“Definitely,” Oliver agreed. “You have no idea how badly I wish I’d known you were in here. I still don’t understand how it happened.”
“I’m just that powerful,” Carroll snapped.
“No, you’re just that lucky,” I corrected. “You had no idea you were going to survive. Don’t pretend otherwise. In fact, you probably thought you were lost when Brett killed you and disposed of your body. There was something left, of course. I’m guessing it was something small and dark that withered in the shadows while you were locked away.
“You festered in here for a long time,” I continued. “There was nothing to feed on, so you floated. Time probably had no meaning. Were you even aware of what you’d lost as the years elapsed? I think that’s a big, fat ‘no.’
“Then, a few weeks ago, the wall between the gate room and the library crumbled,” I said. “In the process — perhaps because so many people were in and out — the wards were destroyed, too. The wards weren’t meant to keep you in. They were meant to keep others out, though they made an effective trap.
“When you realized you were free, you fled,” I said. “That was smart. You escaped quickly, but I don’t think you made it very far. The conservatory, perhaps? I know a few of the regular volunteers who are supposed to keep it up have gone missing. That’s why Claire has been filling in. Someone had to take care of the plants, and she’s always looking for a reason to get away from her husband.”
“They’re such a lovely couple,” Brett drawled, earning a small smile from me.
“It was easy for you to feed on the other volunteers,” I continued. “They were human and unprepared for attack, unlike Claire, who could’ve probably fought you off … which is why she’s still standing. I’m guessing the bodies are somewhere on the grounds ... though you obviously could’ve possessed them and forced the bodies to another location. Is that what you did?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Carroll growled, frustration pouring off him as he continuously threw himself at the edges of the devil’s trap in an attempt to find a weak spot.
“I would like to know,” I admitted. “If we can put those people to rest, that would be a godsend. That includes the ghost I shredded in the spa. I know who he is, by the way. I saw the missing person sign at the park welcome center. I didn’t even realize what I was looking at that first day. Heck, I didn’t realize what I was looking at when I zapped his soul. It was only today that the pieces started fitting together.”
“Good for you.”
“I think I’ve figured it all out,” I pressed. “I know what happened with Granger. One of the ghosts tried to speak through him right before it happened. Actually, one of them managed to speak but I didn’t realize what was happening. They knew and tried to warn me, perhaps because they sensed something different about me. If I’d listened, I could’ve stopped this. I wasn’t open that day, though, and I’m sorry for it.”
“Yes, we’re all sorry for it,” Carroll mocked “We’re all sorry you’re such an idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot, but I have been slow. I looked in the wrong places for answers. You’re a simple shade. Sure, you’re a shade that can possess other people, but you’re still a shade. That means you’re nowhere near as strong as you think you are.”
Carroll made a strangled sound as he threw himself at Brett with every ounce of energy he had. “Let me out! I won’t be trapped here. Not again.”
I ignored his fury and remained focused on what had to be done. “Tell me where the bodies are,” I demanded.
His eyes gleamed as he faced me. “I’ll tell you for my freedom.”
“No.”
“That’s the only thing I’ll deal for. There’s nothing else you can offer me that will get you what you want.”
My patience was wearing thin, but I held it together for the sake of those who stood with me. “If you won’t tell us, then I guess those families will have to suffer. I won’t let you go. I know what you’re capable of, and while it will sadden me to think of those families never finding closure, I won’t let you roam again. Someone else will die if that happens, and that guilt would be too much to bear.”
“Let me out!” He screamed directly in my face, his eyes going a deadly red. It was easy to see that any tendril of sanity he had was severed long ago. He was barely coherent, and beyond reason. “We should probably finish this,” I said to Maxine.
She nodded. “Yes. Definitely.” She released Cormack’s and Brett’s hands and dug in the bag of ingredients on the floor. “I guess it’s time for the final act.” She gripped the package of powder we’d made and started sprinkling it in the center of the circle. “Ashes to ashes,” she started.
“No! What is that?” Carroll made a big show of trying to shrink back against the wall of the devil’s trap and make himself appear small. It was a wasted effort. “Stop! I’ll tell you where the bodies are. If you let me go, I’ll tell you where the bodies are.”
I felt sorry for him in a way. He was beyond redemption. He probably always had been. I also felt sick to my stomach given the things he’d done. The latter feeling was what allowed me to reach into my pocket and retrieve another bag of the same concoction Maxine spread on her side of the circle.
“Dust to dust,” I intoned as I began sprinkling it on the figure.
“Stop! I’ll stay locked in here! I won’t bother anyone again. Just stop!” Carroll tried to climb the walls, but there was no way out.
“May this man’s spirit turn to mush,” Braden offered helpfully as Carroll’s screams began fading.
