“I hope he’s a vampire, too.” Randy brandished the remaining chopstick.
“I can’t believe you chose to go into hand-to-hand combat with a vampire, and brought nothing more than some cheap-ass, throw-away chopsticks…and two brain cells.”
“Fine, maybe not the chopstick. I’m sure I can come up with something a little sturdier.”
“Okay, Buffy. Let’s get back to Max and Millie’s.” I flashed us out of the cemetery and we arrived amid the cheers of our friends.
“We saw the whole thing. You guys are heroes!” Millie hugged us tight. It felt good to know Randy and I faced the vampire alone and won. We didn’t have some carefully thought out plan, but we got the job done. I couldn’t wait to tell Ezzy, I knew she’d be proud.
It’s strange to say that I felt good because I didn’t need the help of Gabe or someone like him. It’s not that I wouldn’t have wanted him to be there, but the fact that I didn’t have to count on him seemed to ease a subtle worry that plagued me. The fact is, I enjoy my self-reliance. I’d seen one too many women depend on their partner to be the hero. I wondered how they managed to survive before they hooked up with said partner. I figured it was probably because they fell in love. It weakened them. I still wasn’t convinced I would end up in love with Gabe, but knowing I could still handle my own, without my werebear buddy, eased my fear of becoming weak.
“We’re not done yet, Millie. We have to get back to Caldron Falls. First, Uncle Carmine needs to explain what he knows about Jimmy Catania.”
“Give him a minute to collect his thoughts, he’s still pretty spaced out. And we need to find out about the spirit who is following you.” Millie took my hand and we sat down once again by the crystal ball.
“I’ve seen her, this ghost. She’s never seemed to have noticed me. I’ve only seen her walking along and stopping here and there. She’s looking for something, but I have no idea what it could be.”
“It’s difficult to say. There are different kinds of ghosts. Some are simply the remnants of energy that were left behind, others are actual supernatural beings in their own right, a complete soul who wanders about in this realm. We’ll see what your ghost is.”
“I hope it’s the good kind, whatever that one is.”
“Randy, would you take Max, Gertie, and Carmine into the other room? I’m afraid they’ll be more of a distraction than anything. Lure them with a bag of chips or some cookies.”
“Got it.” Randy went to the kitchen and returned with a bag of barbeque chips. “Who’s got munchies? I’ve got chips!” Three hungry, zombified people followed him through a beaded curtain doorway. He tossed the bag of chips into the room and returned to our little séance.
“We’ll use the Ouija board. I’ll be the only one talking.” Millie cleared the table and set up the board. We placed our fingertips on the planchette and waited silently. “I’m feeling her presence. It’s very strong. I’d say she has been very close by for a while. I’m going to ask her some questions now.”
“Spirit, please tell us your name.”
D A U G H T E R
“Yes, but what is your name?”
NOT YET
“Where are you?”
C O L D
“The place you are in is cold?”
Y E S
“Where is it?”
UNDER
“This is like pulling teeth,” I grumbled. Suddenly, the Ouija board flipped over and Randy’s body jerked like he grabbed a high voltage power line.
Randy started to speak. “I’m behind you. In the old icehouse.” The words scared me.
“She’s taken over Randy. This is good,” Millie was genuinely elated.
“I’m not so sure Randy would agree that being possessed is the highlight of his summer.”
“Why are you following Kelly? What do you want?”
“Tell Carmine to come here.” Millie and I looked at each other, surprised by the request.
“Carmine? Can you come here, please?” Millie called him.
“What is it?”
“Uncle Carmine, this might be hard to believe, but we’ve contacted a ghost. She’s using Randy’s body to talk to us, and she asked for you to be here.”
“Okay, well, here I am.”
“Remember the monster who drove the ice cream truck?”
Carmine was disturbed and he fidgeted. The ghost brought up something that likely had been a closely guarded secret for a long time. “Yeah, I remember the creep. We gave him one through the head. He’s long gone. That was years ago. We were protecting the kids here. So what?”
“Only he didn’t really die. He went to another body. Mine. My name is Gisele.”
“Holy shit!” I clamped my hands over my mouth to catch the words. It was too late.
“You’re nuts, ghost!” Carmine explained a little to Millie and me. “Back a few years. There were some unexplained deaths in the neighborhood. The cops couldn’t seem to pin it on the one they suspected, but we figured it out. Even the cops gave us the word to take care of him. We were looking out for the neighborhood. Creep drove around in an ice cream truck.” Carmine spit on the ground. “Anyways, it’s done. I was there. I know he’s dead.”
“It’s an old monster, Carmine. It goes from body to body. I was one of the ones he took because he wanted to hurt my father, Jimmy Catania. So, he locked me up in the hole. The dark hole in the old icehouse. I died in there. When you killed the ice cream driver, the monster came and took over my body. All I could do was watch him make me into a living monster. A monster set out to destroy my family.”
“Jimmy Catania?” Carmine was perplexed to hear this connection. “He was the only capo to retire from the business, ever. After his daughter disappeared, it broke his spirit. She was only nineteen years old. Poor guy, his wife left him. She blamed the business, but we all know family is off limits. Especially children. Nobody in the business would have touched her. But his wife wouldn’t listen to him. She moved back to where she came from, Brazil. Died of a broken heart. He couldn’t go on. Gave it all away and left.”
