Dead Endings: Book 2, Chapter 4

The two thugs looked at her.

“I hate the Mets,” said Antoni.

“Yankees?”

“They can die in a fire,” said the other guy.

“I’m Everett!” said Everett.

Cailen leaned back in her chair to enjoy the spectacle that was a nattily dressed Asian kid enthusiastically shaking hands with Eastern European gangsters that could, and might still, break his face. It went better than she expected.

Thug number two was Milosz, or Milo for short. While he hated baseball, he was a huge MLS fan and, unlike Jan and Antoni, had no ability to speak of. He found the whole ghost thing fascinating, though, and got on with Everett like a house on fire once they really started talking. Antoni could only roll his eyes, which endeared him greatly to Cailen. They were deep in their own conversation about the best bars in Williamsburg when Gabriella’s curly head appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Cailen, could you come up? I need you for something.”

Cailen set down her tea and joined her friend upstairs.

“Any progress?” she asked as she followed Gabriella down a carpeted hallway.

“I think so,” Gabriella said. “But I need you in order to test something.”

Inside a medium-sized back room with floral wallpaper, Jan and Marta sat on a small single bed. Jan’s grandmother was nowhere to be seen.

Cailen waved at the girl and tried to look cheerful for her.

Gabriella smiled brilliantly. “Marta, this is Cailen. She’s going to help us with a little test.”

The girl’s large blue eyes grew even wider.

“Don’t worry,” Cailen told her. “I’m a professional test person.” She looked at Gabriella. “What’s today’s test, boss?”

“I want you to go into the bathroom down the hall and drop your walls.”

“So…I’m bait?”

“You got it.”

“And what do I do if our smelly friend takes interest?”

Gabriella smiled. “Go ahead and block her. I just want it called out of this immediate area. If she comes, give me a shout, okay?”

“Oh boy!” Cailen said with mock enthusiasm as she marched to the designated toilet. She clicked on the light.

Pale pink towels and maroon accents awaited her. The bathroom was dated but spotlessly clean, and smelled of rose water. Cailen strolled over to the pedestal sink and looked at herself in the mirror that hung over it.

“Here goes…” she murmured to her reflection.

She carefully pulled down the mental shell she’d constructed to keep her aura from leaking all over the place. It had taken her months to figure out the trick, but now that she had the shape of it firmly in her mind, pulling it up and down was getting easier. Which was lucky for her. Apparently, her aura was like a disco ball without a shade; it called the undead to party down.

According to Gabriella, that was because spirits craved the energy that surrounded people. It attracted them and fascinated them, even if they generally couldn’t do much to or with it. Warmth in a cold place, maybe, Cailen thought. Like winos gathered around a trashcan fire in winter. Whatever the reason, it worked, and she expected company soon.

A minute ticked by. Cailen turned the taps on and off. She fiddled with the sink plug, gave the seashell-shaped bar of soap a poke. Nothing rattled the bath curtain or disturbed the air that she could detect.

Another minute passed. And then another. Worried that she wasn’t “come hither” enough, Cailen tried projecting her aura a little, too. After another tense minute, she was rewarded for her efforts by the approach of…something. Like before, it was very, very faint, but the interest and prick of eyes on her was unmistakable. Relieved, Cailen waited for the unease in the atmosphere to take the shape of their target.

“C’mon…” she grumbled. “Mirror, toilet bowl, whatever. Just give me a sign and we can call it a day.”

She’d only been in there a few minutes, but the ugly feeling that followed the spirit made her itch to call Gabriella. She needed a solid sighting first, though.

Cailen stared at the sink drain, waiting. It stared back. Blinked.

She recoiled from the basin.

“Jesus,” she hissed. The feeling of “being watched” took on a whole new meaning now.

“Benitez!” Cailen shouted. “I’ve got an eyeball!”

There was an answering sort of murmur from down the hall. Warily, Cailen inched back toward the sink and peered in. It was still there. She turned on the hot tap and let the water build to a scalding steam.

Take that, eyeball.

She let it run for a few seconds more before turning it off and hurrying back to the bedroom. Inside, she found Gabriella sitting cross-legged on the bed, wreathed in a soft light. Jan was squinting at the display with a touch of wariness while Marta looked on in awe.

