A Little Town Called Mercy

by Wendy Saunders

  Roni heard the unspoken question.

  ‘Why now after the discovery of the Hell gate right in front of it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she shook her head, ‘I’m looking into the company at the moment.’

  ‘Of course you are,’ Olivia smiled fondly. ‘What’s the name of the company?’

  ‘Black Orchid,’ she replied, her gaze falling on Theo and catching his sudden frown. ‘What is it Theo?’

  ‘Black Orchid?’ he repeated.

  ‘Yes,’ she nodded, ‘why? Do you know it?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ his frown deepened, ‘it sounds familiar, but I can’t place where I heard it.’

  ‘Oh well,’ she replied, ‘let me know if you figure it out. As I said I’m trying to dig up as much information on them as possible. I like to know who our new neighbors are going to be and what their intentions are.’

  ‘What have you found out so far?’ he asked.

  ‘Almost nothing,’ Roni admitted with a hint of frustration. ‘It’s going to take a lot more digging.’

  Theo nodded as he turned to Olivia, who seemed preoccupied.

  ‘Livy?’ he reached out and touched her, startling her. ‘Are you alright?’

  She blinked at him slowly, almost as if she’d zoned out.

  ‘Yes,’ she shook her head, ‘sorry, what were you…?’

  Her voice trailed off again as she lost her thread.

  ‘Livy what is it?’ Theo frowned, it wasn’t like her to zone out like this.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she murmured, ‘can you…’ she tilted her head slightly, ‘can you hear that?’

  ‘Hear what?’

  ‘A heart beat… no, a drum beat?’ she whispered distractedly.

  She could feel their eyes on her, but they all seemed to fade into the background. Her skin began to prickle, making the hairs on the back of her neck slowly rise. She could almost taste the metallic crackle of electricity in the air. There was a buzzing in her ears, but underneath it was that strange monotonous beat…no she thought to herself it wasn’t a beat, it was a tick. The deep heavy tick of a vast clock, ticking down…but what the hell would it be counting down to?

  A sudden piercing wail broke her trance and Olivia looked down at her daughter Theia in concern. Red faced, with her fists squeezed tightly, she cried out loudly, just as she had the last time they were in the pub, only this time it was much worse.

  Olivia scooped her from her stroller and cradled her gently, trying to soothe her. Miller’s eyes widened, suddenly catching sight of Theia for the first time, and he reached out, letting out a dissatisfied wail when Jackson tightened his grip to stop him from falling.

  Miller struggled and squirmed, reaching for Theia.

  ‘EE…AA,’ he cried out in frustration.

  ‘Did he?’ Shelley frowned in confusion, ‘did he just call her name?’

  ‘Sounded like it,’ Jackson looked down at his son in surprise.

  Olivia stared at Miller and then down at her screaming daughter.

  ‘Bring him here Jackson,’ she told him quietly.

  He did as she asked, edging around the table and setting Miller down on the cushioned bench between Olivia and Theo. Miller climbed up onto his knees, leaning over Olivia to stroke Theia. He patted her gently and stroked her face.

  ‘Shhhh,’ he soothed the way his father had with him countless times.

  Her eyes widening with surprise, Olivia lifted Theia and moved her toward Miller who rolled back on his haunches, dropping down on his butt and uncurling his legs from under him so Olivia could place her daughter on his lap. Still keeping her hands close, in case he dropped her, she watched as the little boy wrapped his arms tenderly around the baby and rocked her. He placed a wet kiss to her forehead and continued to soothe her.

  Theia’s cries suddenly quietened. She blinked her large dark eyes as they focused on Miller, almost as if she could see him, despite being too young to fully register her surroundings. Her tiny hand flailed and waved in front of him, like she was reaching for him.

  Miller’s blue eyes locked onto her tiny doll-like fingers and with his small pudgy hand he slowly reached for her.

  The air suddenly became heavier, crackling with electricity as if a storm was coming. Olivia sucked in a breath and her eyes widened as she watched tiny crackles of lightning jump the fraction of an inch between her daughter’s hand and Miller’s, like a micro spike from a lightning bolt. The second their hands touched the whole place erupted. The ceiling above them ignited with bursts of electricity and spikes of lightning. The pub lit up like the fourth of July. The lights and bulbs above them detonated, spraying glass everywhere.

