Ghosts of Coronado Bay (13 page)

When they reached the sidewalk, she let go of Blake’s hand. “You don’t have to come. But I’m going.”

“I’m not leaving your side.”

When he placed his hand back in hers, she thought her knees might give out on her. She’d expected him to continuing arguing, or maybe even just disappear, let her go on her own.

How ironic. Of all the guys in Coronado Bay, the only one who’s truly faithful and dependable isn’t even alive.

As much as she wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him, there was no time. The two sailors were already walking away.

I’m coming, Lucy. Hang in there.

*  *  *

Stuart Newman stood on the steps of the school and watched Maya and her new boyfriend hurry down the sidewalk towards the center of town. For a moment, he lost sight of the two rough-looking men, but then they were back, right in front of Maya.

Must have been shadows.

He’d noticed the men when they’d confronted Maya and her new boyfriend at the prom - who hadn’t? - and seen the horrified look on Maya’s face when they spoke to her. He couldn’t hear what they said, but it had to be real bad.

Not that I should care. Serves her right if she’s in trouble. She wants to dump me for some loser? I can get a dozen girls better than her.

None of these thoughts stopped him from descending the steps and following them.

Once they were inside the museum, it didn’t take long for Maya to realize things were worse - far worse - than she’d imagined. Bloody handprints and footprints marred the normally spotless hallways, but that was nothing compared to the shambles of the Black Lady Exhibit. When the sailors opened the doors, Maya stopped at the sight of all the destruction. Tables and cases overturned, furniture broken, pieces of the ship and its contents scattered all over the floor.

And blood everywhere.

As soon as he saw them, Gavin signaled to his men, who grabbed her and Blake and roughly guided them to where Gary and Curtis lay tied and gagged. Along the way, they found Lucy wedged between a table and a fallen curio case, her hands and ankles cut from trying to use a piece of broken glass to slice through her bonds. She’d managed to pull her gag off, and it dangled from her neck.

“Lucy!” Maya tried to go to her, but the sailor holding her tightened his grip, each finger pressing so hard she knew she’d have bruises for a week.

If I live to see them.

“Bring the other one back, as well,” Gavin said, nodding towards Lucy, who kicked and screamed to no avail as another sailor hoisted her up and led her forward. Only then did Gavin address Lucy directly.

“It was quite amusing watching you try and escape. Pity you weren’t better at it. But the time for games is past.” He turned to Maya. “If you give yourself to me right now, no one else has to get hurt.”

“No one--?” Maya looked at Lucy, who had tears in her eyes.

“Fiona. They...they killed her. Used her blood, but they didn’t stay solid. They killed Mary Ellen, too, but her blood didn’t do anything.”

“Oh, God.” Maya felt like the earth had opened up and swallowed her. Fiona and Mary Ellen dead, and it was all her fault. “I...”

“You don’t have time to waste,” Gavin said. “Your choice is simple. Either you give yourself to me and your friends live, or I take what I want and they all die.”

The sailor holding Lucy yanked on her hair, drawing a scream.

“All right!” Maya’s thoughts were a confused blur. “But how do I know you won’t kill them anyway?”

Gavin gave a nasty laugh, and she wondered how she’d ever found him the least bit attractive. “You don’t, witch. But at least you’ll die knowing you did all you could to save them.”

“Maya, don’t do it. He won’t keep his word.” Blake implored her as much with his eyes as with his voice.

What to do? She wanted to shout for help, cry for her mother or father. This wasn’t the kind of decision a sixteen-year-old girl should have to make. Raped and killed to maybe save her friends? If she said yes, then Gavin and his men would be part of the real world forever, able to carry out his evil plans and basically turn the world into a living hell.

Say no, and the same thing happened.

That’s not how choices are supposed to work!

She looked over at Lucy again, who was staring at the floor and crying. Glanced at Blake, who shook his head ”no.”

She knew there was only one thing to do.

“All right.” She stared directly at Gavin, whose smile grew even wider, and, if possible, more malicious. “You win. I’m yours.”

Gavin stepped forward and reached for her. The two men holding Maya let go. Remembering her sensei’s instructions, she let Gavin draw her close.

Then, she brought her knee up between his legs as hard as she could.

“Aaaa!” He doubled over, holding both hands to his injured groin. As he did so, Maya took a step back and brought her knee up again, this time right into Gavin’s face. The snap of his nose breaking sounded loud as a gunshot in the quiet of the museum.

