Shimmer (2 page)

“Wait—what do you mean,
they
?” I asked, aware of Buttercup creeping toward my side, nuzzling my leg in a desperate attempt to ease his way back into my good graces. “You mean there’s more than one?”

“Snarly Yows?” Bodhi tilted his head in a way that caused his bangs to swoop into his eyes. “Yeah, lots more.” He nodded, combing his fingers through his hair and pushing the strands back into place.

“Snarly—
what
?” My voice squeaked, unable to make sense of the word.

“Snarly Yow, Black Shuck, Phantom Dog, Galleytrot, Shug Monkey, Hateful Thing, Hell Beast…” He shrugged, instantly manifesting a long green straw he started to chew as he looked all around. Face arranged as though he expected to find a whole pack of them storming the sand, but coming away with little more than a heavy shroud of mist, he just looked at me and said, “They go by a lot of different names. And though the legends slightly differ, when you get right down to it, it all amounts to basically the same thing. A big, black, menacing dog with glowing eyes—sometimes one in the middle of his forehead, sometimes where his head would’ve been if it weren’t missing—” He looked at me. “That sort of thing. Though they’re not relegated to just England. Once, while I was on assignment in Egypt, I spotted a really big one, much bigger than the one you just saw. I mean it was
fierce
. I thought for sure it was some kind of crazed black stallion. You can’t even imagine the size of that thing.” He shook his head at the memory. “Anyway, it was guarding some centuries-old tomb. That’s what they like to do, you know—guard old graves and tombs and such.”

He peered at me from under a thick set of lashes, lashes he probably enhanced in some way in order to make himself appear irresistible. From what I saw at graduation—or whatever they call that day when he first started to glow in that deep greenish shade that was enough to signal to whoever was in charge of these things that he was ready to serve as my guide—from all the catcalls and wolf whistles that followed him right from his seat all the way down to the stage, well, it clearly was working.

Or at least on some less-discerning spirits anyway.

Me, I was pretty much immune to it.

He continued to look at me, practically begging for me to be impressed with his exotic journey. But no way would I give that to him. No way would I give him the satisfaction.

So he’d traveled to Egypt. On assignment. Where he’d faced down some phantom dog that was even bigger than the one I just saw.

Big deal.

So what?

In the short amount of time since I’d crossed the bridge to my new home in the Here & Now, I’d already aced an
assignment
at a pretty impressive castle in the English countryside, had already soared directly above the bustling streets of London, and was at that very moment enjoying a nice little
vacay
on one of the Virgin Islands—all of that happening within a
very
short,
very
brief, amount of time,
thankyouverymuch
. Which left me with no doubt that there’d be plenty more travel in store for me, what with all the assignments I’d have, and all the lingering souls I’d be expected to cross over.

“Anyway,” he said, still chomping away, that green straw bobbing up and down in his mouth in what was clearly an annoying habit held over from his time on the earth plane, “even though legend says that coming across one is a bad omen—a portent of death—”

“A
portent
?” I looked at him, my brow rising, convinced he was trying to show off again.

“An omen, a sign, a—”

“I
know
what it means.” I rolled my eyes and waved it away, waved away his lame attempt to impress me, to lord his oh-so-big vocabulary over me.

“Anyway, the thing is,” he continued, squinting as he gazed up and down the mostly empty beach, “even though the legends all claim that whoever sees a Black Shuck will be dead within a year, that’s obviously something you don’t have to worry about. I mean, seeing as you’re already dead and all…”

“So that’s it, then?” I placed my hands on my hips and stared. “You’re just gonna let this psycho phantom hellhound run amok, and basically terrorize all the people on the beach, and do nothing to stop it?”

He shrugged, obviously not nearly as alarmed by the prospect as I was. “Guess I don’t really see the point,” he said. “I mean, face it, Riley, the only one who seems to be terrorized by the dog is
you.
”

I searched his face, searched for obvious signs (
portents
!) of mocking, but came up empty. So then I said, “What about Buttercup, then? What about that yelp that I heard? He sounded scared to death—so to speak.”

But Bodhi just laughed. “Mad maybe, but definitely not scared. That was my bad. I caught his ball in midair and flew with it. He wasn’t too pleased, but you got over it, didn’t you, boy?” His voice grew all soft and mushy as he reached down to give Buttercup a good scratch between the ears. And it was all I could do not to cringe when I saw how quickly my dog abandoned my side in order to scooch back toward Bodhi’s, where he sat, happily gazing at him, all drooly and goo-goo eyed.

“Besides, whatever lingering spirits you find here are to be left alone.
No matter what.
Just remember, if it’s not assigned by the Council, then it’s none of our business.” His face grew all serious, wanting me to know just how much he meant it. Then assuming his job was done, assuming he’d waged the winning argument, he added, “So come on, what do you say we forget the beast, ditch this fogged-out beach, and go check out the town?”

I placed my hands on my hips and gazed into a mist that seemed as though it wasn’t about to burn off anytime soon. Still, if you knew where to look, you’d find a few patchy bits here and there, and I took them to be a promise that a beautiful day might be in the works.

And even though we were there on vacation, even though this little trip was awarded to us by the Council for a job well done after crossing over some ghosts who’d been haunting a castle for way too long (ghosts that no other Soul Catcher had been able to move on, including Bodhi, until
I
came along), even though Bodhi was nice enough to let me choose the place and didn’t lodge even a single complaint when I picked St. John (the island my parents had honeymooned on—solely because I’d heard them talk about it so often, and so wistfully—I just had to seize the chance to see it for myself), even though we only had a little time left before we’d have to return to the Here & Now, appear before the Council, and get back to the business of our next assignment—even though I knew all of that—I still looked at him and said, “I’m not going anywhere till I convince that dog to move on.”

