by Simone Pond
Pike remained quiet as Eli scooted away from the table and rested his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll be right outside the door.”
Woof! Woof!
“I’m fine,” I assured them. “Isn’t that right, Chief?”
“Yes.”
Once we were alone in the room, Pike’s shadowy figure leaned forward across the table. Still no read on him except for the pungent odor of peppery red wine oozing from his pores.
“Your aunt is on her way down to the station. She’s very worried about you and wants you to get help,” he said.
“What kind of help?” I half-laughed.
“She’s worried your paranoid delusions are getting worse and your actions are becoming more erratic. And you were out all night.”
“I’m not paranoid …” I argued.
“To be honest, after reading the notes, my gut tells me to believe you. I think this town’s in imminent danger. And, Sibyl, I want to help you. But I’m not sure I can. Ruth is pretty adamant about sending you away. Thinks you might need to be institutionalized for a little while.”
Send me away?
Institutionalize me?
A lake of fire splashed around in my stomach. The stale stench of wine on Pike’s breath triggered something deep in the recesses of my mind. The hints of currants and berries … That smell … Pike stood up. The high-pitched jingle of his keys scraped my eardrums … That sound … I was being sucked into a whirlpool of darkness, drowning. I flashed back to a few hours ago when Marlo and I were driving away from the shack. The fellas barricaded the driveway and attacked us. I hadn’t been able to detect them because most were dark shadows like Pike. Dead zones. But the smell of wine and the sound of keys jingling. I remembered picking up on that when the men approached us on the road. I remembered picking up on that when a fist pummeled into my face.
Pike was with the Sons of Cain. He beat me up on that road and probably would’ve killed me if Vago and his pack hadn’t shown up. Coastview’s police chief was a member of a satanic cult. I figured this meant he wasn’t going to alert the bomb squad about city hall. No. He was going to kill me.
He pushed back from the table. “Let me talk to your aunt and see what I can do.”
Through the sliver of a passageway in my throat, I was able to force out the words, “Can I go to the bathroom? I drank a ton of water.”
“Sure, but no funny business.”
Pike opened the door, and Vago ran over to me.
Woof! Woof!
“I need Vago to show me the way,” I said.
“Sure. I’ll be right outside the door waiting.”
Walking to the bathroom, we passed Eli leaning against the wall in his vintage shirt with blood and grass stains. He stood with all the casualness of someone waiting in line for coffee. I made a “run-for-it” gesture with my fingers, but he shook his head. Of course Eli wasn’t going to leave me stranded. I mouthed the words truck, hoping he’d leave the station and meet us at the far end of the lot. Vago and I just needed to figure out how to get away without Pike noticing.
Chapter Thirty-One
Sibyl
Inside the bathroom, I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water over my face. Leaving the water running, I bent down to Vago and whispered in his ear, “Is there a window?”
Woof.
Vago nudged me with his snout toward the back of the bathroom. I patted down the cool tiles until my fingers brushed over the ledge of a windowsill. I felt around for a latch, but only came across iron bars. That made sense. We were at a police station.
“How are we getting out of this one, buddy?”
Turning off the water, I went into a stall and flushed a toilet just in case Pike was outside with his ear to the door. Vago’s claws tip-tapped along the tiled floor. Silence saturated the echo chamber, giving my pounding heart way too much airtime. The only way out of the station was through the front doors, which meant slipping past Pike.
My watch chimed. A text from Aunt Ruthie. I turned on the water again and played back the message:
Sibby, I’m worried. You haven’t been home all night. Are you still at Eli’s? I must’ve passed out from too much wine. I hope you’re okay.
Pike had forgotten one important element in his ruse to capture me. Aunt Ruthie. He probably expected her to remain passed out all morning. Who knows, he might’ve even drugged her to keep her out of his way. But my aunt was like a bloodhound. She could sniff out any kind of trouble—especially when it came to me.
I texted her back.
I’m down at the police station. Do not come. But text Chief Pike and tell him you’re on your way. Again, do not go anywhere near this station! Or Pike!
I rushed over to the door and waited a few seconds with my ear pressed up against it to listen for Pike’s phone. Hopefully, Aunt Ruthie would follow my instructions and her text would distract Pike long enough for us to slip past him.
“Aww, shit,” he grumbled. His footsteps clapped down the hall. “Gotta take care of something real quick. Keep an eye on her.”
I sent a brief text to Eli with instructions, then leaned down and whispered to Vago, “Let me know when it’s safe to go out there, then take me to Hochberger.”
He sniffed the air repeatedly, then nudged my hand. I opened the door and slinked out into the hallway. Vago led me to the counter where Officer Hochberger stood.
“Everything okay, Sibyl?”
“I’m okay, but now he has to go,” I said, smiling.
Hochberger chuckled and came out from behind the counter. “Not a problem. Let me take you outside.”
As we walked down the hallway, Hochberger jingled his keys and whistled. Vago stayed pressed up against my leg. Another twenty feet to the front doors. I could hear the soft hum of an engine. Eli was waiting in the truck.
“Hochberger!” Pike’s shout shot down the hall and bounced off the walls.
Woof! Woof!
