No Quit

  “Why am I here?” he asked again.

  “Because I missed you.”

  He held up a hand. “Stop. I know you’re not my grandmother.”

  “But, Cael…”

  “Please. Don’t pretend anymore. It hurts me.”

  Her head lowered. The ends of her long blond hair dipped. Cael ached to reach out and roll a lock between his fingers, even knowing that it wasn’t real, wouldn’t really be like touching something of his family anyway.

  She looked at him through lowered lashes. “If you know that, why did you come with me?”

  Cael kept his hands on his knees. “Because you need help.”

  ~~~

  Jake pushed through the crowd, searching, a persistent bubble of fear expanding in his gut. Cael wasn’t anywhere. It was just like looking for him in the forest all over again. Costumed people moved down the street, carrying bowls with little fires while others dropped little pieces of paper into the flames. Doubling back, Jake made his way across the crowded street, skimming through the tail end of the All Souls’ Parade. Another idiot in a skeleton mask got in his face, shrieking and waving his hands. Jake’s fingers wrapped around the Glock inside his jacket. He swore to the gods the next clown that did that was going to get a gut full of iron.

  He spotted his father easily. Hell, just the controlled posture and nervous energy seeping off the man set him apart from the crowd. He was on the opposite sidewalk, gaze scanning every face.

  The dark head snapped up as soon as Henry spotted Jake. “Anything?”

  Jake shook his head. “He’s not on the street. I looked in all the shops, even the back rooms and bathrooms. I’ve tried his phone several more times. Nothing.”

  A muscle in Henry’s jaw twitched. He nodded. “All right. We keep looking. I want you to head back toward the motel, but take a different route this time. I’m going the opposite way up the street a bit.”

  Jake nodded. “What if he’s at the motel? Should I come get you?”

  “No.” Henry’s answer was swift. “Call me but stay there. I don’t want either of you out of that room again tonight. I’ll be there after I check a few more places.” His features softened. “I hope you’re right, son. I hope Cael’s there and we just crossed paths somehow.”

  Jake’s throat was tight. “What if he’s not?”

  “Then wait for me. We’ll regroup and go from there. “

  ~~~

  “I don’t need help, Cael,” the spirit insisted. “I’m your grandmother. I just want to be here for you. Don’t you need a grandmother? I could be that for you.”

  Cael shook his head.

  She reached over and took his hands. Coldness leaked into his skin where she touched. “You need me. You called for me.”

  “I didn’t call for you. I didn’t call for anyone. I just…” He shrugged. “I just was thinking about someone.”

  “But I came,” she pleaded. “I can be your grandmother. I can be your mother if you want. I know you miss her.”

  Cael flinched at that. “You came because you need help.”

  She stiffened. Her form flickered out for a moment, before settling again.

  “It’s the Day of the Dead. I know it’s a time when spirits can pierce the veil.” Cael’s face scrunched as his mind worked to reason it all out. “I don’t understand why, but maybe it has to do with all the energy that gets focused around here when everyone thinks about their deceased relatives, like a huge collective summoning…except you came to me. When all the other spirits probably sought out their own family members, you came to me so you must not have anyone to go to. Is that it? Is your family gone? I can help you. I can help you move on.”

  “You will pour salt on my bones? Douse my remains?” She was angry. Her fingers dug into the backs of his hands.

  “If I need to.” He tried to pull out of her grip. “Or I can help you move on all on your own. Help you resolve unfinished business.” That was a theory his dad told him once. He wasn’t sure that would work, but it was worth a try.

  Her hands slipped from his. “You would really help me?”

  Cael nodded.

  Her shoulders slumped. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.” She began sparking again, sputtering in and out of view like a television with bad reception. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you here, but he makes me, he makes me.”

  That didn’t sound good. A chill swept across Cael’s skin, tiny pinpricks signaling danger. “Who? Who made you?”

  “Him. De-Diego. The man who murdered me.” With the sudden confession, the spirit’s face changed, blinking into a young Hispanic woman. The loose blond hair faded, lifting as though a sudden breeze picked up until her hair materialized into a long dark braid.

