Desert Magick: Phoenix Lights Read online

  Daisy grunted, reached an arm back and snatched her phone from Kali’s hands. “Okay, stop making fun of me. Or I’ll put an itching spell on the both of you.”

  “If you wait until I’m on stage, it might make my dancing more interesting.” Kali grinned.

  Daisy smirked at the necro. “That’s not a problem from what I hear.”

  “Touché.”

  With an exaggerated motion, Daisy gave the phone to back Scarlet and stuck her tongue at Bridgette. After a moment, her smile faded. “So, what exactly happened, Bridge? To this guy we’re going to see?”

  Damn. So close. “I told you. He was pretty much a walking vegetable until the day you returned from your last afterlife visit.”

  “Yeah, but how’d he get that way?”

  “An accident. When we were kids.” That’s partly true. It was an accident. We were just a couple of stupid kids having fun. We didn’t mean for whatever the hell happened to happen.

  “Oh.”

  Bridgette gave a soft sigh of relief that her cousin didn’t push for more details just now and she focused her attention on their location. “Turn right at the next light, Noah.” After he made the turn, she pulled out her phone and called Hattie, the woman who ran the mental ward where Liam still lived, and told her they were almost there. Hattie sounded distracted but Bridgette decided she could wait until they arrived to find out why.

  Noah took another two turns at her direction, then pulled into the parking lot and got a spot near the entrance, next to a row of handicapped spaces. The building looked deserted at night with no one outside on the lawn or sidewalk. Not a single worker taking a smoke or coffee break. At least Bridgette couldn’t see the depressing chipped and cracked stucco in the dark. Besides the parking lot lights, the only illumination came from inside the building, through glass doors.

  “Just take your IDs and money. They’ll make you give up everything else. You’ll probably have to put your keys in the safe, Noah.” Bridgette had left her purse at Daisy’s house, along with Scarlet’s.

  Kali seemed reluctant to go anywhere without hers. “Can I put my purse in the trunk, Daisy?” she said.

  “Sure. We’ll lock everything up back there.”

  They got out, gathered around the trunk, and put their items in a blue, plastic basket that held an old Metro-Phoenix phone book, a flat tire repair kit, and a rag that was once a tee-shirt.

  Daisy touched Bridgette’s arm. “You sure you want us here?”

  No. I don’t want anyone, least of all you, knowing what I caused. But something’s off with Liam and he needs help. “Of course.”

  After Noah secured the car, Bridgette led the small group up the wide sidewalk and in through the automated doors, where the familiar smell of alcohol and medicine met her. The place, though in need of updating, was spotless. A short, graying woman gave a distracted wave from the desk and motioned her over. Shoes clicked and squeaked on linoleum as the group strode to the desk.

  “Anything wrong, Hattie?”

  “Hi, Bridgette. Oh, nothing we can’t handle.”

  “Is it Liam?”

  “Liam? No. He’s the same. It’s one of our newest residents. She had an episode. But we’ve got her medicated now. You guys get your badges and I’ll take you to Liam.”

  Bridgette introduced Hattie to everyone then stood on the red X for her photo and waited while the others did the same. Once they got their temporary badges, Hattie led them to the gate that separated the patients from the visitors. The entire staff and most of the patients here were paranormals. No violent patients, except maybe to themselves, but beyond help even from paranormal doctors.

  Well, except for Liam, now. Thanks to Daisy, he’d have a chance at a normal life again, away from this hospital. He still needed care and training before Hattie would release him on his own. Unlike most of mortal history, paranormals took care of their mentally ill, disabled and elderly. Hattie would never turn him out on the streets, even if he had no money to pay for his hospital stay.

  For paranormals who could care for themselves but had little or no money, half-way houses took them in, helped get them jobs, and taught them any life skills they needed. Some got work as servants for the more prominent paranormal households, while others would get work among mortals. It all depended on the person. Those who needed daily care, like the patients here, might get shuffled around from hospital to hospital until they got a permanent home, but they would never be left alone.

  The guard locked Noah’s keys in a small safe, just as Bridgette had predicted, and let the group keep everything else. He unlocked and opened the large metal gate that kept the patients from wandering away.

