1 Broken Hearted Ghoul (23 page)

“Come on! Is that all you’ve got?” Mary demanded.

“Perhaps this may help.” Lucas leaned close to me, and opened a saltshaker on her.

Mary curled up, burning. She screamed as she dropped to the floor, my knife still embedded in her chest.

“What was that? Did you use magic?” I stared at him as I tried to get ready for her next attack.

“There are many types of poisons that can hurt a ghoul,” he said. “This one is salt.”

Mary was recovering. “It wasn’t enough salt,” I warned. “Is there more?”

She laughed. “Too bad for you your friend doesn’t have any
real
power. Not that I care. I’ll enjoy eating him after I finish with you.”

Lucas came back toward us after a brief foray into the kitchen cabinets. “This should do it.”

As if Mary was afraid he was right, she summoned up enough strength to push me away from her. I fell back into one of the dining room chairs, smashing it beneath me. She ran toward me with bloodlust in her eyes.

I grabbed one of the broken chair pieces, and waited for her to reach me. Maybe I’d try another spot besides the heart since that didn’t seem to be working.

Her mouth was open, ready to rip me apart. Already the slash on my thigh was burning and painful. I didn’t want to die as an appetizer.

But before she could make it across the room, her body suddenly convulsed in pain. She twisted in mid-jump to try to claw at the thing attacking her. Lucas threw more salt on her from a white bottle. Smoke was rising from her back and head as it burned her.

With a pitiful moan, she ran out the doorway. Her claws scraped the wall as she went.

“What is that stuff?” Debbie came around, clutching the bent sword as though her life depended on it.

“Salt.” He put down the bottle and helped me off the floor. “It was simple, really. Salt reacts with their body chemistry.”

“
Really
?” I limped to another chair where I could try to make the wound in my leg stop bleeding. Blood had seeped into my jeans, and was dripping into my boot. “I wish you’d thought about it a little sooner.”

“At least I was here to think about it at all.” He looked at the wound in my leg. “That is going to be a problem.”

“It already is.” There was a pair of scissors in a sewing basket on a nearby table. I used them to cut the denim fabric away from the wound. It was festering, and smelled terrible.

Lucas took a peek at it. “You’ll have to wash it out.”

Debbie glanced at it, and had to turn away.

“I know that. Help me into the bathroom. This thing hurts worse than most cuts.”

“That is because there was poison on her claws. The wound will not wash out with plain soap and water. I shall see if I can find more salt.”

“Salt? That’s crazy. It’ll be fine.” But the bubbling, spreading wound disagreed. “No one uses salt on a cut. It hurts like hell.”

“They do if they were cut by a ghoul. Stay here.” He went back in the kitchen, and rummaged around a little more. “Ah yes. Plenty of salt. It should be enough to stop the poison. It only takes a short while for it to spread into your bloodstream. Without magic, that is the best we can do. If we wait too long, you could lose your leg.”

He was holding up a saltshaker made into the shape of a cute windmill.

“We should take her to the hospital,” Debbie said.

“There’s no time,” I told her. “She’s going after Abe next.”

“Move your hand, lady.” Lucas loomed over me with the saltshaker.

 “Are you serious? What about antibiotic cream or something?” I couldn’t believe he wanted to put salt in the wound.

“That will not work in this case. I thought you were a warrior woman. Gird your loins, my lady.”

“What gave you that idea?” I gasped as he surprised me by rubbing the salt into the cut. “Hey! I didn’t say you could do that.”

“I did not ask your permission.”

I thought the wound had hurt like hell before. The salt made me grit my teeth, and swear at him. I could feel it tearing through the nerves, and working its way into the rest of my leg.

Lucas sat beside me, and took my hands. “Let me see if I can help with the pain.”

Not sure what to expect—maybe nothing—I forced myself to try to relax. The pain was terrible. It was all I could do to sit there without screaming. I felt hot and cold at once, wanting to flail my arms and legs.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered. “Think calm thoughts. Remember when you allowed me to see your thoughts. Let me in there again. I cannot help you if you do not allow it.”

I nodded, and closed my eyes. I felt distinct warmth spreading through me. It mushroomed until it enveloped me, and slowly began to lessen the piercing agony in my thigh.

