Note: Made a few corrections in past chapters. I hope people still enjoy reading the story! Thank you to the reviewers!
This chapter is dedicated to TRDowden1 for thanks for tolerating my weirdness! Thank you!
Ch. 12: The Ghost of the Colorado Kid
"Jennifer!"
Jennifer stopped in the hallway of True Heart Castle to see Audrey running up to her. Audrey stopped and took in a few breaths before she spoke.
"Jennifer, I finally figured out where I heard the name 'Arla!'" Audrey said. Jennifer's face beamed with hope. "I was looking through old letters from family members, and my cousin, James Cogan, mentioned a woman named Arla!"
"What did he say?" Jennifer asked, trying to hide her excitement.
"He met an enchantress named Arla, who made magical clothing; they were tough as armor, but soft as silk," Audrey said. "The way he depicted her matches Duke's description, but without the stitches. He was planning to marry her, but . . ."
"'But?'" Jennifer carefully asked, noticing how Audrey's voice faltered as she spoke.
"James was murdered a year and a half ago," Audrey said and Jennifer's eyes widen in horror. "His murder is still unsolved and Arla mysteriously vanished when his body was found."
Jennifer let out a sigh of disappointment. She was so close finding something to help Duke, but it turned out to be a dead end.
"There might be a way . . ." Audrey said, getting Jennifer's attention, but noticing the slight reserved tone in Audrey's voice. "There are stories that James's ghost haunts the spot where he was murdered, but Sir Howard forbade me to investigate to prove if the stories were true."
"Then what—"Jennifer's eyes grew large, figuring out what Audrey was saying. "Are you suggestion for me to hire a necromancer to summon James's ghost? Audrey, necromancy is illegal in many lands, including ours! I can't—"
"No, no, not that," Audrey said. She had to laugh at Jennifer's misinterpretation. "With the King's permission, Nathan started a reform program for minor criminal magic-users. Lucky for us, one of the recent criminal magic-users is a misguided necromancer."
Jennifer couldn't help but smile. "So, what's the plan?"
"Nathan knew James for years; they . . . were best friends . . ." Audrey took in a deep breath, trying to prevent the memories of James from distracting her. "I told him about the connection with Arla, and that's how I found out about the necromancer. Tomorrow night, we'll meet at the site James was murdered, a half an hour after midnight. Nathan will bring the necromancer . . ."
". . . and I'll bring Duke!" Jennifer finished and Audrey smiled and nodded. Jennifer smiled back and hugged Audrey. "Oh, Audrey, thank you! I'll let Duke know right away!"
Jennifer ran as fast as she could to find writing equipment.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" the necromancer, Kyle Hopkins, weakly asked. "We could get caught."
Kyle had brown hair and eyes. His hair was short and looked plastered down all over his head. He had dark circles covering his eyes, and the start of facial hair on his chin. Right now, Nathan and Kyle stood on an old, but very sturdy, pier next to a row of rocks on the beach. The only sources of light were from Nathan's lantern and the candles for the ceremony.
"I told you I'll take responsibility if we do get caught, which we won't," Nathan said, trying to see his friends through the fog. "How about you prepare the ritual instead of worrying?"
Kyle nervously nodded back and began drawing mythic symbols on the boards of the pier with a piece of white chalk. Soon Audrey appeared, and after she placed down her lantern, she hugged Nathan, as Kyle continued to draw. When Kyle was done, Jennifer arrived, carrying her own lantern, with Duke.
"Did you bring an object that has deep value that connects you and the . . . deceased?" Kyle nervously asked.
Audrey nodded and handed him a locket.
"Thank you," Kyle said and placed it in the middle of the circle.
Kyle raised his hands and began chanting in an archaic langue. As he chanted, the fog moved by an unknown force into the center circle, swirling around, looking like a cocoon. The fog cocoon peeled opened and drifted away, revealing a semi-transparent man, a few years younger than Audrey, with brown hair and blue eyes, the same blue eyes as Audrey's. Kyle stopped chanting and lowered his arms. The ghost looked around and focused on Audrey.
"Audrey?" he asked.
"James," she replied with a sad smile.
"Can I go now?" Kyle asked nervously.
"Yes, sure," Nathan said. He picked up a bottle of bourbon and gave it to Kyle. "Take your payment with you."
"Thank you," Kyle said, taking the liquor. "The spell will only last 15 minutes."
Kyle unscrewed the top and began drinking as he walked away.
"Audrey," James said after he looked around again. "Why did you hire a necromancer to call me?"
Audrey quickly explained the situation and introduced Jennifer and Duke to James. Although James gave Duke a suspicious look when he heard he was a Crocker, his expression soften when he heard about his curses.
"James," Audrey said. "The woman you wrote about, could she be the same Arla who cursed Duke?"
