Realizing the conversation around him had stopped, Dominik turned around. Suddenly Shelley’s eyes rolled back in her head and she dropped to the floor behind the bar with a dull thud. Everyone turned to look, not noticing the strange monochrome woman flicker and disappear.
Jackson swore and reached down, scooping her up in his arms and holding her carefully cradled to his chest.
‘Is she alright?’ Dominik’s heavy brow creased.
‘She’s recently recovered from a virus,’ Jackson replied, ‘she just needs to rest is all. I told her not to come back to work yet… Nancy!’
He called over one of the waitresses.
‘Oh God!’ she gasped when she saw Shelley apparently unconscious in Jackson’s arms, ‘is Shel okay?’
‘She’s fine love,’ he replied. ‘Can you get the mayor and her guests settled in the large booth and get them a round of drinks on the house.’
‘Sure,’ she nodded leading Tammy and the others away.
Jackson strode across the floor through the door marked employees only and headed into his office. As soon as the door closed behind him Shelley cracked open one eye.
‘God that was close,’ she breathed heavily.
‘You were faking it?’ he replied incredulously.
‘Not entirely,’ she shook her head as he set her down on her feet. ‘Holy shit Jackson, did that really just happen? Did you see her?’
‘Aye,’ he scratched his jaw thoughtfully as his brow folded into a frown.
‘That really was a ghost wasn’t it?’
He nodded.
‘Oh my God!’ she gasped, her eyes wide.
‘I know Shelley love,’ he replied in sympathy, ‘it’s a bit of a jolt to the system.’
She shook her head speechlessly as she pointed frantically at the corner of the office.
Jackson spun around to find another strange monochrome person propped up against the wall. He was perhaps in his early twenties and wearing a military uniform which probably dated back to the second world war.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Jackson snapped irritably, ‘we’re trying to have a private conversation…do you mind?’
The stranger shrugged and turned, disappearing through the wall.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Shelley breathed heavily, her face pale and her hands shaking.
A sudden scream out in the pub followed by the sound of a great commotion had Jackson turning toward the door. He jerked it open then stopped and backed up, as a familiar figure stalked through with a thunderous expression.
Fiona dropped her bags and suitcases unceremoniously on the floor and pulled off her bright magenta hat, her iron grey hair sticking up in all directions.
‘Alright Jackson,’ she snapped irritably, ‘what the hell have you done this time?’
7.
‘Fiona,’ Jackson breathed deeply in relief as all the tension seemed to deflate from his body. ‘You’re back.’
‘Yes, I am,’ she scowled, ‘no thanks to you. I was having myself a lovely jolly little holiday along the seafront of Bognor with my friend Irene, when I get yanked back here.’
‘She what?’ Shelley whispered to Jackson.
‘A vacation love,’ he replied, ‘she was having a vacation in Bognor Regis. It’s a coastal town in England.’
‘When you’ve quite finished,’ she grumbled. ‘I don’t need a translator, I want to know what the hell’s been going on. I haven’t seen spirit activity on this scale since last February when the gateway was opened.’
‘What gateway?’ Shelley frowned in confusion. ‘What’s she talking about?’
‘You be quiet madam,’ Fiona waggled her finger in Shelley’s direction, ‘my questions first.’
‘Didn’t Olivia explain?’ Jackson asked in confusion.
‘I haven’t spoken to Olivia,’ Fiona snapped.
‘What’s Olivia got to do with this?’ Shelley asked, her head bobbing back and forth between them, completely at a loss as to what the hell was going on.
‘Shelley love,’ Jackson replied softly, ‘I’ll explain everything I promise, if you’ll just give me a moment.’
‘You should’ve told that girl the truth after what happened to me in the pub last year,’ Fiona stared at Jackson pointedly.
‘There wasn’t any point in scaring her.’
‘Last year?’ Shelley frowned, ‘when you fell and cut yourself badly on the broken glass?’
‘Fell,’ Fiona scoffed.
‘Are you saying that wasn’t what happened?’
Jackson turned to Shelley.
‘Okay fine!’ she threw her hands up in frustration, ‘but don’t think for one second Jackson Murphy that you’re leaving this office without telling me the whole truth.’