“…See?” Gabriella said. “With a little training, spirits have no power to hurt you or bother you.”

“I…can do that?” Marta asked.

“It won’t look exactly the same, but the result will be.”

“Success?” Cailen asked her.

“I think so. As I suspected, the spirit might be in pieces, but if there’s a focus, the pieces tend to converge. And that means they can be repelled with a bit of work. I was worried that they’d be sort of aimless and we couldn’t affect them anymore.”

Jan still looked unhappy.

“I don’t see why you can’t toast it.”

“We don’t exactly have an army of exorcists we can call in to make sure she’s flushed from every corner,” Gabriella said. “And since we can’t be sure of erasing all the pieces, repelling them is the best option.”

The gangster wasn’t convinced. “I want her out of here. Permanently.” He pointed at Cailen. “Have her do whatever she did again to get it into one place, then fry the bitch!”

Cailen leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. “Do you even know what you’re asking for? The thing’s like confetti. What am I supposed to do, go around sweeping stray bits of her into my spirit bucket?”

“Jan,” Gabriella said firmly. “It would be a waste of time, and she’d still bother Marta because Marta doesn’t have any defenses. More likely than not, she will fade away over time, but it’s the now that’s important. I can teach Marta how to defend herself and keep all ghosts away–not just this one. And,” she said, holding up a finger as he opened his mouth again, “I’ll make sure she’s shielded until she can do it herself.”

Jan’s mouth twisted slightly. “You’ll stay here until she can?”

“Half the time,” Gabriella said. “If Antoni’s willing, I can show him how to really be a ‘stay-not’ and he can take the day shift.”

Cailen watched, amused, as Jan seemed to struggle with the idea of having Gabriella around all night. Between the two of them, Marta looked a little lost and forgotten in the exchange. Cailen caught her eye and waggled her eyebrows at the girl. She got a small smile in return.

“Fine,” Jan said, and slid off the bed. Gabriella rose as well.

“Cailen, could you sit with Marta for a few minutes? We need to talk to Antoni.”

“Sure,” Cailen said, flopping down onto the warm spot Jan had occupied.

“We’ll just be a few minutes,” Gabriella said reassuringly to Marta. The girl only nodded.

Once they were out of earshot, Cailen said, “Must be pretty weird having all these random people show up in your room.”

Marta stared at her.

“But I totally empathize. With the ghost thing, I mean.” Cailen lay back on the covers, arms behind her head. “I had the same problem, you know.”

“…You did?” Marta asked.

“Yup. I started seeing things when I was just a few years older than you, and boy did it suck. Ghosts can be annoying.”

Marta stared down at her hands. “Why won’t it leave me alone? I didn’t do anything to it.”

“Mmm…I don’t know how much Gabriella explained, but you know how we can see stuff that not many other people do?”

She got a nod.

“Well, those ghosts ‘see’ us, too, and that makes them interested. Our abilities make us stand out to them, and whatever place they’re in is kind of lonely, I guess.”

“So they’re…lonely?”

“Some of them.” Cailen sat up. “Gabriella thinks that all spirits are suffering in some way and can’t move on. That they seek us out for help or attention, whatever.” She made a flapping gesture with one hand.

Marta caught the sarcastic edge to her tone. “But you don’t think so?”

Cailen grinned at her. “Some of them, sure. But this one? Nah. Some ghosts are just assholes.”

The girl’s eyes widened at the use of profanity, but it had the effect Cailen was hoping for: another smile.

“C’mon,” Cailen said, bouncing off the bed. “I’ll show you my technique for repelling jerk ghosts.”

She led the girl back to the bathroom, now free of any chunks of eye. An animated rumble of voices rose from the living room below, but Cailen brought Marta’s attention back to her.

“So Jan was saying that this lady shows up all over the place, right? She’s not big into privacy or boundaries.”

Marta looked unhappily at the bathtub, as if remembering something unpleasant. “She was in the faucet once. I tried to take a bath, but the…the hair…”

Cailen nodded. “I saw her in the drain. Well, a piece of her, anyway. I’m guessing she goes to your line of sight to get your attention.”

Cailen turned on the tap so that a gentle trickle of water swirled about the basin.

“Let’s give her a call.”

Marta shook her head furiously. “Please don’t! Don’t call her! She…”

Cailen took Marta’s hand in her own. “Trust me.”

