Spirelli Paranormal Investigations Box Set 2 Read online

  “In the bathroom with some fresh towels. I threw everything in the wash last night.”

  She was turning to go when Jack remembered. “Hey—'help me.' That wasn’t me. That was a message from Joshua.” Jack rubbed his temple. “I think it was a message.”

  Marin stilled. More than a simple cessation of movement, there was an intensity to the stillness that had Jack on edge. He felt like the stalked sparrow as a house cat readied to pounce. She pivoted toward him and the moment passed. “You’re certain he spoke to you?”

  “No.”

  Marin held up a hand to stop him from explaining. “Get dressed and come down for some breakfast. You can update us both at the same time.”

  About twenty minutes later, Jack was feeling much refreshed after a shower and a shave. He followed the smells of cooking food down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  “Tell us about this message the ancient left with you.” Lachlan passed Jack a plate of sausage and bacon once he was seated.

  “Morning, Lachlan,” Jack replied. Jack had racked his brain while he’d showered, and he couldn’t ever remember words being spoken. “He never actually said the words—but I had this really strong sense of a message: help me. Which makes no sense, I know.”

  Marin blinked and Lachlan raised his eyebrows.

  “I mean, he’d just say ‘help me’ if that was what he meant, right?” Jack looked between the two dragons.

  “In which language would you expect an ancient to speak when addressing a modern man?” Lachlan’s expression betrayed no censure.

  “Latin?” Jack asked. “Or Gaelic? Aren’t you guys all originally from Scotland?”

  Lachlan chuckled. “All dragons are not originally from Scotland, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

  “Are you trying to tell me he was speaking to me in some weird dragon way?”

  Two heads nodded.

  “And that’s problematic for a few reasons.” Lachlan wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair with hands clasped over his stomach. “An ancient has requested aid. It would be immoral, and irresponsible, to ignore his request.”

  Jack chewed and swallowed his scrambled eggs. Light, fluffy, fabulous eggs. “Even if the request is unreasonable? What does that even mean: help me?”

  “As dragons age,” Marin said, “they lose touch with the now. Time moves differently—”

  “What she’s saying is that old dragons are usually insane. She’s just trying to be respectful, given my advanced years.” There was a twinkle in Lachlan’s eye as he spoke. Fear of aging and insanity seemed to have no hold over the man sitting in front of Jack.

  “If Joshua has the ability to imprint speech on you, especially a request for help, he’s not crazy.” Marin lifted the coffee pot, a silent question.

  Jack shook his head.

  “If this ancient is as old as Marin believes,” Lachlan said, “if he’s from the time before, and he’s sane enough to retain the concept of communication with humans…that has immense significance for our people.”

  “We need to figure out how to speak with him, help him with his problem, and make sure he doesn’t get hurt in the process.” As Jack summarized what seemed like impossible and conflicting goals, something else occurred to him. “And Joshua is seriously angry.”

  “That’s my fault,” Marin said. “When I opened the dimensional door, I invited him to leave. Lachlan thinks that whatever Joshua wants, it’s here in this world. So he got angry when we asked him to leave.”

  “If you use your nonphysical essence to anchor your physical bodies to this world…” Jack stopped when he saw Lachlan give Marin a censorious look.

  “Go on,” Lachlan urged.

  “Well,” Jack continued, “how did Joshua’s essence end up here without a body? And where is his body?”

  “We don’t know. But those are questions we’d very much like answered.” Lachlan gave Jack a probing look.

  Jack stopped chewing. Mouth full of sausage, he said, “What?”

  “Lachlan thinks that there’s something about you that attracts Joshua, besides your proximity to me.” The subtle emphasis on Lachlan’s name made Marin’s dissent clear. She wasn’t on board with whatever he was proposing.

  “Even if it is proximity and psychic vulnerability, the ancient has made contact twice now with Jack, and Jack’s no worse off. They have a connection.” Lachlan crossed his arms across his chest. His massive chest.

