It was about the only thing she was grateful for.
Pilar, briefed in advance by Ed, welcomed them all. She seemed to recognize a kindred spirit in Ben, and he in her, even though they shared no language.
Lacey noted that the old woman seemed to show no trepidation at the upcoming ceremony. That was a good sign.
Sam and Ben walked the property while the rest of them waited together in the front yard. Ben walked silently, head down, while Sam occasionally said something to him in Navajo. They disappeared around the back of the house, and Lacey knew Sam was showing Ben the dig site.
When they rejoined the others, Ben looked resolute. He made suggestions for the ceremony and Ed translated for Pilar.
“We do it there,” he said, waving a hand toward the dig site. Pilar agreed. “We form circle. Pilar is east. I am west. Others in between.”
Lacey thought Pilar looked pleased to represent east, the rising sun. And humbled.
“We go,” Ben said. He started around the side of the house. The rest followed.
Lacey noticed that everyone had a kerchief around their neck, as they’d discussed last night, and some were already pulling it up over their nose and mouth. She handed an extra to Pilar, who took it with an appreciative smile. It might be a small defense against Reyes’ assault, but it would at least keep them from ingesting too much dirt if he called up a whirlwind.
She was surprised to see that the hole had been backfilled and the crime tape was gone. Apparently the physical investigation of the site was complete. But the location was clear. The recently disturbed earth had no weeds growing, only a multitude of footprints in the soft dirt.
Pilar took up her position and Ben stood opposite her. Ed and Christine set themselves on the north side of the circle. Sam and Lacey made up the south. When they were all in position, Ben bowed his head. They all did likewise, and made silent prayers to whatever powers that be.
Pilar had her brass vase, already populated with several sticks of incense. She struck a match and lit them one by one, her lips moving in silent invocation. Then she passed the matches to Sam, who passed them on down to Ben. He lit a smudge stick and blew on it gently until it began to smoke.
Pilar raised her incense and began to speak. She lifted the fragrant smoke to the east, to the west, to the north and south. Her voice was soft but firm, gentle but sure. She stepped forward, set her vase in the center of the circle, and took up her position again.
Ben’s turn. He raised the smudge stick and acknowledged the four cardinal directions, his low Navajo words coming in a singsong voice. He raised his hands to the sky, then reached down toward the earth. He whispered to the fire within the smudge stick, and praised the wind that carried the smoke away. Then he, too, set the smudge stick in the center of the circle and stepped back.
They all joined hands. Lacey clutched Sam’s tightly, but then noticed how gentle Ben’s grip was, and she relaxed her hold on her partner.
“I love you, Sam,” she whispered.
He flashed her a grin. “I love you, too, Lacey.”
Lacey closed her eyes and breathed deeply, relaxing her body. She had already decided on one of the visualizations they’d discussed last night, and she worked now to construct the image in her mind. She imagined she could see the beating heart of each person here, the heart shining like a light from the center of the body. Each, she found, shone a slightly different color. Pilar’s was bright white. Ben’s was a brilliant gold. Sam’s was royal blue. The colors pulsed with the heartbeats of each organ.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM. Da-DUM.
She breathed in the images, the colors, the heartbeats. Her body relaxed, all the tension draining away as she listened only to the combined beat of the many hearts.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM.
Something plucked at her hair, her shirt. The breeze freshened and gusted. At first she only noticed but thought nothing of it, but then it grew stronger. It tugged at her clothes, it blew a smattering of dirt into her eyes. Her body tightened involuntarily. She lost the heartbeat.
No, she thought, struggling to get the visualization back. Think of nothing but love. Nothing but love. She gripped Sam’s hand tighter and imagined his love for her pouring into her. This love that she was so hesitant to accept. This love that he gave so freely. How could she doubt it? It was as strong as his fingers gripping hers, as bottomless as his dark eyes. She imagined all the colors of it glowing, growing stronger. His warm copper skin; his blue-black hair; the electric blue that pulsed from his heart. The heartbeat growing louder.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM.
The wind shrieked. It barreled around the corner of the house and slammed into the circle. Lacey felt it push against her back; she took a half step to widen her stance and anchor herself to the ground. Mother Earth. Source of all matter. A mother’s love.
She gripped Sam’s and Ben’s hands more tightly. She imagined a steel rod up her spine, reaching down into the earth, keeping her strong, keeping her stable. Safe. The safety of Mother Earth. The love of the Mother. The love of the sphere of people around her. Her family.
A dust devil whirled up. Lacey couldn’t see it, her eyes still tightly shut, but she could feel it. It shot granules of sand at her face, whipped her body, dragged her hair into a wild tangle. She ducked her head.