The girl’s lip trembled. Cailen gave her hand a squeeze.

“If you give them an inch,” Cailen said calmly, “ghosts will take a mile, but in the end, what you give them is up to you. You have the power in this situation.”

Cailen dropped her walls and amped up her output. Between her energy and the girl’s aura dribbling all over the place, she was confident the spirit would come quickly this time.

“A lot of this stuff is just how you look at it,” she continued. “Ghosts are kind of freaky, yeah, but they’re just air most of the time. They do damage when they get in your head, but only because we let them. Because we’re scared.”

The atmosphere in the bathroom grew heavy. The shadows seemed to deepen in the corners, behind the curtain, under the sink.

“But I am scared,” Marta whispered.

“Then this is what you do,” Cailen said firmly. “Look at the drain.”

Marta’s breath hitched as they leaned forward. Cailen drew in closer next to her and put an arm over her narrow shoulders.

“Don’t be scared. We’re the ones calling her to this spot. We know exactly where she’ll show, so there’s no surprise here.”

The girl took a wavering breath as the inky darkness began to collect in the drain. Awareness pulsated in the room, and a hint of white began to expand in the circle of darkness.

Cailen turned and grinned at her. “All right, soldier! Hand me that toothbrush!”

Marta looked from Cailen to the drain and back, confused. Reluctantly, the girl stretched her arm over the sink and snatched a pink toothbrush from the wall holder. She placed it in Cailen’s palm.

“Why, thank you,” Cailen said, and jammed the end of it down into the drain where a ghastly eyeball was now staring up.

Marta gasped.

Cailen stabbed the spot with gusto a few more times and gave it a swirl for good measure. When she lifted the end of the toothbrush out of the drain, the eyeball was nowhere to be seen.

She handed the toothbrush back to Marta and turned off the tap.

“And there you have it. The Delaney Special Ghost Busting Technique Number Forty-Two.”

Marta stared at the toothbrush with what looked like a mixture of amazement and disgust.

“What are you two doing in here?” Gabriella asked from the doorway.

Both girls jumped.

“Gabriella, my heart!” Cailen moaned dramatically, clutching at her shirt.

“Your heart, my butt,” Gabriella muttered. “You done? Looks like we have things sorted here for the moment, so I was hoping you’d pop back home for me and grab some of my stuff for tonight. Milo said he’d drive you there and back.”

“Sure.”

“And Jan wants to speak to you, Marta,” Gabriella added, eyeing the toothbrush in Marta’s hand quizzically.

The small girl shoved the toothbrush in the shirt pocket of her pajamas and ducked under Gabriella’s arm. She paused halfway under and looked back at Cailen.

Cailen gave her the thumbs-up. Marta scampered away.

“Do I even want to know?” Gabriella asked after the girl had disappeared down the stairs.

“Probably not.

Anything particular you want from the apartment?”

Gabriella sighed and shook her head. “Just overnight stuff and a t-shirt for tomorrow. I’ll shower when I get home.”

“You really okay staying the night?” Cailen asked. “Toiletries aside, I mean.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. There’s no love lost between Jan and me, but I’m not doing it for him. Plus, this might actually give me a little practice for what I want to try on our other problem.”

“Oh yeah? I almost forgot about that kid for a minute. What’s the plan?”

Gabriella made a circle with her index fingers and thumbs, and then held it over Cailen’s head. Cailen looked up.

“You’re going to crown him King Brat and retire?”

“No. I’m going to belly-band him!”

“You mean like a gastric band? Then why’s it above my head?”

Gabriella pouted. “Because that’s where your aura tops out!”

“This is why we always lose Charades,” Cailen sighed. She batted Gabriella’s hands away. “You sure it’s cool to try that on Marta?”

Her friend laughed. “I did it to you for years. How do you think we got through the day without Mr. Oats sitting in your lap at school?”

Cailen shuddered at the memory of the long-dead math teacher at their high school. He’d moped around the freshman wing and could often be found staring blankly at students in the common areas, as if confused to find them not in class. Gabriella had tried talking to him a few times, but he hadn’t wanted to move on, so she’d let him be.

It had never occurred to Cailen to ask why he hadn’t followed her around like other spirits seemed to when Gabriella wasn’t there to act as repellent. Now she knew.

