by D. G. Swank
I gasped as I thought of something else that might work…if I could pull it off.
I got to my feet and walked over to the vortex. I’d never been this close before. The bright light coming from the swirling white haze was nearly blinding.
“Kewasa?” Abel sounded nervous again.
I ignored him and leaned toward the vortex. “Debbie. Your mother needs you.”
“What are you doin’?” Marilyn asked, turning to face me, still sitting on her butt.
“You want your daughter. I’m getting her.” I leaned closer to the light, pushing power toward it, and shouted, “Debbie! Come help your momma.”
Seconds later, a woman appeared in the opening. She wore a flowing, knee-length white dress and her long dark hair blew in a soft breeze. According to Jack, Debbie had died about ten years ago, which would have put her in her seventies, but this woman looked much, much younger.
“Debbie?” I asked, my heart racing.
She watched me with a grave expression.
“Your momma needs you.”
“My mother’s dead.”
“Yes,” I said, “but she’s not with you now, is she? She never made it to the light.”
Tears filled her eyes. “No.”
I motioned to the woman behind me. “She’s been stuck in a time loop for nearly eighty years. Every time she dies, she refuses to leave her baby and go to the light. You’re her baby. I need you to tell her it’s okay to go.”
“That’s my mother?” she asked in wonder. Her eyes looked beyond me, taking in the sight of her mother and the baby—her much younger self.
“Yes.” I turned back and reached down to Marilyn. “Marilyn, Debbie will be just fine. She grows up to become a lovely woman. Come meet her.”
Marilyn stared up in disbelief at the woman in the vortex. She took my hand and let me help her to her feet.
The baby released a fresh round of cries, and Marilyn spun around to go to her.
“No,” I said in a firm tone, grabbing her upper arms. “That’s just a memory. This is your daughter.”
She shook her head, keeping her gaze on the baby. “Debbie’s just a baby. This is a grown woman.”
“It is you. I grew up, Momma,” Debbie called out to her. “I got married and had kids of my own. And grandkids. I kept a photo of you and looked at it often. I loved you—I still love you—even though I couldn’t remember you.”
“Debbie?” Marilyn asked, turning toward the vortex.
She nodded. “It’s me, Momma. All grown up.”
Marilyn reached for her, then stopped and took a long look at the crying baby.
I grabbed both of her upper arms again and made her look at me. “Marilyn, I promise you that I’ll stay with her until your husband comes home.”
“Can I tell her goodbye?” she asked.
I gave her a sad smile. “You already have. Go be with your daughter. You have a lot of catching up to do.”
Debbie reached out a hand, her arm extended outside of the vortex, and it reminded me of the arm from hell. I shuddered at the memory, but this arm was reaching out in invitation, and it would save Marilyn rather than damn her.
Then, without a backward glance, Marilyn took her daughter’s hand and walked into the vortex. The hole closed just as quickly as it had appeared, and everything from Marilyn’s world disappeared as well. Everything but the baby.
I dropped to the floor next to her and took her chubby hand in mine. “It will be okay, sweet baby. Your daddy will be home soon.”
But as soon as I said the words, I felt her hand dissipate beneath my touch. Her body turned into a wispy white smoke, and then she was gone too.
I glanced up at the doorway. Abel was watching me with his typical dispassionate face, but Jack had joined him and there were tears in his eyes.
“How much did you see?” I asked him.
“I touched Abel,” he said. “I saw it all.”
Seeing Jack’s reaction flooded me with the emotions I’d been holding back. Poor Marilyn had lived this horrible, traumatic loop for decades, and my chest physically hurt at the thought. I knew she was at peace now, but all those years…
“Waboose,” Abel said, his voice low and husky in my ear. I realized he was squatting at my side. “Come. Let me take you out of here.”
I stared up at him, feeling lost inside. So many hurting people… I’d barely scratched the surface. I wasn’t sure how much more of other people’s pain I could take.
I let him pull me to my feet.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked quietly.
For the past fifteen years, one person had always been there for me. I needed him now.
“I want to go home.”
I needed to see Hudson.
Chapter 25
Jack was reluctant to let me leave with Abel, but I assured him I’d be okay. Part of me understood his concern. Part of me shared it.
As he started to get in his car to leave, I called him back. “Jack. Wait.”
He turned back, and I walked over and gave him one of the two pendants I still had tucked in my jeans pocket. “Wear this. It will help protect you from the demons.”
He glanced at it, then back up at me. “Did you get this from the New Age store?”
“That and so much more.” I looked over my shoulder at Abel, who was standing next to his car, waiting for me. “I’ll tell you later. Actually, there’s a lot I need to tell you.”
He nodded and started to go, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Thank you for contacting Rhys about Marilyn. How is she?”
“She’s better today.”
“Does she still hate me?”
His face softened. “She still loves you, Piper. She’s just upset. Just give her time.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
He got into his car and I watched him pull away from the curb.
“She’ll forgive you,” Abel said.
“So you agree with Jack on something. Wonders never cease. Why do you hate him so much?”
