What's a Ghoul to Do? (2 page)

"Carolyn, you must listen to me," I said sternly, hoping the command would snap her out of her desire to run. "You have to stay with me. I can get you out of here, but only if you do exactly as I say. I will guide you to safety, but we need to be quick—"

He's here!
she interrupted me.
Hide! We've got to hide!

"Damn it," I muttered as I turned around. Sure enough, an ominous dark shadow hung in the doorway, floating back and forth in the opening. If I didn't do something quickly, I'd lose Carolyn. "Stay right here, Carolyn," I said as I stood up. "I'm going to get rid of him if you hide right here until I return. I promise I'll help you find your way. Will you wait for me?"

A feeling that I can only describe as a nod touched my mind. "Good girl," I said, walking toward the black shape. As I got close I could see my breath as I exhaled, and my teeth wanted to chatter. I resisted the urge to shiver and walked purposefully at the black shape.

I stopped when the shadow disappeared in front of me. To my right came a loud thumping noise. I snapped my head to where the noise had come from, but only the wall stared back at me. "So that's how we're going to play it, huh?" I whispered, then gathered my anger and shouted, "Listen, you miserable slug of human compost! You coward! You evil, vile excuse for a man! I think you're afraid of me, and I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that you won't follow me if I leave this room, because you don't have the guts!" With that I dashed out of the room, and immediately felt the dark male energy give chase.

I tore down the hallway and grabbed the banister, turning the corner to jump down several stairs in one leap. The dark energy behind me seemed to thrum with excitement as my adrenaline surged. I could feel him trying to gather his strength. In a moment he would try something dirty, and I made sure to keep one hand on the railing for balance. It was a good thing I did, because in the next moment I felt a hard thud in the center of my back, and a microsecond later a strong tug on my right breast. "You son of a bitch!" I swore at him as I shook it off and continued down the stairs. "I'll get you for that!" I said as I reached the first floor and dashed to my duffel bag. I scanned the living room, looking for what I knew had to be there, and feeling the slow, prickly sensation of something snaking around my neck.

I scowled and moved forward into the living room, searching the walls intently. "Eureka," I said after a moment. "Gotcha, you rat bastard!" I moved closer to study the small black hole that I'd spotted in the atmosphere just above the wall. The hole was nothing more than a small one-foot-by-one-foot section of air right next to the wall that to the naked eye looked vaporous and was tinted a light gray. I could sense the energy behind me shift from hungry to nervous. "You didn't think I knew about this little doorway of yours, did you?" I said over my shoulder as I set the duffel down and squatted to pull out my drill. "Let's see how much of a bully you are after we close up this bad boy, shall we?"

I dug out three spikes made of magnetized metal, and a hammer to help drive them home. The force behind me thudded into my back with all his might, and I pitched forward as my head hit the wall. "You ass!" I said, turning to face him. In front of me I saw the dark shadow again, and in my mind's eye conjured a face that was mean and full of rage.

Stop!
he shouted at me.

I laughed and held my drill up to him. "Time to shut the portal," I said, and turned back to the wall. My drill was battery operated, which prevented the likes of him from screwing around too much with it, and allowed me to begin the drilling.

No!
he screamed again, and to my right there was an incredibly loud bang!

I laughed at his futile efforts, and after I'd completed three holes I turned around. "Not so tough now, are you?"

The black shadow hovered in front of me, and I could sense that his attention was quite focused on the three spikes at my feet. "This is your little gateway, isn't it?" I said, pointing to the area where I'd drilled the holes. "Well, let me tell you something, pal. I'm not going to stand for it. You have ten seconds to make a choice. If you stay here I will help you cross over to the other side, where you'll have to face what you've done and be held accountable. Or you can head through here now, and be locked in down there until you're ready to face your own demons and go home on your own."