  She kept her mind closed off in this place but she could tell by Daisy’s wary expression her cousin was uneasy. The gate didn’t help, making the place feel more like a prison than a hospital, until they got to the common room. Here, colorful rugs, chairs and walls stood out in contrast against the high, stark windows. Tonight, there were no patients in the room. Even the television was off.

  “You wait here and I’ll get him.”

  “Hattie?” Bridgette waited as the short woman stopped and turned. “When do you think his parents will be taking him home?”

  “I thought you knew. I thought that’s why you were here.” Hattie’s face moved into that familiar, sympathetic gaze she used with those who visited the incurable. “They died this morning.”

  Back to Top

  * * * *

  Chapter 10

  Forever Young

  Bridgette stared at the older woman. Her mouth went dry and she could barely get the words out. “Died? How?” She caught Daisy’s look and knew her cousin was thinking about the hitchhiker. Oh, please don’t let it be that horrible thing.

  Hattie closed the door to the hallway and motioned her to one of the tables. “Accidental drowning.”

  Bridgette sank into a bright, yellow chair. “Both of them? How?”

  “He went for a morning swim alone, fell and hit his head. She found him and tried to pull him out but wasn’t strong enough. She fell in and drowned. I’m so sorry, Bridgette. I thought you knew.”

  Both parents? Drowned? Bridgette wanted to cry out that it wasn’t fair. That Liam had just come back to this world and he needed his parents. It didn’t sound like a hitchhiker was involved in the deaths. The look from Scarlet reaffirmed that thought. Bridgette was grateful for that. Daisy didn’t need any more guilt.

  Drownings happened all too often in Phoenix. Kids and adults who went swimming alone always put themselves at risk. Daisy crossed and put her hands on Bridgette’s shoulders. The warmth of her cousin’s flesh through her blouse gave her some comfort. This sounded like it really was just an accident. A fucking stupid accident. With the worst fucking timing in the universe.

  “Does Liam know?”

  Hattie shook her head. “I thought—”

  “You thought I was coming over to tell him.” No wonder she agreed to let me in after visiting hours.

  “Yes. Maybe you should wait to see him, Bridgette. I didn’t tell him you were coming by tonight in case you changed your mind. Tomorrow might be better for you.”

  She looked into those concerned eyes. Familiar eyes. Hattie had comforted her and Liam ever since he was moved here from the youth wing. Twenty-two years now. She wanted to curse at the Fates for taking his parents just when he needed them most. Even paranormals couldn’t outwit the Fates when they wanted something done.

  He deserves to know the truth. “No. I’ll tell him tonight.” And he deserves to hear it from me.

  Daisy hooked a bright green chair with one foot, pulled it close, and sat beside her. “You sure, Bridge?”

  “He should hear it from me tonight.” She looked at Hattie again. “What about his siblings?”

  The older woman frowned. “They stopped visiting years ago. When they went off to college. They’re having the bodies cremated and shipped to Connecticut, where they live now.”

&n
bsp; “Do they know about Liam, yet? I mean about his coming back?”

  “Yes. But they have families now. Children.” Hattie’s polite way of saying they don’t give a fuck about their crazy-ass brother who’s been locked up in a mental institute for twenty-two years. “Once he’s been cleared for release, he’ll continue with therapy. And we’ll assign someone to check on him periodically. Make sure he’s okay at home. His parents left a will. He’ll have enough money to live on once he leaves here.”

  But no family that wants him. Well, that’s fucking generous of them. I have to be the one to tell him. He doesn’t have anyone else. “Does he still think he’s fifteen?” Hattie nodded and Daisy’s brows climbed. Oh, yeah. I didn’t tell her that part.

  “It’ll take him a while to get through this, Bridgette. He still fades in and out. Sometimes he’s here and other times he seems like a different person. It’s not going to be easy for him.” Hattie looked guilty.

  “It’s not your fault, Hattie. You’ve been here for him all these years.” For both of us. It’s my fucking fault. But Hattie doesn’t know that, either. I never told her. I never told anyone.