My heart was racing, probably from the poison. It was hard to breathe. I knew I was painfully gripping Lucas’s hands, but I couldn’t stop.

“
Shh
. Slow down. Breathe. Clear your mind. Let go of the pain. Let the poison work itself from your body.”

I took some deep breaths, and tried to still my racing heart. The idea of being poisoned by the ghoul was as bad as her attack. I focused on Lucas’s hands and his voice. I felt the pain ease away.

When the pain was bearable, I opened my eyes and smiled at him. “Thanks. That’s better.”

“My pleasure. I wish I could have done more. Having limited abilities is difficult.” He glanced around the demolished room. “We should leave this place.”

“I tried to call Abe,” Debbie said. “There’s no answer.”

“He always answers his phone.”

“Maybe he lost it again.”

I got to my feet. “We’ll have to go to the tattoo shop.” I hobbled toward the opening where the door had been. “For having limited magical abilities, you did pretty good.”

He smiled. “I imagine I was quite a lot better before.”

“Maybe another time.”

Lucas helped me down the stairs, and out to the van. He and Debbie went back inside with a black bag, and brought Elaine down from the apartment. They put her into the back of the van and then got inside.

Debbie gave Lucas the sword with a hopeful expression on her face. “Maybe you can straighten it out on the way.”

“I doubt that, however, I brought more salt with me.” He showed us another handful of salt. “It was all I could find. The salt will not stop her, but it will slow her down.”

“That’s the best we can hope for right now.”

Debbie got behind the wheel of the van again. I probably could have driven, but it was easier to let her do it. She even picked up speed on the city streets as we went toward the mortuary and Deadly Ink.

There wasn’t much salt left. The sword was hopeless. I still had my Beretta, but that hadn’t proven to be much help. Except for the salt, everything else we’d thrown at her just seemed to piss her off.

Lucky for Abe that he had bodyguards—not to mention Dex and Rocky—to stand between him and Mary. Between them, they might be able to subdue, if not kill her. I knew there were other swords at the tattoo shop. If I had the opportunity again, I’d pick one up for the future.

I hoped there
was
a future for all of us.

It was starting to get dark as we approached the mortuary. I had Debbie slow down and park in the lot beside the building. The property was condemned on that side, and no one ever went there. There was a chance we could sneak up on the ghoul before she realized what was happening.

“You know this is probably a trap as well,” Lucas said. “She did not randomly tell you her plans. She is very strong, and believes she can kill Abe. His magic might not protect him.”

“I’m not sure he’d lift a hand to stop her anyway.” I winced as I got out of the van. My leg hurt, but so did every other part of me. “I wasn’t kidding when I said he still loves her. I don’t know if he can hurt her.”

Lucas nodded. “I’ll see what I can do to help. Perhaps more salt.”

“You did good back there.” I smiled at him. “You saved my life anyway. Thanks.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Debbie took the bent sword out of the van.

“You can’t hurt Mary with that,” I told her.

“It’s the only thing I’ve got. I’m taking it with me.”

Brandon wasn’t at the mortuary. I could imagine a frantic call from someone at the tattoo shop taking him in that direction. I hoped he had a sword.

We crept close to Deadly Ink. I couldn’t see anyone sitting around inside the shop, like usual. As we watched, the lights went out.

“Great,” Debbie said. “Now we have to fight a ghoul in the dark.”

Chapter Thirty

I couldn’t argue with that prophecy. “Can ghouls see any better in the dark than humans?” I asked Lucas.

“I wish I could remember. It could be so. We should know shortly. Some creatures have better night vision. Some do not.”

Debbie frowned. “That’s not much help.”

“We’ll have to do the best we can.” I nodded at the interior of the shop. “Unless it was an accident that she turned off the lights, let’s assume that she can see better in the dark.”

“I hear no screaming,” Lucas added. “That would seem to be a good omen.”

“If we can sneak up on her,” Debbie proposed, “We can find one of the other swords, throw the salt on her, and someone can cut off her head.”

I patted her arm. She was shaking. “Good plan. All we have to do is make it work.”

The door to the shop was standing open. We stood on either side of it, peering in.

