Wraith: Beyond Fantasy

By Stacey Jaine McIntosh

You never know what's lurking in the shadows.
Ghost or ghoul... these apparitions may be nothing more than wisps but just because you can't touch them doesn't mean they are any less terrifying.

Featuring 15 stories by:
Beth W. Patterson
Dawn DeBraal
Eduard Schmidt-Zorner
Elaine Marie Carnegie-Padgett
Isabella Hunter
J.A. Skelton
Jessica Wilcox

John H. Dromey
Kari Pohar
Kevin Hopson
Mary Sophie Filicetti
McKenzie Richardson
MM Schreier

Rachel L. Tilley
S.D. Hintz
S.O. Green
Stacey Jaine McIntosh

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacey Jaine McIntosh
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201257118

Stacey Jaine McIntosh

Stacey Jaine McIntosh is the author of ten short stories. "Freya" and "Blood Sacrifice" were published late 2011 and "Fallen Angel" published in 2012. "Life or Death", "Exiles of Eden" and "Morrighan" published in 2013. "Red" and "The Summer Girl" were published in June 2015 and "The Hunter Million" and "Shadows of Annwn" are due to be published later in 2015. She lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband and four young children.

Book preview

The experience of death must ultimately be the experience of life, or else it is only a wraith.

Thomas Mann

Revenant

STACEY JAINE MCINTOSH

––––––––

Vampires did not die. That was the lie I’d been led to believe. But this cold fist in the middle of my gut was opening, and this sure felt like death to me.

I coughed and felt the cold blood splatter against my cheeks. Jace... please... I’m sorry. Shards of ice pierced my heart, and I felt something inside me shift. The pain was immediate and so intense that it felt as if somebody had knocked the wind right out of me. It wracked my body for what felt like forever, when in reality, it was a few minutes.

My heart was the last one of my bodily functions to falter. It beat out of sequence in my chest long after the rest of my internal organs had failed.

An inky black mist stretched out its finger-like tendrils but didn’t touch me. I looked down at the lengthening shadows and just stared. Something didn’t feel right. I wasn’t scared for a start.

In my human life, shadows had frightened me, but now I was the shadows. The stuff of nightmare-invoking fear.

I tried to scream, tried to open my mouth, but I soon realized that my mouth was already open. It made no sense, though. Why if my mouth was open, and I was screaming, did no sound come out?

Death, as inconceivable as it was for a vampire, meant one thing.

I was a wraith.

Vampires were afraid of wraiths, which meant Jace would be afraid of me. I had to leave, and soon. Willing my limbs to cooperate, I tried to move, but they refused to respond to even the simplest of commands.

I could see the dust motes dancing in the air. Just as unfocused and hazy as they had been in my human life. As a vampire, I had enjoyed them in crystal clear clarity. Each dust mote was as unique as a snowflake. No two were the same.

As they passed straight through me, I had to stifle a scream. I covered my mouth with my hands, only to remember I had no voice.

Casting off the human reflexes will take time.

Startled, I tried to see where the voice had come from. But I couldn’t see. My vision was blurry and the mist too strong. It had me questioning whether I had heard another voice, or just imagined one.

Jace, I called. Jace! I had no voice; there wasn’t even a whisper. The only real sound I could hear came from the TV.

Damn it! Where the hell was he? I had thought that if anybody had answers, Jace would. But he wasn’t here.

And then, the door burst open, and Jace appeared. I brought you back— then he saw me. Not the vampire me but rather the wraith me. All incorporeal and translucent, standing just three feet away.

Get the hell out, wraith. You’re not welcome here, his fangs extended, revealing his true vampiric nature.

But Jace, I called out, despite not having a voice and knowing he couldn’t hear me. It’s me. Aisling.

He pulled out his cell phone, dialed, and then spoke in a hushed tone. Listen, Vic, you need to come and quick! Aisling is dead.

Aisling is dead. Of all the times I obsessed over something, it would be now. The words circled my head as if stuck on repeat. Aisling. I was dead.

***

There was a knock at the door and Vic entered, an eternal student stuck forever at twenty-one. He was tall and lean, with dark brown greasy hair that hung around his ears. Jace and I had often commented how lucky Vic was that he never had to worry about getting carded. Not that I would ever have to worry about that either, now that I was dead.