The energy in front of me wavered for a moment, and for a split second I thought I'd convinced him to let me help him. But I was sorely disappointed when the miserable scum grabbed my boob
again!
I growled low in my throat and whirled around, snatching the magnetic stakes and inserting the first into the hole. Behind me there was an audible male scream as I lifted my hand with the hammer, preparing to drive it home on the head of the spike. "Do-or-die time, buddy!" I yelled, and brought the hammer down. A split second before I made contact with the spike I felt the ghost behind me dash into the portal I was preparing to close. "Coward!" I roared at him as his energy dissipated into the wall.

I finished pounding in that stake, then moved on to the other two. After I'd finished I stood back a little, eyeing my handiwork. The wall was a mess, with plaster and bits of drywall on the floor, but at least the portal was gone, never to return—that is, as long as the stakes were in place.

I tucked the drill and hammer into my duffel, then quickly went back upstairs. To my immense relief I could sense that Carolyn was still hovering in the corner. "Hey, there, girl," I said gently as I eased into the room. "I'm sure you heard everything. He's gone, Carolyn. The man who hurt you is gone for good."

I'm afraid,
I felt her say.

"I know you are, but trust me: I can help you with that. First, show me what happened."

I
don't want to….

"I know, I know. But sweetheart, I need to see it. We both need to see it. Take me to the end of it, if the beginning and the middle were too painful. Take me to that time right before you found yourself confused and lost."

There was a pulling sensation to my right, and I looked over to the far corner of the room. I saw a struggle taking place. Carolyn was naked and bleeding from her nose. Her attacker was standing over her and had her gripped by the throat. She was clawing at him, her eyes wild with terror. My own insides tightened as I watched the scene unfold. This was the worst part of the job. Seeing what really happened to innocent people in those final terrifying moments was an awful thing to experience.

"That's good, Carolyn," I said, hating that I was putting her through this, but knowing it was absolutely necessary. "Now go a little bit further, honey. Go beyond that moment where you're fighting for your breath."

The scene changed, and I saw Carolyn's murderer drop her limp body on the floor. His head then snapped up as I heard the faint sound of a siren. In the next instant the killer dashed out of the room, leaving Carolyn lying where she was.

"Good, honey," I said when his image had left the room. "That's terrific. Now, I need you to focus on your body for a moment. Can you see that?"

I
need to get up!
she said.
I
need to run away!

"But you can't, can you?" I said. "You can't, Carolyn, because you're not breathing. See?" I said, pointing to the lifeless image of her. "Your body has died, my friend. It's time for you to accept that."

I had a sudden, almost overwhelming sensation of deep sadness in my chest, and I knew that Carolyn had finally registered that she was dead.

I said, "Carolyn, listen to me. Even though your body has stopped functioning, your soul needs to move forward. I can help you do that, but you'll need to do exactly as I say. Pay close attention to my words and follow my directions and I'll get you out of here, okay?"

With relief, I felt that mental nod come into my mind. "Good girl. Now, above you I want you to sense a great bright light coming down from the heavens, through the ceiling, and descending onto your head. Can you sense this, Carolyn?"

There was a pause, and then,
Yes.

"Wonderful! You're doing great!" I praised. "Now, as this light envelops you, I want you to feel its warmth, its goodness, its purity, and its love. Can you feel all of those things, Carolyn?"

Another pause, then an excited,
Yes!

"Awesome! Now, in front of you there should be a path. It may look a bit like a tunnel; sometimes it's different depending on the person. Can you see this path?"

I can.

"Great. I need you to be very brave and take a step onto it. It leads to more of the light, more of that love that you're sensing right now. It's a good path to follow, and while you're on it you will never be hurt again."

I held my breath, waiting for Carolyn to make that next oh, so critical move. If she blanched, I'd have to come back and try to coax her over another time. If she went for it, she'd find her way to the other side without worry. Finally I sensed something like acceptance from her, and right before I felt her move forward, I clearly heard her say,
Tell my parents I love them. Tell them I'll look after Midnight and I'll be all right now.

I smiled brightly. "I promise I'll get the message to them, girl. You take care—okay?" But she was already gone. In the next instant I became aware of the silence. I opened my eyes and looked around. The room was empty; there was no energy in it besides myself. As I sent out my intuitive feelers, the room felt warm and clean and happy. I smiled and stood up, and, glancing at my watch, I realized I needed to get a move on. My next client was meeting me at my office in about a half hour.

