Demon's Doorway

by Glenn Bullion

  He glanced at the time to see a half hour had passed. He didn't know how long her lunch was, but didn't want her to get in trouble.

  "Do you have to get back?" he asked, gesturing to the vet's office.

  She smiled. "I can be just a little late. I mean…if it's okay with you. Do you have to go somewhere?"

  He shook his head. "I'm fine right here."

  They looked into each other's eyes, and he could feel the connection. It almost felt like he drank some of his healing water, the tingling in the body it left behind. She looked away first, and blushed as she glanced down at her lap. Leese was an alluring mix of confidence and shyness.

  He enjoyed talking with her, but neither one felt the need to press words. They were oddly comfortable.

  Leese was talking about life with a roommate when a truck sped into the parking lot. A mother, father, and daughter jumped out. The father moved to the back and carefully scooped up a wounded German shepherd in his arms. The mother and daughter were crying, and the dog yelped. They disappeared through the front door.

  "Oh, no," Leese said. "It was probably hit by a car." She turned to face him. "I'm sorry. I need to go, see if we can help."

  Kevin was amazed. She was apologizing for wanting to save a dog.

  "No, it's okay. Go."

  They both climbed out at the same time. Leese jogged around the Jeep to say goodbye.

  "Thank you for lunch."

  "Hey, anytime."

  "What are you doing tonight?"

  The question surprised him. "Uh, nothing, I don't think."

  She slowly moved to the front door, alternating between jogging and walking.

  "Come over to my apartment, at eight o'clock. I don't live far from here. Victoria knows where I live. We'll do something."

  She went inside, not even giving him a chance to answer. Although, there was only one answer.

  "Sure."

  Kevin had one leg inside the Jeep before he froze. He was already angry at himself for what he knew he was about to do.

  "It's not your job to heal everything on the damn planet," he muttered to himself. "That's why doctors are around, and vets. It's why Leese has a job. You can't keep doing stupid crap like this."

  He thought about the dog, in pain, as the family took him inside. He thought about them crying. If his cat Oscar were hurt, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to help him.

  "It's just one dog," he told himself. "No big deal."

  He grabbed his coat from the back seat.

  Nerves tried to rile him up as he headed toward the side of the building, but he forced himself to remain calm. He had enough magic in his coat to wage war on a small army. Certainly he had enough to save a dog undetected.

  He slipped his broken reading glasses on. They were cracked in half at the bridge from the collision with Alex. There was only one lens, but that's all he needed to see through solid objects.

  The family sat in the waiting room. The mother and daughter held each other while the father paced. The vet examined the injured dog in one of the rooms. Leese stood next to him taking notes. Kevin tried to think logically of what would happen, although he knew nothing about a vet's office. Surely X-rays would be involved. Would they put the animal down? If the injuries were severe enough, he imagined they would. He had a limited time in which to work. He had to get inside the office, somehow get the dog alone, and heal it, all without being seen.

  No problem.

  Leese left the exam room to retrieve a cart. He watched her, and clenched his eyes shut as her scrubs started to fade, revealing only a bra and pink panties. He willed his magic to throttle back. Seeing through walls was good. Seeing through clothes was not, at least not yet.

  Leese and another tech gingerly lifted the dog onto the cart. Kevin had to move. He shifted to the corner of the building, where nothing but darkness sat in front of him, just on the other side of the brick wall. A storage closet of some kind.

  He took one last look around to make sure no one was watching before creating the portal. All he had to do was carry a simple marker, and no wall could stand in his way.

  The storage room was dark, but he didn't dare use magic to make light. With his glasses he could see into the vet's office, but not a foot in front of him. It was a strange experience.

  Kevin waited patiently, watching everyone around him. There seemed to be very few times he'd be able to just swing open the door and walk out. There was always a vet or technician passing through. Leese left the room while another tech took several X-rays from different angles. He felt sorry for the dog, as it was in obvious agony, even snapping at the technician twice.