He nodded in silent agreement and turned back to Fiona.
‘If Olivia didn’t call you, how did you know to come back? We weren’t expecting you back until next week.’
‘The spirits told me,’ she replied testily. ‘Woke me up in the middle of the night and wouldn’t leave me alone until I got on a plane. Told me something big was brewing in Mercy and I needed to be back here. So why don’t you tell me what’s going on?’
‘I have no idea,’ Jackson shook his head, ‘it started a week or so ago. Similar to last time but not quite the same; cold spots, knocking, things moving, and several presences this time, not just the one… are you sure the gateway hasn’t opened again?’
‘That was the first thing I checked when I got back,’ Fiona shook her head. ‘Got the cab to drive past on my way here. I haven’t even been home yet, but I can tell you it’s not the gateway. The bottle tree has been repaired and being only on the other bank of the lake, Olivia has been keeping a firm eye on the Spirit gateway as well as the Hell Mouth.’
‘Hell Mouth?’ Jackson’s brows rose, ‘what are you talking about?’
‘Olivia didn’t tell you about that?’ Fiona huffed, shaking her head. ‘Too many secrets…I can’t keep them all straight in my head.’
‘Hell Mouth?’ Jackson repeated, ‘like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer?’
‘Well this sure as hell isn’t Sunnydale and I can categorically tell you vampires don’t exist…’ she chewed her lip thoughtfully, ‘to the best of my knowledge.’
‘The best of your knowledge?’ he echoed slowly.
Fiona let loose a dissatisfied huff.
‘Olivia’s not going to be happy about this,’ she shook her head. ‘Okay, here goes. You know about the Spirit gateway?’
Jackson nodded.
‘Olivia said that’s how all the spirits got loose in Mercy last time, but she said they closed it.’
‘They did,’ she nodded, ‘and firmly wedged it shut.’
‘So?’
‘There are many gateways,’ Fiona told him. ‘That particular one led to the Spirit realms and the Otherworld. There is another gateway at the center of the lake and that one leads to all the Hell dimensions.’
‘You’re joking.’
‘Nope,’ she smacked her lips on the word, ‘never joke about stuff like this. Olivia is it’s Guardian…of sorts. It’s a lot more complicated than that of course, but it’s up to her if she wants to fill you in on the details.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Shelley frowned, ‘I know I said I’d wait but what the hell is going on here? What are you talking about? Spirits and gates and Hell?’
‘You may as well bring her up to speed Jackson,’ Fiona replied. She reached up and began to undo her bright orange duffel coat as the heat of the room began to make her sweat. ‘Or she’s just going to keep interrupting and we’ll be here all night.’
Jackson turned to Shelley apologetically, truly sorry he was about to turn her safe ordered world on its head. After all, he knew that once you knew the truth about Mercy there was no going back. You were part of a very select club, for want of a better word.
‘Last year,’ he began, ‘when the pu
b was smashed to hell and back.’
‘Yeah,’ she frowned, ‘you said it was vandals.’
‘I may have colored the truth slightly,’ he replied. ‘It was actually a poltergeist, a real nasty one. That was how Fiona got hurt. When it went on a rampage tearing up the bar, and the glass shattered, Fiona got caught in the crossfire.’
She blinked at him blankly. She wanted to deny it, call him crazy, anything to not face the truth but after what she’d just seen and the strange things she’d witnessed over the past few days, her mouth ran dry and her stomach heaved uncomfortably.
‘That’s where Olivia comes into it,’ he continued. ‘She is a real witch and yes, magic is also real. She was able to get rid of it, but unfortunately not before Kaitlin got trapped in the cellar by it.’
‘Kaitlin?’ Shelley’s eyes widened.
‘Aye,’ Jackson answered quietly. ‘The stress sent her into premature labor and Miller was born right there on the floor of the beer cellar.’
‘The cellar? But… I thought she was rushed to hospital and Miller was born there?’
‘No,’ he shook his head, ‘Theo delivered Miller and I was there with him.’
He turned to Fiona.
