Chapter 7 Erik #2
“Ghosts and magic? You’re sure enough to bet Ben’s life on that?”
“You know I wouldn’t risk it if I weren’t,” Erik replied.
“These friends agreed? How do you know these Mafia guys don’t have woo-woo of their own?”
“I don’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure,” Erik admitted.
“Both The Collector and The Oligarch are witches in their own right, but they wouldn’t come themselves, they’d send underlings.
Witches are pretty careful about not having other people with abilities working for them. It increases the chance for betrayal.”
“There’ll be hell to pay if you’re wrong,” Hendricks warned.
“I’m well aware.” Left unsaid was that if this all went sideways, he and Ben wouldn’t be around for the aftermath.
“Okay. I’ll back your play. Because I think you’re right. If we move on where Ben’s being held, they’ll kill him before we can stop them,” Hendricks said. “Doesn’t mean I like it, but I agree. This time.”
Erik quickly packed what he would need to help Haley summon the spirits and Alessia to work the necessary magic. For a magical working with so much at stake, they would have to sneak into where the kidnappers had Ben to rally the ghosts and have the magic work at full strength.
He called Haley and Alessia and caught them up on the second message from Bratva and his conversation with the chief.
“I understand if you want to do the magic from a distance,” Erik said. “I wouldn’t blame you. Sneaking inside is taking a crazy chance. I’ll be grateful for any support you can provide, but I’ve got to go myself.”
“I’m going with you,” Alessia said without hesitating, and Haley echoed the same seconds later. “I’ll get everything ready. Pick me up on your way.”
Erik thanked them profusely and barely ended the call before his phone rang again from Ben’s assistant.
“Erik, terrible things have happened, and I think Ben is in danger,” Jenny said breathlessly.
“I know,” he replied. “I talked to Chief Hendricks about the shooting victims, and Ben’s been kidnapped.”
“I was afraid of that,” Jenny replied. “But I might be able to help. In the last house we visited together, the previous tenants had left behind a dog collar with a tracking tag. He stuck it in his pocket to see if they still wanted it.
“When the chief told me about the murders, I worried that they had taken Ben,” she continued. “I called the renter and got them to check the location tag. It’s still active. It’s showing a warehouse at the port, and there’s no reason for the collar to be there if it isn’t still in Ben’s pocket.”
“You’re absolutely brilliant.” Erik reached for pen and paper. “Please read the address off to me.” When it turned out to be exactly the same as the address provided by the ghost, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“I will let the chief know,” he promised. “Good thinking. This will help us save him.”
“I feel so guilty,” Jenny confided. “I didn’t go to the last house with him because I had something to do back in the office, and I keep thinking that maybe if he hadn’t been alone, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Erik’s heart went out to her, but he knew that things would have been much worse if she had been with Ben.
“Please don’t feel guilty. The people who took him are professional criminals. They would have hurt you and still taken him. He wouldn’t have wanted you mixed up in that.”
“Bring him back safely,” Jenny said.
“We will.” Erik left a quick voicemail for the chief with the update about the dog tag, figuring that Hendricks would appreciate the validation from something other than a ghost. Erik took a moment to go online and study a street view of the warehouse and figure out where to park and how to approach the building so he, Alessia, and Haley wouldn’t give themselves away.
Then he grabbed his duffel, holstered his gun, made sure he had plenty of ammo, and headed for Alessia’s house.
We’re coming, Ben. Hang in there. Please be safe. Come back to me alive.
The rain had let up some, but it made for miserable driving. The wet road reflected his headlights, and the power outage meant everything else was completely dark. The windshield wipers kept a steady beat, barely clearing enough water for him to see.
Alessia and Haley waited under the carport at Alessia’s house.
They put their bags in the back where Haley sat, while Alessia slid into the passenger seat for the drive to the warehouse.
“Perfect night for a rescue, don’t you think?
” Haley said with forced bravery and a confident grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“At least it means there’s almost no one out on the roads. Less chance to be spotted.” Erik caught them up on the call from Jenny and what he had learned from his online reconnaissance.
“Turn the headlights off when we get close and try to stay away from any security lights that might still be working,” Alessia told him. “I’ve got a spell that won’t exactly make us invisible, but it encourages people not to see us. I hope it will be enough.”
Erik fervently agreed. He had never been very religious, but he sent up any prayers he remembered to whoever might be listening to protect them and help them get Ben home safely.
