raised them. It must have been awful for them to be yanked back into a world where they didn't have anyone to help them. I plan on being there for them now. I promise they'll behave. Before you ask, I don't ever plan to make any more. This was a one-time accident." She looked as though she believed what she was saying, but then again, nobody really starts out bad. (No, I won't argue nature versus nurture with you right now; just keep reading.) She turned to me and took my hand. I was grateful for the gesture. Most people won't touch me. I gave her a smile and stepped back, my hand breaking off and remaining in her grip.
"I guess that's my way of saying 'holler at me if you ever need a hand.'" I grinned, and she chuckled, giving my hand back over to me. It was kind of nice. Normally, I get a disgusted look, and if they do give me back the body part that detached, they fling it at me. That she was getting so comfortable with dead things tipped me off that something wasn't right. That she was so quick getting us out the door was another clue.
We left with her promises to call us trailing behind as we made our way through the creepy overgrown lot to Griff's Expedition.
"She seems real nice." He looked like there was something weighing on him.
"Yeah. She's great."
"You got a feeling we're not done with her yet?"
"Yup, got a feeling she is going to explore her newfound abilities, and I am a tad worried about what she will do with them. I'd hate to find out she decided to recreate NOTLD with some folks she dislikes."
"NOTLD?"
"Night of the Living Dead?"
"Right. Yeah, that would suck. The last thing the Council wants is some necromancer going full-bore nuts on the human world. I can see Von Karolinas having a shit-fit over this." Griff sighed, and after rubbing his eyes, he continued, "I don't want to see her killed, man. She's a sweet kid, just a little fresh on the magic. I'm sure, as time goes on, she'll mellow."
"Into what, though? She's got serious power, G-man. We should tell Wilhelm immediately." Since I've mentioned him a couple times, I should probably tell you that Wilhelm Von Karolinas is the head of the Vampire Council. They have full control over all supernatural beings. Their main concern is making sure that only the humans who need to know about us supers are the ones in the know. Every hospital had a few folks in the know, so did every police department, old folks home, and school. The world leaders all knew, but they kept it quiet. Roughly 70% of the world populace was unaware of the things that go bump in the night, and we all wanted to keep it that way.
"I don't know, Bob. Calling in Von Karolinas right now might be a mistake. It's possible she won't misuse her power at all. If we call him in, he's going to go all bad-cop vicious and interrogate her."
"He very well might, but what do you think he'll do to us if he finds out we knew about her and didn't tell him?"
"You're right. I hate it, but you are." Griff sighed, dug out his cellphone, and dialed the most powerful vampire in the world.
After he told Wilhelm about Christine, all I could hear from Griffin's end was a lot of uh-huhs. There was a final "Yes, sir," then Griff hung up the phone and leaned his head back, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
"We have to go talk to her. Wilhelm is coming to visit her, and we need to tell her what to expect." He sounded defeated. I nodded and opened my car door. Good thing we hadn't driven off and then called that little leech. He'd have made us come right back. I wasn't a fan of Von Karolinas, but the Council did a lot of good work and they really needed to know about all of this just in case Christine did pull a NOTLD.
As we walked up to the dilapidated porch for the second time, I was sure to avoid the step that had nearly eaten my leg on the first go around. I was congratulating myself on that feat when the door flew open and Miss Whitaker stepped out and right into us. Her face flamed bright red, and I knew that we had been right to call Wilhelm.
As much as I hated that guy, the last thing we needed was a necromancer running around creating a ghoul army. Historically, those things never end well. The necromancer usually ends up dying in agony from the pain of calling so many ghouls. The looks of shock, embarrassment, and fear that flashed across her face was enough to let me know that my hunch was right and she was on her way to the graveyard to try and raise more ghouls.
"Oh, hi."
"Christine, we need to talk with you."
"I swear I wasn't going to--"
"It's not about what you were, or weren't, going to do just now. It's about the head of the Council coming to see you."
"What head of what council?" She stepped back, away from us.
"Wilhelm Von Karolinas is the head of the Vampire Council. They sort of run the supernatural community and control what is, and isn't, revealed to the world. He is coming to speak to you in a little bit."