“You put me on an aura diet?”

Gabriella laughed. “Not exactly. With you, I had to tie it off. Your aura would just spill out if left unchecked. I can’t really do aura manipulation, so I was never able to permanently fix it, but it did the job until it faded and I’d just tie you off again.”

“Thanks. I think. I knew you ‘muffled’ me somehow, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“Eh, you got a bit better over the years,” Gabriella said with a smile. “And now you’re just fine!”

Cailen shrugged. “So you think it’ll work on the kid? Won’t it just fade out, like it did on me?”

“That’s the beauty of the band,” Gabriella explained. “I won’t be trying to cut him off–just knock him down a few pegs. And since I’m not trying to close the ‘tap’ completely, I’m hoping it’ll last longer. I really think this kid just needs more time to understand what he’s doing and listen to reason.”

“You’d be better off plugging that kid’s tap permanently.”

“That’s…not a good idea,” Gabriella said slowly. Cailen sighed.

“Anyway,” Gabriella continued, “I’ll take a few runs at it this week on Marta’s aura, because the principle is the same. It’ll make it easier for her to practice getting walls up, and it’ll discourage the ghost from hanging around all the time.”

“Good luck, captain,” Cailen said with a salute. “Back in a bit with your stuff.”

“Thanks.”

Cailen trundled down the stairs and waved at Milo to catch his eye. He was still sitting on the sofa chatting to an animated Everett. Antoni and Jan were in the kitchen talking to Jan’s grandmother and Marta, from the sounds of things.

“Ready any time you are,” she called.

He got up the same moment Everett did.

“I’ll go grab the car,” the gangster said. “Be out front in a few minutes.” As he ducked outside, Everett joined Cailen by the door.

“This is the best. Night. Ever!” Everett cried happily, clutching his notebook. “I got so much new info–these guys are incredible! Did you know there are tons of ghosts in Poland?! And there’s even one in Greenpoint that Milo swears is over a hundred years old! And the one here could be related to–”

“Everett,” Cailen said, grabbing his shirt by the collar. “Let’s go outside.”

“O-okay.”

Cailen tugged him through the door and shut it behind them. She let him go and stared out over the block.

“Something wrong?” he asked. “Did something happen? Will Gabriella be able to help Marta?”

“Yes, no, yes,” Cailen said.

She looked up at him under the light of the porch. Earnest puzzlement was writ across his young face. He still clutched his notebook to his chest like a baby. Notes for his precious book. It was going to be like kicking a puppy.

“Ev,” she said. “I know this is a thrilling time for you, but it’s not so thrilling for everyone else. That ghost in there has been eating at that poor girl for months, and you’re going on about how exciting it all is loud enough for the people at the bar down the street to hear.”

His face fell. “I didn’t mean…”

“It’s not just her. What about Antoni or Jan? Or his grandmother?”

“Antoni…and Jan?”

Cailen rubbed the bridge of her nose, frustrated that she’d have to spell this out.

“Not that I like the guy, but Jan looks almost as dead on his feet as Marta because of all this. And Antoni seems to feel responsible for all of it, too. Did you ever stop to think that ghosts are nothing but bad memories for these guys? For anyone that sees this shit?”

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

“What do you think would’ve happened if Jan hadn’t found someone to help?”

“The ghost would’ve kept hanging around…?”

Cailen shook her head. “Let me put it a different way. Why do you think there aren’t many people who see ghosts?”

“…Because it’s a rare ability?”

“Is it? When I first met Gabriella, I asked her why I hadn’t met anyone else with it. ‘You probably have,’ she said. ‘It’s just a hard thing for some people to live with.’ And you know what?” Cailen continued, holding up her right wrist. “She was right.”

She tilted her wrist in the light, so Everett could see the off-white sheen of faint scar tissue.

She lowered the arm. “I’m just saying that if you want to keep at this–keep going to The Laundry or following Gabriella on her jobs–you should take it down a few notches. Okay?”

A car honked at them from the street.

“That’s my ride,” Cailen said. “Catch you tomorrow or something.”

She turned and headed for the car. Milo popped open the door when she neared, and as she got in, she looked back and saw that Everett’s shocked face was still following her. She waved as they pulled away.

To be continued in Chapter 5.