Out Of The Dark Part 8

I was too shocked to be scared--though a scream would be nice about right now.

And there was color in front of me. Brilliant color. It was Dags, standing in the center of a ring of light, his hands to the sides of his head, his eyes closed. He was in pain and there was a tinkling like a bell somewhere in the air. Everyone stopped moving.

Everyone. Including Rhonda. But not Dags and I. I looked down at myself and saw the same vibrant colors. What the h.e.l.l?

The familiar presence was close now and I looked at the front door. There was movement there, a subtle shape and shadow surrounding a tall, thin gentleman in an expensive suit. He walked with a strange menagerie of creatures trailing behind him--but not creatures that the normal human could see.

But I could see them.

And so could Dags. His eyes were open wide now and he was looking at them just as I was. But what was worse--they were noticing him. The creatures were--the odd shapes and tentacled things that trailed behind this human man. But the man--he had stopped in the doorway and was looking around for something.

"Sonofa--" came Rhonda's voice beside me and in a blink the world came back in full, blinding color. Rhonda was beside Dags, pulling him out of the atrium and into the side waiting room.

I looked back at the man--and he was looking directly at me. And he was smiling. It was like having Wayne Pygram leering at me.

Ewwwwww.

There was something else there as well--that familiar taint to the air. It was almost the smell of s.e.x but not quite. Something I smelled in the morgue that evening. Something I'd only felt when Trench Coat was around-- Too late I realized what I was staring at.

"Zoe!" Rhonda hissed at me from behind. "It's a Symbiont!"

CHAPTER SIX.

His smile deepened.

No--couldn't be a Symbiont. It felt all-wrong. Well yeah it felt right, but it was wrong. And what were those things around it? The things I'd just seen when that whole slow-down-time-John-Woo thing happened?

Need answers here.

A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me backward. I stumbled with Rhonda as she pulled me into the waiting room as well, but I had to peek around the wall to see what it was doing.

"Doctor Bonville," a woman in a white coat dashed up to the Wayne Pygram look-a-like. He leaned down and turned an ear to her. I couldn't hear her whisper. But who cared.

I was still shocked. This guy was Dr. Bonville? This was the Chief of Surgery?

Holy s.h.i.+t.

Mr. Scary? No wonder all those people disappeared. I had a boss like that I'd disappear too.

"Get back here," Rhonda pulled at my hair and I would have yelped if I could. I did swat at her where we hid behind the wall in the waiting room. That's when I noticed Dags was in a chair behind us, his arms crossed over his chest and he was bent forward.

I pointed to him to indicate What up with him?

"We need to get you and Dags away from this guy p.r.o.nto," she moved around me and peered behind the wall. I moved above her head and looked as well. I'm sure we looked like two body-less heads floating along the edge of the wall. Dr. Bonville was moving out of atrium but not before glancing back in our general direction.

In fact, it looked as if he were looking around for something.

Rhonda and I ducked back behind. "Jesus--something about that guy is powerful. It's not him directly but something around him."

I nodded. And freak'n creepy.

She moved to Dags and knelt in front of him before touching his cheek. "Think you can make it to the car?"

He nodded but didn't look up. All I saw was a cascade of black hair over a leather pea-coat. When had he taken his ponytail out?

What the h.e.l.l's wrong with you?

He did look up then and he was way pale--like goth pale. "I --I don't know. I just --I'm nauseated. And my hands are burning."

Rhonda glanced from me to Dags. She pulled his hands out and moved them face up.

The tattoos were lit up like he had fluorescent bulbs on the inside of both hands. I glanced back around the wall--Mr. Spooky was gone. But the atrium still had that weird metallic feel to it. In fact everything in the atrium had like a shadowy, metallic after effect to it--almost like a sheen. It was creepy.

I turned back. Dags' expression was one of pain, and he was holding it in. The skin around the concentric circles was red and puckered. I pointed to it and waved at Rhonda. "Summoning?" I managed to spell, remembering that book on sign language.

She nodded. "They're summoning circles--but I don't think he's actually summoning anything. I think he's being summoned. And it started happening the moment dark and creepy walked in. We have to get to Nona's--with her protections up around that shop he should be fine."