  They carted the dog back to the exam room, and Kevin knew the time had come. Soon they would bring in the family to discuss options, and his window would close.

  He took a deep breath, and drank an entire invisibility potion. A vet walking by stopped and stared as Kevin opened the door to the storage closet. He stayed close to the wall, not bothering to shut the door. He was more than happy to let the vet think someone else didn't shut the door tight enough. The vet was so close Kevin could smell his aftershave.

  He let out a relaxed breath, finally with some room. Leese had left the other technician alone with the dog while she went out to check on the family. Kevin was amazed as he watched her, gently talking with them, holding their hands, giving them whatever update she could while waiting for the x-rays.

  He ducked inside the exam room, right in front of the technician. Her eyes went large as the door opened by itself. By the time he was done she would think the office was haunted. She closed the door.

  The dog growled quietly, looking directly into Kevin's eyes.

  "It's okay, King," the tech said. "I know you're hurting."

  King looked terrible. The dog lay on his side, not moving. One eye was bloodshot and his chest didn't look right. He whimpered quietly, nearly breaking Kevin's heart.

  He drank another invisibility potion, never taking his eyes away from King. The last thing he wanted was to suddenly appear out of nowhere in front of a bunch of people. The tech was scribbling notes in a folder, just next to the sink.

  He pulled a vial of water from his coat, and turned it blue.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead as he slowly approached the dog. The German shepherd was massive. He looked like he could swallow Kevin's fist in one gulp. He poured just a bit of water on his hand, careful not to let it drop to the floor. Kevin didn't know all the rules to a witch's invisibility, but doubted if he spilled water on the floor it would remain invisible.

  The dog growled again, and he froze. The tech spun from the sink.

  "Aww. I'm so sorry," she said.

  Kevin eyed her angrily. Everything would be okay if she'd quit being sorry.

  She turned again, and he mustered enough courage to take another step. The dog didn't growl, but his nose twitched. Kevin put his hand near King's mouth and smiled as the dog lapped up whatever water he could. There was blood visible in King's mouth, and Kevin knew that couldn't be a good sign.

  But with his magic, even internal bleeding wasn't a problem.

  Kevin gave him an entire vial of water, but some dripped to the table. He kept his eyes locked on the technician, who turned at the lapping sound to see two tiny puddles under King's head. The technician didn't bat an eye, simply assuming King was drooling.

  The door facing the waiting room swung open, narrowly missing Kevin. He hugged the wall as Leese led the family to see their pet. He saw the look she gave the other technician, and knew King's prognosis wasn't good. Or so they thought.

  He jumped through the opening just before the father could close the door behind him. Leaning against the wall in the main waiting area, he tucked his glasses away. He wished he could stay to see the family's reaction when King jumped to his feet, but knew that wasn't a good idea.

  He walked out through the front door, leaving the people in the waiting area wondering just how strong the wind was outside.

&
nbsp; CHAPTER 14

  "Hey, loverboy! What are you doing?"

  Alex shook his head, looking for the voice close to him. "Huh? What?"

  Paul, his supervisor, laughed as he pointed at a crate not far away.

  "That's the last one. You're supposed to put that crate on the truck, with that big forklift you're sitting in. You know, zoom zoom."

  "I know what I'm doing, slave-driver."

  "Yeah, right. You've been married one day, and she's already got you lost and confused. Get used to it, bud. You'll be walking like a zombie in a month."

  "So, how's it work when you've been divorced twice, like you? Are you double lost and confused?"

  "Probably five or six. The math starts to work differently."

  Alex laughed, and tried to shift his attention back to his job. Less than twelve hours ago he was standing with Cindy in Victoria's backyard, trying to figure out what to do with a mercenary. Now he was at the warehouse and Cindy was at the accounting firm. Something felt very wrong about that, but Victoria was insistent. Don't worry, she said. You take care of Cindy. We'll take care of everything else.

  She was obviously protecting him, but he still didn't feel comfortable. How was it possible to step back into a routine after being assaulted in a hotel? Were they in any danger? Victoria insisted they weren't, but that didn't make kissing Cindy goodbye in the morning any easier.

