The Edge of the Cemetery

PrologueMy name is George Sinclair, a once ordinary thirty-something guy, who, several months back, discovered he could see ghosts. But seeing ghosts was one thing; realizing they were plaguing people with illness and disease for the sole purpose of inflicting a life of pain, or in some cases, killing them, was another. And realizing that I could kill these demons and alleviate their victims' pain was another altogether. Suddenly I was a ghost killer, and my life as I knew it was over. Ghosts aren't rare; in fact, they're everywhere. They linger in-between our world and whatever comes after death. Some get lost in transition and can't figure out how to keep going after they die…I call them “lost souls”. They're usually harmless and uninterested in the living, but are attracted to yours truly. They seem to beg with their eyes, asking me to send them on, and with a gentle jab they swirl away into nothingness. However, there are those that won't move on; they know they can do more harm staying connected to this realm than moving on to the next. There's also the possibility that there really is a heaven and hell, and they know damn well they're headed south. So they stay and wreak havoc on those of us with a solid body. Those are the ones I kill…those nasty little bastards that just want to hurt people. Ghosts and demons are different, yet the same. Let me explain. They all died at least twenty to thirty years ago (although the longer they are dead, the more powerful they become), they all wear the vintage clothing of the time of their deaths, and they all have round-rimmed glasses on. When they re-materialize as ghosts they immediately seek out a victim and plague them with a disease or deformity, haunting slowly, causing a life of pain and suffering. The most powerful ghosts—demons, as I prefer to call them—have been around for a very long time and have had multiple victims. They have the power to accelerate their victim's pain and illness, which in turn will expedite their death. Perhaps this all seems rather unbelievable. I thought so too…in the beginning, that is. And if discovering ghosts and demons exist, and killing them (after all, how can you kill something that's already dead? Most of you can't, but I can!), isn't enough to make your head hurt, let me tell you about the longaevus…the word is Latin and means “long life”. In our world the term is used to describe a type of person…usually they're good, but not always. They are the result of an accidental confluence of events; it involves a powerful demon, its victim, a powerful ghost killer, and perfect timing. If a ghost killer kills a demon at the same moment it is killing its victim, the victim doesn't die, causing a third reaction, thus the confluence. Instead, the victim sort of absorbs the power of the demon and a little of the ghost killer's power too, which in turn gives them a great deal of physical strength and allows them to live a long, long time with very little aging. But wait, there's more (my apologies if I'm beginning to sound like a TV infomercial…); we should discuss the Watchers as well. They are a group of people, some ghost killers themselves, others just ordinary folks, that are aware of our unordinary situation. The Watchers have been around for centuries, and their primary purpose is to protect ghost killers from those that want to harness our power. They also guide us when we have no one else to show us the way. In addition, they know everything that goes on in the world of ghosts and demons, and if an infestation arises that can't be handled locally, they will send in reinforcements. Aris Galanos, a high-ranking official in the group, lives right here in the city, and although he calls San Francisco home, his reach and obligations extend to most of the country. There are a couple more terms I'd like to familiarize you with before we go on. The first is the “convergence,” an event that takes place when a demon merges with a human. It's quite similar to the confluence that creates a longaevus, but instead of the bespectacled vintage-clothed monster's demise and the survival of its human victim, it is the victim's soul and mind that dies, allowing the demon to move into the person's body and live again, usually with the intention of wreaking even more havoc on mankind. Obviously that's a situation we do our best to prevent, but we don't always succeed. The second term is “electroplasmic juice.” When you stab a ghost or demon, an electric shock is emitted, which is quite painful and after repeated stabbings, can be dangerous as well. (I should note that a powerful enough ghost killer can channel this juice and use it to kill someone, also not good.) Most of us carry something to alleviate this concern…I prefer an unsharpened yellow number two pencil. My ghost-killing partner, Billy Wilkinson, prefers a chopstick. (She used to use her grandmother's antique chopstick, but more often than not, a powerful demon's juice can reduce our preferred tool to ashes, so she's opted for the cheaper version which you can purchase by the dozen in China Town).