NOLA (30 page)

She flipped up the bed skirts and prodded the thing under the bed.  It was a body alright, but whose?

“I HEAR THEM COMING.  ALEXEI IS WITH THE SOUL EATER AND TRIPLE P IS FOLLOWING.”

“I expect you heard that, Murph,” Mia mumbled.  “Damn, where?”  Mia stamped her foot in frustration.  She had looked everywhere she could reach.  “Wait a feckin’ moment!”  Mia trained her flashlight and checked out the four corners where the ceiling and the walls met.  She worked her way across the ceiling, and there, nestled among the dusty crystals of the chandelier, sat the mask.  “I’m sorry to boot you out, Murph, but I can’t reach it.”

Murphy moved upward out of Mia’s mind.  He floated a moment, readjusting his hand so he could grasp the papier-mâché and glass face mask.  He untangled the timeworn ribbons and whistled before dropping the heirloom into Mia’s ready hands.

~

“But where yah going, Alexei?  The night’s young.  Lucky Pierre’s floorshow is just about to start.  You know those ladies are the best…”

“Shut up!” Red Dress screamed.  “I’m sick and tired of your blathering.  I’m taking Alexei to see something exotic, and you’re not welcome.”

Triple P saw the menace in the girl’s face, but he had to try once more.

“Alexei, this is the soul eater!  She’s got you under a trance. You’ve got to wake up!”

There was a flicker of understanding on the muddled ghost’s face. He turned to Triple P and started to ask, “Soul…”

The soul eater reached out and started to tear Triple P’s soul out of his body.

The shrieks of the pastor’s pains could not cover the roar of wheels approaching at high speed.

“Coming through, bitch,” Mimi Delarosa said, body slamming the surprised entity.

The soul eater lost her grasp, and Triple P was whole and in the arms of the best jammer the Memphis Maulers ever had.

“Sit still, preacher, I’ve got to get you to Monique before you expire.”  Mimi picked up speed and managed to catch the back of the Garden District-bound streetcar.  She tossed the man on it.

“But Alexei…”

“There are others to help Alexei.  You, pastor, are out of play.”

~

Monique’s eyes snapped open.  “Hurry, we have to get to the streetcar.  No time to explain,” the Wiccan said, pushing away from the table and running toward Honor’s front door.

Candy and Becky followed her.

Honor located her manservant.  “Quick, we have an injured man arriving on the streetcar.”

The two of them followed in the wake of the three witches.  They heard the streetcar approaching.  It didn’t appear to be stopping.  Honor saw a bright light move onto the track.  The streetcar brakes were applied.  While the driver was contemplating the light, Becky and Candy located the alive, but weak, pastor.  Honor’s manservant put the man over his shoulder, and the five moved quickly back to the house.

Champagne extinguished the light and watched as the streetcar resumed its route.

Mimi rolled over and shook her head.  “You, doll, have class.”

“All that and a bag of chips,” Champagne said, checking out one of her nails.  “So what happened to the preacher man?”

“That thing started to rip his soul out of his body.”

“Man, that’s got to hurt.”

“I got there before she finished, but I’m not sure if he’s going to live.”

“The Voodoo woman will fix him up.  Come on, let’s see if Mia needs any help. I’m ready to throw down after what that thing did to me.  Let’s dip.”

It took Mimi a moment to translate the 90’s lingo. By that time, Champagne had taken off.  It only took a few strokes of Mimi’s massive legs to catch up to her.

~

“Pastor Paul, you smell of alcohol,” Becky admonished.  “You don’t drink.”

Triple P looked up at the four concerned faces over him.  “I had to play a role.  I managed to keep Alexei away from the soul eater’s lair for a few hours.  I’m going to pay for it in the morning.”

Candy moved her hands over the man.  “Your soul is tattered, but I think we can rejoin you.  You’re like Peter Pan at the moment.  Your shadow is pulling away, pastor.”

“It hurt like hell.  Like someone pulling a band-aid off a hairy arm,” he described.

“Honey, that’s nothing. Try getting your legs waxed,” Candy said, winking at the trio of understanding faces.  “Monique, we need a calming tea and some of your beetroot.  Honor, you have any of that snail slime you been smearing on your face?”

Surprised, Honor nodded and left to retrieve the expensive skin treatment.