“We should add another packet for good measure,” Brett suggested. “I mean ... just to be sure this time.”
I knew what he was really saying and nodded. “Here.” I dug an extra packet out of my pocket and handed it over. “You should probably do the honors.”
“I would enjoy that.” He smiled grimly at the wasting ethereal figure in the middle of the trap. “I really wish I’d known what was happening back then. I could’ve saved those lives we’ve since lost.”
I lifted my eyes to the ghosts that were rapidly appearing in the library, all of them landing with a “zip” before immediately turning their attention to the gate room. None of them stopped to witness the end of their tormentor. None of them spoke. Not even Lauren, who paused by the door long enough to wave.
I wanted to ask her if she regained the ability to speak. I wanted to ask if she thought she would find peace.
In the end, it didn’t matter. I’d done all I could for the trapped ghosts. The rest was up to them. So I leaned into Braden as he slid his arm around my back and watched as the ghosts crossed the gate and disappeared into a better forever.
Finally, it was over.
Thirty
Cleanup was easy.
Given what Carroll was, there was nothing left once his essence was destroyed. No dust. No blood. No ghostly remains.
His physical remains were burned long before, so he was gone … and there was nothing but happiness left in his wake.
“What about the ghosts?” Braden asked, brushing my hair from my face and drawing my eyes to him as we sat at one of the ancient tables littering the library. Oliver and Brett were busy circling the room to make sure he was really gone this time. No matter how many times I told them it wasn’t necessary, they continued their ministrations.
“They crossed over,” I replied. “You saw them.”
“They didn’t say anything. Do you think whatever power Carroll had over them died with him? I mean … will they be able to communicate on the other side?”
That was a very good question. “I don’t know. I hope so. There’s really no way for us to check.”
“Well … then I guess we’ll focus on other things.” He adopted a bright expression. “For example, how do you feel about a nice seafood dinner? There’s a place on the Detroit River that has excellent scallops and crab legs. I was thinking we could get dressed up and everything.”
It was a
surreal offer given everything that was going on. “Well … I happen to love seafood. I’m not sure today is the day for that, though. I thought maybe we would order delivery and go to bed early … here. I mean, unless you’re desperate to spend another night playing shark games with your siblings.”
Braden’s smile was soft. “I think I can make that work.”
“Oh, you guys are cute,” Brett enthused, shooting us a smile. “I think you’re just adorable.”
“And I think they’re going to be trouble,” Oliver shot back. “We’ll worry about that later, though. As far as I can tell, Carroll is gone.”
“He’s definitely gone,” I agreed. “He didn’t have the power to stand on his own. I think he only managed to survive as long as he did due to a fluke. The wards kept him in. That meant he couldn’t pass through the gate. He held on … and when the wards failed, he managed to escape.
“Somewhere on this island there are a good twenty bodies,” I continued. “He killed people every chance he got to get stronger. He killed the volunteers for the conservatory, the ones who just stopped showing up.
“He killed that boy I saw at the spa, the one I shredded before I realized what was going on,” I continued. “I don’t know why he was on Belle Isle, but I’m convinced he was killed here.”
“It’s Belle Isle,” Braden said “I can think of a hundred different reasons a teenager would want to hang out here. Most of them involve smoking pot.”
Cormack cuffed the back of his son’s head. “I don’t ever want to know why you think things like that.”
“That’s probably for the best,” Braden agreed.
“I don’t think Carroll built up the strength to leave the island in his shade form,” I supplied. “He was trying hard, but he was weak. He amassed an army and fed himself during the process, but he jumped into Granger that day at the aquarium. That changed things for him, allowed him to leave the island. But it limited what he could do outside of Granger.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because he didn’t want to leave the boy. That much was obvious. I have a few hunches about why, but one of the biggest is that he was safe inside that small package. He had time to regroup, figure out how the world had changed, and he could hide in a small child who wasn’t expected to interact with his surroundings in a regular fashion.”
“I get what you’re saying,” Braden acknowledged. “Granger didn’t talk. Carroll could be as quiet as necessary while figuring out the next leg of his plan. But you said Granger talked that first day. He warned you that ‘they’ were coming. Why would Carroll warn you about his own coming?”
“That wasn’t Carroll.” It had taken me a bit to figure out this part of the story, but I was fairly certain I was right. “That was Granger. The ghosts whispered to him, like they did to me. They might have even spoken through him. I guess that’s still up for debate. They tried to warn him when they realized what was happening. They talked through Granger … which is only part of the reason Carroll felt the need to silence them. What little power he’d managed to gather since being resurrected was spent silencing them. He never got a full foothold because he had to keep regrouping.”