  Cael leaned forward. It was all starting to make a kind of sense to him now. “You’re trapped here, aren’t you?”

  She nodded rapidly. Liquid brown eyes searched his as her hands clamped over her mouth to hold back a sob.

  Cael patted her elbow. It felt like the right thing to do. “Your family doesn’t know what happened to you, do they?”

  “No. I’m lost. They don’t know where I am.”

  He nodded, trying to speak as calmly as he could so she wouldn’t just disappear on him. “Do you know where your body is?”

  She went stiff. Her gaze shot over toward the outside corner of the shack.

  Cael stood, went over there. The ground was uneven, flattened in places. He’d spent enough time in ancient cemeteries to know that before the more modern use of cement liners came into practice to hold the dirt off the caskets, eventually gravity took over and the heavy soil squashed casket and bones, leaving rectangular depressions. By the looks of it, there was more than one body buried here. Not rectangular. No caskets. Unmarked and forgotten. Lost.

  Anger flared through Cael, a quick flash, stronger than he’d ever felt before for this, this Diego. Murderer. He tamped it down, let the anger carry to his curling fists while he tried to keep it out of his voice, off his features. He turned to the ghost. “Tell me your name. And your family’s name. I’ll find them. I’ll tell them where your…where you are. Then you can have peace.” All the victims could have peace because the first thing he was going to do when he got back to the motel was give the police an anonymous tip.

  Shaking her head, she backed away, her slight form started fading.

  “No!” Cael reached for her as if he could hold a spirit. “Please, don’t leave. I can help you.”

  “Why would you do that when I brought you here to…”

  He tilted his head. “Brought me here to…what?”

  She buried her face behind her hands, shoulders shaking as she began to sob. “To take my place.”

  A jolt lanced down Cael’s spine.

  The spirit flung her hands away. “Diego hurts me. He murders me. Every night. Always. But on Día de los Muertos when I can find someone else…” She started sobbing again. “I just want an escape, just for one night. You can’t blame me for that. You can’t blame me.”

  Cael stood stock-still, letting his mind absorb the horror of what she was telling him. He glanced at all the flattened graves and felt his stomach flip sideways, forcing all its contents up into his throat.

  “Your name. I can help you.” He stepped closer. “I promise. This can all stop.”

  “Why?” She disappeared and then reappeared behind him, standing over the uneven burial ground. “Why would you help me?”

  Cael spun around. “Because…” He really didn’t know what to say. “Because you didn’t deserve to be murdered. You didn’t deserve this. And your family, they deserve to know what happened to you.” Instantly the thought of Jake and their dad not knowing if something happened to him slammed into his gut and he regretted coming out here alone. It wasn’t smart. He reached for the phone in his pocket, realizing he’d left it in his hoodie back at the park. This was why his dad insisted he carry it always. For situations like this.

/>   “But he won’t let me go,” the ghost cried. “He’ll never let me go.”

  “My family, we’ll take care of Diego too. Don’t worry.” Cael’s chin lifted. He suddenly felt very proud of being Henry Gillant’s son. Completely human without any of the Anointed abilities, his dad took care of things. He saved people. “It’s what we do. We’ll take care of you.”

  In a flash she was right next to him. “My name is Aimara Medina Reyes. My husband is—was—” A tear spilled down her cheek. “Renau Reyes from Tuscon.”

  A low growl tingled across the quiet air. Aimara’s eyes widened. She spoke faster. “I disappeared June twenty-second, nineteen eighty-seven. You must go. Hurry.” She pushed on his chest to get him moving. “You…you will tell him?”

  Cael nodded. “I promise.” Something vibrated across the air, reeking of dark emotion.

  “Go then. He is coming. Diego…”

  She didn’t have to tell him twice. Cael ran from the shack, started climbing the small knoll.

  Aimara’s voice called behind him. “Cael, if I would have had a chance to have a child…” He glanced back. The moonlight cast her sorrowful smile in a silver glow. “I would have been a good mother.”

