Wake the Dead (The Journals of Octavia Hollows #1) Read online

  “I’m… dead?” Whatever color had returned to her skin drained ashen.

  “You were. I brought you back. It’s kind of my thing.”

  Lips falling into a downward C, Nikki hitched one brow and nodded. “I guess that’s kind of a relief, actually. I can’t keep stringing Tim along. It’s not fair to hurt him like that.”

  “I’m guessing seeing you on a slab, in a non-erotic way,” Gross, “was a hell of a lot worse for the guy. That’s a traumatizing moment he won’t likely forget, which is why we need to return you to a state of pushing up daisies before he gets back. First, I have a couple questions about your death—”

  “Wait, what?” Spine straightening, Nikki’s hospital gown fell off her shoulder as she jabbed her hands on her hips. “You’re planning to kill me?”

  Seeing the brewing panic behind her eyes, I quickly back pedaled. “Kill you? You took that from what I said? That’s crazy. You’re crazy. Don’t be… crazy.” Stop saying crazy. “I just need some help figuring out how you died. A couple of kids’ lives may depend on it. Think you could help me out?”

  “Help you? I woke up dead and naked. You’re setting your bar for assistance shockingly low.” Sashaying across the room, Nurse Nikki grabbed a white lab coat from the hook it had been hanging on, and shrugged it over her shoulders.

  “Best way to make sure I’m never disappointed,” I lobbed back. Snapping my fingers in Bacon’s direction, I tried to draw his attention away from the trash can where his head was buried. “So, you actually remember feeling sad enough for morgue sex? Have any idea what brought on that particular case of the blues?”

  Lips pursed, Nurse Nikki tossed her hair from her eyes. “Of course I remember. I was on lunch, and checked my Instagram feed. That’s when I saw it. My boyfriend posted a photo of another girl sitting on his lap.”

  “Dr. Dowden isn’t your boyfriend?”

  Checking the pocket of the lab coat, Nikki found a loose butterscotch candy and popped it in her mouth. “He wishes. We’re friends with benefits, at best. Instagram guy was supposed to be my happily ever after… until I saw that picture.”

  Unsure if I could follow along on her maze of men, I sucked air through my teeth and forced a sympathetic cringe. “That sucks.”

  Throwing her hands in the air, she let them fall to her sides with a slap. “Right? I mean, I get that she’s his wife, but he told me their entire relationship was a sham! If that’s true, why would she be sitting on his lap?”

  “Your boyfriend… is married,” I repeated slowly, deeply regretting that I had caught myself up on this particular shit show.

  Nikki held one palm out, as if pumping the brakes on any negativity directed at her two-timing honey. “He legit wants to leave her. She’s a complete psycho. I mean, there is no trust there at all. If he even looks at another woman she flips out.”

  “Well, it seems her concerns are valid,” I muttered under my breath, before redirecting her back to the more pressing issues of life and death. “Still, no one has ever died from a social media post. What happened after you discovered the post?”

  Ticking back through the details in her mind, Nikki’s mouth fell open. “Uh, just some dumb work thing. Nothing important.”

  “Well, you know, you did die. Even trivial matters might be worth exploring.”

  After trotting across the room, Bacon plopped down on my foot and full-body leaned against my leg.

  Chewing on her lower lip, Nikki drummed her fingers against the tops of her thighs. “I don’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. No, wait! I do remember something! I was super sad about the post, and wanted to leave early. But, before I left for the day I had to say goodbye to the family in room five-twenty-seven.”

  Brad had said Nikki was incredibly caring with their family, which spawned the question, “Was it the Dews family in room five-twenty-seven?”

  “Yes!” Nikki brightened at the mention of their name. “They are such a sweet family. I wanted to check in one more time and make sure they were taken care of before I ventured off for a night of debauchery and poor decisions.”

  There it was. We had pinpointed the moment right before her untimely death. “What happened when you went in the room?”

  Hope we were moments away from answers faded with a shake of Nikki’s head. “Come to think of it, I don’t really remember. The family wasn’t there, I remember that. But someone else… was.”