‘Better finish it,’ she told him, ‘tell her all of it. She has a special bond with that boy, she needs to know the truth about his birth.’
‘His birth? You mean Miller? What about Miller?’
Jackson looked down into Shelley’s concerned eyes and everything in him softened at her obvious love for his son.
‘What happened Jackson?’ she demanded.
‘He was stillborn,’ he told her softly.
‘What?’ she whispered.
‘There was nothing we could do, Theo tried to revive him, but it didn’t work.’
‘It must have,’ she frowned, ‘or else how could he be here?’
‘He was brought back.’
‘By who?’
‘The Goddess Diana,’ Jackson replied.
‘Goddess?’ she scoffed, ‘come on.’
‘I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes,’ he shook his head. ‘She packs quite a punch. It feels like the air is electrified, all your hair stands on end and your skin tingles. I watched her breathe life into him, then she placed him in my arms and told me he was my responsibility. I didn’t really understand at the time, but I know now that even though I’m not his biological father I was meant to be his dad.’
‘Jesus Christ,’ Shelley whispered to herself as she reached into the desk drawer and pulled out the bottle of Jameson that she knew Jackson kept hidden in there.
‘Now you’re talking my language girl,’ Fiona cackled in delight as she clapped her hands and rubbed them together.
Jackson sighed as he reached out and took three glasses down from a shelf. He knew it was a lot to ask her to take on faith, knowing that if someone had asked him to believe in Goddesses and ghosts not knowing what he did, he’d probably be skeptical too.
‘Hey…Hey!’ Fiona suddenly admonished loudly, her drink sloshing over her fingers as she gestured with her glass.
Jackson looked over to see another ghost walk through the wall. This time a sweet little old lady holding what looked to be a bag of knitting.
‘Not now!’ Fiona told her, ‘shoo! And tell the others to stay out too.’
‘What the hell?’ Jackson frowned. ‘I guess the question is, what is going on? Why are they back?’
‘No,’ Fiona shook her head, ‘the question is, why can you all see them?’
Jackson and Shelley stared at her blankly.
‘This place is always full of spirits, always has been, but the world of the living and the world of the dead were largely unaware of each other. They co-existed peacefully alongside of each other, separated by the veil and only certain people like me can see them.’
‘The veil?’ Shelley frowned, ‘what’s that?’
‘Exactly what it implies,’ Fiona answered, ‘a curtain between life and death. It’s the natural boundary which keeps the two worlds from colliding.’
‘So…’ Shelley replied slowly, ‘they haven’t just suddenly appeared, they’ve always been here. Only now we can see them.’
‘And they can see you,’ Fiona replied.
‘God, this is creeping me out,’ Shelley shivered.
‘Two worlds converging,’ Fiona mumbled before knocking back her glass of whiskey. ‘Why?’ she tapped the glass thoughtfully against her chin.
‘I’m not so much worried about the why as the how do we stop it?’ Jackson answered worriedly. ‘They’re beginning to appear all over the pub, and if the scream I heard earlier was any indication, I won’t be able to hide them much longer. It’ll ruin me; no one will want to come here, and I’ll have to close. I’ve only just paid off all the repairs from last time. I can’t afford to have this blow up in my face again. We have to find a way to fix this Fiona and quickly.’
Fiona looked over at Jackson with serious eyes.
‘You can’t,’ she told him bluntly, ‘the veil isn’t broken…it’s gone.’
‘What?’
‘The pub, for better or worse seems to be a hot spot, ground zero, whatever you want to call it. A dead zone for want of a better analogy. There’s no partition between their world and ours but for some reason it doesn’t seem to expand beyond the pub itself. Outside the veil is still firmly in place.
She went quiet for a moment staring at nothing in particular.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked after a moment.
‘You can feel it in the air,’ she murmured to herself, ‘it’s filled with psychic energy. This place is ripe with it…but is it the cause or the by-product?’
They all turned to look as the door swung open and a young woman about 18 years of age stood in the doorway, holding a squirming Miller in her arms, her eyes wide and her cheeks pale.
‘Emma?’ Jackson frowned, ‘what’s wrong?’