  The short, older woman offered a sympathetic smile, patted Bridgette’s arm, and left the room. The rest took various chairs as they waited for her to retrieve Liam, gazing about the recreation room as though they weren’t sure what to say. The high windows allowed light in during the day but the place seemed dark now, void of jollity and life, despite the cheerful colors in the room.

  “So, Liam had his accident when he was fifteen.”

  Bridgette blinked and looked at Daisy. “Yeah.”

  “And you were fifteen.”

  “Yeah.”

  Those familiar brown eyes studied her intimately, like a sister. “What happened, Bridge?”

  Maybe it’ll be good to finally tell someone my secret. Something inside her felt relief at that thought and she swallowed a couple of times before she spoke. “We were at a carnival. On a date.” Daisy waited silently, one hand resting gently on Bridgette’s arm. “We’d been drinking.” That night flashed in her memory as she finally told Daisy the story after all these years. “Anyway, there was this one tent – Madam Zenar, Fortune-Teller and Medium Extraordinaire. Stupid name, right?” But I’ll never forget it. “We thought we’d play a joke on her. You know, kid’s stuff. Liam’s a medium so I dared him. Promised him sex if he’d call on a ghost and scare the shit out of Madam Zenar. Make her think she’d conjured a real ghost.”

  Daisy’s eyes widened. “You messed around with Liam’s medium powers when you were that young? And drinking? That was incredibly stupid, Bridge.” We both know that much about mediums.

  “Daisy,” Noah uttered.

  Bridgette took in a long breath as she focused on her cousin’s accusatory eyes. “Tell me about it.”

  Daisy’s gaze softened. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive.”

  I deserve it. And a hell of a lot more. “No. You’re right. It was stupid. Very stupid.”

  “Messing with powers when you’re that young wouldn’t get your friend put into this place.” Scarlet this time. If the medium was shocked, she didn’t show it. But then Scarlet was a master at keeping her emotions from her face when she chose. Probably from years spent around mortals, pretending she didn’t see dead people everywhere. “What else happened?”

  She must think I’m the dumbest paranormal fucker this side of stupidville. Bridgette chose to focus on the table instead of enduring Scarlet’s penetrating gaze. “I couldn’t read Madam Zenar. Or anybody for that matter. Not with the alcohol in me.” Even a few ounces impeded a telepath’s abilities until she reached maturity. Her throat threatened to close up at the thought of what had happened next.

  Daisy caressed her arm. “You’re scaring me, Bridge. How did Liam get hurt?”

  “Well, you see, that’s the thing.” She forced herself to meet Daisy’s gaze. “I fucking don’t know exactly. He started using his powers to call on the dead. Whatever mediums do for that. And everything seemed to be going just fine. Then, out of nowhere, he had some kind of convulsions and collapsed. Madam Zenar ran off. That was after they were both done screaming.” A tear fled down her cheek and she swiped it away, moving her gaze back to the tabletop. You don’t have any right to cry, Bridgette Kelly McDougal. Liam’s the one who got hurt. All because of you. “I never learned exactly what happened. And it was years before I finally figured out an explanation, though I still don’t know the how part.” She looked into Daisy’s brown eyes again, now alight with concern. “I think Madam Zenar was a necromancer.”

  Both Scarlet and Kali sucked in noisy breaths. Kali looked ill.

  “Is that why you quit drinking for so long, Bridge? Because of what happened to Liam? I really wish you’d told me.”

  I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell you I was the reason a teenage boy went mad. I couldn’t tell anyone. An odd sense of relief came over her now that Daisy knew the truth. But her guilt returned when Hattie entered with a tall, middle-aged man on her arm. Liam’s skin wasn’t as pale as before but he still looked way too thin. And at least ten years older than Bridgette.

  His gray eyes took in the small group, and he gave a tiny smile when his gaze landed on Bridgette’s. “Hi. I see you brought the posse.” He sat in a green plastic chair across from her at the table, causing it to squeak. When Hattie left, Liam leaned toward her. “The doctors say I might get out of here in a few weeks.”