  “Sounds like we need to go back to room five-twenty-seven.” Squatting down, I scooped up Bacon and eased him back into his carrier. “Right after we get you a surgical mask to hide behind… and pants.”

  “Okay, but if we happen to see Instagram guy along the way, I’m haunting his ass.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Chapter Four

  Huddled in a darkened hall by the vending machines, I eyed the costume Nikki insisted on changing into. “I really think you could have gotten away with a surgical mask and cap. I don’t really see the need for,” I waved one hand in the direction of her ensemble, “whatever the hell this is.”

  “Rookie mistake. You have to commit to a disguise for it to work.” Smoothing her hands over her platinum wig, Nikki used her pinky fingers to move the long bangs out of her eyes.

  “Why exactly did you have this disguise in your work locker?”

  The little black dress she had shimmied into clung to her curves, allowing her ample cleavage to spill out. “I always keep one on hand, just in case. I learned that in high school when I was dating my math teacher. If it hadn’t been for my clever disguise, the school principal would have caught us together at the local Italian restaurant.”

  Nose crinkling, I tucked my chin to my chest. “We are up to a married man, dating a teacher, and boning a guy in the morgue. Ya know, the last guy I dated literally tried to get me to take over the world with him, evil villain style. Still, I’m pretty sure I have better taste in men than you do.”

  “That’s fair.” Peeking around the corner toward the nurses’ station, Nikki swatted at my arm. “Karen, the nurse manager, is leaving the desk. Let’s go! Remember head up, shoulders back, and act like you belong here.”

  “You look like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and I have a pig stuffed under my shirt. What about that could possibly look odd?” Supporting Bacon’s weight with both hands, I trotted to keep up with Nikki’s sassy stride.

  Stopping in front of room five-twenty-seven, she turned her back to the door and glanced down the hall in one direction then the other. Seeing no sign of her former co-workers, Nikki peeled back the yellow police caution tape and waved me inside.

  For a crime scene, it was shockingly unremarkable. No blood stains. No signs of a struggle. Nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. Just an unmade hospital bed and a bouquet of wilted daisies on the side table.

  “Anything about the attack coming back?” I asked, quietly shutting the door behind us.

  “Not even a little bit.” Jabbing her hands on her hips, she spun in a slow circle. “Maybe I died of a broken heart? I’ve read that can happen. Usually with couples who have been together for, like, fifty years. But I’ve always said I feel things deeper than most people. Maybe I expedited the process by a few decades.”

  “There is another way to know for sure.” Dreading the idea of dipping my toe further into the murky waters of magic, I rubbed a hand over my sweat-dampened neck. “I stayed with a coven that, amongst other things, taught me a spell about uncovering the past. They thought it would help me come to terms with this kid I thought I hurt after we both got caught in…” Realizing I was rambling, I shook my head to steer myself back on track. “You know what? That doesn’t matter right now. The point is, if I can recreate that incantation, it could help us.”

  Pinching one of the daisy petals, Nikki rolled it between her fingers until it deteriorated into a rain of crumbles. “Magic? Really?”

  The tip of my tongue dragged over my top teeth. “Yes, magic. Just like what I used to brin
g you back with. Not that you bothered to ask, by the way.”

  “You brought me back?” Nikki jerked, rapidly blinking her confusion in my direction.

  “Yeah, what did you think happened?”

  “Divine intervention.” One shoulder rose and fell in a sheepish shrug. “So, what does that make you? A necrophiliac?”

  “Necromancer.”

  “You do dead people? Gross.”

  Holding up two fingers, I crossed my hands at the wrist. “Flip flop the meanings of those two words, and you’ll be back on track.”

  Brushing the dried flowers off her hands, Nikki rolled her eyes. “I’ve never been much of a believer in that hokey witchcraft stuff.”

  “You having a pulse right now is thanks to that hokey witchcraft stuff, but whatever. I’ll give the spell a shot, and hopefully we’ll learn something that might help the Dews kids.”

  “The Dews are in trouble?” Voice wavering, Nikki’s silver eyes filled with tears as her chin quivered. “That poor family has been through so much. They never left that baby’s side as that sweet little warrior fought day in and day out to cling to life. If there is anything I can do to help them, I’m in. Even if it’s attempting some lame ass magic trick.”

