Beyond the Veil

Chapter 7

We finally pulled to a stop below a three story apartment complex with dangling shutters and chipped paint. All in all a very homey looking place.

The car door slammed shut and I realized I was being left behind; I exited the vehicle and, ignoring the pain that had dulled to a steady throb, followed him up into his apartment.

I couldn’t stifle the gasp that came from my mouth when I entered his home, for such a clean cut looking guy he lived in such a squalid manner. There were socks draped over lamp shades, takeoutfood attracting what I hope was flies, and several other things that appeared to be moving that shouldn’t. I shuddered as he walked passed this, not batting an eyelash against the mess.

This was definitely not part of my unconscious detective vision earlier.

As he searched through a stack of mail he had found beneath a carton of Chinese I wandered around the parts of the apartment I hadn’t yet seen. It seemed his bedroom was just the same state as his living room. I didn’t even bother looking in the bathroom; I was terrified of what I would find.

A jolt of electricity went through me, and I froze.

That’s odd, I haven’t even tried to attach myself to this place, what could that be? Thinking that this could perhaps be a portal I tapped into the electromagnetic field that surrounded the home. I thanked god for the copper pipes that went through the old building, it really helped in manifesting, acting as a boost of sorts.

I felt the energy slide over my skin like a well-fitting dress and settle into a comfortable shield against the pain that had plagued me since leaving my home. I had to force myself to not take so much as to manifest. After all it would be counter intuitive to come here to make sure he wasn’t feeling any lasting effects of my presence only to scare the daylights out of him again.

A light knock came at the door and the fizzle of odd energy went through me again, what is that? I followed him over to the door as he opened the door to reveal what he saw as a human. I saw the same human guise he did but only as a faded image over top of what it real was.

My stomach did flip flops at the sight of its sunken golden eyes and lipless mouth, out of which jagged fangs protruded.

I blinked in stupefaction as the demon smiled and offered a newspaper, “Hey, I’m new in the building and was wondering if you wanted this. I have an extra copy and someone said you like to read the news.”

“Sure. Would you like some coffee? I was just about to make a cup.” He accepted the proffered newspaper and turned his back to the demon.

I saw the predatory like gleam in his eyes and stepped in between the two of them. I knew demons weren’t particularly fond of spirits and would devour the souls of any that hapless enough to manifest before them, but as I was I could still do damage to the monster before me.

The gleam left his eyes as he caught sight of me, demons had the ability to see spirits even if we weren’t corporeal. His fangs grew as his human illusion wavered.

“Do you want milk, Holy…” The detective had turned two steaming cups of the caffeine lifeblood in his hands. The two mugs fell to the floor to shatter in a thousand pieces.

He reached for the gun at his hip a second to slow as the demon pounced, pinning him to the wall, “Pathetic human,” It growled, it illusion faded completely, revealing the leathery skin that covered its bony frame.

I narrowed my eyes at its humped back, the tingling sensation of a manifestation already racing up and down my arms like lightening. The blinds on the windows whipped wildly back and forth as the energy in the room increased.

A light bulb burst next to the detectives head and he cursed as the glass cut into his head. I, meanwhile ignored him, and reached for the gun that hung on his belt as I became more solid.

The demon swatted the weapon from my hand, knocking it to the other side of the small kitchen, “Foolish ghost, I will devour you next.” He tightened his grip on the detective and sank his fangs into his throat. I heard the garbled gasp that came from his lips as the demon fed.

His eyes wide and pleading met mine, recognition brightening them for a moment only to fade with blood loss.

You came here to help! So help! I seized the gun and pressed it to the side of the monsters head. I pulled the trigger there was an explosion of sound and a spray of black blood and brain matter that covered the counter behind the creature.

It turned sightless dead eyes on me and blinked. Darn it, it had to be a hybrid.

Hybrid demons were by far the worst to deal with. A full fledged demon could be killed like a human, albeit they could take more damage, but a half demon was real bad. They could be a mix of more than one demon, which meant the hybrid got the best traits of both its parents. Or the other scenario could be that it’s a mix of a human or a demon. They were the absolute positive worst; the human part of the body is not able to take the demon part of its blood and will temporarily be caught in a Bind.

A Bind is a self-inflicted spell that captures the casters soul and holds it in limbo; a…what did Hollywood call it? Zombie, that’s what they call them.

And that’s what this one was; I backed away as he slashed at me with claws that tipped each finger, the detective forgotten for now.

I threw the gun down and backed away, it was useless against someone who had already had his brains scrambled and splattered throughout the kitchen. He growled, the inhuman sound making the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and slashed again this time cutting into the soft flesh of my shoulder.

Think Lacy, Think. How do you kill something like this? She hesitated an instant, allowing the zombie the time it needed to spear her shoulder with its claws and pin her to the wall. It hissed, its jaws dripping with saliva. I shook my head to clear it of the sickly sweet smell of death that wafted from the creature’s mouth.

“She, it, that’s not food!” The Detective, stumbling over the proper name of what I was, slammed into the Demon, ripping it away from me.

It hissed and swiped at him with its claws, making him jump back. He retreated until he drew even with me.

He looked at me sideways briefly, “Not that I believe in ghosts but this warrants a little belief don’t you think?”

I didn’t bother answering I just frowned.

Not noticing my reaction he frowned in concentration, “How do we kill this thing? By all rights it should be dead already right?” A glob of black congealed blood splattered on the floor form the hole in the demons head and he winced.

He looked at me, “Hello? Ghost girl? Kill Zombie? How do you do it?”

Ghost girl? I would have been indignant if the circumstances weren’t so dire. But he was right, how to kill a soulless, dead demon?

Fire! An old movie cliché in terms of zombies, but it will work, I hope..

“Do you have a can of deodorant or something? A pressurized can?”

Before I could even finish my sentence he had a small can of mace already in hand, “Now what?”

The zombie lurched forward, “Shoot it!” The detective lunged for the gun as I drew the zombie away from him.

“Hey Gruesome!” He tossed the small can into the zombie’s hands and fired. The small explosion wasn’t very costly in damage but it burst the demon’s heart, and released the Bind that kept its soul in place.

I blinked as tears came to my eyes, the scent of roses swirled around the room breiefly, caressing me, as the trapped spirit thanked me for freeing it.

“Ghost Girl! What was that thing? And what are you doing in my apartment?” The detective stood legs akimbo and hands on his hips, “Well?” He prompted.

I sighed, this was going to be a long night.