Vago pulled in the opposite direction of the doors.
“No, Vago! This way!”
But he was too strong for me and the rope slid out of my hand, burning my palm. Vago’s light blue spirit darted down the hall toward Pike. Outside, the truck’s horn blared. Hochberger grabbed my arm. I had about four seconds to make a choice.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Vago
The moment Pike entered the interrogation room, it hit me like a bucket of ice water. His scent. I smelled it on that road in the woods. He was one of the men who had gotten away. Maybe even the one who threw the rock at my head. I knew he wouldn’t let Sibyl live. She knew too much. We had to get out of that police station …
We were about to do just that when Officer Hochberger agreed to let Sibyl take me outside to relieve myself, but Pike’s voice rang out through the hallway. Death would soon follow. I couldn’t let him get near Sibyl. I tore away and darted down the hallway toward Pike, barking and snarling the whole way. He pulled out his revolver and aimed.
“Vago!” Sibyl screamed.
I didn’t turn back. I kept barreling straight ahead. No bullets were touching my Sibyl. I had to make sure she reached her destiny. That was my job. My purpose in this supernatural mystery.
Gunshots fired.
The boom pierced my eardrums like a hundred ice picks all at once. But I kept racing toward Pike. I lunged. He held out his arm, blocking me. I sank my teeth deep into his forearm, clenching so tight I dangled like a fish from a rod.
“Get off! Get the hell off!” he shouted, thrashing me about.
There was no way I was releasing my grip. I had to protect Sibyl. With his free hand, he aimed his gun at my head.
“You sonofabitch! I’ll kill you!”
I bit down harder and deeper into his flesh, growling like a dog in its final stages of distemper. Another thunderous boom rang out in a hail of splintering light.
Everything went black.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sibyl
The door burst open behind me, and E
li skidded into the station, his hands held forward as streaks of lightning shot from his fingers down the hall toward Pike and Vago.
I couldn’t figure out what was happening over Hochberger’s hollering as he yanked me back against the wall. “What the hellllll is thaaaat?”
Eli blazed down the hall and picked up the pale blue heap from the floor and sprinted back to me.
“We gotta go!”
Hochberger clasped my arm. “You gonna tell me what’s going on here?”
“I’m so sorry, but we have to go. You need to know that Pike is an evil man, and something really bad is going to happen at city hall on Monday morning. You have to stop it.”
Eli shouted to me as he pushed through the front doors with Vago in his arms. “Come on, Sibyl!”
Hochberger chased after us, his spirit now burning like topaz. He was still on our side. He was good. I jumped into the passenger seat and rolled down the window.
“Promise me you’ll call the bomb squad and have them check city hall. But don’t let Pike know. Then get out of here, Hochberger. As far away from town as you can.”
He grabbed my arm through the open window. “Sibyl?!”
“Just trust me. There’s going to be an attack during the vote tomorrow morning unless you stop it from happening. You have to find a way to get the bomb squad involved without Pike noticing. Maybe the F.B.I. Shit, I don’t know.”
“I don’t know about this …”
I took his hand. “Promise me you’ll do this.”
Eli revved the engine and started pulling forward. I released Hochberger’s hand. “Promise!”
“I promise. Please be careful, Sibyl.”
Vago’s limp body lay between us as we sped away from the station in a screech.
“You okay?” Eli asked.
“I’m fine. Was Vago hit?”
“No. I didn’t even hit Pike. Scared him though. He slammed his head against the wall when he jumped back, and knocked himself out. Vago hit the wall too. Sorry …”
Vago chuffed softly, letting us know he’d be fine. I exhaled for the first time since Pike tapped on the window of the interrogation room.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The woods behind my house. We need to hide,” Eli said.
“Do you think Hochberger will do anything?”
“You told him about the bomb threat, he’s an officer of the law, so he’s obligated to follow through.”
I said, “Pike’s an officer of the law. Although, I trust Hochberger. I had a good feeling about him. Let’s hope Pike doesn’t get to him first.”
My stomach dropped. “I better text my Aunt Ruthie to make sure she followed my instructions.”
In my text, I reiterated to steer clear of Pike and that I’d explain everything later. I also added:
Get out of town. Drive as far away as your gas tank will take you and text me when you’re at a safe distance.
***
Deep in the woods, a chill whipped through me. My filthy t-shirt and jeans weren’t doing a very good job of keeping me warm. Eli carried Vago and laid him down on the ground, then knelt down.
“Gonna try to do that healing thing,” he said.
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
“I read the book. Some of it made sense. I was able to do the lightning thing in the hallway.”
“Sort of,” I said.
“I’m hoping my natural instincts will take over.”
I set down the pile of clothes Vago had taken from the truck earlier, then sat next to Eli and rubbed Vago’s belly. Exhaustion started working its way up my back and into my shoulders like ocean tides pulling me backwards. I wanted to close my eyes for a few minutes. But I had to keep them open.
Eli held Vago in an embrace and whispered into his ear.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Whispering to the wounds.”
“Is that how it works? I thought you could only resuscitate.”
He shrugged and grinned. “Since this is my first try, I’ll have to get back to you.”