I made my way back down the stairs, retrieved my duffel, and headed out the door. Cassandra's car was parked in front of the brownstone. I met her at the bottom of the steps and she said, "Well? How'd it go?"

"Ghost is clear!" I sang. I loved that line.

"You got rid of it?" she asked me, peering anxiously up the stairs.

"Yep. And there are a few things I need to tell you before I take off."

"Go ahead," she said as she fished around in her purse and pulled out her checkbook.

"Carolyn has a message that needs to be delivered to her parents. She says that she'll look after Midnight, and that she's going to be all right now."

Cassandra gasped. "Oh, my," she said.

"That message makes sense to you?"

"Well, yes. Midnight was the Kettlemans' cat. I know that because I have a few cats of my own, and Mrs. Kettleman was very fond of her pet. Last week when I called to tell her that we had an offer on the house, she sounded so sad. When I asked her why she said that they had to put Midnight to sleep that morning; the poor thing had kidney failure."

"Good, then the Kettlemans will know that the message truly came from their daughter."

Cassandra scribbled in her checkbook while I went on with my directions. "Also, there are three spikes pounded into the living room wall—

"There are three
what
driven into
where?"
Cassandra squealed.
Oops.
I may have forgotten to disclose that sometimes I needed to make a few handy adjustments to the architecture.

"It was completely necessary, Cassandra. It was either pound in a few stakes or have this house hang on the market for another few years."

"But why?" she asked me.

I inhaled and tried to explain. "The man who murdered Carolyn was as nasty in death as he was in life. Energies like him often create a portal or doorway to a lower plane of existence where they can become stronger and more deviant. The only way to combat them is to shut their access back to this plane, and that means closing the portal."

"Okay," said Cassandra. "I think I'm following you."

"The way to close them is by using magnets that create a barrier, because they screw up the electromagnetic energy of the portal. The stakes I used are highly magnetic, which should keep that nasty man from ever bothering anyone again."

"But how am I supposed to explain stakes driven into a wall to prospective buyers?" Cassandra asked me.

"You hire a handyman to come over and patch over the stakes. They're driven far enough into the wall that, with a little spackle and some paint, no one will ever know."

Cassandra looked relieved. "Well, I can handle that," she said with a chuckle. "Is there anything else?"

"Nope. That about does it. The house is clean and clear and shouldn't give you any more trouble, but just in case, here's my card," I said, extending it to her. "And if you know of anyone who can benefit from our services, I'd appreciate it if you'd pass it along."

"Of course," she said, taking my card and giving me a broad smile. "Thank you, M.J., I'll get a handyman over here right away."

I took my leave of Cassandra and jogged to my car, checking my watch again. I was cutting it really close.

A few feet away from my auto, I hit the button on the key chain to release the locks. The car gave a toot of the horn, and from inside I heard a perfect mimic of the noise. "I'm comin', Doc," I said as I peered through the glass. My African Gray parrot sat perched on the steering wheel, bobbing his head in excitement as I reached for the handle. Sliding into the seat I asked, "What's up, Doc?"

"Doc's cuckoo for Coco Puffs!" he answered back, flipping his red tail and bobbing his head.

"You're cuckoo all right," I said, giving him a pat on the head as I started the engine.

At the age of twelve I'd received Doc as a Christmas present from my rather eccentric grandmother, Pearl. She'd given me the six-month-old bird only three months after I'd lost my mother to cancer. It'd been her very clever way of coaxing some life back into me, as I'd refused to speak a word since the death of my mother.

Grandma Pearl had offered me the noisy bird that day, and even now her words still rang in my ears. "Mary Jane," she said as I opened the cage and extracted the parrot, my eyes wide with wonder, "this is a unique type of parrot that bonds for life with only one person, so you must take special care to treat him with respect and friendship. He will learn to talk soon, so you'll need to work on his vocabulary, and make sure the words you teach him are acceptable for polite society, because once an African Gray learns a word, they never forget it."