“He’s dangerous for you.”
“You keep giving me lame excuses, but I need some specifics. How is he dangerous?”
“He can’t see the spirit world, for one. That makes him a liability.”
He wasn’t saying anything I hadn’t already considered. But Jack had helped yesterday at Mrs. O’Keefe’s house, and he’d led me to Deidre. “I need Jack, and trust me, I don’t like to admit it, but it’s just not smart to do these alone anymore.”
He walked over and opened the passenger door, waiting for me to get in. “As much as I hate to admit it, I agree.”
I shot him a glare. “Let me guess, you intend to come with me, and when you can’t, I won’t go.”
“No. You’re a grown woman, and you’ve made it clear I can’t tell you what to do. You trust the priest, and trust is important. I’ll let him be the one to accompany you on most of them, but I’d still like to tag along from time to time.”
I gave him a wry grin. “It kills you to give in, doesn’t it?”
His mouth twisted to the side. “I plead the fifth.”
I climbed into the car, and he joined me within a few seconds.
“You said you were hungry earlier. Let’s get something to eat before I take you home.”
“How about we pick something up on the way? I really need to see Hudson.”
“Okay.” He started the car and put down the top. “It’s too beautiful a day to be cooped up.”
“There goes my suspicion that you might be a vampire,” I teased.
He grinned. “Sorry to disappoint.”
I made a face. “I’m glad you’re not. What a cliché.”
He chuckled. “Well, at least I’m doing something right.”
After living in a virtual nightmare for the past hour or two, it felt good to joke with Abel, but it felt wrong too. I’d watched a woman and a baby suffering for over an hour.
“You did the right thing, Waboose,” he said
gently. “Never doubt that.”
He shifted the car into gear and pulled away from the house. I had so many questions for him, but a conversation was impossible with the top down. Had he done that on purpose?
I studied his profile for several long seconds, then leaned my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes. Marilyn and her baby’s cries filled my head, bringing a fresh round of tears, but the blast of music from the speakers jarred me out of the memories. I glanced over at Abel.
“Do you mind?” he asked.
I shook my head, and a tear rolled down my cheek. He watched me for another second, then turned back to the road.
I kept my gaze on him, desperate to think of anything besides the misery I’d just witnessed. His features really were perfect. Too perfect to be human, but he’d already admitted—even if accidentally—that he was only part human.
But what was the other part?
Demons recognized him. He had power to bend them to his will. Even Caelius had fallen to his knees before him. What could give him that kind of power?
My chest constricted. Was Abel a demigod?
Whatever he was, he didn’t seem all that terrified by the prospect of an eternity in hell.
I made Abel stop by Hudson’s favorite sandwich shop so I could pick up a late lunch. Then we headed to my house. Hudson’s car was in the driveway—and sure enough, my car was parked next to it. I suddenly felt nervous about bringing Abel inside, but I didn’t say anything. I just reached into the backseat and picked up my sword.
“What bothers you about me coming into your home?” Abel asked quietly as I turned around.
Was my body language as obvious as Olivia’s? I shrugged. “I’m not sure how Hudson’s going to react when he sees you. You’re not exactly his favorite person.”
He grinned. “Why don’t the men in your life like me?”
“Maybe it’s that whole asshole thing,” I said without malice, then got out of the car and slipped the sword strap over my shoulder.
Abel followed, and I stopped at the kitchen door, trying to see if I sensed any of the neutral creatures behind the house. Nothing. Had they decided that I’d picked sides? Abel didn’t kill demons, but he didn’t protect them either.
“Do you sense something?” he asked from behind me. His body was tense and alert.
“No,” I said as I reached for the doorknob.
He gently grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him. “What has you worried?”
“The whole supernatural world has me worried. The demons. The Guardians.”
“Rupert is putting together a special team of men to follow you at all times.”
“So I’ll be guarded twenty-four seven?”
“Yes.” His gaze narrowed. “Why do you sound unhappy about that?”
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, Abel, because I’m not. After what those people did to my parents and my cousin and at Helen’s Bridge…they’re crazy. I feel safer knowing that I’m going to be protected, but it’s still hard to accept.”
He watched me for a moment and his expression softened. “You’re not at all what I expected.”
I stared up at him in surprise. “What did you expect?”
His lips twitched. “I’m almost scared to tell you.”
I leaned my back against the door. “Let me guess.”
“Okay.”
“You definitely thought I’d have my shit together. You probably thought I’d be some badass chick in leather, ready to whip a dagger out and stab you in the heart the moment I met you,” I said with a smirk.
His eyes lit up in amusement. “Maybe not stab me the moment I met you.”
“Instead, you ended up with a hot mess who hadn’t ever seen a ghost, much less a demon.” I grinned. “It must have been a blow to your massive ego to know that you were meant to be killed by me.”
His smile fell, and his gaze lingered on my lips. “No, Waboose. It wasn’t my ego that suffered.” He lifted a hand to play with the ends of my hair that fell over my shoulder. “Are all your dealings with ghosts like what happened today?”
