Industrial Magic
Page 120
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So I assume they dont like ghosts traveling.
Eve shrugged. They arent totally against it, but theyd rather you found a place and stuck to it, at least for a while. Frequent commuting is not encouraged. It confuses the older ghosts, seeing new faces popping in and out all the time.
But you know the codes.
She grinned. Not as many as Id like, but Im racking up far more frequent flier miles than the Fates would like. Theyve rapped my knuckles a few times. Not about using the codes, because, technically, thats allowed, but they dont always approve of the methods I use to get them.
Uh-huh.
And thats all you need to know about that. Now hold on.
Eve murmured an incantation in a language Id never heard. Then she turned and walked back in the direction wed come.
It didnt work? I said as I hurried after her. So now what
More walking, less talking, Paige.
I took one more step and my foot sank into what felt like a steaming pile of horse shit. I yelped and jumped back. I looked down. Warm, slimy mud oozed into my sandals.
Gross, huh? Eve said. Come on.
I followed. The mist still swirled around us. I opened my mouth to ask Eve something, then caught a whiff of the air and gagged. In grade school, a sadistic teacher had forced our class on an educational tour of a sewer plant. It had smelled like this, only better. One more cautious step, and a wave of humid heat washed over me. Then the mist cleared.
I looked around. The first association that clicked was: the Everglades. But it wasnt. It had the same smell, the same feel, the same general look, but everything was multiplied a hundredfold. I touched the nearest overhanging fern. The leaf was bigger than I was. Massive twisted trees loomed overhead, pale moss dangling all around them, like a tattered wedding dress on a bridal corpse. An insect the size of a swallow buzzed past. As I turned to get a better look at it, something deep within the swamp shrieked. I jumped. Eve laughed and steadied me.
Welcome to Miami, she said. Population: a few hundrednone of whom you want to meet.
This is Miami? I said.
Weird, huh? Watch this.
She murmured an incantation, then rubbed her hand in front of us, as if cleaning glass. There, in the spot shed cleared, was a tunnel view of a city street, neon signs blazing. A pair of headlights rounded the corner and headed straight for us. I locked my knees so I wouldnt bolt. The car zoomed to the edge of the window, then disappeared.
Thats your Miami, she said, then pointed at the swamp. This is ours.
She swiped her hand over the image, and it dissolved.I took a few steps, shoes squelching in the mud.
Stick close, she said. Im serious about there being things out there you dont want to meet.
I looked around and shook my head. So all the cities are gone in the ghost world?
Nah. Miamis special.
What are the other cities like? Do they look like ours?
Kind of. Thats the cool thing. They look like the real ones, but theyre stuck in the past, at some important point in their history, their heyday or whatever.
I looked around. So Miamis heyday was back when it was a primeval swamp?
Eve grinned. All downhill from there, huh? Or maybe its a metaphorical thing.
You said ghosts live in the other cities. What if you lived in Miami while you were alive? Would you have to relocate?
Mostly, yes. But those things I was mentioning, the ones that live here? Rumor has it that they used to beShe grimaced and made a zipping motion over her mouth. No more questions, Paige.
But shouldnt I know
No, you shouldnt. You dont need to. You just want to. God, Id forgotten how curious you are. When you were little, I swore your first word wasnt Momma, it was why.
Just one last
One last question? Ha! Do you have any idea how many times I fell for that one? She started walking. One last question. One last game. One last song.
I just
Stop talking and get moving or youll learn more about this swamp than you ever cared to know.
Blindsided
EVE KNEW HER WAY AROUND THE GHOST-WORLD MIAMI from her frequent visits over the last two weeks. What had lured her to this hell swamp? Us. Shed been keeping tabs on Lucas and me since wed arrived in Miami, as shed been periodically checking in on Savannah while she was under Elenas care. Apparently, shed been doing this since her death, reassuring herself that her daughter was safe, and now keeping track of her guardians as well. It was a strictly visual supervision, but only because she hadnt figured out a way to extend her protectorship to a more active form. Not surprisingly, the Fates frowned on the whole guardian-angel routine. Interfering with the living was forbidden. Even checking in on loved ones, as Eve was doing, was discouraged. To make the full transition to ghost life, you had to break all ties with the living world. Eve was having some difficulty with the concept.
We had to walk two miles to get to where our hotel would be in the living world. I hoped Jaime was there. Otherwise, we were in for a long hunt.