  Olivia curled over Miller and Theia protectively as Theo dived forward and shielded their son Logan who was still lying in the stroller. Even as she cradled the children beneath her Olivia looked up. Each time she blinked ghosts would appear and disappear, almost as if they were phasing in and out of their reality. As the strange flickering continued, the pub was over-run with them, so many spirits, emanating a strange silvery glow until it felt as if the pub was filled with a thick fog.

  Olivia looked over, her eyes locking on Dominik Savage who’d frozen, his eyes wide and his hand suspended in front of him, clutching a pint he’d forgotten he was even holding, his mouth hanging open in shock. Her gaze lifted to the wall above him and his eyes followed hers. A circular brown burn mark suddenly appeared in the wall as the plaster bubbled and cracked. An object appeared, slowly being pushed out of the wall cavity itself. It flared with a quick flame and burned out before it even hit the floor.

  Her hex bags, she realized.

  She turned her head and watched the same thing happening to every single wall she’d placed a hex bag in. What the hell was going on?’ Tables and chairs screeched as they slid across the wooden floor, grinding above the sound of startled cries and screams. Pictures rattled in the frames along the walls. Bottles and glasses flew across the room; the table holding all the food up-ended and spilled everywhere. Bottles slid back and forth along the bar, doors banged open and shut. People were running and dodging debris.

  There was a sudden blinding flash of light which lit up the entire room and suddenly everything froze.

  Olivia looked up and blinked, it was as if someone had just hit the pause button. Debris hung suspended in mid-air, people stood completely motionless balanced in the most precarious poses as they sought to flee. Theo moved next to her, picking up their son from the stroller and holding him gently.

  Jackson moved, unfolding himself from where he was curved protectively over Shelley, and Fiona hobbled into view. It seemed there were a select few who had not been rendered immobile. Theia let out a cry and Olivia looked down.

  ‘Miller?’ she cried out in panic.

  A moment ago, he’d been curled protectively under her, holding her daughter. Theia now lay on the padded seat and Miller was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘MILLER?’ she scooped Theia into her arms and jumped off the bench, dropping to her knees and looking underneath the seat and the table.

  ‘Where is he?’ Jackson rushed forward helping her to look.

  ‘MILLER?’ he shouted frantically, ‘MILLER?’

  ‘Oh my God,’ Shelley cried out as she too began to search.

  Between them, only Olivia, Theo, their two children, Fiona, Shelley and Jackson seemed to be immune from the strange frozen state of the other guests. Even the skeptical reporter Dominik was frozen in the act of diving for cover from the exploding picture frame behind him.

  The five of them searched desperately but it was no use, Miller was nowhere to be found. They gathered in the middle of the room with Jackson standing wild eyed, tugging his hair in panic.

  ‘Where is he?’ he snapped.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Olivia shook her head worriedly, ‘he was right next to me. I had my arms around him and Theia the whole time, but when I looked down he was gone.’


  Shelley glanced around the pub at all the mannequin-like guests.

  ‘What is going on?’ she whispered in shock.

  ‘Are you doing this?’ Fiona turned to Olivia.

  ‘No,’ she shook her head, ‘it’s not me. I don’t know what the hell is going on.’

  ‘Let’s think this through logically?’ Fiona stepped up, her voice brisk and to the point. ‘We’re all scared but we need to figure this out. I think it’s the only way to find the boy.’ She turned to Olivia, ‘what exactly happened when he held Theia?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she frowned in confusion, ‘there was a spark between them?’

  ‘A spark?’ she repeated.

  ‘Like an electrical current, only not electricity.’

  ‘Psychic energy?’ Fiona replied.

  Olivia looked up at Fiona, her eyes widening in sudden realization. ‘Oh my God, Theia… Hades told me that she was special, that she could see spirits.’

  ‘Hades?’ Jackson’s eyes snapped to hers.

  ‘Story for another time,’ she shook her head. ‘You said the other day that Miller could see a woman in his room?’