“You sound sure of yourself,” Oliver noted. “How much of this is fact and how much is conjecture?”
I shrugged. “I saw a few things when he was flashing in and out there at the end. He was trying to cling to this world with his last breath. He couldn’t shutter when that was happening, so I saw what he did … and what he knew … and how he planned to fulfill what he thought of as his destiny.”
“And how was that?”
“Kill as many people as possible. He wasn’t exactly imaginative when coming up with a plan. He wanted the powerful souls. But he needed to be close to the gate to get them, and he had no scepter.
“That meant he had to start small,” I continued. “He had to bolster his strength with the volunteers at the conservatory. He also had to hide what he was doing so we wouldn’t immediately come looking. He wasn’t prepared to fight us because he didn’t have the strength.
“He was getting stronger when he saw the tour arrive,” I explained. “He thought he might be able to get a big boost of power from them. Instead, he got something else. In his last moments, I saw what he really had planned. He wanted to hop from Granger to a reaper – maybe even one of you – and steal your scepter so it would be easier to gain access to the gate and the sort of souls he needed. He wanted to start sucking them from the other side again. He thought enough time had passed to allow him to get away with it … at least for the time being.”
“Yeah, well, at least it’s over.” Cormack straightened and rolled his neck. “Well, over other than a certain conversation I’ll be having with the higher-ups about Carroll’s sealed file. They could’ve helped us a great deal if they’d simply told the truth from the beginning.”
“So could I,” Oliver pointed out.
“Yes, but you were protecting someone you love,” Cormack said. “I don’t agree it was necessary – Brett did what had to be done – but I understand. The home office could’ve told us as much as possible without exposing the two of you. I don’t understand why they didn’t.”
“It’s over,” Oliver argued. “Why push things?”
“Because they need to be pushed. We can’t do our jobs if we’re operating in the dark. It’s that simple.”
Oliver held up his hands in defeat. “Okay. I get it. You’ll do what you have to do and I’ll stay out of it.”
“That would probably be best,” Cormack agreed. “Perhaps you should focus on your job for a bit? That goes for both of you.” He slid me a look. “You still need to hire a new assistant.”
Ugh. I’d almost forgotten about all that. “Can’t it wait? I’m sure we can make it another week or two. I’ll pick someone before the end of the month.”
“Oh, no.” Cormack made a clucking sound with his tongue. “You’ll do it tonight. You can’t clock out – or go on any planned dates – until you give me a name.”
That sounded like emotional blackmail. “But … .” I looked to Braden for help.
“I can’t help you.” Braden shrugged. “Just do what he wants. He won’t let it go until you do.”
Oh, well, that was just ridiculous. With nothing better to do, I stormed through the library door and into the gate room. There, still sitting on my desk, was the stack of personnel files. Oliver had whittled it down to five names and then I’d completely forgotten about the endeavor.
“Fine.” I grabbed the stack and mixed them up. I shut my eyes and picked one. I forced a smile for Cormack’s benefit as I opened the file and read the name. “Paris Princeton.”
Cormack was amused as he trailed me into the room. “Don’t you want to put more effort into the choice than that?”
“Nope. I have a good feeling about her.”
Cormack didn’t look convinced. “Well, I guess it’s your choice. If that’s who you want, she’s all yours.”
“Great.” I offered him a genuine smile this time. “Does that mean we can be done for the night?” I gestured toward Braden so there would be no mistake who I was talking about.
“I think you should let us off early,” Braden added. “I mean … Izzy did take out a shade and save the world.”
“Save the world?” Cormack chuckled. “Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration?”
“Not if it gets us off work early.”
I waited for Cormack to answer, but the twinkle in his eyes telegraphed his response before he even opened his mouth. “Go ahead,” he said. “Have a good evening.”
“Score!” Braden pumped his fist and grabbed my hand. We were almost to the door before he slowed his pace. “Wait … does this mean I’m your favorite today?”
“Izzy is my favorite today.”
“I’m fine with that.”
Cormack snickered. “I figured you would be. Enjoy your night … and have fun. It’s back to the grindstone
for both of you tomorrow.”
“Deal.” I waved at him and laughed as Braden chased me toward the stairs. “We have the whole night. What do you want to do?”
Braden turned petulant. “You said takeout and bed. I was totally looking forward to that. You can’t change your mind now.”
“Then takeout and bed it is. We can start figuring out the rest tomorrow.”
“And what is the rest?”
“You know … the rest. We’re in a relationship now. I’m pretty sure that means there are rules.”
“Ugh.” Braden made a tortured face. “I hate rules.”
“Something tells me you’ll survive.”
His smile was cheeky. “Something tells me you’re right.”
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About the Author
I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.
If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.
Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Only the Quiet Page 29