And is if on cue--which my life seems to be playing out lately--Dags sort of faded. Just --zzzzzip. Like someone reduced the transparency on him from 110 percent to like 70 percent.

Or maybe more like 50 percent.

I don't know why but I felt I needed to touch him--but not like this. With another glance around to make sure we were alone in the waiting room I sat down quickly and slipped out of my body, making sure it was semi-propped up against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Rhonda hissed.

I waved at her to shush and reached down--now remember--the last few times I'd done this met with a bad end--for the other person. But the overwhelming need to touch Dags was incredible. But apparently Rhonda remembered my Wraith touch and tried to stop me.

Her hand pa.s.sed through my arm as I knelt down in front of Dags and touched his open palms.

Wind, darkness, howling, shadows--it was as if I were standing on a mountain top overlooking an apocalyptic scene of ma.s.s destruction. Only nothing in the ruins looked normal to me. There was nothing familiar. Only-- I saw his face--a face I'd never wanted to see again.

The Archer.

And he was angry. He screamed at me as did all those little weirdoes I'd seen behind Bonville in the atrium and they charged at me, over and over again, coming up the ragged mountain.

And then I popped back again, sitting on my b.u.t.t in front of Dags --who was looking at me as if I were some sort of bug. At least he was solid again.

"I don't know what you did," Rhonda was saying as she reached around Dags' front and grabbed at his wrists. The marks on his hands were still there but not as bright. "But it worked. Now get in your body and let's get out of here."

I did as Rhonda said, sitting up in my body and dusting myself off as I stood. Looking around the wall again and seeing it clear, I motioned them to follow me. Rhonda helped Dags along with an arm beneath his shoulder --and in a hospital this looked fairly normal. So we moseyed on through to the front door and then across the walk to the parking garage. Once in the Volvo I took the wheel this time while Rhonda held onto Dags in the back seat.

I sure as h.e.l.l hoped she didn't put the moves on him while he was in this condition. That would be like seven shades of wrong.

But as we pulled into traffic she called out, "He's fading again!"

s.h.i.+t.

I pulled over and Rhonda and I switched places. I half pulled out of my body and would endure the weird mountain scene every time I touched him. The worst part of it for me was that every time I technically "pulled him back" those b.u.g.g.e.rs were closer up the mountain side.

But I didn't see TC's face again. Only that first time.

So, what happens if I they reach me before we get him to Mom's? I really didn't wanna know.

But with Rhonda's Speed Racer imitation we made it to Little Five Points and up the driveway. Mom and Jemmy came out the door, the former in her blue caftan and the latter in that house dress. I slipped back into my body and realized the whole upper half was on pins and needles --like it went to sleep.

Weird.

Once Dags was inside --I noticed a weird wave in the air in the doorway when he crossed through --he was okay. The tattoos on his hands vanished and he wasn't as nauseated as he was before. Mom offered him some tea and Rhonda shook her head just where Dags and I could see (mom's tea's been a little off lately). He took it out of kindness but then poured it into one of the plants in the Tea Shop.

Poor Ficus.

Rhonda gave mom one of her highly detailed recounts of what happened at the restaurant with the odd acting Shadow Folk and then at the hospital.

Nona frowned. "Who's Charlie Holmes?"

Rhonda gave her a brief history between he and Daniel. "Evidently Cooper called him in."

"Well if Captain Cooper has confidence in him I do too."

Jemmy interrupted. "So, Zoe here was moved same as Dags there. Only his tattoos reacted and Zoe had to go all OOB and stop him from vanis.h.i.+ng?"

Everyone nodded. Even Dags.

Dags waved to get my attention. "You saw them --moving up the mountain?"

I nodded. You did too?

"Yeah," he swallowed. "I --I didn't recognize where that place was. I mean--it didn't look like here. Like Earth."

And no, it hadn't. It had looked more like some wacko fantasy landscape in a Tolkien nightmare.

He didn't mention seeing TC, and for some reason neither did I. But I knew my reasons were more personal. If I did mention seeing the Archer again, I knew my mom would somehow lock me away, terrified that creature was going to change me into something else.