Knowing it was her only chance to save her friends, Maya spun on her heel and lashed out with her other foot, catching the kneecap of the man holding Lucy. He cried out and fell to the floor, clutching his leg.

“Get out of here!” Maya shouted. “They can’t hurt you if you’re not near me!”

Bright lights exploded behind her, and she turned to see Blake pulling away from the two men who’d been holding him. He pointed at Maya and sparks flew from his finger.

“Maya, behind you!”

Without bothering to see who was coming at her, Maya threw herself to the side just as a bolt of lightning shot out from Blake’s hand. Gavin, black fluids flowing from his newly-crooked nose, gave a high-pitched yelp as the energy caught him right in the chest. He didn’t go down, though. Instead, he brought his hands up and countered Blake’s attack with one of his own. Blue energy zigzagged across the space between them, so close to Maya it made her hair stand on end. Blake cried out as his body flew backwards, crashing through a wooden case and only coming to a gradual halt when he left Maya’s zone of influence and lost his solidity.

That didn’t stop Gavin. The taller man strode forward, his black coat whipped by an invisible wind, his eyes wide and furious. He clapped his hands together; a purple fireball took form and then shot towards Blake, who rolled to one side just before the pulsing globe landed. The remains of the display case exploded, sending glass and wood splinters through the air.

Blake got to his feet. “Maya, run! I’ll hold them off.” Not waiting for an answer, he ran forward and threw a right uppercut that caught Gavin under the chin. A miniature fireworks display went off where supernatural flesh met its own kind. Gavin staggered back a step, spat something dark that wasn’t blood, and smiled.

“So, the mouse has grown into a man, eh? Let’s see what you’ve got, boy.”

Colored light detonated over and over again as the two men, one tall and one short, one dark and one fair, exchanged punches. Each gave as good as he got, landing and taking blows to the face and body. Maya used the opportunity to untie Lucy’s ropes. For a few seconds, she actually believed she’d have a chance to get herself and her friends out of trouble, at least temporarily.

Then Gavin struck Blake a hard blow to the side of the head that sent the smaller man reeling. Before he could recover his balance, Gavin hit him twice more, once in the throat and once in the mouth.

Blake’s eyes closed, and he fell to the floor.

Gavin turned to Maya, who was busy dragging Curtis towards the door, while Lucy did the same with Gary. The ghost-wizard’s cruel smile would have made a shark proud.

“Now, it’s time for me to take what’s mine.”

Hiding behind one of the few display cases still standing, Stuart Newman clamped his hands over his mouth to keep from calling out. He did not want to draw the attention of the...the things fighting in the center of the room, or the ones watching, who he guessed were just as dangerous.

He thought of them as things because it was impossible to imagine them as people, even though they looked human enough - at least when he could see them. They appeared and disappeared, fading in and out of sight like--

Like ghosts?

It seemed too crazy. He’d never believed in ghosts. But it would explain a helluva lot. The disappearing acts, the lightning, the weird clothes. Ghosts from a long time ago.

From the Black Lady?

Why not? It makes as much sense as anything else.

And Maya’s new boyfriend, Blake, was right in the middle of things, fighting with that other guy while Maya crouched on the floor between them. Gavin, that’s the other guy’s name. I recognize him, too. He throws a mean punch for a ghost. What the hell’s Maya doing with these guys?

Whatever was going on, it looked like Blake was getting the worse of it.

Serves him right. Maya, too. If she’d stayed with me, none of this would be happening.

Mixed emotions fought their own battle inside Stuart’s head and heart, mimicking the one in the middle of the room. On the one hand, he felt tempted to just sneak out the way he’d snuck in, get out of the room, and, then, simply run like hell and let Maya and Blake and Lucy and the others get what was coming to them.

On the other hand, he knew he should probably do something to help because no matter how bitchy she’d been to him, he couldn’t - or at least shouldn’t - let the ghosts hurt her or any other people.

That they had something very bad in mind was obvious. He’d figured that out the moment he’d seen the two security guards lying inside the exhibit room. He’d have left right then, but he’d been afraid someone might notice the exhibit room doors opening. And then he’d end up a prisoner, too.

Or worse, like the guards.

So he’d hidden, unable to tear his eyes away from the light show the two ghosts were putting on.

Then Blake went down, and things changed very quickly.

For the worse.

