by Nathan Roden
“Maybe he knew, or maybe he just had suspicions,” the General said. “Or maybe it was a fluke.”
“Holly and I aren’t going to your island, General,” I said. “I hope that’s not what you were planning on.”
The General sighed.
“That would make things easier, sure. But, the last thing in the world our department needs is a worldwide manhunt for a missing rock-star.”
“So being a rock-star is a good thing,” I said.
“I don’t make all of our decisions,” the General said. “But my fellow officers tend to value my opinions—more than my Missus, that’s a fact.”
He handed me a card. It only had a phone number written on it.
“I don’t believe that either of you has any intention of telling about what went on here,” he said. “I would very much like to hear from you, on occasion.”
“We can do that, General,” I said. “And I hope that our conversations are as exciting as watching paint dry.”
The General chuckled.
“We can always hope.”
I kissed Holly goodnight outside of her hotel room. We were staying the night in Edinburgh. None of us wanted to spend one more minute in Wellmore Village. Holly was staying in a two bedroom suite with her parents. We were leaving for home the next day. Maybe one day I’ll begin to worry about the McFadden’s need to sleep in the same room, but it was not that day. I was happy that they had each other.
This left me with the ghosts. They were the quietest I had ever seen them. Even Arabella.
Duncan was really quiet. Being there, and being so close to Tara—right up until the end—seemed to have bothered him a great deal. That wasn’t the only thing that had him down.
“Hey, Dunk,” I said. “I’m going to call Quentin. I bet Nora would love to hear from you.”
Duncan’s eyes lit up at that suggestion. I let Quentin know about our travel plans, and then I propped up my phone where Duncan could use it. I took my room key and stepped outside. A table full of gentlemen sat in the courtyard, drinking and smoking cigars. I nodded and strolled down the sidewalk.
It was fairly late and cold. The streets were pretty empty. I came upon a pub and looked in the windows. A fire blazed in the fireplace, and I overheard laughter and music. I stood there, thinking about how much I would like to walk in there and stumble back to my room a few hours later. Holly and her folks were probably already asleep, but Duncan would worry, and…
“Excuse me, Mate.”
I about jumped out of my skin. I didn’t know there was anyone behind me.
I whipped around, and there stood a man and a woman.
I’m no expert on fashion, but I was sure that their attire was not of this century.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “You startled me.”
The woman pulled on the man’s arm.
“I told you he could see!”
“So you did,” the man said.
“Can I help you?” I said.
The man looked both ways and leaned toward me.
“We’ve heard things. Frightening things.”
“Like what?”
The woman spoke first.
“We’ve heard that there are devils on the loose. We’ve had our share of the misbehaving departed, mind you, but we hear tales—”
“We’ve heard tell of demons pairing up with bad men,” the man said. “We’re all just waitin’ for our passage to the hereafter, Mate—what’s gonna happen to us? Are we gonna be forced to pick sides?”
“I…I don’t know,” I said.
The woman stepped closer to me.
“You have to help us, Sir! What are we supposed to do?”
“I really don’t know, Ma’am. I’m just—”
“But you have the gift!” the woman said. She grabbed my arm. “You cannot allow these beasts to pull us down to hell!”
The man grabbed my other arm.
“Please…maybe there is someone you could talk to—”
“Look there!”
I heard shouting from two different directions; groups of ghosts, pointing at me.
“There’s one who can see!”
“He’ll know what’s happening!”
“Perhaps he can help us!”
I was freaking out. And getting a little claustrophobic. I pulled on my arms, but the man and woman would not let me go. The others were running toward us.
“Please, let go of me….”
“You must help us!” The woman said. “We have no defenses against devils!”
“No!” I shouted.
A blast of energy escaped my throat—the same way it had in the dungeon of Wellmore Castle. A blast of electricity—like bolts of lightning…
Four streetlights and the windshields of two cars exploded. I looked at the pub window. Six faces pressed against it. Someone jerked open the door.
I looked into the terrified faces of the ghost couple. They clawed at my arms. I heard the commotion as the rush of ghosts flew toward me from all directions. As the live people from the bar flowed out into the street, the ghosts and their cries faded away.
I turned and ran back to my room.
I didn’t know if I was followed—by the living or the dead. I fumbled with my key card, jumped inside, and slammed the door shut.
“Wylie? What’s wrong?” Duncan asked.
“Nothing, Dunk,” I lied. “I was just out getting a little exer—”
“It’s quite late for exercise,” Holly said.
I didn’t see Holly. She was sitting in a chair in the corner.
“I thought you would be fast asleep by now,” I said.
“It‘s not for lack of trying,” she said. “Too much adrenaline, too many time changes, and too much insanity.”
“Yeah,” I said.
Holly said something else, but my mind was too far away.