4

“We can’t do it.
You
can’t do it,” Bodhi said, and even though I chose to ignore him, it’s not like that stopped him. “Riley, did you not hear me? If the Council didn’t assign it, it’s none of our business.”

He looked at me, shot me this long, hard, determined stare, but I chose to ignore that too.

Partly because I was already moving away from him, already making my way down the beach, headed in the same direction that the Hell Beast had run in.

And partly because I wasn’t interested in listening to that kind of dissent, nor to any dissent. Not when I was so busy forming a plan.

“It’s not like we can just go crossing over whomever we feel like, whenever we feel like. There are rules about these sorts of things, rules you’re not even aware of. Besides, it’s not like you’ll find him anyway,” Bodhi called out from behind me, his voice fading, the pitch growing weaker and weaker with each passing step I took. “Seriously, you’re just wasting your time. They only show themselves when they
want
to be seen. And even then, it’s usually only when they’re trying to ward off some kind of threat or something.”

I stopped.

Dug my toes deep into the wet, grainy sand and reconsidered my whole entire game plan.

I was headed the wrong way.

Instead of going in the same direction the beast had run, I should’ve been headed the way he’d come.

The same direction I’d originally been headed.

The same direction Buttercup and Bodhi had returned from.

Because if what Bodhi claimed was true, then there was something over there that the old Snarly Yow/Phantom Dog/Hell Beast found worthy of guarding. And if I could just find what that was, then I could also find him.

So I turned, turned and headed right back to where Bodhi was standing. Noting the look of smug relief on his face, the way he nudged Buttercup with his knee, signaling that now that I’d caved in to his infinite wisdom, now that I’d finally come to my senses and seen his side of things, it was time for us to move on.

But I just kept going.

Just sailed right past him, as I pierced though the fog and he called out from behind me, yelling, “Riley! I’m
serious
. Why do you
still
find it so impossible to listen to me? I thought we we’re past this. I thought we had an
understanding. I
am the
guide,
and you—” He paused, searching for just the right word, one that would serve to get his point across, but hopefully not offend. His voice sure and confident the second he found it, he said, “And you are the
apprentice
. Which means you can’t go making up assignments—you are
not
a free agent! You can only get them from the Council or me. Riley! This is
not
a joke. I’m completely serious. What will it take to get you to
listen
to me? To
respect
me?”

It was a lot of words.

Quite a mouthful really.

But to me, they were just a whole bunch of consonants and vowels haphazardly strung together.

The only reason I’d heard any of it was because he’d decided to follow me. And as he rushed to keep up, he added, “You can’t just
do
whatever you want, you know. There are rules and regulations, and all it takes is just one ridiculously irrational move on your part to jeopardize everything I’ve worked so hard to build! It’s my
job
to look after you. I’m
responsible
for you whether you like it or not. And yet, even though you’re well aware of that, even though you know all too well how I just got back in good with the Council after almost getting demoted and falling out of favor, you insist on doing this. Refusing to stop and consider how your reckless ideas might affect
me
. You just get some crazy idea about saving some Hell Beast that’s probably not even on the Council’s radar, and then you just dive in headfirst, without the slightest consideration as to how you’re about to risk all my hard work! You have no idea what you’re doing, no idea what the consequences are, or just how much I have to lose! Besides, little do you know, but just like people on the earth plane have destinies to fulfill, spirits
also
have destinies to fulfill. Not to mention a little something called
free will,
which is something you have
no right
to interfere with. The ability to exercise one’s free will is an
imperative
part of a soul
realizing
its destiny!
And,
I hate to break it to ya, but for someone who didn’t get their glow on until
very
recently, for someone whose
barely
there, pale green shimmer clearly marks you as a member of the level 1.5 team, you are neither
allowed
nor
authorized
to interfere in anyone’s
destiny
or
fate
or
chosen path
or
free will
unless
specifically
ordered to do so by either the Council or me!
Why
do you not understand this?
Why
do I have to keep explaining it to you?”

And that’s when I turned. That’s when I spun on my heel, looked him straight in the eye, and said, “As it just so happens, that’s
exactly
what I’m doing right now.”

He looked at me, his expression a little muddled, chaotic—a result of that hectic word deluge he’d spewed forth.

“I’m exercising
my
free will. And though I may not be as well versed in the rule book as you, Oh Mighty Guide of Mine, I’m pretty dang sure
you
lack the authority to keep me from realizing
my
destiny.”

Then, without waiting for a response, I was gone. Feet pushing hard into the sand, intent on keeping my progress steady and sure, choosing walking over flying since, in my experience anyway, flying in the fog isn’t nearly as much fun as it might seem at first. The poor visibility makes for a pretty blah view.

Bodhi’s voice continuing to haunt me as he hurled words like
stubborn, obstinate, headstrong, overly willful, misguided, irrational, impulsive
—none of them the least bit flattering, but all of them piercing through the fog and trailing right behind me nonetheless.

And just like before, they bore no lasting effect.

To me, it was just a bunch of bippidy blah blah.

I mean, maybe what he said was true.

Maybe it wasn’t.

It was of no particular interest to me either way.

Because despite what Bodhi claimed about the rules, and the Council, and my own very long list of extremely flawed character traits, there was one thing I knew for absolute sure:

There were no accidents, coincidences, or random events.

The universe just didn’t operate like that.

I’d seen that dog for a reason.

And I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

5

Although I couldn’t say for sure how far I had walked—due to the intensity of the mist I could neither see behind me nor in front of me—I did know that I’d walked far enough for Bodhi’s voice to completely fade into nothing.

Walked for so long I could no longer hear Buttercup’s panting breath or excited barks.