  “You want me to ask those questions. You do realize I become—quite literally—mentally unhinged every time Joshua touches my mind.”

  “But with my help, you won’t,” Lachlan replied.

  Marin pushed away from the table. “What Lachlan means is that he’ll help you connect with Joshua in a safe way that allows you to communicate with him.”

  “Why don’t one of you speak with him directly?” That made so much more sense. And Jack was very attached to his sanity. He wasn’t keen to lose it conversing with an ancient, moody dragon. One whose motives were highly suspect.

  “I told Lachlan how Joshua ripped through the veil I’d wrapped around you. He’s certain he could just as easily have shredded the protection I’d created for myself—implying he wanted to specifically communicate with you.”

  And that was what happened when you missed half of the strategy talks—you got the shit job. If only Jack had known what was happening as he slept.

  That massive, pulsing ball of anger and regret and loneliness wanted to have a sit-down with him. “Why me?” Jack asked.

  “I have no idea. But the opportunity to speak with an ancient was previously unimaginable. I’ll try to make a connection, but if I fail it’s imperative someone speak with him.” Lachlan must have sensed weakness, because he pushed his advantage. “If we don’t discover what the ancient needs from us, he won’t leave.”

  Jack looked at the remainder of his eggs, now cold, and placed his cutlery across the plate. He knew Joshua was in terrible pain. He knew that with more certainty than he knew his own feelings.

  Something inside him said it was the right thing to do. He’d like to smack that something upside the head. Here was another obnoxious thought: could he live with himself if he didn’t do it?

  Finally, Jack said, “You’ll owe me a favor.”

  Lachlan grinned. “I certainly will.”

  After some discussion, they decided that waiting until the evening wasn’t wise. Especially since Joshua had already been successfully lured away from the shop, however unintentionally.

  Jack proposed The Junk Shop. Using either of their homes was out of the question. And a public space meant uncontrollable variables.

  “We have to swing by first. Do some prep at the shop,” Jack said.

  Marin did a poor job of suppressing a smile. “Jack has an Arkan Sonney living at the shop.”

  “Interesting. I’ve only met a few. They don’t usually choose to inhabit dragon establishments.” Lachlan cocked his head thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet him.”

  About an hour later, when Jack unlocked the shop door, Bob was waiting patiently just a few feet away. Had he intuited that Jack needed to speak with him? That was just too much for Jack to consider in this particular moment. The idea of telepathy was difficult enough to handle, but if precognition was also on the table then his brain might implode.

  “Hi, Bob.”

  Before Jack could explain that he was evicting him temporarily, Bob scampered away. Jack trailed behind him all the way to the office. As he entered his office, he heard the front door bells and turned around to make sure it was only Marin and Lachlan, delayed by the increasingly limited parking in the area.

  “In the office,” he hollered over his shoulder. By the time his attention returned to Bob, there were two of them.

  Bob blinked liquid brown eyes at him.

  “Are you trying to act innocent, Bob?”

  If Bob had eyelashes, he’d be batting them, Jack was certain. As it was, he
just gazed soulfully at Jack.

  “This is your buddy from the charity shop?”

  Bob dipped his head.

  “That’s cool that you invited him, it’s just that we’re about to have the nasty visitor from the charity shop come over here.” Jack couldn’t believe he was having this conversation.

  Marin walked up behind him. “Uh oh.”

  “Yeah.” Turning from Marin back to his guests, Jack asked, “Would you guys like to stay at my house? Just for a little while. It should be okay to come back here soon.” Addressing Bob’s friend, Jack added, “We’re working hard to get Joshua—the dragon in your attic—to move out.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Lachlan murmured as he approached. “Nelson is certain that’s not the dragon’s name. He must be able to communicate with him.” Turning his attention to the two Arkan Sonney, Lachlan bowed and said, “Apologies. Lachlan McClellan at your service.”

  Bob’s friend was looking a little nervy, and Jack could hardly blame him. He’d been living in the shadow of an ancient dragon for at least several days, maybe longer. No surprise two showing up in close quarters concerned him. But when Lachlan introduced himself, both Arkan Sonney bowed.