“I also brought deflection amulets for us.” Alessia handed out chains with charms to Erik and Haley, who slipped them on. “Works the same way as the car spell. We won’t be invisible, but we’ll be easy to ignore.”
He hoped the heavy rain would keep spotters to a minimum. Erik turned off the headlights two blocks from the warehouse and found a curbside spot to park.
“Ready? Still time to change your mind,” he told Alessia and Haley.
“Born ready. Let’s go get Ben,” Alessia said.
They were soaked minutes after they left the car, but they had feared the crinkle and shuffle of raincoats more than the chill of the rain.
Erik had night-vision goggles from his work with Interpol, and Alessia had a spell that sharpened her vision.
Erik sensed that ghosts were nearby and wondered if they helped guide Haley through the gloom.
Just behind the warehouse, they stepped into an alley, and Haley concentrated on the ghosts.
“We’d sure appreciate any help from the ghosts in the warehouse,” she whispered. “If you’ve wanted to kick ass, now’s the time.” She paused a moment. “The ghost Ben sent is here. He says the back door is unlocked and the other spirits are ready to rumble.”
“Will the ‘shit spell’ that’s on the store’s front door work?” Erik asked, looking for a potent distraction and a way to disable the goons while minimizing gunfire.
Alessia concentrated for a moment, then shook her head. “No. I’m picking up flickers of magic. I think they’re wearing protections against that sort of small-scale curse. But what they have won’t be enough to stop what I’ve got in mind.”
“Wait for us to get inside, and then give ’em hell,” Erik murmured.
“There’s no warding on the building, and I’m not picking up on anyone with magic inside,” Alessia reported.
“But there are dozens of ghosts,” Haley added.
Erik wondered whether the spirits were all from people who died in the warehouse or if their ghostly guide had recruited from the whole port area.
He suspected a long history of dangerous conditions, injuries, and deaths led to the haunting and gave the ghosts good reason to be angry.
Now they had a target and a mission and the power to make someone pay.
No matter where the ghosts came from, he was grateful for their help.
“Let’s go.” Erik gestured and together they headed inside. To his relief, the warehouse wasn’t completely dark. A few portable lights illuminated a circle in the main area with the mobsters and their prisoner, leaving the sides of the massive, barn-like building in shadow.
Six men dressed like Bratva operatives sat around a small table. Nearby, Ben sat tied securely to a metal chair.
Alessia looked at Erik and nodded, confirming that she saw Ben.
Haley closed her eyes. “Go get ’em,” she mouthed silently to the ghosts as Alessia began to work her magic to strengthen the spirits and weaken the mobsters’ protections.
Erik, Haley, and Alessia positioned themselves out of sight behind pallets of boxes. They could still see between the pallets, and Erik hoped it would be sufficient protection from bullets and any retaliatory magic the thugs might muster.
A freezing cold wind rose out of nowhere and swept toward where the mobsters were playing cards, howling like the hounds of hell. The gusts came from all corners, echoing from steel and concrete.
“Jesus, what the fuck is going on?” The mobsters jumped to their feet, weapons drawn, looking around in a panic.
Haley chanted in a whisper, and the ghosts grew stronger.
Alessia spoke words of power causing the shipping containers to tremble and make a terrible racket.
Erik clenched his fists, ready to move. The spirits swept toward the Mob goons, gaping maws and grasping hands, screaming and screeching like the damned.
The Bratva boys raised their guns to shoot at the apparitions, but Alessia’s magic jammed the weapons, making them useless.
Praying and swearing, the mobsters held up their protective amulets like shields against the ghosts, to no avail. Erik didn’t understand all the Russian words the men yelled at the attackers, but he got enough to know they were alternately trying to banish the spirits and beg for their lives.
Meanwhile, Erik saw Ben hitching his chair away from the mobsters, putting distance between himself and them.
Summoned by Haley and empowered by Alessia’s magic, the ghosts channeled their fury like a whirlwind. They buffeted the enforcers, shoving them so hard they stumbled, and upended their table, sending cards and dice flying.
Gray shapes with hollow-eyed faces stalked the mobsters. Bony hands grabbed and held those who tried to run.
Creaks, groans, and rattles sounded from the shadows as more ghosts gathered. Erik kept his eyes on Ben as he willed him to be okay.