The whole point of coming on this trip was for him to get some rest and start putting the Autumn Miller situation behind him. The last thing Ten, or Everly, for that matter, needed was to go back to the prison to evict a sadistic warden and free the inmates, who were long dead and still serving their sentences. “Did Cope have any ideas?”
“I asked if he thought this was the work of a binding spell, but didn’t think so. Which is a relief, since I know how reluctant he is to use his magic. He thinks the spirits are being held in thrall by Benedict.”
“I’ve heard that term before, usually referring to cult leaders, but how exactly would that work with ghosts?” Ronan asked.
“You saw what happened today when the white light appeared. Bellamy sprinted toward it, but Benedict kept him from entering it. I imagine the prison runs today much like it did in 1943. Bendict is in charge and uses his domineering control to keep the prisoners with him.”
“Why?” Jude stared out to sea. “Give me a reason why this guy wouldn’t want to cross over and reunite with his friends and family.”
“Maybe he didn’t have any,” Ronan suggested. He knew that when his time came that he’d have a crowd of people waiting forhim. Erin and Bertha would be the first to welcome him home. There was no doubt in his mind.
“According to the records I found, Benedict was married to a woman named Gloria Watson. The two married in 1897. Her father was a shipping magnate. Gloria was pregnant when Benedict was shipped off to Cuba to fight in the Spanish-American War in 1898. When he returned, it was to learn he had a daughter Gloria had named Odessa Leigh. Gloria filed for divorce two years later and was granted full custody of their child. She moved back to New York City to live with her family. I don’t think Benedict saw the child very much or at all after that. He’s not mentioned in her engagement announcement or in society page articles about the wedding.”
“How sad,” Ten said.
“Sounds like a mess of Benedict’s own making,” Fitz said. “From everything I read about him, Benedict sounds like a malignant narcissist. The only person he cared about was himself. He was greedy and power hungry. Hurting other people seemed to be the only thing in life that gave him any joy. It’s no wonder no one would be waiting for him to cross over.”
“I imagine the power was hard for him to give up.” The only experience Ronan had with something having that kind of grip over him was when he was drinking. At his lowest point, he would have sold his mother for a bottle of Hennessey. It wasn’t until he learned how to break the hold booze held over him that he was able to see there was so much more to life than bottles in brown bags and a habit that nearly cost him his career.
“What are our choices here?” Fitz asked. “How can we break the spell Benedict has over the spirits at the prison? Hell, do we even know how many men are serving their afterlives there?”
“I saw about fifteen,” Everly said. She was wrapped in her Little Mermaid towel, her lips blue from the cold ocean water. She took a seat on the sand beside Fitz. “I’ve tried to reach out to Bellamy a couple of times, but he hasn’t responded. There has to be a way I can speak to him without Benedict butting in.”
“There is, but I’m not sure your parents will like it.” Jude’s eyes were on Ronan as he spoke.
“Let’s hear it.” Ronan had no idea what Jude was about to say. He wasn’t thrilled at the idea of Everly being Jude’s point person, but he was going to at least hear Jude’s idea before objecting.
“The Lakota believe that their deceased ancestors provided spiritual guidance and would reach out to these spirits in times of need,” Jude began.
“Like we do with Erin and Bertha,” Ten said.
Jude nodded. “Right, but the Lakota didn’t just ask to speak with their elders, they did something called the ghost dance to bring the spirits to them.”
“Why does that term sound familiar?” Ronan asked, wracking his brain for the answer.
“That’s the bad news.” Jude grimaced. “We all know how the United States government treated Native Americans and the western plains. People and buffalo were slaughtered in alarming numbers and the tribal chiefs knew something needed to be done to save their way of life. The ghost dance was a spiritual movement started by a Paiute prophet and was considered unorthodox at the time. The Lakota feared their entire way of life would be destroyed, so they used the ghost dance as a way to bring their ancestors back in hopes they’d know how torestore the buffalo herds and to keep the U.S. Government from destroying them.”
“I don’t hear any bad news in there,” Ronan said, wondering if he’d missed something.
“When the Lakota, led by Chief Sitting Bull, tried the practice, it terrified government officials, whose greatest fear was an armed uprising. They wanted to arrest Sitting Bull, but something went wrong and he was killed.”
“His death was the catalyst for the Wounded Knee massacre.” Ronan remembered watching a documentary about the battle. That’s where he’d heard of the ghost dance before.
Jude nodded. “Like I said that’s the bad news, but the good news is that the practice works. The Lakota are able to communicate with their dead ancestors.”
Ten shook his head. “I don’t mean to sound rude, again, Jude, but that’s what we do now.”
Jude shook his head. “The living person performing the ghost dance sends their spirit to speak with the ancestors. Everly would be in a dream-like state, which would mean Benedict wouldn’t be able to hijack the conversation.”
“Like astral projection,” Ten said.
“Exactly, but in the case of the ghost dance, Everly would have company. To protect her and…” Jude trailed off.
“Ronan felt his adrenaline spike. “Protect her andwhat, Jude?”
Jude grimaced, like he didn’t want to answer the question. “Make sure her spirit makes it back to her body.”
“And who are you, the Rand fucking McNally of the astral plane?” Ronan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “There’s a chance my daughter won’t make it back?”