“And then it all changed for my father. I came back to him, his long lost daughter suddenly reappears. At least he thought it was me, but it wasn’t. It was the monster using my dead body. It found Dad in Caldron Falls. And it found these witches here in the neighborhood and came up with a plan to use them.”
“So, your father thinks the Gisele we dealt with was really his long lost daughter. I get that much now. But what exactly was it trying to do to him? Why wouldn’t it just kill your father?”
“The curse goes back centuries. My father is the last living male of his true family name, Delfino. According to an old family legend, my ancestors were the heads of an area in Sicily. This town started to have trouble with a man they thought was a sorcerer. Whether he was or not, I don’t know. The Delfino family caught him, and he was burned at the stake. He cursed the Delfino family and swore he would return to exact revenge on every generation of Delfinos until they were wiped off the face of the earth.”
The story caught me by surprise. “Wow! I didn’t expect all that. So let me get this straight, the only one left is your father. And this thing had the perfect way to get him. Come back as his daughter and then what? Turn against him?”
“Worse, he wanted the people of the neighborhood to turn against him. When his plan didn’t work out here, he took my body, and now the monster is plotting to get the people of Caldron Falls to turn on him. This monster thinks it will be just like the vigilante scene of centuries ago when he was put to the torch. And he wants my father to see what appears to be his own daughter lighting the fire.”
“Holy shit! It’s the ultimate Karma curse! The ultimate revenge plot. Become a murdering vampire and go after several generations. Then, top it off with taking over the corpse of the daughter he killed in order to really make it hurt. My God! It’s incredibly demented. But now what? How do we stop it?” I asked.
Gisele shrugged. “I supp
ose we’ll have to start by warning my dad. We need to convince him this person he believes to be me is something completely sinister. A monster, a demon. Maybe I can talk to him and tell him things only the real me would know. Thanks to Millie’s connection to the spirit world, at least I have a flesh and blood body.” She looked down and moved the hands over it. “It feels strange.”
“That’s my brother’s body. I’d appreciate it if you keep your hands to yourself. If you know what I mean.”
“If I can use this body for a little while longer, I’d be able to help. If I leave this body, I have no spatial awareness. I have no idea where I am and no control over it, even if I knew where I wanted to go. I’ve been pulled along with you it seems. Ever since you went into the old icehouse that day. It’s very strange to be a spirit.”
“When I’ve seen you…your ghost…you seemed to be looking for something. What was it?”
“An escape…or maybe it’s a solution? It’s very vague. Have you ever been in a dream where you find yourself trying to do something that defies logic? I know that I’m looking for something, but it isn’t clear what it is. It’s only a feeling.”
Millie was listening to us while she went over to a bookcase. “I think we need to find out more on this monster. It’s not a vampire, exactly. I know I’ve read about this sort of thing...now, if I can only remember where it was.”
While Millie poked around her crowded bookcases, I wanted to know more about my new ghostly friend. “Gisele, did you ever try to find out more on this family curse, when you were alive I mean?”
“Yes. I was about sixteen. I overheard someone in the neighborhood talking about my family, saying we were cursed. I thought it was some kind of joke until I heard it again. I asked my father about it, and he assured me it was just a colorful legend that he never took seriously. The whole subject got me interested in my family’s history. I kept coming across these horrible things that happened to the males in our family. I started to think the curse might be real. In fact, I suspected the family even changed their last name to Catania when they left Sicily, in order to hide from this curse.”
“But many immigrants changed their surnames, or had them changed. That’s not uncommon,” I pointed out.
“True, but the summer before I went to college, I went on a trip to Sicily with my parents. While we were there, we visited the original Delfino family property, the vacant ruins of a palazzo that dates back to the 15th century. According to the locals, it was abandoned sometime in the 1800s. I suspect it was shortly after the immigration. In any case, it was in the old palazzo that I happened upon an old metal box. I found it quite by accident when I fell through some rotted floorboards. It had been placed in a hidden space under the floor. I fell through the little trapdoor in the floor. I’d heard about hiding places like those. You’ve probably seen them in movies, where they peel back the rug and there’s a hidden trap door.”
“Sure. I’ve seen that sort of thing, but what was in the box?”
“There was an old book, handwritten in Latin…I think it was Latin. It had drawings and symbols. There was half of a burned candle. And a drawing…not framed, but on a sheet of parchment paper. It was a weird drawing with geometric shapes, water, and animals. I remember how excited I was to find it. It looked very much like it had to do with the occult, this box.”
“It’s a really interesting find, Gisele. But to be honest, it doesn’t mean anything. At least not enough that you can count on it to save your dad. What makes you think it has anything to do with the curse or this creature anyway?”
“I have faith that it does. Isn’t that enough sometimes?”
“Faith? I trust in my head, not my heart, Gisele. And where is the box now?”
“It must be with my dad. When I first showed it to him, he was fascinated. He’s always been a big history buff and antique collector. There’s no way he would have gotten rid of a find like that.”