The wind howled. It blew up a cloud of dirt and grit and pelted the people with it. It slammed into them, first from one side, then the other. Lacey could hear a foomp as it smacked against the adobe wall of the house.
She desperately wanted to open her eyes, check all the men in the circle to make sure none of them were in distress, but she held off. If they were, they would make noise. If Sam were in trouble, she would know. She would know, even if she wasn’t clinging to his hand. Their love connected them beyond the physical touch. It emanated from each of them, came together, combined, and flowed back into them. She would know. She turned her attention and her imagination back to the glowing hearts, the loving hearts. Hearts of white and gold and blue. Hearts pulsing with love, with life, with hope and kindness.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM.
The wind coiled around her like a snake, the force of it spiraling around her legs, her body, squeezing like a constrictor. She imagined the glow of her heart like a white light, cutting through the coils, but her chest began to feel tight, her throat closing up. She lifted her head and willed her body to breathe, to expand and relax, breathe in and out, in and out.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM.
The roar of the wind was like a blast in her ear, a demon screaming at her, the spittle from his enraged mouth speckling her face. She dared not wipe it away. In her mind she saw the face of it, twisted, howling, apoplectic with rage. She stood tall and lifted her face to the sun, the warm glowing sun, the heart of the universe, beating, beating.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM.
All the colors of the rainbow filtered down to her from the sun and melted against her eyelids. Warmed her in its loving light.
The wind tore at her. She kept her face lifted to the sun. The wind screamed. She imagined all the colors of love. The dust devil churned, pelting her with dirt and gravel. She felt the infusion of light from the sun expanding her heart.
A fierce blast slammed her. She felt something hard crash against her shin, the pain white hot, and wondered briefly if it had broken her leg. She clamped her jaws tight and held steady. The wind churned around her, between her feet, up her legs, squeezing her body, buffeting her head. It ripped the air away from the kerchief on her face; she couldn’t breathe. It slashed and tore and screamed and shrieked. It pounded her, shook her, railed at her, all to no effect. Impotent. Useless. A show of fury. Empty air.
And was gone.
The air settled. The dust fell back to the ground. The sounds faded away. The silence returned.
Lacey opened her eyes. The circle was complete. Everyone stood in their place. Disheveled, dirty, clothes askew, ears, eyes and hair caked with dirt. But alive and standing.
Love had w
on.
~~~
The cut on her leg wasn’t bad. Pilar’s vase had cracked the skin but not the bone. The old woman cleaned the wound and put a bandage over it while the rest of them walked the property.
“Well?” Lacey asked when they crowded into the living room.
“Gone,” Sam said. “Clean.”
Ben nodded, his leathery brown face split with a grin.
Lacey felt like they all breathed easier. As if the entire house exhaled in relief.
And maybe it did.
~~~
TWENTY-THREE
An almost full moon hung over the neighborhood. The night air was still, except for the occasional shout or scream of a titillated child.
Lacey and Sam stood on the sidewalk, holding hands. They watched Kenzie and her best friend Emily as they held out their trick-or-treat bags to the homeowners. An older woman oohed and aahed over their costumes. Emily was a Frozen ice princess. Kenzie was a witch.
Energized by their latest score, the two girls hurried back to their escorts.
“Snickers!” Kenzie reported.
“Next!” Emily headed for the next house on the block.
Sam and Lacey ambled along behind.
“Do you do this every year?” she asked.
“Pretty much. Last year I went with Daniel and his friends while Christine and Ed went with Kenzie. With Daniel thinking he’s too old now, I guess we’ll have to take turns.”
Daniel, Lacey knew, was at home with his mom and stepdad, handing out goodies at the door. Practically an adult at thirteen.
“When’s the last time you went trick-or-treating?” Sam asked.
“Hmm.” Lacey calculated. “Twenty years ago? Maybe twenty-one. I don’t know.”
Didn’t know and didn’t care. She was feeling too content to even probe her brain for the answer.
As they reached the next house, Sam released her hand and slid his arm around her, pulling her close. She came willingly, resting her head against his shoulder. She sighed.
“Happy?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She grinned at him. “There’s something about banishing a demon that just feels very satisfying.”
“Not to mention freeing tortured souls, giving an old woman some peace and saving a historic landmark from future liability,” he added.
“Yeah, that, too,” she agreed. Pilar had thanked them in her simple way with tea and hugs. The Mission San Juan Capistrano had been more monetarily inclined, pleasantly so. Sam had shared some of it with Ed, and offered some to Ben, but the old man refused. What did he need to buy?