"Why?" She looked angry. I decided to step in.
"He likes to welcome any new beings into the super world." He did, but not with a fruit basket or anything like that. Nope, he welcomed them with a warning that he'd send them straight to hell if they ignored any of his rules.
"So, he's coming to welcome me?" She looked unsure.
"Yeah, and he'll give you a run down on how things work in the super community. There are so many rules and regulations that it is easy to break them when you don't know what they are." Griff was giving her an apologetic smile.
"Oh. I was just?." She gave up, threw her hands in the air, and sat down on one of the sturdier looking rockers on the porch.
"You were going to test your powers." I gently finished the sentence for her, "I understand. You just learned you hold the power to bring the dead back to life. I'm sure there were some family members or friends you were off to visit." I couldn't blame her. I understood the desire to bring back what is lost.
I don't think she fully understood the ramifications of her actions, and that was my fault for not being completely honest with her about my unlife sucking diseased monkey testes. "It's one thing to bring your family back to say goodbye or clear any grievances so that you have no regrets, but bringing them back just because you can isn't cool. Trust me. My mom brought me back. Then she forced me to leave when I started rotting. I have eternity now. Eternity all by my lonesome. An eternity I didn't ask for and never wanted. I'm not saying I'd rather be dead ? well, I guess I kind of am. Once you bring someone back, your life is changed. Theirs is changed as well. Do it to someone you love, and it's just a recipe for disaster." She had paled during my speech.
The mom thing seemed to have hit the target for her. It's not something I like to think about, and yet today it felt as though I'd been forced to dwell on it. As much as I love my mother and as much as I know she loves me, I hate her for bringing me back. I always will. Not like a stalk-and-kill-her sort of hate her, more a seethe-quietly-until-her-death-and-rage-about-it-to-her-spirit hate.
"I'm sorry." She said it softly, but when she looked me right in the eyes, hers looked rather haunted and sad.
"Who?" I asked, stupidly realizing I sounded like a deranged owl.
"What?"
"Who were you going to bring back?" I clarified.
"My fianc?. He died last year."
"I am sorry for your loss, but believe me when I tell you that you don't want to bring him back. It won't fetch either of you any happiness."
"Thanks, Bob."
"If you ever want to talk, call me. I'll answer any questions you have and do my damnedest to help you through this." I put a hand over hers, and she didn't shrink away from my touch. Might not be much to you, but it meant a great deal to me. That's the one thing I hate most about being a zombie. Very few people are willing to touch me, or be touched by me. In a world where touch equals comfort, I'm lying naked on a bed of fiberglass insulation, covered in a killer bee blanket.
"Thank you. Thank you both so much." Tears streamed down her face and she gave me, then Griff, hugs.
"It's okay. We understand what you're going through. My bar is down
on Trammel Street. It's called Martin's Bar. You're welcome there anytime. All sorts of supers meet there and have fun. It might be something you'd enjoy." Griff held her hand and looked right in her eyes as he spoke, waves of calm and love rolling off him. She visibly relaxed, and the tears slowed then stopped.
"Thank you." She swiped the remaining trails of tears off her face and rubbed her eyes a moment.
"Anytime." I smiled at her, and was rewarded with a kiss on my cheek. She gave Griffin a kiss on his cheek, too, and we sat on the porch waiting for Wilhelm, talking about supernatural critters and what they are really like.
When Von Karolinas arrived, Griffin and I said our goodbyes and left. This time when we left, I felt better about the whole thing. We climbed up in Griff's beast of an SUV and headed back to the bar to do some cleanup. When we arrived, a man was unloading a Golden Tee arcade game from a van.
"What's this? I'm the owner of this bar." Griff walked right up to him.
"I got a call. Some guy bought this, said I should send it to Griffin Martin with sincere apologies for the damage. It's from some dude named ? Skag? Sign here." After squinting at it to read the name, he held a clipboard out to Griff, who took it and read over the paperwork.
"Bring it in. We'll hook it up and then, if it works, I'll sign the delivery order." Yup, don't mess with the green man. He knows how to run a business.
The guy did exactly what Griff asked. Seconds later,