  “Ah, Nelson?” Bob’s friend dipped his head. “Nice to meet you, Nelson. Will my house do for a little while?” Jack asked again.

  Two heads bobbed in unison.

  “Do you need a lift?” Jack winced. Did they teleport? Use public transit? Have some other mode of transport unique to Arkan Sonney?

  “They’ve declined your generous offer,” Marin said.

  Before Jack could pose any more awkward questions, they were gone. “Don’t suppose you have a clue how they do that? Or how they’re getting to my house?”

  Marin shook her head.

  “I’m not sure how they even know where I live.”

  Lachlan snorted. “Even if we did chase them off, for a brief time, you had two Arkan Sonney in your shop. It should be raining gold in here. And such compelling creatures. I do wish they had more of a fondness for dragons.”

  “Bob’s excellent company. Tidy, doesn’t talk much, and makes the place feel lived-in.”

  Marin snorted. “You thought he was a rat up until yesterday.”

  “Not true. I thought he was something rodent-like that wasn’t a rat.” Jack rubbed his neck. “I guess there’s no reason to delay now.”

  “No. It’s time.” Lachlan quirked an eyebrow. “Who’s driving?”

  Marin held up her keys. “Just on the off chance something goes awry, and Jack passes out again. Let’s do this.”

  As Jack walked the block and a half to Marin’s car, he decided he really should have negotiated a better fee. An undefined dragon favor and a flat fee and a bonus if no one died. He’d really dropped the ball this time.

  Shit. He didn’t want Joshua screwing with his head again. Too soon they arrived at Marin’s car.

  The drive seemed even shorter this time, but it was long enough for Jack feel fear and doubt. Maybe some regret. Definitely disappointment that he hadn’t negotiated a better fee.

  When Marin turned onto the charity shop street, Jack could feel echoes of Joshua’s emotions. He thought they were echoes. Or Joshua was there in his mind already. The line between memory and reality wavered. Jack rolled his shoulders. He could do this. “Should we have practiced—”

  “Backstopping your psychic defenses and enhancing your telepathic abilities,” Lachlan said. “I don’t see why. I’m doing the heavy lifting, and I don’t need the practice.”

  “Of course you don’t.” Jack massaged his temple with his thumb. Lachlan was giving him a headache. Remembering how badly his head hurt the last two times he’d encountered Joshua made it ache even more. He’d almost prefer a solid whack on the head. “Don’t suppose anyone knows what kind of long-term damage this stuff is doing to my brain.”

  Neither Marin nor Lachlan replied.

  Marin slowed down as they passed the charity shop and said, “Last time, it took a few miles before I noticed Jack was affected. Granted, I was a little distracted. The idea of an old dragon, some guilt over the doorway, concern about Dad kicking my butt. I had a few things on my mind.”

  “Does it feel like the sky is about to fall? Or is that a human reaction?” Jack asked, more to distract himself from the intense feelings of foreboding than actual curiosity.

  Marin caught his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Completely human, Chicken Little.”

  Lachlan seemed to consider the question, and he didn’t answer for several seconds. “To me it’s a deep knowledge. A well that has no bottom.”

  A chill crawled up Jack’s spine. That, too. He felt it now.

  “He knows we’re here. There’s no doubt.” Lachlan leaned back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes.

  There was no wall around him. No force field. Nothing that Jack could in any way perceive. But he knew it was there, because this time was different.

  This time, Jack was a visitor, not the conduit for Joshua’s emotions. He was on a train that traveled through a barren landscape. But there was no train, just the sensation of gently rolling, of forward progress. And there was no landscape. Just the desolation of a life lived too long, alone.

  Jack was floating. No body tied him to the earth. He wanted to ask where his body was—but the words weren’t there.

  Something pulled him, reeling him back to the ground. Lachlan.

  Jack knew there were questions to ask. But he couldn’t remember them.

