This is one hell of a cruel joke

Then, silence. She released the feather. It swayed slowly towards the ground, defying the gusting winds beating at Drayce and Fiona's faces.

When the angel's feather touched the blood-soaked ground, the symbol she had drawn instantly sprouted flames as if the feather were a lit match and the blood were gasoline. The bright blaze burned with the intensity of Hell itself; rain droplets turned to steam long before reaching the glow. Fiona stood in the flames and held her fist high. She channeled simmering power into her bloody glowing hand. And, with a final abhorrent shout, she slammed her fist into the ground with such force it knocked Drayce off his feet, sending him several feet backwards.

When Drayce climbed out of the mud, only a gentle rainfall remained as the fierce storm subsided. The flames from the ritual were gone, leaving a charred symbol with a small crater in the center.

Drayce walked to Fiona. The demoness was on her knees, panting heavily, shaking dizzily. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she huffed, out of breath. The ritual obviously took a lot of energy from her.

"Is it done? I don't see anything."

"Give it... a moment."

He stood in the now gentle rain while Fiona caught her breath. Several minutes passed -- and no ghost. Fiona sensed Drayce's nervousness. She stood beside him and folded her hand into his.

"Be patient," she said, squeezing his hand.

He appreciated Fiona's attempt to comfort him. Her slender hand fit perfectly in his.

Several more minutes passed. Drayce's faith in the ritual started to fade.

Has all this work been for nothing?

Just when all of Drayce's hope was lost, he saw a small light floating in the air. At first he thought it was a firefly, but the greenish hue of the light suggested otherwise. Several more appeared from all directions: the dark sky, the trees, even the muddy ground. Before long, Drayce and Fiona were completely surrounded in a swarm of these pale green orbs, all seemingly gathering at the epicenter of Fiona's ritual. The tiny lights swirled in a vortex, collecting together. They formed a larger orb that glowed so brightly. Drayce had to turn his head.

The light faded. Drayce turned back around to behold the faintly glowing image of a naked blonde woman who floated just above the ground. He recognized that figure.

"Phoebe?" Drayce called out.

"Drayce?" the semi-transparent woman spoke in an ethereal voice, "Is that you?"

Drayce released Fiona's hand and darted for the ghostly specter. He stopped in front of her and smiled, unable to believe that his wife was once again with him. He quickly realized it was not all of her when his hand passed through her as if she was nothing but air.

"Yes, it's me Phoebe. I've missed you so much!"

"Where am I? Am I really..."

Drayce hung his head low, unable to look at her after such a question. "You're at Evergreen Cemetery."

"I see. So I'm really dead."

Tears formed in Drayce's eyes. "I'm so sorry Phoebe. I wasn't there to protect you. You were so good to me and-"

"Don't blame yourself Drayce," Phoebe interrupted. "You know as well as anyone that these things happen, you see it all the time being a detective. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"I still should have been there! I could have-"

"Ahem," Fiona coughed loudly, interrupting the conversation.

"Oh! Who's your lady friend?" Phoebe asked.

"I am the demon who summoned you, spirit," Fiona said coldly.

"Demon?!" Phoebe yelled. "Drayce! What is the meaning of all this? What are you doing with a demon?!"

Drayce frowned, tears running down his cheeks. "There are so many things I want to talk to you about, but we haven't much time. You've been dead for two years now and I've not brought the person who did this to you to justice. I've tried everything, sacrificing everything but my soul. I failed you while you were alive; this is my last chance at redemption."

"Drayce, you don't have to do this."

Drayce looked at Phoebe with a fierce expression. "Phoebe, please tell me what happened that night."

Phoebe turned her back to Drayce. After a long pause, she finally spoke. "I can't."

"You can't?!" Drayce shouted. "Why not? Give me something to go on! A description, an accent, hair color, anything!"

Drayce noticed that even though Phoebe was only a ghost now, she was still capable of feeling emotion. She sobbed to herself, conflicted on what to do. She finally turned to him. "I can't because I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? How?"

Phoebe hesitated. "That night, I was waiting for you to get home. I heard a knock on the door, thinking it was you, but it was someone else. Someone you know."

Drayce's blood boiled. "Someone I know? Who?"

Phoebe stayed silent, unable to look at him.

"Phoebe! There isn't much time! Who was it?!" Drayce shouted.

She turned to him. "F-Frank Wallace."

Drayce instantly saw red, pacing back and forth. Frank? Frank?! This entire time the son-of-a-bitch was right under his nose?! Unthinkable! How could he have missed it? The case! Frank was in charge of her case! He's been covering things up since the beginning! Now that he has Clair in custody, he thinks he can get away with his crime forever.

Fiona stepped forward. "That isn't all, is it, Phoebe?"

"Isn't all of what?" Drayce said through his clenched teeth. "What are you talking about?"

Phoebe stayed silent, sobbing amongst herself.

"Tell him!" Fiona shouted at her.

Phoebe shook her head. "Don't make me do this, please!"

"Tell him! He deserves to know!" Fiona demanded.

"Tell me what?" Drayce inquired, looking at Phoebe.

Phoebe wept heavily. "The baby," she whimpered, "was his."

Drayce was struck dumb. Nothing in the universe could have prepared him for those words. It was not believable. No way would Phoebe cheat on him, and with Frank of all people. Impossible!

Drayce laughed maniacally. "I get it now, Fiona! This isn't Phoebe. This is one hell of a cruel joke you played on me. The game is over."

Fiona looked Drayce in the eyes, her expression one of complete sympathy. "That is Phoebe, Drayce. She speaks the truth. Whether you choose to accept reality is up to you."

"When I found out I was pregnant," Phoebe explained, "I took a strand of your hair to have a paternity test performed. When I found out the results were negative, I didn't know what to do. When Frank showed up that night, I told him about the baby and that it was his. He became furious, dragged me up the stairs, and tied me to the bed. After that, I only remember pain, gunshots, and then everything went black."

Drayce's mind filled with rage, replaying that night's events in his head. The moment the sick fuck found out she was pregnant, he decided to kill her, but not before raping her first. He raped her, shot her twice in the stomach, then ended her life with a shot to the head. Being a detective himself, Frank knew he could use ammonia to corrupt any DNA samples of his sperm, which he found plenty of in the cleaning solution under the bathroom sink.

"How did you know she wasn't telling me everything? Did you know about this the whole fucking time?!"

☆