Karma's Revenge (Summer Spirit Novellas Book 5) Read online

  Karma’s Revenge

  A Summer Spirit Novella

  Volume 5

  Samantha Jacobey

  Lavish Publishing, LLC ~ Midland, Texas

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  KARMA’S REVENGE. Copyright 2016 ©

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Lavish Publishing, LLC.

  First Edition

  Book 5 of a Summer Spirit Novella

  All Rights Reserved

  Published in the United States by Lavish Publishing, LLC, Midland, Texas

  Cover Design by: Wycked Ink

  Cover Images: Adobe Stock

  www.LavishPublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  A Little Payback

  Calling Home

  Dante's Nemesis

  Red-Headed Stepchild

  Karma’s Good Side

  All in a Day's Work

  Date with an Angel

  The Price We Pay

  The Way We Were

  Father's Promise

  Fighting Fire

  Set Things Straight

  About the Author

  Prologue

  “Charlie,” Phil spat, announcing himself as he strutted into his room.

  “Yeah,” the younger man’s gaze remained on the morning sun outside. Relaxed in one of the two chairs that faced the window, his feet propped on the ledge below it, he appeared unmoved by Phil’s arrival.

  “Karma’s sending you out with me today.” Phil’s arms crossed his chest, his displeasure at spending time with the new trainee obvious.

  “Mmk,” Charlie got to his feet. “I guess I’m providing the transportation?” he smirked.

  Phil grunted, “Sure.” He had been angry to discover that Karma taught Charlie more than she had the others, providing him with more than the single talent each member in the rest of the group possessed. Having him act as his transporter only rubbed salt in the wound.

  “Fine; where are we headed?” Charlie changed his shirt casually.

  “Syracuse, New York. I have a few rewards to bestow.”

  Charlie half grinned, aware that Phil preferred the cushier assignments. “Ok,” he nodded, transporting them to a crowded mall. Spreading his hands, he teased, “How’s this?”

  “Funny,” Phil shot back, telepathically amending his directions, again disgruntled that he could send signals to Charlie, but could not read anything from him unless the boy allowed it. Karma was playing favorites in Purgatory, and it did nothing to improve his attitude about being forced to serve her. “You know you’re not supposed to drop us in populated locations. Someone might notice.”

  “Relax,” Charlie teased. “Humans ignore what they don’t understand; they don’t see our magic.” Picking up on their true destination, he reluctantly made the adjustment and landed them in the hallway of an office building. Looking in through the door of one of the compartments, a heavy man sat behind the desk, the piles of paper attesting to his disorganization. “I’ll wait,” he whispered to his companion.

  Knocking on the frame, Phil made his way inside the cubical and introduced himself. Charlie turned his back, not really interested in what the other man could be up to. Some shmuck rescued a kitten, or something, he mentally joked. He had been out with Phil a few times and had discovered that the man never handed down punishments; only rewards for good deeds.

  Inside, he could hear the pair of them talking about some guy named Gary, and gathered that Phil wanted the fat man to give him something. Figures, he scoffed, wandering down the hall. The man’s an empath and could do anything he wanted with that talent; what a waste of resources. Charlie had found it cool a few weeks ago, when he first realized he could transport people and objects, the same as Kari; but having to hang out with Phil had put a definite damper on the experience.

  Phones rang periodically in the offices that flanked him, and he peered into the rooms one by one. He had slowly come to realize he was no longer part of their world, and felt more like an outsider than he ever had before. Passing a few of the workers, he smiled and nodded, pretending he knew where he was going. If anyone questioned his being there, none of them mentioned it.

  I’m ready to leave, Phil’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Turning around, he could see his partner at the other end of the narrow passage, outside the office. Picking up on their next stop. Charlie sighed as he transported the both of them to a park on the other side of town. Choosing to heed the other man’s advice, he placed them discreetly amongst a group of trees.

  Moving to the edge of the foliage, they observed a couple with a young boy. The girl laughing loudly, she gathered the boy in her arms and swung him around, then tumbled to the ground.

  “That’s my target,” Phil indicated the man with them.

  Charlie observed that his partner wore a smile, perhaps the first genuine one he had ever seen on him. “What’s he being rewarded for?”

  “He’s a fireman; saved lots of lives over the years. This last Christmas, he saved that little boy, and then he took them and her mother into his home,” Phil beamed.

  “Ohhh,” Charlie moaned knowingly.

  “Not like that,” Phil cut him off. “Gerald Ford is an upstanding kind of man. Only, Candy there won’t go any further because his job is dangerous. They both deserve to be happy.”

  “So, how are you going to fix that?” Charlie shook his head in disbelief. “You can’t make her change her mind.”

  “Oh, I think she will. I arranged for Gary to get a promotion,” he indicated the call his target had just answered. Looking as if he might explode, Phillip Parson didn’t enjoy being part of Karma’s minions very often, and therefore he savored the moments when he did. “Nice,” he leaned against the tree next to him and sighed. “That’s his boss. This very second, he’s informing him that he’ll be given a desk job as an investigator. It’s what he’s been hoping for, and she can’t refuse to date him any longer.”