  He was back on the train, but the world around him moved with urgency now. Wind whipped his hair. Cold chilled his limbs. Silence pounded into his eardrums, and he felt liquid trickle from his ears. Again, he was pulled away.

  The landscape changed again. The washed-out tones and grey became a thick, sucking, pulling black. A black so deep it consumed what it touched. Jack snatched his hands away, and Lachlan’s tether held tight.

  The rolling motion stopped, the sensation of the train, of solid space, fell away. And then Jack fell. And he kept falling, falling, falling…

  Chapter Five

  Jack’s eyes flew open. His heart raced. Overwhelming relief pulsed through him. He’d been spared. The landing he knew would shatter him into a million pieces never came.

  The first thing he registered when his heart rate slowed and his eyes would focus was one of the more disturbing sights he’d witnessed recently. Marin had her arm wrapped around Lachlan’s shoulders as tears flowed freely down his face. Moved, upset, angered, Jack wasn’t certain. But he was intensely uncomfortable witnessing such a private moment.

  Jack turned away and brushed the damp streaks from his own face. That was when he noticed they were parked outside The Junk Shop. No telling how long they’d been sitting in Marin’s truck. Jack was just fine with that. They could sit in the truck all night, the neighbors be damned.

  When Lachlan eventually spoke, he voice was composed. “Joshua—he was amused by your name for him—Joshua was trapped in the in-between a very long time ago. His entire self, physical body and essence. Without an anchor in a physical plane, he was stranded in the in-between. I don’t know how; that wasn’t clear.”

  “But only his essence, his anchor, traveled to our world,” Jack said. “So where is his body?”

  “Dead a long time now.” Lachlan closed his eyes for a moment. “It takes a long time for a dragon to starve. And in that environment, maybe longer. But I’m certain he starved. I shielded you from his hunger.”

  Jack flashed to that moment of weightlessness, when Lachlan had brought him back down into his own body.

  “That train ride was Joshua’s life.” Jack shook his head. “I’m not sure why I didn’t see it. Maybe I was too wrapped up in the events and the feelings to process it all.”

  “With me as a psychic bridge, Joshua was able to convey a story. You provided the structure, Jack, and I benefitted by watching it all.”

  It had played in his mind as a journey, so what Lac
hlan said made sense.

  “If he has no body, is he a ghost?” Jack asked. But as soon as he asked the question, he knew that wasn’t right.

  “No, not a ghost. His body died, but trapped in the in-between, the entirety of him wasn’t able to die. When his body failed, he was left only as essence. Unable to end his life, trapped in a wasteland, he simply continued.” Lachlan face tightened. “He’s not insane. More sane than any one of us. But desperate for peace. I don’t understand how he was spared. He had no passage of time with which to ground himself, no companionship, no tactile experiences. But he escaped the fate of every dragon who chose to stay in this world, every dragon bred to this world.”

  As Lachlan spoke, Jack started to get a sense of exactly what an ancient was to Lachlan and his people. Not a god, but maybe so far beyond one’s own experience, so important to society, that he came close. A king? An emperor? Or maybe a wise man or shaman.

  Lachlan sighed. “He didn’t mean to harm you or to frighten you.”

  “I know that now,” Jack replied quietly. “And I certainly understand his anger at being asked to return to what he would consider a prison.”

  “By a group of infants, no less,” Lachlan said.

  “You do know what he wants, don’t you?” Jack hated to ask, because he already knew the answer.

  Lachlan nodded.

  And Jack’s heart ached for the man.

  Marin looked between the two men. “What? Is it that terrible?”

  Jack responded, saving Lachlan from speaking the words. “He wants to die. He wants us to help him find a way to end his life.”

  “Oh, Joshua.” Marin drew a deep breath. “But how?”

  Lachlan said he needed some time to review the information and to think about their options. He wanted to reconvene in the morning to come up with a plan of action. Jack wasn’t sure how he could be of any more help, but he’d do what he could. Having been exposed to the dragon’s deepest, most intimate thoughts and feelings, Jack couldn’t help but feel a profound connection with the ancient being.