Eli’s pale blue eyes were opalescent as he continued whispering. A warm wind swept down through the trees into the clearing, the velocity picking up as it whirled circles around us.
“Are you doing this?” I shouted over the winds.
“I don’t think so,” Eli yelled back.
Vago shot up from his prone position. He barked as his blue spirit chased the leaves whirlpooling around us.
“Vago! Come here!” I shouted.
He kept barking until finally the wind came to an abrupt halt.
“Hello, my darlings.” A voice resonated throughout the clearing.
I glanced at Eli, his blond hair a disheveled mess. My own hair felt like tangled vines wrapped around my neck.
“Grandma?” Eli stood up and paced around the clearing, Vago at his heels.
“Yes, Eli. It’s me. I’m here to help.”
I got up and tiptoed to the middle of the clearing. “Hi, it’s me, Sibyl Forsyth. Your former student.”
“I know, dear. I know everything. Vago, why don’t you shift, so the four of us can have a little chat?”
Woof!
Vago padded toward the bushes, snatching up the pile of clothes he’d been wearing earlier. After a few moments, he returned fully clothed in the baggy acid-washed jeans and sleeveless flannel shirt.
“I might need to borrow some of your clothes, dude,” he told Eli. “Anything you might have … from this century.”
The three of us stood in the clearing and waited for Esther. A gentle breeze whisked around us like ribbons of silk as she spoke.
“I apologize I can’t be more available. I had planned on training the three of you, but as circumstances would have it, Pike got to me before I had the opportunity. But you’ve done well for yourselves.”
I stepped forward. “We’re kinda winging it.”
“You should be good at that, with that arm of yours,” she said, chuckling softly.
A spirit with wit.
Vago ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair. “If we’re supposed to save this town, we need some details.”
“When you call them, they will come,” she said.
“You’re talking about my pack, right?” Vago asked, but Esther didn’t reply.
Eli glanced up to the treetops. “I know you love poetry and have a flair for words, but can you just explain how to control the lightning? I don’t want to hurt the wrong people.”
“You’ll get better over time. Until then, Sibyl will help direct your currents. Listen for her voice.”
“And I’ll know where to aim because I can see the Spirit Handlers, right?”
No response.
“Pike knows we’re onto him,” I said.
“And it’s up to you to stop him. You’re the only one who can face him eye-to-eye.”
The wind began to pick up again, and I sensed Esther was about to leave.
“Wait, what does that mean?” I called out.
But there was no response.
Then there was a whoosh like a cyclone of white light, blowing our hair against our faces. We held hands as Esther’s presence beamed away.
“Riddles again …” Eli grumbled.
“Sounds like hanging out in the woods is no longer an option,” Vago said.
“I don’t think it ever was. Let’s go back to the station so I can face Pike eye-to-eye. One of you needs to make sure Hochberger contacted the bomb squad. And we might as well contact the city manager.”
“Look who’s back,” Vago said, slapping my shoulder. “Miss MVP of Coastview.”
I tried to hide my burning cheeks behind some strands of hair, but Eli came over and tucked back the pieces, then kissed me.
We marched through the woods, ready for battle. The version of me hiding in my back yard slipped away like the shedding of old skin. I was David ready to confront Goliath. Only a little tougher since I couldn’t see. But I had se
en something that had never gone away: my spirit.
Entering the back yard, my watch chimed, alerting me to a new text from Aunt Ruthie. Relief. Hopefully, she was fifty miles away from Coastview. I played the message:
Have your aunt. Will let her live in exchange for you. Bottom of the clock tower. Noon.
Pike.
We had fifteen minutes.
Vago grabbed my wrist. “He won’t hurt her. He wants you.”
“Not helping,” I said.
“But you have us, and we won’t let him hurt you,” Eli said.
“Okay, let’s get down there. We’ll make the trade, and the second my aunt is safe, we attack. Vago, you call for your pack. Eli, you start calling down lightning, and I’ll direct it. We can do this.”
We sprinted to the truck. Eli tore through the neighborhood, maneuvering around any cars that decided to get into our path. We got to town in minutes and parked illegally in front of city hall. We ran up the stairs, across the courtyard and got to the clock tower with five minutes to spare.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sibyl
The clock began to chime at noon. Vago and Eli watched as I paced back and forth. Where the hell was Pike? The sixth chime rang overhead. Still nothing. By the time the twelfth chime struck, it hit me how foolish we had been. Pike wouldn’t arbitrarily show up with my aunt to do a swap. He knew about our supernatural powers. And he knew we’d fight back. This was a trap.
“Guys, he’s not coming,” I said.
“No shit, Sherlock,” Vago said.
“But there are a bunch of people heading this way,” Eli said.
I turned around, but couldn’t see a single spirit. Nothing but a landscape of black.
“I don’t see anyone,” I said.
“No spirits?” Vago asked.
“Just black.”
“This can’t be good,” Vago mumbled.
He stepped behind the clock tower and came back moments later in his dog form; I could see his light blue spirit. He began howling. The sonic boom vibrated through the courtyard and carried across town.
“Why can’t I see their spirits?” I asked Eli.