  Jackson nodded, ‘you think he can see spirits too? Like Fiona?’

  ‘No, I think it’s more than that,’ she turned to Fiona for confirmation. ‘He was born in the middle of a massive supernatural event. The room was flooded with psychic energy, not to mention Spirit fire, one of the oldest most powerful elemental powers.’

  ‘It’s possible,’ Fiona mused, ‘I think I know where you’re going with this.’

  ‘Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?’ Jackson shouted.

  ‘Miller is like Theia. It’s not that they can both see spirits, they’re both special. She was conceived in the Otherworld, Miller was born in the middle of a climatic supernatural event. Theia was exposed to the ancient Spirit fire while I was pregnant, Miller was exposed to it during his birth, not to mention he was brought back to life by the Goddess.’

  ‘What are you saying?’ Jackson frowned.

  ‘They are the same,’ Olivia continued. ‘They are both special, they both have supernatural gifts which are tied to the Spirit worlds. What happens when two like, or positive forces meet?’

  ‘They repel each other,’ Jackson whispered.

  ‘Exactly,’ Olivia let out a breath, ‘positive and negative attract but you put two positives or two negatives together in the same space and they will repel each other. They are only babies, so they have no control over their gifts. When they touched, the power they both generated ripped a huge hole between this world and the Otherworld. This entire pub is one big gaping wound right now. My protective wards and spells weren’t enough. This place was already damaged to start with, I suspect it started the night Miller was born. It’s a weak spot between the worlds, a place where the veil was at its thinnest and something has obviously happened in the last few weeks for the veil to fail completely.’

  ‘But what?’ Jackson replied, ‘and that doesn’t explain where Miller is.’

  ‘I think I know,’ Fiona replied gravely.

  ‘What?’ Jackson turned to her.

  ‘It was Miller all along,’ she replied. ‘Like Olivia said, it probably started a year ago when he was born. He’s special, so the spirits are attracted to him…to his light.’

  ‘Hang on a minute there Tangina,’ he growled, ‘are you telling me, that Miller is the one drawing the spirits here?’

  ‘Not consciously,’ Fiona shook her head, ‘he’s only a baby. I imagine it’s been very frightening for him, but as he’s growing and becoming more powerful the spirits are flooding in. Some of them have always been here but more and more have come, attracted to him like a beacon. The veil, already damaged couldn’t take the strain and tore.’

  ‘So where is Miller?’

  ‘They have him?’ she replied quietly.

  ‘They?’ Shelley’s face drained to almost white, ‘you mean the ghosts have taken him?’

  ‘Spirits,’ Fiona corrected, ‘and yes I believe they have.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Never mind why,’ Jackson hissed, ‘how do we get him back?’

  ‘There has to be a tear somewhere,’ Fiona frowned, ‘a gateway or conduit of some sort. Miller is corporeal, he was born in the real world; he’s flesh and blood, so they wouldn’t be able to carry him into the Spirit world without an entry point.’

  ‘You said this is all about Miller?’ Shelley suddenly spoke up.

  Fiona nodded.

  ‘And you think it started a year ago?’ she continued in a rush.

  Fiona nodded again.

  Shelley turned to Jackson, ‘where exactly was Miller born?’

  Jackson’s eyes widened, ‘the cellar…’

  He turned and ran, Shelley following close behind him as the others hurried to catch up. Jackson flew down the stone steps into the cool damp cellar and stopped dead. A bright light, like a tear, flickered in front of him in almost the exact spot where Miller was born.

  Jackson stepped closer, shielding his eyes against the bright glare as the others all gathered behind him.

  ‘You sure he’s in there?’ Jackson yelled above the crackle of the tear.

  ‘Don’t even think about it, Jackson,’ Olivia handed her daughter to Fiona.

  ‘You can’t stop me,’ he shouted. ‘If my son is in there then I’m damn well going in after him.’

  ‘No,’ she grabbed his arm and yanked him back, ‘I will. Please just trust me. I’ve been to the Otherworld, I’ll stand a better chance of finding him and bringing him back. You have no idea how vast the Otherworld is, you could wander around there for years, decades even, and not find him.’

