would be stupid, and none of you are stupid. Someone is setting Belphegor up.” I say.
“Maybe.”
“Do you believe he would do that to you?”
“There were animosities after the fall and war. Some didn’t like the fact I took lead in establishing an order. Most would have been satisfied living in chaos for the rest of their existence. So, yes. I believe he would do that. Any of them would. But did they? That’s the question. What I believe is not proof of wrong doing.”
“Understood.”
“Bring the pictures as soon as you can so I can view them.”
“My phone won’t work in limbo, remember?”
I hear Grey let out a squeal and look behind me to see Luke looming.
“Can you maybe say something that will let me know when you’ll be popping in? Grey can’t take too many scares.”
“Fine. I’m popping in.”
“Too little, too late.” I tell him.
I take my phone out and watch him scroll through the photos. As he scrolls, his eyes get redder with each photo.
“Uh Luke?”
“What boy?”
“You are kind of suffocating us with your loomingness.”
“That’s not even a word boy.”
“Close as I could describe. Can you ease off a bit?”
“I believe Bazil is at the bottom of this.”
“Possibly involved, but not the culprit. He doesn’t have enough sense to mastermind a scheme.”
“There have been two murders so far. I need to find out who this is before another one happens. I’m going to take Greyson out with me to search for the loogaroo’s skin. I’m also going back to the Lyric and see if I can talk to that ghost that is said to haunt the place. He may have seen something that can help us.”
“A ghost?” Luke asks.
“Yes.”
“You can see ghosts now?” Luke asks.
“Since I was a young child. I usually ignore them so they don’t know I can see them. If I ignore them, they leave me alone. If they know I can see them, they will follow me around the area I see them in.”
“Yes. Ghosts do that from time to time.”
“I’ll contact you when I have more information.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Luke opens a portal, steps through, and it closes with a very loud snap.
“That went better than expected.” I say.
“I think he may be a tad bit upset.” Grey says.
“That’s his equivalent of slamming a door.” I say with a snort.
“Want to go ghost hunting?” I ask Grey.
“Sure. Never done that. May be interesting.” He replies.
“We should go now. It’s night and ghosts appear more at night than other times. He may not know anything, or may not tell us. I’ve heard he is a jokester, a smart ass and likes to aggravate people.”
“Just what we need. A smarmy ghost.”
As we drive to a theater, Greyson starts a conversation.
“Man, I never thought when I was a kid I would be sending demons back to hell. I never thought there were strange things that go bump in the night. I was afraid of the dark like most kids, but never thought creepy shit lived in the dark, under beds, in close
ts and such.”
“My childhood was fucked up man. My parents, they took care of me, somewhat, but I never felt loved by them. Odd things always seemed to happen in their vicinity, so the fact that demons and other creatures exist, well, it isn’t that strange to me. They tried to summon every demon from the lower level imps to the highest of the fallen.” I tell Greyson.
“Wasn’t it strange when you started hunting demons? I mean, how much stranger can anything be?”
“What’s strange is when your parents use you for a sacrifice, and it fails, then you are swept away by a major demon to the depths of hell and turned over to the one and only Lucifer Morningstar to be reared and trained. You have to remember; I was four when I was taken to him and I didn’t see the upper world again until I was twenty years old. I went sixteen years with no human contact. When I was sent on my first hunt, it was you and your succubus bitch you had come in contact with.”
“Please don’t remind me of that. That was something I would rather forget."
“What? That you found a girlfriend or that she tried to suck your soul dry?”
He gives me an eye roll.
“Let’s go. When we go in, stay silent. I’m not sure of how to talk to him since I’ve never tried talking to a ghost.”
“Fine.” Greyson says.
When we walk into the theatre, my skin prickles, like someone is watching. That’s how it feels when a ghost is near. I’ve heard he is one to throw things or move things around to confuse people. I just hope he isn’t violent.
“I feel him.” I say.
Greyson nods.
We make our way to the stage area and stop. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him. He’s standing there looking at us. Not moving, just stone still and in a mist form.
I touch Greyson’s arm and nod toward steps that lead onto the stage.
We walk over and Antoine’s eyes follow us.
“I can see you.” I tell him.
His heard turns slightly to the side as if he is listening to me.
“Can you talk to me?” I ask.
He moves closer to us.
“I just want to ask you a few questions. Will you allow me to do that?”
The ghost continues to stand there, staring at us.
“I guess he doesn’t want to talk.” Greyson says.
Just as I begin to ask him a question, a small footstool is hurled in our direction. Greyson and I try to dodge the stool, but it catches him on his right shoulder. Suddenly, we have all types of projectiles being hurled at us from all directions.
“Fucking hell.”
We dive into the aisle that is closest to us and try to get behind the seating.
As we lie on the floor, the ghost continues to hurl items at us. Chairs fly by overhead, books, stools, and even a mannequin. For a minute, I thought we had a body flying past us.
As we continue to huddle on the floor like scared little animals, I look over to Greyson, who looks to be on the verge of throwing one of the stools back at the ghost.
“I’m tired of this shit.” I tell Greyson.
“Antoine, I just want to talk with you. Stop throwing shit.” I yell.
More items continue to soar past us. Catching a glimpse of the ghost, I can see a damn smile on his face. He’s enjoying this shit.
He flies at us and through us, leaving a feeling of deadness… coldness… I can’t describe it. It just didn’t feel right. “Antoine, I will remove you from this place. I’ll call Ava, my owl.”