  The break bell rang, and Alex joined his friends outside the dock. They gave him a hard time as he carried the last available chair and sat with them.

  "There he is. Look at him, dragging ass. Your new wife keep you up all night?"

  "You know she did. Have you seen Alex's woman? And you know she still has that new wife smell."

  "Yeah, but…it was Thursday night. Do people have sex on Thursday nights? Even married people?"

  "Ah, see, now there's a puzzle, because married people don't have sex."

  "So, how does that work? When you say I do, the sex faucet turns off?"

  Alex laughed as the jokes rolled in. Juvenile and immature, they still brought a smile to his face, and nearly took the edge off the night before. There were times he didn't like his job at the warehouse. Driving a forklift wasn't the most fun thing to do all day, but it was a good job, with good people, and it put money in his pocket.

  He drank water while talking with his coworkers. Some of them pushed that line, like they always did, admiring Cindy just a little too much. There was definitely a reason he never brought her to work.

  Everyone was discussing the idiosyncrasies of marriage when the hair stood up on the back of Alex's neck, and a cold chill gripped him.

  The conversation around him faded. He searched around nervously when he noticed a man watching him from the parking lot.

  The man was probably in his early thirties, blond hair, wearing dress clothes. Alex didn't need to be told what he was. The gentle breeze didn't touch his hair, didn't move his clothes an inch.

  The break bell rang once again. Alex flinched, and the man was gone. His coworkers complained around him.

  "Time to make the donuts."

  "Why are breaks so short?"

  "Because you're fat. Get to work."

  Alex put the man out of his mind. He'd seen ghosts all the time, and many didn't want anything to do with him. Some were curious when they realized a living person could see and hear them. They'd cast him a second or third look, some even traded a few words with him, but not all of them had unfinished business. They didn't all need the services of a man that could talk to the dead.

  But a few of them did.

  He was moving a crate with a power-jack when the warehouse suddenly felt ten degrees colder. The voice came from behind him.

  "Hey."

  He spun in place. The man stood there with a smile on his face, looking out of place for a dirty warehouse. One of Alex's coworkers noticed him staring into space, and frowned at him as he walked away.

  "Follow me," Alex said, and pushed the power-jack once again.

  "I'm sorry for dropping in like this, at your work," the ghost said. "But when I heard about you, I just had to meet you. Your name is pretty popular with the weightless crowd. I'm Matt. Matt Little."

  They shook hands. "Alex Teague."

  Matt didn't loosen his grip right away. Alex glanced left and right to make sure no one was watching.

  "This is crazy. You can see, hear, and touch us. I've been dead almost a year. I've went to psychics. Most of them are fakes. But I did meet one or two that knew I was there. But that's as far as it went. I mean…you're actually looking at me? Shaking my hand? Wow."

  Alex pulled his hand free and gestured for Matt to follow. He set the crate down and ducked into the empty break room. Matt walked through the door, a step behind.

  "Okay," Alex said. "I can't talk long. I've gotta get back to work. But what can I do for you?"

  "Right to business. I like that. Like I said, I've been hearing your name a lot. I'm hoping you can help me. I want to find out who killed me. It was a home invasion." His expression twisted with sadness. "My wife lived…I didn't."

  Alex took a deep breath as his own emotions danced. He was quiet for a moment.

  "That's what I heard you did," Matt said. "Help ghosts. I can pay you, right out of my life insurance. My wife hasn't spent a dime of it, except for the funeral."

  "I think I can help you," Alex said. "It's just…Can you give me a few days? My wife and I just went through some very weird crap, and I want to make sure she's okay before I take on a case."

  "Yeah, I can do that. Hell, I've waited a year. I didn't think there was any hope at all for me. I can wait a few days."

  "Great. Thanks, Matt."

  "No, thank you. I'll catch up with you soon."

  Alex sighed and leaned against the soda machine.

