Vic Owens: Paranormal Advisor

It was unclear who was more surprised; Vic, Billy, or Maya. But, nonetheless, it was a spectacular show.

When her life seemed lost, Maya unleashed a display. Her eyes turned a vibrant yellow—as bright as the sun. She raised her arms to shield herself and a purple blast shot from her hands, hitting Billy square in the chest, causing him to release his grip and stumble back a few steps. Maya stared at her hands like they were dangerous and unknown weapons. Billy came marching after her again. Reacting quickly, Maya raised her new-found tools again and a powerful purple wave emanated from her fingertips, disintegrating Billy and turning him into a heaping pile of dust on the ground.

Vic wormed himself out of the car and inched toward Maya, who was still scared of her own hands and breathing heavily. “Hey there, kid. I take it that was a first?”

Maya’s head snapped toward Vic, her eyes wild. “You think? What the hell happened to me?”

“Your parents were witches, right? It looks to me like you inherited their abilities and they’ve been dormant. Your life being in danger brought them out of hibernation.” Vic continued to ease toward her, wary of another uncontrolled round of magic.

“Holy shit, Maya, you fried Billy. Sucks to be him.” Pete, drenched in lake water, wasn’t smart enough to realize that poking a stressed-out bear was an unwise idea.

“Oh, no,” Maya groaned. “Now I’m the one who screwed up.”

“Yeah,” Vic said, “we can’t get any answers out of a dust pile. We’ll have to turn our attention to Rudy and beat some info out of him.”

“Uh,” Pete said, softly. “That’s probably not good.”

Vic looked at Pete and saw him pointing toward the pile of dust that was Billy.

“Fucking fantastic. How the hell do we keep this guy under control? Just let us win, Billy.” Vic hunched over and braced his hands against his thighs.

The pile of dust morphed into vague shapes, turning back to solid bones and connecting together to reform Billy. He immediately took off after Maya, but was stopped dead in his tracks.

“You stop right there, Billy Randelson!” Maya’s hands raised and she held them steady in front of her. “It might seem like we’re here to kill you, but we’re not. We only want to talk.”

Billy tilted his head slightly. “I haven’t heard my full name in decades. How do you know it?”

“A vampire named Alyssa told us,” Pete said. “She said she knew you when you were human.”

Billy didn’t say anything for a moment until his posture straightened, like he just had an epiphany. “I remember an Alyssa from when I was alive, but I don’t believe she was a vampire. She was a beautiful woman, alluring—”

“That’s debatable,” Vic said under his breath.

“—Perhaps they are one in the same,” Billy finished.

“Perhaps they are,” Vic said, still at the ready in case Billy attacked. “Depending on how this night plays out, we can look into it. First, I have a different question, and this might sound dumb because it’s a working theory at the moment. But do you work for a group called The Nines?”

“Yes,” Billy answered. “I was recruited by them.” He pointed to his shoulder, revealing a number 9, with a circle around it, etched into the bone.

“No shit?” Vic was actually surprised. He checked Maya’s body language, which had an air of ‘I told you so’ attitude.

“I told you so,” Maya said to Vic, confirming her stance.

“I am truly remorseful for my time with the vile group,” Billy said, hanging his head. “I wasn’t always evil. Back when I was a young man, I used to fish this very lake on my small boat. And I was a mighty fine fisherman, if I do say so myself.”

“Sounds like a good gig,” Pete cut in. “Do you recommend fishing as a career choice?”

This kid is beyond dense, Vic thought.

Billy turned and faced Lake Westfall, resting his hands against his bony hips. “I have not seen fishing boats on this lake in some time, especially since the start of my wrongdoings. I would advise against such a career choice. When I was a fisherman, I happened upon a witch, who seemed peaceful and understanding. I told her about my profession and then she turned evil and vile.”

Billy moved away from the lake and walked between the group—who stepped gingerly out of his way—finding a resting spot on the car hood.

“Don’t dent that,” Vic said. “Neither of us can afford to fix it.”

“Can I have some water?” Billy asked. “My throat … it’s parched.”

Vic nodded to the front seat and Maya found a half-full plastic bottle on the passenger side floor. She handed it to Billy, who drank it greedily, the water dumping down his hollow mouth, through his ribcage, and spilling on the car and ground below.

“Thanks,” Billy said. “I was dying of thirst.”

“How did that quench your thirst?” Pete asked, scratching his head.

“Probably the same way his non-existent vocal cords work,” Maya suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

“Where was I?” Billy began again. “Oh. Yes. I thought a simple scolding from the witch would suffice, but she enacted a crueler punishment by using her powers to blast holes in my boat while I was in the middle of the lake. I subsequently drowned, of course. After I came back to life as a skeleton, she threw a crystal ball into the water, and told me it would keep me bound to the lake eternally and I’d have to suffer forever with the haunting memories of the fish I caught. I guess she really had an affinity for fish. I tried destroying the crystal ball, but the water … or some unseen force protects it from me. Haven’t seen her again, though. I often wonder what she is doing these days.” He turned to Maya and said, “You’ll have to excuse my hostility before. I sensed witchcraft within you that was similar to the witch I once knew, and I acted out in a red rage. My apologies.”

Maya pushed dirt with her shoe. “Uhm. T-that’s Ok, Mr. Randelson.”

