Chapter 9 - Healing Kiss? : Part II
11:40 pm - The Asylum: Lounge
After checking out the room 121, Bo and Tamsin took the nurse who found the dead victim to the lounge, trying to ask her more questions.
" When you were there, did you see anything unusual, anything strange?" Bo asked her.
" No... I don't think so..."
" Ok, tell me everything you saw or heard, starting from the moment you walked into the room." Bo sat down on the couch with her, and laid her hand on her arm. Feeling that the nurse was shivering, Bo sent out her charms gently, trying to calm her down.
" I was just doing my routine check for patient. I walked into room 121...Mrs. Martin was sitting on her bed. She looked fine... and lucid...I said hi to her, and helped her to change her clothes, then I helped her lie down on the bed... She was about to fall asleep...Suddenly she opened her eye wide and said, they are coming, I can hear them flying... I asked her what she saw... she didn't answer me, instead she repeated what she had said several times... Then she just closed her eyes. I thought she fell asleep, and I was already walking out. But I just had this feelings, you know, like something was not right. I turned around and walked to her bed side. I couldn't hear her breathing, then I checked her pulse... I was shocked. I went out for help, and I saw a little girl running away, I was trying to catch up with her, but she just disappeared... "
" A little girl?"
" Yeah, about 7, 8 years old. She was wearing a blue dress."
" Wait a minute, does she have a pony tail?" Bo remembered the little girl she saw when she came through the gate earlier today.
" Yeah."
" Maybe she saw what happened and she ran away scared." Bo said to Tamsin.
" This girl, do you know where she is?" Tamsin asked the nurse.
" She's probably from other section of the hospital..."
" Time to call Shingo." Bo said to Tamsin. She comforted the nurse by talking her down and giving her some charms.
12: 30 am - The Asylum: Lounge
Bo called Shingo after they sent the nurse back. Tamsin lied down on Bo's lap again.
" You just can't get enough of me, can you?" Bo whispered to the blonde when she was waiting on Shingo to pick up.
Tamsin rolled her eyes at her.
" Hey, Shingo, I want to ask about one patient in here." Bo said. She paused for a while, then she continued, " You can't read my mind through the phone, can you?"
" No." Shingo laughed on the other side of the phone, " My ability only works in a close range."
" Ok, I guess you've heard about the fourth death that happened here tonight?" Bo put him on speaker so Tamsin could hear their conversation too.
" Yeah, they called me."
" The nurse told me, she saw a little girl at the scene. Do you think maybe you can tell me who she is if I give you a description?"
" How old is this little girl?"
" About 7, 8 years old, maybe."
" We don't have patients that young."
" What about visitors, employers' kids?"
" They are not allowed to stay that late, and I don't remember anyone bringing a child here either."
" Then how did she get in here?" Bo frowned.
Tamsin moved a little to look at Bo. " Maybe she's a ghost. The nurse did say she tried to catch up with her, but she disappeared."
Bo opened her eyes wide. " Ok then." She said, " We need to talk to this ghost. How do you talk to a ghost?"
" There are certain rituals we can perform. I'm coming to the hospital right now."
2:00 am - Outside the Asylum
" So how does this work?" Bo watched Shingo drawing stuff on the ground, with burning incense and herbs. He was also mumbling something.
" Just you know, I thought you'd have better moves than summoning a ghost on our first night together." Tamsin leaned down and whispered to Bo.
Bo rolled her eyes at the Valkyrie. "First night together is always rough, babe." She smirked at the blonde.
Shingo straightened up and looked at them. " Ok, now I'm going to summon her. She will appear in the circle I drew over there."
" Ok." Bo and Tamsin stood away from Shingo, partly because they didn't want to be read, partly because they didn't want to stay too close to the ghost.
They saw him burning something. Minutes later, Bo saw a little girl appear in the circle. She was the same girl Bo saw when they came here. She looked a little scared. She tried to run away, but she couldn't escape from the circle.
" Are you going to cast me away, monk?" The little girl tilted her head to one side, looking at Shingo. She didn't sound like a child.
" Monk?" Bo frowned.
" When I was practicing Buddhism, I was a monk for a long time. I used to perform cleansing rituals, like casting vengeful spirits away." Shingo said to Bo. Then he turned away and said to the little girl, " I'm not here to cast you away, not today. This lady here wants to ask you something about the deaths in the hospital."
" Then she knows that she needs to make a trade?"
" Trade?" Bo was confused.
" You need to give the ghost something she wants, to trade for the information." Tamsin whispered to her.
" Just to be clear, by trade she doesn't mean my soul, or things like...virginity right?" Bo asked.
" No, Bo." Shingo laughed, " She's an earth bound spirit, a ghost. She's not a demon."
" Then what do you want?" Bo turned to the little girl and asked.
" I want you to find out who killed me." The little girl said, " I'll tell you what I saw, what I knew about the deaths here, if you agree to find my killer."
