The Skinwalker Conspiracies - 02

by Jim Bernheimer

  Fido’s barks became a low growl as a chill swept through the room. A shimmering apparition drifted downward. It looked like De Soto, but was much less substantial and I knew that the spirit must be one of his “pieces.” Even as Fido backpedalled, I grew more curious about the wraith staring at my dog host. How much intelligence did it have? Could De Soto see through its eyes or did he have to rejoin with it? If he could, my cover was probably blown. If he couldn’t, it would be when the piece reconnected. Either way, I thought I was screwed and didn’t have anything else to lose.

  Using my “doggie OS,” I superimposed the image of the bird over the piece’s face and decided to see if my miniature attack dog could do any damage to a ghost.

  The portion of De Soto in front of me didn’t really flinch when the dog leapt, charged, and jumped off the end of the bed. He or it probably fully expected the animal to pass through. I was counting on a different result because of my presence in this beagle’s body.

  For a change, I wasn’t wrong. Fido slammed into the specter and all three of us went to the ground. My dog was nipping at the arms of the De Soto shade, who was frantically trying to defend himself from my four-legged avenging ball of fury. Even though I was in contact with it and De Soto’s mouth was moving like a scream, I couldn’t hear him/it.

  These shades must be mute or not fully intelligent.

  I sensed the power contained. It wasn’t that intimidating. This piece of De Soto wouldn’t give a ghost like Amos problems. Keeping the image of the tropical bird fixed over the creature - I really couldn’t call it a ghost - I helped Fido open a can of “whoop ass” all over this thing amidst the angry squawks of the bird.

  Little wisps of smoke, tiny geysers of impending doom, leaked from where the beagle bit and it was the first real nugget of good news that I’d had since I’d found myself in this predicament.

  “Mini-De Soto” managed to push Fido off and tried to rise. It became more difficult with a beagle’s jaws suddenly attached to his calf. He tumbled back to the ground and was unable to phase through the floor.

  On some level, I should’ve been a bit repulsed by my version of When Animals Attack, but I wasn’t. Maybe that’s a poor reflection, or at least an accurate reflection, on me as a person. It didn’t matter. He could have hundreds or even thousands of these things. If … when I got my body back, I’d need to get used to destroying these abominations.

  Still, the only noises were Fido’s growls and the bird’s shrieks. The shade wasn’t really mounting anything other than a weak defense let alone an intelligent offense. In my opinion, the shade was damaged enough that it wouldn’t survive. If I’d been in a pit bull or even the dog Oswald occupied, it’d already be over.

  My sensitive ears picked up the sounds of footsteps in the hall. I threw up an image of Blackie to make Fido scamper under the bed and hoped it was just the maid. Maybe she wouldn’t notice the leaking apparition trying to make his way back to the angry bird now balanced on top of the large flat panel television on the dresser.

  “What in the hell?” It was a man’s voice. At least, it wasn’t my voice. A hand reached down and grabbed the shade and lifted, but larger chunks of it came away and the rest evaporated in a cloud of smoke.

  A couple of seconds later the face of my father appeared parallel to the floor, looking at me under the bed and I actually wondered if Fido here could take him.

  “C’mon, get out here,” He said with hand beckoning. I put the image of Blackie on that hand to keep my beagle scooting backward.

  “This isn’t good,” Dad muttered. “He’s going to be angry. Out here! Now!” His hand slapped against the floor for emphasis and the dog responded with a startled little yip.

  What little respect I had for the man went away over the next few minutes. I was more than happy to keep Fido out of his reach.

  “Fine!” He exclaimed and gave up. “I’ll just let him deal with you.”

  Dad stood and walked out of the room. When I was certain it wasn’t a trick, I had the beagle creep out from under the bed. The angry bird was still there. It now was perched on top of a dresser and eyed me. A good deal of effort was involved keeping Fido’s attention off of the bird. If I was going to be in trouble, I might as well look around some more.

  On the wall opposite where the bird was, several things caught my attention. Ever since I’d been stuck in this body, my vision was off with colors being off, but I could see a soft glow coming from objects sitting on a set of glass shelves. De Soto had himself a trophy stand and I couldn’t help but think that some of these items were anchors from ghosts he controlled or souvenirs from previous adventures.

  Without causing a huge mess, my dog’s body could only reach a couple of things on the lowest shelf. The one that glowed brightest was a necklace. Making Fido extend his left front paw, I touched it. There was a shudder and I knew that my little gift of object reading still worked, even in a dog’s body.

  “Ah, you always give me the nicest gifts,” a woman said to the man in the mirror behind her. She admired the necklace around her neck and using her hands to lift the thick, jet black hair off her shoulders as the man behind her finished clasping it. She spoke Spanish and despite only knowing enough to place an order in a Mexican restaurant, I easily followed it. We were in a bedroom, at a vanity with a large mirror in front. I was seeing all this from her perspective. Before, I’d have probably let go of the object out of the shock of seeing things from a woman’s eyes, but considering I was actually in a dog at the moment, it didn’t bother me too much.

