by Nicole Thorn
“Apparently.” Oswald crossed the room to us. “How can you track her?”
“When I’m outside, I can use my powers better. I can picture her, and my body can lead me to wherever she is.”
“She’s done it before,” Ezra added. “With my last assignment. She brought me to him. Quite handy.” He smiled at me, looking proud.
“Then I say we start tracking her.” Poppy got up and dragged Oswald out the door.
We went out by the car and everyone stared at me with expectation. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jacket and looked down. “Stop staring at me.” They all muttered an apology and shifted around.
I closed my eyes, and pictured Elisa. Her face, her smell. I tried to not think about what would happen when I found her. I couldn’t. Not now.
I felt my feet start to move slowly, and I kept thinking. A fuzzy tether yanked at me, but it kept breaking. Wherever she was, she didn’t want me finding her. It could be an actual spell or her body trying to protect her.
I stopped moving and opened my eyes. Everyone stood next to me in a circle. Again, expectant eyes burned into me.
“I can’t drive and track her. Not this time. Something’s blocking me, and I need all of my focus on this,” I told them.
“I’ll drive,” Ezra volunteered. He turned to Oswald, “If you don’t mind.”
Oswald dropped his keys in Ezra’s hands and we all got in the car. I sat up front with Ezra, and he started driving where I told him to go. The link still went in and out, but there was enough for us to follow.
Oswald broke an hour of pure silence by saying, “I think I know where we’re going.”
I didn’t turn to look at him. I couldn’t risk breaking my concentration.
“Where?” Poppy’s voice sounded distant.
“Elisa’s parents still own that little cabin, right?” Oswald asked her.
“The Prescott one? Yeah.” Popped breathed in sharply. “Oh. Duh. Of course she’s there.”
“Enlighten me, please, kids,” Ezra said to them.
Poppy leaned forward. “She’s got a little cabin in the woods. She uses it when her parents are in town, and she wants to…” Poppy trailed off.
“Ah,” Ezra laughed.
“That means that Annie can cool it and I can direct you,” Poppy offered.
I snapped back into the car. “But what if she’s not there?”
Oswald said, “Then we get there, and we know she’s close. You can track her from there.”
I conceded, and Poppy started telling Ezra where to go. Another hour or so, and we drew close.
The city was high in elevation and low on civilization. Mostly a lot of older people trying to find a place far away from people. They had one Walmart and no bookstores. A shame, really. If you wanted to eat out, you had the choice of a couple fast food places. The point being, you came here to die.
We drove up and up and up, until we got to the busy-ish part of town. Even in the middle of the day, there were almost no cars around us.
It didn’t take long to get to the woodsier parts of town, and my heart raced. The car turned into the dirt road, and my stomach turned.
“Anna,” Ezra whispered. “This will all be okay. I promise you that.”
I wished I believed him.
The car kept going, but I closed my eyes and retreated into my own head. When I moved my foot, I felt the dagger in my boot. The dagger that I would be using to kill people for the rest of my existence. The price I paid to be sitting in that car.
“Oh my God,” Poppy cried. It made me wrench my eyes open and look ahead. I saw blood, do much blood. And animal corpses had been discarded all around.
The cabin door had been drenched in fresh blood, painted into a symbol I didn’t recognize. The animals—ranging from rabbits, to deer, to a few chipmunks—all had their throats cut open.
We got out of the car, and Oswald held Poppy to him. I heard whispered words of comfort, but I ignored it. I thought about the fact that Elisa had been so ready to kill.
Ezra put his hand on my back, and asked if I felt all right. What did I say to that? I was about to fight my friend, most likely ending in her death. I most definitely did not feel all right.
I decided to lie. “Yeah.”
He knew. He didn’t say anything, but he knew. We walked up to the door anyway.
The four of us stared at the blood-covered door, and I put my hand on the knob. The second it opened, this started. I wasn’t ready, but I did it anyway.
We stepped through the door, and again, Poppy gasped. I pentagram had been painted in blood on the middle of the floor. Not surprising considering the body.
The woman looked about thirty or so. Dark hair, and empty, unseeing eyes. Her throat had been slashed open, like the animals had been. I could see the blood loss. Her skin had turned whiter than white, and a bucket sat next to her. I looked inside and almost gagged when the scent of blood hit my nose.
Judging by her clothes, I’d say she was unlucky enough to be jogging around here. She wore bike shorts and a damp tank top, with a sweater tied around her waist.
“Where the Hell is she?” Ezra growled.
The room stood empty, but the house had a few more rooms. At least three, if I remembered right. There was always a chance Elisa had left. She could have taken off when she heard the car.
“Let’s find her.” Oswald started searching the room, kicking the spell books on the ground. They had been left everywhere.
We all scattered around and started looking for Elisa. I went to search the rooms with Ezra. We opened closets and checked the bathrooms. We couldn’t find her anywhere.
“Dammit,” I snapped when we’d searched the last room. I didn’t even look at Ezra before I left.
I stepped back into the living room and I heard two loud thumps. I looked up as Elisa stepped over the dead woman to get to my unconscious friends. They must have just hit the floor.