‘Mr Murphy I am freaking out,’ her voice was high pitched and on the verge of hysteria. ‘I think I’m tripping or something. I smoked a joint with my boyfriend before I came over to babysit Miller, please, please don’t tell my mom…’
Her words tumbled over themselves as she struggled to keep hold of Miller, who was wailing and reaching for Shelley. She rose quickly and lifted him into her arms, rocking him soothingly.
‘I think it was laced with something,’ the girl continued. ‘I’m totally tripping, I keep seeing weird things. The bottle of milk was on the kitchen counter and it was sliding along the surface on its own…’ she shook her head. ‘I can’t… I’m so sorry, I don’t think I should be looking after Miller…I’m really sorry. You can fire me, I totally get it, but please, please don’t tell my mom.’
‘It’s okay Emma,’ Jackson sighed, ‘just go home.’
‘I’m really, really sorry Mr Murphy.’
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and let out an annoyed breath as the girl darted out of the room. There was another sudden scream and more commotion coming from the bar.
‘Holy hell what now?’ Jackson stormed out of the office and headed toward the bar.
Pushing through the door and out into the bar he stopped dead and glanced around. Half eaten meals and untouched drinks sat at tables with their chairs pushed away haphazardly. The fire snapped and danced merrily in the fireplace but other than that the place was pretty much empty.
Nancy appeared suddenly and thrust her apron into Jackson’s hands.
‘Sorry Jackson,’ she told him with wide eyes and trembling hands, ‘you don’t pay me enough for this.’
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out she’d rushed toward the exit and disappeared. He turned toward the bar itself to see Owen, the big brutish looking cook, unscrewing the lid of one of his top shelf vodka’s. Taking a deep swig from the bottle, his eyes locked on Jackson’s and he lif
ted his chin in acknowledgment.
‘I’ll be in the kitchen if you want me,’ he growled and stomped through the double doors letting them swing shut behind him.
Did nothing faze that man at all?
‘What’s going on?’ Shelley frowned as she stepped into the room behind Jackson still cradling Miller carefully in her arms. ‘Where is everyone?’
‘They all ran out screaming after your impressive little light show…’
They turned in the direction of the voice and watched as Dominik sat at the booth on his own. Taking a long drag on his lit cigarette, which glowed brightly in the dim light, he let out a slow thoughtful coil of smoke.
‘I didn’t think you’d mind,’ he lifted his cigarette, ‘seeing as there doesn’t seem to be anyone else in here.’
‘Where’s Roni and the others?’ Jackson asked.
‘Playing their part in your little charade I imagine,’ he shrugged. ‘They ran out after your screaming patrons, something about damage control.’
‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph,’ Jackson swore as he scrubbed his hand through his dark hair in utter confusion, ‘what the hell Fiona?’ he turned toward the old woman.
‘I’ll call Olivia,’ she patted his arm comfortingly, ‘but this is beyond us now boy. Cat’s out of the bag and I don’t think we can put it back.’
Jackson closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He had no idea how to deal with the situation. Word got out fast in Mercy, chances were the rumors of the dead roaming the pub would be doing the rounds before the clock struck midnight.
‘I’ll take Miller upstairs,’ Shelley told Jackson softly.
Jackson looked to Fiona.
‘I’ll go with them,’ she nodded, ‘but there’s something strange going on here Jackson,’ she frowned. ‘I don’t sense anything malevolent, I don’t know why they’re here, but I don’t think they mean anyone any harm.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Look around,’ Fiona told him, ‘they’ve all disappeared again. I imagine they were just as startled by all the screaming as your customers were.’
‘Are you seriously telling me that the ghosts are scared?’ Jackson replied incredulously.
‘Think about it,’ she told him quietly, aware that the small fellow in the booth was straining to hear what was being said. ‘These aren’t bad spirits, simply the souls of people who have passed and decided not to leave. They have probably walked the rooms of this pub for decades… centuries even. They either weren’t aware of the living or were used to the people ignoring them. Suddenly they have people screaming in their faces every two seconds. Imagine how unsettling it is for them.’
A Little Town Called Mercy Page 13