  ‘I can’t stand back and do nothing,’ he shook his head.

  ‘JACKSON!’ Shelley yelled in alarm.

  Olivia and Jackson turned to see a bright light crash through the door of the cellar. It flew down the stairs and headed straight for the tear, crashing between them and throwing them both to the ground as it disappeared.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ Jackson climbed to his feet.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Olivia turned back to the tear. ‘Trust me Jackson, I’ll bring him back to you I swear!’

  Olivia took a step forward, but as she reached the opening she stumbled back at the sudden appearance of a strange looking man barring her path. He didn’t look like a spirit, in fact he looked like a man. He was tall, slim and imposing, with dark coffee colored skin and looked like he was of Haitian descent. He wore a kind of plum colored suit paired with a dark shirt and held a cane in his hands. It seemed less an aid for walking and more an accessory, with its polished black length and small, bleached white, miniature human skull in place of a handle. He brandished it like a baton, barring their entrance to the tear with a fancy little twirl of the cane.

  ‘Who are you?’ Olivia asked in surprise.

  His mouth split into a grin, revealing a row of perfect, shockingly white teeth.

  ‘I am Armand Bachelier,’ he executed a wildly theatrical bow. ‘I am the Bone Man.’

  His voice was deep, heavily accented and pure Creole.

  ‘Well…uh,’ Olivia frowned in confusion, ‘as many questions as I have right now, and believe me they are legion, I need you to step aside.’

  ‘There is no need Cherie,’ he replied. ‘The boy you seek is being retrieved, even as we speak,’ he gestured with his hands. ‘All you need do is wait.’

  ‘Sorry?’ she blinked.

  ‘Olivia West…’ he tapped the skull pommel of his cane against his full lips.

  ‘It’s Beckett-West and how do you know who I am?’ she asked suspiciously.

  ‘Dear Cherie,’ he laughed, a big booming kind of belly laugh, ‘surely you jest.’ He spread his arms wide, ‘everyone knows your name.’

  ‘Right,’ she frowned, ‘uh…Mr Bone Man.’

  He laughed again.

  ‘You
may call me Armand Cher.’

  ‘Armand,’ she replied flatly, ‘as much as I’d like to trust the word of a complete and total stranger, that’s my friend’s son in there. So, if you don’t mind, get the hell out of my way and I’ll get him myself.’

  ‘As I said,’ he stopped her once again, pressing his cane to her chest when she tried to pass him, ‘the matter is being taken care of.’

  ‘You expect me to just trust you?’ she replied.

  ‘No need,’ he tilted his head, ‘see for yourself.’

  He stepped aside, drawing the edge of the tear back like a stage curtain with the end of his cane. Olivia stared into the tear; squinting into the bright light she watched as someone approached.

  Silence fell over the cramped room as a young woman stepped through the tear, cradling Miller gently in her arms. Shelley let out a cry and covered her mouth even as her eyes filled with tears. The young woman looked across at Shelley, with the same blue eyes, the same nose and chin. Her hair, the same warm golden blonde, floated and surrounded her head in a halo-like shape, bobbing and floating on the air as if she was underwater. She walked slowly toward Shelley, surrounded by a warm glow the exact same color as the bright light which had blasted through the cellar and torn through the tear like a tornado.

  ‘Jenna?’ Shelley whispered as the woman stopped in front of her.

  Jenna smiled at her sister and then gazed down at Miller who was sleeping peacefully in her arms, curled into her and sucking his thumb contentedly.

  ‘You went in after him?’ Shelley looked up at her beloved sister, ‘you saved him?’

  ‘I’ve been here all along,’ Jenna’s voice echoed through the small room, almost driving Shelley to her knees with its heart-breaking familiarity.

  Jenna leaned forward and placed Miller in Shelley’s arms. He barely stirred, just snuggled into Shelley’s chest. Jenna leaned forward and placed a kiss on his head. As she stepped back the glow surrounding her faded, her hair dropped so it fell around her shoulders in soft waves and curls, much the same as Shelley’s and she looked just as Shelley remembered.

  ‘I’ve missed you,’ Shelley choked.