Phaze

by S. C. Mitchell

  “While we were gone, Jimmy fell sick. Listless and off his feed, according to a note Mary left behind for me. She has taken all the pups to a veterinarian friend of hers. They are scheduled to return soon.” He pursed his lips, then added, “We are worried.”

  Natasha whined. Jimmy was one of her pups.

  A chorus of yips issued from the doorway as the door opened. Seven wolf pups tumbled in and scampered toward their mothers. Mary followed, carrying little Jimmy in her arms. Beside her, another woman.

  Tall, willowy, and wearing jeans and a western cut shirt with intricate beadwork. Long, straight, black hair pulled into a ponytail except for a few strands that snuck out to highlight the high cheekbones of her beautiful face. Her darker skin tone bespoke of a Native American or Hispanic origin.

  Wylde stood slack-jawed, eyes wide as he appraised the newcomer.

  Mary ran her hand down Jimmy’s back. “Heather, Kayla, John, may I present Dove Locklear, an old friend of mine.”

  Wylde narrowed his gaze. Then he sniffed. “Dove?”

  His eyes brightened. A crazed smile broke across his face, the first Kayla had seen from him.

  The woman cocked her head, her gaze locked on him. “Johnny Wylde? Is that really you?”

  ~ ~ ~

  They’d exited Olivia’s nexus via one of the doors and ended up in a high-ceilinged room lined with bookshelves. Bright sunlight streaming through tall windows on one wall caused Joel to squint.

  Wasn’t sunlight bad for dead people?

  Or was that just vampires?

  So much to learn.

  Olivia was with him but Carlos had disappeared.

  “Where are we now?”

  She held her arms out and spun in the sunlight. “Mexico City. He lives here.”

  The body slumped at the desk in the middle of the room suddenly came to life. Carlos, now solid, blinked as he pulled his head from the desktop and sat up straight in his chair.

  Olivia stood, arms crossed, foot tapping. “Come on, bro. We haven’t got all day.”

  “Can he still hear us?”

  “Not yet. He needs to cast a speak-with-dead spell or some such. And he’s always slow as a slug after going astral.”

  The lights in the room flickered off then back on. Off then back on again.

  Carlos yawned and stretched. “I know. I know. Give me a second.”

  His gaze swept the room as he continued to blink.

  Joel shook his head. “Did you do that?”

  “All ghosts can mess with electricity. You just need to practice a bit.” Olivia chewed the corner of her lip.

  The lights flickered once again.

  Carlos huffed. “Olivia, stop that.”

  Shrugging, she chuckled. “I’ve never been a very patient person. Kinda what got me killed.”

  She didn’t elaborate, but continued tapping her foot.

  Raising his hands high, Carlos chanted something in a language Joel didn’t understand, and he was fluent in six different languages including Spanish, German, and Mandarin.

  If he’d been alive, he could have run it through his computer’s translate ap. It really sucked being dead. He’d gotten so used to always having access to the computer in his head. No more Facebook, no more email, and now, even though it looked like he’d finally have the time to play, no more World of Warcraft. “What language is that?”

  Olivia shrugged. “Magic language I guess.”

  Carlos huffed. “It isn’t a language. It’s an incantation to speak with the dead. The words are not translatable.”

  Who was this guy? “So you can hear us now?”

  “Yes, but I cannot see you, so let me know if Olivia smirks at me, not that I can do anything about it.”

  Olivia scowled. “Just get to work, bro. Remember? Demon on the loose? Necromance?”

  Carlos ran a finger across the spines of some ancient-looking tomes. Pulled one, flipped through the pages, then closed it and returned it to the shelf. “This might take a while. Why don’t you two go see a movie or something?”

  This whole thing was so surreal. “Is there any way you could take me to Xi Force Headquarters? It’s in Megopolis.”

  He wanted to know what was going on, even though it looked like he was now out of the picture. And he wanted to see Kayla again. Make sure she was all right.

  Deep down he knew she’d be better off without him. He was too screwed up after the whole Amber shit-storm. It was probably better they’d never made love, but God, he sure wished they had.

  “Xi Force?” Olivia’s tone shot up an octave. “Do you know people there? Do you know Z-Bot? He’s so hot.”

  Joel laughed. “Yeah, he’s one hot zombiebot.”

  At least that’s what the tabloids were calling him, especially after that picture of his ass hit the internet.

  “I had a feeling you were someone important when that demon bitch killed you. What did you do for Xi Force?”

  Did it matter anymore? “I was their leader. I was Shade.”

  Carlos raised an eyebrow. “The other zombiebot? This gets more interesting by the moment. So you’ve been dead before? That could explain why you’re stuck here.”

  “Really?” He could use some explanations.

  Carlos pulled three books from his shelf and stacked them on his desk, then skidded to another shelf. “Give me a few hours to research. Olivia, take him wherever he wants to go. This could be important.”

  Olivia harrumphed. “Damn right it could be important. I could catch Z-Bot changing into his costume. Is that really his butt everyone is looking at on the internet?”

