“But Wes never saw her for himself?” Christopher questioned.
“No. Should we go…check her out?”
We advanced on her slowly, cautiously. She stood stock still, never raising her hand, never giving any indication that she was going to attack us. We stopped about three feet away from her.
“Mildred?” Ben asked.
Mildred shook her head “no” and then looked at Christopher. “I’m so sorry, baby.” She went back into the cabin.
“Wes?” Christopher asked after her.
The door on the third cabin flew open. We all turned to see an older woman with a no-nonsense salt and pepper pixie cut come charging through it, her left arm out in front of her.
“Candace!” Aunt Hazel shouted.
The woman twisted her hand. “You’re only half right.” Aunt Hazel fell to the ground clutching her head.
Arms up, Christopher, Ben and I took a step forward.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Candace said, approaching us. “One more move and they all die.” She nodded to our group. “Then I’ll let Mildred have her pick of bodies to inhabit. As you saw her old one is only good for sleeping in at this point. It gets a little crowded when both of us are in mine.”
We stopped in our tracks.
“That’s better.” Candace smiled and straightened out her hand, relieving the pressure on Aunt Hazel enough so that she could come out of the fetal position and sit back on her heels.
Ten older women emerged from the middle cabin.
“We cannot be defeated by the goddamned Chico’s army,” Christopher quipped.
Marcus, Avery and Connor collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. All we could do was watch, our hearts breaking, and try not to incur any more of her wrath.
“It’s disrespect like that, Christopher, that has ruined The Society,” Candace said. The women went to stand beside her. “There was a time,” she continued, “when protocol was followed. When a
woman
discovered she had these unique gifts, if she was a Retroact, she left her home and her trigger behind and she and her Lookout joined up. If she was a seer,” Candace glared at Mom, “she knew her place. She married a nice man and set about having daughters in the hopes that they would become Retroacts.”
Candace rolled her neck, her demeanor changing. She was Mildred now. The pressure on the skulls of the triggers increased.
My gaze fell to Avery, wishing more than anything that I could take his place.
Dad, Mom and Melody dropped.
“Eyes up here, Zellie, or they all go down.”
Rage building deep inside me, I forced myself to put my focus back on her.
“When I had the vision about you three and Candace later discovered that your grandmother and mothers had gone behind my back, had not obeyed my direct order to have you killed, I knew it was the end of an era. My plans to make the American Society the most powerful supernatural organization on the planet were threatened.” She nodded to the cabin behind us. “It was hubris, perhaps, that made me think it would be easy to defeat you. But it taught me a valuable lesson, one that Candace and I have been working toward since the night she rescued me from the coat room. If you can’t beat them,
use
them.”
Mildred straightened her hand out completely, releasing her hold on the triggers and my family. She gestured to the women standing next to her. “These women are not members of The Society. They are everyday people with powerful jobs. Judges, CEOs, moguls. We even have a queen.”
She strode in front of them like a dictator and placed her hand on one woman’s frosted blonde updo. “Each of these extraordinary women is under my control, as are the spirits I put inside some of them early this morning.” Mildred tapped frosty hair on the head. “Rachel and Richard Loughlin. Under my complete control. By day they reside in Honorable Judge Camilla Gregory, by night they live in limbo.” She moved to the next woman. “Delores Robinson, Head of Archway Entertainment. Occupied by Laura Fontenot and Brandon Grand.”
Ben and Frank both gasped.
Mildred giggled with delight. “You get the picture.” She ticked off down the line. “Christopher’s mother Rita Spence and Declan Farrell.” Christopher grabbed my hand, squeezing it to keep his from trembling. “Regan Cho and Carlos Montez, Stephen Ang and Laird Burrows, Aaron Larter and Simon Dietz, Gabrielle and Jorge. Each body contains a Retroact, with their trigger as a booster. My minions have been very busy collecting all of these souls.”
“Can I-” I said.
Mildred twisted her hand and aimed it at Avery again. “Yes?”
I cleared my throat. “I just want to ask a question.”
“Fine.”
“Why the elaborate setup? Why all the rewinds? Couldn’t Candace have just told me where you were?”
