Bring Out Your Dead Valentine Ch. 03 - Witches

He shook his head.

"Maybe you would or maybe you wouldn't. The fact is I don't know you well enough."

"Okay," I shrugged.

There was no sense sulking about it with everything else that was about to happen.

In our room, I dropped off the bag of food and the two drinks on the table then went into the bathroom to wash my hands.

"She slipped a powder into your drink," my ghost said as I sat at the table on return.

Rachel looked ravishing sitting naked with her shoulders back across the table from me. She had her perfect breasts on full display. I thought of pushing off what I was about to do so we could spend another hour of bliss in bed, but steeled my resolve instead.

I reached over and grabbed her cup swapping it with mine. She stared at me too shocked to say anything.

"RACHEL, FORGET THAT I'VE SWITCHED OUR CUPS," I ordered in my spectral voice.

I watched for her reaction. She gave me a blank look then blinked.

I picked up the drink in front of me and sipped it then took a forkful of burrito into my mouth. A beautiful and slightly wicked smile broke out on her face. She dug into her chicken taco sipping her pop until she was finished with both.

When we were done, I led her to the bed where I propped her up on pillows so she could watch TV. Fifteen minutes later she was fast asleep. I shook her and called her name. Nothing roused her.

"Now for step two," I took Rachael's phone and called the number listed beside 'Mom' in her phone directory.

"Wait, what are you doing?" my ghost asked.

I held up a finger.

"Hello? Is this Rachael's mom? This is Aaron, the guy driving your daughter up to school. I have a problem. Rachael fell asleep right after eating lunch and I can't wake her up. Should I call 9-1-1?" I inserted a bit of panic into my voice.

"No, don't do that," the disembodied voice said from the phone, "this has happened before, all I need to do is get up there and administer a dose of medicine. I can be up there in four hours. Can you keep her safe and warm until then?"

"I can do that," I replied, "but please hurry. Can I do anything for her in the meantime?"

"You've done everything you can. Hold on tight, her father and I are on the way."

I hung up the phone.

"What are you going to do when they come bursting through the door?" my ghost asked.

"I'll use my spectral voice on them, of course."

"Good thinking," the ghost said, "but she's a witch and probably a smart one if she's lived long enough to have a child. What are you going to do if she has cast a counter spell over herself so she won't have to follow a command from your spectral voice?"

I got that sinking feeling like I had dropped ten floors without the benefit of a elevator.

"A witch can do that?" I choked out.

The ghost nodded.

"You've got four hours to think up a couple of other strategies or to run like Hell."

I sat and thought while looking at Rachael. How could such a lovely face harbor such evil intent? It got me wondering if there was some sort of judgment every person had to go through after death. I had watched a lot of ghosts step through the doorway into the golden light. Most people looked happy with what they saw on the other side. There were a couple who hadn't. That got me thinking.

"Using the voice, can I pull my own soul from my body?" I asked my ghost.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "give it a try."

"I ORDER MY SOUL OUT OF MY BODY."

My head lolled back hitting the wall as I sprawled in the chair. I stood over myself and looked down. At first I worried that I had killed my body, but discovered that it was still breathing.

"Is that what I look like?" I asked the ghost.

"Yep, pretty much," he said floating over to me.

"Will my spectral voice still work with me in this condition?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, "why don't we test it?"

I floated out to the reception area. The world looked different from this side. The colors were muted and objects fuzzy like I was viewing everything through gauze. The only brilliant colors were the auras around people.

"This floating around is pretty cool," I said to my fellow ghost.

"Don't get used to it, I need you in your body to help me after we get through with this."

The woman at the reception desk was a chesty blond, teetering on middle age. She was still attractive, although you could tell that she was fighting the pounds her slowing metabolism had added to her. So far, the added pounds had found the right places to settle in.

"UNBUTTON YOUR BLOUSE," I commanded in my spectral voice.

The woman blinked a couple of times then began exposing a substantial bra one button at a time.

"REBUTTON YOU BLOUSE," I commanded.

The woman blinked a couple of times, then looked down blushing as she realized what she was doing. She began rebuttoning her blouse while looking around to determine if anyone had seen her.

