Geist (10 page)

He was instantly beside me. The image of Joe. Well...not really...He looked a little different now. It was still Joe but he wasn't wearing the plaid shirt anymore. Instead he had on a suitmuch like the kind Jason often wore. "Yes?"

Alice cleared her throat. 

He looked past me to her. "Hello Alice Bonville. It is very nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you...Geist. Why do you look like..." 

"This shape is easier for Zoë to contend with. And I am comfortable in it." He refocused on me. "Did you need something?" 

"Are we safe here? All of us together? I mean, the Virtues aren't going to come barging in and attack are they?" 

He looked at me with a curious face. "No Zoë. You are perfectly safe here. Jason Lawrence and his Ghoul have worked tirelessly to make this place a safe haven from all Ethereal intrusion. Will there be anything else?"

I shook my head but then reached out to grab his arm. "Wait." 

He waited. Always patient. 

"Have you told the Ethereals—the Seraphim—anything that's happened to me? Do they know I've left the egg....kinda?" 

I felt Alice tense behind me. 

"No Zoë. I have done what you instructed me to do. I have not shared information with the Seraphim at all." 

I pursed my lips. "At all? So...hasn't he or them noticed your absence?" 

The Geist Joe's expression darkened and he shook his head. "Zoë, the Seraphim never acknowledges me as a living entity. I am only a tool. The Seraphim will never notice my presence or my absence." 

Oh wow. "I'm sorry about that Geist. With me...just be yourself." 

"I know. That is what attracts me to you, Zoë. Anything else?" 

"No. That's all. Thanks." 

He turned...and then stopped abruptly. I watched him face the
Grimoire
—or rather the huge hulking shadow of a building that was the
Grimoire
. I wondered if this was the first time he'd seen it. "Geist? You okay?" 

He didn't say anything, just moved slowly toward the book. I could tell from the way he just stared up at it that in fact this was his first look. I sprinted a bit around him and stood by the book. Geist joined me, his mouth half open, his eyes wide. I was kinda wishing I could see
that
look once or twice on the real Joe's face. 

"I—" 

I waited for the rest of that sentence. When it didn't look as if he was going to finish it I reached over and poked him with my index finger. "Hey...you alive?"

"I knew about this book. I have known about it for a very long time. There is no other book like this in existence." 

Really? "I'm partial to the person it's parked in—but not so much the book." 

"Why is it...so dark?" He reached out to touch the cover. I started to warn him but it was too late. Before his hand reached the book's edge a bright, red arc of electricity appeared and zapped him. 

And I mean it
zapped
him. 

One minute he was just in front of me, the next he was sailing into the air behind me and landing in a plume of sand a good...oh I don't know...half a mile back? 

I stood where I was and sure enough, he reappeared. Though he looked a little...scorched. "I'll ask again—you okay?"

"Why did it—why is it dark? Why is it dormant?" 

"Oh come on, Geist. You should know this one. It's because I have
this
," and I pulled the folded piece of paper from my pocket. "Remember the page? We have to put it back in."

He looked at me and then at the page and his eyes...lit up. "That page...
connects
him to the
Grimoire
?"

"Yeah." I was a bit surprised. But then, I had no idea what was on the page or what it meant. It's feasible that he didn't either. "I didn't know that's what it was for till I got here." 

"Neither did I." He offered his hand and tilted his head. "May I?"

Alice finally moved forward. "Zoë, I wouldn't—" 

Why not? I handed him the page. 

It turned to sand and slipped through his fingers. 

-14-

Reassurances

I'm not sure what I thought at that moment—

I know I screamed bloody murder. Alice and I instantly dropped down on our knees and started sifting through the sand. 

No no no no no...this was not happening! 

"I am so sorry!" Geist said as he dropped on his knees too. "I should have known that would happen."

"But what does it mean?" I was shouting on my hands and knees. "Oh God... Dags I'm so sorry..." 

"Zoë, pull your hand out of the sand," Alice said. 