Eve shrugged. They arent totally against it, but theyd rather you found a place and stuck to it, at least for a while. Frequent commuting is not encouraged. It confuses the older ghosts, seeing new faces popping in and out all the time.
But you know the codes.
She grinned. Not as many as Id like, but Im racking up far more frequent flier miles than the Fates would like. Theyve rapped my knuckles a few times. Not about using the codes, because, technically, thats allowed, but they dont always approve of the methods I use to get them.
Uh-huh.
And thats all you need to know about that. Now hold on.
Eve murmured an incantation in a language Id never heard. Then she turned and walked back in the direction wed come.
It didnt work? I said as I hurried after her. So now what
More walking, less talking, Paige.
I took one more step and my foot sank into what felt like a steaming pile of horse shit. I yelped and jumped back. I looked down. Warm, slimy mud oozed into my sandals.
Gross, huh? Eve said. Come on.
I followed. The mist still swirled around us. I opened my mouth to ask Eve something, then caught a whiff of the air and gagged. In grade school, a sadistic teacher had forced our class on an educational tour of a sewer plant. It had smelled like this, only better. One more cautious step, and a wave of humid heat washed over me. Then the mist cleared.
I looked around. The first association that clicked was: the Everglades. But it wasnt. It had the same smell, the same feel, the same general look, but everything was multiplied a hundredfold. I touched the nearest overhanging fern. The leaf was bigger than I was. Massive twisted trees loomed overhead, pale moss dangling all around them, like a tattered wedding dress on a bridal corpse. An insect the size of a swallow buzzed past. As I turned to get a better look at it, something deep within the swamp shrieked. I jumped. Eve laughed and steadied me.
Welcome to Miami, she said. Population: a few hundrednone of whom you want to meet.
This is Miami? I said.
Weird, huh? Watch this.
She murmured an incantation, then rubbed her hand in front of us, as if cleaning glass. There, in the spot shed cleared, was a tunnel view of a city street, neon signs blazing. A pair of headlights rounded the corner and headed straight for us. I locked my knees so I wouldnt bolt. The car zoomed to the edge of the window, then disappeared.
Thats your Miami, she said, then pointed at the swamp. This is ours.
She swiped her hand over the image, and it dissolved.I took a few steps, shoes squelching in the mud.
Stick close, she said. Im serious about there being things out there you dont want to meet.
I looked around and shook my head. So all the cities are gone in the ghost world?
Nah. Miamis special.
What are the other cities like? Do they look like ours?
Kind of. Thats the cool thing. They look like the real ones, but theyre stuck in the past, at some important point in their history, their heyday or whatever.
I looked around. So Miamis heyday was back when it was a primeval swamp?
Eve grinned. All downhill from there, huh? Or maybe its a metaphorical thing.
You said ghosts live in the other cities. What if you lived in Miami while you were alive? Would you have to relocate?
Mostly, yes. But those things I was mentioning, the ones that live here? Rumor has it that they used to beShe grimaced and made a zipping motion over her mouth. No more questions, Paige.
But shouldnt I know
No, you shouldnt. You dont need to. You just want to. God, Id forgotten how curious you are. When you were little, I swore your first word wasnt Momma, it was why.
Just one last
One last question? Ha! Do you have any idea how many times I fell for that one? She started walking. One last question. One last game. One last song.
I just
Stop talking and get moving or youll learn more about this swamp than you ever cared to know.
Blindsided
EVE KNEW HER WAY AROUND THE GHOST-WORLD MIAMI from her frequent visits over the last two weeks. What had lured her to this hell swamp? Us. Shed been keeping tabs on Lucas and me since wed arrived in Miami, as shed been periodically checking in on Savannah while she was under Elenas care. Apparently, shed been doing this since her death, reassuring herself that her daughter was safe, and now keeping track of her guardians as well. It was a strictly visual supervision, but only because she hadnt figured out a way to extend her protectorship to a more active form. Not surprisingly, the Fates frowned on the whole guardian-angel routine. Interfering with the living was forbidden. Even checking in on loved ones, as Eve was doing, was discouraged. To make the full transition to ghost life, you had to break all ties with the living world. Eve was having some difficulty with the concept.
We had to walk two miles to get to where our hotel would be in the living world. I hoped Jaime was there. Otherwise, we were in for a long hunt.