"Could a witch's counterspell work if the spectral command was unspoken?" I asked the ghost.

He scratched his head.

"Good question. I've got to say no. The counter-spell would only be triggered by hearing your spectral voice."

"Then I know what I'm going to do," I said with a grin.

At the room, I took a moment to examine the yellowish-green aura around Rachael. She was a witch all right. What a pity. After that I reoccupied my body.

"Wow, the transition back into my body is a tough one. I never realized how much pain from your body you have to ignore to be up and moving."

I sat up and stretched before flexing my hands. My neck and my hands ached being in one position too long.

Once up, I fished out the cup that Rachael had drank from and laid it on the floor next to the chair. At four and a half hours after the call to Rachael's mom, I sent the ghost out to watch for the witch.

While I was waiting, I turned my attention to Rachael.

"I COMMAND RACHAEL'S SOUL TO COME OUT OF HER BODY."

A wrinkly naked ancient version of Rachael sat up and then climbed off the bed. She looked to be in her seventies or even older. I could see that she was fascinated by the doorway and the light coming through it. She began to walk toward it.

"STAY," I commanded.

She looked at me with a frown. It was like she sensed she knew me, but could not place where or why.

"WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN YOUR BODY, YOU WILL REMEMBER ME ONLY AS THE PERSON YOU SPLIT EXPENSES WITH TO GET A RIDE BACK AND FORTH TO SCHOOL. YOU WILL FEEL NO OTHER ATTRACTION FOR ME, NOR WILL YOU SEE MY WHITE AURA. NOW RETURN TO YOUR BODY."

With Rachael squared away, I waited for her mom. I didn't have to wait long.

"They're here!" my ghost announced as he glided into the room through the door.

I draped my hand over the side of the chair to make it look like I had dropped the cup of pop when I lost consciousness. Then I commanded my soul to leave my body and waited.

The witch and her minion, better known as Rachael's parents knocked on the door, then pushed the door open when they got no response.

"What the Hell happened here, Glynnis?" Rachael's father said scanning the room.

The mother shut and locked the door behind her.

"The idiot boy drank from the same cup that Rachael did, Jon. The cup is still on the floor where he dropped it."

He pulled back the covers on the bed and swore softly to himself.

"If that punk stripped and raped my daughter after she passed out I'm gonna..."

The mother came over and studied her daughter and the bed.

"Jonathan, there's more than one wet spot on the bed. She was keeping him tractable through sex."

When she bent over her sleeping daughter and began chanting what sounded like I counter-spell, I leapt into action.

"GLYNNIS, I COMMAND YOUR SOUL TO LEAVE YOUR BODY."

A confused ancient looking naked soul stepped away as her middle aged body sagged to the bed before sliding to the floor hitting her head on the nightstand on the way down. A distressed Jonathan ran to her trying to awaken her.

"What have you done to me?" Glynnis demanded and she began reciting some sort of spell.

"THERE WILL BE NONE OF THAT," I commanded, "WALK TOWARD THE LIGHT."

"Oh God, No, no!" she sputtered as she took one reluctant step after another toward the open doorway.

I would have been terrified too. Most people saw someone they loved as they approached the doorway. This was different. Weird screeches, low growls and odd metallic clicks emanated from the doorway. Her terror increased as she approached it.

"STOP!" I ordered before she would step through.

I let her stand there for a full minute while she watched the pain and the brutality that awaited her.

"BACK AWAY FROM THE DOORWAY," I ordered.

The doorway receded from her as she stepped back with an odd mixture of horror and relief on her panicked face.

"HALT," I commanded, "GLYNNIS, YOU WILL FORGET THAT I AM A PATHFINDER. YOU WILL NOT SEE THAT MY AURA IS WHITE, AND YOU WILL REMEMBER WHAT AWAITS YOU AFTER DEATH ANYTIME YOU THINK OF ENTRAPPING A PATHFINDER."

I stopped to make sure I had remembered everything. When I was assured that I had, I continued.

"YOU MAY NOW RETURN TO YOUR BODY BUT DO NOT AWAKE."