I’m not sure how ghosts and demons know Ava, but the mention of her name gives them a look of concern, or terror. Whatever a ghost or demon gets. I think Ava must be connected to the preternatural gossip line and her name travels like the speed of light.
She is always around when I call her. I don’t know where she comes from but as soon as I say or think her name, she is there. She isn’t in another realm, or I don’t believe she is anyway. She can travel anywhere and she often shows up on my balcony often.
The flying objects finally stop hurtling past us. I ease my head from behind the aisle and look to see where he is. I almost shit when I come nose to nose with him. I sit there and try not to make any sudden moves.
“Can I talk to you now?”
He nods.
“Can you speak?”
He shakes his head no.
Most ghosts can’t speak due to the energy needed to make a sound come from them. When they are able to speak, they will quickly fade out due to the over use of stored energy.
“One nod for yes and two for no, ok?”
He nods.
“Did you see who came here when the girl was killed?”
Nod.
“Was it a woman?”
Nod.
“Was she old and worn?”
Nod.
“Was she alone?”
Nod, nod.
“Was a human man with her?”
Nod.
“A demon?”
Nod.
“Did the man summon the demon?”
Nod.
“Do you know who the demon was?”
Nod, nod.
“Was the girl alive when they brought her in?”
Nod.
“Ask him what the demon looked like.” Greyson says.
“Doesn’t matter. They can alter their appearance.”
“Thank you Antoine. Are you happy here?”
Nod.
“If you ever decide you would like to move on, I’ll help you.”
One middle finger.
“Hey, that was rude.”
He gives me a sneer and vanishes.
“He’s a rude ass ghost.” Greyson says.
“Yeah. Nothing like having the middle finger flipped in your face by a ghost.” I say.
Chapter 5
After leaving the theater, we stop and pick up some Chinese carryout and make our way to my apartment.
As we get out of Greyson’s truck, I see that same shadow I saw earlier. I keep on walking, not in the mood to deal with that right now.
“What’s next?” Greyson asks.
“Tomorrow night, we start the search for the loogaroo’s skin. We have to find it. Asmodeus said it would be anywhere she feels it’s safe. A mortar, a tree trunk, anywhere she can fit it. So, we have to look for places that could be a hiding spot for her.”
“A mortar? Like the one you use for mixing things?”
“Yes. Like a mortar and pestle. But it will be a large one. Large enough to hold a human skin. It could also be left in the trunk of a tree. She will leave it at night in order to fly around as a fireball in search of blood.” I tell him.
“A fireball?”
“Yes. A fireball.”
“So, what happens if we get her skin?”
“She won’t be able to return to it and take a human shape. She will be in the fire ball form and easier for Ava to send back to hell.”
“This is a job for Ava?”
“Yes, since the loogaroo will be in spirit form. But I think we will let her get her skin back on then take her. It may be easier to have a physical form to hang onto.”
When we get to my apartment door, we see a pentagram etched into the paint. It’s not activated with sigils, but it’s there.
I was taught to never break a pentagram circle, line or sigil. So, I call Luke.
I open my mind and call out his name.
“Yes?” He responds back.
“There’s a pentagram on my apartment door.”
“Go on...”
“Well, I don’t know where it came from. I don’t want to cross it. It’s not activated, but still, I don’t want to touch it.”
“Look at the pentagram boy.”
I looked.
“Hmm. Looks like the work of a demon. I can smell the sulfur, can you not?”
“It must be too faint for me to smell it.” I say.
“It’s not linked to any spells. I’m not sure why it would be there for anything other
than to frighten you.”
“I’m not frightened, I’m cautious.”
“So you say.”
“Open the door Kas.” Luke says.
Slowly, I put the key in the lock and turn it. I hear the lock click as the key turns. As I pull the key out and put it back in my pocket, I turn to look at Greyson and can see he is a shade paler than he was.
“Luke.”
Keeping my eyes on Greyson as I say Luke’s name, a whoosh of wind and flapping behind us almost sends Greyson fleeing in terror. I reach out to grab his arm before he bolts. I point with my chin to the small wooden fence that surrounds my patio. From where we stand at the doorway, the patio is behind us. The apartment is so small that anyone making their way to the door would pass the patio before getting to the door. Across the small hall from my door is another apartment door. The distance between the two doors is almost fifteen feet. Yeah, I live in a small place.
Greyson turns to look at the patio and sees Ava perched on the top of the fence.
“Damn Ava, give me a heads up next time.” Greyson whispers.
Ava unfolds her right wing stretching it out behind her never taking her eyes off Greyson, pulls her wing back in and stares at him with those big, round, yellow eyes of hers as if to say, “Silly human.”
Greyson isn’t around Ava often and startles when she comes to visit. The sounds and wind her wings make when she lands is loud, but I’ve gotten used to it over the years.
“If you two are finished playing now, open the door boy.”
I turn the door knob and give the door a push. Ava gives a flap of her wings as if to say hurry up.
I continue to push until the door opens all the way.
I reach around the corner to flick the light switch on. Greyson and I stand there just staring.
There is a pentagram on the floor of my apartment in the living room. This one has the sigils of a demon and was activated at one point. There is a faint trace of energy that’s still visible on the sigils. There is blood splattered around the floor inside the pentagram and hanging directly above it, from a steel hook that has a chain connected to it and looks to be entrenched in the ceiling, is a body. Throat slashed, exsanguinated, and heart missing. On the abdomen, there’s a sigil of torment drawn.
