Bone Dry: A Soul Shamans Novel (Volume 1) (25 page)

As I exited the station, I listened to the voicemails. In each one, Nathan sounded more and more worried up until the point when he’d driven past Mr. Baker’s house, saw the cops, asked questions and found out what had happened. He’d tried bailing us out, but the cops told him he couldn’t. The last voicemail he’d left said he was going home to crash and to call him as soon as I got out.

Outside, Mr. Fisher stood by his car, hugging Laura who was crying into his shirt. He met my gaze over the top of her head and motioned me over. The sky was light gray, yellow easing up the horizon. It was early. Way too early for this to be happening. It felt like elephants were sitting on my eyelids. All I wanted was to go to bed and sleep away all the shame of the night. Wake up hours from now, sleep so long this felt like only a dream, or something that had happened a long, long time ago.

I felt like a puppy walking over to him with my tail between my legs. Disappointment hung heavily in his eyes like the time he’d caught me and Laura sneaking into her bedroom window after a bonfire party on the beach freshman year. I looked down and stared at my feet. That time he’d yelled and I’d hated making him worry, but I didn’t regret what we’d done. Dancing to the hyper beat of a local punk band and hanging out on the beach with our toes in the sand had been worth it. Mr. Fisher’s typical parental speech flitted in one ear and right out the other, but now, his silence said more than that speech ever had. And the regret suffocated me.

“You bailed me out, didn’t you?” I wondered how much it had cost him, what he’d had to do.

“That’s right,” he said. “They were hesitant about letting me have you because I’m not your guardian, but I know the booking officer. I told him I’d spoken with your mother and that she was out of town and had no way of getting back to sign you out.”

He’d made that up. He hadn’t talked to her. He’d lied to a cop for me.

“Thank you,” I said in a small voice, still looking at my feet. I didn’t have anyone else who could bail me out, anyone else who would.

“Get in the car,” he said. “I’ll drive you back to our house, and you can pick up your truck.”

The three of us said nothing as he drove us home. White lines streaked by on the dappled pavement. Sunlight flickered on my face. Through the window, I saw early-risers jogging or speeding to the grocery store. It was all so normal. The world was awakening with the noise of kids laughing, squirrels chirping and ice cream trucks jingling, but the only sound in the car was the engine roar and Laura’s sniffs. I’d never seen her so upset. I wondered if they’d been mean to her, if some guy had whistled at her when she’d been trying to pee.

Mr. Fisher pulled into the driveway, and we all got out of the car. I stood there awkwardly before heading over to my truck. I didn’t know what to say to either of them. Sorry for getting your daughter arrested?

I felt like I needed to apologize even though she’d volunteered, even been eager to go. This was my fault. Mine alone. The responsibility for my actions weighed heavy on my shoulders like two tons of kryptonite.

“Holly,” Mr. Fisher said. I turned around and saw him watching me, bags under his eyes. “We need to have a chat.”

My shoulders sagged. I'd known this was coming. I knew he’d want to talk to me about the arrest, about me and Laura breaking into someone’s house. I just wasn’t ready for it yet. I didn’t have anything to say. The emptiness inside me was cavernous.

I followed him inside and mumbled a few words to Laura before he led her to her room. I stood in the entryway, shifting on my feet, staring at the stain on the carpet where Laura had spilled apple juice when we were eight.

Fifteen minutes later, he was back without Laura. He gestured for me to follow him, and I stared at his stiff back as he led me into the living room.

“Take a seat,” he said.

I felt like we were little again, and he’d caught us eating entire bags of candy or watching something on the movie channel we weren't supposed to. Only this time, it felt worse. Way worse.

I fell onto the couch, shoulders tense and teeth clicking together. He took one look at me and disappeared, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

What was he going to say to me? Maybe he was going to tell me I couldn’t hang out with his daughter anymore. Maybe he was going to tell me what the cops were going to do to us. How they thought we’d murdered someone.

My teeth clicked together harder.

Mr. Fisher came back and handed me a mug of hot chocolate. I looked up at him, surprised. His eyes softened a little, and he tapped me on the head, like he used to do when I was a little kid. My shoulders relaxed, just a little bit. Maybe he didn't hate me after all.

He sighed and sat in the recliner, weariness adding lines around his eyes. Leaning back, he ran a hand over his thinning hair.

“Holly, I'm worried about you,” he said. “I don't know why you were in Baker’s house tonight.” He glanced out the window at the lightening sky. “Or last night, I suppose. Anyway, they’re only charging you with B&E and nothing to do with Baker himself. But this is bad and could have jail time attached. With a lawyer, though, we might be able to get you and Laura off with community service.”

I nodded, not sure of what to say. I blew at the hot chocolate before taking a tentative sip. The thick liquid soothed my throat, warming me from head to toe.

I hadn't realized how cold I was.

He leaned forward, his eyes serious. “I need you to tell me what you were doing in Baker’s house tonight. And I need the truth.” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’ve kept to your mother’s wishes until now, but I can’t after what happened tonight.” He looked away, and I wondered what in the world he could mean. “I know what you are. I know what you, Laura and your mother are.”

I just stared at him. All this time, all this silence, and he’d known?

“Your mom asked me not tell you two that I know.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I don't know,” he said. “But your mother had her reasons. I wouldn’t even tell you now, but I can’t get ahold of her. She’s never home. She’s basically left you to take care of yourself. I know her cases are important to a lot of people, but you are her daughter. And I can't just sit back and watch this happen anymore.”

“Mr. Fisher, she hasn’t been off on trips. She’s sick. She’s been sick.”

Alarm flittered across his face, and he came forward to lean down in front of me. “Sick? What do you mean?” His eyes moved back and forth, like he was looking for signs I was lying.