  “I do so love surprising you, my dear,” the man’s voice answered. “Have you given any more thought to my offer and putting aside our past differences? I, for one, believe it is time for a reunification.”

  “Such a pity, I had hoped this was a visit motivated more by pleasure and not business. Of all my loves, Hernando, you were always the most persistent. My island suits me. It is mine and more than enough for me. I’ve no interest in expanding my reach. I hope this does not disappoint you?”

  “Did I not just remove a thorn in your side?” His tone was still conversational, but I could feel the bottled up feelings of annoyance starting to build from inside the woman.

  “Did I ask you to do something about Kennedy? It was a grand gesture, but one I do not recall requesting.”

  “I see,” De Soto said. “Allow me to refresh your memory, dear wife. Your small empire exists because I helped you make it. It continues to exist because I allowed it to. Yet, even now, after I removed a threat to its existence, you spurn my offers of alliance. It is time to repent your rebellious ways and return to your rightful place.”

  She stood and turned to face the man who De Soto was possessing. “Perhaps if I thought we could actually coexist as equals this time, it would be different, dear husband. Alas, you are always looking for the next conquest. The centuries have proven one irrefutable truth about you, Hernando. That truth is you are never satisfied! It is never enough, is it? I spent the first two hundred years getting out from under your yoke and I have no desire to revisit the past. Now I see that the leopard does not change his spots, so begone! Do not bother returning for a long time, husband.”

  The anger and frustration erupted. His hands encircled her neck and glowed with power. The man’s body staggered away and even though I wasn’t really there, I could feel the rush of power entering De Soto’s spirit. The surprise in the woman’s eyes was evident.

  “Your host will be dead before your guardians can arrive. And when they do, they will bear witness to your final destruction.”

  “Guess again!” She managed to croak. It even felt like I was being choked.

  All around the room, dozens of specters rose through the floor. Some had the look of conquistadors and others were more modern. Most were men, though a few were female. One of the females looked very familiar – Virginia Poe. She was in the background, trying to blend in.

  The spectral hands fell away and De Soto stepped bac
k. I could see his eyes, cold and calculating. He was attempting to figure out if he could win or perhaps more importantly if he would lose. “I see your treacherous ways continue to this day. Very well, if it is a war you want, let us end this, today!”

  “You assault me and have the nerve to call my actions treacherous!” the woman exclaimed while ripping off the necklace and hurling it at his ghost. “You are nothing but a wild animal, Hernando. Take this and go back into exile.”

  The necklace hovered in the air in front of De Soto before dropping to the ground. “Keep it. One day I’ll come back for it … and you.”

  The vision ended and I saw an entire finger extending from the dog’s paw. While I’d been in contact with the necklace, I’d come out a little! The moment I’d realized that, it started retracting. Desperate, I tried to hook it in the necklace and hold on. The object moved with my finger until that tiny tip from before was exposed. Damn it! I had a shot at getting out of Fido and missed it. Concentrating, I tried to extend that finger one more time. For a second, I thought any movement was in my imagination, but then it inched forward exposing the entire fingernail and up to the first knuckle. I felt dizzy and weak. Fido whimpered and I was losing my control over him. Blackness descended and I did the spectral equivalent of fainting.

  Coming around, I found myself still inside the beagle and Fido was in a dog carrier. We were back in the van. Sniffing about, I sensed Blackie and Cassandra’s poodle were here as well.

  “The gang’s all here,” I thought trying to squash any feelings of panic. At the start of the summer – what seemed like an eternity ago – Virginia had warned me that the ghosts out here were, “Utterly ruthless.” Having seen that Hernando De Soto had returned for that necklace made me wonder about the fate of the ghost he referred to as his wife. It probably didn’t end well for her.

  At least I finally understood what Virginia meant.

  Taking stock of my doggy-buddy, Fido was alert and a bit hungry, but otherwise okay. Glancing out through the bars that held us prisoner, I could see it was nighttime with the blackness occasionally broken by a streetlight.

  The van stopped and the driver cut off the engine. At least I’d slept most of the way. That meant less time for worrying about my situation.

  Dad and the other guy I’d seen playing cards with him opened the back. “These two first,” my father said. “Then we’ll come back for the big one. The other guy grabbed my carrier and hoisted me out of the back of the van. I could see that we’d returned to the kennel. There were more cars in the lot this time and I got the impression that we weren’t here for some upscale grooming.

  Fido bounced around the cage with each hurried step the man took past a sign advocating a, “Kennel Club” meeting. The poor little mutt yelped and yipped his way all the way to the cages. I saw that a couple of the empty ones had been moved and there was an opening behind them with steps that descended. The beagle’s sharper hearing picked up the sounds of voices and the acrid smell of tobacco and alcohol.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out that we were heading down to De Soto’s dog fighting pit and, for the umpteenth time, I wondered what would happen if Fido died with me in him. I wasn’t a ghost and was pretty determined to keep things that way.