Elisa had a hunting knife in her hand, and she grabbed a handful of Poppy’s hair with the other. Before she could move, I threw my hand up and sent her into the wooden wall. She yelled in surprise as she sank to the floor.
Her eyes stared into mine with hatred I didn’t know she was capable of. “Of course.” She held her stomach. “Couldn’t be lucky enough for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to show up alone.”
My anger spiked, and I said, “You were about to kill our friend, Elisa. Don’t you give a damn?”
She cocked her head, trying to stand. “Not really. She was never my favorite. You were.”
I laughed. “Really? And you killed me. Imagine what you would have done if I wasn’t.”
She finally got to her feet. “Well, I wouldn’t have brought you back. If I knew you were gonna be such a whiney bitch about how I had to do it, then I wouldn’t have.”
How could this be the same person as that thirteen-year-old with braces that I met in school? The one who liked to watch cartoons and stole cookies from the store for me?
Ezra came up behind me, and something in Elisa’s eyes snapped. “I don’t have time for this.” She lifted her hand and her knife cut through the air, headed for Ezra. I swiped my hand to the side, and it fell to the floor.
“Huh.” Elisa sounded amused. “Taught yourself some new tricks? I’ve been working on this for six months. You don’t stand a chance.”
I scoffed. “I died twice and I’m still standing. Please, just try me,” I challenged her.
A fluttery laugh passed through her lips. “All right then.” She cocked her head again, and Ezra went down with a yell. He folded in on himself, making a choking sound.
I dropped next to him. “Ezra!”
He shook his head. “I’m… fine. Just go.”
I stood up, but it almost killed me to not help him. I needed to end this.
“Like my work?” Elisa smiled. “Basic spell really… I could have taught you so much.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Shame.”
I didn�
�t know what happened until I broke the side window with my back. It shattered, but I didn’t feel it cut me. Elisa grabbed her knife and started moving back to Ezra.
I pulled the dagger from my boot, and ran at her, knocking her onto her back. The bucket of blood tipped over when we collided with it. It pooled around Elisa, and she struggled under me.
“If you think that killing me pissed me off, why do you think that trying to kill my husband would be any better?”
“Ah, sorry,” she said as she struggled. “Forgot for a second you were screwing the murderer.”
“You should talk.” I bashed her head into the floor and the blood splattered all around us. My dagger got knocked out of my hands, and I couldn’t reach it.
Elisa sucker-punched me in the stomach while I stretched for my dagger, and I gasped for breath as she shoved me off of her. She went for my dagger and held it up in the light.
“Pretty.” Elisa grinned. “I think I’ll keep it.”
I got on my knees, but she didn’t look worried that I’d win this. That look faded when I started smiling. The glass that I broke started shaking on the ground as I tried lifting it up like I did with the rocks at the lake. The shards were small, but they’d slow her down. She didn’t know that they flew through the air until they hit her. Elisa got a few in her face and a couple of the bigger ones on her side.
I used her surprise to my advantage as I got up and knocked her into the wall. Her concentration on Ezra broke, and he stopped making pained sounds.
Elisa grabbed my hair and started pulling. I shouldn’t have been surprised she went for the bitch moves. She’d never been in a real fight in her life. But I’d been.
I threw my knee into her side, causing the glass to go deeper and her mouth to start trickling blood. Elisa raised the knife above her head, but I grabbed it from her. The blade slid across her fingers and her blood dripped to the floor.
I didn’t want to hesitate. If I caught a look in her eyes, then my resolve might’ve left me. I plunged my dagger into her stomach and pulled up.
Her dark eyes went wide, and more blood poured from her mouth. Elisa looked at me, and for a split second, I saw her. That girl who no one wanted to talk to. The child I met and loved.
Then she turned to ashes.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Coda
Ezra
The agony in my stomach disappeared when the girl turned into ashes. The second the girl had seen me, it had been like I had a thousand knifes in my stomach trying to tear me apart. I wanted Anna to run. Leave me and be safe. Of course, she wouldn’t. The girl twice dead wouldn’t give up on something.
Anna stood by the wall; the gap left by Elisa was still there. Anna looked halfway between shocked and relieved. I didn’t know what would win.
I slowly stood and walked over to the frozen girl. I turned her to face me, and I hugged her. It took her a few seconds, but she put her arms around me, and she started crying. I had no clue how to comfort her, but I could hold her for as long as she needed me to.
I didn’t know how long I held her, but Benjamin and Poppy woke up while I did. They stood, but didn’t say a word. They looked at the room and their crying friend, and figured it out.
A short time later, Anna’s tears let up, and she turned to them. “It’s over.”
“What do we do now?” Poppy said, sounding well past exhausted. “This place is a crime scene. And we’re missing a body.”
Anna swallowed. “It’s in Hell. Elisa’s body. My dagger sends people to Hell.”
“Ah…” Poppy’s mouth hung open. “All right then. We still have this one.” She pointed to the dead jogger. “We can’t leave her for the animals to eat. She deserves for her family to say good bye to her.”
Anna agreed
“Okay.” I looked around. “Is there a phone here?”
“Kitchen.” Anna pointed.