James looked down before he looked at them and spoke. "Arla was the one who murdered me."
He took in a deep breath before he continued.
"As I told you, I met Arla hearing about her abilities, making comfortable, yet impenetrable clothing," James said. "I fell in love with her talents, skills, and beauty, and she loved me . . . but now I will never know if her love was real or not." James paused and sighed. "She was so happy when I asked her to marry me, and she moved her workshop into my castle. She continued her business selling enchanted clothing, even giving them to people who lived in war-torn areas of Haven. I thought I found the perfect woman to marry . . . till that day . . ." he paused again to collect himself. "I was getting suspicious why many of my female staff quit without notifying me first. I gave Arla a shirt I wanted enchanted, but I found a button that fell off. Arla had gone out, so I went to her workshop to leave the button. I was about to leave when I saw blood drops on the floor which led to a wall. I had to investigate, and found out that the wall was fake and led to Arla's real workshop."
"There were surgical instruments, tanks and jars filled with preservatives, and floating inside the tanks were complete human skin and some I recognized as my own servants." Duke instinctively held Jennifer close to him as if to protect her from the horrors James was describing. "Before I had the chance to search, Arla returned, beyond enraged. Her face was different; it looked like . . ." James turned to look at Duke. ". . . like how you described when you met her. She attacked me with her magic before I had the chance to speak. I was able to evade her attacks."
"You were always good at dodging magic," Audrey said and she and James shared a bittersweet smile.
"I felt I could escape; I almost made it to the door, when . . ." James said. ". . . I believe Arla teleported behind me and stabbed me repeating with a small surgical blade. I thought I was going to die then, but Arla was complaining that the U. F. C. I. S. will track her down if I die here."
Author's Note: U. F. C. I. S. stands for Unknown Forces Criminal Investigation Service
"She teleported me here, dragged me to the rocks, left me, I bleed out, and . . ." James didn't need to finish the sentence. Everyone knew what happened next.
"James," Duke said, causing the ghost to look at him. "Do you know anything, anything we can use to defeat Arla?"
James thought over his murder. "After she teleported me here, she was saying 'They must not find out that a Skinwalker lives in Haven.'"
James looked around; no one was familiar with the term 'Skinwalker.' "I'm sorry; that's all I can remember that could be important."
"No, thank you, James," Audrey said. James smiled at her.
"We do have a few minutes left," James said.
"I don't want to leave on a sad note," Audrey said and tried to smile. "Would you like to hear our wedding plans?"
James smiled and nodded.
Audrey, Nathan, and James talked, until James knew his time was up. Audrey reached out to stroke James's cheek, but her hand went through his face. She choked, holding back her sobs.
"I miss you, James," Audrey said.
"I miss you," James said and looked at Nathan. "You too, Nathan; I would have been a good Best Man." Nathan smiled at James and he looked at Jennifer and Duke. "I wish I could have known you before."
Jennifer and Duke agreed and thanked James for his help. Audrey went up to James and 'mimed' hugged him, so her hands won't go through his incorporeal body. James hugged her back with the same gesture; he gave Nathan an approving look, and he joined the hug.
"I love you," the cousins whispered to each other.
The wind picked up and James seemed flow with the air current, like snowflakes on the wind. Soon, James blew away, until Audrey and Nathan were holding nothing. Audrey looked at Nathan with tears in her eyes, and collapsed her head on his shoulder, weeping. Nathan hugged her and held her close as he brushed his fingers through her hair.
Feeling intrusive, Duke took Jennifer's hand and they walked alongside the beach. They were silent as they listened to the waves crashed against the shore, and thought over what James said.
"If we knew what a Skinwalker was, we could figure out how to defeat Arla," Jennifer said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," was all Duke could say.
"There might be a way," Jennifer said as they stopped and Duke looked at her. "But you're not going to like it."
"Well, what is it?" Duke asked.
"Vince and Dave have a lot of books," Jennifer said. "They know how to find information, but . . ."
"You have to tell them about me and Rouge Pond," Duke concluded and she nodded back. Duke let go of Jennifer's hand and ran his hand through his hair as he looked out into the ocean. "Ironic, isn't it? Fortunately, all this time, I was able to keep Rouge Pond a secret, nothing's bad has happened. Now when Charlotte needs to be protected the most, I have to let others know about her existence."
Jennifer walked up to Duke and gently placed her hand on his arm; Duke still watched the ocean.
"Maybe if I trusted more people, I wouldn't be in this situation," Duke said.
"But 'what might have been' doesn't matter right now," Jennifer said, making Duke look at her. "What matters is 'now,' and 'now' we need Vince's and Dave's help to find out Arla's secret. Duke, will you trust Vince and Dave?"
Duke placed his own hand over Jennifer's before he spoke.
"I trust you," he said. "I trust you to be in charge of the Teague Brothers."