I turned my attention to Jonathan who was bent over Glynnis's unconscious form.

"I COMMAND JONATHAN'S SOUL TO LEAVE HIS BODY."

The wrinkled soul of a little old man appeared before me. He was easily as old as Glynnis and far older than anyone needed to be.

"I WILL END GLYNNIS'S ENCHANTMENT OVER YOU."

"Please don't. Look at me, the second you release me from my enchantment I'll die," the wizened soul pleaded, "besides, she been a good mistress and she loves me in her own fashion. I was a dying alcoholic when she found me. I have had a good life with a wife and a daughter who I adore. If you would, please leave well enough alone."

I nodded. He had a point. Besides, I wasn't looking for revenge. All I wanted was to avoid enslavement.

"YOU WILL FORGET THAT I AM A PATHFINDER AND YOU WILL NOT SEE MY WHITE AURA. NOW RETURN TO YOUR BODY."

I returned to my body as well which reminded me of trying to cram ten pounds of sugar into a five pound sack. My soul chafed within the confines of my mortal body, then the pain and discomfort began as nerves began transmitting the discomfort of my body stiff from sitting in one position for too long. I sat up, hung over from the transition.

I scanned the room. It looked like a massacre had taken place.

"RACHAEL, I COMMAND YOU TO WAKE UP. GLYNNIS, I COMMAND YOU TO WAKE UP. JONATHAN, I COMMAND YOU TO WAKE UP."

I walked into the bathroom, grabbed Rachael's clothes and handed them to her. She accepted them and dressed while still under the bed sheet. Glynnis and Jonathan untangled themselves from each other and sat up looking dazed.

I sat on the bed next to Rachael and gave her a kiss.

"You're parents are here. It's time for me to go."

She recoiled from my kiss.

"Aaron, you're a good guy, but all we are is friends. Please don't kiss me."

"I...I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Rejection hurts even if it's what you want. With my tail tucked between my legs I climbed into my car along with my ghost and drove off unloading Hell with each passing mile. At the entrance to the road I turned to my ghostly co-pilot.

"Turn left."

I complied and watched all signs of civilization disappear after a couple of miles along with the weirdest Valentines Day I had ever experienced. Then it got weirder.

"Where we headed?" I asked.

"My old farm."

We drove deeper into the forests, swamps and lakes of the northern lower peninsula. He had me stop at an unmarked crossroad.

"Turn left here."

"The sign says it's a seasonal road. If I get stuck back there, I'm in trouble."

"Drive as far as you can, then we'll walk. It's not far now."

We drove a quarter mile in and was stopped by a large pine that had fallen across the road. We hiked after that. I checked my phone and assured myself that I still had no reception and noticed the time. It was after five in the afternoon. We cut onto a two track that led to an area where the forest was replaced by low shrubs and bushes.

My feet were getting wet from the snow. I was wearing the wrong shoes for this.

"This is my old farm. I tried to make a go of it here, but the ground was too wet for corn most years and when it wasn't the harsh winters nearly froze us out or the forest fires damn near fried us. After I was kidnapped by the witch, my wife, Inez, tried to continue farming with our boys, but neither of them would do a lick of work. They both drifted off leaving her here to carry on alone," he shook his head, "my Inez died from that terrible Spanish flu that went around in 1917. She's buried up on the hill."

I saw a figure sitting beside a tombstone. The stone had been there a while. It tilted twenty degrees to one side and lichen grew so thick upon it that I could not read it.

"Pardon me, ma'am. Would you mind if I sat with you for a moment."

She was not a homely woman, but work and care had lined her face.

"You can see me?" she asked looking up at me.

"I'm a pathfinder like your husband here."

She looked up at him and then looked away as if she had heard everything she wanted to hear from him.

"I suppose you're here to tell me to walk into the light. Well, I'm not going to until my sons come and visit my grave. I will sit here ten years if I have to."

"Ma'am, folks don't notice the passage of time so much after they've passed. Do you know what year it is?"

She shrugged.

"1920? I know it's been a while."