“Get in the car and start it,” I told them. “I’ll meet you in a moment.” They left me, and I went into the kitchen.
I found the phone on the counter and dialed 911. “What is your emergency?” the operator asked. I set the phone back on the counter and walked away.
I got into the back seat with Anna, and Benjamin started pulling away. “What did you do?” he asked while looking back to make sure no one was here to see us.
“Dialed the police and left the phone on. They’ll track the number, find the cabin and the body, and draw their own conclusions. All nice and clean.”
I pulled Anna to me, and she rested her head on my chest for the drive home.
***
A couple days passed, and Anna finally returned to her normal state. She understood that she did the right thing. I wished I had been able to save her from that pain, but there had been no way around it. Not this time.
I decided to do a little follow up on police case. I knew that the police had found the cabin and contacted Elisa’s parents. They’d come home early from their trip and had been getting questioned by the police ever since. Today, it was my turn.
I dressed up in a suit and grabbed one of my fake badges before I headed to Elisa’s home. Anna stayed with her friends and I decided that it would be best if I gave them time alone.
I knocked on Elisa’s front door and it only took seconds for it to open. The man must’ve been prepared for a parade of police.
“Can I help you?” the man asked, numbly.
He was tall and bulky. Not what I expected for some reason. He looked nothing like the girl. He was blond, and his eyes were light.
“Mr. Gordon?” I asked, and he nodded.
I flashed my badge, thinking posing as a higher up official would only help. “I’m Agent Harbor, I have some—”
Gordon held a hand up. “Yeah, yeah. Come in.” He started walking and I followed him.
The house looked disturbingly white all around. The tile, carpet, paint, even the damn decorations. Everything gave the appearance of clean and innocent. Not many people had been privy to the true story of what went on in this house.
He led me to a white couch in a white room, and I sat across from him. The wife, I assumed, slept on a white recliner in the corner of the room. An empty glass sat on the floor beneath where her hand hung off of the arm.
“Excuse my wife,” the man said, “the flight took a toll on her.”
Yeah, and I bet the bottle of scotch didn’t help. “I just have a few questions and I’ll be on my way.”
He eyed me. “They let foreigners work in the FBI now?”
I held back a sigh. “Yes. And women can be doctors,” I said in a deadpan voice. He rolled his eyes. “I’ve been assigned to your case. Can you fill me in on what you’ve been told?”
He took a long breath, already annoyed with the inconvenience. “We were told that a body was found in our cabin. The police investigated, tore the place apart, ruined the value of it. They found a bunch of that witch shit that my daughter is obsessed with. Then they searched this house. Found her room.” He waved his hands in a circular motion like I should’ve already known what he would say.
When he stopped, I said, “Sir, I need you to continue.”
“Don’t you do any talking to the cops? They can tell you.”
“Sir, please—”
He stopped me. “Then they decided that she was responsible for the murder of that woman. Elisa’s gone, and no one can find her. Is that what you’re here for? To hunt down my daughter?”
“Yes.” I didn’t try and ease the blow. “I am. She murdered someone. She’s going to go to prison for the rest of her life.” Since the body was gone, they’d never get closure. For all they’ll know, she’d just be on the run her whole life.
He didn’t look angry. “They’re trying to pin the death of that little blonde on her too. Just because she dropped dead in the backyard doesn’t mean my kid did it. They think Annie was part of some sacrifice thing that those other damn kids don’t get blamed for. That’s only because they found some dirt in Elisa’s room tha
t they found out was from the girl’s grave. It’s bullshit. They just wanna set up the rich kid because the news loves that kind of shit.”
“Sure.” I held back the urge to hit him.
“And they think Elisa stole the girl’s body. They even told her parents. They’re just desperate for answers and wanted to get the family off their back.”
“Did they find the body?” I, of course, knew the answer, but I needed to keep up the lie.
“No. Where would she keep a body?”
“But they blame her for the death?”
“Yes, but that’ll fall through. They have no evidence, and without a body, they can’t do tests. The original autopsy said that all of her organs shut down, and her body was shredded from the inside. My girl didn’t do that.”
I listened to him speaking as he attempted to hold it together. The man didn’t want to believe his daughter could have done the things she’d been accused of, and I understood that. I would have felt more for him, if I didn’t happen to hate his child. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have been doing a thing different.
I stood up. “Thank you. I think that’s all I need.”
“Great.” He stood and went to the wet bar. “Can you let yourself out?”
I didn’t answer as I left.
I had to go home after that. I needed to see Anna.
I found her sitting on our bed, alone. Her friends must have gone home. Thank God.
She smiled when she saw me. “Ah, I almost forgot how hot you look in a suit.” She stood up, and pulled lightly on my tie.
“I think I look better out of a suit.”
“True.” She nodded. Anna started undoing my tie and it ended up on the floor. She pulled my shirt out of my pants and got up on her tiptoes to kiss me.
“By the way,” I mumbled with her lips on mine. “Don’t you go thinking that I missed when you called me your husband.”
She moved back a little and narrowed her eyes at me. “Slip of the tongue.”
I smiled and said, “Why does that work for you, but when I used that excuse, you made fun of me?”
