18. Cade

18

CADE

S hirley McCauley was well into her nineties, and my hopes were dashed upon entering her room.

"Morning, Shirley," the care attendant said. "You've got two handsome gentlemen callers today."

Shirley sat in an armed wing chair next to the window. The blinds were halfway pulled, allowing the bright cold winter's light to spill across a portion of the room. Shirley's face was shrouded in shadows, but she never looked up or glanced our way, or even acknowledged the staff who had addressed her.

"It's nice that someone came to visit," the aide said as she laid a small hand on my arm. If I didn't know any better I would have sworn she was attempting to flirt with me by batting her eyelashes. "But she's been non-communicative for quite some time. Still, we know they appreciate the company. When you're ready to go, just come back to the nurses' station and I'll let you through the locked doors."

Shirley had been placed in a ward with other residents who had a tendency to wander, therefore, life behind locked doors and away from society was a safety precaution. I had to wonder if Shirley had shut down out of boredom, or because of her dementia.

I took a seat in the chair on the other side of the table while Jay stood near the doorway. A tatted doily had been draped over the top of the chair, the pattern very reminiscent of the frosting coating the bottom and corners of her bedroom window. Shirley had a thick flannel blanket laid across her lap, and she leaned forward in the seat as if she was intent on listening to a conversation. But it certainly wasn't with anyone who was physically present in this reality.

"Shirley, I wanted to come visit you and tell you I bought your old house. It's quite wonderful," I said, hoping to initiate some memory recall or a response. Something. Anything.

Nothing.

"I think this is a waste of time." Jay tilted his head to one side while his face screamed I told you so .

"Just let me have a few minutes," I said as I swivelled my head in Jay's direction. I needed a different strategy. I had to break through her catatonia somehow. And then it dawned on me…

Talk to the ghosts in the room, the hallway, the ward. They might know something.

It's one thing when the dead make themselves known. It's quite another when you actively go looking for the unseen. Most ghosts are more than happy to settle into the background. To exist in the dimly lit hallways, watching, waiting, spying.

If I want to see those, I have to flip the switch in my head. It's like turning on the extra-sensory radar.

I closed my eyes for a second, chasing down that spot in my brain where the flicker of magic lives. It's like a little spark, blue, pulsating, and often quite difficult to catch but as soon as I see it, and grab it…

"There we are?—"

"There's what?" Jay asked.

"Okay, was not expecting this."

"What? What is going on?"

"I'm trying to see if there are any of the dead wandering around. There usually are in these types of settings."

"Are you crazy?" Jay's eyes went wide. "Are you trying to incur the wrath of some spirit?" His body tensed as his gaze darted around the room. "Are there any here? Oh, fuck me."

"Jay, relax. It's okay. But I wasn't expecting to find what I did." I smiled.

"What? Tell me!" I could tell Jay was becoming anxious.

"Breathe, man. It's okay. But there's a reason why Shirley is catatonic. Her soul is outside her body."

Jay's face was comical. He was obviously quite confused, and I couldn't blame him.

"Hi, Shirley," I said to her ghostly version.

"Who are you?" She seemed friendly and inquisitive. This might actually work.

"My name is Cade. This is my friend Jay. I just bought your house."

"My house? Did my children put it up for sale? They weren't supposed to do that." Her face contorted.

"I promise, Shirley, I will take very good care of it. I bought it because it's very special. You've made some modifications to it to make it safe."

"Ah, you noticed. Are you of the wyrd and the wise?"

"I am, but I am not a witch. I am a seer." I smiled gently, trying to relay a sense of calm, of openness. "I see those who have transitioned to the next realm. And sometimes we talk."

"It's been a long time since anyone has come talk to me, Death Doula." Shirley eyed me up.

"Ah, I'm not so sure I'm a Doula. I have not assisted the dying. I simply see those who have passed and occasionally talk to them."

"You will." Shirley squinted as she stared at me. "You will."

"Perhaps someday."

"You haven't come into all your powers yet. You have a way to go."

"You see things in me, witch?" I said, with the greatest amount of respect.

"Your kind, your lineage have abilities most do not. You haven't embraced all that you are. When that happens, things shall change."

I nodded. Because, okay, sure, why not? Although being more than who I already was, being able to do more with the dead, wasn't a top-ten list item. If anything, shutting this ability down one day would give me the peace and quiet and sanity I craved.

"Shirley, can we talk about the special room in your closet?"

"Ha-ha, leave it to the Death Doula to discover my secrets. Find the books?"

"Well, we found one. Pictures of a car crash, instructions to find Death."

"Yes! This one's bitch." She threw her thumb over her shoulder, indicating Jay. "My great-granddaughter, no less. She brought on the problems. It's all her fault."

"What fault? What happened, Shirley?"

"She killed the reaper. And what's worse, she didn't take the responsibility. She passed it to her unborn child. You need to find a reaper and introduce the child to the Death Bringers." I nodded. Just as I had expected. But I knew Jay wasn't going to be happy about any of it.