Shingo spoke before Bo. " Some things are just meant to be let go." He said to the little girl, " Obsession doesn't grant you the pathway to your next life. It only brings you pain."
" I would like to discuss about whether there is a next life, but not today, monk."
" It's not wise to stay somewhere you don't belong anymore."
" It is my choice, just like whether to make the trade is her choice. You can't decide for her, just like you can't decide for me." The little girl gave him a cold stare.
" My apologies." Shingo nodded at her. He didn't say a word after that.
The little girl turned her head back and looked at Bo. " So, do you agree?"
" Well, can you give me any clues about your killer? Anything?"
" The only thing I remember is the moment I died." The little girl said. Suddenly her appearance changed. She was choking in water. Her face was pale, and her eyes were rolled back.
" Hey, what's going on!" Bo asked. She was about to go grab her, but Tamsin stopped her. " She just hit her replay button. That's how she died." She told Bo.
" Oh, well, that's not much of a clue..."
" Do you wish to make the trade?" The girl looked at her. She had already changed back to her normal look, as if she was just a little girl from the neighborhood.
" Don't drag yourself into this shit." Tamsin whispered to Bo.
" It's ok." Bo looked at the Valkyrie, with a smile on her face. Then she turned back to the little girl and said, "I'll trade. Tell me everything you know about the deaths here."
The little girl smiled. " Those people were murdered." She said.
" Yeah, we've already figured that out." Tamsin said, " Tell us something that we don't know."
" The killer is from the mountains. She hunts on the weak and the old at night."
" Well, who is she? I mean, what is she?"
" She is a ghost, a spirit, just like me." The little girl said, " I need to go now. Remember what you have promised me."
" At least tell me your name!" Bo said.
" Alice. My name is Alice." She smiled to Bo and disappeared.
" I thought you said you trapped her." Bo said to Shingo.
" No. I just channeled the energy between two different spaces and summoned her here. She's at her free will now."
" What if I don't find her killer?"
" Then she'll haunt you every night. You'd wish you die after a while." Shingo said.
Tamsin looked at Bo, giving her the I-told-you-so look.
" Well, let's figure out what happened here first, they I'll go find her killer." Bo said.
Tamsin frowned. She said, " This Alice girl told us that the killer is a spirit, hunts at night on the weak and the old ones."
" Let me call Trick and find out if he knows about this spirit."
8:00 am - The Asylum : Lounge
Bo called Trick and he agreed on looking for who the killer was in his books and stuff. After the call, Bo and Tamsin went back to the hospital lounge to get some sleep.
The ringing phone woke Bo up. She slowly moved Tamsin off her lap, so the blonde could sleep on the couch while she took the call.
" I think I figured out what you are dealing with there. It's an Acheri." Trick said, " She's a vengeful spirit. She comes from the mountains at night and preys on the weak and the elderly. She casts her shadow on them, and it causes instant death."
" How can we kill this thing?"
" You need to wrap a medicine woman's red cloth around her, and she'll perish."
" Great! Where the hell am I going to find one of those?"
" Me and Shingo are trying to locate one on the black fae market." Trick said, " Be careful Bo, the Acheri can be very dangerous when provoked. I have to go now, bye."
" What do you mean by provoked? Hello? Hello?" Bo shook her head and put the phone back to her pocket.
She went back in and sat on the couch, beside Tamsin. The blonde let out a few moans and woke up. She opened her eyes and looked at Bo.
" Are you watching me sleep?" The Valkyrie frowned.
" No, I'm just waiting on my breakfast." Bo leaned over and kissed the blonde on her lips. She didn't even know why she did that. She pulled herself away after a few seconds. Tamsin sat up on the couch. They both pretended nothing had happened.
" So, what now, succubus." Tamsin leaned back on the couch, exhausted.
" Well, Trick told me it's an Acheri, and they are looking for the weapon to kill her. I think we should evacuate this place, so no one dies tonight."
" Ok. How the hell are we going to manage to do that?"
" You are looking at the most persuasive power right now." Bo smiled to her.
11:40 am - The Asylum : Lounge
" Ok, we've evacuated this place, what now?" Tamsin asked Bo.
" I guess we wait here, till Trick and Shingo comes back."
" Well why don't we wait outside then?"
" Ok." Bo said.
They both walked out the room towards the entrance of the building. Bo pushed on the door, but the door was not moving.
" Shit!" Bo pushed hard, but nothing happened. Tamsin pushed it with her together, still, nothing happened.
" What the fuck!" Tamsin pushed the other door. It didn't open either.
Then they heard a loud noise. All the windows in the building were suddenly closed and locked.
" Oh, this doesn't feel right..." Bo immediately called Trick.
" What Bo? Just wait for us there. Don't do anything!"
" I am afraid that...we already did..."
" What did you do, Bo?"
" We evacuated the entire building. Now it's just me and Tamsin, and we can't get out. All the doors and the windows are locked tight."
