The Maelstrom of the Leaf Academy (Gulf Coast Paranormal Book 11) Read online

  “I’m not sure. I just gotta catch my breath.”

  But that was Dominic. I knew his voice. Even after all these years, I knew his voice just as sure as I knew my own. What if I had been wrong? What if Dominic really was here and wanted me to come find him?

  That’s when everything got blurry.

  Chapter Eleven—Shanafila

  My feet carried me closer to the makeshift village that my tribe and I had most recently called home. This wild place had never truly been our home, for we had been driven out of our ancestral lands. We had valued peace too much, sought too many compromises. And because of that, we were no more. Peace had been my father’s wish, and when he passed from this world, I took up his cause. But I was young, too young to manage the needs of my people. Seeking a vision, a way forward on the Medicine Hill, had been Fula Hatak’s counsel.

  Because of me, we were no more. For someone who was not acquainted with war, the sight of death sickened me. Now I would know the smell of blood, the blood of my people. The metallic odor permeated my skin and my mouth. Yes, it was as if I could taste death on my tongue. I longed to flee from this place, but how could I do that? My wife was here. The people I loved were here, but they were all silent. No fires burned, no songs were sung. There were no sounds of children.

  All things were not well. Not well at all.

  My toe struck something heavy, and it was no bag of sand or salt. This must be a body. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I squatted down and brushed the long dark hair out of the face of the dead man at my feet. Even in the faint light, I could recognize the lines of the face, the mouth opened wide—the eyes staring into nothing. His face was bloodied and rent of all life. Whatever had happened here, the screams, the onslaught had happened quickly. There had been no chance to fight. The Dark Ones had done their evil work in the blink of an eye. A warrior like Fula Hatak would never have given up his life without a fight. He was not the kind of man who would surrender. Yet I saw no hatchet in his hand, no blade near him. Upon closer examination of his body, I saw nothing that would lead me to believe he had lifted a hand against his enemy.

  Yukpa! My wife!

  Our tribe had been murdered, effortlessly and without a struggle. They had been cut down, and I had witnessed from a distance that horrible assault. The screams would always echo through my mind. Somewhere in this tangle of bodies and broken pots and precious things was my own Yukpa. Grief welled up in me like a living thing. There were bodies everywhere! Although I was not used to shedding tears, they flowed like the mighty river that we once loved as our mother. The Waliki were no more; their souls had been stolen, taken from this world, and were now the prisoners of the Dark Ones. I must find Yukpa! Where are you, my soul and my heart?

  Ah, even the old ones were dead. Even the Waliki children. But I had no time to grieve over them, for in the distance I heard a shriek. A familiar voice. She called my name!

  Yukpa!

  I rose to my feet and listened carefully to determine which direction her screams were coming from. They reverberated through the forest, and the howls of coyotes echoed from somewhere close. What if she had managed to escape? What if she truly were alive? This must be her! It had to be! How could I live with myself if I did not save her? Yes, one last chance to make it right! I must save Yukpa! I began to journey through the woods, ignoring the thorns and the branches that cut my skin.

  Another scream erupted from the forest. She couldn’t be far now—I traveled deeper into the woods, and I would go deeper still to find her, to save her. But I was not alone.

  The boy stood on the littered path before me. The clouds shifted, and the moon cast a strange light upon his face. It felt so cold here in the woods. So cold facing this creature. Fula Hatak had been right. This was the Soul Eater, and now he would eat my soul. To the left, to the right, the leaves began to shake, and things were moving—things I could not see. The shadow beasts rushed past me toward my wife, who continued to call my name. And the hearing of it was as if arrows were piercing my heart. I wanted more than anything to lift my voice to call to her, to promise her that I would come and save her, but…I could say nothing. It was as if my mouth had no will to obey my mind.

  The Soul Eater—Nalusa Falaya! The thing with the boy’s face raised his hand and showed me the sign of two folded fingers. A clear sign that I was to stay back and let him do his work.

