Soul Cage (7 page)

The light wiped away any
chance she might have had to see the journey. But she definitely
felt the arrival. Maureen landed with a harsh thud onto a very hard
surface. Blinking, she held up her hands to see where she
was—

Nothing.

Total darkness.

But it
felt…familiar.

"Well?" came Alice's
voice. The echo made it sound as if her counterpart were yelling
down through a sewer pipe.

"I'm somewhere. It's
just…dark."

"Are you sitting on
something?"

"Yeah…" she patted the
slick surface beneath her bottom. "It feels like plastic. You
coming?"

"You think that's a good
idea?"

Maureen wasn't sure if it
was or wasn't, or if Alice was just stalling because she was
afraid. "Well I'm fine. Are you scared?"

"No…I'm just worried about
the
Grimoire
from
this end." She paused. "I don't think Rhonda could ever really get
into Dags' mental plane—because I don't think anyone can. But the
book's here, and now it's damaged. So, should I stay here and
protect it?"

Something touched
Maureen's shoulder, and ashamedly so, she screamed like a little
girl.

"Maureen—it is nice to
meet you."

Who—?

"Is that Geist?" Alice
called out.

Geist?

Maureen reached out and
her hands touched flesh. A few more pokes and she realized she was
touching his neck. "You're pretty solid in here."

"Yes. It is because I
exist on all planes simultaneously."

Light flared overhead and
Maureen squinted again. Geist came into view—or rather—Joe Halloran
did. "Wait…you're Geist?"

"Yes." He tilted his head
to her right. "Oh. Yes. This shape is the one Zoë prefers I
assume."

Maureen frowned. "Really.
She doesn't want you to look like Dags?"

"No." His gaze shifted to
something behind her. "Alice—are you well?" he said in a much
louder voice, as to make sure Alice could hear him in the
dark.

"Yes I am,
Geist."

"Good. I believe you are
correct that someone should stay with the
Grimoire
. I will do this while you
join Maureen in central control."

Central control? Maureen
leaned in close to him. He
looked
like Joe, but he
talked
like Sheldon Cooper. What was
it she'd learned while in the Abysmal Throne? Geist was technically
the planar equivalent of a program that ran the day to day
functions of the outer planes?

Or…something like
that.

He refocused on her. "I
prefer to think of myself as an ancient consciousness amassed by
the continual use and application of universal principles whose
existence serves a higher purpose."

Oh. Hell, and he reads
minds!
Maureen winced. She had no idea
what he'd just said. "Oh yeah right. Look—"

The darkness shook.
Maureen was happy she hadn't tried to stand or she'd have fallen
back on her butt. "What was that?"

"The book is vibrating—"
Alice shouted in the dark.

"Rhonda is forcing her
power into the book. This is not acceptable. Alice Bonville, please
step through the tear. I will take your place."

And then he was gone. A
few seconds later Alice tumbled into Maureen and the shaking
stopped. Maureen waited a few minutes before she spoke. The light
Geist had popped into the air, a tiny but powerful firefly,
remained. "So…what just happened?"

"The
Grimoire
is dark," Geist's voice
echoed over them. "She has withdrawn the spell. The exchange was
successful. But I am afraid it will not take her long to figure out
what you have done. I have ejected the torn page to prevent her
from trying to open the
Grimoire
again. If you wish to convey your intent to your
friends, you must take the next opportunity."

Maureen looked at Alice,
whose white hair was now in her face. "Geist…what do you mean you
ejected the torn page?"

"Exactly that. The
Grimoire is only accessible as a viable means of information when
all the pages are present, as demonstrated during the time the
Guardian was unable to access the contents due to having a single
page missing. I have duplicated the event once again to prevent the
witch from causing any more damage, or preventing her shadow from
gaining its own foothold into the Guardian's psyche."

The two Familiars blinked
at one another. "Geist…" Alice said in a cautious tone. "You
ejected the torn page, which has memories of Maureen on it. That's
how she was gaining control."

There was a pause. "I seem
to have miscalculated."

Maureen slapped her hands
to her face. "Great. Does that mean I can't control
him?"

"No, it does not. But in
order for you to gain control enough to present your message to
anyone outside of the Mental Plane…the Guardian must be
subdued."

"I don't like the sound of
that," Alice muttered.

Maureen looked at Alice.
"What does that mean?"

"I will attempt to create
a rise in temperature. Such physical stimulation has, in my
observation, proven to be quite accomplished at softening the
control of the astral form."

Alice laughed at Maureen.
"That is one confused face."

"I don't have a fucking
clue what it was he just said."

"He's going to give Dags a
fever. It'll weaken his astral enough so that you can step
in."

"A fever?"

As if on command, the flat
black surface they sat on grew warm. Maureen and Alice stood as the
temperature in the room steadily increased at an alarming
rate.

"Geist! Stop!" Alice held
out her hands under the light of the firefly above them. "What are
you doing?"

"Increasing the
temperature."

"To what?"

"One hundred and four
point two two—"

"Geist! Take that back
down or you'll send him into a coma!"

Maureen wiped at her
sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. "So…this is an all
powerful program, eh?"

Alice gave a long, drawn
out sigh.

The temperature dropped
but did remain warmer than before. "I seem to have miscalculated
once again."

"What does that mean?"
Maureen asked.

"The Guardian has lost
consciousness."

Maureen glared at Alice.
"I always said programs were only as smart as the gits who write
them."