  “Wow, that even bordered on a kind, human sentiment,” I marveled, scratching the edge of my nose ring with my pinky nail.

  “My own life might be a hot mess, but when it came to my patients, I wanted nothing but the very best for all of them.” Turning on the heel of her stiletto, Nikki brought her hands together in a sharp clap. “So, how do we do this?”

  Unclipping my Bacon holster, I lowered him to the floor once more. His hooves clicked against the fading linoleum, ears flapping as he trotted off merrily to explore. “We hold hands to combine our energies, and I say the magic words. Simple as that.”

  “The magic words?” Nikki scoffed, dragging her feet to close the space between us. “I mean, you get how insane you sound, right?”

  “You have morgue sex. Don’t judge me.” Grabbing her hands with more force than necessary, I closed my eyes and stammered out a rough variation of the words coven elder, Sister Dina, taught me so long ago. “Um… elder of the spirit plane, to thee I must implore. Reveal what has happened here, in this room… uh… behind five-twenty-seven’s door.”

  A tangible current of magic sizzled in the air around us, swirling in a crackling gust. Nikki’s hands tightened around mine, her fingernails slicing half-moons into my flesh.

  “Ow, Nik, could you ease up a little?”

  One glance up from under my lashes, and my eyes bulged. Wisps of black licked up Nikki’s arms, pulsing with devilish intent. They snaked around her neck and blew the wig clear off her head. A single blink morphed her silvery eyes to tarry black voids. Lips parting, a haunting rattle reverberated from her chest. “Is e do bheatha bàsmhor.”

  Yanking my hands away, I fell on my butt and scrambled backwards until my shoulder blades smacked into the wall. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say something went really wrong here. Did I mention I suck at spells? Turns out, magically I’m a one-trick pony.”

  Throwing her body into a whirlwind of flailing limbs, Nikki leapt onto the bed, her spine straightening with a reptilian roll.

  “Look at that, I turned a random nurse into the creepy little girl from The Ring.” Assuming a low crouch, I Inched my way to the edge of the mattress. “Not that you don’t look lovely, but if you could hop down, I’ll see if I can figure out a way to get you… unpossessed.”

  Mahogany strands of hair coiled and lashed around Nikki’s face, whipping her cheeks to a brilliant shade of red. “Bidh mi a ‘toirt às do anam.”

  “That’s a no, then?”

  Her hand shot out, closing into a claw that morphed my question into a choked gasp. While she didn’t touch me, some invisible force responded to her command. It closed around my throat, squeezing in an ironclad vise grip. My feet kicked for the floor, eyes watering as I was hoisted from the ground.

  “This is why I don’t have more female friends,” I gasped. “Never know when a bitch is gonna turn on ya.”

  Head twitching to the side, Nikki’s mouth unfurled in a wide maw. Her now blackened tongue flopped out like a fat black leech hungry for life. “Bidh mi a ‘toirt às do anam.”

  “This is a great look for you, by the way. Very Bitch of Satan.” Scraping at my throat, I fought for freedom as black spots began to dance before my eyes.

  Pulling me close, Nikki’s hot breath assaulted my cheek as she breathed the mysterious words into me. “Bidh thu a ‘bàsachadh gum faod mi fàs.”

  Somehow satisfied by whatever the hell just happened, she tossed me aside with a flick of her wrist. I crashed to the floor in a heap, my elbow cracking against the linoleum floor, while my shin found the edge of the bedframe. My shoulder hit the base of the bedside table, sending it toppling down on top of me. I shoved the table off me in time to watch Nikki bound off the bed and sprint out into the hall.

  Rolling onto my hip, I pushed myself up to a sitting position, pausing as the world spun in a nauseating blur. “Elder of the spirit plane, to thee I must implore. Retract the magic brewing here, behind five-twenty-seven’s door.”

  I won’t lie. I really hoped a simple reversal would correct the matter. But life is never that simple. Instead, a chorus of shrieks echoed down the hall, followed by the frantic footfalls of comfortable, sensible shoes.

