ROGUEEXCERPT

Rogue chapter one

The moon was shrouded behind clouds. Flakes fell fast, blown almost horizontally by the high, freezing winds. Swirls of snow covered the road in the bright beam of my flashlight.

The small, rustic town of Coalton, West Virginia, lay behind me. The town was asleep. No traffic could be seen on its well-lit streets as I looked down from the hills where I stood.

It was one o'clock in the morning, the witching hour as we Shepherds liked to call it, and the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest. It was the best time of day for Witnessing Specters since our connection to them was easier to maintain. My Other, Mark Wilson, stood beside me. He used his flashlight to scan the road for the Specter that was running from us.

"We really shouldn't do this without Carsan," Mark cautioned me.

"We have too, Mark. He's haunting Ester and Gladys."

Ester Woodson was the mother of Ray Woodson, the very first Specter Mark and I Witnessed, and Gladys Woodson-Murray was his sister. Harry Burns had murdered Ray in order to get him out of the way so he could marry Ester. Harry's spirit, his hell-bound spirit, had been haunting Ester and Gladys ever since his death in 1977, fourteen years after Ray's murder.

"He's around here. I can feel him."

Mark nodded in agreement. "So can I. This is a really bad idea, Maya."

"We've already Witnessed one Hellbound Specter. We can do it again," I pointed out.

"One successful Witnessing doesn't make us experts on Hellbound Specters," Mark snapped. He was on edge. He always got testy when he was on edge.

I heard the car and saw the glow of headlights well before the vehicle crested the hill. It moved slowly. I recognized the car at once: Blaire Stafford. She was a cop and a friend of ours who now worked in the Cold Case division of the Coalton PD.

The car slowed to a stop about ten feet from where Mark and I stood. Three of the four doors of the Ford she drove opened. Bobby Campbell and Leigh Kearns emerged from the car with Blaire. They were Guardians for Mark and me.  We weren't supposed to Witness without them but we'd decided, rather I had decided, this was a job best done without them.

"You brought the police? Really, Bobby?" I said in annoyance. Bobby was my Guardian, Leigh was Mark's.

"You're going to Witness a Hellbound Specter without your Guardians? Really, Maya?" Bobby said, throwing the words back in my face.

"This is too dangerous for Nomags," I said.

Bobby snorted derisively and Leigh shook her head.

"What's up?" Blaire asked.

A couple of months previously I'd had to inform Blaire that her brother was not only dead but he was a Specter in my house. With all that had happened since then, including the death of one of our own, Pete Collins, Mark and I still hadn't gotten the opportunity to Witness him.

"We're looking for Harry Burns' Specter," Mark said.

"Blaire, take Bobby and Leigh back to the boarding house," I said.

"Who died and left you boss?" Bobby asked. I understood his determination to stick with me. He took his responsibilities very seriously.

"Don't be juvenile," I snapped.

"I'm being juvenile? You want to go chasing after dangerous Specters without backup and you want to call me juvenile?"

"He has a point," Mark said.

I felt not only annoyed but betrayed that Mark sided with Bobby against me.

"Fine, come along and get your soul burned. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Soul burned?" Blaire asked. She didn't look very fond of the idea, even if she didn't quite understand what I meant.

"Hellbound Specters can use Hellfire to burn your soul. If they can completely burn you out they can take over your body," Leigh explained.

"It can happen to Shepherds, too," Bobby added pointedly.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket since I had the ringer off. Carsan had made Mark and I get one so we could keep in touch without using magic in front of Nomags. I hated the thing. I had a feeling of who it was before I even looked at the screen.

"Hello, Carsan," I said, answering the phone.

"Do not go after Harry Burns without me," she said at once. I knew I was in for it so I took a breath and just listened. "What are you thinking, Maya? You Witnessed one of his victims. He's connected to you because of that and you know it."

"Mark and I can handle Harry," I insisted. "And how did you know we were going after Burns?"

"Bobby told me. I had him call Blaire to go find you."

"How did you know where we were?"

"Magic," Carsan said simply. "You've been reckless since Pete's death, Maya. You know that wasn't your fault."

I swallowed and didn't argue the point. I didn't argue because I felt she was wrong. Everyone said Pete's death wasn't my fault but I thought it was. After all, the Rogue had been after me. He was still after me and anything he did to the people close to me was going to be on my head regardless of what they said.

"Even Juliette doesn't blame you," Carsan added.

Juliette was Pete's Other.

"She's being nice."

"You wouldn't be so quick to blame yourself if you knew..."

Carsan's voice trailed off. I waited for her to continue but she didn't.