  "I've heard of marriage doing many things," Paul said behind him, from the other end of the break room. "Talking to yourself isn't one of them."

  "Funny."

  *****

  Cindy was already home when Alex parked outside their house. Alicia's car was in the driveway, which wasn't an unusual sight. Alex's younger sister spent just as much time at their house as she did her own apartment. He didn't get the feeling just because Cindy's last name had changed that Alicia would be around any less.

  He heard their quiet voices as he entered the house, from the bedroom.

  "Cindy, Alicia. I'm home."

  "Go away. No one wants you here."

  "My wife does. She told me."

  "No, she doesn't. We've got a guy back here. We're shoving him through the window now."

  Alex smiled as he walked down the hall to the bedroom. Cindy and Alicia were rummaging through the closet, picking through blouses. They both wore their work clothes, Cindy her gray skirt, Alicia her scrubs.

  "Hey, baby," Cindy said.

  She was all smiles as she kissed Alex on the lips. He tried to back away, but she playfully grabbed his shirt and pulled him on the bed.

  "Let's see if we can make Leese sick," she said.

  "Cindy, be careful. My clothes are dirty."

  "But I like them dirty."

  "Oh, guys, come on. Seriously," Alicia said. "I haven't eaten yet. Cindy told me about the night you guys had last night."

  Alex froze, gripping Cindy a little tighter. "She did?"

  "Yeah. Haven't you gotten enough of that? Your wings gross me out with your clothes on. I don't want to picture them with clothes off."

  He let out a quiet sigh of relief as he looked into Cindy's eyes. He tried to be honest with Alicia as much as he could, but wasn't ready to tell her about people breaking into their room.

  Cindy laughed as she stood up, and Alex sat on the edge of the bed, watching his sister.

  "Why are you stealing Cindy's clothes?"

  "I have a date tonight," she said, her eyes lighting up. "Well, I think it's a date. I'm pretty sure. Everything happened so fast."

  He looked at Cindy. "And you ca
ll me clueless. Who's the lucky guy?"

  "Kevin. So, please, Alex. I'm your damn sister. Give me some advice. What does he like to do? I'll probably take him to the harbor, but what else? Should we see a movie?"

  "I don't know. I never went to the movies with the guy."

  Cindy smacked his shoulder, telling him to be nice.

  "Ouch. Okay, okay. Alicia, look, he's not going out with you to see Baltimore. He wants to spend time with you. You could probably watch a movie at your place and be fine. So, just do whatever. Don't stress about it. Your face turns all red when you stress."

  She finally let out a relaxed smile, and took a deep breath. She held up an array of clothes.

  "I'm gonna borrow these. I'll bring them back this weekend."

  He shook his head. "Four shirts? For one date?"

  "I don't know which one looks best yet."

  "Don't worry about it, Alex," Cindy said. "That just means I'll have to wear less clothes."

  Alicia wrinkled her nose. "And that means it's my time to leave. Cindy, I'll give you a full report tomorrow."

  She left the bedroom and showed herself out through the front door. Cindy kicked off her heels and pulled her blouse over her head, ready to be out of her work clothes.

  "I'm proud of you," she said. "I know that wasn't easy."

  "Yeah. Not only am I encouraging Alicia to date a guy who doesn't live here, but he also rides a broom."

  "Seriously? He can do that?"

  "No. At least…I don't think so."

  "All you can do is be supportive. And you did that."

  "It's not gonna work out."

  "A lot of people said the same thing about us."

  "Well, there's gonna come that moment when Alicia asks me why I didn't tell her Kevin is a witch."

  "She's a big girl. She can handle it."

  Alex nodded, and wanted to change the subject. "Speaking of handling things, about last night…is everything okay?"

  She removed her skirt and slipped into a pair of shorts. "Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

  "Where do we start? Maybe with the guys dressed like cops that busted in our room?"

  She laughed, and stepped forward to hug Alex around the neck. "I'm fine. I was kidnapped and tossed in a van once. Remember?"