  Finally, my voice erupted from my body and I screamed, “Give me my wife!” The boy-thing waved his hand sharply, and I hit the ground as I fell on my knees. The pain in my stomach was intense, so intense that it knocked the wind out of me. To my horror, the boy walked toward me. With each step, the revulsion within me grew and I was completely undone by his presence. All the darkness. All the horrible darkness. I raised my hand above my head as if to push him back, to push him away. To stay his attack, for surely he would attack me just as he had Fula Hatak and my entire tribe. But he did not stop. He stood in front of me, and now all I could do was stare at his moccasins; my heart sank deep inside of me. It sank so deep that I knew I would never again be able to call upon it. I would die, surely, but that would be better than hearing the screams of my wife.

  Why? Why have you done this to us? I did not accept your gift. It was thrust upon me!

  But even as I said the words, I began to remember. I had an encounter with the Soul Eater, but I had then believed him to be a child and not the dark spirit of the woods.

  I had made a deal with him…but what? What had I said? I could not quite recall it.

  “No, I have been tricked,” I whispered to whatever benevolent spirit might be listening. Nalusa Falaya had tricked me; it was in his nature to do so. I did not know the cost of his promise. Never would I have agreed to the murder of my people. No, the Soul Eater stole the souls of the Waliki.

  Oh, but the vision. Yes, I remembered.

  A chance at eternal life for you and the Waliki, Shanafila. This offer I make to you. Take my token and receive my gift.

  And in my scattered state, under the fever of the vision potion, for surely that had been the reason why, I let the feather float into my shaking hand. Why else would I have ignored Fula Hatak’s admonition? We were not to accept anything, nothing at all—that had been his instruction. Seek a vision, but do not interact with the Spirits. Not all of them can be trusted. Ah, it was too late to remember his words. The lies Nalusa Falaya told me! A promise of life for my people. I took the feather, a token of his presence and of his promise. It was in my hand again now. Where had this come from? A moan echoed from the depths of my soul. I tossed the feather away, but it didn’t go far, only floated to the ground.

  “I never wanted death. I never wanted this.” But I could save Yukpa! I had to try. “Please, she is my life,” I sobbed as tears rolled down my face. The spirit was unmoved by my raw emotion. I gathered that it enjoyed feeling them. Yes, I could see that smile of satisfaction on his face. Then the boy vanished, and another stood in his place. A man, a young man with long dark hair. His face painted with strange symbols, his clothing familiar. I was looking at myself! Nalusa Falaya had taken on my image.

  No! I am Shanafila! You are Nalusa Falaya! I know what you are! You tricked me, but you cannot take me, and you cannot have Yukpa!

  I screamed as the thing with my face touched my hand. I clutched it as his touch burned me. I snatched it away from him but not before the damage had been done. There burned into the palm of my hand was the shape of a long black feather. The meaning was clear to me. The contract could not be broken. I had accepted his gift.

  Now he would accept mine.

  He turned on his heel and ran at full speed, as fast as any wild boar or light-footed deer, disappearing into the gaping blackness. I could never run as fast as he, and never could I reach Yukpa in time. I staggered forward but did not get far. I collapsed on the mossy ground, completely consumed with my grief and with total awareness of the great sin I had committed. Fula Hatak had warned me. He had warned us all not to b
e fooled. We had gone to the Medicine Hill to find a way forward for our people, but instead, I had killed us all. The Waliki would be no more.

  The sounds of Yukpa’s terrified shrieks sealed my fate.

  Forever.

  Chapter Twelve—Cassidy

  “Cassidy? You’re a mess. Are you okay?” That was Midas’ good morning to me, apparently. Before I could think of a witty comeback, he was picking up the sketches off the floor. “I didn’t even hear you last night. Were you drawing all night?”

  I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror across the hotel room. Oh yeah, I looked like I’d fought a bear in my sleep. My red hair was all over the place, my clothes askew, and there were dark circles under my eyes.

  “I got a few hours of sleep,” I answered as I slid down the bed and joined him in picking up the pictures. “This is why I asked for two beds. I had a feeling that I would be drawing. I was so tired I crawled into bed without putting them up. Meet Shanafila.”

