“How did I die… WellIi suppose the answer to that question is very simple. Why did I die? Now that is a far more complicated question.” Cole sighs. I glance out the window and realise that we should have reached the bar by now. It kind of looks like we’re just… Circling the block. Well, I suppose right now we’re in the middle of an important conversation. So I don’t really mind. Cole continues his story.
“How I died? I guess technically I was hit by a car. This car in fact. It’s why I can interact with it so easily. It wasn’t a cab at the time, but I convinced someone to change it for me… To charm it. It’s much easier to get information from people when they willingly just hop in the back of your car.” he explains. Huh, I suppose he isn’t exactly wrong. I’m sure plenty of people have private conversations in the back of taxis.
“You… You got hit by a car? When?” Wren asks softly.
“A long time ago. More than twenty years I think. It’s hard to be sure, time gets a little blurry sometimes. Back then I… Well I was a complete mess if i’m honest. I gambled and wasted my life, I can truly say i’m a better person dead than I ever was alive. I never used the more illegal parts of my necromancy magic, i never raised the dead. But I probably would have, if I thought I had more to gain from it than I had to lose, i wouldn’t have hesitated. As it was, I used my ability to speak to the dead to trick people, to fool them. I would gamble and cheat. Basically, I was not the kind of uncle you could be proud of.” Cole sounds completely ashamed of himself.
“But… You’re not like that anymore. Until you left, you were a good uncle. You came and helped me with homework and played with me.” Wren says, a little desperately. I can’t help but smile. In life Cole might have made mistakes, but when he died? He could have done anything, gone anywhere, and he still chose to look out for his family. I don’t think he could have been as awful as he says he was. Selfish and maybe a little lazy? Maybe. But I doubt he was ever truly a bad person.
“How did all that result in your death?” Lukas asks, engrossed in the story.
“I would often spend time in casinos, gambling establishments and the like, and I wound up in one that belonged to Solem. I was a frequent customer, I spent a lot and won a lot, so I was well known there. Occasionally, I would end up in private games with Solem himself. I was always careful to lose to him, and to never bet anything other than money. I knew what he was. One night, during one of our games, there was a girl there, a woman. She was… The most beautiful woman I ever saw.” He sighs heavily.
“She was there serving Solem. She was smiling and should have seemed cheerful, but I could tell that she wasn’t. After that first night… I would make excuses to be invited to play with Solem. I would spend all my time winning money just to lose it all to him for a chance to see her again. Occasionally, I would get to speak to her. She was quiet and afraid. She never said so, but I could tell. It took me months just to get her to tell me her name. Jaymie.” Cole pauses. His expression right now is pure heartbreak. That’s no surprise, we already know this story ends badly.
“I began to investigate. I asked ghosts for help, there was no shortage of unhappy souls who hated Solem, so most were more than willing to answer my questions. It took me weeks, but I learned more about her. I found out that Solem had purchased Jaymie, or traded for her or something. He was never going to give her up. Even worse, I found out that she was pregnant. Not by him, but by whoever had her before him. It was part of why he wanted her so badly. Because… Jaymie was a selkie.” Cole lets out a disgusted scoff.
“The perfect slave, one who can’t say no, can’t fight back. He wanted her, and her child. I… I couldn’t stand it. I was… Well, I want to say I was in love with her. But if I’m truthful I had only even spoken to her a handful of times. But regardless, I cared. For the first time in… Maybe ever, I really, truly cared about someone else. I wanted to help her, to save her. I suppose I hoped that if I did she might want me back. So even that i can’t say I was entirely selfless.” Cole admits guiltily.
“No one is selfless. There’s nothing wrong with hoping someone might love you.” I say sympathetically.
“What did you do?” Wren asks.
“I was… Cocky. I thought I could do anything. I waited until the next time I was playing against Solem, and I made a deal with him. I demanded Jaymie’s pelt as payment if I could win against him. I suppose Solem thought I was just some lovestruck fool, and maybe I was. But I had been pretending to lose against Solem for months. So… I managed to take him by surprise. I actually won. And sure enough, he gave me Jaymie’s pelt. I was over the moon. I thought I had done it, I had saved her. Solem acted friendly, he acted like he had lost fair and square and would accept that. Jaymie and I left. She was scared and confused. But I had her pelt, so she didn’t resist. I didn’t order her to come, but she had been a captive for so long I didn’t need to. She just… Followed me, without question. We made it outside when Solem’s men came after us. They were under orders to kill me and take Jaymie’s pelt back. We ran, but I knew we wouldn’t make it. So… I did the one thing Solem never expected me to do. I… I gave Jaymie back her pelt. I told her to run. She did, she ran, and I… I tried to fight. I called up every deceased creature I could find. Solem’s men were being attacked by birds, cats. One of them made it into a car and… Well. You can probably guess what happened after that.” Cole falls silent and we all do too. I mean, what do you even say to that? I’m sorry doesn’t quite cut it.
“Well… It wasn’t all bad. Jaymie escaped. It took a few days for me to make sense of things as a ghost, and even longer for me to pull myself together enough to care about… Well, anything. But when I did, I searched for her. She was alone and desperate. She knew what had happened to me, and I couldn’t face her again, I knew she would be devastated. Plus it felt like I would be… taunting myself, with a future I would never have. So I did the only thing I could do. I went home. I went to see my sister, your mum. When I died, everything I had went to her. With my tendency for cheating, I had a sizeable nest egg. I… I spoke to her, I told her what happened and I convinced her to send the money to Jaymie. For her and for her child. She agreed, mostly because she never really wanted money from me in the first place. Then I just… Kept an eye on her, and my sister. I should have moved on, but I didn’t. I kept telling myself it was only temporary. But… I just wasn’t ready to move on. I needed to make sure she was safe, that Jaymie would never be caught by Solem again. She had her child.” Cole smiles affectionately. My eyes widen.
“Lindy?” I ask, suddenly seeing the connection.
“Yes, Lindy. She was never my child but… I felt like in a way, she sort of was, I felt responsible for her. So I kept an eye on her too, another reason to stay. Then… Two years ago… She passed away. It was awful. I wanted to follow after her, for the first time I really felt ready to leave. But I couldn’t. I needed to be sure Lindy was safe, and you…” He glances back towards Wren, pain in his eyes.
“I needed to know that you were okay too. So I decided to make sure before I… Moved on. I started investigating Solem again. That’s when I heard he was looking for necromancers and… Well, you know how that turned out.” Cole says sadly. He pulls up in front of the bar.
“I really am sorry Wren. I thought I could protect you, and your mother. But I failed.” Cole says guiltily.
“It… It’s okay. I understand. And I don’t blame you. But… You won’t avoid me anymore, right?” Wren asks quietly.
“No, I won’t.” Cole promises.
“Good.” Wren answers, then before any of us can say a single word, Wren reaches over Roxy, throws the taxi door open and pushes his way through. Then he starts to run. Shit.