You should have just drained her dry. I tried to tell you that the girl wasn’t strong enough to withstand the change. He crossed the room to where Jace stood, more agitated than normal. I watched, mesmerized, while Vic stood and gazed down at my discarded body with complete disdain. But you did it, anyway. Amateur.

Mine.

I spun around, and this time, my body responded. My limbs flailed about like a marionette without strings. The world tilted on its axis, making me dizzy to the point where I thought I might throw up.

Who said that?

Ours.

The surrounding air grew colder. I could see the ripples as the temperature plummeted.

I thought she could handle it, Vic, Jace whined. The pitiful sound made him seem almost human. "How was I to know she’d turn out to be such a lightweight? How many would-be vampires do you hear of rejecting the change?

None, Vic agreed. At least not in my lifetime.

So now what do we do?

We? Vic asked, panic creeping into his voice. We do nothing. Aisling was your responsibility, so you have to fix this mess you’ve made. Right now she’s dazed and lingering in this apartment. Leave her too long and the other wraiths will find her. Once that happens, it’ll be too late, and you’ll have lost her for good.

I’ve already lost her, Vic. She’s dead.

"True, technically she is dead..."

Jace sighed. Just tell me how I can fix it, please!

No, sorry, you’re on your own. This is your mess, so you figure it out, then fix it, and fast!

Jace threw a crystal vase across the room, and glass shattered right above Vic’s head. The door clicked shut behind Vic, leaving Jace to stare down at the shards of glass that sparkled like diamonds on the hardwood floor.

Aisling! he screamed, his eyes wild and full of anger. Damn it! If you’re here, show yourself!

Show myself, but how? I was incorporeal.

Jace, my voice was only a whisper.

Aisling? he called again, louder this time.

I’m here, I said, still not sure if I should do as he said, not that I knew how to, anyway.

I wouldn’t if I were you. He wants to kill you. A stake through the heart, perhaps. Maybe even throw your body onto a funeral pyre. Unless he can hold out until sunrise and let the sun devour your corpse until there’s nothing left but ashes.

Stop it! I screamed, placing my hands over my ears. I didn’t want to hear any more.

One of us. One of us! Disembodied voices chanted.

Aisling? Even Jace sounded scared.

No. No! Leave me alone, all of you! I screamed, gathering myself up and heading towards the door. Even with it closed, I sailed right through it.

You learn fast, Aisling Tobe.

How do you know my name? I asked.

We’ve had our eye on you for a long time, Aisling Tobe. Jace too, although he is stubborn. Fought us off and changed, no thanks to that Vic fellow. Vic didn’t think Jace should have you, so now he doesn’t. We do!

I shook my head, no. I’m not yours! I won’t be.

Are you sure? Because if he burns your body, there’s no way back.

No way back to what? What do you mean, tell me? I screamed.

It depends.

On what?

On what you can endure. Pass the trials and you can float right on back into your own body, thus continuing to change into what you should have been – a vampire. Fail and you become ours, once and for all.

You’re lying! There’s no way I can complete the change now. Even I’m not dumb enough to believe that you can bring the dead back to life.

The dead cannot, not without intervention. But the undead... why that’s not out of the realm of possibilities.

How do I know you’re telling the truth?

You don’t.

Fantastic. I sighed, or at least went through the motions. If I was being honest, this incorporeal thing was a real bitch to get used to. Perhaps I never would. This was exactly the motivation I needed to return to my body and become a vampire. Become corporeal again.

And to do so would mean passing the trials. Plural. As in more than one. I hoped that there wasn’t too many and that they wouldn’t be too hard. I’d never been a great student and puzzles always stumped me.

Okay, I said. I’ll do it. I’ll try to pass the trials.

With a curt nod, the wraith before me took a step back, revealing a rather ornate iron gate. It stood in the middle of the room; it hadn’t always been here and had somehow materialized out of thin air. Which I knew it couldn’t have, but yet here it was all the same.

I took a step forward and reached out a hand to touch it, but my hand went straight through. The gate itself felt cold. It was enough to convince me that it was real.

Begin your first trial, Aisling Tobe. Your success rests on if you can bring back the head of one of Arawn’s hounds. You’ll know them when you see them. They’re pure white and have red ears.

