Paranormal Realities Box Set (21 page)

“No idea.”

“Okay. Go on.” We jumped into the car and
Rom fired up the engine.

“The leaves are large and
triangular," Senji continued. "They're a silvery tinged green color,
are covered with long white silky hairs and have a fuzzy texture. I have a copy
of a print someone drew of the plant in late 1888.”

“So we’ll know it when we see them. Get
to the important part,” I said as Rom pulled out of the parking structure.
“Where do we find these plants?”

“You used to be able to find them growing
mostly around the edges of wooded areas and grasslands in England, particularly
over something called oolitic limestone.”

“That’s something.” I shot Rom an
encouraging smile as if I’d heard some good news.

“But now they don’t grow anywhere.” Senji
sighed. “I’m sorry, Kizzy. I’ll start looking for a substitute.”

“K. Good job.” Punching the screen to end
the call, I turned to Rom. “He’s making progress.”

“Progress in discovering no antidote,”
Rom said.

“Don’t be so negative. We’ll find it.”

Rom fixed his gaze on the road. “Vow to
me,” he said after a few minutes. ”Vow you will end my suffering rather than
see me mad.”

“You mean kill you?”

He nodded.

“No, Rom. That's not an option."

“Then I must end my own life.”

“That’s not an option either, mister,” I
insisted, tears springing to my eyes. “The only option is finding a cure. Do
you hear me?” The tears spilled over the rims of my eyes and slid down my
cheeks before I could dash them away.

Rom’s refusal to respond spoke volumes.

* * * * *

Colonial Park Cemetery encompassed about
six acres in the heart of the historic downtown and, during mid-afternoon, the
place was chock full of tourists eager to see a cemetery that dated back to
1750 for its earliest burials. To me, if he were here at all, the ghoul would
most likely lurk in one of the many burial vaults that rose like red brick
pyramids out of the earth. At some point, probably during renovation of the
cemetery, the entrance to each of the vaults had been cemented over.

Rom and I walked along the main path and
found nothing out of the ordinary. So we headed for the vaults located in more
secluded areas. At the back, near what was the old dueling ground, we found a
vault with the name Macpherson carved into its plaque. Rom circled around one
way and I went the other.

“A breach here,” Rom announced.

Sure enough, the cement blocking the
entrance to the vault had been broken. Chunks lay at the base. Rom took a
flashlight from the knapsack he carried, switched it on and stuck his upper
body through the gap.

“Anything?” I asked after a few seconds.

“A smell most horrible,” Rom replied.
“And evidence of recent movement in the tomb’s lid.” He pulled himself
completely through the gap and sounds of scraping and jostling could be heard
from inside. This wouldn’t have been a huge problem except for the pair of
tourists, probably husband and wife, heading our way.

“Don’t come out until I tell you,” I
called to him. “We’re going to have company soon.” A thought occurred to me. We
were pretty sure from our research that the ghoul was inert during the day, but
what if we were wrong? “Unless you have to come out," I said.
"Because if the ghoul is awake or something...Anyway…” I trailed off.

Rom didn’t answer.

Mr. and Mrs. Nosey strolled up. I tried
positioning myself in front of the vaults entrance. The couple wasn’t deceived
and I saw Mrs. Nosey “noticing” the broken pieces of cement on the ground at my
feet.

“Isn’t it a shame what vandals will do
these days?” I shook my head and made a tisking sound.

Mrs. Nosey shot me a glare and pulled her
clueless husband back the way they’d come. When they were almost out of sight
and completely out of earshot, I stuck my head through the gap and couldn’t see
a thing. The flashlight beam hit me in the eye, before Rom switched if off.

“The ghoul is here.” Rom pushed past me
and stepped outside the vault. “He's unconscious, inside the tomb stretched atop
the remains.”

“We still have about an hour until
dusk," I said.

After contacting Zen for back up we
waited sitting cross-legged under a hackberry tree within a few steps of the
vault entrance. I’d pulled a peanut and chocolate candy bar out of my purse,
broke it, and handed half to Rom.