I did as she said and a clump of sand followed. It moved and morphed in mid-air like some stop-motion sand painting before it became the page again. 

I fell forward into the sand and laid on my right side as I clutched the newly formed page to my chest. I was breathing hard and crying. Holy shit I was crying. 

"I suggest..." Geist was saying, sounding like he was out of breath. "That I not do that again." 

"No..." I took in a deep breath. "Shit." After I was pretty sure I wasn't going to have a coronary, I pushed myself back up and onto my knees. Geist was on his as well, looking at the book. "But...yeah this page is Dags' link page...to the book." 

"I thought it was memory..." Geist said in a soft voice. He looked at Alice and then at me. "What I mean is—many times when beings like yourself are put into emotional situations like the one he was in with Francisco Rodriguez- and the one you are in now—you cling to emotions and memories. Sophia—for a very long time—lost herself in the memories of her childhood. But after a while, when she realized those memories were only memories and not reality, she woke and started filling in her role as the Phantasm." 

I had this really weird feeling that I'd just learned something very important—but had no idea how to use it. Or what it meant.

"Did you know Sophia well, Geist?" Alice said. 

We all stood up and brushed off the sand. "As best as I could, given the circumstances of her predicament and my existence. But," and he cocked his head as if listening. "You must return to the Physical plane. I am sorry, Zoë. I will not cause you such distress again." 

Then he was gone. 

I looked at Alice, who was staring at the place where he'd been standing. "Well?"

"I don't understand it," she looked at me. "But I like him. He makes you like him." 

I nodded. Yeah. He does. 

Dags paused in the hall from the bedroom and held out his palms. Alice and I manifested. It was time to face the music. 

Everyone had gathered in the spacious living room. Beige carpet, modern black leather couches, three of them in total. The coffee table was smoky glass with a silver frame. A bowl of lemons sat in the middle beside a fanned stack of magazines. They were all business titles.
Forbes
,
Time
,
Business
Week
. 

Soft beige and blue accent pillows dotted the couches and were piled in corners of the room. Weird decorating technique, but it all seemed to work. 

Tel and Umayma greeted me as I came into the room. They seemed happy to see me, but they were reserved as well. Like there was a question they wanted to ask but weren't sure how to. 

Then a young man I'd never seen stepped into the living room. He wore a leather jacket, blue hoodie and jeans. He had a face a lot like Enrique Iglesias, but the sheen in his eyes told me he was Revenant. 

 "This is Manuel, Morgan's Revenant," Dags said and stood beside me.  

This was the second female First Born with a male Revenant combination I'd met. 

As if on cue, Manuel moved to stand in front of me. When he spoke I heard his First Born's echo in his voice and knew Morgan was in control. "What of the Abysmic child that had served before? The one Dags lost connection to. The one who betrayed us all?"

The tone was serious. And I noticed all the Revenants were paying attention. Maureen wasn't well liked—having killed two of their kind under the direction of Sophia. And she'd nearly killed Jason as well. It made sense they wanted to know where she was. 

Jason stepped forward and stood beside Morgan/Manuel but said nothing. 

"We think," well I knew this for sure but I didn't think I needed to tell everyone about Geist just yet. "Or suspect that Maureen's soul or ghost is inside of my body, just like I'm inside of Dags." 

That theory didn't go over so good. In fact, everyone looked more worried than I felt. 

Daniel—who already knew about this since he'd been there when I'd first shown myself to them—stepped forward. "Zoë—is that such a good thing? Let's face it—Maureen has proven twice that she can't be trusted. She's easily manipulated and her actions nearly killed Dags both times. With her inside of your body while it's in the Abysmal Throne—" he let the rest of the sentence speak for itself. 

And well...I got the message. It did seem a lot like leaving the devil in charge of the big red nuke button. But somehow I didn't think so. And Geist had reassured me that Maureen was in no condition or position to do anything. I was still in control. 

