Lead Me Astray

Original Edition: CHAPTER 17 - AURIE

August 30 | Friday Night

While Mys was out with their friend, I was daydreaming about the Garden District house with its bold colors and white columns. I saw the oversized hibiscus shrub in the backyard, sheer curtains fluttering at a tall window on the second floor behind it. Beyond the heady blossoms, Haley would be prepping for another iconic Friday night.

Mom might be downstairs in her home office. If she were, she'd be talking a mile-a-minute on the phone to her assistant. I could see her sharp features unfolding in a smile and hear the bubbly sound of her always unexpected laughter. Or maybe she was back in LA at the chrome and leather condo, drumming up interest in her latest movie.

My funeral wouldn't keep Mom in New Orleans long, but Haley would be waiting for me. I imagined my feet traversing the sidewalk to the porch. I almost felt the front door swing open beneath my touch, and there it was...the life I had left behind.

Someone knocking at Mys' place startled me back to reality. "Hey, Aurie? It's me, hun. Let me in," Detective Zyr called out. My lips tightened as the vision receded, reminding me life was for the living. It was going on without me. I dashed tears I hadn't realized I was crying as I roused from the lounge chair and padded across the room.

"What's up, Detective? The door won't open for anyone but Mys, remember?"

"Oh, you're by yourself? I, um, just stopped by to make sure you're okay. Can you step outside a minute? I don't want it to be a blank trip."

"Yeah, sure." I was midway through the door when I realized I was hearing Detective Zyr's voice inside my head, and it was already too late. Hands grabbed me.

"There you are." Darcy Cyprian smiled with insidious delight at the involuntary whimper that tore from my throat as he lifted me with vampire strength and peered into my face. A shock of ash blond hair billowed over his deep-set emerald eyes. "It really is you," he whispered, awestruck.

I shrank into myself. I had spent hours imagining what I'd do to my killer if given the chance. I came to the disheartening realization I wouldn't do a damn thing. I was immobilized by fear. I saw no sign of fangs in his unnaturally refined face, but now that I was Supernatural, something within me recognized he was dangerously inhuman.

I rubbernecked for help, but the people in the cars that passed, the group of girlfriends enjoying themselves across the street, they wouldn't hear me if I screamed. No one would know what was happening to the ghost on the shadowy side of the cathedral.

Come on think, Aurie! I willed my panicked brain. I wondered what would happen if, instead of focusing my energy on being solid, I did the opposite. I closed my eyes and picture myself light as a wisp of smoke, and I slipped through the vampire's hands like magic. The door rattled, struck by his powerful fists, but I was back in the safe haven of Mys' studio.

"Aurelia!" Darcy shouted angrily. I retreated as far as I could, though the rage-filled voice rang in my head until he wrestled control of himself. "Damn it, Aurie. I apologize. You made me lose my temper, but I would never...I would never hurt you. Please. Kindly open the door so we can talk like civilized people."

"Never hurt me? You drugged me and God knows what else!" I retorted.

"You believe that? The ones you consider your friends are keeping major secrets from you, pooch." His voice was calmer, but that did nothing to lessen my terror.

I was a different kind of vulnerable now that he knew where I was, and I had no idea how to contact Zyr or Mys. I slammed a hand on the kitchen counter in helpless fury. Why had I gone out? I seemed destined to keep making the same mistakes.

"I'm not your pooch or your pet," I said through clenched teeth.

I heard him chuckle beyond the door. "It's an endearment, not a job offer, and I'm not who you should be worried about. Ask yourself why the detective hasn't let you see your family yet. Why is he keeping you locked up here? Has he even told you what happened to your sister?"

What happened to Haley? I jerked my head. Lies. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if you've met the detective, then you know you don't want to be here when he gets back."

"Right," he engaged. "Clearly, he has you convinced I'm the bad guy, and the Council will put me away. I'm on the Council of Overlay Affairs, Aurie, and I'm fairly influential as Director of Corporate Resources. I'm not going anywhere."

"Claim whatever title you want. I wasn't born yesterday."

"Why would I lie when the truth will set my desires free? Detective Zyr has his own agenda, but my agenda is to help you. I have a friend in Hollygrove who can perform your Resurrection. You'll find her card outside the door." He sounded so reasonable.

"Are you for real? Why?" I blurted out the question that had plagued me since waking up dead. Never mind the stuff he was saying about Zyr. It raised numerous red flags, but I would puzzle through that later.

"I'll be honest with you, as no one else seems to have done since you got to Overlay City," Darcy intruded in my head. "I've been alive so many centuries I've lost count, but you were the greatest surprise in half a lifetime."

"Whatever!"

"Hand to God. You shouldn't have gotten into that party. It was strictly for Supernaturals and their guests, and when I make a mandate, it stands. Yet, of a sudden, there you were, the girl of my dreams. There's something special about you, and I want you to be mine."

"Don't. I'm not the girl of your dreams, and I'll never be yours."

"Not even if I can help you see your family again?" he asked softly. "Search for the business card when you feel safe to come out. I'll return in a few days once you've visited the loa and seen for yourself that what I promise is real. Until next time, ma louloute."

I experienced a sensation like ears popping. Finally, he was out of my head. My knees gave up. I dropped to the floor. My stomach quaked with nausea. Another phantom feeling in a phantom body. I couldn't vomit, but I dry heaved while the cabinets in the kitchenette banged open and dishes clattered.

Darcy Cyprian knew where I was hiding now. He had found me. There was nothing to stop him from coming back. It wasn't enough he had killed me. He was ruining my Afterlife, planting uncertainty where I was sure before.

Was Detective Zyr hiding something? What had happened to Haley? Why hadn't my friends told me about Resurrection? I didn't know whom to trust. My eyes suddenly welled up as all four circles of the electric stove glowed hot, and the studio lights flickered overhead.

I worried about Haley. There was no way to know how my sister was doing from here. I needed to see her for myself. I pushed to my feet, but another thought occurred to me, and I stopped at the ornately carved door. What if this was one of Darcy's tricks? If he was waiting on the other side, there was no guarantee I'd escape his clutches a third time.

I backed away from the exit and massaged my temples, trying to think. I felt like I was unraveling. Behind me, the dressing screen fell with a loud crash, and the bathroom door banged open. I vaguely registered the showerhead hissing, steam rolling toward the ceiling like clouds seeking the sky.

None of this should've been happening, but it didn't fully register until I saw my body blinking in and out like the lights overhead. "What is this?" I whimpered, staring at my disappearing hands in horror.

The door burst open as Detective Zyr and Mys rushed into the studio. Their sudden arrival anchored me to reality, but how could I keep a grip when the people that I trusted built a world of secrets, lies, smoke and mirrors? I was becoming a poltergeist. I telepathically slammed the door shut behind them. No one was leaving until I got the truth. My very existence depended on it.