“A shaman attacked her over a year ago and did something to her mind. It put her halfway in this world and halfway in Lower World. I’ve been looking for who did this to her.” I paused for a moment. It felt so strange to be talking to Mr. Fisher about this. “She can't get out of the Borderland, and most of the time she’s been catatonic and just stuck sitting. Now, she can’t even talk to me anymore.”

He stood and paced back and forth. “All this time I thought she was mad at me, and she’s been sick. Why didn’t she tell me?” He acted like he wasn’t even aware I was there, so he surprised me when he said, “You need to stay out of this. It’s more than you can handle.”

“If you knew about us all this time, do you know other shamans?” I asked.

“She didn’t want me knowing about that world any more than she wanted you to,” he said. “She only told me because she wanted me to know what my daughter is.”

I took another sip of my hot chocolate, the warmth relaxing my shoulders even more. “Well, I'm not going to stay out of it. I have to get her back.”

He stopped pacing and knelt down. His eyes were the same shade of brown as Laura’s, even though they weren’t really related. “She wouldn’t want you doing that. I know you want to help her, but you’ll help her more if you keep yourself safe.” He stopped, his mouth twitching, like he was thinking about saying something. “Your mom and me, we decided on something a long time ago. If she…if something ever happens to her, I become your legal guardian.”

I almost choked on the hot chocolate. “If you guys decided that, then why haven’t we come to live with you? She’s been sick for a year.”

“I don’t know.” He stood again to go back to his frantic pacing. “I don’t know why she didn’t tell me something was wrong.”

I took a few more sips of the hot chocolate, watching as Mr. Fisher continued to pace back and forth, like if he walked long enough all our problems would be solved. Once I’d taken the last chocolatey sip, I placed the mug on a coaster on the coffee table and stood. The clock on the mantle said it was six o’clock.

“I have to go,” I said, snapping him out of his reverie.

“You can’t go,” he said. “Not until you promise me you’re going to stay out of this.”

I lifted my chin. “You can’t stop me.”

His face looked pained. “It’s too dangerous. Stay here, get some sleep, and I’ll look in on your mother. We’ll figure out a way to make everything okay.”

“You aren’t going to change my mind.” I moved out of the living room and down the hall toward Laura’s room.

From behind me, Mr. Fisher said, “If you try taking Laura with you, I’ll call the police.”

I paused and turned, shock hitting me like a school bus head-on. He looked sad. And very tired. But I knew he wasn’t bluffing. He’d do what he had to in order to keep his daughter safe. I guess I understood, but that didn’t mean I thought it was fair. I didn’t think I had much time left to save my mom. And I didn’t want to face the shaman on my own.

CHAPTER 26

M
y truck idled while my fingers hovered over my phone. I had so many questions about, well, everything. All it would take was one call to Anthony Lombardi. His business card was stuffed in the cracks of my dashboard.

I turned my truck off to save gas, flipped open the phone and counted the rings, hoping it wasn’t too early for him to be awake.

“Hello?” His voice sounded musical with that one word.

“Mr. Lombardi? Anthony? This is Holly Bennett.” I stared at Laura’s peaceful, white-picket-fenced yard and wondered for the fifth time if calling Anthony was a terrible idea.

“Holly.” The musical tenor fell away, and I thought I heard sheets rustle in the background. “You sound like you’ve smoked a pack of cigars. Something wrong?”

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, resting my forehead on the steering wheel. “Mom won’t respond anymore. She can’t.”

“Mmm. I see. Did you summon the spirit? Did he show you anything?”

“Yes. The building where it happened.”

“Good.” He sighed. “Now, listen. Be careful if you go to this place, but do it soon.”

“Because she doesn’t have much time left.” The words felt like punches against my ears.

“Listen,” he said, and his tone made me brace myself. “There have been a few other cases of shamans getting stuck in the Borderland, and once they stop responding, they have only a few hours left. Twenty-four at most.”

A snake coiled around my heart and squeezed so tight I doubled over on the wheel. I whispered into the phone, unable to force my voice louder. “Twenty-four hours? This happened last night.”

“Well, then you don’t have much time.” The call clicked off, and I pulled the phone away from my ear to stare at it. He’d just hung up. He’d told me my mom had less than a day to live, and he hung up on me?

I blinked away burning tears and backed out of the drive. My breath shook my whole body. Mom had less than twenty-four hours. It was all I could do to watch the road. I didn’t know how to function like a normal person with that information crowding my mind. I brushed the tears off my cheeks, mentally preparing myself for what I needed to do today. Visit the building the spirit had shown me, where the shaman might be.

At home, Mom was the same, although her breathing seemed a little slower than last night. I pulled the blanket tighter around her before I dialed Nathan’s cell.

He answered after one ring.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I’ve been crazy worried about you guys. Did you get out? Laura’s dad said he’d take care of it. God, Holly, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

“I’m okay. A little shaken up, but okay. Can I come by?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “See you soon?”

“Be there in five,” I said.

When I pulled into the driveway, I drank in the Victorian-style wrap-around porch, the tire swing blowing in the breeze and the apples dotting the yard below low-hanging branches. I was surprised to see Kylie’s little blue car sitting by the curb. Nathan hadn’t mentioned she was there. I hesitated in my truck, thinking there had to be a good explanation, but I couldn’t think of any reason his ex-girlfriend would be at his house so early in the morning. Unless…

I shook my head and hopped out of my truck. As I walked up the drive, I wondered if I’d made a mistake in coming here. But then Nathan opened the door and smiled, and all my doubts fell away. He rushed down the steps, and my feet pounded the pavement toward him. When he reached me, he threw his arms around me and pulled me tight to his chest. My feet lifted off the ground as I buried my face in his cookie-scented t-shirt. I closed my eyes, melting in his arms. It felt nice, safe.