" Why on earth did you do that! I told you not to provoke the spirit! Now she's pissed because you took away the food from her plate. She's gonna be coming after you two!"
" When are you gonna be here?!"
" We found the thing we need. We are on our way there."
" What can we do now? Other than waiting to die here!"
" Red ribbons. You need red ribbons, strings or cloth tied around your neck. The Acheri can't harm you if you do."
" Ok. Red ribbons, got it!" Bo said.
" We are in a mental hospital. Where the fuck are we going to find red ribbons!" Tamsin cursed.
" Patients room! Maybe one of them has gotten a present or something." Bo said.
" Seriously, we need to go through the presents right now when a vengeful ghost is on our ass?"
" You got a better idea?" Bo restorted.
" Emmm... the place where they play together. There's got to some paint there. We can paint anything red."
" Ok. Let's go then."
12:15 pm - The Asylum: Hallway
" How far are we?" Bo was running after Tamsin.
" Probably one or two rooms away." Tamsin said. She stopped, trying to figure out where that room was.
When they were standing there thinking, the doors on the end of the hallway suddenly closed.
" Oh shit! The bitch is here!" Tamsin said, " Now we can't access that room anymore!"
" The Acheri is ghost right? Then salt should work?"
" I guess. We need to go to the kitchen then. This way!"
12:15 pm - The Asylum: Kitchen
" Where is the fucking salt?"
" Here!" Bo opened a cabinet and dragged two bags out.
The kitchen door closed behind them with a loud pounding sound.
" Quick, pour the salt around us."
Right after they poured the salt into a circle, they both saw a little girl appear in the room.
Unlike Alice, she looked like her face was rotten and all her teeth were out. She had long, dark nails. Her hair was all tied up and her dress was dirty. She looked pissed, but she couldn't get through the salt circle.
The spirit stood there for a while, then she laughed. Bo and Tamsin had to cover their ears because her laughter was very unpleasant.
Then Bo noticed that the salt was slowly being blown away by a breeze coming from nowhere.
" Oh, fuck, they never play fair do they!"
" They never do! We need to figure something out right now!" Tamsin said.
" Red ribbons, red ribbons...Tear two piece of cloth from your white shirt!"
" What do you want to do?"
" To make some red ribbons! Hurry up!" Bo pulled her dagger out. She put her palm around it.
" You are not seriously thinking..." Tamsin tore two pieces of cloth off her shirt as fast as she could, " Let me do it."
" Oh no, you don't get to play hero this time." Bo cut her palm with the dagger and grabbed the cloth. " Two red ribbons coming up!"
They tied the cloth around their necks as fast as they could.
" Don't smear any of my blood on your injuries." Bo said to Tamsin.
" Why? You got something contagious?"
" Once someone did, and he almost married me. Long story. I'll tell you when we get out here alive." Bo said.
" Wow, you are just full of surprises! Remember to kill me before I stand in front of the fucking altar with you! " Tamsin smirked.
The salt circle was completely destroyed by the breeze. The Acheri looked pissed, but she couldn't come closer.
" Good. Looks like the bloody ribbons are working."
Bo took out her phone and called Trick. " How far away are you! We are in the kitchen, staring at her!"
" You are in the kitchen? Be right there!"
" Oh no, she ran away!" Bo watched the girl ran out the kitchen. She was rather flying than running, because she was so fast. Bo grabbed a jar of salt and ran after her with Tamsin.
They followed the Acheri to the hallway. Trick and Shingo were coming right to her. The Acheri growled. She turned around and ran towards Bo.
Bo poured the salt on the floor to form a line. The Acheri couldn't pass through. She was in a rage. Before she could do anything, Shingo had thrown the medicine woman's cloth on her.
They heard a loud, shrill scream in the air. A black smoke came out from the cloth.
The spirit vanished.
3:00 pm - Tamsin's Apartment
" I am so done with this shit!" Tamsin walked in her own apartment. She crashed on the couch.
" Healing kiss?" Bo stood in front of her, waving her left hand.
Tamsin sighed. She took Bo's hand, and ran her index finger on her wound. It was not deep, and it had already stopped bleeding.
" You are not even bleeding anymore." Tamsin frowned.
" But it still hurts." Bo bit her bottom lip, trying to give Tamsin a puppy look, even though she knew the Valkyrie wouldn't believe it.
Tamsin rolled her eyes at her. She laid her hands on the brunette's waist and pulled her close. She raised her head and pressed her lips on hers. Bo kissed her back instantly. She had her right hand on the blonde's face, caressing her slowly while she was drawing some Chi from her.
Tamsin pulled back after a while. She knew she wanted more, but she also knew she shouldn't. She leaned back against the couch with Bo's hand in hers. " There, good as new." She said, " Now why don't you see yourself out so I can go take a shower to wash off your blood before I drag you to a chapel."
" Can I join you?" Bo teased her.
" Don't push your luck, sweetheart." Tamsin smirked.