"It's 2015 ma'am. You've waited almost a hundred years. Neither of your boys are alive. In fact, I suspect they're waiting for you in the light and wondering what's holding you up."

"If you're lying to me," she snarled, "I will haunt you everyday for the rest of your life."

"There's one way to check it out. Walk toward the light. Most people see the folks they love the most. If you don't see who you want, you can always come back here and maintain your vigil."

The doorway appeared in front of her looking bright and warm in the light of the frigid dying day. Inez got up and took a tentative step toward it. Her eyes were fixed on something I could not see. After another step a big smile spread across her face.

"You're there, all of you. I didn't know. I'm so happy to see you. It's been so lonely, I wanted to..."

She stepped through the doorway and was gone. The door disappeared and all that was left was the early evening gloom.

"I want to thank you," my ghost said as a second doorway popped open, "my name is Jubal, by the way."

He turned and began striding toward it.

"Wait, I have no idea how to get back to my car," I shouted.

He turned and shouted.

"Don't worry, I've got someone who'll lead you."

With that he turned and disappeared into the doorway. The doorway faded and then there was nothing but the winter woods around me. A tree squeaked as one limb rubbed against the other in the wind. I turned to get my bearings and could barely make out the two track we had walked in on. I pulled my coat around me and wondered how I would survive the night out in the woods. My feet were already cold, and frostbite was a real threat if I didn't get them warm.

That's when I saw the light moving down the trail toward me. Slowly, the light resolved into a man dressed in all black including his broad brimmed hat. He looked like a businessman except for the pole with the light on it.

"Are you Scott?" he asked.

"Yes, are you death?" I asked.

He let out a hearty laugh.

"In a manner of speaking, I am. I'm not here to collect you though. This is a courtesy call. You helped my good friend Jubal, so now I'm going to help you."

I began following him up the two track trying hard to stay in the puddle of light his lantern cast on the ground.

"Am I right in guessing that you have something to do with the transition of souls from this plane of existence to the next?" I asked choosing my words carefully.

"Jubal said you were a bright boy," the figure chuckled, "yes, I am the personification of death, but, and this is important, I'm a friend not an enemy. Nor am I the one and only. There are others that do as I do. You might choose to do it too when the time comes."

"Was Jubal one?" I asked.

"No, Jubal made a few mistakes during his life. They're corrected now and he's made his penance."

At the seasonal road, I could have sworn that we needed to turn right. He led me left and in no time I was back to my car.

"I will leave you here."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an ancient looking coin.

"This is an obol. It's the ancient Greek coin that a soul had to give Chiron to ferry them across the river Styx into the afterlife. If you ever need me, hold this in your hand and call my name."

"What's your name?" I asked.

He pulled out a business card and handed it to me. It read, Charles Thackery, CPA. The CPA had a parentheses beside where 'Consultant Pathfinder to the Afterlife' had been penciled in.

"I should get some new business cards printed up, but I hand out so few in my current assignment."

"Can I call on you to answer accounting questions?" I asked, "I'm a senior studying accounting."

"I might be a little behind times," he grinned, "I died in 1972."

I climbed into my car.

"Can I drop you off anywhere?" I asked.

"Sadly, no. This is where I must leave you. Stay true to yourself, Scott. Life can twist men's souls into unrecognizable pretzels."

Then he was gone. It took me most of the drive to warm up. I got back to my dorm room a little before midnight. There was quite a back up at the Mackinac Bridge and the roads around Seney were drifted over and slick. My Valentines Day was done, and I was alone once more.

I got back into my life as a student, wiser for my experience. Still Rachael had filled my drab life with color. She may not have loved me, but she was such a beautiful diversion from my otherwise mundane life. I was happy for a while even if the sex was meaningless.

Winter changed by tiny turns into spring and one day in late April I was sitting in the student union eating a light lunch. Rachael had shown me that the union was a nice change from the rattle and bump of eating in the crowded dorm commons.

"May I sit here?" a very pretty woman asked, "all the tables are taken."

"Of course you may," I said smiling.

She settled in. She had a radiant blue aura.

"I think you're in my Business Statistics class," she said taking a bite of sandwich.

And things started getting better again.