“No. Some are scary, like Edna yesterday. Some are happy, like this older couple I helped a couple of weeks ago. The husband had sworn he’d never leave his wife, so he didn’t…even after he died. When she realized he was the ghost she’d sensed, she was so happy. He decided not to move on.”
He looked surprised. “You don’t send them all to the afterlife?”
“Only the ones who want to go, but most do. They just get stuck for whatever reason. I give them a chance to finish their unfinished business.”
“Like what happened today,” he said quietly.
Tears stung my eyes. “That was a nightmare.”
He lifted his hand to my upper arm. “It was rough.”
“Eighty years, Abel. She relived that night over and over for eighty years.”
His mouth pursed into a frown. “But you helped her find peace. How did you know to call her daughter?”
“It was a lucky guess. She wouldn’t leave her baby, but I hoped she’d be willing to go if she saw her adult daughter.” I squinted up at him. “She was in her seventies when she died, but she looked like she was in her thirties.”
“I hear time has little meaning in the afterlife.” He was quiet for several seconds before his voice softened. “I never knew how hard it was for you. How much it requires you to give. Wouldn’t it be easier to just smudge them and be done with it?”
“Easier for who?” I asked. “Those people are suffering. They deserve my respect and compassion. I didn’t ask for this gift, but it’s mine anyway. I owe it to them.”
“You don’t owe anyone anything, Waboose.”
I shook my head, my heart hurting all over again as I placed my palm over his firm left pec. “That’s not exactly true, is it?”
He covered my hand with his but remained silent.
I lowered my arm. “Let’s go inside.”
I turned the doorknob, but Abel frowned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. His one-syllable responses made it difficult to eavesdrop on the conversation, and the person on the other end was speaking too low to hear. I could tell it was a serious situation, yet I wasn’t prepared when he hung up and said, “Piper, I have to go.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Where?”
“The sheriff’s department reported some suspicious activity close to Black Mountain.”
“What kind of suspicious activity?”
“A missing college student turned up dead, and there were similarities to last night’s murders. This is fresh, hours old. I’m going to see if I can track the demon down.” He paused, suddenly alert. “Do you sense the creatures that have been stalking you?”
“No. Do you?”
“Something feels off.” He glanced all around the room, even above us, before he gave me a worried look.
He’d probably picked up something from Tommy, but I didn’t want to explain it to him now, before I’d had a chance to say anything to Hudson. I suspected I’d have to ease him into it. “I might know what you sense and it’s harmless. I’ll explain it later.” I started to tell him to go, then stopped. “Wait. What are you going to do when you find the demon?”
Abel scanned the tree line at the back of my house, then turned back to me. “I haven’t decided yet.”
I started to ask him what had made him indecisive, but I suspected I knew. “Be careful.”
A cocky grin spread across his face and I knew he was amused.
“Or don’t,” I said in irritation. “It would be too much to hope you get yourself killed so I don’t have to do it.”
His grin widened. “Rupert and his men will be watching the house. Don’t leave unless you absolutely have to, and if you do, make sure to check in with Rupert. And if demons show up…”
I gave him an overconfident look I didn’t feel. “Then I’ll stab them with my new sword.”
He didn’t look amused. “Protect the house,” he sai
d. “Use the holy water and salt. It’s not perfect, but it will make it harder for them to get in. Call me if there’s any sign of trouble.”
I had no delusions about fighting off a horde of demons alone. Sure, my skills were improving, but I still had a long way to go. “Okay.”
He studied me for several seconds, acting like he wanted to say something, then abruptly turned and walked to his car.
I stood at the door watching him, but he gave me an aggravated look. “Go inside already.”
I felt like I should say something—Abel had changed for the better—but instead I turned and went inside.
I walked into the kitchen and called out, “Hudson. I’m home and I brought food.”
“I’m in the living room.”
I rounded the corner and walked into the long, open combination dining-and-living room. Hudson was on the sofa, reading a book. I was relieved to see the pendant Deidre and Luna had made for him hanging around his neck. He smiled up at me.
I held up the bag. “I brought a late lunch.”
He grinned as he put his book facedown on the table next to him and patted the sofa. “Good thing I had a late breakfast.”
I put the sword on the coffee table and sat down, then snagged my sandwich out of the bag. Only then did I realize Abel had left without his.
“You found a sword?” he asked, gesturing to it.
“It was a gift from Abel. It kills demons.”
He frowned as he unwrapped his sandwich. “How was your ghost appointment?”
“My worst one yet. It was awful, Huddy.”
“How so?”
“She had TB and died back in the 1930s from a ruptured blood vessel in her lungs. When it ruptured, she dropped her baby on the floor, and they both cried for over an hour until she died.”
“Oh, Pippy…”
“She was stuck in a time loop, unable to pass on.” Tears sprang to my eyes. “She just kept reliving that night over and over again.”
“So what did you do?”
I told him about watching that horrible scene play out and how she’d lived it over and over again. When I got to the part about summoning Marilyn’s daughter through the vortex, Hudson stared at me in disbelief. “Did it work?”