  “Shanafila? Is he connected to our case, or do you think you picked up something else? Maybe a spirit that’s in the area?” Midas put the pictures on the small round table and handed me a cup of coffee. I normally didn’t drink coffee, but this morning would be one of those rare occasions.

  “You don’t recognize him? He was in Moriah Mitchell’s journal. Shanafila is connected to the Leaf Academy. Probably through the land. I don’t think we’re dealing with a ghost, Midas. Not in the usual sense. Jocelyn was right, this thing is strong. And it captures souls. It’s called…what is the name again?” I snapped my fingers as if that would help me remember. It must have because I spit the name out without thinking. “Nalusa Falaya. That’s it. Shanafila saw him; he made a deal with this spirit, but he was under the influence of a vision-inducing drink. Anyway, the Nalusa Falaya told him that the Waliki would live forever if he would accept his gift—a black feather. Oh no! Like the black feather we saw at my house, Midas. This isn’t good. It can’t be good!”

  “Let’s put these out of the way for a minute. Just take a deep breath, Cassidy, and start from the beginning.”

  I did as he asked. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and then drank half my coffee before recounting what I had seen during my painting session. “Shanafila was the tribe’s de facto chief. His father had been the chief, but he died suddenly. And the tribe, they were called the Waliki, they were dying off. There were many warring clans around them, but the Waliki were peace-loving people. They didn’t like shedding blood, but they were in the minority. Other tribes moved into the coastal areas, their ancestral lands. The Waliki had been there for so long, but they were pushed inland into the forests. Many died in unwanted wars.”

  “Sounds like they had a tough time of it. How did Shanafila meet this Nalusa Falaya?” Midas drained his cup and reached for his notepad and pen.

  “The tribe sent some of the young men to the Medicine Hill. It was basically a sandy hill with a ring of trees around it. Shanafila was one of those young men. They were given tea, some kind of hot drink that would supposedly open them up to see the other side. The shaman, his name escapes me at the moment, sent them to get answers for the tribe. Should they go to war and take back the land? Should they go west and hope to find new lands? They were really at a crossroads.”

  “Tell me more about the Nalusa Falaya.” Midas jotted down a few notes on his paper and turned his intense stare to me.

  “He was also called the Soul Eater; they believed he had the power to collect souls, for what reason I don’t know. He is a trickster for sure because I got the feeling that Shanafila had no idea what he agreed to, and he didn’t really believe in any of the stories of his tribe until this encounter. His memory of the actual encounter with the Nalusa Falaya wasn’t great as a result of him ingesting that liquid. But…I hate even saying this…the entity’s token was a black feather. Shanafila accepted it, and that was it for him.”

  “Damn,” was Midas’ reply. We sat in silence for a little while.

  “It was horrible. Shanafila’s whole tribe was wiped out by this spirit. It commanded a bunch of shadowy beings, and they helped it murder the tribe. Including Shanafila’s wife.” I shivered at the memory of Yukpa’s screams. “Oh, and one more thing.”

  “You mean there’s more?”

  “Yes. It can take on your image. Or the image of someone you love. In some respects, it behaves like a doppelganger. I think that would explain why you saw Dominic at the Leaf Academy. You have to know that it’s not him, Midas.” I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “You aren’t the only one hearing things. I heard Kylie’s voice. She was calling my name. I didn’t see her, and I don’t believe for a second it was my sister. I know she’s safe. So is your cousin.”

  “My mind knows that, but my heart believes something else. I really hate that this thing has that kind of power. I know a few things about it. We know it can travel, since it came to your house. And it can pull things from your mind, like who you love, who you miss. And one more thing I can say with confidence—it knew we were coming. It’s very intelligent.”

  “I would agree with all of that.” I squeezed his hand again. “Do you think I should tell the team? Usually, I wait to share my sketches, but I don’t think I should in this case. We can’t take the risk that they encounter the Nalusa Falaya without this information. That’s what I think, at least.”

  Midas’ cell phone rang, but he didn’t answer it right away. “I agree, Cassidy. Jocelyn had it right all along. Oh, I better answer this. Be ready in thirty?”