"How did she do that?"

"She denied when asked! Dumb girl. So, of course, what happens? It goes to the next in line. Poor child. Never stood a chance. And making the babe responsible. Tsk ." Shirley clearly wasn't pleased. "She had the opportunity to put all her special, high ‘n mighty medical knowledge to the test. She could have been the perfect reaper. But no. ‘Flies in the face of modern medicine' or some such garbage." Shirley was becoming agitated. I needed to swing her away from this memory.

"Shirley, Samuel is the child she carried. He's now almost eleven. In order for him to become Death, how do we find a reaper to help him transition?"

"No!" Jay launched himself at me. "Absolutely fucking not."

"Jay, I'm sorry." I stood and gripped his shoulders. "Shirley has confirmed what I've suspected."

"No. No! It can't be."

"I will help you. I will help both of you."

"Fuck my life," Jay began to pace back and forth.

"He'll get over it." Shirley said. "You must summon a reaper. Not done without sacrifice, young one, Death Doula. But you should manage it easily enough."

"But how? I have no knowledge?—"

Shirley reached out and gripped my wrist. It stung. Ice ran through my veins, but it burned at the same time. I glanced down at my hand. The bruising was already showing. The hair on the back of my arms and neck rose straight up.

The air in the room dropped in temperature, and the vibe turned. It became electrically charged. The scent of burnt ozone became readily apparent.

"What is going on, Cade?" Jay's eyes widened with panic, again. I knew my muscley gym rat was going to need a ton of help with this. But in all fairness, most of the population would. The dead were often frightening.

As the ice climbed up to my elbow, my vision began to darken, and shift.

I stood in the witch cottage. Shirley flickered at the end of the hallway, beckoning me to follow. I walked toward her, cautiously, one foot in front of another. Sound was muffled, and the light wasn't quite right. Everything glowed, tinged in neon blue.

I turned into the bedroom to see Shirley slip into the closet, and as I rounded the corner and peered into the walk-in, the secret room had opened. Shirley stood beside the pile of boxes in the corner.

She pointed to them, then disappeared.

I sucked in air as my sight returned, and I found Jay shaking my shoulders.

"Cade, dammit, Cade!"

"Holy hell." I stared into Jay's eyes. His face was inches away from mine. "I know what we need to do."

"How?"

"Shirley showed me." I smiled. I glanced over at the physical Shirley. She hadn't moved or changed. "Let's go. We need to search the boxes in the secret room. The answer is in there."

"To do what, exactly?"

"To summon a reaper."

"Fuck no. Absolutely?—"

"Jay, it's the only way. Or the only thing I know to do. I'll get you through this."

"I'm not letting you turn my son into some weird psychic-death bringer?—"

"Okay, ouch." I furrowed my brows. "I know this is all a bit much, but I'm asking you to trust me."

"Do you really know what you're asking?"

"It's a lot. I get it. But think of Billy and Pam. We don't want more people to suffer that. We can help, Jay."

"By throwing my kid to the dead. They'll kill him."

I gripped Jay's arms and stared at him.

"I promise you I would never do anything to hurt Sam. But if Shirley is right, then we may not have any other choice. Let's at least find out if she's correct." It hurt to see Jay struggling. It was his kid. I would have probably felt the exact same way.

"Cade, I just can't—" Jay's phone started ringing. "Shit." Being a real estate agent meant being available. And a successful business meant answering the phone. "I have to answer." As Jay pulled his phone out and looked at the screen, further panic racing through him as he went white. He punched the Call button, "Sharon, what is it?"

I could hear the screams coming from his phone.

"Get over here right now!"

I quickly thanked Shirley, then followed Jay, who had broken into an all-out run to the nurses' station.

"Let me out, now, please," Jay begged, breathing hard.

"Of course. I hope you had a nice time." The attendant said, but Jay completely ignored her and dashed through the open door.

"We did, thank you," I said to her, then turned and tried to catch up to Jay. I found him pacing in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come to our floor. I grabbed him and spun him around. "Jay, what did Sharon say?"

"Other than the screaming? She wants us to come over there immediately. Fuck, Cade, something is going on. I've never heard Sharon that freaked out."

"Okay, breathe. How long until we can get to her place?"

"She's not far." He glanced at the elevator. "Dammit, why is this thing so fucking slow!"

Asking someone to calm down when their kid was potentially in harm's way was akin to asking a stampeding elephant to step lightly. Wasn't going to happen. But I didn't want to feed into Jay's fears, so I kept close, followed him down in the elevator, and as we climbed into my Jeep, and Jay gave me the directions to Sharon's house, I reached across the console and grabbed his hand.

His was cold and clammy. But I wasn't going to let go.

"I've got you. And Sam too."

It took moments to get to Sharon's place, and before I had even come to a complete stop, Jay had the door flung open, and he was running up the sidewalk.

He didn't knock. He barged right in..

As I walked up behind him, I could see over his shoulder.

It wasn't good.