  Cael nodded once, then swung around to resume climbing and found himself staring into a broad chest covered in a dirty mechanic’s work shirt, a name patch over the pocket. Diego. Meaty palms clamped onto Cael’s head, shooting a voltage of liquid pulsing pain through every nerve ending. His muscles locked up, twitching, while his mind was dragged into memories not his own. He felt Aimara. He was Aimara. Bones breaking. Clothing torn away. Slapped. Restrained. Strangling. Choking. Can’t breathe. Can’t breathe. No, I’m Cael. I’m Cael. Dad! Jake!

  ~~~

  Jake’s anxiety grew with each footstep. The beam of his flashlight fanned back and forth across the quiet street. Come on, Cael. Where are you? He passed the little park on one side of the street, a row of adobe style houses on the other side. The park was small and open with very little trees or bushes. It had a little play area that had one slide and a swing set, and two or three picnic tables scattered about. There wasn’t really any place to hide anything—or anyone. He’d swept the flashlight beam across the area and walked on, anxious to get off this wrong street and get back to the motel. Cael had to be back there by now and Jake wanted to be the first one to tear into him over this little disappearing stunt.

  He was about to head around the corner house and go onto the next street when a niggling little feeling made him turn around and flash the beam down the road once more at the same time he pulled his Glock out. Bright eyes reflected in the light, watching him. Stupid cat.

  Swinging back around, his flashlight cast a wide beam and Jake froze, catching sight of something. He jerked the flashlight back, playing it over one of the picnic tables. Something lumpy was on the bench and he had a feeling he knew what it was.

  He ran into the park, over the soft desert soil, and scooped the hoodie off the bench. No no no no, dammit Cael. His fingers curled into the worn fabric, the evidence that something was very wrong. There was something hard in the front pocket. Cael’s phone. Batteries dead. He was going to tape the charger to the kid’s head if he pulled a stunt like this again. He frowned at the little orange bundle of marigolds on the table, knowing what they were used for. The entire town was covered in the blooms. Jake’s fear meter kicked up a notch. Aw, Cael, what were you doing?

  Okay, okay, I’m gonna find you. Jake cast the light out into the night, far into the quiet wilderness where it bounced off the little hills. Ah, hell, if his brother went off that way… Clenching down on the low throb in his gut, Jake crouched down, balancing the handle of his gun on his knee while he cast the light over the ground, searching for tracks. The sole patterns of Cael’s sneakers were easy to pick out. Jake followed the tracks away from the table where the kid had backed up, shuffled around in the dirt, then moved forward—walking straight—

  He jolted. A woman appeared in front of him, just floated out of thin air, not two inches away. Acting on pure instinct, Jake let himself roll back onto his butt and fired.

  ~~~

  Henry was coming back down the crowded street, shards of apprehension slicing at his chest. It was after midnight and Cael was missing. His youngest child was missing on the Day of the Dead, the day when spirits had the combined energy from the festivities meant to honor them to run amuck. Henry wasn’t going to lose his boy to this misguided celebration. Not while he had a breath left in his body.

  He angled his broad shoulders sideways to get past a strolling mariachi band when the blast of a distant shot echoed across the air. Attuned, Henry would recognize the sound anywhere, even if the people around him only registered the melody of joyful trumpets and guitars. Jake.

  Henry took off like the bullet he’d just heard, jostling his way through the crowd, ignoring angry grumbles in his wake as he left the center of activity behind to burst into the quiet neighborhood streets. The motel was straight ahead, but he’d told Jake to take one of the roundabout ways to look for his brother. He knew the left road ended up toward a park while the right led into a seedier part of town.

  Come on, Jake, let me know where you are, buddy. Making a quick decision, Henry ran to the right.

  And an apparition pulsed out of the air, blocking his way. A young Hispanic woman.

  Henry had the salt palmed with his next inhalation.

  “No! Please. Por favor. Don’t throw that. I came to help.”

  Henry’s fingers remained curled around the canister. “Where’s my son?”

  “Please. He promised you would help me.”