That’s it? I asked. It all seemed too easy.

That’s it. With one exception.

I knew there had to be a catch somewhere, I said. Out with it!

I’d be careful with your demands if I were you little vampire wannabe.

Why? I’m dead, or as good as. I can’t think of anything worse.

Not even becoming one of us?

Even I had to admit the wraith had me there. The whole point of doing the trials was, so I didn’t become one of them.

The exception is this: You will not take any weapon in with you.

No weapon, I stated. The words weren’t sinking in, but the moment they do I feel vulnerable. You’re leaving me defenseless?

I’m leaving you without any conventional weapons, yes. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t free to find your own.

I swallow back the rising fear that threatens to overwhelm me and square my shoulders. I can do this. It’ll be easy. Yeah... just keep on telling yourself that, Aisling. Whatever helps you get through it.

The wrought iron gates are in front of me. Wide open and gaping. I pass through them and immediately shiver. The air is cold. I take one step forward, and then another. The sky overhead grows darker. Somewhere in the distance an owl hoots and I jump a mile out of my skin, only to screech like a banshee. I clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle my screams, chastising myself before stopping halfway through to realize one important thing.

I had screamed. A loud, terrifying sound had come out of my mouth. I had breath. I patted my body quickly to assure myself that it is real and that I am corporeal again.

That’s right, Aisling Tobe. You are corporeal. Make it through all three trials and you’ll stay that way. Fail just one and you’ll be ours forever.

Great. No pressure or anything.

No sooner had I taken five steps forward then I found myself standing before what appeared to be a maze.

The six-foot tall hedges made me feel small when I wasn’t that small at all. I was tall and willowy. Still, as scared as I was, I pressed on. I hoped that whatever was at the centre of the maze held the key to killing one of Arawn’s hounds.

***

There was nothing remarkable at all about the hedges; in fact, one turn looked exactly like the one before it. It made it hard to figure out which was the right direction. I got turned around twice and almost stumbled over a fallen tree branch as I made my way to the middle of the maze. I picked the stick up, thinking it might make a half decent weapon, albeit with a bit of pressure behind it. But death wasn’t supposed to be neat or clean. Death was messy. And I loved it.

Two white hounds greeted me, lounging by an empty throne-like chair. One cocked an ear having heard me approach while the other didn’t move at all. They were definitely Arawn’s hounds. The wraith had described them to a tee, but where was Arawn? I hoped he didn’t return until I had finished with my task.

As the dog approached me, I gripped the stake tighter in my hand. The animal wasn’t happy; I could see that much from where I stood. As I backed away, the hound leapt into the air in front of me, and I held the stake out in self-defence. I’d come this far, and I wasn’t about to die at the hands of some overgrown dog. Falling backwards, the stake still pointed towards the sky, I exhaled. It wasn’t until I felt something heavy pushing down on me that I realised the dog was lying on top of me. I shoved it away, but the animal didn’t get up and shake itself off like it should have. It was then that I realised the beast was dead, and I had completed the first trial.

Decapitating the head from the animal’s body was going to prove more difficult. For now, I settled on dragging the dog’s carcass behind me.

I see you’ve succeeded with the first trial.

But I haven’t severed the hound’s head from its body, I said, as I passed through the gates, animal in tow. The gates disappearing before my eyes.

I never said anything about severing the hound’s head, just that you had to bring me its head. It is of no consequence that the head is still attached to the body.

Great, I thought. Just what I didn’t need. Riddles.

So, what is the second trial?

You must rescue an innocent from hell.

The iron gates appeared before me again. Just as they did the first time they opened, they left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to throw up. Unlike the first trial, I hadn’t the faintest idea where to start. Saving an innocent from hell could be any one of a thousand different possibilities. Was hell even real? Christians seemed to think so. Yet, if it was, and that depiction of hell was where I was headed to when the gates opened once more, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue. Even if it was for the chance to keep my corporeal form.

Doubt clouded my mind, and I knew then that it was the wraiths at work. They wanted me for themselves, and I knew that they would do anything and everything within their power to keep me with them. It was up to me to do the same. To do everything in my power to complete the trials.

Taking two steps forward, I didn’t find myself transported to any place resembling what I thought hell would look like. A quaint, sleepy little