  The youthful look in his eyes made her want to cry, but she shoved back her emotions and opened her senses to him. Just a tiny bit. She didn’t want thoughts from other patients intruding. Mentally unstable people didn’t make for enjoyable eavesdropping. Since there were none in the room with them now, she could manage taking a chink out of her mental wall for a moment. She sifted through Daisy and Noah’s concerned thoughts, ignoring Scarlet and Kali’s alarm, to concentrate on Liam. Most of his thoughts came to her in words now, but some were whispers that she couldn’t understand, as though part of him was still in the afterlife. A darkness. That’s the only way she could describe it. She barely held back a shiver as she plugged her mental wall again.

  His eagerness caused her to force a smile. “That’s great news, Liam.” She introduced the rest and waited as he politely shook each one’s hand. Daisy didn’t seem to recognize him. When he settled back into his green chair, the plastic creaked again. “How’re you feeling now?”

  His bony shoulders moved up and down in a shrug as he picked at a blue crayon mark on the table. “Hungry.”

  Bridgette gave a genuine smile at that. When they were teenagers, Liam always seemed to be hungry. “Sorry. I didn’t bring you any food this time.”

  His eyes drifted to hers again and she sensed that darkness within him. She looked to Scarlet and Kali, who both studied him like doctors peering into microscopes. What are they seeing? She didn’t want to pry so she kept herself closed off. For now. They had promised to tell her anything they learned about him. She wouldn’t be able to read Kali, anyway. The woman kept her mind closed off to other telepaths because it hurt her too much to communicate that way. And Scarlet’s thoughts always came in fits and starts, like a classified document that had been marked through to keep the secret stuff just that. Secret.

  “Bridgette tells me you guys used to date.”

  Liam turned his disturbing gaze on Daisy, who didn’t seem to sense anything wrong, and scrunched his face in thought. “Yeah. Feels like yesterday. But the doctors said it was years ago.” He smiled again. “She still looks great, even if she’s old.”

  Bridgette laughed, relieved at his banter. “You’re one to talk, you old fucker.”

  He grinned but didn’t say anything. He studied Daisy and his forehead creased. “Do I know you?”

  Bridgette laid a hand on Liam’s arm as hope welled up inside. Daisy had been the one to bring him out of his stupor. She was certain of that. “Do you remember her?”

  Liam ran a hand throug
h his graying hair. “She looks familiar, but some of my memories are foggy.” As he studied Daisy again, his face screwed up, like retrieving those memories caused pain. His eyes seemed to grow brighter for a moment, more alive, as though the shadowy part of him had moved on. Or maybe that was just a trick of the light. “Why, I think we’ve met someplace, Alice.”

  Daisy’s brows climbed in surprise. “What’d you call me?”

  Liam blinked and the darkness was back, hiding something. “Daisy. That’s your name, isn’t it?”

  Bridgette certainly didn’t need telepathy to tell that the name Alice meant something to her cousin.

  “Holy crap.” Daisy leaned toward Liam. “Chesh? Is that you?” She grinned. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  Bridgette’s gaze moved between the two. “What is it? Who’s Chesh?”

  “He is. He helped me on the other side when I was looking for Mom’s soul.”

  Liam looked confused. “I did?”

  The pieces clanked together in Bridgette’s brain. I should have caught that one right away. “I’ve read that book to him a million times, Daisy.” He must’ve thought his name was Cheshire on the other side. Maybe my reading to him confused him. Or it could have helped him - Did you think about that? Yeah, right. Nothing I did helped him. I put him there, remember?

  Daisy, not hearing the argument going on in Bridgette’s head, smiled at her. “He helped me. He—” She stopped as though someone put a hand over her mouth and frowned for an instant. Her eyes moved to Liam and her smile returned. “I didn’t recognize you at first, Liam. But I do now.”

  So, she did bring him back with her. Well, at least I got that part right. So maybe that darkness is some aftereffect of being half-dead for twenty-two years. But how the hell he survived all these years is still a mystery.

  “Have you seen my parents?”

  Fuck. I promised Hattie I’d be the one to tell him. She studied the rest. “Guys? Could Liam and I have a little privacy?”