Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  Grief and loss, I understood. I forgave her immediately. Aidan screwed his eyes tightly shut, his clenched fists shook at his sides. They both hurt. If Aidan gave in and went home, it wouldn't be long before resentment damaged their relationship. I'd try and talk to Del later. No words would get through the anger and pain she felt now. It wouldn’t be forever. Aidan wanted to learn. Maybe I could get her to think of it as going away to university to study.

  Liliwen fixed her piercing stare on me. "How long do you think we've got?"

  "I have no idea. I'm not connected with the military, and I don't know how they think."

  "But you have friends among the leadership."

  Glynn.

  Never far from my thoughts or heart. His face from our tunnel meeting raced into my brain. An ache worse than any pain from broken ribs wound deep into my chest. I gripped the bench to hold myself upright. "He's not popular with Colonel Asher."

  "It's not just Asher." Owen's deep voice boomed from the surgery door. "We could remove him, and still be targeted by authorities that feed on fear."

  Liliwen and Dr. Graham rushed to his side. He brushed them away.

  My hands twitched with frustration. Glynn was already suspicious. He’d be trying to investigate Asher even if he were locked in a cold dank cell. I didn’t know where the army base was, didn't know how to get there, and couldn’t expect to just walk in unannounced and start talking with Glynn again.

  A cough at my ear dragged my thoughts back to Owen and his people.

  As much as it grated, finding Glynn would have to wait. These people needed help to save themselves.

  "So, you agree?" My gaze flit around the room, I couldn't bring myself to look him in the face. "You have to move from here?"

  Owen seemed to see right through me, to sense my fear. "Like Liliwen said, no one is going to kill anyone. That's not what we do, not who we are." He shifted his gaze to Aidan, nodded. "Saltpetre Way. I remember hearing about it. The whole town burnt to ashes in the forest fires, a few years after the illness coiled its way across the world. The Cathedral and the old stone inn are all that survive." He glanced back at me. "We will let the captives go, as soon as everyone has got away and we can do so safely."

  Owen wobbled, he fell to his knees against the doorjamb. I ran with a few others to his side, helped him to his feet, and guided him back to bed. I helped to straighten his legs and plumped up the pillow behind his head.

  As I stepped away, he grabbed my hand. "Not everyone here is strong enough to make the move with us. Some of the weakest spirits won’t attempt it, but they don’t want to be alone either. Will you help them cross to the Shadow Glades, or beyond?

  "I will help if I can." A trickle of cold drizzled down my back. "The dead man sitting with Ed in the dormitory, who is he?"

  "He said his name is Simon. I fear he is not adapting."

  "He begged for my help."

  "He and some others may prefer to quicken their exit rather than wait here or elsewhere to die permanently." Owen grabbed my hand again. "I see it troubles you. We've been together a long time. I don't want to destroy their bodies either. The prospect sickens me, but the alternative worries me more. I won’t ask you to do it."

  I released my breath. I could accompany a willing spirit across the veil into the Shadow Glades. But the only way to end everything for a living corpse was to destroy their body, and that was the end. There would be no gentle ever after in the Shadow Glades or the Realm of the Dead.

  Owen still gripped my hand. "Will you help me soothe their way? A prayer from you will make a difference."

  "I’m hardly the best person—"

  Owen sat up and embraced me. "Meagan, none of this is your fault, and you can help."

  Almost paralyzed with self-doubt, I wriggled away from Owen. But the strengthening spell gurgled awake and some of the tightness in my shoulders eased. "Of course. When?"

  "Soon. The raids will increase now."

  "I’ve made it worse for you." I dropped my chin to my chest. I wanted to help and all I’d done was made things harder.

  He shook his head. "It was coming anyway."