  Henry’s brow arched. He didn’t want to trust her, but damn if that didn’t sound like something Cael would promise. And at this point, Henry was willing to hedge all bets. “All right. First my son.” He didn’t know exactly what Cael had promised her or if a promise had even been made, but if it meant getting to his youngest, Henry was more than ready to back his child’s play.

  “I’ll take you to him.” The spirit winked out of existence.

  “Son of a—”

  “This way,” she called from the corner leading into the left street.

  Henry ran after her and she disappeared again, reappearing farther ahead down the road. Perfect. He was playing follow the leap-frogging ghost. Hang on, sons. I’m coming.

  ~~~

  Jake couldn’t wait for his dad. He’d picked up Cael’s trail and he wasn’t about to wait. But he couldn’t be stupid either and make things worse. Scooping up several rocks on the run, Jake sped back to the street. Right next to the sidewalk where Henry couldn’t miss it, Jake hurriedly piled the rocks on top of each other, then placed a long stone near the base to mark the direction he was headed in. As a final touch he placed one pebble on top. One for Jake. Two pebbles if the marker had been left by Cael. It was the best he could do to guide his dad. He wasn’t waiting any longer.

  Tracking his brother in the dark was difficult, but not impossible, and Cael’s prints were still fresh, easy to follow. Actually the only prints out this way. As Jake walked farther away from town, his uneasiness grew. Why the hell had Cael come out here on his own? Jake pulled out his pouch of rock salt, knowing the answer to that. If that spirit back at the park was any indication of what was going on, Cael wasn’t exactly alone and that made all sorts of things skitter around inside his gut.

  He raced up another hill, feeling every muscle in his thighs working. The usual sounds of nature were eerily quiet as laughter and music from town carried oddly loud on the air.

  Jake came over the hill’s cusp and his heart jerked painfully in his chest.

  Not two yards away from him, lower on the incline was Cael. Held upright by the beefy paws of some Neanderthal sparking ghost clamped around his head. Jake could clearly see Cael was on the losing end. His toes angled downward, dragging in the desert sand. His arms were hanging, yet there was nothing limp about him. The kid’s muscl
es were coiled tight, jerking in tiny rhythmic spasms. His eyes were nearly rolled up inside his sockets and his mouth gaped in a soundless scream.

  Jake moved in an eruption of fury. “Hey, Pancho Villa!” Running headlong, he flung a fistful of salt out at the same moment he crashed through the dispersing ghost, slamming into Cael instead, carrying them both downhill in a snarl of arms and legs. They hit the bottom with a jolt.

  Where Cael’s screams had been silent before, he was now shrilling at the highest decimal point of his young lungs, back arching off the ground, the back of his head digging into the ground.

  Jake went to push himself up off his stomach and felt the give in his arm, instantly recognizing he’d broken it. Pulling it in to his body, he rolled the other way to get to his knees and lean over his brother.

  “Cael! Cael!” With his good arm, Jake grasped onto Cael’s shoulder, trying to hold him still, but the kid wasn’t responding. His eyes were huge, dilated. And the screams…Jake had never heard such a piercing wounded sound come out of his brother…and the scream wasn’t letting up. Whatever had a hold of Cael scared the hell out of Jake.

  ~~~

  Henry barely glanced at Jake’s rock marker, noting it pointed in the same direction the spirit had just been in. Good boy, Jake. He felt the little hitch of pride as his boots kicked up sand behind him as he flew across the little park. The woman appeared in the distance, blue dress glinting in the moonlight as she waited on top of a small rise.

  Henry raced after her, leaving the park to head out into the desert, tamping down the sudden spike of fear that his youngest had gone out here. He barely had his emotions under control when a soul-shattering cry punctured the night. Oh, shit, Cael. Henry’s heart slammed up into his throat at the prolonged agony in his son’s scream. It didn’t stop, just wavered in and out with inhalations without a rift in the intensity. Henry sprinted up the first hill, side-hopping down the other side to race up the next knoll, panic urging him on. What was happening to his son to make him sound like that?