*  *  *

Maya stared at Gavin and finally understood that he was crazy. Not killing-small-animals crazy or even shooting-up-the-post-office crazy, but totally Osama Bin Laden kill-everyone-in-the-world super-villain wacko insane.

And she was the only one who could stop him.

He would kill them all if he had a chance, then the whole town, and who knew how many towns after that. She couldn’t let that happen even if it meant risking death.

Or worse.

“Wait,” she said, holding out her arm. “It’s not the sex you need, it’s just my blood. You don’t even have to kill me. A few drops will do it.”

Gavin shook his head. “I can’t take that chance. Blood alone might not be a permanent solution to my situation.”

Two more steps brought him so close she could feel the chill emanating from him. He reached out and stroked a hand through her hair, let it slide down her neck to her chest, where it cupped one breast. He squeezed just hard enough to be uncomfortable but not painful.

The look in his eyes said the pain would come soon enough.

“Besides, my way will be much more enjoyable. At least for me and my men.”

Rough laughter and a couple of rude comments came from the men behind her, but Maya ignored them. It was Gavin she had to convince. She couldn’t afford to focus on anything except him.

Fighting the urge to pull away from his groping fingers, she said, “What happens if you kill me, and it doesn’t work?”

His fingers stopped moving. “What?”

“You killed Fiona, but you stayed a ghost. What if the same thing happens again?”

His black eyes narrowed. “It won’t. ‘Tis your blood that makes the difference. Your friend wasn’t a witch.”

Maya heard the slightest hint of uncertainty in his voice and tried not to show her growing excitement. “How do you know? Maybe it would’ve worked if you hadn’t killed her. Do the tales say you have to sacrifice a virgin or just take the blood of a virgin?”

Gavin stepped back and his gaze moved up and past her. “Childs? What say you to that?”

A man spoke behind her. Maya recognized the voice as belonging to one of the men who’d attacked her earlier in the week, the older of the two.

“There be nothing specific about killing, in actuality. The way I always heard it was ‘it takes the virgin witch’s blood to bring back what’s been lost.’”

Tiny sparks crackled in the air around Gavin’s head and his mouth grew tight. When he finally spoke, his words carried the same chill as his body. “So, in fact, you don’t know a damned thing about what to do?”

He didn’t let the other man answer, just kept talking. “You can’t even tell me if I’m supposed to take her virginity, her blood, her life, or some damned combination of the three?”

When the sailor called Childs answered, Maya heard more than a little fear in his voice. “Aye, sir. That be the problem with magik and spells. Too often they be murky as a foggy sea.”

Gavin’s voice didn’t change, but when he next spoke, an involuntary shiver ran through Maya.

“Don’t lecture me on spells, Mister Childs. I’ve plenty of knowledge in that area.” The other man wisely stayed silent.

Though her body still trembled, Maya kept her voice steady as she continued her cajoling. “Gavin, listen to me. You have nothing to lose doing it my way. I’ll still be your prisoner. And a virgin. If my blood doesn’t work, then you can...you know. But if you try it your way first, and it fails, then what? I’m dead and useless.”

Gavin stared at her for a long moment. She imagined his dark gaze digging through her brain, trying to find any trace of trickery. Finally, he nodded. “’T’would be faster, I’ll give you that. And, if it doesn’t work, rest assured you’ll be begging for a quick death.”

Before Maya could respond, he grabbed her arm in a grip that was strong as steel. Using a shard of glass from a nearby table, he dug the point deep into the meaty part of her hand below the thumb, opening a two-inch gash. Although she tried her best, Maya couldn’t help but give voice to her pain as fire blossomed in her palm.

Ignoring her shout, Gavin clamped his hand over hers. The effects of the blood on him were immediate. He gasped and stepped back, his eyes wide and his mouth open in surprise.

“I feel it!” As he spoke, a white glow surrounded him, so bright it forced Maya to squint her eyes and tilt her head away. Through her tears she saw Lucy kneeling on the floor, covering her face with her arms.

In the time it took Maya to inhale and exhale, the glow faded and Gavin let out a bellow of laughter.

“It worked! I’m whole again!” He slapped his hands against his chest, sending multi-colored sparks in all directions. Thunder rumbled outside the museum, so loud and close the floor vibrated under Maya’s feet.

“Hurry.” Gavin motioned to his men and all five of them ran forward, pushing and shoving at each other in their haste to reach Maya. The room turned spotlight bright as one after another touched her blood and changed. One of them drew a knife and Maya cried out.

