The Last Handful of Clover - Book 2: Gifts Both Light and Dark

2.26 Gray Steel

June 13, 10:46 am

What Richard and Billy did not see, as they hurried away from the This is the Place Monument, was that they were being watched.

Justin had nearly lost them the previous afternoon when they went into the Medical Center, but his patience was rewarded when he saw them emerge from the west side of the building. He had followed them through the night, always being sure to stay far enough away to keep from being noticed. For a time they lingered in a theater that was showing Gone With the Wind, and he had drawn near enough, across the auditorium, to get the impression that the boy was explaining to Richard about the ghosts that were there to watch the movie. When they left, Justin followed again, as they walked up 7th East, and then wandered through parts of Sugarhouse. Just before dawn they had ended up near Hogle Zoo, on a hillside overlooking the valley below.

Justin lurked behind a car in the Zoo's parking lot, not only for fear of being seen, but because the low hum of the Hereafter's border made it feel as if his teeth were vibrating in his skull. He didn't understand how the pair could stand to be so close.

When the ghost boy intentionally reset himself, Justin almost cried aloud.

Why in hell would he do that? he wondered.

It all seemed very mysterious and confusing to Justin, and it left him with a deep sense of disquiet and foreboding.

He was relieved when, shortly after sunrise, the pair walked down the hill and sat on the railing of the monument. He watched for some time, wondering if they would only pause there, and continue walking. But when it was clear they were deep in conversation, and unlikely to be leaving anytime soon, Justin decided it was his chance to get closer.

Using the cover of the monument itself, he worked his way up the foothills, nearly to the edge of the Hereafter. He avoided it carefully, and eventually cut lower on the hillside, approaching the Monument from the back, where he was completely hidden from view to the two ghosts who were so deep in conversation on the other side.

As he crept closer, he heard Richard shout, and it froze him in his tracks.

"Why won't you tell me how it's done?" the man growled. And then, just a couple seconds later, there was the unmistakable sound of a blow being landed, and then an exclamation as a body hit the ground.

Did Richard hit the boy? Justin wondered. It's possible! They both have the Third Gift...

But then he heard the boy's voice, and he was the one that was angry now. He was speaking quickly, but Justin caught most of what he said, as he crept toward the Monument.

"Richard, stop! For Keith's sake... just fucking stop! Do you think I'm joking... Mediumship and Possession are dark, and evil... Do you think I'm lying to you... this is nothing you want to be fucking with!"

He heard the words "Mediumship" and "Possession" clearly.

That boy is telling him about the Dark Gifts, Justin realized. He hurried forward as the voices became clear once again.

"Says who?" Richard's voice cried out.

"Says Tuilla!" the boy snapped.

That name meant nothing to him. But it must have had an effect on Richard, since their voices returned to a quieter level, and Justin could no longer hear more than a murmur.

He strained his ears for several minutes, creeping as close around the edge of the monument as he dared, but the voices remained so low now that no words were coming through over the brisk morning wind. Finally, his frustration got the better of him, and he glanced around, desperate for a way to get closer to the ghosts but still not allow himself to be seen. Finally, he looked up.