“Look, Billy,” Vic said, stepping in front of the skeleton. “You sure have a set of pipes on you, for not having an actual set of pipes. But all this talking hasn’t led to a reason on how you got mixed up with The Nines, or why you’re killing people. Let’s cut to the chase, eh?”

Getting to his feet, Billy said, “Long story short, Rudy, and some hired fish demon goons, came and took the crystal. He said The Nines would send me humans to drag to the bottom of the lake, and if I didn’t cooperate they would smash the crystal ball and it would snuff out my existence. I have become accustomed to immortality and didn’t want to go through the process of dying again. After agreeing, I was branded with this idiotic symbol to show that I belonged to the group. Rudy found a way to communicate with me telepathically through the crystal ball and sent me people who he considered losers, or undesirables.” Vic noticed Pete hanging his head after the statement. “When the people arrive, I fulfill my agreement by taking their lives, thus ensuring mine continues.”

“How horrible,” Maya said, folding her arms across her chest and rubbing them, like a cold wind had blown in and she was fighting to stay warm. “Those poor people.”

“I know,” Billy said. “I’ve lived two full lifetimes, and nobody deserves to have theirs cut short so I can continue to have mine. I wish I could undo it all, but I already made the choice and what’s done is done. No apologies or actions can rectify my decisions.”

The skeleton was correct. He had made terrible choices. But he could still be a useful tool now. It wouldn’t clear his name, but it was something. Vic had figured out the next steps; he was going to use Billy to take care of Rudy and kill two birds with one stone.

“Billy,” Vic said, draping an arm around the skeleton. “We’re at a crossroads. We sure as hell can’t seem to kill you, and we both know it’s what should be done.” Billy nodded. “How about you do the next best thing and help us put Rudy to sleep with the fish.”

Billy scratched his white-washed chin. “I accept. I can get my revenge on Billy, helping to right some of my wrongs. Once I dispose of the human waste, I will smash the crystal ball. I wasn’t ready to die before, but after the atrocities I’ve committed, I’m ready to pass on again. It would only be fair.”

“Absolutely not!” Maya said, placing herself firmly in front of Vic. She raised one of her hands in his direction slightly.

“Don’t pretend like you’d even consider using that hand for purposeful violence,” Vic said, waving her idle threat away. Though, there was a slight worry that she might accidentally send him to another dimension.

“Yeah, Vic,” Pete piped in. “Maya’s right. We shouldn’t be involved with going around and killing people.”

Pete, the guy who had done everything asked of him without question, couldn’t have picked a worse time to think for himself. Vic needed them on board. “ Are you two cool?” he asked.

“Come again?”

“Huh?”

Vic rolled his eyes and leaned in close to Maya and Pete. “What I mean is, if some shady shit has to go down, can I trust you guys? Sometimes if you want to right wrongs and defeat evil, you have to get your hands dirty. You have to sink to a lower level. If it makes you feel better, we aren’t the ones doing it. Billy is. Both of them are responsible for multiple lost souls and this is the way to wipe away the dirt.”

Maya and Pete stared at one another, neither saying a word. Maya had to learn the hard way that involving herself in dangerous things often led to undesirable outcomes. Vic had learned that himself decades ago and it helped chisel the stone cold emotions of the elf he had become today. She’d have to reach that state too, if she wanted to keep pushing to solve her parents' deaths. And Pete … well, Vic knew little about him and had no intention to learn more. But he felt that Pete, who reminded him of a lemming, would get onboard.

“Fine,” Maya said. “But promise me we won’t be getting our hands stained red tonight.”

One thing Vic never did was make promises—not since …. But this evening, he did just that. “I promise I won’t make you do something you’ll have to live with forever.” He and Maya exchanged an agreeing nod. “Alright, folks, let’s go to the Moondial and see if Rudy is still around.”

Vic and Maya jumped in the front. Billy opened the backdoor and recoiled in disgust. “Is this some sort of garbage dump?”

Pete squeezed between Billy and the door, crawling inside. “Looked pretty normal to me. Hey, Vic. Can we move this car seat to the trunk, though. It wasn’t in the way when it was just me. Why do you even have one? It’s not like you have a kid, or something, do you?”

“Don’t touch things that don’t belong to you,” Vic snapped. He felt the steering wheel crack from his squeeze. Realizing he was causing a scene, he took deep, steady breaths until the rage faded. Everyone was staring, forcing him to do another thing he never did. “Sorry for yelling. Hand it to me and I’ll set it up front.”

Pete handed the booster seat over and Vic placed it gently in the middle, between him and Maya. She glanced at it and then studied him, looking very concerned. He ignored her worry to ward off the unwanted attention.

“Wait,” Pete spoke up. “I thought Billy couldn’t leave the area.”

Holy shit, Vic thought. He hadn’t expected something logical to come out of Pete’s mouth.

“I have discovered, since the crystal was taken, that I am able to venture away from the lake. I believe I am bound to the crystal and not necessarily the lake itself. Perhaps the witch lied to me, or made a mistake with her magic. If only I had known all along.”

“Why didn’t you leave then?” Maya asked. “Or go after Rudy yourself?”

“I was frightened,” Billy said. “But you three have instilled a sense of confidence in me that I previously lacked.”

“Ready to ruffle up The Nines, Billy?” Vic asked, talking over his shoulder.

“I am ready to fulfill my destiny,” Billy responded. “Take me to him.”

“A bit formal, but I’ll get you there.” Vic punched the gas and they sped off the gravel, toward the Moondial Lounge.