Page 6 of Deadly Lineage
Not offering to help McCallister out of the hole went against my upbringing, but the gesture wouldn’t be welcome, despite how much it was needed. It was painful watching him try and get out on his own. After a couple of minutes, one of the forensic techs reached in and, without asking, grabbed McCallister’s wrist, hauling him up and out.
For a minute, I thought he’d scold the woman who’d helped. In the end, McCallister turned his cherry-red cheeks in the other direction. I couldn’t hear his mumbled words to know if he had actually thanked her or not. No matter the words, I didn’t think there was a lot of appreciation to back them up.
“Right then, let’s get this show on the road so we can all go home and self-medicate in our own desired fashion.” Interlocking his fingers, Boone twisted them, bending them back and cracking his knuckles. “I’ll have a name for you in just a minute.”
Crouching beside the grave, Boone closed his eyes. I’d seen him do this before. It typically didn’t take him long to find who he was searching for. According to Boone, every body had a tether—a thin, invisible string linking their physical form to their soul. He simply had to find it and follow it. It sounded simple enough, but I doubted it was as easy as he said.
“Ah, there you are.” Boone’s eyebrows lifted and when his eyes opened, they glowed soft and green. “Rebecca Ann Mosely.”
I scribbled down the name.
“Time to return.”
The loose ground below shifted, pieces of dirt falling to the side as the corpse moved. It was always a grisly scene. Rebecca’s corpse was at least a week old, maybe more. It was hard to tell. She hadn’t been out in the Mississippi heat, but rotting in the ground hadn’t improved her physical appearance.
“Stand,” Boone ordered, giving weight to that single word.
Rebecca’s corpse did as ordered. She stood, legs shaky, head barely peeking out from above the edge of her makeshift grave.
She blinked, and more dirt fell. I had no idea what Rebecca’s eye color had been. Her sockets held shriveled, cloudy gray orbs.
Boone started to speak, probably to ask her what had happened. He didn’t get the chance. Rebecca’s mouth opened and she screamed. The sound tore through the night, silencing the surrounding creatures. Dropping my notebook, I slapped my hands over my ears, but the pain continued.
Boone jerked back, nearly tripping over the nearby weeds. He tried speaking over her, but I couldn’t hear what he said. Rebecca couldn’t either.
Grabbing at her hair, she tugged mercilessly, ripping out great handfuls. She twisted and turned before she did something even more horrific and slammed her head into the nearby dirt wall. All the while, her screams carried on, drowning out all other thought.
Boone’s voice rose to a shout. “Enough. Release!”
Rebecca’s body crumpled back into her grave. Ears still ringing, I crept to the edge, looking over at the still corpse lying below.
“What happened?” I asked before I heard another body hit the ground. Twirling, I was met with sight of Boone, body slumped on hands and knees, panting hard.
“Boone?” I knelt at his side, resting my hand between his shoulder blades. The man was so slender my hand looked monstrously massive. “Boone, talk to me. What happened?”
I was beginning to worry. That worry ratcheted up when he didn’t answer. “Johns, bring me some water,” I yelled, and soon a water bottle appeared in my vision.
“Drink this,” I ordered.
“C-candy,” Boone managed before his shaking hands grabbed the bottle.
“Candy?” I twisted the word before understanding dawned. “Sugar?” Boone nodded. “Anyone got anything sweet?” I asked.
“I have some M&M’s,” one of the forensic techs answered.
“Get them.” I rubbed Boone’s back. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” His shaking increased and he felt cold and clammy. It was boiling hot out and I found it ridiculous that Boone might need added heat. That didn’t stop me from slipping out of my suit jacket and draping it over his shoulders. His slender hands grasped the fabric edges and pulled them tight.
“Thanks.” That singular word was barely above a whisper.
“Here.” The tech shoved a Halloween-sized package of M&M’s into my hand. Opening the package, I dumped the shiny candy into Boone’s shivering hand. He forced them into his mouth, only dropping a couple into the weeds.
I sat there, my thighs cramping as I waited for Boone to steady. It took five, maybe ten minutes, but he finally settled, the shivering easing into occasional quakes. When I thought he was ready, I asked again, “What happened?”
He swallowed more water before shaking his head. “I don’t know. No, that’s not right. I do know, sort of. That was Rebecca’s soul, but it…it wasn’t right. I didn’t fully realize that until it was back in her body. I knew it felt… Gaia, I’m not sure how to explain it. Thin. Not wholly there? Rough around the edges, almost like it was frayed. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”Boone shivered visibly. “Gaia, it felt horrible. I can’t even imagine what Rebecca feels like.”
If the screaming still ringing in my ears was any indication, it was beyond bad. Swallowing that disturbing thought, I asked, “Any idea what caused it?”
Slipping to the side, Boone went from his hands and knees to sitting on his ass, knees still bent and head resting on his crossed arms. “Not a fucking clue. I didn’t even know that was possible.” Boone’s body tensed before he amended, “Actually, that’s not true either.” Clearing his throat, Boone twisted his head, cheek now resting on his arms and a singular eye peeking out from behind his long bangs. “I could do it.”