I had no intention of telling her what had just happened in front of the pub. I was exhausted—and I had no intention of unloading any more turmoil in Holly’s lap.
And besides—regardless of the desperate wishes of a bunch of Scottish ghosts, I am not cut out to be their savior. I’m just a pop-singer.
And my girlfriend has been through too much already.
For now, anyway.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.
Disintegrating chains. Exploding glass. Super-human strength.
Holly McFadden passed her abilities to me.
Apparently, Tara Jamison had done the same thing—just before she died.
My Aunt Jessie had premonitions about me, but I could not have anticipated all of this. I didn’t want to believe it. I certainly wasn’t happy about it.
All I really wanted was to be normal. Okay, as normal as a career as a pop singer can be, all right?
I looked over at one of the beds, where Arabella McIntyre, Bruiser Brady, Dougie Day, and Delbert Scoggins lay propped up on pillows. They were watching cartoons with the sound off.
Normal. Uh-huh. Like that’s ever gonna happen again.
We had not seen the last of Sebastian Wellmore and Reygar. How did I know that? I don’t know. I just did. Maybe, the same way that Jessie used to know things. But Jessie had a brain tumor to blame her condition on. I was pretty sure that I didn’t have one of those.
No, I’ve just been kissed by two young ladies with supernatural abilities.
A blessing and a curse.
I have my big brother back—but at a huuuge price.
I have acquired sight into to spirit world—but during a time of war.
Maybe the General and his paranormal unit of the army would be capable of taking care of business.
I knew that I was fooling myself if I thought that Holly and I would escape that adventure. But I was not willing to think about that now.
Holly, Duncan, and I were going home.
“Hey, Wylie,” Duncan said. “Holly asked you a question. Are you off in the cosmos somewhere?”
“Sorry,” I sa
id.
I was off in the cosmos. Asking my own questions.
What in the world have you done to me, Tara Jamison?
Forty-Two
Wylie Westerhouse
Branson, Missouri
Quentin and Jessie met us at the airport. Quentin rented one of those stretch Hummer limos—the one that is half-a-block long.
There was no homecoming party this time. No, on this latest adventure, people had died.
Gwendoline McFadden hugged Holly to her chest. That was okay with me. Jessie was pretty much doing the same to me. It’s been a long time since I got to “be the baby”. I was ready. Nate and Tooie didn’t even tease me about it.
The limo dropped us off at the castle. I could tell that Quentin and Nate had questions, but they were giving us time. That’s one sign of a good friend, in case you were wondering.
I spent a while hugging and kissing Toby.
Tooie had to go to work in the morning, so she left after about an hour.
Holly and her parents went to bed. Bruiser and the other ghosts disappeared in the direction of the pool table.
That left Quentin, Jessie, Nate, Duncan and me.
“Has anyone heard from Skyler?” I asked.
“I talked to her mother two days ago,” Quentin said.
“How is she?”
“Skyler has been seeing a psychologist.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples.
“That doesn’t surprise you, does it?” Q asked.
“No. It’s just…it’s not fair.”
“Ha!” Jessie said. “Fair went out the window a long time ago.”
“Exactly. Skyler saw her dead father because of me, and we all know that. But Skyler is the only one paying the price for it.”
“What else can you do, honey?” Jessie asked. “Do you want to explain it to her?”
I sighed and dropped my shoulders.
“I can’t explain it to her. What right do I have to turn her life and her career upside down? What I have to do, is quit. I don’t know what else to do. How am I going to go out on stage every night, never knowing when the same thing is going to happen?”
“You have to speak to her father,” Jessie said. “Explain to him that he can’t come to concerts.”
“I’m supposed to lay down ground rules for ghosts?” I said. I covered my face with my hands.
“I’m sorry. I am not prepared for this.”
“You need to know this much, Wylie,” Quentin said. “You’re under contract. A very serious contract. The record company and the KwyK’s company have invested heavily in your career. They’re counting on your early success to reap benefits well into the future. You can get out if that’s what you want to do—but it will be expensive. And you will likely end your chance at a music career.”
“I can’t think about this stuff anymore right now,” I said. “Toby and I are gonna crash—just like we used to do on Sunday mornings—back in the good-ole-days.”
I dreamed that I was on a sailboat, drifting on a peaceful lake. When I opened one eye, Quentin was shaking my shoulder.
“Sorry to wake you—but we have company.”
“Who?”
“Skyler. And Veronica.”
“They’re here?”
Q nodded.
“Outside. I told them you were sleeping. They didn’t want to come in, but they’re waiting for you.”
I looked around.
“Where’s Holly?”
“She’s outside—visiting with them,” Q said.
“Really?”
I did a makeshift job of making myself presentable and then walked out to the patio.
The glamorous mother/daughter team had stepped down a couple of notches. Skyler and Veronica wore casual clothes and had on minimal makeup. I actually felt good about that. No one should feel like they have to dress for the red carpet every day.