  Chapter 19

  Mason’s, a nondescript supper club, sat on a busy street corner a half mile from the industrial park and Xi Force base. Some of the ladies that worked at the headquarters occasionally took lunch here, claiming the food was delicious.

  Yeah, right.

  “World class beefcake.” Olivia had one of her doorways from the Nexus anchored right inside the club. It was as close to the Xi Force complex as she could get him.

  If he hadn’t been a ghost, Joel would have been rightfully embarrassed, to appear in front of a stage hosting three gyrating, mostly naked men. “Seriously?”

  Bright lights, dark wood, hell, a freakin’ disco ball, and a couple dozen women hooting up a storm and waving dollar bills.

  Olivia leaned a bit to one side, eyes wide. “You go do what you have to do. I’ll be waiting here when you’re done. Take all the time you need.”

  He beat a hasty retreat, floating through the front door. The whole ethereal flying thing took a bit of getting used to, but he’d done it the first time he died. Hovering and drifting came easy, but going where you wanted to go took a bit of concentration.

  Outside the club, a moonless, star-filled sky cast eerie shadows across the dark roadway. Two-story buildings lined the street, most of their windows dark. In the distance, a church bell chimed nine times.

  Three young men staggered out of a bar across the way, laughing and talking loudly, their voices echoing from the stark buildings around. “You should have shagged her, Ben. Joanie would never have known.”

  An old man coming up the sidewalk confronted one of the young men. “Get yourself home to that wife of yours, Benjamin. Worrying about you will be the death of her.”

  An ethereal form placed a wispy hand on the old man’s shoulder. Another ghost, this one an old woman. She shook her head with a sad smile, but her gaze traveled to Joel. “They learn too late.”

  She nodded at Joel, then continued walking beside the old man as he headed down the sidewalk.

  As he drifted through the quiet night, Joel saw other ethereal forms in the distance, but none of them approached, though one did wave tentatively to h
im.

  In the distance, the Xi Force headquarters building loomed. What would he find there?

  ~ ~ ~

  With a sigh, Kayla approached it.

  It, not him. There had been no sign of Joel within his body.

  This is a stupid idea.

  “Kiss me,” she ordered. The computer tried to comply. Its lips puckered. She placed hers on his . . . its.

  Nothing.

  This wasn’t a fairytale. A kiss wouldn’t change a frog into a prince.

  Aaron worked feverishly to cut through the red tape, but he still estimated it would be another day before they could go back to the island. Would Joel’s spirit even be there? Or did heaven already have another angel? She had no doubt that’s where he’d be. Where he deserved to be.

  He’d more than earned that.

  All the crap Joel went through—had had to live with. Damn Amber, or whoever the hell she really was.

  Kissing a robot wouldn’t change anything.

  But as she braced to pull back, the lips firmed. Its mouth opened and the tongue pried its way into her mouth.

  Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her in. It felt so much like him, she wanted to cry. Had the computer remembered his technique?

  Damn it, it didn’t matter. She’d take this last piece of him with her.

  Lacing her hands into his thick hair, she returned the kiss with everything she had. For just this moment she could lie to herself . . . believe he was here with her.

  Then her body started shaking. Her cheeks dampened as tears rolled from her eyes. A gasping sob interrupted the moment and she pulled back.

  “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” It sounded just like something he’d say. Her mind whirled. How could the computer suddenly take on mannerisms . . .?

  His thumb stroked across her cheek, clearing the wetness. “It’s me. I’m back.”

  Her heart lurched. It couldn’t be, yet it was. “Joel.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Joel stared over Kirk’s shoulder at the nine-panel Cray display. “His name is Carlos Diego. I’m pretty sure he lives in or around Mexico City.”

  He had his arm around Kayla, hugging her close to his side. Where she belonged. Where she fit. Her soft curves against him.

  His enhanced hearing picked up Aaron’s steady footfalls behind him, as his friend paced the room. Chris sat at one of the other computer workstations, pecking away at the keyboard with Jason Pike behind him.

  News of Joel’s return spread quickly, causing a beehive of activity in the complex.

  He would have preferred to drag Kayla back to his room and not let anyone know he’d returned from the dead again for a few hours, but somewhere in Mexico City Carlos Diego researched whatever the hell Amber had become.

  That was probably important stuff.

  And because he was now alive again, Joel had lost his way back to Carlos. He wouldn’t be able to see or communicate with Olivia even if he did go back to that strip club.

  He’d felt the pull the moment he’d drifted through the Xi Force Headquarters doorway. Moments later he’d awakened in the best way he could have imagined, kissing Kayla. It had been cute, the way her cheeks reddened when she’d explained what she’d been doing. At her heart—and it was an amazing heart—she believed in the fantasy and magic of love.

  So if she wanted to believe her kiss brought him back to life, he’d let her. Who knew? Maybe it had. That was one hell of a kiss.

  “Carlos Diego is a pretty common name. I’ll need to narrow down the list.”