“No! Gavin, there’s plenty of blood here for all of them. You still don’t know if the magik is permanent.”

Gavin snapped his fingers and tiny balls lightning crackled and spat against the ceiling. “She’s right. We might need her yet again. And if we don’t, she’ll be more fun alive than dead.”

The sailors burst into laughter. One of them grabbed her, his hands running up and down her body, leaving bloody streaks on the front of her dress. Another yanked her hair, forcing her head back so he could mash his lips against hers. She tried turning away, but another bearded, filthy face waited on that side, as well. Hands pawed at her from all directions.

“Enough!” said Gavin. “Plenty of time for that later. First, find the book. Then, you can play all you want.”

A few of the sailors grumbled, and one muttered, “Aye, Mister Hamlin,” but they all let go of her and spread out across the room, angrily scattering objects off tables and tossing things to the floor.

God, that was too close. Her plan - which wasn’t much of a plan to being with - centered on staying alive a little longer. Hopefully a lot longer. As in seventy years or so.

She looked around, saw that none of the men were guarding her anymore. Her first thought was the doors, but she quickly saw she’d never get past the sailors on that side of the room. Instead, she knelt down next to Lucy and gave her friend a hard shake.

“Lucy! C’mon, snap out of it. I need your help.”

It took a few more shakes, but eventually Lucy lifted her head, exposing tracks of black mascara running down her cheeks like bad Halloween makeup. “We’re all gonna die, aren’t we?”

“Hopefully, no.” Maya pointed at Curtis and Gary, who still lay unconscious on the floor. “Go see if you can wake them up. Now’s our only chance, while they’re all busy.”

“You have a plan?”

“Maybe. Just hurry.”

To her credit, Lucy didn’t ask any more questions, just crawled across the broken glass and wood to where the boys lay. Maya was glad for that. Saying she had a plan - even a ”maybe” plan - was stretching things to the limit. ”Desperate fantasy” might be more appropriate.

Still, it was their best hope.

It all went back to something Grandma Elsa had said.

“Your blood is powerful. Not only can it bring ghosts back to life, but you can control them, too.”

And she’d said something else, as well. The power is inside me. My heart and my head.

The memory of that conversation had returned when Gavin touched his hand against her blood. He hadn’t been the only one who’d felt the power. For a brief moment, every inch of her body, every individual cell it seemed, tingled and itched like there’d been electricity running through her. She’d felt it again each time one of the other ghosts touched her.

Can I really do it?

That was where the ”maybe” came in. Not alone, that’s for sure. She’d need help. So, while Lucy attempted to wake Gary and Curtis, Maya went to Blake, making sure she only touched him with the hand that wasn’t bleeding.

If her plan worked, she didn’t want it affecting him, as well.

“Blake. Blake, wake up. C’mon, you’re a freakin’ ghost, you shouldn’t even be unconscious.” She kept her voice to a whisper while keeping her eyes on the room to watch Gavin and his men. All had their attention focused on what they were doing, which seemed to be randomly breaking things and knocking things over.

After a minute or so - which seemed like hours to Maya - Blake moaned and opened his eyes. “Maya? Are you all right? You didn’t...?”

She patted his arm. “I’m fine, and whether I did or didn’t depends on what you mean. I didn’t get gang raped or killed, which I consider a good thing. But I did let them have some blood. The jury’s still out on whether that was a good or bad idea.” She held out her hand and showed him the cut, which still oozed blood.

His hazel eyes went wide. “Oh, Maya. You mean they’re...?”

“Solid, yeah.” She nodded. “I had to do it, to keep us all alive. I have a plan. Or, at least I think I do. Remember what my Grandma Elsa said?”

Blake stared at her, his face blank.

“The power is in me. She said that, remember?”

He frowned. Maya wanted to shake him again, much harder this time.

“She said I can control ghosts with my blood.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed and the confused look disappeared. “Yes, she did say that.” His growing excitement changed to concern. “She also said it was dangerous. For you.”

“News flash. Look around. How much more dangerous can things get?”

As if to answer her question, Gavin gave a triumphant shout from across the room.

“I have it!” He raised his hand, and the men cheered. In the dim glow of the few remaining lights, Maya couldn’t see what he held, but a nasty feeling in her stomach told her it had to be the key. Gavin confirmed her assumption a moment later when one of the sailors - the old man he’d called Childs - brought over a small trunk, and Gavin opened it.

“The book!”