Ghost Guard by J. Joseph Wright Page B

back, putting himself in the line of fire. He let out an ear-shattering moan when Elyxa’s energy hit him, knocking him back several feet, spinning out of control. The ground exploded where he landed, leaving a crater and a ribbon of steam rising from the hole.
    Once she reeled her plunder into her clutches, Elyxa lifted her head skyward and another series of lightning bolts flared from above, dancing and coalescing until a small, unearthly explosion signaled an ominous end to Sheila Coulson’s soul. The excitement lit a fire in Elyxa’s otherwise dead eyes. With a sudden start, she sped on foot, nothing but a dark blur streaking up Jefferson Street into the heart of Westside Portland.
    “Abby! Did you see that?” Morris relayed over the radio. Abby, sprinting to the Phantom, tossed her hat and tore off her flannel shirt.
    “I’m on it!” she kept her sights on the vicious vixen alternating between the sidewalk and the street, laughing and jubilant, hopping up and over moving cars. Horns. Screeching rubber. Jefferson became a chaotic mess as Elyxa made her way west.
    Abby whipped the Phantom in a quick one-eighty and hit the pedal to the floor, burning rubber and racing in the same direction as her target.
    “What’s she doing?” Morris demanded.
    “She’s having a party…I don’t know !” Abby honked and circumnavigated a group of stalled cars, doors open, drivers and passengers standing and watching the supernatural spectacle unfold. Elyxa was ecstatic, shattering windows with her thunderous laughter, exploding power transformers with tremendous pops and sparkles, creating a blackout in her wake.
    When Abby got a good line of fire, she hit the brakes and leaned out the open window, pointing her Stat-Mag Emitter, making sure it was in power extraction mode. One good burst, and Elyxa felt a sudden and surprising sensation. Like her energy was being drained. She shrieked and dug in her heels, stopping hard on her feet. She lifted her stare, leering at Abby from three blocks away. Just like that, Elyxa stood an inch from Abby’s face, breathing a stale, ancient stench on her cheek.
    Abby held her breath, motionless, the emitter beeping in her hand, telling her it was ready to fire again. Elyxa tilted her head, her dead eyes digging deep into Abby, probing her mind the way Rev loved to do. Only worse.
    Abby’s hand went limp, dropping the emitter to the floorboard with a Clunk! Elyxa stared at her features, her body, even her breasts, and compared them to her own. She held both sides of Abby’s cheeks and leered with evil intent, piercing deep into her, learning all there was to learn about her and Rev and…Ghost Guard.
    What in Hades is Ghost Guard? Elyxa glared fire, using her mind to speak to Abby.
    WE are Ghost Guard!
    Elyxa laughed. Not outwardly, but inside, her fiendish cackle reverberating off the walls of Abby’s skull.
    I am not concerned about Ghost Guard. You, just like all living, and the dead for that matter, are no match for me.
    Sirens. A blinding display of flashing reds and blues. Several squad cars swarmed the street. Elyxa glanced dismissively, waved her hand, and the vehicles went silent and dark, screeching to a halt, wheels locked tight to the road. Three officers jumped out of three separate cruisers at once, guns pointed at the woman. She flung her fingers once more and they all slumped against their cars, then to the ground.
    Abby breathed hard. She knew she needed to launch her mental defenses against this…thing. It was her only hope of getting out of this alive. She conjured the hardest rock music she could imagine, and her mind buzzed with the first notes of AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long. Angus Young’s Gibson exhaled a crunching riff, setting the tone for a monster of a tune. Then Brian Johnson’s gritty voice wailed:
     
    She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean
    She was the best damn woman that I ever seen…
     
    Instantly, Elyxa’s mind throbbed with a