Everyone gathered at the table. Rhonda pulled out some day-old pastries, some iced tea from the fridge and I helped get the pot of tea (store bought) brewed and in a container for hot tea. Mom encouraged Dags to eat and even sat down beside him. Tim and Steve appeared, looking extremely brighter than usual.

Mom took the doc.u.ments from Rhonda and looked at each one of them. I snacked on an espres...o...b..ownie. Zing! I was gonna be high on caffeine later. Yow! But man -- it was goooood.

"I think it's a set of contracts," Rhonda said. "For the Cruorem."

Mom nodded. I got the feeling from her rather grim expression that this was a bad thing. I sipped at my tea wis.h.i.+ng for a hotdog. Or even a salad with lots of grilled chicken. I was starving again. Those peanuts just hadn't done it.

"The who?" Jemmy said.

Rhonda had already mentioned them today. Let's see what mom was going to say.

"A local Ceremonial group. Pretty much known more for their politics in the magical world rather than their works," Nona said. She was still looking over the doc.u.ments. "Originally they were more of a nuisance --you'd hear about these public rituals in North Georgia and all the Wiccan groups would protest, going on camera to say this isn't what magic is all about."

I pursed my lips. Okay.

Dags looked from Rhonda to Nona. "How do you know about them like that?"

"Because I was at a few of those protests," Nona said. "Anyway --they vanished about three years ago. I figured internal politics had rotted them from the inside out. But apparently Dr. Bonville is back in town and I'm a.s.suming he's their new leader." She looked at Dags. "And from the reaction you had in the hospital that close to him, unprotected, I'd say he's got a caller out on you, Mr. McConnell."

I got up and found my dry erase board on the papasan in the Botanica and came back to the table. I scribbled for a bit and then held it up. WHEN I TOUCH HIM, WE GO TO MOUNTAIN TOP.

Mom frowned. Rhonda grabbed up the Big Book of Everything and started flipping through it.

"Was it a mountain top that overlooked ruins?" Steve piped up.

I glanced at Dags. He nodded to the ghost and cleared his throat. He looked a little better. A little. "Yes. But the sky was all orange, and there were lots of odd shaped creatures coming up the side toward me."

Mom and Steve exchanged glances before Steve said, "I think he's using some sort of spell to summon Dags to the Abysmal."

Dags frowned. "The Abysmal?"

Rhonda gave him a brief explanation of Physical, Mental, Astral, Ethereal and Abysmal. Dags didn't look very comforted. "So you think Dr. Bonville is trying to draw me into the Abysmal what the h.e.l.l for?"

"I don't know why-unless he's trying to get rid of you. If you weren't in physical form, it could be used as a jail," Steve said. "But since you are and got yanked inside-you'd die pretty quick. The Physical can't exist in the Abysmal for more than say a few seconds before the lack of oxygen, lack of any real atmosphere would cause your body to implode. My a.s.sumption? I think he's using it as a short cut to summon you to him. Like, a portal between dimensions. A teleporting short cut." He frowned. "Only with some very ugly side effects if the summon fails."

"Side effects?" Dags squeaked.

Steve nodded. "Yeah, that dying thing I mentioned."

Dags looked like he was going to throw up.

Finally Rhonda asked the question. "So, what happens to Dags if he doesn't pull him out?"

Steve looked irritated. "What part of die here are we missing?"

Rhonda made a rude noise. "Touchy. Look, I'm just wondering--since there are four Guardians to represent the four quarters--then have the other three already been pulled through? Or is he specifically after Dags?"

Steve shrugged.

Good point.

Mom held up the brown papers. "These are contracts --and very much worded like the one you stumbled on with Hirok.u.mi and the Reverend between the Phantasm and symbiont. Only these all have blanks in them and there is a phrase here that talks about the Shadow Realm Walkers."

"You mean the Shadow Folk?" Rhonda said, looking up from the book. "Like the ones we just ran into at the restaurant?"

"Oh I don't know if they're the same shadows --but I think this is a contract between the Cruorem and --well --maybe the Brownies? I just can't be sure. The language is evasive."