I also started to wonder what it was Geist did when he wasn't answering my questions. He claimed he wasn't informing the Seraphim what was happening. And I'd gotten from his reaction earlier there seemed to be no love lost between him and the Ethereals. But still...ever get that nagging feeling that something was too good to be true? 

Yeah. I had it. And it was bothering the hell out of me. 

"What kind of reassurances do we have with that?" Umayma/Frejya said. "My brethren and I come from that plane, Zoë. We know how the Throne works. Our father was one of the original creators of it. If she were to gain control of your body—" 

That is not going to happen. 

I jumped a little at the voice in my head. Yeah-me, a corporeal projection of my own astral body-had a voice in her head.
"Geist?"
I made sure to answer it in my own head and not in Dags' and not aloud. 

Yes. Please be assured, the entity known as Maureen is sleeping. And she will remain asleep until you return. You have my word on that. 

Okay. That made me feel a bit better. I sensed sincerity in that voice. I believed Geist. "Umayma, Daniel, everyone," and I looked around at them. "Maureen's not a problem. She's too weak to do anything like that." 

Allow me to explain...through you. 

Uh oh.
"You mean give up control of my astral to you?"
 

Just for a moment, to reassure them? 

Seemed simple enough. 

So I stepped back a little. 

Something ice cold and hard brushed past me. I shivered involuntarily and felt Dags' arm tighten around my waist. "Zoë? Do you need to rest? You can watch from inside?" 

"No—" 

Oh! That wasn't me answering. And...I wasn't inside my own little theater either. This was like actually stepping back to let a Symbiont or a First Born have control. Not even a daemon. This was like...

Joining
. 

Or
merging
. 

I felt...comfortable. Like I was leaning back into a really cushy papasan chair. No concerns. No problems. And when I looked at everyone—

OHMYGOD!

-15-

Through Abysmal Eyes

I could see...
everything
. 

I was looking at Daniel—and I saw him—but just above him I saw something else, hovering around him, surrounding him. I knew it was a woman—or at least it was female. A ghostly image made of white shadows. I saw a face. A
beautiful
face. Strong straight nose, with a full mouth and cat-like eyes. Her hair was what enveloped Daniel...so much like a lover. She possessed him.
Completely
. 

And I knew the name. 

Felt it in my heart. 

"Zoë," Dags' voice was more insistent. "I'm sensing you're upset? Or...is it something else? Is there a problem?" 

First Born.

Goddess. 

Inanna
. 

I was seeing the Revenant. 

Yes
. 

And Geist's voice was no longer Joe's voice. But a mixture of voices. Old, young, child, male, female. It was a chorus of one in my head. It was like hearing everyone in the world all at once. You'd think that would give me a monumental headache. But it didn't. 

"No, no," said the Geist in my voice. "I am okay. I am just getting used to this. What I wanted to do was reassure everyone that Maureen is not in a position to take control of my body. As of now, from what I can sense of her, she is sleeping. And it is a much needed sleep. She has not had a good time of it. She is full of guilt and remorse." 

And anger...so much anger...

"Geist...don't pay attention to Maureen. She's what got us into this in the first place." 

I know this. All of this is so new to me. The Seraphim and Phantasm always kept me at a distance before. I was never able to really...feel...

I looked at Jason and saw—

Do not look at him! 

But it was too late. I was frozen in place as I stared at the monstrosity that encircled Jason's body. It was shifting, constantly in motion, forever changing; a mass of faces, arms, legs, voices...oh dear God the cacophony of voices! 

And then I had Mephistopheles' voice in my mind. 

Zoë, what's wrong? Are you okay?
Then he paused.
Who else is there with you? 

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look at him anymore. I didn't want to know.

Push him out. You have the power to do that, Zoë. You can lock him out of your mind. 

I didn't really want to boot Mephistopheles and Jason, but I also didn't want him knowing about Geist just yet.
I'm sorry
, was all I said as I thrust him away. 

An eerie silence lingered and then Geist's voices again.
I'm sorry, but while I'm with you, you'll have to see as I see.