“I hope all the excitement wasn’t too hard on Ben,” she said.
“I’m guessing he’ll rest up for a few days, then go right back to making clay pots,” he said. “I think the long drive was harder on him than the actual exorcism. I have a feeling he enjoyed being called in on this.”
She nodded. “It was great to see him. We’ll have to go out to the reservation in the not-too-distant future. I don’t want too many months to go by before we see him again.”
She paused. All this talk was prodding her toward a resolution she’d been forming in her mind. It seemed like the right time.
“Sam?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember, a while back, when you said that not trying was the same as failing?”
He leaned away from her slightly, inclining his head down toward her so he could look into her eyes. “Yes.”
She pulled in a breath. “Well, I’ve been thinking. Thinking about all this, what we did. If we didn’t try, we wouldn’t have succeeded. If we didn’t take the chance, nothing would have changed. But we did it, and it worked. Love worked.” She tried to smile up at him, but her mouth quivered. “I think—no, I know—that I’m ready to take the next chance. I’m ready to go all in. I mean, if you still want me.”
A slow smile curved his mouth. “If I still want you?” he asked. He brushed a strand of red hair off her forehead, then frowned thoughtfully. “Actually, though, after all the cases we’ve solved, all the challenges we’ve faced, all the times you saved me and I saved you, I was thinking there might be someone better suited for me, out there.” He motioned out into the night with his chin. “I mean, there’s a chance of that, right?”
She poked a rigid finger into his stomach. “No. There’s no chance of that at all.” She melted against him. “There’s no one out there like me for you. And no one like you for me.”
He pulled her close. “Does that mean you’ll move in with me?”
She laughed. “Yes. Just as soon as you want me.”
He took her wrist and checked her watch. “What time is it now?”
Just then her phone chimed. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen.
“It’s Carmen,” she said in a surprised voice. “I should answer this.” He nodded and she picked up the call. “Hi, Carmen.”
“Lacey? I’m sorry to bother you, but I, uh, wanted to give you some news. I thought you’d want to know.”
Lacey didn’t like the sound of her voice. “What is it?” she asked with concern. “Is Pilar okay?”
Carmen hesitated. “Actually, no. She’s gone.”
“Gone?” Lacey glanced up at Sam.
“She died. Yesterday. There was a fire. The entire house burned down. She was inside. She didn’t burn to death,” Carmen rushed to add. “It was smoke inhalation.”
“Oh, my God,” Lacey breathed. “Carmen, I am so sorry. Oh, my God. I—I…”
“I know,” Carmen said. “It’s a shock, even though she had a good, long life.”
“Do they know how the fire started?” she asked.
“They think it was a candle. Just a tragic accident. I mean, she had candles going all the time, and incense. But as old as she was, it’s not surprising she might have forgotten about one.”
“No,” Lacey said. “Not at all.” But she didn’t believe that. Not for a minute. Pilar had set herself free. She had no more caretaking duties, so she had freed herself to go on to the next journey, whatever that was.
“Um, so what happens to the property?” she asked. “One of her children inherits it?” Even knowing the property was now clear, thinking of someone building a home on it made her nervous.
“Funny you should ask,” Carmen said. “She left a will with my uncle. She wants the property turned into a park, with a memorial to her father and husband. She stipulates in the will that no structure other than the memorial ever be built on the property. Isn’t that weird?”
Lacey looked up at Sam and smiled. “Actually, I don’t think that’s weird at all,” she said. “I think that’s a perfectly heavenly idea.”
And she and Sam would be among the first to visit.
~~~
Coming soon:
SOUL Walk
Book 7 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud mystery series.
Thank You for Reading
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, I would greatly appreciate a short review on Amazon or your favorite book website. Reviews are crucial for any author, and even just a line or two can make a huge difference.
--MJB
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy and spiritual, satire and biography. She lives in a small community in Northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier.
For more information, visit
http://www.newmoonrising.net
or
http://www.melissabowersock.com
Find Me Online on Twitter and Facebook or visit my blog at:
http://mjb-wordlovers.blogspot.com
BOOKS BY MELISSA BOWERSOCK
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When Jennifer and Robert Stinson buy a beautifully restored Victorian house, the last thing they expect is to share their home with a ghost―especially one with a penchant for setting fires. Unfortunately the ghostly arson only creates more tension in their already strained marriage. Jen launches her own investigation into the history of her house and discovers a surprising ally in a sympathetic fire captain. But can she unravel the mystery of the fires before they consume her home, her marriage … and her life?
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