Millie returned empty handed. “Sorry, I can’t find the book right now. Maybe Ezzy can help with more information? You may have stopped the monster back at the crypt, but…after hearing Gisele’s story, maybe you just destroyed her girl’s body. It reanimates the dead and keeps truckin’ right along. I’m sure it will find a fresh corpse soon.”
“Millie’s right, Kelly. But what exactly happened to my body when you attacked the monster? Is there any chance it could still be in my body? Did you see my dead body without any life in it?”
“Yeah, it’s dead. I’m pretty sure. It just sort of vanished. After it was impaled by the tree branch, the body disappeared with a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of lightning. Randy and I assumed it disintegrated.”
“Unless you have the body, it may have slipped away on you,” Gisele demurred.
“Oh, shit. Really? Millie, can you get the dress finding thing working?” I tapped on the crystal ball. “Maybe it will tell us something.”
Millie peered into the ball. “Oh! The dress is right there on the ground, just outside the door to the crypt. Apparently, she took off the dress after you blasted her…must have figured out how we tracked her.”
“We need to get to Caldron Falls, and fast,” I nearly shouted. “You know that thing is pissed off now.” I looked out the window. The sun had dropped below the tops of the nearby buildings. I remembered telling Gabe I’d be back before dark, but I knew my visit with his family at the barbeque would have to wait for another time.
“Wait! You didn’t answer me. Can I stay in this boy’s body for now?” Gisele asked. I could tell by her desperate tone that more than anything she wanted to be alive.
“I’m sorry, Gisele. I couldn’t grant you that wish, even if I wanted to. You were only able to enter Randy’s body because I am a medium and I connected with you through the séance. Once we leave this space, you will go back to your world. But don’t despair. There’s always a chance we can perform another séance soon.”
“Millie, lets gather everyone together. Tell them they’re getting a magic carpet ride to Wisconsin. They’re so stoned, it’ll make perfect sense.”
Chapter Thirty Four
Missing in Action
As soon as the large cloud cleared, I looked around me. We were in the small gravel parking area in front of the mill. I did a quick head count: Randy, Gertie, Millie, Max, Uncle Carmine all accounted for. I’d offered Johnny Nipples and Hamster Dick the chance to tag along, but Uncle Carmine thought it would be a good idea to have someone back at the Kovacs’ shop to keep an eye out for any surprises. He reminded me that we still hadn’t figured out who ransacked my condo, and we didn’t know what they were after. My money was on the evil Gisele.
“Let’s get inside. Randy, keep everyone together while I find Ezzy and Barney, and maybe Morgan, to let them know what we found out in Chicago.”
“No problem. Come on, space troopers. Follow your leader.” Randy ushered the still spaced out crew to the living room.
“Ezzy? Barney? We’re back! Hello!” I called for them, but the only ones to greet me were Gemma and my three happy dogs. I went upstairs, then back down. I remembered seeing my car still parked outside, although if they left, I doubted they would have driven. “Damn it. Just had to. Didn’t you?” I grumbled out loud, certain they had gone poking around in the supposedly off-limits machinery room.
On the far back wall of a small room next to the kitchen, there was an old wooden door. It was made of thick weathered boards and very old iron hinges that looked like they were hammered out by an old-time blacksmith. We all figured the door provided access to the machinery room. There had been a padlock on it, but now the padlock was missing. “That must have been Barney’s handiwork.” I opened the door and just for a second, I had misgivings about my decision. A very narrow staircase led down into the dark. I shook off the weird feeling and called out again. “Ezzy? Barney? You guys down there?” I listened and repeated the call. Still nothing.
“Stay! Stay!” I held my palm out to the trio of dogs b
ehind me, lifted my wand, and lit the tip. “You can come along, Gemma.”
“Meow.”
“Just stay behind me.” I walked carefully down the staircase, through dangling cobwebs. They were broken and strewn about. It was a clue they had gone down those very stairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I turned a corner into a large room. The lights were turned on, and I was amazed to see how clean it was. The stone walls were whitewashed and all of the old woodwork had been polished. This wasn’t the room that held the large grindstones and gears. The sheer size of it told me it was probably where the miller once staged the grain that was to be ground down to flour. I was surprised to see I was still upstream of the dam. I could tell because along the base of one wall were windows that gave me a view of the pond.
“Hello? Anyone down here?” Someone had been there, obviously. The previous clues and the fact the lights were left on told me that much. I walked further to the far side of the room. Looking through the small windows, I could tell I was right where the dam was located. The machinery room would have to be just ahead of me. The cement floor dropped off without any warning, water churned in a huge pool. Apparently, water was routed from the dam through this channel and into the deep pool.
I briefly wondered what the reason could be for someone to create such a dangerous indoor maelstrom. “Well, Gemma, it’s no wonder the owners keep this place locked up like a preacher’s daughter on prom night. It’s a goddamn drowning pool.” I looked around for another door. “Ezzy!” I yelled. I made up my mind that I should get back to the others. Ezzy, Barney, and Morgan were probably already up there with them by now and wondering where the hell I was.
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