  Kirk’s query pulled him from his thoughts. “He’s a thirty-something, Hispanic, with dark hair and a goatee. He does magic or something, and he had a sister named Olivia, but she died young.” It was all the specifics Joel could remember.

  He wouldn’t be able to see Olivia, but she’d be able to see and hear him. Could he send Carlos back a message through her? She’d said she would stay at Mason’s until he got back.

  He clapped Kirk on the shoulder. “Keep working on it, I have another idea I need to pursue. I’ll be right back.”

  Kayla trailed him as he headed for the exit. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

  The warmth in his chest caused a smile to play across his lips. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, but you are probably going to think I’m crazy.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Kayla slid into the passenger’s seat of one of the black SUVs in the Xi Force parking lot that were always available for their use. She really didn’t need her old VW bug anymore, but she and that old rust bucket had been through a lot, and she hated the thought of getting rid of it.

  Joel drove them toward the entrance of the industrial park, then turned left toward a business district. Toward Mason’s.

  Anne and Peggy from accounting asked her to do lunch here with them on countless occasions. They said the place was a delicious break from the mundane, whatever that meant. In any case, they always returned to work in a very good mood. Maybe she should join them someday.

  The parking lot was full so he parked down the street a bit.

  Maybe the food really was that good.

  “This could get crazy,” he said as they exited the SUV.

  “Should we have worn our costumes?” They were still in street clothes.

  A soft smile played across his lips. “Hopefully not that kind of crazy. Have you ever been here?”

  Humor danced in his eyes. He was obviously holding something back from her.

  “No, why?”

  The guy at the door cocked his head at Joel. “You sure you’re in the right place?”

  What an odd thing to ask.

  “Unfortunately, yeah.” Joel shrugged and paid the cover charge.

  Chuckling, the man waved them through. “Lost a bet, didn’t you buddy? You’re probably going to have to stand. I think all the tables are full tonight.”

  She looked at Joel as they headed down a short entrance hallway. In the room beyond, hoots and hollers echoed, rising to a shrill crescendo before moderating. “You’re not going to clue me in, are you?”

  Shaking his head, Joel put his arm around her waist and ushered her around the corner. “No real need.”

  Kayla stopped dead.

  So. Much. Skin. Ripples and gyrating.

  She brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp that turned into a chuckle.

  The barely clad men on stage were nice eye candy. Not as nice as that glimpse of Joel naked that sizzled in her brain, but nice none the less.

  No wonder the accounting girls liked to have lunch here. The hot stuff on the menu wasn’t just the food.

  But why was Joel taking her into a male strip club? “Is there something you haven’t told me about yourself?”

  He most certainly wasn’t gay.

  Bi?

  “I’m here to see a ghost. Problem is . . . I can’t see the ghost. I just hope she sees me.” He scanned the crowd of dancing, squealing women. “Olivia?”

  All the lights in the room flickered twice. The sound system died. Women around grumbled as the men on stage stopped dancing.

  What the hell?

  “Oh good. She’s still here.” Joel pulled Kayla toward the back wall, away from the worst of the noise and commotion, as the music started back up and the men began to gyrate once again.

  Though he was facing her, he spoke through her, his eyes staring over her right shoulder. “Okay, Olivia, I need you to tell your brother to contact me. Just have him ask for Joel at Xi Force Headquarters . . . or leave a message on the Xi Force Facebook page.”

  As if in answer, the lights flickered once again.

  A real ghost. Wow.

  Chagrinned, Kayla cocked her head. “We have a Facebook page?”r />
  His eyes glazed. “We do now.”

  Chapter 20

  Alone at last.

  Kayla breathed in the warm scent of Joel as he pulled her into his arms.

  Heather, Chris, and Kirk all insisted there was nothing further that needed to be done tonight. All Xi Force resources were focused on locating Carlos Diego, and discovering where Amber had disappeared to. They all hinted Kayla and Joel’s time would be better spent in bed.

  “You know . . . resting. You’ve had a long, hard day.”

  Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.

  He’d held her close, and stolen a quick kiss on the elevator ride up to his apartment on the second floor. His quickened breathing told her he was as excited as she was.

  And God, was she excited. It felt like she’d been craving this night forever.

  His kiss was force-filled, bruising, and exactly what she needed as he pressed her against the wall of the elevator. His tongue probed and explored, and she drank him in as her head spun.

  Scintillating tingles spread throughout her core from her pebbling nipples, where they pressed against his broad chest. Molten desire flared, as his erection pulsed against her stomach through their clothing.

  Thank goodness the corridor between the elevator door and Joel’s apartment was empty. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He felt so good to touch.

  But there was too much clothing. That needed to go, and soon.

  He’d backed her against his bedroom door as soon as he closed it. His lips thoroughly ravished hers before he pulled away. “We need to slow down or I’ll never last. How about this?”

  He released her and started to work the buttons on his shirt, swiveling his hips and gyrating. “You said you enjoyed the dancers tonight.”

  She’d made the mistake of commenting on the eye candy at the strip club. Dumb move, but Joel took it in stride. “Are you my private dancer now?”