"If I knew what?"

"Nothing."

For some reason the cursed books that Pete and Juliette had given me came to mind. I'd always intended to ask about that but had never gotten around to it.

"Go home, Maya. You don't know when the Rogue and Sansera may overcome the protective spells around Coalton. I don't want you to be in the middle of fighting a Hellbound Specter and have them sneak up on you."

"We can do this, Carsan."

"You will do this -- when I get back. Understood?"

"How long till you come home?"

"Two, maybe three days."

Carsan ended the call without saying goodbye. I slipped the phone back in my pocket and looked at the faces of those around me. They were all friends. They were all united against the idea of fighting Harry Burns' Specter without Carsan.

"Fine. Let's go home."

"Who's that?" Blaire asked.

There was a figure ahead of us on the road. At first I thought it might be Harry but then I realized he didn't have that familiar silvery shine that Specters had at night. It was a man.

"Oh, my God. Daniel Long," Blaire said. "What's he doing out here?"

She pulled her gun and approached the man on the street. Now that she'd identified him, I recognized him.

Daniel Long's soul had been consumed by the necromancer Sansera as payment for saving my dad's life. He was an empty shell now. Empty shells were dangerous because all manner of things could possess them.

Daniel bolted and Blaire started after him. My instincts screamed at me to stop her.

"Don't!" I shouted. I gripped Blaire's arm and held her back.

"Why?"

"Instinct," Mark answered. "Let's get out of here. Now isn't the time for this."

"He's a patient at Union Nursing home. He can't just be allowed to wander around in the dark. I have a duty--"

"Leave him," I insisted. My instincts said she would be in danger if we didn't. I always obeyed my instincts. "I wouldn't tell you to do that if it wasn't dangerous for you to go after him."

Blaire reluctantly agreed and got behind the wheel of her car. We drove up to where we'd seen Long but he was gone now. Blaire found a wide spot beside the road and turned her car around. I looked out the back window of the car, hoping to spot Long, but he was nowhere to be seen.

I wondered how he'd escaped the nursing home. He was a vegetable. He was empty. He didn't move or walk or talk or do anything unless guided by a nurse.

"Think something got into Long?" Mark asked.

I nodded. "That's exactly what I think."

*****

There was activity on Main Street when we arrived back in town. Several police vehicles drove by, recklessly fast on the snowy roads, all heading south. Blaire's radio suddenly lit up with voices.

"We have an eighteen at Union Nursing home. All available units to Union Nursing home."

"What's eighteen?" Leigh asked.

"Murder," Blaire answered.

"Take us there," Mark said.

"I can't take you to a crime scene!"

"Drop us off before you get there. We can come up on foot. I'm sorry, Bobby, Leigh. You guys go home. Stop here."

"But--" Leigh started.

Mark cut her off. "No, not this time."

Something in his voice brooked no argument. Leigh sighed and Bobby looked conflicted on whether or not to go along or argue. When Blaire pulled up a block away from the boarding house both Bobby and Leigh got out.

"Be careful. Call if you need us," he said.

"Will do."

Blaire pulled off and I looked out of the rear window to see Bobby and Leigh starting for the boarding house.

"What do you plan to do?" I asked Mark.

"See if Long is still there."

"But we saw him on the road," I pointed out.

Mark shrugged. "This has something to do with him. I know it."

Blaire stopped on the road leading to Union Nursing Home and Mark and I climbed out. We had about a hundred yards to walk so we headed into the trees along the side of the road. The snow wasn't deep yet, but it was wet and made walking slippery and difficult.

"Oh, my God. Mark, look!"

"I see it," he whispered.

The nursing home was alive with Death Cords. The windows of nearly every room shimmered with gold, crimson, and emerald light. Specters could be seen looping in the light. Red and blue lights from the four police cars parked in front of the nursing home added to the colorful display before us.

Because Union Nursing Home was surrounded by trees that were in need of trimming, Mark and I could easily circumvent the police and sneak around back. We let our instincts guide us to keep from being detected by the police that walked the perimeter of the building, searching for evidence.

We waited in the cold but it didn't bother us, even with the light jackets we wore. Witnessing took place in the spirit world, which was already a very cold place, so we were naturally immune to plunging temperatures. It would take hours in the wind before we felt the effects.

"Now," Mark said, once one of the last police officers scouring the area in the back of the nursing home went inside. We ran toward a window that we sensed would be unlocked and lifted it. The screen came out easily and we climbed inside.