Mildred laughed condescendingly. “That was the way Candace glimpsed it. Three of the four times she looked into the future she saw Marcus and Connor at The Lodge and all of you walking up the road together.” Her expression turned sour. “Such a touchy-feely group. Really, all that ‘I love you’ crap on the way here was just pathetic.” She clapped her hands together. “All right, now that the question and answer session is complete, back to business.”
My eyelids grew heavy. Impeccable timing as usual.
“Here’s what’s going to happen.” Mildred pointed to me, Ben, Avery, Connor and Marcus. “You, you, you, you and
you
are all going to die and settle down in one of these nice ladies.” She flicked her fingers at the rest of our group. “You all can go.” She made a pouty face at Christopher. “But what about me? I always get left out,” she said, mocking him. “Christopher, you’ll be helping me with recruits by managing the minions.”
I faced Avery, praying that he noticed I was looking especially drowsy.
“Bah!” he wailed, banging his fists on the ground, doing an awesome Wyatt impression. “Please! Take my Dad instead!”
I had the best boyfriend ever.
My eyes snapped shut.
An instant.
I opened my eyes.
Christopher squeezed my hand again. He’d seen it too.
“Tell her what’s what, Zel,” Ben said.
Mildred’s gaze flicked over to me as she applied more pressure to Avery’s head and crushed his skull, killing him. Oh, how she was gonna pay for that.
“Here’s,” I stared her down, “what’s going to happen.”
I ducked as Christopher and Ben’s hands shot out over my head toward the spirit-possessed women. They began pulling the trapped Retroacts and triggers from the women and putting them into our groups’ bodies. Into my dad, and Aunt Hazel and Frank. I sprang forward, running at Mildred. Reacting on instinct, I cracked her across the jaw with my cast. She needed to focus on me now. Her head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. She took a split second to recover and then swung her head back around. She narrowed her eyes at me.
It was on.
Mildred raised both of her hands and aimed all of her power at both sides of my head. I crumpled to the earth, feeling my skull tighten around my brain. Relishing the pain, knowing it was a means to an end. She thought she could defeat me, but I knew how this all would end.
That’s right, bitch. Kill me. Make me stronger.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the final spirit fly past. A boy that had to be Antoine. He would inhabit his trigger, give Marcus power. Then my vision went dark.
I rose out of my body and saw Avery’s spirit standing next to it.
“Hurry, we’ve got to inhabit Melody.” The instant the words left my mouth we were sucked into her by a flick of Ben’s wrist.
Before us, Mildred stood with her arms outstretched. She was calling her spirit minions to her, thousands of lost souls sailed through the air and poured into her. A faint blue glimmer of light came to the surface of her skin.
“Zellie?” My sister rattled her head. I could feel the fear churning in her gut.
“You can do this Melody. I saw you do this.”
Melody looked over at Dad and Mom, to Connor and Marcus. They were all filled with Retroact and trigger spirits.
And they were glowing.
Ben and Christopher marched toward Mildred, hands clasped and extended, rewinding her to them. She pushed back, as the spirits she had summoned began funneling their energy through her.
“Round everyone up, Mel,” I hollered, my voice bouncing around inside her. “We all have to be in contact.”
She turned to Connor and Marcus and pointed at Ben. “Hold onto him!”
Aunt Hazel and Frank caught on quickly; Frank took Mom by the hand and Aunt Hazel grabbed Dad.
“Now get in between the guys and Mildred,” I ordered.
My super brave and kick-ass awesome little sister didn’t even pause to wonder what kind of peril I was putting her in. She jumped in front of the guys. Mildred brought her hands closer together and directed them at Melody.
Ben and Christopher gripped my sister’s shoulders as she struggled to stay on her feet under the pressure Mildred was applying to her skull. I forced Melody’s arm out, making her a conduit for the combined power of twenty Retroacts and triggers. Their energy coursed through her body, strengthening my spirit and Avery’s. I let it build for an instant, until I felt it, until I knew that together we had all transcended any power that Mildred could overcome.
The glow blasted out of Melody’s fingertips, aimed at the center of Mildred’s forehead.
Her face undulated, switching back and forth between Mildred and Candace’s personas, each with their mouth agape, screaming. The glow spread out from its focal point, consuming Mildred’s head. Her eye sockets lit up and light poured from her mouth and ears.