  In the center of the small group of people I spotted my body with a bottle of liquor in one hand and a cigar in the other! I wanted to gag, but a cold shiver went right to the core of my being. Most everyone else was having a grand old time except for two other “guests.” One sat with a dignified calmness and the other resembled the caged animal that I portrayed at the moment. A very dangerous looking man sat behind the rigid duo holding a Glock pistol.

  He’d kidnapped Silas Parker and Karla Thompson.

  “Ah, the guest of honor has arrived,” De Soto said setting down the bottle and then slapping a knee. “I’ve heard that you were causing a bit of a ruckus at my home today. Like any misbehaving dog, I see you must be properly trained, little child. First, I’d like to reacquaint you with your friends. They were kind enough to come looking for you and save me the trouble of tracking them down. You, old man! You were quick enough to spot that I’m not really your Michael. Perhaps you’d like to use your gift and confirm the identity of our guest?”

  Silas looked at me curiously and said, “What have you done to him?”

  “Young Michael is in obedience training and the shell of a dog is suitable for that. Would you not agree?”

  Silas scowled and replied, “I suspect that one day you will reap what you have sown, Conquistador, and be held accountable by a power greater than you can imagine.”

  “Oh, so you seek to invoke God? He has had nearly five centuries to come for me, yet here I remain. Certainly, I have done any number of things more worthy of his wrath than this. If we had the time, I would indulge you with the sins I’ve committed since my last confession, but I fear I would be talking nonstop for a month. Still, you asked about the Almighty, I will humor you with an answer. I have given much thought to the matter and have concluded two things, Negro. Either God does not exist or he does and allows me the freedom to do as I please. Tell me, lesser being, which of those frightens you more?”

  Silas huffed loudly before his reply, “It’ll take more than that to shake the foundation of my beliefs. The wicked use any means necessary to justify their actions. You don’t frighten me, Hernando De Soto. You are a failure in death as much as you were a failure in life.”

  If I could have yelled, it would’ve been, “Shut up, Silas!” For a moment, I’d thought my friend had finally snapped. He was deliberately provoking De Soto and I couldn’t figure out why until it hit me. De Soto was going to kill one of them to “teach me a lesson.” He was going to sacrifice himself to spare Karla.

  Fido growled picking up on my anxiety. That drew De Soto’s attention. “Ah, another party heard from. I am curious to discover how much control you have over this animal already. I had not believed such a feat to be possible, but you have managed to surprise even an old soul like myself. What were you looking for up in my rooms? How is it you destroyed the part of me I left there? I am not fond of mysteries. I will have answers. To this end, I offer you a choice. You may select which one of your friends dies tonight.”

  He paused to allow me to digest this information before continuing. “This will be your chance to demonstrate how much you have mastered the body you’ve been placed in. If you do not pick, I’ll simply kill them both. After all, I can always pick up the phone and bring your mother here. I suspect she will make a fine bit of leverage. David always thought of you as a Mama’s boy.”

  Yeah, I was going to destroy him. He’d guaranteed that when he stole my body. Now, I was ready to make sure he suffered while I did it.

  Unfortunately, my evil glare and bared teeth did nothing to stop his little bad guy monologue. He took a puff on the cigar and blew the smoke into my cage causing Fido to wretch. “So you see; both of these humans are expendable. Who will you ask me to spare, Michael? The old man seems eager enough to die, but from what I am told, you barely know the woman. Still, she is young, attractive, and quite possibly has a very full life left in front of her. Such a dilemma, is it not? Now, I’ll let you think it over while we watch some entertainment and then I will ask you to choose. After that, I will point to each of your friends. Bark three times when I gesture to the person you wish to spare.”

  He turned my carrier around, so I could see the action. Only one other carrier joined mine on the rough wooden bench and I could smell it was the poodle. Blackie was obviously on his way to the pit down below us.

  I wasn’t worried about Oswald or his dog. Other things were on my mind. The little bars on the front of the cage. If I could get enough of my finger extended and hooked around one of them, it might give me a shot at pulling myself out of Fido. There was only about ten inches in the back of the cage, but getting Fido all the way back to it would free a whole hand.

  First I needed to get his paw up
on the bars and he wasn’t cooperating. With the loud noises and all the strangers around, my beagle was being skittish. The growls coming from the pit down there didn’t do anything to help either. Blackie was fighting some kind of mixed breed that was smaller than he was and already missing an ear.

  After a few seconds, I knew one thing - if I never see another dog fight again, I’d die a happy man. It was ugly and brutal. Considering ghosts like De Soto don’t even care about human life, how could I expect him to care about the animals he was making fight?

  The gruesome sight of the lab attacking that mongrel actually helped me concentrate because it drove home the seriousness of what was happening. Concentrating and focusing, I pulled Fido’s attention to the bars by putting that image of the chew toy in front of it. Fido edged forward and then back. I enlarged it and the beagle moved closer. Next, I started to flex my finger and stretch it outside of the paw. Difficult didn’t begin to describe this. Fido wasn’t a human. He was easily distracted.