The Isis Collar

Natura was pulling Mom from underneath the table and putting her arms behind her; one of my mother’s wrists was already encircled in a spelled cuff. My mother’s face was red, furious, and looked different than I’d ever seen. I wondered if the witch had done something to her or if this was just some new, evil aspect of her illness. “I never want to see you again. I hate you!”

Even Baker looked up at that, surprise clear on her face. But we both turned when the bar’s door opened and a young blonde girl was silhouetted in the doorway. “Don’t say that, Mom! Don’t you ever say you hate my sister!”

17

I recognized the voice. It had literally haunted me for more than a decade. I felt my legs collapse and it was only Baker’s quick action that kept me from crashing to the floor in shock. The long braids were just as I remembered, and she was wearing a striped T-shirt and blue jeans. Just like the last time I saw her.

Mom dropped to both knees so fast that Natura couldn’t catch her. “Ivy? Baby? Is that you?” She held out her free arm, her anger gone like a switch had been flicked. “Come to Mama, baby.”

The girl raced forward, her braided hair bouncing on her shoulders, and threw herself against my mother’s chest, arms wrapped around her neck. “Mom!”

It couldn’t be. I looked down at my hands. I was still the same. I hadn’t suddenly become twelve again. But I couldn’t seem to talk. It was just too much, too soon.

Mom was sobbing now, her hand continually touching Ivy’s hair, her back. Her face showed the incredulousness I felt. Natura had let her arm go so she could hold her child. I couldn’t help but smile at the sheer joy of the scene.

Until the child turned her head.

I felt my heart skip a beat … for I recognized the girl’s face. It wasn’t my sister. “Julie?” I whispered it, but she looked up and met my eyes with a happy smile.

“I know. Isn’t it fun?”

Fun? My mother held her at arm’s length for a long moment and stared at Julie’s face. But she was too drunk—all she could see was the daughter she’d lost so many years ago. “I love you so much, Ivy. I’ve missed you.”

Julie/Ivy smiled and then kissed Mom’s cheek before hugging her again. “Missed you, too, Mommy. But I’m back now and we’ll be together.”

My stomach lurched and my skin grew ice cold. Oh my dear God in heaven. My sister was possessing the body of Julie Murphy and she didn’t want to give it up. I knew Julie was a spirit channeler. But her father, Mick, had told me she hadn’t had an episode of contact since her grandmother had died when Julie was three or four. I didn’t want to frighten her, but possession is a big deal. That’s taking channeling to a new level. I’d seen Vicki do it— twice—but she was an adult. She knew the dangers and was careful not to take it too far. But I wasn’t sure either the girl or the ghost would know how to sever the tie between them. “Ivy? I know it’s wonderful to be able to talk to us, but you have to leave Julie now. Okay?”

I heard a bicycle slide to a stop on the gravel outside and then clatter to the cement as an older, dark-haired girl entered the room. “Julie! Why did you race away from me like that and why are you in a bar?” She stuttered to a stop when she saw her sister in the arms of a woman she didn’t know. Spotting me, she turned a confused face my way. “Celia? What’s happening?”

“Beverly, we need to talk. Let’s go outside for a second.” I got to my feet, dusted off my pants, and put an arm around her shoulders. She trusted me but turned back more than once to watch her sister hugging the drunk woman.

“Okay, but Mom will get mad if we aren’t home soon. I don’t know why Julie ran off like that. I nearly lost her in the traffic. She’s never done anything like that before.”

Traffic? I closed my eyes, feeling my heart drop. That was just what Ivy used to do and it used to drive me nuts. I guided Beverly out into the bright sunlight. When I stepped outside, the spell over the other patrons apparently broke and all but the bartender stampeded out of the bar and scattered. Beverly and I sat down on the stoop in what was left of the shade. “We’ve got a problem. If you were any other kid, I wouldn’t tell you this, but I think you can handle it. There’s a spirit possessing your sister right now. It’s my dead sister, Ivy.”

“Ivy? She’s mentioned that name before. She told me just last week that she and Ivy made cookies with Mom, but later when I asked Mom about Julie’s new friend, she didn’t know what I was talking about.”

I closed my eyes. If this wasn’t the first time, that was even worse. Ivy used to love baking when Gran came over to the house. I had no idea Ivy had the ability to do something like that. “Have you ever heard of overshadowing?”

She nodded. “Sure. That’s when a ghost takes control…” Her eyes went wide. “You don’t mean that Ivy wants to stay inside my sister? Won’t that erase Julie eventually?”

“It could. I think we need to talk to your parents about this.”

“But what about Julie? We can’t just leave her like that.” She looked back inside the darkened bar fearfully. I shared the fear, but I didn’t know what I could do about it at this precise moment.

“Beverly, this is the first time Ivy has hugged her real mother since she died.”

Her face grew troubled and I saw something close to anger in her eyes. “So to make your sister happy, you’re going to sacrifice mine? That’s not … Celia, you can’t do that.”

“No,” I said very strongly. “That’s not what I mean. But if I go in there and order her to leave, she might get stubborn and stay just to spite me. And my mother has been distraught for so long I’m afraid she’d break out of jail again and come and steal her.”

Now she went still. “Oh. That’s … well, that’s not so good.”

I sighed. “And the guards aren’t going to wait much longer. I’m going to have to think of something.”

But the something came to me instead. From Ivy.

“Celia? Mommy? I think I … I think Julie needs … needs—”

I leapt to my feet and ran into the bar. Julie was sitting on the floor while my mother struggled against Natura, who now held her away from the child she believed was her daughter. “Ivy? Baby? What’s wrong? Let me go, damn you! My baby needs me!”

I knelt beside her. “What’s wrong, Julie? Or Ivy, or whoever you are.”

“Celie, I think something’s wrong with Julie. She hurts … here.” She held up the sleeve of her T-shirt to reveal a dark purple bruise that I remembered well. “It hurts really bad.”

Shit.

I looked at my mother and she looked at me with sudden panic. “Help her.”

Trying to keep the fear from my voice, I looked into my sister’s eyes. “Ivy, you have to leave now. Julie’s going to have to go to the doctor to have that bruise fixed. You don’t like the doctor, do you?”

She made a face. “No. But … I’m having fun. Can’t I stay?”

I shook my head. “Afraid not, honey.” I thought of something that might work. “Mom has to go back to the island. Isn’t that what you came to tell me? That she’d left?”

Her head nodded. “Uh-huh. But you didn’t understand. I couldn’t tell you so I went to see Julie and she said she’d help.”

I touched her shoulder but then moved my hand where I wasn’t touching where the bruise was. It was spreading, as I watched. Oh, crap. She’d kissed Mom. Only on the cheek, but I’d need to talk to Baker before they left so they could all get vaccinated before they went back to the island. “And that’s my fault. I’ll be more careful to listen to you in the future. But now you have to go back with Mom and keep her safe. And Julie has to go to the doctor. Okay? So why don’t you leave now and you can ride in the car with Mom.”

Officer Natura gave me a look that said she didn’t like that idea. But it wasn’t her choice.

Ivy nodded sadly and then Julie gave a shudder and collapsed. I grabbed her before her head hit the floor and lightly tapped her cheek with my palm while I spoke softly. “Julie? Time to wake up, sweetie.”

Her eyelids fluttered and she shook her head weakly. “What? Where?” She looked around, confused at her surroundings. I mean, who wouldn’t be? She looked from my face to Beverly’s. “Celia? Bev? What’s