•••

Jason waited with Nona and
she appreciated his attentiveness. He treated her no different now
than he had when they were lovers, no matter that she was much
older now, with a solidly larger body and wrinkles. He still looked
at her as if he were looking at the Nona of thirty years
ago.

They were in the kitchen,
Jason and Nick preparing a meal for herself and Joe. The cop had
come in not long after the initial surge of magical use ended.
Though exhausted from the day, he'd felt it when he walked in the
house. Entering the kitchen, he'd given Nona a kiss, then attempted
to kiss Jason, who dodged before Joe could succeed. She'd noticed
the two had a more than close relationship, more of what Zoë called
a bromance. She just wished Daniel and Dags could get along as
well.

Joe set a rock on the
counter.

"What's that?"

"When Zoë packed a few
things up for her new place, I put that rock inside the box. I had
no idea that was Tim's rock. But the box ended up at my place—so
he's been with me ever since she moved."

Tim abruptly appeared and
looked at everyone, his large dark eyes darting from face to face
to face, then he looked around him. "Whoa…where am I?"

"The new Society House,"
Nona said as she slipped off her stool and opened her arms wide.
"It's good to see you."

Tim grabbed hold of Nona
and squeezed. He and Steve had practiced at becoming corporeal over
the past year—especially around Zoë. "Oh it's good to be seen." He
stepped back, nodded at Jason and Nick, then looked around again.
"Where's Zoë?"

"She's in Montreal," Jason
said. "With Daniel."

"Daniel—?" Tim narrowed
his eyes. "Frasier?"

"Mmhmm," Nona said.
"Daniel wanted to take her on a short vacation. You know, get her
away from Dags and Rhonda."

The ghost's face darkened.
"What is up with Rhonda doing that them? I thought she was Zoë's
friend. And why was she at the house last week?"

"The house?" Nona sat back
down. "You mean the store?"

"Yeah, she came in there
while everyone was gone."

Nona pursed her lips.
"Alone?"

"I didn't think so at
first—cause I could hear her talking. So Steve and I watched her
from the wall. She was alone, but talked to herself the whole
time."

Nona pursed her lips.
Morgan mentioned this as well. She and Manuel both said Rhonda was
talking to herself quite a bit.

Odd. "She wasn't speaking
to a First Born?"

"Doesn't work like that if
she was alone," Nick said. He moved his cutting board and mound of
carrots and potatoes to the counter in front of Nona and Tim. "A
Revenant would have to be nearby. The only way they can communicate
long distance is with each other."

"Yeah," Jason said. "I
knew what Morgan was doing because Mephistopheles told me, not
because I could hear Morgan."

"I've never known her to
talk to herself. Ever." Nona chewed on her lower lip. "What did she
do?"

"Grabbed a few books, a
few other things here and there. Nothing much. I watched her put
money in the register so I figured it was just things she needed.
Then she left."

It was still odd. Rhonda
rarely ever took things from the house unless she spoke to Nona
first. Mostly because it was Nona's house.

Joe had stepped into the
corner to make himself a cup of coffee with the Keurig and went to
the fridge to grab milk. "Rhonda's been a bit squirrely ever since
that night at the old house."

Nona frowned. Jason turned
from the stove. "You mean that night Nick and I showed up to help
get Dags out?"

"Yeah," Joe poured milk
into the cup and then slipped a spoon in. He leaned against the
stove. "It was after that—when Dags woke up and discovered he
couldn't accesses the
Grimoire
? Rhonda got all quiet and
mad at herself. She thought she'd misplaced that page. Went looking
everywhere for it—then one day she just stopped. Didn't talk about
it again."

"You think that was
weird?" Nona said.

"Well for Rhonda's
personality yeah. It was just after that she sort of got real
obsessive with Zoë's life. Asking all kinds of questions about her,
and then her with Dags—"

"I remember that," Jason
said. "Asked me and Nick about her past."

"But she knows all about
Zoë's past," Nona said. "Was it anything in particular?"

Before anyone could answer
the door to the kitchen burst open. Jason and Nick were suddenly in
front of Nona and Joe was reaching for his gun.

It was Rhonda. She
looked—scared.

"Jesus woman," Joe said as
he straightened up. "Don't do that. I've been in the city all day.
I could have shot you."

Nona stepped around the
two men and looked at Rhonda. "What is it?"

For the first time in a
while she was sure she was seeing the Rhonda she'd known and
thought of as her daughter. The young woman's skin was very pale.
Circles hung over her cheeks, beneath her eyes. And she was
shaking. Her gaze slid from Nona over to Jason and a cold mask
covered her face. Her hands balled into fists and the air in the
kitchen crackled with static.

"You," she glared at
Jason. "What did you do to him…."

Jason frowned. His own
face changed and Mephistopheles harmonized with Jason's voice.
"Rhonda—"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE
BOOK!"

That's when all hell broke
loose in the kitchen.

-7-

Joe Halloran never had
much use for magic. From a young age he'd shown promise with it.
Mostly when he didn't want it. His mother called it "leakage" when
things around him reacted to his emotional state. He didn't want to
be called a witch, like his mother and grandmother.

He also knew both of them
had been disappointed he'd been born a male.

Unlike movies and
books that told fictional stories about witches and magic, men were
also witches. Not warlocks. Warlock had a completely different
meaning. In certain circles, no witch ever wanted to be warlocked
because it meant the same thing as being banished.

But when a family as old
as the Hallorans began producing what they called the divine
trinity, a make up of three women to symbolize the maiden, mother
and crone, it was expected the third child to eventually become the
maiden would be a girl.