  Hugging the hospital blanket around me, I slumped into an empty seat against the wall in Echo Den's main assembly area. The conversation with Owen repeated in my head. The relocation was now even more urgent thanks to my involvement in the diversion raid. I’d agreed to help his weaker people cross to the Shadow Glades, and I'd do it no matter what it cost me. Simon had begged for my help too, but it was one thing to accompany a willing spirit across the veil into the Shadow Glades, quite another to kill a living undead.

  Two fingers tapped against my shoulder. I lifted my head and found myself gazing into the eyes of the undead soldier, Simon.

  "I'll stay." His face was set in a mask of stillness. "Do what you need to do with the spirits. I'll stay here with the walking dead who've had enough."

  "What good will that do?"

  "I'll make sure the military who find us, kill us all."

  "How will you make sure the military find you?"

  "They'll be back. In less than twenty-four hours, early morning." He crossed his arms against his chest. "I'll take everyone out, we’ll ambush the squad and they will retaliate with greater force. It will provide a distraction to cover the move as well as end it for those of us who want it over."

  "Why have they released you?" I gazed past him, looking for Ed and the rest of the captive soldiers.

  He shrugged. "No point keeping me locked up, is there."

  "Go with them." I circled my hand around the room. "You can help. They need young strong people—"

  He shook his head. "No. I can't. I can't live like this. They're not people. I'm not people anymore. And I never will be again. I want to end it."

  "You know that if you're killed now—"

  He grimaced. "You know that I'm already dead, don't you?"

  "You're not dead. You can carry on living, continue serving the people like you always have. Now these people instead of those you used to serve."

  He stepped away from me. I grabbed his arm. "What I'm saying is, if you are killed again, then that's it. You won't become a spirit, there'll be nothing for you on the other side."

  "I don't want to be a spirit. I never expected there to be anything on the other side. I want this over with."

  He shook off my hand and marched away toward a group of people. He spoke with them. There was head nodding, and they glanced at me. Their faces relaxed.

  At least I didn't have to kill anyone. I pulled away from the milling crowd. Simon had gifted me liberation. Instead of a wave of relief, my skin prickled with caution. The trip into the Shadow Glades would be tough enough, and would drain my energy. I needed every ounce of strength for when I made my way back to the army base. The army base and Glynn. I had to find him, persuade him.

  Word must have traveled around the group that some would stay behind to create a distraction. I saw no tears, heard no arguments, but a persistent sadness crept underneath the buzzing activity in Echo Den. All hands that could, collected possessions and dropped them into railway carts.

  The weakest spirits drifted closer to me. Hopeful. Yearning. Word had traveled quickly about my escorted trips to the Shadow Glades, too.

  "I misjudged you," Liliwen said.

  I wiped my face, surprised to find the back of my hand wet with tears.

  "I will help as much as I can, but I'm not sure..." A wave of dizziness washed over me.

  Liliwen knelt at my side. "You are torn between returning to your man and helping us."

  "No." I gripped my hands together in my lap. "Yes. But I will help of course. It's my job. It's what I do, what I'm here for. I'd like to come with you to Saltpetre Way. I'd like to see you all safely in your new home, but I daren't delay finding Glynn any longer."

  She rested a cool hand on my shoulder. "I have a suggestion. Go with all of the walking dead but one to the distraction point, then let one of them show you to the
stockade at the army base."

  "Simon won't do that. He's determined to lead the diversion and ensure everyone is blown to bits. Besides Ed or one of the others can show me. You are releasing them, aren't you?"

  "Yes. But separately. We will guide them to a release point from which they can make their own way back to the base."

  "What about Del?"

  "No reason to hold her any longer. She will leave with her husband."

  But not her son. Liliwen waited for my response, but I sat in silence. Del would have a hard time leaving without Aidan.

  Liliwen coughed politely. "Another knows the way. He will do it, and he will return to us if he can."

  "It's too risky, if anyone sees him—"

  "It's a fair exchange. You are taking a risk, he will take one in return. You've met him, his name is Bill, and he is ready."

  I nodded, couldn't think of anything to say that would make any difference. "I have to try and persuade Del to leave without Aidan. Not looking forward to that."