  “All I need is fifteen minutes. Be right back.” I grabbed my toiletries bag and headed to the restroom. Midas had stepped outside to get a better cell phone signal, presumably. I did the usual, brushed my hair and teeth and dabbed on a little makeup. As I went about my daily rituals, I thought about Shanafila and Yukpa. How did it end for them? Was Shanafila trapped in the school? What about all those Waliki souls? Not to mention the people who had been killed on those unholy grounds. Unholy was an apt description for it.

  Non timebo mala. That saying was etched in stone above the doorway of the school. Somebody knew something, surely.

  For the first time in any investigation, I wanted to quit. Some part of me didn’t want to dig any deeper into this horrible mystery. People didn’t just die at the Leaf Academy; they were murdered by this entity and the shadows that obeyed it. This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill residual or a lost soul. This thing was abhorrent and hateful.

  And it had Midas and me in its sights.

  Chapter Thirteen—Cassidy

  “You’re blowing my mind, Cassidy. These are exquisite.” Jocelyn mulled over my drawings and opened Moriah Mitchell’s journal. “It’s him for sure. You say his name was Shanafila?” She pulled her camera out of her backpack. “Do you mind if I take some photos of them? I won’t use them for anything except research.”

  We were huddled in the hotel conference room; my half-eaten breakfast plate was in front of me. I really had no appetite at all. Neither did Sierra. “Go ahead. If it helps the investigation at all, I’m game.”

  “This changes things, y’all. We can’t just pretend that this doesn’t change things. I’m grateful that we stayed here last night because I darn sure don’t want to bring this thing home with me. I knew I felt a lot of anxiety, but I wasn’t sure if it was the investigation or something else,” Sierra explained as she ignored the expression on Joshua’s face. “That feather showing up on your bed could not have been a coincidence. Well, it’s made itself known to you two. It’s pretended to be Dominic and Kylie. It must plan on engaging you. It’s taken an interest in you. Let’s not run back over there, Midas. I think we should do more research first.” She licked her lips nervously and leaned forward to look Midas in the eye. She was afraid. Clearly, she was frightened by what she sensed. “Let’s see what information we can dig up about the Medicine Hill and that lost tribe. It’s possible that in his drugged state Shanafila imagined those shadows and that entity
. You say the Waliki had been targeted by other tribes. Could it be possible that Shanafila was really seeing his enemies running to the camp and only thought they were shadows? Hallucinations are not uncommon when one drinks mind-bending drugs.”

  Joshua eyed her suspiciously as he picked up our plates and napkins. “More secrets, Sierra? Don’t tell me you were into shrooms in high school.”

  “No, jerk face, but my cousins were. Mostly Benny.”

  “That explains so much,” he said as he walked away. Wow, he’s in a bad mood today. What was up with these two? Just knowing they were squabbling added to the already tense atmosphere that accompanied this investigation.

  She ignored him like she usually did, but it wouldn’t last long. She’d tell him off if he kept being a smart-mouth. Midas frowned at Joshua’s back but didn’t involve himself beyond that. This was par for the course with the McBrides. Sierra and Joshua had their rocky patches, but they always seemed to make it through them. It was best to stay out of their way when they started bickering. They kept their cool most of the time, but not always. It was so embarrassing when they’d get this way in front of clients. At least we weren’t investigating a client’s house this time.

  Nope. Just a spooky old building the size of Hogwarts with an entity that thrived on fear.

  Midas replied calmly, “I plan to get inside those outbuildings before the sun goes down. I don’t mind investigating the school in the dark, but there could be wild animals on the property.”

  “There are wild animals inside the building too,” Sierra said as she held up her arm to show the scratch marks from yesterday. “Or have you forgotten?”

  Midas wasn’t going to budge on this. He was very conscious of the time constraints, and the fact that this spirit had presented itself to him as his cousin…well, that had really ticked him off. “Tell you what, you and Joshua stay here and see what you can dig up while the three of us go check out the greenhouse and the sheds. Also, I’m curious to see if we can locate that hill. It might be that the Nalusa Falaya is tied to the land. That would make sense. See if you can find any property records, Sierra. Joshua…” Midas began, but the younger investigator interrupted him.