Last Summer
My head spun, and I clutched at the door of Rory’s SUV to try to ground myself back in reality. Or my old reality, more like. The same Texas scenery—scrubby trees, moderate hills with granite outcroppings, herds of cows behind fences—still rolled past like always.
Rory and I, along with Shane, Ellis, Pia, and Ms. Jackson, were headed to Pflugerville to see if Rory could talk to the ghost of someone who’d been killed recently.
Afterward, we were going to Mineral Wells to introduce Pia to a group of dryads.
I thought she’d be better off with Rory, and I was pretty sure Ms. Jackson agreed with me, but I could see why Rory felt the need to give her the option of living with her own kind.
I’d just have to make the case for her to come back to Houston.
Ms. Jackson, it had turned out, not only could take the shape of anything they wanted to, they could communicate by manifesting a Ouija board on their side or chest and lighting up the letters or words they wanted to convey.
Fucking freaky. Right now they were sitting next to Pia in the last row of seats in the form of a large stuffed tiger.
At least that wouldn’t get us pulled over like a real tiger would.
The guy in Pflugerville who’d died had been a Wonder.
Apparently several of them had died recently, killed by vampires of all things.
The bodies of the dead Wonders had never been found, and the people who were investigating wanted Rory to talk to his ghost in case he could provide any clues as to where the vampires were now.
To make things even more creepy, the guy they wanted Rory to talk to had died in a cemetery.
I turned to look over my shoulder at Pia. “Chica, if you don’t want to get out of the car when we get to the cemetery, I can hang in here with you.”
She frowned down at Ms. Jackson, who’d reclaimed their live tiger form and was laying across the seats with their head in Pia’s lap. “I’ve never been to a cemetery. Can Ms. Jackson get out with us?”
Ellis said, “I don’t think the cemetery allows tigers. But this would be a good time for them to practice another form. Like a big dog or something?”
Shane cocked his head. “Irish Wolfhound?”
Rory offered, “Mastiff?”
I suggested, “Saint Bernard!”
Pia ducked down for a moment, then popped up again. “Ms. Jackson says it’ll be a surprise!”
“Oh, god,” Shane muttered from the front seat. “As long as it’s not a six-foot tall Chihuahua.”
Rory glanced at him. “You said Ms. Jackson started out as an inanimate object? How...?”
Shane blew out a breath before twisting around to face the rear of the car. “Ms. Jackson, I’m going to tell the short version of your story if it’s okay with you.”
They made a weird soft yowl, which Shane seemed to take as assent.
“They aren’t sure what they were originally, but they’re definitely from the Elven dimension.
Somehow they came to Earth and ended up in the book room at TWIST, which is the Wonder rescue organization Greg’s mom runs.
” Greg was one of the people we’d be meeting at the cemetery.
He and his partner Cal were in charge of the investigation into whatever had killed the Wonders.
“Greg and Cal were searching the book room for information on vampires, and they came across a statue of a cat. When Cal dusted the statue off, they changed into something else; I can’t remember what.”
Ellis leaned forward. “I think it was a typewriter. Then a toilet seat.”
Rory and I laughed.
“Eventually someone suggested they become a Ouija board so they could communicate, and they said they were called Ms. Jackson. This, uh, larger and more animated version came about when Cal was experimenting with his magic, and he accidentally gave it all to Ms. Jackson. It was, what, three weeks ago?”
I peered over the back of the seat at Ms. Jackson, who had their eyes closed. They’d only been able to walk around for three weeks?
But we’d reached the cemetery, so my questions would have to wait.
The cemetery was pretty, all grass over small hills with a stone wall around most of it. After a few minutes Rory parked along the curb behind a silver SUV. Two men, who I assumed were Greg and Cal, stood next to it.
Shane hopped out and started to walk over to them, but he stopped mid-step. Ellis, who hadn’t left the car yet, grabbed his chest and made a coughing sound.
I’d opened my door to get out, but I whirled back to look at Ellis. “What’s the matter? Are you choking? Chest pain? What is it?”
He waved me off. “I’m okay,” he gasped out. “Shane and I can’t get very far from each other.”
Shane walked back toward the car, and Ellis sighed in relief. “That’s better.” He shot me a smile. “I’m fine, I promise.”
I frowned. What had happened? Shane opened Ellis’ door. “Sorry.”
I got out of the car and Rory helped me slide my seat forward so Pia and Ms. Jackson could exit as well.
“What the fuck was that?” I whispered.
Rory shrugged. “They just got bonded? Which sounds like magically married, I guess? They can’t be very far apart from each other right now.”
Pia hopped out, landing on both feet at once. “Bonding is more permanent than marriage. Can’t you see the bond between them?” She tapped right below her sternum.
I stared, but I didn’t see anything. Rory scrunched up his face. “No? Should I be able to?” At least it wasn’t only me.
Ms. Jackson jumped out of the car. They were a tiger as they emerged, but on the way to the ground they shimmered and a very, very large pig landed gracefully on the pavement.
They had a black head and shoulders, and their rear half was white with black spots.
They still wore Dimi’s rhinestone tiara, and over their back was a red blanket which read “Service Animal”.
Pia clapped her hands before petting Ms. Jackson’s neck. The pig’s back was higher than her waist.
I shook my head. “Okay. Let’s go meet these people and then we can walk around.”
Rory started talking to the air beside him, so I dropped back to give him privacy. Maybe it was already the ghost he needed to talk to.
Shane and Ellis walked up to the two men, who gestured at the air between them. I guessed they were discussing the invisible-to-me bond.
When Pia, Ms. Jackson, and I drew nearer, the one who looked as if he could be a model introduced himself as Greg and his partner as Cal. I adored Cal’s t-shirt, which said, “Shh... No one cares”. I’d have to ask him where he got it.
Rory glanced up at the empty air, and soon he was walking toward the gravestones to talk to more ghosts. I led Pia a few yards away to check out some flowers, which Ms. Jackson tried to eat.
I’d been aware of ghosts and Rory’s ability to talk to them for years. It’d never occurred to me that they were only the tip of the supernatural iceberg. Now I also had to wrap my brain around Wonders of all kinds, magical humans, vampires, Elves, and whatever the hell Ms. Jackson was.
I grinned to myself. I wouldn’t trade this for anything.