“Ladies, we have to rejoin the pastor’s soul.  The man’s got work to do.  Those teens need him.  Heaven can wait.”

Chapter Twenty-two

Father Peter stood in the shadows watching the red-dressed girl escorting a besotted Alexei through the museum.  He wasn’t sure that the entity knew he was there. He hung back and followed the pair into the small courtyard.

“Excuse me, do any of you have a light?” he asked, holding out three quarters of a cigarette he had found snuffed in the ashtray.

“Go away, priest,” the sequined brat ordered.

“No, I think I’ll stick around.  I’ve just crossed a dozen souls. I expect there may be a few more.”

The girl turned quickly, causing Alexei to stumble.

“What souls?”

“The ones that came down those steps.  Crossings always brings out this vice,” the priest said, indicating the cigarette.

The girl looked at the red door and then back at the priest.  “You’re lying.”

“I remember crossing a chit that looked remarkably like you,” he said.  “She and a stoner…”

“Impossible!” the entity said, enraged.

“Go look for yourself.  You must have a leak in your bowl,” Father Peter drawled.

The girl turned and started for the door but remembered Alexei and came back and dragged him after her.

“THEY ARE COMING UP THE STAIRS!” Father Peter shouted in Mia’s mind.

Mia grabbed her head.  “Damn, I wish he wouldn’t shout.  Come on, Murphy, we better hide.”

The entity moved through the door and headed right for the bowl.  It plunged into the bowl, holding on to Alexei.  Alexei stopped.  He had hit a barrier.  This caused the soul eater to losen her grasp.  She shot out her other hand, frantically trying to pull Alexei closer, but the ghost wouldn’t move past the salt line.

“NO!” it screamed in frustration.  Looking around, it decided to leave Alexei there to check on its hoard of souls.

Mia moved quickly.  She pulled Alexei away, stuck him in the bathroom and salted the threshold.  She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and pulled the string so only her face was visible.  She covered her face by putting on the Mardi Gras mask.  When this was done, she turned out the lights and stood on a chair.  In the darkness, the bowl shimmered with its eerie white light.  The water tossed inside as the bowl shook.  A tall being of white light shot upwards and landed two feet from the desk.  It looked around for Alexei and moaned at the darkened room.

Mia turned on her flashlight, illuminating the mask.

The soul eater turned and spoke.

Mia didn’t understand anything it said.  She would have to depend on its body motions to get an idea of how to react.

It stomped over to the bowl, kicking a hole in the salt line, and shot an arm inside.  Within seconds, it pulled out Sean Edward’s soul.  It prodded the frightened man.

“It wants to know where you have taken its souls.”

Mia tilted the mask up.

“The priest said he crossed them over. Is this true?” Sean asked, amazed.

Mia nodded.

“Who are you?”

“The spirit of the mask.  How dare you imprison my people?”

The entity screamed again and pushed Sean away from it.

A rumbling preceded the scratching sound of dry skin on wood as the body of Sean Edwards crawled out from under the bed.

The soul eater said something in a guttural language.

Sean’s corpse lunged at Mia.

Murphy moved quickly out of Mia’s body and swiped at the charging zombie.

SWISH RIP CRACK
echoed off the walls as Murphy’s axe bisected the being at the knees with such force, it imbedded the blade of the axe in the footboard.  He pulled hard and released the axe in time to dodge the clawing hands, as the upper torso was still very much animated.

He jumped up and brought the axe down hard. 
CRACK!
This time, he cut through the middle of the corpse by splitting the head in two and moving down through the rest.

Mia slid the mask off with care.  Jamming the flashlight into the mask, she kept it suspended in air using her telekinesis powers.  She used the remaining darkness and commotion to work her way behind the entity and over to Sean’s soul.

“Run,” she hissed.  “Run to the priest outside.”

Sean rose. Unused to being a ghost, he moved as if he were still a living man.  He walked to the door and stopped.

CRACK CRACK CRACK! 
Murphy diced the body with his axe. But no matter how he cut it, the body managed to attack him with whatever would move.  Fingers poked at him, dried gums bit him, and feet kicked at him.

The air was filled with floating dust motes from their battle.

Mia directed her focus to the falling dust and lit each piece on fire.  She hoped this would distract the creature and the soul eater, so she could get Murphy out of the room to safety.

The mask, no longer fueled by her focus, dropped to the chair.