The front area where people got tattoos was empty. It looked as though everyone had run out. From the streetlight outside, I could see large, dark blotches on the floor and walls that looked like blood. It was possible the screaming was already over.

“What should we do first?” Debbie whispered.

“We have to go down the hall to Abe’s office,” I said. “You stay up here, and look for another sword. We’re gonna need it if we can subdue her.”

“Are you sure?” She bit her bruised lip.

“Yes. The sword is important. Find one, and then come find us.” I hugged her.

“Okay. Be safe, Skye.”

I went first, my Beretta ready. We couldn’t afford for Lucas to be knocked unconscious—in case he could use his magic.

I wasn’t holding out for that. If it happened, it happened. If not, we had to find another way. My bullets, and the salt he had, wouldn’t keep her down for long.

Away from the lights on the street in front, the hall was long and dark. Abe’s office was the last door on the left. There were three other doors that led to storerooms. We’d have to make it past them without any surprises from Mary.

I could feel Lucas right behind me, practically breathing down my neck. At least he was close in case something happened. If the ghoul had any sense at all, she would’ve realized he had some magic by now. He’d be her first target.

There were some scratching noises in the dark that I attributed to mice. At least I
hoped
it was mice. Still no sound of conversation or any movement that I could imagine as human or zombie.

I stopped at the first door. Someone, or something, was behind it. I couldn’t see in the dark except to know that the door was closed. It sounded like someone was crying in that room. I nodded to Lucas, and he surprised me by kicking in the door.

Hmm.
Not exactly what I’d had in mind, but whoever was in there was bound to be surprised too.

A flashlight beam caught me in the eye. “Who’s there?” Brandon whispered. “Is that you, Abe?”

“No. It’s me,” I told him. “Are you okay?”

“She ripped me up pretty bad, Skye. She killed Dex and Rocky, and some poor dude who was having a tattoo put on. She dumped us all in here. I think she thought I was dead.”

“Stay here,” I advised. “Play dead. As soon as we find Abe, I’ll get back to you.”

He sobbed. “Get me out of here, huh? I’ve got three dead men on top of me. Don’t leave me here like this.”

I took a deep breath, and then Lucas and I pulled Brandon out from under the bodies that had covered him. I could only see what the flashlight bounced on, but it looked like he was right. Mary had left her mark on him. I knew what that felt like.

“Are you okay on your own?” I asked him. “Debbie is in front looking for a sword. Maybe you should find her. The two of you hide until we clear this place.”

“A sword didn’t mean anything to her,” Brandon said in a quiet voice. “Without the magic, we couldn’t stop her. Abe might be dead.”

Lucas put his hand on Brandon’s shoulder. “Go to the front with Debbie. Find some salt and rub it into your wounds. Stay down. Let us see if we can locate Abe. Can you do this?”

“Rub salt—are you joking?”

“No. He’s not,” I told him. “Do it. Her claws are poisonous.”

Brandon finally agreed. “I tried to stop her. I had no idea she’d be so strong.” He began walking down the hall toward the front, his gait unsteady. He held his wounded arm against his chest.

“We should find a sword,” Lucas whispered. “We dare not face Mary without one.”

“Maybe there’s one in that storage room with the bodies. You look. I’ll keep going until I find Abe.”

He hesitated, but nodded. “Be wary, lady.”

“I will. You too.”

I left him there, though I missed that feeling that he was standing right behind me. If he could find a sword—and his magic—we might still stand a chance.

I hugged the wall. There was another door that was closed before I reached Abe’s office. I listened at it for a moment, but there was no sound behind it. I didn’t bother opening it.

Continuing on—Abe’s office was next.

I shuddered to think what I’d find inside of it. At this point, I held the Beretta in one hand, and the stun gun in the other. If one didn’t work, I could try the other. She was too fast to use the tranquilizer gun.

I hoped Lucas could find a sword, and catch up with me before I met her again. If not, this might be it for all of us—and I went through all of that pain with the salt in my leg for nothing.

The door to Abe’s office was closed. I listened again—no sound. I had to go in anyway to make sure he wasn’t in there. It was still possible he was alive. He might have been able to summon enough fear for his own survival to act against her. If not, I’d probably find what was left of him.