  The man before them ended the call, taking a knee next to his sweetheart. A moment later, she flung herself into his arms, knocking him over and squealing loudly. “Looks like she’s pleased,” Charlie conceded.

  “Yeah; it’s times like this that make all the crap Karma gives us worthwhile.”

  Shooting his superior a smirk, Charlie boasted, “It’s still more fun to punish them.”

  “Says you,” Phil righted himself, implying their upcoming destination. “Either way, we can get on with the next deserving soul.”

  A Little Payback

  “Just relax,” Karma’s voice soothed, her soft laugh hanging in the air; “That’s it, hun.”

  Inhaling deeply, Charlie dropped his head back and blew noisily at the ceiling above him. The exterior door into the kitchen opened unexpectedly, and he jerked his gaze towards it; “Hey, Lorren.”

  The girl did not reply, and instead marched across the room to the counter that held the coffee pot. Spinning around with her filled cup, she headed
to the basement, passing through his body without hesitation.

  “Holy shit!” he gasped.

  “We’re in the other plane,” Karma grinned at him. “You have passed your final test.”

  Staring at his hands, as if they should be invisible, he stated cautiously, “I can’t believe this’s real.”

  “Believe it, baby,” she chortled.

  “Naw, you don’t understand. Clarisse said that th’ planes were divided; no one goes between them. I mean, I did what you said, an’ obviously it worked,” he looked up at her squarely, “I jus’ don’ understand why.”

  “Because you’re special, Charlie,” she flashed him her best smile. “The planes are divided, as they have been since Keeper and I first arrived here. There are only a handful of people who are not bound by that magic. Those who are strong enough to bend the rules.”

  Charlie had learned a great deal in his months at Purgatory. He had risen in the hierarchy, and only one other Forgotten Angel ranked above him. No wonder Phil’s jealous of me, he mused, recalling their most recent venture to hand out rewards to do-gooders. He could see the pride in her eyes and had no doubt he would one day soon be her number one minion.

  Turning his back on her and bouncing down the stairs, he made his way to the cubicles below. A large open area occupied the majority of the basement; a grid of sixteen small spaces that held a desk, chair, and computer in each of them, all divided by a honeycomb of short walls. At the far end stood Karma’s lavish office, and his stall just before it.

  Arriving at his space, he opened a drawer and pulled out his journal, where he had been keeping notes about his discoveries. Flipping through the pages to the first blank one, he noted the date, and then wrote in large block letters: CROSSED THE PLANE.

  Clenching his jaw, he focused on the division, and could almost see it, as if it were a thin veil that hung over him for a moment, before it was snatched off of him with a whiff. Coughing, he noted the few other heads that occupied the room, watching them over the top of their chest-high dividers to gauge their reactions. When no one moved, he called loudly, “Hey, Lorren!” to the girl who occupied the stall directly across from him.

  “Hey yourself,” she retorted, not bothering to look up from her screen. She only had two hours of internet time per week, and she wasn’t about to waste any of it messing with him.

  Karma had casually followed him down and opened her office, her hips swaying as she moved. Leaving the door ajar, she waited for him to join her. “I think you’re ready for a few assignments,” she informed him when he did.

  “Ok,” his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, “I guess you mean on my own?” He’d been partnering with others in the group of Forgotten Angels for the three months that he had been in Purgatory, but had never gone alone.

  “Yeah,” she smiled, nodding slightly. Dropping a manila folder on her desk, she opened it. “This is my special case file. Close the door, baby.”

  Obediently swinging the portal shut, he then moved around to stand beside her. Telepathically opening the set of red velvet curtains that covered her viewing screen, she began, “I have someone who needs a little payback.” Indicating the young man, they observed as he strolled along the street, his hands in his pockets as he bopped along to some unheard music.

  “What’s he done?” Charlie folded an arm across his chest and put the other hand under his chin.

  “He’s a dealer,” she shrugged, “One of many, I guess you know. But, he’s taken up with a girl, and been giving some of his product to her kid.”

  “What a dick,” his hands dropped, flying to his hips. “What do you want done with him?”

  “I don’t know,” she grinned slyly, “You know I like it rough… go pay him a visit and see what you come up with.”

  “Yeah,” Charlie snorted, anger boiling in his gut… we like it rough.

  Calling Home

  Three days later, Charlie leaned back in his chair, the phone pressed against his ear firmly, “Everything’s fine, mom.” He couldn’t see over the tops of the walls from that position, but he knew most of the cubicles were empty, save Lorren directly across the aisle. Pushing his fingers roughly through his hair, he waited.

  “You don’ sound like yourself,” the woman on the other end insisted.

  “I know, I’m just…” he hesitated, glancing through the narrow openings to see that his neighbor had stopped moving to listen. “I have to go.”