  "Aidan is speaking with his father now. Ed will persuade Del. He's not happy either, but he can see his son thrives here. It will not be forever. He will work and learn, then return."

  If he didn't get killed in a raid. I kept that unhappy thought to myself.

  Seven spirits now hung close to Liliwen. A young boy, an old man, three women, another young boy, an older woman. I lifted my head to acknowledge them. "Give me a few moments. I need to work out the best way."

  I closed my eyes to shut out the busy cavern. My father told me to be careful crossing between the world of the living and the Shadow Glades. He said the fabric would get thinner, the crossing would become easier, and a day would come when I struggled to locate the boundary between the two worlds. The first time, I'd been desperate to save Evie. I'd barged my way into the Shadow Glades using brute force. The last time I visited, I'd pushed aside a thin gauze curtain.

  The seven spirits milled around Liliwen and myself. Their faces full of hope, their desperation seeping into my pores. What would happen if I made seven trips, one after the other? How much of the gauze would remain?

  How would I take them all? Back and forth until the veil between our world and the Shadow Glades was ripped asunder forever. What would that do to me?

  Dear Haebeth. I couldn’t swallow the ache from the back of my throat. I’d never been one for falling to my knees and begging for favors, but perhaps I needed her help more than ever now.

  No matter that it was my duty to help these people, I had to get back to Glynn.

  19

  Maybe I could take all seven spirits to the Shadow Glades at the same time.

  The idea drifted in my brain. They wouldn't be struggling against me. It would be easier then dragging a reluctance spirit all the way to the doorway into the Realm of the Dead, and I'd done that before. It was worth a shot.

  The mossy gray color of the Shadow Glades came quickly to mind. The silvery gray stones, handsome among gray-green lichen, replaced Echo Den. Weathered Stone angels and broken headstones replaced Owen's people packing everything of value into the railway carts.

  This time no curtain hung between this world and me. Not even the thinnest layer of gauze.

  The lichen shone with vibrancy, the dampness in the air penetrated deep into my bones. Instead of bare telegraph wires, majestic black ravens called overhead. An adrenalin rush ignited every cell in my body with an intense zeal. The changes had to be due to the conjunction of the ley lines amalgamating power in this area. This is what I felt when we first walked into the tunnels, the ley lines saying hello, their power flowing freely in and around my body.

  I gestured for the spirits hovering around me. "Stay very close. Hold on to each other or me if you can. We will cross into the Shadow Glades together. I haven't got time to take you all the way to the Realm of the Dead, but you will easily find it. If you want to go through the door, it will call to you."

  The oldest woman, the strongest in the group, pushed the two young boys close to me. She gripped my arm with icy cold fingertips and wrapped herself around them. The others pressed close around my body. Their desire drove me forward. I fought back a feeling I was encased in an ice floe, trapped and bobbing in icy cold seas I couldn't control. No curtain hung, but something marked the boundary between the worlds, a thin layer of gelatin I had to part.

  Through to the other side, we fell onto the moss. The spirits peeled away from me. One by one they gazed at the endless moor bleeding into a silver sky. They gawked at iridescent black ravens cawing on telephone poles and wires that stretched from one side of the horizon to the other.

  Nothing had changed since my last visit, and yet everything had changed.

  Color crept across the spirits and they took the shape of the people they used to be. The children hopped across the stones. They erupted into spontaneous laughter and my soul filled with confidence for them.

  "We'll find our way from here." The oldest woman took my hand and kissed it gently.

  Though tempted to jump backward and race to the army base to find Glynn, I knew I couldn’t. No, I needed to do this job properly. "I'll take you to a statue I know. I can point you in the right direction."

  My first time in the Shadow Glades, I bumbled my way to the spot. Not anymore. I took the children's hands and led them dancing through the moss and stones to the weeping angel I knew to be a landmark. From there, a narrow path led us to a finely carved statue of a seated man, who thrust a long narrow sword into the realm at his feet. And from there, the path wound its way to the almost hidden doorway into the Realm of the Dead.