The Specter of an elderly man was inside the room. His body lay on the floor, still undiscovered by the police. The gold and emerald Death Cord was short and shimmered brightly in the room. His spirit reenacted its final moments. We watched as he lay on his bed and moved as though someone had jerked him up by the neck, put him on the floor and beat him about the face before choking him until he died.

"My God..." I whispered."Who could do this?"

"It must have been Daniel."

"He's a vegetable, Mark. How could he go on a murderous rampage?"

Mark shrugged. "I don't know but he had something to do with this. I feel it in my gut."

We checked the hall, which was empty. We snuck into room after room, looking at Specters reenact their deaths over and over. Some were stabbed, some choked, others smothered with pillows. One of the nurses, a beautiful young woman in her early thirties had been raped while choked.

"We have to leave, now," I said. I could sense we were about to be discovered. Mark and I headed over to the window of the room we were in and slipped outside into the night. Just as we shut the window behind us a police officer entered the room and examined the dead nurse we'd found. Thankfully for him, his mortal eyes couldn't see the awful truth that Mark and I could. All he saw was a dead woman on the floor whereas we could see her soul in torment as she relived her final moments on earth over and over again in a terrible loop.

"We have to find Long as soon as possible. There's no telling how many people he'll kill if we let him run loose."

"I made a bad call earlier. We should have gone after him when we saw him," I said.

"You followed your instincts. That's never a bad call with our kind," Mark said, touching my shoulder. "We'll get back to the boarding house and contact Carsan. She'll have to get here early, or at least send backup."

I texted Carsan as Mark and I went back into the woods to let her know he and I were heading to the boarding house and to drop by when she could.

"Harry Burns. He may have possessed Long's shell," I suggested.

Mark nodded in agreement. "That crossed my mind."

I stopped and gripped Mark's arm as an alarming thought occurred to me.

"Ester and Gladys!"

"If he's possessing Long's shell he'll undoubtedly go after them," Mark said. He pulled his cell and dialed Bobby. "Bobby, you and Leigh need to get to Ester Woodson's, now. We'll be there as soon as possible... We think Harry Burns is possessing Long's body. He killed everyone at Union Nursing...Yeah... He'll go after his family, I'm sure of it... Be careful."

Mark hung up and looked at me. "We have to run."

I nodded and we took off as fast as we could run. We moved with superhuman speed, faster than any Nomag could dream of, but it would still take us awhile to get all the way across town. I really wished I could master Transitioning, as Carsan could, but my attempts had been utter failures so far. Even Mark, who tended to be very adept at anything magical, hadn't managed to Transition so much as an inch.

We arrived across town fifteen minutes later. Ester Woodson lived in a small house on the edge of the city limits in a fairly secluded area, next door to her daughter, Gladys. Mark's red mustang, Caesar, was parked out front when we arrived so I knew Bobby and Leigh were inside. I prayed they were okay.

When we arrived I shot Carsan a text telling her where we were and what we suspected. My phone vibrated in my pocket a moment later but by then we'd reached Ester's front door. There was a crash inside and someone called for help.

Mark kicked the front door so hard it came off the hinges. We pushed our way into the darkened house and I felt for the light switch. I hit it and flooded the room with harsh white light.

The living room was a mess. Leigh was on her back, on the floor. Her Dagger of the Centurion was inches from her throat. Daniel Long straddled her, trying to press the sharp edge of the blade into her neck. Bobby lay unconscious on the floor. Blood poured from his head. Gladys had a vase in her hand and approached Daniel Long, ready to hit him to try to save Leigh.

"Hey!" Mark shouted. "I Summon you, Harry Burns. Come forth!"

Daniel Long's face, so full of fury, began to look pained. He growled with the effort of resisting but he slowly rose to his feet, moving in jerking movements as he fought against Mark's Summons.

"I said come forth!" Mark shouted.

Leigh rolled away, clutching her dagger as she got to her feet. Without any hesitation she shoved the dagger deep into Long's back. He made a hissing sound as Harry Burns' Specter flew from Long's body, which fell dead to the floor.

"Where is he?" Leigh shouted angrily. She remembered she could see Specters in the blade and held it up. "I've got you now, you son of a bitch," she said angrily. I couldn't blame her for being pissed -- Harry had just tried to kill her, after all.

Burns lunged forward, out of harm's way from Leigh's dagger.

"Did I get it?" she asked.

"No!"

Mark and I joined hands as Harry attempted to grab hold of Mark to possess him. We formed a circle with Harry's Specter between us, and shouted in unison, "Show us the truth of how you came to be!"

"Don't!" Leigh shouted, but it was too late. We were in the Witnessing of a Hellbound Specter.