“Mmm.” Rom chewed and then swallowed.
“There is a treat similar in Augustinia, but not with this deliciousness.”

“Umhumm.” I nodded and chewed.

 
Mr. and Mrs. Nosey came into view again from around the
corner of another vault to our right, just as I spotted Zen and Petra, to our
left, heading up the path. Directing a narrowed stink eye expression on Mrs.
Nosey caused her to stop and whisper to her husband. The two of them turned and
scurried away. Good. We didn’t need witnesses for this.

Rom and I stood and greeted our backup.
Zen pulled an oversized duffle on wheels, which he laid down in front of Rom.
After unzipping the bag, he pulled its sides wide, revealing a leather strappy
thing.

“Muzzle.” Zen lifted the leather thing to
display it for us. “We don’t want any more ghoul bites.”

Thanks for reminding us about that little
problem.

On the inside of the muzzle was a coating
of something. “Silver,” Zen said. “To keep him incapacitated.”

He lifted a metal chain out of the bag.
Iron with little somethings attached to it. Inspecting it closer I realized the
little somethings were in cute shapes. Among them a unicorn, a peace sign, a
four-leaf clover, and a horse.

“Where did you get—Petra,” I
exclaimed. "Your silver charms.”

“Don’t get all emotional and shit.”
Petra's face turned an embarrassed red. “I only sacrificed the ones I never
particularly liked.”

"What about the four-leaf clover
charm? You love that one. It’s from your Miss St. Patrick’s Day pageant last
year.”

“I only got third place. Besides, I
figured we could use all the luck we could get. After all this guy is a ghoul.”

“Oh Petra.” I choked down a bolder the
size of tombstone and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“If you cry, I’ll cry too, so just
don’t,” she said into my shoulder. “Besides I’ll expect you to replace them
with some 18 karat gold charms after all this is over.”

“Deal." I kissed her cheek.

“Ladies,” Zen said. “Please. Can we get
on with this?”

Zen and Rom climbed into the gap in the
vault, while Petra and I fed them supplies from outside.

“The muzzle shall be my task alone,” Rom
had said. He seemed determined that no one else get near the teeth of the
ghoul.

After quite a bit of racket from inside,
Zen poked his head back out the gap. “Duffle,” he demanded. Petra passed the
bag in to him, pushing on the end to cram it the rest of the way through.
Getting the duffle back out again ten minutes later required both Petra and me.
Once the bag passed completely through the opening, the weight of it brought us
to our knees.

As we scrambled out from under it, I saw
the Mr. and Mrs. Nosey striding toward us down the path. Zen and Rom emerged
from the vault just when Mrs. Nosey took out her cell phone. She punched in
three numbers.

“Crap,” I said. “Let’s get out of here quick.
That woman just called the cops.”

With Zen dragging the rolling duffle
behind him, the four of us walked quickly toward the exit. Unfortunately, there
was only one and we had to take a roundabout way to avoid going directly past
the Noseys. My adrenaline didn’t calm until Zen had the duffle in his van.

“I’m sorry,” Petra said. “I’ve gotta run
home and check in with my mom or she’ll have my hide. Honestly, I might as well
be living in Sri Lanka.”

I laughed. “Sri Lanka’s where they punish
by caning?”

“Yeah.” Petra nodded. She gave me a brief
hug. “I’ll see you later. Text me.”

 
My breathing returned completely to normal once Rom and I
were in his car driving toward the old hospital. This time nothing would stop us
from shoving that ghoul through the vortex portal and getting Juliette back.

* * * * *

The ease of transporting the ghoul to the
morgue’s vortex portal didn't worry me. After all, the silver encrusted muzzle
and the silver charm chain incapacitated him. Besides, he was locked inside the
duffle.

But what did worry me was that when we
arrived at the morgue, Billy and Quinn were waiting for us. Billy had a
stubborn defiance in his stance and expression. Quinn just looked blankly
terrified as usual, as if he wouldn’t be here but for Billy’s bullying.