  “What do you mean you have t’ go?” his mother screamed over the line.

  “Mom, I told you. I’m not allowed t’ talk about this place. All I can tell you is, I’m fine. I’m better than fine, actually,” he grinned to himself. “I’m doin’ meaningful work, an’ I’m really glad that I came here.”

  “So you’re workin’ on those hours so you can come home soon?” Bethany sniffed.

  “Yeah, I’ll be home soon,” he replied more softly. Tapping his pencil on the desk for a moment, he regretted the phone calls more with each week that passed. “Seriously, I have to go,” he insisted.

  “All right, baby,” Beth agreed. “I’ll talk to you again next week.” Her voice filled with sadness, he could clearly tell that she missed him. “I love you, son,” she whispered before she hung up.

  Placing the handset in the cradle, Charlie released the breath he’d been holding loudly. Lorren stood to join him in his private space. “I don’t call anyone,” she informed him. “With my parents both gone, there’s really no need. I didn’t realize how lucky I was for that.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, bouncing the eraser end against the flat surface a few more times. “When I first came here, gettin’ t’ make the calls was my lifeline. Now,” he paused, forming the words carefully. “Now, I wish I didn’t have t’ talk to her. It hurts her too much.”

  A commotion erupted at the far end of the giant room, at the base of the stairs, signaling that the rest of the Forgotten Angels had joined them. Glancing around quickly, Lorren anxiously darted over to her seat and dropped out of their line of sight.

  Blinking a few times, Charlie’s mind wandered, drifting over his sentencing and the first time that he had seen Karma. Man, if I only knew the trouble I was getting into. He wasn’t allowed to tell his mother about Purgatory, or anything else about their world, and that was fine. I wouldn’t tell her anyways, even if I could, he admitted to himself; she was better off not knowing the sinister details of his current existence.

  His thoughts shifted to the dealer he had paid a visit to a few days before, grinning at the recollection of appearing next to him as he strutted down the street. Such arrogance, he had observed. Turning the corner, the man and his invisible companion had arrived at a set of steps leading up to a pair of entrances; a duplex. Skipping up the short incline, the young man had knocked sharply before opening the door and darting inside.

  The front room of the structure barren, a few chairs and a folding table occupied the space. “You’re late,” the black man standing at the front windows growled.

  “Sorry, Calvin,” his target replied, “I was followed, so I took the long way.”

  “You got rid of ‘em?”

  “Yeah, I ditched ‘em clean,” he threw a leg over the top of one of the chairs, clearing it and dropping into the seat. “I need extra this week,” he stated casually.

  “Raul,” his supplier turned slowly, “you got anything you wanna tell me?”

  Watching the dark eyes staring up at him, Charlie observed the sweat forming on his brow. Raul, he noted to himself, moving about the room and inspecting the shabby surroundings. The silence grew more tense with each second that the seated man considered his response.

  “Naw, man. We’re cool. I just picked up some new business… you know,” he finally offered.

  “Yeah, I know,” the man in charge pursed his lips and Charlie grinned, realizing it would be easy to set him against his target.

  He had gotten used to the new rules, those that governed the Forgotten Angels.
Karma had taught him well, and although he still needed practice with his growing talents, he enjoyed the feeling that using them supplied. He had been on a few missions to reward those who deserved it, but found the deepest pleasure came from punishing those driven by the darkness.

  Another knock sounded at the door before it opened, and two men entered, pushing a young woman in ahead of them. The plot thickens. Charlie leaned against a wall, his pulse quick with anticipation.

  “This is Ellen,” Calvin indicated the girl. “But I guess you already knew that.”

  Raul ran his hands over his jeans to remove the sweat from his palms. His mahogany orbs darting from face to face, he waited, not bothering to reply.

  Grinning, Charlie’s brown eyes began to glow, a soft green filling them as he searched the dealer’s thoughts. In an instant, he found the memory he wanted; one of Raul holding Ellen against a wall and driving his naked body against hers. Watching the recollection unfold, he could see the man in the chair squirm. Yeah, he knows her, Charlie chuckled. Jealousy would almost be cheating; it’s so easy to manipulate.

  Waving his hand slightly to improve his focus, he imparted the memory to the man in charge, allowing him to envision the particulars as Raul clutched a hand full of her hair; pulling it as he slammed against her. The sound of her loud moans practically filled the room as Calvin’s teeth clenched, his muscled jaw flexing.

  “You been bangin’ my bitch?” he demanded, his fists pressed knuckles to knuckles in front of him.

  “No, man,” Raul stammered, “I’d never…”

  Charlie laughed aloud, enjoying the smell of fear that tickled his nostrils. “Get him, Calvin,” he whispered. In a flash, the large black form leapt across the narrow gap between them, knocking the seated man to the floor and pounding him with a heavy fist.

  “Hey!” a hand shoved Charlie more firmly, shocking him back to Purgatory and the present.