The Edge Of The Cemetery by Margaret Millmore Read Free Book Online Page A

Billy had was mostly due to genetics, he managed to seduce her in the hopes of impregnating her, which worked—although in Billy's mind, it was rape, since Grandma Billy didn't really have the mental capacity to provide proper consent. What didn't work was the child they produced together…Julie, Billy's mother. Julie's only ability was her own self-centeredness, and Vokkel gave up on her, for a while at least. When Julie was all grown up, Vokkel paid her to seduce a powerful ghost killer and get pregnant, with the belief that Grandma Billy's talents had simply skipped a generation and would materialize in her grandchild, which they did. He continued his research and opened a new “school” shortly after Billy was born. He was rightly convinced that she'd be like her grandmother, and he wanted to be prepared. Then he “bought” custody of Billy from Julie when she was just four years old, and eventually moved her to his new school in Germany.

Chapter 9
    We arrived at the bar and entered through the double oak doors. Seymour's was located on the bottom floor of a Victorian building that had been beautifully preserved and restored. I'm a huge fan of San Francisco's historic architecture, which was one of the reasons I bought my apartment in an ornate 1920s building, and another reason I was so fond of Seymour's. The bar is loaded with Victorian charm, complete with tufted red velvet booths and chairs, ornately carved dark wood features, and electrified gaslight style fixtures.
    The booth in the farthest corner was our regular spot and Billy headed toward it, ignoring the nod of greeting from the bartender, Ed. Although I was positive that Justine taught Billy manners, she rarely used them. I, on the other hand, used mine often. I walked up to the bar and greeted Ed with a smile and asked how he was. We traded pleasantries for a few minutes while he poured our pints. He no longer asked me about my occasionally bruised or cut-up face…I think Phil had told him I was a boxer, and not a very good one.
    I took our drinks and sat next to Billy in the booth. She always picked the side against the wall so she could see the bar and the front door and anyone who came through it. Billy had been sullen and quiet on the walk over…sullen wasn't unusual, but quiet was. We sipped in silence, and finally I asked, “What's on your mind Billy? You're too quiet.”
    She glanced over at me, and a spark of dread flashed in her eyes. “I'm worried, George.”
    “We all are, but what's got you
specifically
worried?”
    “That kid last night, the demon he was with, the recent attacks…they aren't surges, they're organized, and I have trouble believing it's some teenager that's behind it all. The fact that it's escalated to murder….” She blew out a hard breath, a telltale sign of her frustration.
    “I've been thinking about him too, and everything else.” I was hesitant to say what was on my mind next because I knew it was too close to home for her, but I had to say it. “Billy, I don't think the kid was playing with a full deck.” She started to say something and I held my hand up to shush her. “You know what I mean…sometimes this ability happens to people that can't handle it or just aren't equipped to handle it.”
    Billy's grandmother had been a person like that. She was a bright and intelligent child and young woman, but emotionally fragile. When she started seeing ghosts and killing them, it drove her insane for the most part, which spurred her father to institutionalize her, even though he was a ghost killer too and probably could have helped her through it. That turned out to be even worse, because it put her in Vokkel's hands, and we knew how that turned out.
    “And I don't think it's anything like your grandmother. I think he's probably mentally disabled to some extent, or maybe he was on drugs like Pete suggested. Or maybe he's just a killer at heart and the demon knows it and enjoys the fact that the kid can use