“I thought you said you were leaving us
on our own, Billy,” I said.

"We saw you at the cemetery.” He
sneered. “Took you pussies long enough to find the ghoul.”

“Why don’t you and your lapdog just go,”
I said, nodding toward Quinn. “He seems so scared he’s gonna pee himself any
second.”

“We’re not going anywhere.” Billy crossed
his arms over his chest and took a wide-legged stance. “We’re gonna make
certain we get Juliette this time without any of your screw-ups.”

“If Kizzy dictates your departure, you
depart.” Rom stepped boldly forward into Billy’s face.

The two stood staring at one another and
I expected fists to start flying.

“Enough arguing,” Zen said. “It’s getting
late and this thing isn't smelling any fresher."

“Yeah enough arguing Taylor.” Billy cast
me a smug smile. “We can always call the police to mediate our dispute.”

“Big words,” I said. “But then it always
has been Quinn who’s the moron and you the jerk.”

“I said enough,” Zen shouted. “Let’s get
this over with.”

Something about Billy’s swaggering
attitude put me on edge. I couldn’t determine whether it was the average edge I
always felt around a jerk or whether it was something more.

“Okay, I’ll open the vortex.” Pointing to
Zen I said, ”Then you push the ghoul through, duffle and all.”

“No.” Billy shook his head. “First of
all, how do I know the ghoul is even in there? Second, if he’s unconscious or
crippled in there, how do we know Juliette won’t be when she comes back.”

“Show him the ghoul.” I sighed. “But we
aren’t taking him out of the duffle.”

Zen laid the bag flat before unzipping
it. Pulling open the sides of the black canvas revealed a very awake and a very
pissed off ghoul. His yellow eyes snapped wide open and blazed at us with the
intensity of his anger. But even though he struggled against the chain, the
muzzle and the charms seemed to be keeping him in check.

“Happy now?” I said to Billy before
turning to Zen. “Cut me.” I held out my palm...the previously uninjured one.

When he’d sliced a shallow but effective
cut, I watched the blood well up and marveled at how little pain I felt this
time around. The process of opening inter-dimensional portals was becoming old
hat.

After proceeding to the floor design, I
concentrated on my anger toward Billy as I poured out the droplets of blood
onto its center. The sonic boom, I’d expected came right on schedule. The
blackish violet glow rose and hovered over the design. The rotation accompanied
by jet engine sound began just as I’d anticipated. As the velocity of the
vortex increased, the vacuuming effect sucked at the remaining debris in the
tunnel. The vortex quickly expanded to a size large enough to handle the ghoul.

I backed away so I didn’t get swept in.

“Okay, push the duffle this way.” I
turned back and motioned to Zen.

“Not so fast.” Billy halted me.

While I’d been opening the vortex, he and
Quinn had each been pulling a revolver. Billy’s was pointed at me and Quinn had
his trained on Rom.

“What are you doing?” Zen demanded.

“I’m taking control of this situation,”
Billy snarled. “Take Stephan out of the bag.” He directed Zen. “Now, or I’ll
shoot Kizzy.”

“And I’ll shoot Rom,” Quinn said in an
uncertain trembling voice.

“Now!” Billy shouted.

“Come on Billy.” I held up a hand. “Just
let us push him through and we’ll have Juliette back.”

The mutinous expression on Billy’s face
didn’t change.

“Just let him shoot,” I said to Zen “Push
the duffle in.”

But by then Zen had already reached into
the duffle and had his hands under the ghoul’s armpits.

“No. He’ll do it,” Zen replied, pulling
the ghoul upright.

I thought of something Billy had said.
“Stephan? How do you know the ghoul’s name is Stephan?”

“We’ve had a conversation.” Billy
gestured for Quinn to go to the ghoul. As Quinn unwound the chain from around
the ghoul, Billy continued. “Stephan and I made a deal. I help him and he’ll
return Juliette.”