  This time I let them walk away from me. The Shadow Glades didn’t frighten me anymore. I drew peace from the silvery light as I gathered my breath. A short respite in a quiet world where I didn't fear the military, and fear for Glynn. But I couldn't wait for long, I had a lot to do on the other side of the veil.

  Retracing my steps alone, the gray moors stretched around me in every direction. The ley line bubbled and swirled like a natural spring gurgling under the rocks. Half of me wanted to stay and trace its path, dip my toes in the refreshing water. Another time perhaps, when other concerns didn’t press upon me. I paced back to the weeping angel and focused on finding my way back to Echo Den. I heard rather than saw the bustle of activity in the cavern and followed the sound until I became aware of the wooden seat under my bum.

  "Are you even human?" Del blew out a long rattling sigh. "Are you one of us? You disappeared. Do you know that?"

  I gripped my hands around the seat, took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

  Del lifted her hands to her head and cradled her face. "You were sitting here, then you disappeared, as if you turned into particles and a giant vacuum cleaner sucked you into nothingness."

  "That's not what it's like. It’s more like drawing back a flimsy curtain."

  "A curtain?" Del's eyes widened. "Is that all that separates us from Hell or whatever it is?"

  "No, it's all that separates the Shadow Glades from our world for me, but I'm not exactly normal in that regard."

  Del puffed out a low breath.

  "Yes, I'm human, just like you. I'm a necromancer, but that doesn't make me unnatural. Just unusual."

  Del’s brows drew together, her face tightened. "I'm not surprised you don't understand about Aidan. You have no idea what it's like to be... normal."

  "Exactly. I know what it's like to be different, to tiptoe around people. Trying to be invisible because you know you don't fit and you don't know how to make it right."

  "Aidan's never felt like that, he knows he is loved. He's my son."

  "I'm sure it's because he feels loved, that he feels safe enough to go with Owen now, and come back and see you at any time later."

  Del shuddered. "He's not hanging out with dead people!"

  "He wants to study. What other opportunities are there for him to learn like he can here? They aren't so different, just like us but undead."

  Ed appeared
at Del's elbow and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She slumped against his chest and he gently kissed the top of her head. "We're going, and you're coming with me."

  "We can't leave without Aidan." Del clenched her hands into fists.

  "I've given him my word I'll talk to you." Ed stroked her hair.

  "No." She pulled away from him. "He's coming home."

  "He introduced me to his teachers. They are good people."

  "They are bloody dead people."

  "Let's agree to let him stay for three months. See how things pan out."

  "No." Del's face reddened, she pointed at me. "It's her doing."

  "No." I stuttered. "This is what Aidan wants—"

  "Aidan is determined." Ed pulled Del back to him. "This is what he wants. I've never seen him so happy. He's convinced me this is what he really wants to do. I think we should support him."

  "He's my baby boy." Del twisted her hand in her husband’s shirt.

  "I'll make sure we keep an eye on him." Ed kissed the top of her head again.

  Del mumbled into his chest. She seemed to be reluctantly agreeing. She pointed at me. "What about her?"

  It wasn't up to me to divulge the plans. "I've got a couple of things to tidy up." I hated this ill will between Del and myself. I stretched out my hand to take hers. She snatched hers away.

  Ed shook his head as if recommending a slower approach from me.

  "Please check on Glynn as soon as you get back. Colonel Asher—"

  "Don't worry. We will look after Glynn," Del said coldly. "He is one of us."

  Ed stroked Del's hair. "I'll talk with him, and Asher."

  He nudged Del away. Somewhere he and the other soldiers, with Del, minus Simon would be guided back to a point from where they could get back to the army base. Grabbing onto the hard chair, I tried to pull myself together.

  Liliwen touched my shoulder. "Are you recovered?"