“Hi,” I said.
“Holly tells us that you’ve just returned from Europe again,” Veronica said.
“Yes. I always wanted to visit, and now that I have access to such an excellent guide, I’m making up for lost time.”
I saw that Skyler still had the little twitch at the corner of her mouth. She smiled sweetly, anyway. The question was hanging in the air, so I got it over with.
“How are you, Skyler?”
Veronica started to say something but stopped herself.
“I’m fine,” Skyler said. I saw her look to her mother. For strength? Support? Help? I wasn’t sure.
“The doctors feel that—” Veronica said.
“I was pushing myself too hard,” Skyler interrupted.
I stole a look at Holly. She looked uncomfortable.
“I—WE tried to do too much, too fast,” Skyler said. “I must have….cracked—”
“Oh, Honey, don’t say cracked,” Veronica said.
“I didn’t say I went crazy, Mother,” Skyler said. “When you boil and egg and the shell cracks, you don’t hold it against the egg, do you? Eggs are only designed to withstand a certain amount of heat—the same way that a human brain can only withstand a certain amount of stress.”
Skyler stretched her hands overhead. I heard her back pop.
“You hear that?” Skyler smiled. “That’s stress relief.”
“I’m glad you’re better,” I said. “That’s for sure. That relieves some of my stress.”
“We’re all glad that you’re getting better, Skyler,” Q said. He looked at Veronica.
“Is this totally a social visit? Because that would be great—”
“Not exactly,” Veronica said. “I won’t sugar-coat it for you. We’re losing money every day that the tour stays on hold.”
“But Veronica—,” Q said.
Veronica held up both hands and shook her head.
“I know what you’re going to say. It’s stupid to rush right back into the same high-pressure situation that caused this situation in the first place. But let’s face facts, Quentin. Music is what Skyler does. It’s what she’s done for her whole life. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s stressful—trust me, all of that will be given a great deal of consideration in the future. But for right now, we have obligations that we cannot ignore. We need to get this tour back on the road.”
“What about the….the incident,” I said. I glanced at Skyler, and then directed my question at Veronica.
“What story are you going to tell the press?”
Veronica shifted her weight on her feet. I could tell that she was uncomfortable talking in front of Holly. I stepped behind Holly and put my hands on her shoulders.
“If you have an official story for the press, you should feel comfortable telling us right now.”
“Very well,” Veronica said. “We have had extensive meetings with Skyler’s psychologist.”
“Who is ‘we’?” Q asked.
“Skip, Chris, and me,” Veronica said. “He has assured us that Skyler has made great strides in working through this. He gives her a great deal of credit for her honesty. He believes that she has taken steps to being able to deal with stress—now, and into the future.”
“Okay,” I said. “So what will the official story be? I have to know what it is, you know.”
Veronica looked at Skyler as she spoke.
“We’re going to tell them the truth.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant at all.
“And what is the truth?” I asked.
“We’re going to tell them that when Skyler looked backstage, she thought she saw her father.”
I had my arm around Holly’s waist. We both waved as Veronica and Skyler drove away.
Holly sighed.
“Never, in a million years, Wylie Westerhouse.”
“Never in a million years what?”
“When I took your hand in the middle of your living room, I never guessed that we would end up like this.”
“I guess not,” I said.
“That was so sad,” Holly said. “The po
or girl believes that she went mental when she’s no more mental than you or me.”
“Yeah. And all because her dad wants to be near her—just like with Duncan and me.”
“And your Mum and Dad. And your aunt. And half of your friends,” she said.
“We can’t keep passing this ghost-sight around, that’s for sure,” I said. “We have to stop it—before it gets out of control.”
“We could always go and live on the General’s island,” Holly said.
“We may have to. But before that day comes, it looks like I’m going to have to go play pop-star some more.”
“Well, be quick about it—and make lots of money,” Holly said. “Who knows what the menu looks like on the General’s island? They may charge extra for cheeseburgers.”
“Cheeseburgers?” I said. “Excellent idea. I’m starving.”
Forty-Three
Wylie Westerhouse
Branson, Missouri
It was getting dark outside, and I getting sleepy fast. The thought of driving home seemed like a cross-country trek, but my house had been empty for weeks. I needed to run water through the pipes and let the air conditioner run for a while. It would be good to have some fresh air circulate through the place. I also wanted to sit on my sofa and rub Toby’s belly. I wanted to pretend that I was just a normal guy spending a normal night at home.
Holly’s apartment door was open. I knocked on it.
“Come in!” she called.
Holly stretched out on her sofa wearing her favorite sweat pants—the canary yellow ones. She also wore the t-shirt I sent her—the t-shirt for the Skyler KwyK/ Wylie Westerhouse Tour.