Candace’s body jerked as the glow engulfed her, splitting her chest open and sending a tunnel of blue light and swirling spirits heavenward, shooting into the sky. She gave one last explosive jerk and then the glow was gone.
Empty, the husk that had been Candace collapsed to the ground.
Melody, her foot all aglow, kicked the body for good measure.
“Okay, Mel. You did perfect, but don’t go wasting any more of our good, strong power on beating a dead old lady. Put Avery and me back,” I said. “Avery first.”
“Sorry! It’s not like I’ve actually done this before!”
My sister moved her hand and pointed it at Avery’s body. I felt the glow lessen as he climbed out of Melody and back into his self. After a moment, he raised his head, rewinding into a standing position.
Feeling the pull of my own body, I gave into the sensation, letting it transport me back. I, too, rewound into a standing position.
With Melody no longer inhabited by our spirits, Christopher and Ben took their hands from her shoulders. Slowly, the group disconnected, the glow dissipating as the spirits left their host bodies.
“Uh, everybody cool?” I said brilliantly.
Hey, I
had
just died and been brought back to life for the second time, it was bound to kill some brain cells.
Avery chuckled, stumbling over and wrapping his arms around me from behind. I don’t know if he knew it, but he probably did. He was holding me together.
Dad raised his arms in the air and gazed upward. “Thank you, Heavenly Father,” he prayed, “for giving us the strength to fight evil. For granting my daughters and all of the people like them their blessed abilities so that they may do your work here on earth.”
“Amen,” Avery whispered in my ear.
Dad lowered his arms and spread them wide, getting into bear hug posture.
Mom patted him on the back and looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Go,” Avery said.
My sister and I ran to him, letting him love on us as only our daddy could.
“He finally gets it,” said Grandma Rachel, appearing over Dad’s shoulder. Grandpa Richard stood next to her, beaming.
“Aunt Hazel!” Mom called, scanning the small clusters of people and spirits reuniting and talking to one another. “Mom and Dad are over here!”
Melody and I pulled back.
“I think Aunt Hazel’s already back at work,” Melody said. “Which, speaking of…” She gave Dad one more quick squeeze and then went in search of her fellow Lookouts.
“Zellie,” Mr. Adams said. “Can you help me talk to Avery?”
I turned to him and held out my hand. “Your Dad wants to say something to you.”
He chuckled again, giving me a crinkly-eyed smile. “I know. I can hear him.”
Mr. Adams’ mouth dropped open, followed by mine and Mom’s. “You can?” we all said at once.
“I guess,” Avery said, “when it comes to dying and being brought back to life, third time’s the charm.”
Mom, Dad and I all looked at each other, eyes wide. Dad said what we were all thinking. “Don’t tell Melody that.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Wes emerged from the first cabin and shuddered. “Good thing I was gay before,” he said to no one in particular. “Because being inside Mildred is enough to put even the straightest dude off of women.”
For fuck’s sake, go to the light already.
There was no way he was gonna let that dumbass con Christopher into getting back together.
“Ben!”
He turned, in a daze, still reeling from all the energy that he’d pumped through himself, and looked in the direction of his mom’s voice. Then, suddenly, she was standing in front of him with a man by her side.
Ben gawked at his father. Tall, dark, a slightly younger, scowlier version of Frank. He stared off in the distance, doing his best impression of a catatonic patient.
This
was the man that Antoine Sr. had claimed was pretty funny for a white dude?
“Oh, honey,” his mom said, reaching out and running her hand through his. “I really wish I could hug you, but buzzing you will have to do.”
Ben moved his hand away from her. “Maybe in a second. I’ve kinda had all the buzzing I can stand at the moment.”
She gave him a goofy smile. “Duh.”
Frank came up behind him and put his arm around Ben’s shoulders. He nodded at Ben’s mom. “Good to have you back, Laura. I’ve really missed you, missed everything about you.”
His mom stood on tip-toe and gave Frank a good buzz on the cheek. “Thank you for being there for our boy. He, uh, seems to have gotten a fuckuva lot more powerful since the last time I saw him.”