  “It’s Nikki’s ghost!”

  “She’s haunting the women’s and children’s floor!”

  Sagging forward, I cradled my throbbing elbow in the opposite hand and let my forehead thump against the floor. “Not sure this could get any worse.”

  Accepting that challenge, Bacon’s hooves clicked across the floor in a feverish, piggy fury. Skidding his way around the corner, he bolted down the hall, earning a fresh round of squeals from the nurses’ station.

  “Was that a pig?”

  “What the actual hell is happening here today?”

  My mouth opened to call for him, only to snap shut again.

  We took the elevator up there, and he doesn’t have thumbs. Bacon, at least, wasn’t going anywhere.

  As for Nikki, she was another matter.

  Easing myself to my feet, I dug my phone out of my pocket and clicked on a contact I hadn’t spoken to in years. I ventured out into the hall as I waited for her to pick up, keeping my head down to skate by under the radar of the frazzled nurses.

  No greeting came from the other end of the line when it was answered, just a long string of expletives from one pissed-off Wiccan.

  “Sister Dina, it’s been a while. No, no, I’m not dead… or sucked into a hell dimension. Thanks for asking. Yes, I do owe you and the entire coven a huge apology. Why? You’re really going to make me say it? Fine, I was a selfish asshat who shouldn’t have bailed without saying goodbye. Can we move past that now, please? I actually do have a reason for calling.”

  I took the pause in her ranting as my cue to proceed.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure no prying ears were listening in. “I ran into some sort of demon possession. Black eyes, creepy black tendrils all around. I think it may be able to suck the life out of one person and siphon it into another. A wraith? What is that?” Click. “Hello? Sister Dina?”

  One check of the screen confirmed she’d ended the call. “Well, at least I have a name for the thing I unleashed to terrorize the town.”

  Chapter Five

  Shoulders hunched, I hobbled past the on-duty nurses regaling the details of the haunting they experienced to two incredibly confused security guards. Casually as I could, I peeked in every open door in search of a certain side of pork. I was rounding the corner into the corridor leading to the elevators when I caught a glimpse of his curly pink tail disappearing into the stairwell.

  “Bacon!” Any attempt to hurl myself after him was halted by a hand shooting out of the neighboring supply closet to yank me inside. “Son of a bitch!
What the hell?” I bellowed, blindly swinging at whomever or whatever grabbed me.

  “Shhh! It’s me!” Nikki hurried to shut the door behind us.

  Outwardly, the effects of whatever overtook her had vanished. Still, the lingering memory of her Jedi Force chokehold eased me further away from her. Bumping into the shelves behind me, I knocked a package of tongue suppressors to the floor. “You’re okay though? Feeling good?” Even I heard the unsteady quake of my apprehensive tone.

  “I am, but I have no idea what happened. I remember being in the hospital room, and you pretended you could do magic. Next thing I know, I’m running down the hall without my disguise.” Sucking air through her teeth, Nikki cringed. “Also, bad news, I think some people saw me.”

  Smacking my hand to the shelf, I stopped a tower of gauze from careening to the floor. “I wasn’t pretending to do magic. I cast a spell. A damned good one, too. It turned you into something called a wraith, which then beat my ass. So, there’s that.”

  “I beat you up?” Nikki giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’ve never done that before. Was I, like, tough and stuff?”

  My elbow ached, I couldn’t walk without limping, and I could feel the entire side of my face bruising. “You were alright,” I mumbled with a noncommittal shrug.

  Biting her lower lip, her cheeks filled with a rosy glow. “Cool.”

  “Not that I’m not enjoying our quality time together, but why didn’t you make a run for the stairs or the elevator instead of ducking into a utility closet? Someone could open this door at, literally, any minute. Basically, everything any worker in this hospital needs to do their job is in here. You know that. You worked here. Didn’t you? I mean, you’re a college educated nurse, right? This isn’t, like, a stolen identity thing?”

  Nikki’s eyes rolled as if she was annoyed by her own antics. “I was going to, but there was someone coming that I would have hid from even before I died.”