The soul eater, no longer fooled, screamed in triumph, “AHEEEEEEEEEEEEEMAJAMA  AHEEEEEEEEEEEEEMAJAMA!”

The body on the floor began to reform.  Sean screamed from the doorway, horrified by what he was seeing.

Murphy, distracted by the young man, did not see the glowing arm snake around him and pull him to the desk.

“Mia!” he called, dropping his axe.

Mia dove, putting her body between the bowl and the soul eater. The entity dropped Murphy and picked up Mia by the jacket.  Mia unzipped the jacket, slipping out of the garment, and attacked the soul eater’s feet with the conical shells she had pocketed from the bathroom.  The ancient swirled shells momentarily pinned the creature’s feet to the floor.  Mia used this time to crawl away.  She searched for Murphy.  She wanted to drag him over and encase him in a circle of salt, but she couldn’t find him.

“Murphy!” she called.

Nothing.

She spun around, and the soul eater was gone too.  It must have disengaged itself from the shells and moved soundlessly into the water.

“Shit shit shit!” she cursed, tossing on the lights, ignoring the fully formed, desiccated corpse of Sean Edwards on the floor and his soul standing over it crying.

Mia heard a pounding of footsteps, and the door burst inwards.  A very winded priest stood there, his eyes moving wildly, taking everything in.  Behind him rolled Mimi with Champagne close behind.

“It’s got Murphy,” Mia said, walking over to the chair and picking up the mask.  She bounced it in her hands a moment.  She looked at the female ghosts and remembered her manners.  “This is Sean Edwards. Sean, Mimi and Champagne.  He’s the SOB that started all of this,” Mia said vindictively.

Father Peter was shocked by the anger that emanated from Mia.

“I want to go after him,” Mia said.  “But I may not come back.  I’ve got a husband and baby to think of.  I’m not sure what to do?”

Father Peter could see that she was torturing herself.

“I’ll go,” Sean said quietly.  “I did this. I’ll fix it.”

“No, you can’t. You’re part of the solution,” Mia said.

Alexei pounded on the wall.

“Who’s in there?” Father Peter asked.

“I locked Alexei in there.”

Mimi moved to the door and felt the salt wall before she tried to move through the wood.  “Salt.”

“It was for his own good,” Mia explained.  “He was under some kind of spell.”  She walked over and opened the door.  “Sorry, old bean,” she said and broke the line of salt.  She handed him his Mardi Gras mask.  “I believe this is yours.”

“What happened?” Alexei asked.

“The farmer was taken,” Champagne said.

“What farmer?”

“Mia’s farmer,” Mimi answered.

“I’m sorry. I never met him.  Where’s the girl?”

“It was never a girl.  It was the soul eater masquerading as the girl.  I crossed her over after Mia and Murphy rescued her,” Father Peter explained.

The water started burbling.

“Out!  Get Alexei out of here!” Mia ordered Mimi and Champagne.

The two ghosts obeyed, and soon it was just Mia and Father Peter.

She stared at him a moment and said, “You don’t have to stay.  I’ve got to finish this.”

“It occurs to me that we make a damn good team,” Father Peter said.

“Have it your way,” Mia said, shutting the door and pouring a salt line.  “Sorry, Sean, you’ve got to stay.”

The young man nodded.

The water began sloshing around with such force, the bowl was rocking on the desk top.

Mia cautiously moved closer and saw two hands shoot up and grip the sides of the bowl.

Murphy, or the entity imitating Murphy, pulled himself out of the bowl.  Mia backed up, eyeing the axe that was lying on the floor.  Both of them lunged for it at the same time.  Mia was too slow.  She rolled over and stared up at him.

“Whitney Pee Pants,” Murphy said with a smile.

Mia burst into happy tears.  “I thought…”

“I know,” Murphy said.  He looked over at the priest and the young ghost.  “It’s injured.  Mia messed with its feet.  It tried to catch me, but I moved around inside there clockwise, going as fast as I could, and then I stopped suddenly and moved the other way.  The soul eater turned a little green.  It got caught up in the turbulence of the water and moved away from me.  I jumped as hard as I could and caught the rim of the bowl.”

Murphy gave Mia a hand up.  She edged away from the desk as the bowl refilled itself.  “Guys, it’s coming out,” she warned.  “What do we do?” she asked Murphy.

“We fight until we can’t fight anymore,” he said.